Tuesday 13 November 2007

A new blog -- fullpour.com

After a few enjoyable months of blogging here, I've teamed up with my great wine mate Chris in San Diego on a new blog, fullpour.com. Hopefully that means more notes, a wider variety of wines and some different perspectives. Chris has an excellent palate, an amazing knowledge of the obscure, and an intelligent take on pretty much everything.

I hope you'll join us over at fullpour.com.

Thursday 8 November 2007

Mike Press Wines Pinot Noir 2004

There has been quite a buzz on the local discussion boards about the Mike Press range of wines, especially in terms of the value on offer (I think the most expensive wine goes for $120/dozen). The wines I have tasted from the range have all been well-made and, more importantly to me, of individuality and character. Considering it's possible to buy wines in the $20 and $30 price ranges that are correct but blandly corporate, this is quite an achievement.

If you're used to, say, the mainstream Yarra Valley or Marlborough style of pinot, this wine might come as a shock. It is a restrained style with a focus on structure and line, rather than fruit volume.

The nose is relative expressive and, although bright fruit is present, it's a little overwhelmed at present by caramel/malt oak. Some savoury/undergrowth complexities are also present.

On entry, the wine's flavours intensify quite rapidly and fruit expresses itself early in the wine's structure. The middle palate is generous and moderately intense without losing its focus and acid-driven line. Caramel, resiny oak again picks up the flavour profile from the middle of the palate onwards and leads into a rounded, finely drying finish of adequate length.

To me, this wine tastes a little awkward and oak-heavy right now, but there's good fruit in there and a dollop of structure to keep the wine going. It's hard to keep your hands off such a well-priced wine, and I don't have a clear sense of how this wine might develop, but I'll stash a couple of bottles aside and see.

Friday 2 November 2007

Two light red wines with dinner

Stefano Lubiana Primavera Pinot Noir 2006

The first of two wines consumed last night with dinner. This one served as a nice aperitif and accompaniment to our entry of a cheese and garlic calzone.

It was a bit hard to smell much from the dodgy restaurant goblets we were using, but floral aromas of dried and fresh fruits emerged from the glass with a bit of swirling. Not the most expressive nose but certainly true to the rest of the wine's flavour profile and of corresponding intensity. The entry is bright and immediately launches the wine's fruit flavours, which comprise the sort of heavy floral note I associate with dried apricots, as well as bright red fruit. Light bodied, with well balanced acidity. The wine's aftertaste is rather truncated, though, and fruit flavours drop away to almost nothing by the time the somewhat chunky tannins have started drying the mouth. Food helped with this dip in the palate and seemed to extend the wine's fruit flavours.

A fresh, lively wine that could probably take a light chill before serving. I've had more complete pinots for the price (mid $20s I think) but I did enjoy this.

---

Poliziano Chianti 2006

This wine carried dinner foward last night, being served alongside our mains.

What a nice Chianti. This is a straightforward, very fresh expression of sangiovese. Again, not enormously expressive on the nose, but what is there indicates a savoury flavour profile of herbs and dried fruits. The palate confirms this, and from entry to finish flavours are carried along a nice line that livens the palate with a slightly rustic, acid-driven mouthfeel. Fruit flavours are akin to a packet of dried peel and red fruit, with herbs. Nothing too challenging or complex, but certainly tasty.

I think this wine would be a great one to have with an afternoon picnic of fresh bread, cheese and charcuterie. As it was last night, the wine supported our meal well but was a bit overpowered by the rich sauces that accompanied our food.

Tuesday 30 October 2007

De Bortoli Windy Peak Chardonnay 2006

Onwards with cheap wine. Despite the low price (a smidge over $10), I had high expectations of this wine, mostly because my experience of De Bortoli Yarra Valley wines has been so positive of late. They seem to consistently deliver more than one might expect at their respective price points, and even the lower range wines are made with a clear idea of desired style.

This wine's a little dumb on the nose, giving subdued aromas of cool climate chardonnay fruit (grapefruit-like) and cashew. The wine's entry livens things considerably and it's only in the mouth that this wine's good generosity of flavour becomes apparent. The entry is clean and linear, and leads to a middle palate that's all about fruit supported by creamy, slightly caramel oak. The fruit flavour is relatively simple but very correct and tasty. There are supporting nutty flavours and a mouthfeel that balances creaminess with slightly coarse acidity well. Some bitter phenolics kick in towards the finish and serve to cleanse the palate. Unremarkable length.

Ok, so it's simple, not especially expressive on the nose, and finishes a bit short. It's also clearly regional, very well made, and bloody tasty. The thinking person's quaffing wine.

Houghton Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Pulled the cork (!) out of this without too much thought last night, and ended up enjoying what is a very well judged wine.

There are no harsh grassy aromas or excess acidity with this wine. Instead, the nose offers up juicy lemon curd alongside hints of aromatic herb and tropical fruit. The wine enters cleanly and spreads more lively lemon curd and tropical flavours through the mid-palate with good intensity and medium body. The wine's mouthfeel is both lively and slippery, with crisp acidity that cleanses the mouth whilst retaining a "drink now" balance. The finish isn't especially remarkable in length but continues the wine's line to a gentle close.

Simple, generous flavours, very refreshing. Not bad for under $10. Perfect summer wine.

Sunday 28 October 2007

Two cheap shiraz wines that speak of their region

Still staying at a mate's house while the boat is repaired. He's not really into wine but is curious and asked me to help him choose a dozen. Budget was $150 -- I wanted to select wines that are representative of their regions. We had two of them tonight.

I won't dissect these wines in great detail -- know that they are both well-made, quality wines of considerable flavour and character. What I am pleased with, in particular, is that they are identifiably regional and show clear differences in origin. I think it's great that we can purchase wines in the $10-15 range that are very much of their region.

The Seppelt Victoria Shiraz 2004 is all blackberry jam, white pepper and spice. The palate encourages immediate drinking, although the finish, which is lightly drying with powdery tannins, indicates the wine would not die with a year or so in the cellar. But why bother -- it's such nice drinking now. Sensational value.

The Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz 2005 is a pretty reliable number year in year out, and this one shows clear differences from the cooler climate Seppelt -- it's a relative fruit bomb, with flavoursome stewed plum-like fruit and sweet American oak the highlights. Soft, generous, medium bodied -- this is easy Barossa shiraz in "by the gulp" mode. This wine doesn't have the structural finesse of the Seppelt, but really, what's not to like here?

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Yarra Burn Pinot Noir 2006

Really craving some pinot tonight, so off popped the cap on this little number.

Very promising nose of sweet and sour red fruit, and a hint of forest floor. Very Yarra Valley in character. The palate continues the flavour profile promised by the nose, with attractive, moderately complex pinot fruit mixed with very low level oak. Good intensity of flavour and nice length. Sourness is a feature of this wine's flavour.

The main issue with this wine is that its structure is quite "small scale". It's like a wine in miniature. As the wine enters the mouth, it is linear and consistent but somehow ungenerous. Just when you want the wine to open out, it maintains its linearity and never quite fills the periphery of the palate.

Still, delicious flavours, great value. Recommended.

Thursday 18 October 2007

Red Hill Estate Pinot Noir 2004

Staying a friend's house at the moment, so the drinking has been a little irregular! Did manage to work in this little number, though.

A transparent orange-red colour that was a little dull.Quite a meaty nose, beetroot-like, again a little dull perhaps, and subdued, also a bit hot. Livelier on the palate, with a slippery entry that leads to a spectrum of flavours showing good intensity and balance, if not great sophistication. More beetroot and bright red fruits that are a bit confected. Acid is very present and gives the palate a zippy feel. There's no great length of flavour, and the palate dies a bit towards the lightly drying finish, which is a shame.

I'm probably damning this one with faint praise. On the plus side, it's varietal, tasty, and cheap (I think I paid about $15). One could do a lot worse.

Saturday 13 October 2007

Marimar Torres Estate Don Miguel Torres Vineyard Pinot Noir 1999

Haven't had too many US pinots, so thought this might be an interesting diversion when I spotted it at the bottlo last week. Cheap too, at $19.

A dark, piercing nose whose sweet red fruit is somewhat swamped by other, more savoury characters. Leafiness and oak, mostly. A subtle entry into the mouth widens considerably on the middle palate. Again, the flavour profile is juicy red fruits (strawberry-like) mixed in with aged, leathery notes and considerable oak. There's reasonable intensity of flavour and enough bottle aged complexity to make this wine interesting. The wine is still quite tannic and could use some more softening, although I wonder whether the fruit will disappear before the oak has lost its aggressiveness. The finish is a bit hot.

This wine's fruit is varietal but I can't help thinking that it's been moulded in a style that drags it away from a pure expression of pinot noir and towards something chunkier and altogether less lightfooted. I also think perhaps this would have gone better with food.

Mount Pleasant Elizabeth 1999

I bought a case of this on release and have dipped in a few times to see how it's going. I remember tasting this soon after the initial purchase (three or so years ago) and it struck me as an especially tight Elizabeth.

