The Table 6 dinner with Ben Glaetzer ended up being an evening to remember. Amazing food, wine, atmosphere and people. There ended up being roughly 35-50ish people and surprisingly, we had excellent pours of all the wines. Also hard to believe that Ben is only 29. He was extremely easy going, well spoken and a great host.

All of the Glaetzer wines were poured in a single flight and drank over the first two food courses which consisted of a seared Foie Gras, Parsnip & Pear Pho for the first course and a Spaetzle “Mac N Cheese” stuffed Quail with a quail egg. The Foie was some of the best I’ve ever had (I want to know where they got this stuff) and the quail dish was a pleasant surprise that actually made eating quail worth the hassle. Both dishes were perfectly cooked and presented. It was interesting to compare all three wines together and while you could easily see the resemblance, the wines were distinctly different. The Wallace was forward with vibrant acidity, the Bishop was a mini Shiraz and the Shiraz was just a notch darker, richer and showed more depth than the others. All were simply delicious and none had the overblown, syrupy feel that you get with some aussies.

• 2004 Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz/Grenache - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Big nose that shows both red and black fruits with some earthiness, spice and black cherry coming through with air. Medium to full bodied with nice acidity and a clean finish. (90 pts.)
• 2004 Glaetzer Shiraz The Bishop - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Fairly lush and open with beautiful dark fruit and subtle spice notes. Full bodied, very smooth and balanced with clean, pure fruit on the long finish. (93 pts.)
• 2004 Glaetzer Shiraz - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Very dark and rich with beautiful dark fruit, chocolate and toasty oak notes on the nose. Gorgeous full bodied palate with a seamless feel, great texture and a long finish. (95 pts.)

We were running low on wine and low and behold, Ben starts walking around with an open bottle of the 04 Godolphin (which he bought off Table 6’s list). Well, I made damn sure I had an empty glass and he was kind enough to pour! I’ve had this wine numerous times and it has never failed to blow me away. Noticeably different that all of the other wines with a slightly different flavor profile and plenty of structure with amazing, sweet tannins on the finish.

• 2004 Glaetzer Godolphin - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Beautiful nose of dark fruit, black currant, earth and toasty oak. Full bodied with amazing balance and just a stunning mouthfeel. Masses of sweet tannins on the very long finish. I love this wine. (97 pts.)

The highlight of course was the vertical of the Amon-Ra wines and they were served with an incredible, fall off the bone tender, Veal Cheek with rose petal Kraut and a Portobello & Truffle relish. Wow, if the cheese/dessert tray at the end hadn’t been so killer, this would have been the dish of the night for me.

I don’t know how long any of these wines were open and it was not blind. The 02 is pretty close to what I remember and probably showed the most oak of any of the wines barring the 05. Just amazingly rich, concentrated and long. The 03 started off slightly closed with less noticeable oak but no less dark and dense. Once the 03 opened up, it was almost identical to the 02 save for the wood notes. I’ve always thought I liked the 02 more than the 03 but the last sip of the 03 was just so unbelievably smooth and long that I’m a convert… well at least for that night.

The 04 was again very similar to the other wines except for a noticeable lower acidity, a softer feel and the only wine of the night to feel slightly heavy. Still, it’s splitting hairs and the stuff is incredible.

Even after tasting through all of these massive wines, the first sip of the 05 blew me away and left me with an idiot grin plastered to my face. This did not have the feel of a young barrel sample (bottled 4 weeks prior) but was lush, structured, balanced and smooth. People called it an infant but I don’t think anyone wasn’t impressed and or finishing their glass. It was also the most unique on the nose with beautiful spice and wood notes (there was no shortage of fruit in any of these wines.) Surprisingly, the 04 was actually a shade darker in color than the 05.

