David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

It’s Friday, gotta kick it off with Champagne. This Friday a little N/V Ruinart Rosé.

The fruits are; ripe, ruby and slightly candied. Deeply extracted; strawberries, black cherries, some black raspberries, cherries, ripe, juicy, summertime watermelon, touch of pomegranate, blood orange, understated, fine, powdery chalkiness, powdery seashells, sea spray, grey volcanic minerals, soft white spice, hard baguette crust with red & pink roses. The gently crisp acidity is dead on. The long, rich, ruby, well balanced, polished finish is delicious and nicely persistent.

Photos of, Dom Thierry Ruinart, our recently added Chrysanthemums, fresh fall table flowers and candle pumpkin. It’s fall! ‘‘Tis the season”...🍂🍁🎃🕷👻👹😱 🍾🥂 — 21 hours ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Feet up and game on In the lounge. Time to kick it off with some BSR. Ahhhh!

Showing some leaner & more restrained fruits of; strawberries, watermelon near the rind, cherries, orange citrus-blood orange, tangerine, pink grapefruit with a splash of sugar and black cherries. Still showing their signature, soft, powdery, chalkiness with an edge of a razor. Seashell fossil, sea spray-saline, baguette crust, pink roses and florals. The acidy is always crisp and dead on for my palate. The long, rich, well balanced, polished finish persists nicely.

Photos of; one of their Grand Cru vineyards at sunset, two shots inside the House of Billecart and their beautifully manicured grounds. — 7 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At Come Taste the Stars hosted by Tyson Stelzer. Interestingly Tyson thought this 2008 is better than the 1996 which is in turn better than the 2002. Initially very yeasty on the nose - 10 years on lees turning to Lemon Cream. Minerality and chalk in abundance. Great acidity and tension on the palate. Over 60% Pinot Noir with the balance Chardonnay. A very long life ahead. At Montrachet Restaurant. — 9 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

At Come Taste The Stars Dinner hosted by Tyson Stelzer. Another 60/40 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay balance. More floral aromatics than the Winston. Similar to the 1996 vintage in many respects but a one week delay in picking over 1996 to gain better ripeness. Other differences were no malo in 1996 and for 2008 16% Malo. Also more oak influence in 2008 - 3% to 22%. 9 years on Lees. Tyson said it will not attain its full potential until 2038 and go on for another 20 years after that Great freshness minerality and tension. Tyson said this was the greatest Cristal he has ever had. At Montrachet Restaurant. — 9 days ago

Dr. Owen Bargreen

9.7

2006 Krug ‘Brut’ Champagne- The 2006 Krug ‘Brut’ Champagne is a resounding success from this warm vintage in Champagne. Both high toned and rich aromatically, kumquat purée with shades of nutmeg infused Challah bread and baked Bosc pear all take their shape in the glass. The rich, almost oily, texture delightfully coats the mid-palate. Ripe white grapefruit, sourdough bread and ginger flavors all sing in harmony on this expressive palate. As good as the texture is, the highly gratifying, minute-long finish, completes this scintillating new wine. While this beautiful vintage Champagne is showing marvelously in its youth, it will have an exceedingly long life in the cellar. Drink 2019-2035- 97 — a day ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At The Come Taste The Stars Dinner hosted by Tyson Stelzer. Another 60/40 blend of Pinot Noir/Chardonnay. Quite BdB - very lemony and Chardonnay in style. So fresh and young - you would never pick this as 17 years of age. Aged 13 years on Lees. Evolving at glacial pace with developing layers of complexity. Will mature to 2030. A wonderful Champagne from the excellent 2002 vintage. At Montrachet Restaurant in Brisbane. — 9 days ago

Willie Carter

9.2

Deep pink with orange tints. A terrific amount of tiny bubbles and an amazing crispness and freshness to this. Really fine strawberries, orange zest, and peach essence upfront on the nose with that signature toasted bread coming in later. Rich and creamy in the mouth, this is a seductive and sexy stunner of a Champagne. She just keeps coming and giving you more and more. The overt sweetness fades into elegance on the midpalate and a nice tartness on the finish. That same lively fruit continues onto the palate and is joined by dried herbs, fresh cut brioche bread, and nice minerality. — 10 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.6

At the Come Taste the Stars Dinner hosted by Tyson Stelzer. The 6 th and final Champagne and what better way to finish than with the power of a Vintage Krug. 39% Chardonnay, 37% Pinot Noir and 24% Pinot Meunière ; aged more than 11 years on Lees. This is one of the rare vintages of Krug to have more Chardonnay than Pinot Noir. Malic acid to the fore with crunchy green Apple notes. Tastes amazingly young and fresh - aiming for a long living style. Noticeable acidity finishing very dry. Tyson says at 15 years of age that it needs another 15 to reach its full potential. The French Somm at Montrachet told me this was his favourite of the 6 stellar champagnes. Powerful but retains its elegance incredibly. — 9 days ago

Bob McDonald

9.7

At the Come Taste the Stars Dinner hosted by Tyson Stelzer. Tyson was gobsmacked by this Champagne giving it 100 points. The colour was Salmon with a touch of copper. Strawberry notes with rose petals. Louis Roederer have been working hard on their biodynamic regime in the vineyard. Biodynamics create greater vigour in the vine allowing the roots to penetrate deeper into the chalk. Incredible depth length and precision - stays in the mouth for minutes. Only 31 bottles came to Australia and 8 bottles used up on this dinner. One could write pages about the production techniques used in this Rose Champagne - like Carbonic Maceration of the Pinot bunches by Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon the winemaker. At Montrachet Restaurant in Brisbane. — 9 days ago

Severn Goodwin

9.3

Killer nose of creamy red fruits, palate is deep with minerals, mild acidity and ripe red fruits, all in a white wine. So lovely, oak aging does wonders for this grape.

Last time we had this bottle was in the cellar of C-L, no finer hosts. 100% Pinot Meunièr (2014 fruit), so technically a Blanc de Noirs. This bottle was sealed on 31 May 2015 and bottle number 199 of 1220 produced.

Relaxing by a fire in the chimenea tonight, our first frost was finally this morning. Nice and cool tonight, the warmth of the flames is satisfying. — 14 days ago