This was a good bottle. An attractive green/gold colour of clarity and considerable richness. The nose shows definite signs of bottle age, but is not at a point of full maturity. Instead, the subtle, almost dumb aromas of a young semillon are mixed with a moderately intense bouquet of vanilla, beeswax and that (not unattractive) dusty note that some older semillons show. Good complexity. The entry is slippery and lively, still showing some prickly CO2. It opens to a generous and quite intense mid-palate that is in between young and old. The sophisticated, slippery mouthfeel of aged semillon is present, quite full bodied, and there are certainly hints of honey and wax, but also of (simple) primary fruit. The after palate loses thrust a bit, and the wine sort of jumps straight to the finish, where the secondary flavours linger nicely on the tongue.

This wine is very much in between in its development, with youthful characters fading a little and bottle age starting to exert its influence. As I sat with this in the glass, it gained richness and the honey really started to come to the fore. I'll track this over the next few years with interest.

Thursday 11 October 2007

Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge 2005

We've been having a fair few mid-priced local pinot noirs lately, so I thought it would be interesting to throw a Burgundy of roughly equivalent price into the mix. This one's from the celebrated 2005 vintage, from a widely available producer, and I picked this up for $26 at a local bottlo.

Reasonably dense ruby/garnet colour, not enormously bright, but still attractive. Initially, this wine was very tight on both nose and palate, with an assertively astringent finish that actually kicked in from about mid-palate onwards. A few hints of fruit and oak but that's it. So, a swirling we will go.

A few minutes of aeration saw the wine opening up and the finish, though not totally transformed, at least relaxed enough to allow the mid-palate to express itself in fruit terms. This wine's aroma shows a good amount of savoury red fruit that is subservient to a strong mineral/iron (like blood) aroma and a slightly doughy note too. It's tight, not hugely complex, and quite linear. The wine's entry is focused and opens out to a concentrated mid-palate of savoury fruit and iron, echoing the nose. Tannins kick in and carry the wine away firmly, with reasonable length, but with an intensity that diminishes a little too soon.

I like this wine's flavour profile and strong sense of personality, but it really does need some time to soften before it could ever become truly delicious.

Tasting notes - what do you find useful?

Everyone seems to write tasting notes a little differently, and I admit that mine so far have been structured (or not?) purely to please myself and to help with my tasting memory. I am interested to know, though, what other people find interesting and useful when they read notes.

What information do you think is essential? what is often provided but mostly superfluous? Do you find a highly structured note more useful or clearer to read? Or do you prefer notes with some context, perhaps with notes on food or tasting circumstances?

I'd love to know your perspectives. Feel free to comment here, even if you normally just "lurk"!

Thanks,

Julian.

Tuesday 9 October 2007

South Pinot Noir 2006

Made by Andrew Pirie, part of his "South" budget label.

A bright, transparent ruby colour, tinges of purple, not very dense. Quite an expressive nose that is dominated by bright fruit and leafy, tobacco-like notes. The wine enters in quite a linear fashion but opens out nicely on the mid palate, spreading simple, sweet, light fruit flavours that remind me a bit of Central Otago pinot in character (if not weight). Moderate intensity of flavour. Noticeable acidity tingles the sides of the tongue. The wine's finish is lightly astringent and a bit short.

This wine is pretty, refreshing and nicely varietal. There's no great complexity of flavour, but it's very nice to drink and would go well with moderately spiced food.

Update: the wine opened up a fair bit over the course of the evening. It gained in density of fruit flavour, weight and complexity. It also lost a little of its attractive delicate touch.

Sunday 7 October 2007

Stonier Pinot Noir 2006

Fresh Mornington Peninsula pinot, here we go!

I like it when pinot gives off slightly stinky notes, and this one does, just a bit -- let's call it polite stink. The stink actually seems inseparable from the fruit in this wine's flavour profile, almost as if the light red fruit flavours have gone slightly putrid and started to develop savoury edges. So far, so good. The wine's aromas are quite delicate, with the aforementioned savoury fruit, beetroot and herbs/forest floor. There's a hint of sweetness in there but I'd say this wine is tipped firmly to the savoury end of the spectrum.

The palate is surprisingly light in body; it slips across the tongue and away, leaving some quite gorgeous flavours in its wake. Fairly forthright oak (caramel/milk coffee flavours) adds itself to the mix. The wine's mouthfeel is nicely astringent, seemingly driven by acid, but aided by fine yet drying tannins. All this is well and good but with each sip I keep wishing for a bit more presence, and for the flavours to assert themselves beyond the alluring whisper they repeatedly offer to me. Perhaps I'm in the mood for more generosity. Certainly, this wine has a lot of attractions if you enjoy a light, savoury red wine.

Hay Shed Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2007

I feel a bit out of it, not generally understanding the appeal of our Margaret River sauvignon blanc semillon blends. I've often found these wines too astringent, aggressively herbal and just plain harsh.

What a pleasure, then, to encounter this wine, which seems to me a balanced and enjoyable style. I don't know the relative proportions of sauvignon blanc versus semillon, but there's an obvious sauvignon blanc influence on the flavour profile. It's all high toned tropical fruit, passionfruity, with some of the herbal notes that add complexity and interest but don't dominate. The palate has a nice fullness and presence that seems quite semillon-like to me, and allows the freshness of the nose to continue on unabated. Acidity is well integrated and delivers a fresh mouthfeel without coarseness. Length is also quite impressive and the wine lingers most satisfyingly on the back of the tongue.

We had this wine with some rather nice Asian food and it stood up well to intense aromatic flavours such as garlic, ginger and chilli. In fact, the bottle disappeared "just like that." I'd give this wine a really high drinkability rating, and it seems to me a brilliantly judged quaffing wine, without in any way becoming overly simple or resorting to cheap tricks like excessive residual sweetness. Great value too.

Saturday 6 October 2007

Redman Shiraz 2004

I had a 1976 Redman Claret last year and it was a beautiful, ephemeral experience. It was totally over the hill but none the less interesting for that. So how does the current release compare?

This is a leaner shiraz that's relatively low in alcohol (13%) and of medium body. The flavour profile is quite complex and has notes of blackberry, foliage and odd, slightly raisin-like fruit. There's a fair whack of volatile acidity that highlights the more vegetal aspects of the flavour profile. Intensity of flavour is good, and the palate has quite prominent acidity that isn't terribly integrated into the rest of the wine's structure.

I wonder how this will age? At the moment, the flavour profile isn't terribly to my taste.

Friday 5 October 2007

O'Leary Walker Polish Hill Riesling 2007

On a bit of a riesling roll at the moment. As always, the transparency of the grape is fascinating.

For the past few vintages, I have preferred the Polish Hill version of the O'Leary Walker to its Watervale sibling, finding it a bit finer and more elegant. I've not tried the 07 Watervale yet, but I do like this Polish Hill number. And now I'm sick of typing Polish Hill and Watervale.

A tight wine with delicate, floral aromas that hint at citrus and powder, with perhaps an underlying note of more juicy lemon substance. The palate continues the line of the wine and displays nice intensity of flavour. Citrus intermixed with talc, a sort of fun bubblegum type flavour, again quite powdery and pretty. The wine's acidity is quite firm and linear, and emphasises the sourness of the citrus in the flavour profile. Relatively coarse phenolics kick in towards the finish, but I think they work well and serve to reinforce the crispness of the wine.

I like it!

Thursday 4 October 2007

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 1999

Last old note for now.

Complexity and sophistication are the bywords with this wine. A lovely, savoury, slightly sappy nose gives way to the most luscious palate of clean fruit, earth, leather and silkiness. The tannins are so fine as to be simply a continuation of the flavours on the middle of the palate. Mouthfeel is a highlight here, it's just so soft, it glides over the tongue and slips away so smoothly. The nose is complex and evolving as I swirl, with further notes of mushroom and dusty earth, as well as a bit of oak. A seamless and complex wine. Very nice indeed.

Charles Melton Nine Popes 1996

Beguiling aromas that mix savoury, fruit and oak characters in a slightly lifted bundle of joy. There's also a meatiness in there that straddles a savoury/sweet line. In terms of palate, it has a thick, seamless mouthfeel that delivers a similar mix of flavours as was smelled, but more fruit forward and richer than one would anticipate from the nose. There are some faint aged characters, but it's still predominantly primary character driven. As I drink, there's a lovely brambly note that is emerging too, a sweet delicious stalkiness. The wine is actually still quite acidic, so it's probably got a ways to go, but I can't think how it could get better than this.

This is a seriously good wine that is still quite young tasting but with the clean, developed mouthfeel and flavour integration that comes with bottle age.

Note that I've subsequently had a couple more bottles of this wine that have not quite attained the same level as this one.

Tyrrell's Vat 5 NVC Shiraz 2004

Bought two of these at cellar door a few months ago. I remember it smelling incredibly barnyardy, which is why I bought a couple.


This bottle has nowhere near the same level of pong. Colour-wise, it's dark and red/purple but not terribly dense. Quite beautiful. The nose, surprisingly, is muted, with soft fruit and earth characters wafting gently upwards along with subtle oak influence. The palate is where the action lies. It's light to medium bodied, with a clean yet slightly rustic mouthfeel. The fruit flavour is of the utmost purity and lightness, and most deliciously there's this sweet dirt/earth character that for me is the core of the wine. The label mentions that this character is specific to the vineyard (this is a single vineyard release). I would be curious to know if there's an element of residual sugar there. If not, it's quite remarkable. A fresh, delicious, almost bistro-style wine that I could drink litres of. I love it.