• 2002 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Just a huge nose with concentrated black currant, hot asphalt, chocolate and beautiful toasty oak. Full bodied with a balanced, stunning mouthfeel the just sticks to your mouth. Balanced with a very long finish. (97 pts.)
• 2003 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Very similar to the 02 but slightly more closed at this point with less obvious oak. Beautiful clean dark fruit, tar, spice and subtle toasty oak make up the bulk of the nose. Full bodied and silky smooth on the palate with a gorgeous texture. A wow palate that just got better and better with air and the last sip of this was the best. Amazing stuff. (97 pts.)
• 2004 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Again, very similar to the other Amon-Ra wines but in a softer, fatter profile with less acidity. Very dark and rich with black currant, plum, licorice and vanilla notes on the nose. Very full bodied with a smooth, soft feel and a long finish. (94 pts.)
• 2005 Glaetzer Shiraz Amon-Ra Barossa Valley - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
  Probably the wow wine of the night but also the most unique of the 02 through 05. Not as opaque as the 04 and shows a beautiful nose of black fruit, spice, cedar and toasty oak. Full bodied with a knock out palate. Smooth, seamless and balance with noticeable acidity and structure that carries into a very long finish. (98 pts.)

We finished up with a dessert/cheese tray consisting of no less than 4 different, ample sized dishes. Affinios, fig puree and a pound cake ravioli. Anise Roasted plum, Wattle Seed ganache with 5yr old Gouda. Vanilla black berry cobbler, Chobichou du Poitou (not a clue what this is.) Candied walnut and pear with an stunning blue fourme d’Ambert with tazmania honey. Awwwee yea. I was so stuffed that I almost skipped breakfast the next day.

Thanks to Ben Glaetzer, Synergy wines and Table 6 for a dinner and evening to remember!

- Jeb Dunnuck

Yet another stellar meal delivered at the Frischkorn residence. All the guests bring the wine and Will consistently throws together some spectacular dishes.

Corn puree soup with thinly sliced scallions

Things started out with a perfectly done cream corn soup (although I was told there was no cream involved) served with some finely sliced green onions. The Myrto started out slow and wasn’t giving up much but really opened up with air. It showed a strong sauv blanc character but also had a subtle mineral component that made it interesting. This gained weight the longer it was in the glass and was almost lush in the mouth.

• 2003 Foradori Myrto Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT
  Fairly impressive with a text book sauv blanc character but with air, gained weight and showed lovely mineral and sweet fruit notes. Medium bodied with a smooth texture, impressive depth and a medium finish. (89 pts.)

Grilled tenderloin with creamy polenta

We opened the two Chateauneufs next to go with the tenderloin.  The Vatican was delicious and showed beautiful, clean fruit with a tight, classy style while the Caillou was just plain singing and open for business.  I couldn’t get enough of the Caillou and it was complex, lush and absolutely delicious. Once these wines started running out and we waited for the dessert to finish cooking, we started looking for something else to try and decided on the Poyferre. This is the second bottle of this I’ve had it truly is spectacular. Concentrated, smooth, and seamless.

• 2004 Cuvée du Vatican Châteauneuf-du-Pape Réserve Sixtine - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Beautiful nose of pure black cherry, raspberry, licorice and subtle spice and charred wood notes. Medium to full bodied with a seamless, silky texture, very clean fruit, great balance and a long finish. Great stuff!  (92 pts.)
• 2000 Le Clos du Caillou Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine du Caillou Les Quartz - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  Wow,  an awesome. Big, lush nose of raspberry, cherry, leather, licorice and spice notes that goes on and on. Full bodied with a gorgeously soft, seamless feel and a killer long finish. A big wine that is drinking beautifully. (95 pts.)
• 2003 Château Léoville Poyferré - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien
  Just stunning stuff. Beautiful nose of lead pencil, black currant, coffee, earth, minerals and toasty oak notes. The palate was just awesome. Full bodied with perfect balance and a seamless, soft feel. For all its size, it still retains a balanced, elegant feel and shows gobs of sweet tannins on the long finish. (96 pts.)

Peach tart with marscapone

This was a simple, free form tart that was amazingly good. I think I finished my piece in about 3 seconds and scanned everyone’s plate for more over the next 10 minutes. This was the second time in the last month I’ve had the Perrier and it definitely showed more body and depth than the last bottle. Balanced, smooth and slightly creamy with a nice finish.

• N.V. Perrier-Jouët Champagne Grand Brut - France, Champagne
  Better than I remember with lovely pear, yeast, minerals and subtle bread notes. Medium bodied with great balance and a silky texture that leads into a great finish. (90 pts.)

Thanks to Will, Cheynna, Rich and Tom for a perfect evening and to Traci for being the designated driver!

- Jeb Dunnuck