WINE OF THE WEEK

Francoise & Denis Clair Cotes de Beaune Village 2009

Following on from our All The Pinots tastings a good friend had their 40th Birthday. So naturally a bottle of Burgundy was the order of the day. The heart of Burgundy is known as the Cote d'Or (Golden Slope) and this wine could be sourced from anywhere in the Southern part known as the Cote de Beaune (Slope of Beaune) with Beaune historically being the major town in that part of the region.
2009 is widely regarded as one of the best vintages ever and with wines like this flying the flag it is hard to argue the point.



No contention with this Beaune.

This wine embodies the best parts of Pinot Noir, Burgundy and specifically the Cotes de Beaune style. Very perfumed cherry and raspberry, roses and violets, with a stoney, spicy and gamey depth. The palate is silky with hints of lavender. The oak tannins are soft and the acidity brings the whole wine together. There is a nice savoury undertone to the whole wine that makes it great with food. It went well with Mezzo's wild boar ravioli and prawn risotto.

Overall this is a great wine for Burgundy lovers and those trying to get their head around the style of the region. Whatever your knowledge level it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

$42ea cheaper for quantity. philip@thewinedepository.com.au

All The Pinots Tasting @ Mezzo 25/08/12

Some of All The Pinots.

Given there has been some glimpses of Spring Silvio and I thought we'd celebrate with a tasting of All The Pinots. Well, we got most of them. Blanc, Gris, Noir, Meunier in various wine guises including sparkling, white, red and sweet.

With somewhat Spring like weather, Mezzo's wonderful canapes and a room full of eager Pinot lovers we commenced the tasting. You can see my notes on the Pinot family and order form here.

Pinot Blanc from North Eastern Italy.

Overall it was a great tasting with some lovely wines. The general theme that linked all the wines together was the textural complexity that all the wines had and the elegance - everything in moderation and harmony. This made these wines almost too drinkable especially when paired with the food. Lucky the tasting only went for 1.5 hours!

First Pinot of the bunch was Chanter's Ridge Sparkling Pinot Noir from Macedon. A beautiful expression of Pinot's cherry, rose petal and red berry fruits. Plenty of depth and nice structure and quite dry. A great fizzy and refreshing way to kick off the tasting. A great wine for starting a meal.

The next Pinot we picked was Cantina Valle Isarco Pinot Bianco DOC 2011. Flying the flag for Pinot Blanc or Weissburgunder as it is labelled. The most shy and reserved of all the wines, it showed floral notes, pears and a hint of spice and mineral. It did have a wonderful mouthfeel and really sang when I could flag down some of Mezzo's canapes. A brilliant wine for matching with shellfish, white meats and creamier pasta and risotto dishes.



Trimbach was amazing!

To complete the whites we had two Pinot Gris/Grigio wines. Both being the same grape variety but showing the stylistic differences it can achieve. Celestial Avenue 2010 was light, fresh and simple with pears, and a hint of stonefruit, citrus and a doughy note. Celestial is perfect for chilling down and drinking in the warm weather with or without food. Trimbach Reserve 2007 was another story altogether. A lot of depth, concentration and complexity. Trimbach showed a lot more fruit complexity, perfume and minerality at the core. The mouthfeel was divine and despite its concentration it was very clean and savoury on the finish. Yum! Suited to many styles of food I do have fond memories of a fun night eating chilli crab and Trimbach Pinot Gris.


Star of the show?

The reds started with the wonderful Pegeric Pinot Noir 2008. A celebration of Pinot's lovely savoury side, plenty of wet earth and undergrowth to balance the primary red fruits and floral characters. It has great texture and silk on the palate, it was by far my favourite of the wines. Not sure if it will get better in the bottle but there is no need to find out when it drinks so well now. This would match well with gamey dishes like Mezzo's wild boar ravioli, lighter red and white meat dishes or nothing at all. Clearly I wasn't the only fan as it sold well and Paul from Pinot Post couldn't wait to feature it on his blog.