I have tasted the 2003 several times and enjoyed it very much, although it's a denser wine. It has the same sweet earth flavour as the 2004, along with richer fruit and more weight.

Coldstream Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

I dug up some old notes from late last year and will post a few of the more interesting ones. I had this wine with the delicious food at Oscillate Wildly in Newtown.

Really beautiful cool climate cabernet aromas of the leafy/cedary type, along with aged mushroomy characters, complex and changing in the glass over the course of the meal. On the palate, more of the same, but with a surprising amount of primary fruit flavour and vanillan oak. Tannins still a little prickly, and noticeable acidity still present, so it wasn't too late to drink the wine by any means. Not an overly structured wine, but nonetheless very much in proportion, with flavours moving through in a well ordered procession. The impression was mostly one of complexity, balance and coherence from smell to finish. Lovely wine.

Monday 1 October 2007

Pewsey Vale Riesling 2007

I went to the local Dan Murphy with the intention of buying as many 2007 rieslings as they had. I left with... two. Lame.

One of the reasons I love riesling is that it's so transparent and allows such a direct view to terroir and growing conditions. Take this wine, and compare it to the Petaluma we had the other day. The Pewsey Vale, typically for an Eden Valley riesling, is skewed firmly towards a delicate, mineral/floral flavour profile, with just a hint of the lime juice that Clare examples often place front and centre. Having said that, the 2007 Pewsey Vale seems a little indistinct, flavour-wise, and is of more interest in terms of its structure and mouthfeel. Lovely acidity, this wine. And remarkable length too; the flavour seems to linger on the back of the tongue for an awfully long time.

This is a tight, young riesling that I would be interested in seeing with some bottle age. I wish the flavour had more clearly defined components. Despite the crisp mouthfeel and structure, the flavour profile feels a little broad.

Coopers Creek Pinot Noir 2006

This wine, at about $16, was about the cheapest New Zealand pinot at Dan's last night. I don't know anything about Coopers Creek. Their website makes them look pretty industrial.


As I've mentioned before, I like Marlborough pinot and the examples I've tried have a prettiness that can be delicious. The colour looks promising, being a relatively dense ruby that shines nicely in the glass. This wine seems to have all the elements - attractive plummy fruit, some stalkiness, perhaps a bit of caramel oak, relatively firm tannins. But it's like tasting a wine from the other side of world, so lacking in intensity and presence are the flavours. I kept hoping the wine would open up a little, but I don't think there's enough there to transmit the sort of generosity I would have liked. Like having a nice meal waved under your nose and then taken away before you can get stuck in.


Having said that, it was a pleasant enough quaffer, refreshing, and not offensive in any way.

Sunday 30 September 2007

Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 2004

We had this last night with big steaks at the Breakfast Creek Hotel. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening, I must say.

This is a sophisticated, pinot-like expression of cool climate shiraz that disappeared very quickly from the bottle. The flavour profile of this tends towards the red fruit, dried spice end of the spectrum. This wine is so clean. Sparkling red fruits leap from the glass and intermingle with a variety of spicy notes, and oak also contributes a vanillan, perhaps slightly sappy note. Everything's in balance, politely taking its place alongside the other elements.

Quite a light wine in the mouth, medium bodied at most, but with an appropriate level of flavour intensity and great persistence. Acid plays the primary role in this wine's structure, contributing not only length but also a deliciously fresh, astringent mouthfeel. Tannins are very fine and do not dominate in any way.

This wine is drinking so well now but I would like to see some secondary characters develop and add extra interest. At the moment, the wine is super "correct" and very tasty, but if I were to criticise it at all, it would be for a slight lack of personality. Perhaps some bottle age with help this wine to shine in its own, individual manner.

Wednesday 26 September 2007

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2007

I love this wine, generally, and it's been one of my favourite rieslings in the past. I always look forward to its release each year. This 2007 has been getting some great write ups so it was with some eagerness that I popped the top on our bottle tonight.

I'm happy to say that this wine isn't disappointing at all. In fact, I'm seriously impressed. The 2007, or this bottle at least, isn't as explosively fragrant as some previous vintages have been. It does, though, express an enticing floral/slatey aroma, slightly powdery perhaps, certainly attractive. The palate more than makes up for any slight aromatic reticence. A complex flavour profile of citrus blossom, lemon juice and slate explodes in the mouth and is carried the full length of the palate by lively, yet fine, acidity. This riesling sets itself apart from more ordinary examples through both the complexity of its flavour, and its clearly defined structure and mouthfeel. It's like a mixture of the sensuous and the intellectual, well balanced between extremes such that all one's desires as a wine appreciator are met.

I'll be springing for some of this, no question.

Sunday 23 September 2007

Peregrine Saddleback Pinot Noir 2005

This is Peregrine's second label pinot, with fruit from Central Otago and Marlborough regions. I haven't had a Central Otago pinot since returning from New Zealand in May, so was quite looking forward to this one. We had this by itself.

Very promising opening, with a fruity nose composed of that quite distinctive Central Otago "sweet/sour plum" note, as well as strawberries and more floral fragrances. Some savoury, perhaps lightly stalky notes also, although this wine is not overtly vegetal in flavour profile. The palate, though, seemed to be quite subdued relative to the initial nose, lighter in body than expected, lighter in intensity also, with a finish that trailed away too soon (from mid-palate onwards).

I thought perhaps it just needed some time in glass to open up, so we stretched the bottle out over a couple of hours. During that time, the attractive fruity flavours that showed initially seemd to blow off, leaving a wine that lacked substance and weight. To my palate, the wine ended up a bit thin and astringent, with attractive yet tantalisingly elusive flavours that never quite delivered on their initial promise.

I have another couple of bottles of this, I think, so we'll see how the next one goes.

Thursday 20 September 2007

Peregrine Rastaburn Riesling 2005

Another wine from the recent order from Peregrine, this time a riesling.

This is a pretty slutty sort of wine -- upfront, generous; a very public display. It's an off-dry style and the overall impression is, well, exotic. Heady aromas of white peach, lychee and (as the wine warms in the glass) spicy incense intermingle within a thick nose that lacks a little in elegance. On the palate, amirable generosity of flavour is carried along by noticeable acidity and bitter phenolics. The residual sugar is really well judged and works in favour of both fruit and structure, enhancing the former whilst moderating the latter.

This isn't the most sophisticated wine, but it's refreshing, delicious and full of flavour.

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Yalumba The Menzies 1996 - redux

My last bottle. I tasted this a few weeks ago and found the fruit in that particular bottle had receded too far with respect to the oak.

How nice, then, that this bottle seems in much better condition and is altogether more satisfying a wine. The last bottle's oak spiciness is still present, but the big difference is that, here, a panorama of other flavours sit alongside it. There's clean, primary fruit, dusty leafy cabernet character, aniseed, secondary notes that are slightly stinky and sweet, all delivered through a silky, largely resolved mouthfeel. All the elements seem in balance and, although it's not a wine of inscrutable complexity, I love the extra dimension that bottle age has added to what was, in its youth, a fruity and fun wine.

Good bottles of this probably have some way to go, and I regret, now, not having purchased more so I could follow this wine further along its life. Perhaps auction will provide a solution. No matter -- a sophisticated wine that is drinking well.

Tuesday 18 September 2007

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2006

Ok, so I'm already a little pissed from a lame sauvignon blanc we finished before dinner. But this wine is nice.

This wine's nose of violets, fake raspberry and licorice allsorts seems to me reminiscent of gamay. This wine is always a fragrant one, in my experience, and the 2006 continues the trend with an expressive nose that I understand best in terms of colour: it reminds me of vivid purple. There are also notes of citrus peel - again, fragrant and expressive.

On the palate, there's a gush of gently fruity flavour, perhaps a little unfocussed. Medium bodied, the wine's structure is relatively soft but well defined, the acidity in particular is quite mouthwatering.

This vintage seems more approchable than my recollection of prior years' wines, not that the Hilltops has ever struck me as especially forbidding when young. If the fruit flavour were more clearly delineated, this would have been even better. I have several bottles in the cellar and will track it with interest.

Sunday 16 September 2007

Tyrrell's Vat 9 Shiraz 2005

I could smell this wine as soon as I started pouring it, which always makes me smile.

Hunter Shiraz often smells to me like dried brown dusty earth, and this is really typical. It's got that lovely dusty, dirty, meaty smell that leads into some toasty vanillan oak, all of which frames a core of sweet/savoury red fruit of exceptional quality. This wine has great "line" and one's experience of it flows smoothly from nose to palate and finish. Intensity of flavour is high, although the wine is only just medium bodied. This wine's structure seems acid-driven. I just can't get over the quality and complex flavour delivered by the fruit in this wine. It's clean and ripe and, although it has a sweet dimension, the wine as a whole remains savoury in its flavour profile.

Drinking well now but I'm certainly going to leave some bottles in the cellar and see how they develop.

I was a bit worried when I first opened the wine as there was some sulphur hanging about, but this blew off quickly, leaving a very clean wine behind.

Update: this wine has opened up further over the course of our meal, with some additional aniseed/medicinal notes emerging. The wine has also developed some weight and intensity in the glass. A really beautiful wine.

