We started our somewhat casual dinner party on Friday night with a superb bottle of 2000 Mount Mary Chardonnay (93 points). Still only a light but very bright gold colour with a dazzling bouquet harbouring ground meal, grilled nuts, wood spice and bacon fat under lovely fig, melon and peach fruit. A refined and sophisticated palate reveals impressive substance with plenty of fruit as per the nose interwoven with a steely vein of minerality and perfectly-judged acid and subservient mealy oak providing wonderful support as this terrific white glides through the mouth. Hellishly long departure. Well-kept bottles could hold for another 3-5 years.
Next, we opened a super bottle of 1983 Chateau Leoville-Poyferre. Without a doubt, a wine biting at the heels of the wonderful Ch. Palmer and Ch. Margaux from the same vintage. Holding a deep ruby core with a garnet and amber-tinged perimeter, this top St. Julien opened with a fair swag of barnyard on the nose that dissipaated relatively quickly to reveal a gorgeous cornucopia of currants, dark plums, licorice, damp earth, Provencale herbs, tobacco leaf and spice box. In the mouth, this beauty reveals a plump, generous personality, copious quantities of fruit as mentioned in the bouquet with melting soft tannins, a deft touch of newish wood, low acidity and a long, soft cuddly finish. Definitely drinking at the peak of its powers but seeing it held so well in the glass for several hours, one must conclude this glorious wine should drink well for another five, possibly up to ten years. 93 points for this one, too.
Lastly, we decided to crack an old vintage port - Campbell's (of Rutherglen) 1976 Shiraz. Another cracker. Ancient mahagony brown colour but amazingly fresh and alive on both nose and palate. Full of blackberry licquer, licorice, boot polish, lantana and sweet earth, this fortified displayed the requisite balance between sweetness and astrigency with a little lift from the very fine, clean brandy spirit. Luscious and rounded with extraordinary length, this wonderful VP should hold for some time but don't expect further improvement. And yes, you guessed it, 93 points from me, once again!