Penfolds 1987 Magill Estate Shiraz and NV Great Grandfather Rare Tawny at the Wine Watch Collectors Wine Dinner

Attendees were in high spirits as we concluded the Penfolds Vertical phase of the Collectors tasting and transitioned to dinner. Penfolds 1987 Magill Estate Shiraz and NV Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny were two of the intriguing wines accompanying the dinner. I cover these wines in this post.

1987 Penfolds Magill Estate
Magill Estate is a 5.24 ha monopole located in the foothills of the Mounty Lofty Ranges, a 15-minute drive from the Adelaide City Business District. This is the original Penfolds vineyard, in continuous operation since 1844.

The vineyard is dedicated to Shiraz vines, providing fruit to its namesake Shiraz label and, in selected vintages, to Penfolds Grange.

The Magill Estate Shiraz was first produced in 1983. The fruit is hand-harvested, basket-pressed, and then vinified in open, wax-lined, concrete tanks. The wine is aged between 12 and 15 months in a combination of new French and seasoned French and American oak

According to Decanter, 1987 was a challenging vintage in Australia for red wines produced in regions not named Hunter Valley or Margaret River. Most South Australia regions experienced difficulty in achieving full ripeness in the reds and "most of the top Penfolds reds were leaner and meaner than their usual standard."

The 1987 Magill Estate Shiraz that we tasted did not set off any fireworks. Granny's attic, dried plums, leather, and baking spices on the nose. Plum, tobacco, tea, spice, and forest floor on the palate. Lacking intensity. Uninspiring finish. Its best years have come and gone.

NV Penfolds Great Grandfather Rare Tawny
Port is buried deep with the Penfolds DNA. Doctor Christopher Ransom Penfold, a firm believer in the medicinal value of wine, planted some French vines around his home in Magill in 1844 and used the harvested fruit to produce port and sherry for dispensation to his patients.

The NV Penfolds Great Grandfather Port was introduced in 1994 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Penfolds. The port is a multi-vineyard blend of 13 varieties, with Mataro, Shiraz, Cabernet, and Grenache forming the core. The wine is fortified with a low-strength spirit which "accentuates primary fruit character" as well as facilitating "additional complexity and seamless integration."

The production process for this port is illustrated in the figure below.

On the nose this wine showed honey, toffee, fruitcake, burnt orange, menthol, and spice. Full-bodied on the palate with raisins, caramel, stewed apricots, and fruitcake. Good acid levels. Thick mouthfeel with a long finish. This wine paired extremely well with the Dark Chocolate Cremè Brulée.

 

Dark Chocolate Crème Brulée

 Meal
Andrew Lampasone's wife prepares the dishes for these tastings and I have generally found the meals acceptable. She hit it out of the park for this event. One of the issues that I have had with her dishes is the serving sizes, falling more into the comfort range. For this tasting the dishes were reasonably sized, pleasing to the eye, and flavor-packed.

Baby Carpaccio with Grilled Shallot and
Elderflower Aioli

Venison Shu Mai with Porcini Veal
demi reduction

Australian Lamb Chops with Jalapeno Mint Jam
and Crème Fraiche Mash

I attended a number of Penfolds tastings during Dlynn Proctor's tenure as Penfolds Wine Ambassador and admired his detailed discussion of each of the wines; before, during, and after we tasted it. Dlynn had done this particular Wine Watch event for eight successive years prior to moving on to his new position and he left big shoes for the guys down south to fill.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme

Bruno Giacosa: Memorializing the "Maestro of Nebbiolo" with attendance at a "timely" wine dinner

I had never met Bruno Giacosa so, on his death, I could not pen touching and heartfelt tributes such as done by Laura Seal (Decanter), Antonio Galloni (Vinous), Jeremy Parzen (DoBianchi), Bruce Sanderson (Wine Spectator), and Monica Larner (Robert Parker Wine Advocate). But I was able snag a spot at a previously scheduled Wine Watch Bruno Giacosa tasting dinner, attendance at which, I felt, would allow me to pay hommage, in my own little way, to his monumental contributions to this space that we all love.

All of the tribute-payers mentioned above remarked on his taciturnity. Beyond that, they marveled at his "ability to recognize the best growing sites" and "his encyclopedic knowledge of Langhe cru sites." Antonio Galloni referred to him as the "maestro of Nebbiolo" and credited him with a number of innovations:

• The first producer in Piedmont to wholeheartedly embrace the philosophy of single-vineyard cru Barolo and Barbaresco
• One of the first to have a state of the art cellar with temperature control
• An early adopter of French oak.

The most comprehensive knowledge base on Bruno Giacosa is curated by Ken Vastola on his site finewinegeek.com. I summarize some of his key information on Bruno Giacosa, and his Barolos and Barbarescos, in the chart below.

I have previously described the new Wine Watch Wine Bar where the dinner was held. I stepped into the bar and was heartened to see that the mood was upbeat. Andrew Lampasone (the proprietor) was pouring Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis with abandon and I did not hesitate to join in the mix.

The tasting was fully subscribed. The wines on offer are shown in the figure below. I posted this picture to instagram real-time and the feedback was "great tasting but those 'sale' prices are crazy" and "I'd hate to think his passing spiked pricing ..."

The dinner began with the 2014 Dolcetto d'Alba paired with a Beef Tartare with a Quail egg and aioli sauce. Sweet dark plummy fruit on the nose with dark notes on the palate. Medium-bodied with a hint of tannins. Almond finish.

The 2014 Barbera d'Alba showed ripe cherry fruit on the nose and was juicy and approachable on the palate. Easy drinking.

After the introductory wines, we switched to the cru Barbarescos and Barolos, beginning with the 2011 Santo Stefano. As indicated on finewinegeek.com, this will be the final bottling of this label. Savory on the nose along with coal and spice. Complex. Great weight on palate. Balanced. Drinking beautifully.

The 2012 Barbaresco Asili was floral. Rosewater, cigarette, and smoke on the nose. Explodes on the palate. Silky tannins. Beautiful rounded mouthfeel giving way to a lengthy finish.

The 2009 Rocche Falletto showed tar, tobacco, and dark fruit on the nose. Builds to a crescendo on palate. Weighty. Long finish.

The 2011 Falletto showed red fruit, rose petals, tar, and spices on the nose. Great weight on palate. Rich. Slightly aggressive tannins. Lengthy finish.

Tar, kerosene, asphalt were the the characteristics associated with the nose of the 2008 Falletto Riserva, Tamarind on the palate. Balanced. Metallic finish.

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Pine Nuts

Osso Buco

The 2001 Barbaresco Rabajà Riserva was one of my favorites of the night. Tobacco, tar, dried rose petals, and cigarettes on the nose. Fine-boned on palate. Tamarind. Elegant. Long, sour finish.

The 1996 Asili Riserva had notes of licorice, mint, smoke, and tobacco on the nose. Rich, sour red fruit on palate. Tamarind and spice. Tannins not yet fully resolved.

This was a meaningful tasting. It was not packed with stellar vintages of Giacosa's greatest wines (such as, for example, the La Pizza Fresca tasting held two weeks prior) but it was a tasting of his wines shortly after the announcement of his death and everyone in that room felt and understood the import of the moment. This tasting had been scheduled and announced weeks in advance; his passing made it more than a run-of-the-mill wine tasting dinner.

©Wine -- Mise en abyme