Saturday 15 September 2007

Peregrine Pinot Gris 2006

We had a good experience earlier this year visiting the Peregrine cellar door in the Gibbston sub-region of Central Otago. I found the wines to be consistently interesting, and the winemaking displayed a clear idea of style. The aromatic whites, as was the case for me at many cellar doors in Central Otago, seemed especially delicious, so I've been wanting to get stuck into some of the wines that arrived in a recent shipment from the winery. Tonight we have the 2006 Pinot Gris. I'm not a pinot gris fan, in general.

But oh, here we have a pinot gris with actual flavour. Granted, it's not an especially complex flavour, but still. The primary aromas are of crunchy pears and apples, with a slightly herbal (perhaps aniseedy) astringency adding some a non-fruity dimension to the flavour. The palate is graced with bubbly acidity that is fun and suggests the wine would benefit from some food (chicken salad is on its way). The aniseed/herbal flavour is more apparent in the mouth. Some phenolics make themselves felt, adding both mouthfeel and bitterness to the finish, and I think these are well judged. The wine feels a bit hot, but again, I couldn't say it's unbalanced at all.

I'm still not a huge pinot gris fan, but this is certainly a nice wine.

By the way, if you like Peregrine wines, they sell to Australian buyers out of a warehouse in Sydney, at their NZ prices. Just email them for an order form.

Tuesday 11 September 2007

Bannockburn "The Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004

In an attempt to compensate for the explosively faulty Cotes du Rhone, we opened another bottle last night. This Bannockburn wine is apparently a "Dan Murphy exclusive." Mercifully, no brett was apparent, though this wine isn't in a style that I'd describe as especially "clean."

It does, however, possess a clear, bright line of juicy, grape-like fruit that is evident both on the nose and the palate. It's like a cross between black currant and raspberry and, although it's a little one-dimensional, it's certainly tasty. There are darker, dusty savoury notes that frame the fruit, and these take over towards the end of the palate, with a nice tobacco leaf note edging in just as the mild tannins wind up the wine. Balanced acidity adds a little sourness to the flavour profile, in addition to some brightness to the mouthfeel. It's medium bodied, not especially structured, and a nice drop.

As an aside, before this wine, we finished the bottle of Gulf Station Shiraz Viognier, which had been sitting out (cap on) overnight. It had lost a bit of its freshness, and the viognier was showing itself more, with a slight apricot note and a more floral flavour profile. The wine remained good, though, its "sour fruit" profile intact. Interestingly, it overpowered the rump steak with which we had it. It was too bright, too acidic and light.

Monday 10 September 2007

Sunday 9 September 2007

De Bortoli Gulf Station Shiraz Viognier 2005

It's been a relaxing Sunday and I wanted to open something relatively unchallenging to pass the time this evening. I thought this might fit the bill, but I was wrong. It's a much better wine than that. I can't believe this quality for the price (about $16 at Dan's).

On the nose, this wine has a complex, primarily dark flavour profile with a clear but subservient line of bright, sour red fruits and lighter fragrance peeking through, perhaps also some vegetal/stalk notes, which I liked. Mostly, though, it's rich dark berries and cooked meats, showing real density of flavour. Structurally, this wine is strikingly pinot-like, with a most delicious fruit sourness at its medium-bodied core. Sort of like stewed cherries. It's intense and integrated, oak playing but a minor role in the wine's flavour. The finish dries firmly at the very end, due to the fine tannins. It's elegant, intense and delicious.

This wine is fantastic.

Friday 7 September 2007

Lillydale Estate Chardonnay 2006

A couple of bottles of the 2005 were consumed with friends earlier this year, and fun times ensued. I chose this wine to have last night because I thought it would a) be a nice contrast to the Brand's we had earlier, and b) go well with the salmon that my other half was preparing for dinner.

It did go well with the food. We started drinking it, however, on its own, and I found the nose somewhat reticent. Light, fine aromas of white peach and grapefruit emerged, framed by wispy vanilla/oak notes. The palate expands on these flavours, and I found both palate and nose notable for their good flavour integration. Nothing stands out unduly, everything is in balance, though the wine is quite restrained, overall. There's a line of acidity that runs under the palate and is quite firm, without being coarse. With food, the wine's fruit flavours emerged more strongly on the palate, and a rather nice roundness developed, especially of the grapefruity flavours. The oak, if anything, is a bit straightforward but, mercifully, is not hugely assertive either. With some time in glass, a struck match/rotten egg note became more prominent and, for me, distracting. I left some in a glass and, this morning, found the note had receded to an acceptably low level, though it did not disappear entirely.

So, an elegant, cool climate chardonnay that seems well made and has good fruit. Perhaps it was my mood last night, but the wine, though enjoyable, didn't really get me very excited. I kept wanting it to be that bit more expressive.

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Brand's Laira Coonawarra Chardonnay 2005

This wine makes a refreshing change from the lean, mean chardonnays I have been drinking of late. It feels in some ways like a blast from the past, being a much softer style of wine. I used a bit of this in cooking the chicken with cream sauce we had last night, the rest being reserved for drinking with the meal. It disappeared pretty quickly.

The nice thing about this wine is that it is an unashamedly rich, round style of chardonnay that is also in balance. It's just that the balance is completely different from the acid-driven wines that seem to be the new wave in Australian chardonnay. Instead of being aggressively structured and brightly flavoured, this wine is pure peaches and cream smoothness. The nose is moderately expressive and is basically lightly spicy peaches and vanilla cream. Soft and round and slightly sweet. The palate is consistent with this, but much amplified, and adds a caressing mouthfeel to the mix. There are hints of malo butter/butterscotch in there, but these notes are not over the top. At first I thought this wine had traded in all its acid, but in fact it's still there, just in the background, providing a bit of support for the wine's structure. Oak seems to provide body and flavour rather than being the main event.

This is such a nice quaffing wine, and I mean that in the best way. It's well made, with attractive flavours, good balance, and a very high drinkability rating. Our bottle disappeared pretty quickly. But I can imagine someone who preferred a more Chablis style hating this wine. Oh, it's also pretty good value. I think I paid about $15 for this at Dan's.

Monday 3 September 2007

Caledonia Australis Mount Macleod Pinot Noir 2004

I felt like a light red wine tonight, so we opened this little number.

This wine was cheap, about $16, and I wasn't expecting a lot. This wine has turned out to be a serious, though flawed, pinot noir of some interest.

A reticent nose of beetroot and subtle stalk seems to match the wine's transparently orange/red hue. It's in the mouth that this wine takes off. Its flavour is unexpectedly intense, with flagrantly aromatic beetroot and caramel oak leading into confected, slightly overripe berry fruit flavours. A lightly stalky note takes over towards the end of the palate, and the wine finishes in a puckery but not obviously tannic finish.

I like this wine and it's clearly a pinot that aims for sophistication and style. But the wine's flavour profile, specifically its fruit flavour, is slightly odd, and there's lack of integration across each individual component. Acidity in particular seems a bit "out there" with respect to the rest of the wine's structure.

It failed miserably to generate any synergy with the rather beefy meal we had along with it. Oh well.

Peppoli Chianti Classico 2003

Another Chianti Classico, this time from 2003. This was a step up from the Gabbiano we had the other night. The most remarkable difference was in the length of the palate, this wine showing a dry, finely chalky finish that, with the addition of food, extended the length of the fruit flavour most satisfyingly. Speaking of which, the fruit flavour had that nicely savoury, almost raisiny sangiovese varietal character and was very much in balance. This flavour was accompanied by dried herb and floral notes, especially on the nose. Acidity added a pleasantly sour tang to the palate, as well as enhancing the complexity of the mouthfeel. Oak was a subtle flavour influence, barely discernable. Not a worldbeater, and could have used a step up in intensity of flavour, but still, a balanced wine of attractive character.

We sacrificed this wine to some gourmet pizzas and the greasiness of the food was a little overwhelming. A more rustic, less "modern" Chianti Classico would have worked better.

Wednesday 29 August 2007

Irvine Springhill Merlot 2004

Yay, a delicious and quite sophisticated merlot.

On opening, a bit of a fruit bomb, but it quickly reveals its full spectrum of flavours. A lovely leafy note frames this wine's attractive (if rather simple) red fruit flavours. On the nose, there are intermingled aromas of fruit, leaf and cigar box. Green olives are added to the mix in the mouth, and there's lovely acidity to tingle the edges of the tongue, as well as ripe tannins to dry the finish. It's a medium bodied wine that shows good balance and structure. Its fruit flavours a bit simple and flat, though, and I would not describe this wine as one of great depth or complexity. However, for the $16 I paid, you'd be hard pressed to find a wine of this quality.

Tuesday 28 August 2007

Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling 2007

A bit of fresh riesling lovin' last night.

When I was in the Clare Valley during vintage time earlier this year, most of the wineries were open about the difficulties of the 2007 vintage, so I've been curious to try the resultant wines.

Here we have a sprightly young riesling, which opens in lively fashion with estery "fake fruit" smells, sort of a sherbet character. In the mouth, the acidity is present but not at all steely or hard, and the wine's flavours are generous. There's some spritzy CO2 as well. After about an hour, the sherbet overtones disappeared and revealed more classic lime/lemon juice flavours, especially in the mouth.