The second red was an Australian classic, Best's Pinot Meunier 2011. This wine was from their young vines and was lovely for its simple, red fruits, floral notes and crisp, crunchy palate. I am not an expert on varietal still red wines made from Meunier but this is guaranteed to charm any Pinot lover! Easy drinking on its own or with light meals, could even be served a bit chilled in the warmer months.
The final wine of the tasting was Pegeric's Late Picked Pinot Noir 2008. It was interesting watching people reaction when the wine wasn't golden in colour or cloying in taste. It was late picked in the   proper sense meaning that it was before botrytis set in so the wine is still delicate, perfumed and refreshing with only a hint of sweetness that is well balanced by the other characters in the wine. This was delicious drink that would pair well with fresh fruits and lighter style deserts.

Next month there will be no tasting as there is some sort of pagan celebration on the last Saturday of September. However October will see us showing the very best of Sparkling wines from around the world to celebrate Spring. Email me to be kept up-to-date.

Also keep an eye out for Mezzo's Northern Italy Dinner. Silvio and his team will take you on a journey through the food and wines of this beautiful part of the world.With four courses and 10 wines you guaranteed to have a good time. Email Silvio for more information.

A Decade Of TarraWarra @ The Point

After a recent trip to the cellar door I was quite excited to hear that TarraWarra was hosting a ten year vertical tasting showing off their flagship Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with some of their other releases. 

First up was the Marsanne Roussanne Viognier blends. As a rule these blends have never excited me even in the Rhone Valley where this classic blend calls home. The 2010 was excellent, a great vintage that made a floral, peachy, nutty drink with spice and dough notes. The palate was creamy and silky quite clean with a hint of savouriness and a lanolin finish. 2009 was from a hot vintage and looked a bit cooked and bitter but the 2008 from a cooler and more elegant year showed great oystershell, spice and peach. It has a great mouthfeel with candied red fruits a hint of white pepper and good length.

Next table along provided 12 Chardonnays to taste. The entry level Estate from 2010 - youthful, minerally/flinty, nice bit of stonefruit with great mouthfeel and hint of oak and 2008 showing a lot of vibrant, rich fruits and a creamy, vanilla bean palate. The Reserve spanned vintages from 10, 08, 06, 05, 04, 02, 01, 00. It was an amazing exercise. 2010-2004 all showed amazing depth and purity, while really celebrating the vintage variation. Moving to 2002 was the first hint of real development in the wines and 2001 and 2000 looking like good old fashioned Chardonnay with some age. Finally we had  MDB Chardonnay which is a selection from the best vineyards made in only the very best years. I tasted the elegant, restrained, zesty and vibrant 2010 and the Flinty/mineral, lean and clean 2006. It was seriously good Chardonnay on this table.

Pinot Noir the third table and I have to say I lost my nerve a bit. That and I was running out of time. I tried two vintages of the Estate the fabulous 2010 - so vibrant but savoury and lovely. The 2008 was deeper and dark with just a hint of bitterness. Quite enjoyable but at the other end of the spectrum. I tasted four vintages of the dark fruited, undergrowthy Estates 10, 08, 06, 04 or which 06 was the most impressive with its extra level of blood orange and meaty/olive notes. And the 2006 MDB Pinot offered the same style but with more red fruits, silky, balance and loveliness.

To wrap up the tasting was the Merlot and Shiraz. Short of time or not I intended on tasting all of these wines as I knew how good they are! Their 2009 got me excited about Australian Merlot and the 2010 takes it to the next level. These are seriously impressive wines. The J-Block Shiraz was brilliant and vibrant with depth and elegance. Great mineral notes and compelling drinking.

All in all a great tasting, surprising that the Chardonnay stood out so tall but my stars were the Merlot and Shiraz.