If a riesling could be a "fruit bomb," this would be one. It's fun to drink and quite flavoursome, "like soft drink" as the other half commented at one point. The flip side of this is that it seems to lack structure and elegance, being somewhat flabby for a young Clare riesling. Its flavours are also a bit simple and one-dimensional. I would not try cellaring this one.

Update: I "found" a glass of this the next day that had been sitting out overnight. Of course I had to taste it. It was actually in quite good shape, and for kicks I left it all day and came back to it in the evening, whereupon it was still holding its structure and fresh flavours. Perhaps it won't fall apart as quickly as I thought.

Sunday 26 August 2007

Two sangioveses

Gabbiano Chianti Classico 2004

I haven't had that many Italian wines but, of those I've tried, I've been struck by their austere structure that practically demands food.

At first, we tasted this wine without food. Colour-wise, it is pretty, not overly dense, quite ruby-like. The nose displays attractive, moderately complex aromas of lightly floral (rose-like) scents, combined with hints of lemon rind. First sips showed a wine of mid-weight, with savoury fruit towards the middle palate that is slightly raisin-like in character. The mouthfeel is dominated by acidity and rustic, rather chunky tannins that dry the finish most puckeringly.

At this point, we started to eat our osso bucco and the wine transformed into a much smoother, more sensual experience. The tannins and acidity melted and the wine's flavours expressed themselves more luxuriously. I must say, it's not the most complex wine I've ever had, but its savouriness is delicious and its character refreshingly un-Australian. I liked it.

Coriole Sangiovese 2006

By contrast, this wine trades savouriness and structure for upfront fruit and opulence. Considerable density of colour. Like the Italian number, this wine displays pretty florals on the nose, but the effect is more like bubble gum than valentine's day, and I was reminded a little of petit verdot. The palate has more in common with the Chianti Classico than the nose, especially with regard to the firm acidity that runs through the wine's line. Tannins kick in right towards the end of the palate and are lightly drying, though not a major presence by any means. It is beautifully made and an excellent value (picked it up for around the $17 mark).

This wine's fruit has a roundness and generosity that is very Australian. It's interesting to contemplate this McLaren Vale expression of sangiovese in contrast to the Italian style. I guess I'm tempted to hold up the Chianti Classico as a benchmark of sorts, but then I look at this Coriole and, with each sip, enjoy its flavour profile very much. I wonder if it's productive to expect Australian sangiovese to emulate the original style, and instead if it's wiser to have regard to the quality of the fruit and winemaking on its own terms.

Yalumba Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2005

This was at 1st Choice for around the $16 mark and, having read some some good notices on the 'net, I picked it up to try. I've been getting into chardonnay lately and remember loving the Yalumba FDW[7c] at cellar door.

What an awesome wine. The aromas on this wine are super funky, and incredibly complex for this price point. Aside from the funky yeasty characters, there's also vanilla and clean fruit smells. The palate continues this theme consistently, the clarity of the fruit and smooth mouthfeel a highlight. Lovely creaminess too. Great balance.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more interesting chardonnay at this price. A repeat buy for sure.

Giesen Pinot Noir 2004

The standard Giesen Sauvignon Blanc has been a standby for us for some time. It's a pretty blatant expression of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, but when you're in the mood for something fragrant and juicy, it's hard to go past, especially at the price. I spotted the Giesen Pinot Noir the other day and decided to give it a whirl in hopes that it would match its white sibling and be a cheap, reliable choice. This 2004 edition is a blend of Marlborough and Canterbury grapes.

On opening, there's a nice burst of stalky aromatics. I know stalks are a bit love or hate in pinot noir, but I happen to like some stalk and so eagerly sniffed some more and got... more stalk. In the mouth, there's (surprise) more stalk, which would be fine except that when the stalk ends (about mid-palate) there's nothing left. The wine is very fruit-light, and I couldn't detect more than a hint of red fruit lurking in there.

We finished half the bottle and left the other half overnight. I've just retasted the wine this evening and the stalk has almost entirely blown off, leaving the wine essentially flavourless. There's a greenish sourness towards the back palate, but otherwise nothing of note.

Very disappointing.

Thursday 23 August 2007

Vasse Felix Shiraz 2004

I remember having this wine at a tasting a few years ago and really liking it. I just opened the 2004 to have with roast beef.

I love how expressive this wine is on the nose -- not at all like the Voyager Estate Shiraz we had a little while ago. Deep black berry fruits mingle alongside herbal edges and toasty, cedary oak. It's a big nose, but not over the top or clumsy. On the palate, there's a bit of tingly fruit sweetness that livens an otherwise dark flavour profile, with more black fruits and a lot of oak. The wine's mouthfeel is thick and chunky, but not clumsy due to its rather sophisticated slipperiness. Very fine tannins provide a drying finish that could do with a few years to mellow out a bit.

For my taste, the wine's showing too much oak at present. But this wine isn't a quaffing wine and one has to accept that, in its youth, it may not drink easily. A lovely full-bodied red wine to sip and think about.

d'Arenberg The Money Spider Roussanne 2004

Something a bit different here, a straight roussanne from the McLaren Vale. As usual for d'Arenberg, the wine has a funky name and attractive label. I must admit, I've never had much luck with d'Arenberg wines, generally. Of course, I've not tasted the whole range, but in the past, my impression has usually ranged from slight to total disappointment.

I had a bit of trouble coming to grips with this wine, perhaps because I'm not hugely familiar with roussanne as a grape but also because I found the style of this wine a little broad and indistinct. The nose offers up a range of muted white stone and lightly tropical fruits, attractive enough, certainly inviting of a sip. In the mouth, I was a bit taken aback initially by the wine's broad, unfocussed mouthfeel, although at the same time attracted by its upfront flavour. There seems to be a fair whack of residual sugar in there, and when you combine this with noticeable phenolics and fairly rough acidity, you get a wine that is mouthfilling and generous, but also unsophisticated and coarse. The fruits become a bit more tropical in the mouth -- I was reminded of tinned pineapple -- and there's no shortage of flavour. I must say, the wine did go well with the chicken/tomato/olive pasta dish we had last night, I think because the wine's body and sugar levels were a good complement to the food's robust, rustic flavours.

At the end of the day, though, there's still a quarter of a bottle left. If you're bored with the "usual" Australian wine styles, this one could be the break you need.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I bought a bottle of this the other day, with a view to determining whether it would be worth putting a few in the cellar. I already have a few 2003s and 2004s tucked away.

This wine just screams Coonawarra cabernet. It opens with that dust-on-leaf note that will be very familiar to anyone who has had a few cabernets from this region. It's funny how familiar, identifiably regional wine smells can be comforting. I find the same thing with Hunter semillon. Anyway, the nose continues with a clear, structured line of flavours, from the dust/leaf through to mulberries, aniseed, menthol and vanilla. The wine's line and flavour profile continues through to the palate in a consistent manner. What's evident in the mouth is the fruit's sweet ripeness, although you could hardly call it a fruit bomb. Instead, the mulberry-like fruit glows brightly within a tight structure of leafiness, savoury spices and oak. Tannins and acid are present, showing the enthusiasm of youth, but well balanced.

It's actually drinking quite well now but the wine seems designed to improve with age. I would hope the rawness of each flavour will mellow and the components further integrate with some extra time in bottle. I think I'll get some to cellar.

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Kilikanoon Medley Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2002

It's a wet, windy night outside, and the boat's rocking a lot more than usual. The perfect night for a generous, warming red wine.

We decided to open this Kilikanoon number, and it turned out to be the perfect selection. It's got this delicious blackberry bush nose, alongside a fair hit of oak-derived vanilla and spice. A little bit of VA enhances the generosity and warmth of the nose. In the mouth, this wine is smooth and full bodied, with a fruit sweet mid palate that leads to a smoothly tannic, toasty vanilla finish. This is not a hugely sophisticated wine, but it's got an attractive spectrum of flavours on display, and it's so giving, flavoursome and warm, it's hard not to love, especially on a stormy night.

Sunday 19 August 2007

Guigal Cotes du Rhone 2003

Really nice wine and a great, cost-effective alternative to mid-level Australian red wines.

Quite an expressive nose of primarily savoury notes (dried herbs and bacon, with some more feral smells hovering at the edges), with brooding black fruits in the background providing weight. On the palate, this wine was initially almost all tannins, very fine and ripe, but overwhelming. After a little while in the glass, this wine showed good balance between its savoury notes, very ripe red and black fruits (almost jammy) and fine tannins. It's nice to drink a cheap wine that displays its primarily savoury profile with pride, rather than shoving slutty ripe fruit to the forefront.

I'd like to see this again wine in a few years' time.

Friday 17 August 2007

Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay 2006

I enjoyed the 2005 vintage of this wine and have, consequently, been looking forward to the release of the 2006. I picked up a bottle on the weekend and eagerly cracked the Stelvin cap last night.

Like the 2005, this wine is at the tight, minerally end of the chardonnay style spectrum. Initially, the nose was quite dumb and I had to work hard to get much out of it. An hour or so in glass helped the wine to open up and deliver tight, shimmery aromas of honeydew melon and creamy vanilla. The palate is where the action lies with this wine, at the moment anyway. This is because the acidity is exceptionally tight and focused, and quite "sizzly" in character. In fact, the quality of the acidity reminded me of the 2005 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling, though perhaps not showing such dominance in the Jaluka, perhaps due to the chardonnay's greater body and weight. In terms of flavour profile, this wine displays fine, tight citrus and melon fruit alongside vanilla cream and roasted nuts, with a spicy oak backdrop. But it's all so tight at the moment, the wine really needs a bit of time to relax and let its flavours express themselves more fully.

I have a few 2005s in the cellar and, on the basis of last night's tasting of the 2006, I'm tempted to get a few of those too. I think, overall, I prefer the 2006. Although very similar wines, the 2006 seems to display an extra edge of intensity, flavour balance and elegance of structure. We had this wine with a creamy pasta dish, and the combination worked well.

Thursday 16 August 2007

Brown Brothers Merlot 2004

The quest for cheap, good red quaffers continues.

I've never drunk huge amounts of merlot before embarking on my value red quest, and the thing that's interesting about merlot, especially at this end of the market, is the enormous variability in style. You get everything from overly-sweet fruit bombs with no structure to characterless "dry red" wines to more structured attempts at elegance and mid-weight.

This Brown Brothers wine is of medium weight, with attractive red fruit framed by very slightly savoury edges. It's not overly structured, although acidity and tannins do a good enough job of framing and supporting the wine's line, and there are no undue peaks or troughs in the wine's flow from front to back palate. The overall impression of this wine, though, is one of dilution, lacking as it does in any real intensity of flavour. This means that, whilst it was an inoffensive partner to the pork chops we had last night, it didn't really add or detract in any way. It is, however, a sound wine and is well balanced. Its flavours are pretty and moreish, and the wine presents as totally dry, without any hint of confected fruit flavour. I just wish there had been more to it.

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Jimbour Station Verdelho 2005

My first Queensland wine, from the Darling Downs region. I figured since I now live in Brisbane, I should acquaint myself with the local product.

Unfortunately, this wine was almost undrinkable. It displays coarse, chalky phenolics that fatten the front palate but create an unpleasantly bitter finish. This, combined with obvious alcohol heat, prevents much fruit flavour from emerging. The only flavours I could detect were a hint of melon (honeydew/rockmelon) on the palate. The phenolics did soften a bit with food and a warmer temperature, but I still wasn't getting much out of the wine from a primary fruit perspective. Amazingly for our household, we drank less than half the bottle.

Very disappointing, especially as it's not cheap (about $16 from the local bottle shop) compared to other, reliable verdelhos (eg Tulloch).

I might try some wines from the Granite Belt region next time.

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Tyrrell's Lost Block Merlot 2006

I'm a bit of a Tyrrell's fan, and my cellar is well stocked with Vat 1s and 9s (amongst others). I also have a few bottles of both vintages (so far) of the 4 Acres Shiraz. As an aside, I shared a bottle of the 2005 earlier this year with some erudite American wine friends and it floored us all, even when tasted alongside many exotic wines from around the world. Such perfume, acidity, elegance and structure. Hunter Shiraz indeed.

The Lost Block Merlot, however, is a rather different proposition. I was at the local bottlo last night, looking for something cheap and cheerful, and out jumped this wine, complete with a "special" tag underneath the row of bottles. So I grabbed it, figuring it would probably be well made at least.

And it is that. I will somewhat sheepishly admit that I guzzled this wine without so much as a second thought, and the wine participated willingly in my endeavour. Only towards the end of the (ostensibly shared) bottle did I tire of the wine's rather confected, overly intense mid and back palate sweetness. Otherwise, it's not a bad quaffer. It has some nice black olive and tobacco notes, and enough acidity to prop the wine up and prevent it from feeling completely flabby. But there's not a hell of a lot of structure here, nor is there much balance, the wine tipped as it is so far into the sweet fruit spectrum at the expense of almost everything else. I don't know if there's a whack of residual sugar here or whether it's just the fruit -- either way, it does become cloying after a couple of glasses, and you'd want to be eating something that balanced this out (pizza perhaps). I had it with a chicken dish that contained tomato and silverbeet but perhaps not enough strength of flavour, acidity and weight to keep the wine under control.

When next selecting a cheap quaffing red, I will probably not revisit this wine. A couple of wines tasted recently, the Mount Pleasant Phillip 2003 and the Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Red 2006, were both much more satisfying cheapies.

Sunday 12 August 2007

Clonakilla Viognier 2005

And I don't even like straight viogniers.

When I tasted this wine at cellar door, I knew it was pretty special, although it's hard to evaluate a wine this good during a brief tasting. I bought a few bottles and the first, shared with my vinous mates from (at that time) Seattle, confirmed the initial impressions. I'm having my second bottle tonight.

The thing with this wine is that it manages to avoid any hint of broadness or vulgarity, despite the inclinations of viognier as a grape. Instead, it's a full, intense, complex white wine. There's a sort of powdery, high toned vanilla sheen that provides a glossy, glamorous entry into this wine's substantial apricot/lightly tropical fruit flavours, as well as a line of the finest acidity that runs through the wine from start to finish. Lovely viscous, slippery mouthfeel that lends extra substance to the wine. It really is gorgeous.

I never know what to pair with viognier, so we had this wine all by itself.

Friday 10 August 2007

Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant 1999

Finally cracked this little baby, a gift from Chris and Dan, open.

I'm loving this wine. It's sensuous and elegant, the sort of wine that rewards slow sipping and contemplation.

An attractive brick red colour of moderate density. There are aromas of rotting flower, red fruits and spice that blend and waft evenly from the glass. The palate continues this theme and delivers its flavours within the context of gentle acidity and resolved, fine tannins. There are a range of secondary flavours in addition to the still-bright primary fruit. This wine shows good intensity of flavour and great balance and elegance. Medium bodied at most, I'm glad to have opened the wine at this point in its life.

Thursday 9 August 2007

Yalumba The Menzies 1996

I remember tasting this wine at a comparative Coonawarra tasting back in 2000, I think. There were 70-something wines on the night, and this was one of the first. At the time, I was struck by the bright, attractive quality of its fruit. I bought a few bottles and tucked them away safely.

I've been meaning to try it the last few years, but somehow never got around to it. Tonight, however, saw me popping the somewhat crumbly cork on a bottle.

On the basis of this bottle, I may have left it too late. Things looked promising as I poured our first glasses, with exciting spicy aromas emerging from the glass on impact. Unfortunately, these spicy, oak-derived flavours are almost totally dominant, as the fruit has receded to nothing and left a dearth of secondary flavour in its wake. That said, the oak displays some complexity, with spice, vanilla and tobacco notes. But the wine shows no balance, and the finish is quite thin and astringent.

I have one bottle of this wine left, and I'm wondering if I should leave this for a while, to let the oak recede and the whole wine to perhaps turn into an altogether subliminal experience.

Monday 6 August 2007

Georges DuBoeuf Fleurie Cru du Beaujolais 2005

Something different to have with baked salmon tonight. This wine has quite a deep colour, slightly dull perhaps, not overly dense, but pretty. The nose is expressive and what I'd describe as "overly pretty." I mean that in a good way. It's floral and sweet and slightly confected and has the sorts of flavours one associates with a packet full of juicy lollies. Really fun. There is a layer of deeper, less confected flavour reminiscent of pinot noir that adds sophistication to the wine. I could continue to smell, and enjoy, this wine for a while.

The palate is a bit of a letdown after the bright nose, and shows harsh, astringent mouthfeel alongside its slightly thin and hot fruit flavours. It is quite acidic and, again, the quality of the acidity is a bit rough and ready. I think this wine would be fantastic with food (we'll soon find out), as it has some rough edges that need to be dulled a little, and the wine filled in a bit.

I'd buy it again. It's fun.

Sunday 5 August 2007

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Johnson's Block 2003

Interesting wine, this one. It's a little ungainly at the moment, but I will be interested to see how the other three bottles in my cellar change over time.

The ingredients for a more harmonised wine appear to be present. The nose is quite forward and fruit-driven. The fruit is bright and has good intensity, if not great complexity. It's mostly raspberries with a bit of blackberry thrown in, both fresh and jammy at once, if that makes sense. On the palate, the fruit again leads the way. Tannins are very much present, not coarse exactly but a little raw at the moment. They are the sort of tannins that ache for time to soften and integrate with the wine. Acidity very much along the same lines. I'm not sure it's worth the price ($30-something) but it's a wine that I will follow with interest, because it expresses personality, and that's something that is worth a lot to me as a wine lover.

Monday 30 July 2007

Dog Point Pinot Noir 2005

Marlborough pinot. I know Martinborough and Central Otago seem to hog the limelight when it comes to NZ pinot, but I reckon Marlborough pinot has its own, very attractive character. It has a very bright, fruit driven flavour profile that manages to be luscious without any hint of "fake raspberry" confection that you find in some Australian pinots.

I reckon this Dog Point Pinot is a good example. It is quite forward and most definitely fruit driven, but what it lacks in (introduced) complexity it makes up for in deliciousness. It's all about the fruit. Bright, red, cherry-like, balancing sweet and sour with finesse. There are wisps of savoury character that frame and support the fruit: a bit of sappiness, a hint of stalk, some light caramel oak influence. Acidity is beautifully judged and fine, noticeable only insofar as it's impossible to ignore how much this wine makes one's mouth water. Most of all, though, you wouldn't want to mask the gorgeous voluptuousness of that fruit, and the winemaking is careful to help it shine. So easy to drink.