Wine of the Week

Bouscasse Madiran 2009

Gotta a whole lotta South West France love! Since the weather is still cold what better for you than a corset of tannins that is like a hug in a wine glass? Dark, minerally, hint of oak - somewhat reminiscent of Hunter Valley Shiraz. Nutty, smokey/flinty, nice acidity, silky and dense. Great wine!

A case of label imitating wine!

Madiran makes reds from Tannat, Cabs Sauvignon and Franc and local variety Fer Servadou. These are seriously tannic wines, easily outstripping all contenders for this title. Despite the structure these wines remain elegant, complex and balanced. They are admirable additions to your cellar without having to pay Bordeaux Cru pricing!



Stunning South West.

The main variety of Madiran; Tannat makes darkly coloured wines with monstrous tannins but with underlying depth and complexity. Madiran is obviously Tannat’s happy place judging by the wines.  Tannat is a troublesome variety prone to reduction which causes burnt rubber and onion like aromas in the final wine. This was the inspiration for developing the micro oxygenation technique which is now used worldwide in wine production. (And infamously lampooned in Mondovino).

For more information on the South West France you can see my previous blog posts.

$39ea cheaper by the dozen or off TWD's South West offer.

South West France Lunch at Maha 30th July 2012

One of the occasional perks of this job is a long lunch. Sometimes you get the added bonus is great company and wines that you find compelling. I definitely hit the jackpot at this event!

I'm a huge fan of the wines of Bordeaux but often find them just above my comfortable spending level for all but special occassions and those I can afford generally still need a year or 5 in the cellar to show their best. This event allowed me to cast my eyes further South and taste some interesting wines from Cahors and Madiran.




The main regions of the South West of France.



South West France is used as a cover all descriptor for the fragmented regions between Bordeaux and Languedoc. Depending on the laws of each region the wines might be red, white, rose or even sweet. They may be made from the noble varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah or from 'lesser' varieties like Malbec (aka Cot aka Auxerrois), to the downright unsual Tannat, Petit or Gros Manseng or Petit Courbu. For more information on the area and its wines and producers check out TWD's South West France Offer or better still why not book into our Introduction to South West France tasting? Email for more details or see TWD's website.

Quality is as fragmented as the regions laws and location. But today we had some stunning wines from two producers, local anti-hero Alain Brumont who Andrew Jefford describes the South West's very own Citizen Kane who has built up quite an empire of beautifully run estates including Montus and Bouscasse. We also tasted the much more amiable wines from the Verhaeghe family's du Cedre.

Maha put on a shared feast of delightful food and we were off.

Alain Brumont Gros Manseng & Sauvignon Blanc 2011 A great introduction to the tasting! Fleshy and exotically fruited with a lovely textural palate. Blending the familiar flavours of Sauvignon with the decidedly unknown quantity that is Gros Manseg. Overall a very enjoyable quaffing style white.

Chateau Bouscasse Pacherenc Sec 2008 100% Petit Courbu (first time I have knowingly tasted Courbu big or small!). I loved this wine's ripe and flavoursome outlook. Peaches and apricot kernel. Quite full and silky finish. Quite complex and very enjoyable.
 
Chateau du Cedre Cahors 'Heritage' 2009 90% Malbec, 10% Merlot. This wine showed dark fruits, while being light, fresh and a hint herbal. Some grippy fruit tannins were evident with some spice and cardomom notes. A great entry level to the reds of the region for drinking now.



Du Cedre Cahors.

Chateau du Cedre Cahors 'Chateau' 2008 More brooding, dark, with hints of red fruits, smoke and mineral and blood oranges. Dry and lovely but packs a fair whack of tannic power. 90% Malbec, Merlot and Tannat 5% each. Drink now or leave for a few years.

Chateau Bouscasse Madiran 2009 Jumping now to Madiran where Tannat rules the roost. 65% Tannat, 25% Cab Sauv, 15% Cab Franc. Dark, minerally, hint of oak - somewhat reminiscent of Hunter Valley Shiraz. Nutty, smokey/flinty, nice acidity, silky and dense. Great wine! I love it now but it will improve with another 5 + years laying down.

Chateau Montus Madiran 2009 Dark, dense, smoke, hint red, hint floral, ash, complex, plummy and prunes. The palate was sweetly fruited, hint of aniseed, dense and silky with nice balance and savoury elements. 80% Tannat 20% Cab Sauv.


A wine that was set to stun. Delicious.

Chateau Montus Madiran 'La Tyre' 2009 Only made in the best years, this was seriously impressive. Minerals, red fruits, smokey oak, spice, fruit tannins and very elegant. Dark, great balance and a hint bitter. This is just a baby but is a must try wine if you want to see the potential of the region.

Chateau du Cedre Cahors 'Le Cedre' 2007 100% Malbec. Toasty, Bordeaux like, earthy, dry stems, flesh, silk, vibrant, long and nicely balanced. Like the Le Cedre this is seriously impressive and shows off Cahors' best suit. Lovely drinking.

Chateau Bouscasse Pacherenc doux 'Les Larmes Celestes' 2010 100% Petit Manseng which has been late harvested but not affected by botrytis. This has a similar flavour profile to the Pacherenc sec (not surprisingly!) but is medium sweet and quite lush. Brilliant drinking with lovely refreshing acid to keep it clean and tidy.



Les Larmes Celestes - Lovely sweeter wine for those that enjoy finesse!  

Chateau du Cedre Vin de Liqueur 2010 100% Malbec. This is like a mini Port. There is less alcohol and sugar which makes it perfect for ending a meal and there is just enough spirit and structure to tackle cheese or savoury dishes but enough sweetness and vibrancy to match with chocolatey desserts.

Loujan Bas Armagnac Normally I avoid spirits as they are my Krytonite. This was lovely though. Nice perfume, quite elegant and really well balanced. Great way to warm up before heading out into the chilly Melbourne afternoon.

Bring A Bottle Night @ Matteo's 06/08/12

Twice a year everyone in our group digs into their own cellar to share something special. Each wine has to be 10 years old and European. They are all served blind and it is up to each of us to guess the wine after being given a series of options. Not surprisingly we call this game "options".

The most recent event was filled to the brim with excellent wine. As always there was some very generously shared wines that made it a special experience. Unfortunately my guessing was thoroughly wrong apart from the odd success. But I only get to drink wines like this at nights like this so I'll happily get them all wrong for that cause!

The first step of any excellent wine night always involves a magnum of Champagne, Agrapart Mineral Blanc de Blancs 2005 did the trick nicely. From the Grand Cru village of Avize and made in the 'Extra Brut' style (meaning it contains almost no residual sugar). Dry and chalky but with a serious weight of fruit and power to it. Like the best Champagne from growers this is an impressive wine that happens to be fizzy. It did get a bit grating towards the end of the second glass but I believe in another 5-10 years this will be just gorgeous.


Young, dry Champagne. It will grow into a beautiful swan!

Sadly our first wine was NQR - Raveneau Chablis Premier Cru Montee de Tonnerre 2001. Bummer! I really love Raveneau and I tasted this wine many years ago and it was lovely. Thankfully someone happened to have a bottle of Albert Bichot Domaine Long Depaquit Chablis 2009 that their favourite wine merchant had sourced for them and gallantly volunteered it for tasting. So lean and pure with a long of green apple crunchy underneath the slatey/white stones and floral notes. Young and looking more so due to the age of the rest of the wines but extremely enjoyable for drinking now but would round off in 5 or so years.

I provided the only other white Domaine Baumard Savennieres 'Trie Speciale' 2000. Followers of my ramblings will know of my fondness for Chenin Blanc from the Loire and Baumard is one of the best in my opinion. This wine was floral, sweetly herbaceous, clean and vibrant with a hint of botrytis like tropical fruit and maramalade. The palate was nice and clean with a steely mineral streak through the core, good fleshy fruit and nice silk. Yum. Went really well with my Tempura of Bamboo Funghi which I enjoyed immensly despite its vegetarian-ness.