Tuesday 24 July 2007

Suckfizzle Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Interesting wine, this one. It's almost like a pastiche of different wines and styles -- not to imply it lacks integrity. It's actually quite delicious in its way.

I was a bit put off by the nose, which is a predominantly meaty and stewy. It's "hot" in the sense of "overcooked," and that's not a flavour profile I tend to go for. The palate, however, is less stewed, medium bodied and has a beguiling silkiness and elegance. The wine rushes over the tongue and has an elegant lightness of touch, without sacrificing intensity of flavour. There's a greenness that almost threatens to become unbalanced, but never quite does, thanks in part to ultra fine tannins that dry the palate without feeling unripe. Most remarkable is an intense sourness that is mouthwatering and is reminiscent of pinot noir.

Sunday 22 July 2007

Clonakilla rieslings

Two Clonakilla rieslings: 2005 and 2002. I retrieved these from the cellar a little while ago and decided to have a vertical tonight. These two vintages were my preferred Clonakilla
Rieslings between the 2002 and 2006 period. We had the 2006 a little while ago and found it a bit blah. Its flavour profile struck me as too broad and its structure somewhat flat.

By contrast, I remember tasting the 2005 at cellar door and remarking on its tightness and relative austerity. The 2002, in the year of its release, was my equal favourite riesling (along with the Mesh of the same vintage). Time to reivisit both and re-evaluate my initial impressions.

We had the 2005 first. I don't think this has developed significantly since release; it still tastes very primary and pretty much as I remember it. It's one of those chalky/floral/mineral rieslings (which I love), bone dry, with a lovely caressing acidity. Much more elegant and interesting than the 2006.

The 2002, by contrast, has started to show aged characters, and they are most attractive. The nose is still quite primary, and fairly subdued, with perhaps just an edge of honeyed sweetness alongside its powdery/floral aromas. The palate is where the age of the wine shows most, characterised as it is by an intense honey flavour. It's a delicious honey flavour ("high quality honey", we agreed) that is prevented from being at all cloying by all the primary flavours that surround it, and the still-zingy acidity that underlies the wine's structure. As the wine sat in glass, the honey flavour morphed into a sort of honey on buttered crumpet flavour that we both agreed was totally delcious. I think we'll be leaving the rest of the dozen a year or so before sampling again.

Wednesday 18 July 2007

Mesh Riesling 2006

Back in 2002, the Mesh Riesling was probably the nicest riesling I tasted all year. I remember having it with Chris and Dan in an Indonesian restaurant in Glebe, along with the Clonakilla Riesling from the same vintage. Both wines were different and beautiful. The Mesh, I recall, had a very distinctive fruit flavour, sort of sherbet-like, that I enjoyed a lot. It was also structured with total clarity and balance. I have six bottles of it in my cellar. I wonder how it's developing?


In lieu of revisiting that vintage of the Mesh, I picked up a bottle of the current release, 2006, at Dan's the other day. Overall, I found it disappointing. Maybe my memories of the 2002 are a little overblown. Anyway, as a wine, it shows that Eden Valley delicacy, the spectrum of flavours tipped squarely to the floral/mineral side, rather than full on citrus juice as per some Clare rieslings. Well balanced, though without the clarity of structure that I find interesting in top rieslings. The acidity, too, was linear and well balanced, but it didn't have much distinctiveness. It would be interesting to contrast this wine with the 2005 Drumborg. Two different styles, but what's instructive is that the Drumborg has some key things that the Mesh lacks -- most of all, it has a clear personality. There's nothing wrong with the Mesh, it just didn't call out to me in a memorable way.

Leasingham Bin 7 Riesling 2000

Somewhat ironically, the riesling I've had most success in cellaring (at least in terms of least bottle variation) is a cheapie: Leasingham's Bin 7. I cracked open a 2000 last night from my stash that has not been raided since near to the wine's original release.

This wine is drinking so well right now. I most love riesling when it has developed a range of aged characters but has not lost the elements that make young riesling so much fun to drink (zingy acidity, cleansing primary fruit flavours). The wines seem to me most complex and rewarding at this stage. The Bin 7 had all this going on, showing complexity and balance across its flavours of lime, honey and toast. The wine's acidity brought everything together, being present and wonderfully linear without any harshness. Just a gorgeous, balanced aged riesling that we drank extremely quickly.

I have a 2001 in the fridge that I'm looking forward to trying.

Update: the 2001 was consumed and turned out to be significantly more developed than the 2000, and less interesting overall. It's losing its acid, fast. I'll be drinking my last two 2001s shortly.

Saturday 7 July 2007

Kooyong Estate Pinot Noir 2004

Mornington Peninsula pinot.

The nose of this wine is strikingly expressive. It's not a wine that sneaks up on you. On initial sniffing, the dominant notes were of caramel oak and spices, with sour red fruits emerging after a few minutes of swirling. Distinctive, savoury and quite beguiling.

My first sip of this was disappointing, the palate not echoing the intensity of the nose. There is a slight hole in the middle palate, and the entry is not as explosive as you might expect, but the finish is what's extraordinary here, with great intensity and complexity flavour. The oak is very much present, but the fruit's sour deliciousness stands up well, creating a distinctive and more-ish flavour profile. The wine's mouthfeel is also notable in its velvet luxury.

Charles Melton Rose of Virginia 2007

This is the first wine I've tasted from the notoriously difficult 2007 vintage. I've had the Rose of Virginia quite a few times and always look forward to revisiting this wine.

When we first opened this wine, it felt a little one-dimensional, with a very attractive but simple floral fruitiness at its core. Over the course of half an hour, the wine rebalanced and opened up to greater complexity. This is a very well-judged wine. On the nose, there's a nice duality between seductively sweet, lifted floral notes and a subtle meaty savouriness. The palate echoes and amplifies this structure, with an entry that is predominantly fragrant/floral, leading to a middle palate that is quite full (owing partly to some residual sugar). The back of the palate is most engaging, with the fruitiness whisked away by more of that savoury meatiness and quite a dry, lightly tannic finish. Refreshing acidity supports the wine and prevents it from being at all cloying.

Really nice wine.

Monday 2 July 2007

Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Red 2006

This wine is seriously cheap. I think we paid about $11 for it at Dan's. The reason I'm writing a note is that it's the sort of wine that the Australian industry has historically done so well at: multi-region, multi-varietal blends in a mainstream style.

The blend is shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and pertit verdot, with the latter contributing its distinctive aroma and flavour of what I experience as darkish bubblegum fruitiness (Hubba Bubba grape flavour, to be exact). The region is listed as "South Australia", but a little digging on the Wirra Wirra website reveals a blend of Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills fruit.

Basically, this is an easy wine; full of flavour, totally unchallenging; but what makes it interesting (and a repeat buy) is that it's not corporate-tasting at all. In fact, it has some personality in its flavour profile, as well as enough structure to reward a bit of contemplative tasting if in the mood. It has a reasonable intensity of flavour (none of that horrible, lolly water taste one sometimes gets from low end wines) and goes well with food (rump steak last night). Basically, a perfect quaffing wine.

I'd much rather drink this if on a budget than a Rosemount Diamond Label, Yellow Tail or equivalent mass produced thing.

Friday 29 June 2007

Tyrrell's Moon Mountain Chardonnay 2006

Cheap chardonnay -- those two words strike fear into the hearts of many. But I'm open minded, especially where a bargain is to be had. Plus, I've really enjoyed the Vat 47 so obviously Tyrrell's knows how to make a good chardonnay.

This one, however, suffers from oak that, whilst not overbearing, is for my taste completely lacking in interest. The rest of the wine is actually quite nice. It's on the fresher side, with lemon and cashew flavours, and refreshing acidity. It is also quite creamy in the mouth, presumably from lees stirring. No malo flavours that I could detect. So in terms of weight, it strikes a nice balance between a new-fashioned lean chardonnay and a butterscotch monster.

But that oak. It's just so boring. It tastes like, well, wood. And, despite the rest of the wine being quite nice, I sort of honed in on the boring wood flavour while drinking, which ruined the wine a bit for me. Still, pretty good value.

Thursday 28 June 2007

Bailey's of Glenrowan Shiraz 2000

If given the choice, I'll usually gravitate towards a more elegant, medium bodied red wine over the more monstrous examples. But sometimes, the food you're eating (in this case a hearty beef stew) calls for something more. So, out came a Baileys of Glenrowan Shiraz.

I opened this wine expecting not to like it, as I've reacted negatively to the flavour profile of North-Eastern Victorian reds in the past. So it was with a good deal of surprise that I found myself latching onto this wine in a most positive fashion.

Perhaps the bottle age helps things along, but I found the wine to be big, but in balance, and surprisingly complex for its price point. It has that distinctive "stewed red fruit" flavour that I often get with warm climate shiraz, and the wine's flavour shows a good deal of spicy oak influence. This translates, especially on the palate, to a lovely mix of hot fruit and spice that, whilst not overly structured, is very generous and quite delicious. I wouldn't call the mouthfeel refined, but nothing poked out unduly, with acid and tannin, as well as alcohol, sitting alongside each other nicely.

This wine has me reassessing my aversion to red wines from this region. I like that about wine. It's constantly surprising and forcing me to question my prejudices.

Wednesday 27 June 2007

Paringa Estate Peninsula Pinot Noir 2005

Another cheap pinot, this time from the Mornington Peninsula.

The style of this wine is pretty oak-driven, which is no doubt a conscious decision, but that does challenge my notion of the sort of young pinot I'd like to drink. A relatively expressive nose of overripe strawberries and spices is followed by more of the same on the palate. But, for my taste, the fruit recedes too far, structurally, with the oak dominating rather than framing the pinot fruit's (attractive) character. Intensity of flavour was only moderate, an impression perhaps created due to the wine's structure (I kept wanting the fruit to creep forward just a bit more than it did). Over the evening, the wine did balance out a little, and developed some extra complexity, but was still pretty oakey.

I liked this a lot more than the Tamar Ridge from the other night, because its flavour profile struck me as more delicious, but I shall continue to search for an inexpensive pinot that suits my tastes.

Monday 25 June 2007

Two cheap Hunter reds

I put together a fairly inexpensive dozen the other day, and in amongst it were two Hunter shirazes from the 2003 vintage. We had them back to back so they were easy to compare.

Tyrrell's Stevens Shiraz 2003

Fuller bodied than a lot of Hunter shiraz but certainly a wine of its region. The flavour profile on this wine is a notch darker than a lot of shiraz from this area, perhaps owing to the drought affected vintage. I found the nose quite dumb, with a whiff of dark fruits and barnyard. It's on the palate that this wine hits you, with concentrated dark fruit flavours of the most attractive purity (sort of blueberryish), along with regional flavours of dirt and stink. Nice acidity and tannins, nothing out of balance. A chunky yet sophisticated wine in the mouth, substantial and slippery at the same time. Really enjoyed this one, it has a lot of personality.

Mount Pleasant Philip 2003

This wine is in what I understand to be a more traditional Hunter shiraz style, in that it is medium bodied, with bright red berry flavours placed within a predominantly savoury flavour profile of dust/dirt and barnyard. Really very aromatic and expressive, this wine is totally consistent from nose to palate. I think this wine showed more complexity than the Stevens (pretty awesome considering it's half the price), without perhaps the same concentration of flavour. I loved it. Usually the Philip is a bit lame but this one is great.

Tamar Ridge Pinot Noir 2004

I've been having pinot noir cravings of late, and have realised that my cellar has barely a drop. So I went to Dan's a bought a couple of budget offerings, hoping to get a bit of pinot love at little cost. Unfortunately, the De Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot Noir, which I know and enjoy, has come off its super discounted price point, making it no longer an impulse buy for me.

So instead, we have the Tamar Ridge Pinot. If ever one wanted to illustrate the concepts of line, structure and coherence, this would be a good wine to taste -- so that you know what a lack of all these things means. Initially, I was happy to enjoy a whiff of varietally correct pinot fruit (that curious sweet/sour berry/cherry taste that's hard to describe but easy to recognise). But I quickly realised that there's nothing holding this wine together - it's a mix of flavours with no theme. The wine doesn't tell any sort of story from nose to palate, it just presents as a series of discrete sensations, none of which are grossly unpleasant (good fruit, oak in balance, slightly harsh but not awful acidity, somewhat rustic tannins), all lacking a sense of context.

A blah experience and, as I mentioned before, a good lesson in how those "intangibles" can make or break a wine.

Thursday 21 June 2007

Tintara Shiraz 1998

I keep expecting these wines I'm dragging from the cellar to be corked or faulty, but I seem to be having a good run so far.

I bought this wine years ago in Canberra as I wandered through a large wine shop in one of my periodic buying frenzies.

A very dense purple red colour. Initially on the nose, a clean burst of concentrated blueberry fruit was pretty dominant. I've been swirling a bit, though, and a real complexity of flavour is developing, mostly oak-related. The fruit is still lovely and clean, but there are well integrated spice and mocha flavours too. Some alcoholic sweetness at the edges.

The palate is similarly concentrated and lip-smacking, and the wine has a clearly defined structure. Tannins are present but not overwhelming by any means (they will probably melt away as I tuck into my steak in a few moments). This wine is generous and attractive in its flavour profile, and not unsophisticated in its own way. This is the sort of big red wine that I enjoy.

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

I had a fresh one of these (2004) the other day and it was quite nice, albeit somewhat boring, with good varietal definition and a pleasant structure.

I'm not sure about this one, though. On opening, the wine reeked of VA and tasted of camphor. I left the glass for a while and came back to it, whereupon it had changed to show dusty cabernet fruit flavours and chocolate/vanilla oak. In the mouth, the wine has (to my taste) an unpleasantly thick feel, mouthfilling but in a coarse way. Structurally, the wine strikes me as pretty one-dimensional. It's not a bad wine, just stylistically far from the sort of cabernet I'd like to drink.

Monday 18 June 2007

Chateau Labergorge 1994

Margaux, Cru Bourgeois from what I can figure out. This wine was a gift from friend Larissa and, as she was in Brisbane last night for work, I decided to bring it along when we caught up with her for dinner.

First glass felt a little fruit-light, with aromas and tastes of stalk and caramelly oak predominating. Finish was a little drying too, although tannins were very refined. As we progressed through the meal (and the bottle), the wine opened up and the middle palate filled in with lovely soft red berry fruits. Medium bodied, with an overall impression of well structured softness. Nice wine.

Friday 15 June 2007

Glen Fiona Syrah 'Puncheon-Aged' 1999

My first Walla Walla syrah, courtesy of Chris and Dan.

Really funky yeast characters on the nose, sweet flowers and a bit of VA, the combined effect being sort of like sewage. Nice sewage, though, and quite restrained overall. The palate is more assertive, helped along by velvety tannins that caress and flow over the tongue. Very much fruit driven at this stage, and the fruit itself is attractive in character, if slightly bubblegumish. Medium bodied, balanced acidity, extremely moreish, the mouthfeel a highlight.

Two aged reds

I'm trying to drink my cellar down at the moment, as the wine storage fees are a little excessive, and there's wine lying all over the boat. So, last night, in the name of good housekeeping, we had:

Ridge Geyserville 1994

This is the last bottle from the amazing Chinatown buyout Chris, Dan and myself effected a few years ago. I can't remember how many bottles we ended up buying, but I do know the last two bottles opened were very much over the hill, showing overwhelmingly unpleasant oxidised characters. So I didn't have very high hopes for this bottle.

What a wonderful surprise, then, to see a bright, not-overly-dense ruby red colour pour into my glass. Good start. The nose showed complexity and balance, flavours tending towards dusty, leathery sourness (the other half chimed in with "radishes!", which pretty much nails it). The palate delivered more of the same, plus the last vestiges of distinctive zinfandel fruit flavours, and, susprisingly, a light dusting of fine tannins. Very much in balance, lots of flavours swirling around in there, like some sort of beautiful yet sad last gasp.

Brands Coonawarra Shiraz 1998

Quite a different beast, this one. It's ageing quite well, but is a considerably younger wine, the balance of flavours still tipped more heavily towards fruit compared to the Ridge. I remember this wine being really enticing as a youngster, with that lovely clear, elegant fruit flavour profile that Coonawarra shiraz tends to have. So there's definite aged complexity developing, and the mix of flavours is relatively well balanced, but compared to the Ridge there's a clumsiness to this wine, a coarseness, that relates in particular to its structure, and perhaps to its mouthfeel also. Still, for less than $20 when purchased, not a bad performance. I have one of these left and will probably drink it soon.

Thursday 7 June 2007

Two young reds

Had two very different wines last night with a chicken and haloumi salad.

Ravensworth Sangiovese 2005

A fun wine with a good whack of moderately varietal fruit flavour. I do enjoy the distinctive savouriness of sangiovese and it seems that Australian versions never quite have enough of it. They are usually so "shirazified" they end up being quite different from Italian wines. Maybe that's the point. Anyway, this one had enough of a savoury edge to bring a smile to my face. Medium bodied overall, relatively fragrant, not terribly structured but who cares?

Voyager Estate Shiraz 2003

Completely different wine. This one was very tightly wound; it's one of those wines that tastes like you're sensing everything from behind a thick veil. It's all there, but not expressing itself much. Quite nice coffeed oak frames dark fruits and a solid line from nose to back palate. Tannins and acid seem in balance, and the wine's mouthfeel is smooth, considering how tight the wine is. I still have about 1/3 of a bottle left and will try it again tonight to see how it's evolved.

Thursday 24 May 2007

Petaluma Riesling 1999

On release, this was "the one," the wine that got me hooked.

Last bottle. Of the several that I cellared, only two have been in good condition, this being one of them. A shame in a way, as I wanted to have this in the company of Chris and Dan. As it happened, the one I brought with us to the Clare was corked.

In any case, this one was great. Like the last bottle (consumed last November at Thanksgiving time), this one was drinking at its peak, with a superb balance of aged characters versus residual signs of youth. The mouthfeel reminded me of apple juice in its clarity and cleanliness. A delicious aged Clare riesling.