Into the reds next. And what a line up.

Jean Grivot Vosne Romanee Les Beaux Monts 1er 98 Minty, red/blue fruits, aniseed, hint herbal, vibrant, meaty, limestone and Asian spice. There was a high amount of acid, purple fruits and fine tannins to the dry palate. I thought it was Barbaresco. It was enjoyable but it is looking at its peak now.

Laurent Roumier Clos de Vougeot 2001 Toasty, savoury, undergrowth, mineral/stones, meaty, fungi, hint of sulphide, seeds and currants. It was dense and curranty with a nice softness. This vineyard is often talked down for various reasons and I can't help but feel in less impressive company this would have stood up more.

Domaine Dujac Clos de la Roche 2001 This is a wine we tasted at Matteo's on release many, many years ago (we tasted the big three Dujac Grand Cru's on that night). I remember it was impressive that night and impressive on this tasting too. Smoke/soot, spice, earth, floral, purple fruits, clay almost terracotta like notes. It was silky with tart red fruits, smoke/soot, meaty and a mineral streak. I wrote 'lovely' as my last note. It sure was!

Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 2000 This is another wine that has graced our tables numerous times (not always this vintage). Cakey, chocolate, smoke and ironstone, bacon fat and floral. Soft, clean, silky with good finesses. I really enjoyed this wine, not least because I picked it as Hermitage before the options were given!

Faiveley Mazis Chambertin 1996 At this time Faiveley were making unashamedly muscular and tannic wines for long term storage. I tasted the 1995 at one of my Burgundy on Boxing Day rituals. Sadly that did not help me. Mineral, herbal, stoney, hint sappy and crushed ants like. The palate was rich, silky, dense with plums and a herbal note. I love the Faiveley wines, this was one of the best I've tasted.



Hermitage at its best.

Delas Hermitage 1983 This came from one of the most impressive wine cellars in Australia. Although I've never been it sounds like an Aladdin's cave of wine goodies. Floral, herbal, manure, soot, stones, earth, slate, a hint of B.O. and floral notes. Dense, curranty, smoke, boney, lean and tight despite its age. Yum!

Chateau d'Issan Margaux 2000 Dry, spice, meat, game, baked earth. Very Bordeaux like (which is great when you trying to guess what it is!!!), red currants and floral notes. Dry spicy, spiney, light floral. This wine actually was very reminiscent of Margaux.

Chateau Smith-Haut-Laffite Pessac Leognan 1996 Dry, coffee, tea leaf, undergrowth and wet leaves. The palate was ripe, red and silky maybe even erring towards overripe? Plums and prunes evident too. There was a lean acid spine to balance the ripeness, plenty of oak tannins and it was really long. Looking really good for its age and ready to be drunk.

Chateau Leoville Barton St Julien 1996 A lot of my best Bordeaux experiences have been wines with Barton on the label. This was seriously impressive. Pure, pristine, currants, spice, delicate and chocolate. Fleshy, silky, meaty, firm and driven. This tasted young, extremely young and still had plenty of mid-palate fat. Wow!


Behold! The line up in all it's glory.... and Dave's arm...

Barbeito 20 year old Malvasia was an inspired Port substitute. Full of delicious nutty, coffee, caramel notes. Madeira is a great drink and one every wine lover should get to know..

There was also a glass of Bindi Composition Pinot 2010 which showed beautifully aromatic and fragrant much to my relief as my last tasting experiences it was awfully disappointing. And a glass of Craiglee Shiraz Viognier 2000 while the rest of the crew tucked into a glass of Whiskey.

I'm not sure if you can have too much good wine in one night, but we are certainly pushing the limits to find out!