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.

Italian Varieties in Australia Tasting @ Mezzo Restaurant 28/07/12



The place to be on this cold afternoon.

Having done quite a focus on Italian wines over the last few months, I thought it was time to bring it closer to home and show some Australian interpretations of Italian varieties. Teaming up with Silvio at Mezzo Restaurant we selected seven wines from interesting Australian producers making excellent examples of Italian varietals. The team at Mezzo put on a spectacular spread of food and so all we needed is some willing participants! On a cold and rainy Melbourne afternoon we were warm inside Mezzo munching on amazing wild boar ragu, mussells, arancini and salmon tartare and sipping on some Australian wine gems.
You can see the notes I made for the tasting and if you are keen the order form is here.

The challenge for those who attended.

Three whites and four reds was the assignment. We started off with a new wine from the Chalmers Heathcote Vineyard Montevecchio Bianco 2011. A field blend of Vermentino, Fiano and Moscato Giallo this wine was crisp, clean and dry with nice amount of yellow fruits, floral notes, grapiness and citrus. Perfect for uncomplicated but satisfying drinking. Next up was Mac Forbes Arneis 2010. From the Yarra Valley, this Arneis showed all the hallmarks of great examples of the style; lovely aromatics, textural mouthfeel and clean finishing. It was very hard to have just one glass of this wine (luckily I got to take home the 'dregs'). The final white was the Freeman Fortuna Pinot Gris Plus 2010 a wine that manages to straddle the rich and textural side of Gris while avoiding oily/cloying characters. Melons, grapes, fleshy stone fruits and a nice hint of spice. The addition of small amounts of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Aleatico seem to be a masterstroke!


Me (Phil) setting up. So much romantic screwcap crackle!

While the whites were well received the red bracket was definitely the favourite of those who attended. We tasted Montevecchio Rosso 2011, also from Chalmers' Heathcote vineyard this was a field blend, containing Shiraz (yes there is some Shiraz in Italy), Lagrein, Nero d'Avola and Sagrantino. It was spicy, red fruited, mid weight and a hint savoury. Nice easy drinking and really showed well for the price. Staying  in Heathcote we tasted Greenstone Rosso di Colbo Sangiovese 2011. The Greenstone story is fascinating to hear but the wines are just delicious! This is their entry level Sangio and it had all of the cherry, earthy and hint of meat and oak characters with the clean and dry elements celebrated in Chianti. This is an excellent wine! Building up in weight we went to Freeman Secco 2008, made in the style of Valpolicella and Amarone this uses Rondinella and Corvina grapes that are run through a prune dehydrator to concentrate the flavours (Amarone use an air drying process to achieve a similar result). There was plenty of red and blue fruits, a full weight in the mouth but a nice freshness and great balance with the acid and tannin elements and a dry finish. Finally we had a variety that I think has a lot of potential for Australia Beach Road Aglianico 2010. Beach Rd make a great range of Italian varieties from Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale, This is one of their best (in my opinion). I've recently been getting excited by Aglianico and this offers a lot of their big red and black fruit, leather notes, spice and a herbal edge. Nice palate length and very drinkable.

This is one of the most interesting tasting I've hosted as all these wines were so different from what we normally taste in Australia. There was almost a dead heat between the last three reds for most popular wine with Mac Forbes Arneis following close behind. Thanks to those that came out and hopefully we can top this tasting next month.

Matteo's Dinner 06/02/12 - Bring A Bottle Night

One of the highlights of the year is Patrick's Bring A Bottle Night. Not to take away from his hard and inspired work of assembling wines of a theme and quality suitable for our demanding palates, but on this night everyone pulls out all stops to bring a bottle of incredible quality.

We did have a few corked/NQR wines this night. However, in the past, we've had an unbelieveably good strike rate.

The rules are simple:
* Each person brings one bottle.
* This bottle is least 10 years old and from a classic European Region.
* Each wine is served blind. Only the convener of the night knows all the wines.
* Each wine is guessed using the 'options' game.
* A good night is had by all.

This night we indulged in...

Larmandier Bernier Brut Tradition NV Champagne Still my go to Champagne when I have the luxury to drink it. Floral, good stone fruits, plenty of chalky/minerally/stoney notes. Great balance on the palate. Opens up with time in the glass as it gets warmer. Delicious. All hail the king of the growers!

Josmeyer Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes 1997 Alsace Smells lovely. Floral, lime, pure, crystalline, talc, banana skin, dry and savoury.
The palate is lean with nice mouthfeel, very clean, hint oxidised on the finish.  A great drink.

Muller Caroir Haatdter Burgergarten Riesling Trocken 2000 Pfalz Spice, peaches, melons, floral and lime. Just a whiff of liquid paper (but in a good way if that makes sense?).
Zesty, dry, citrus icypole. Less body than the Josmeyer but really refreshing.

Dr Burklin Wolf Ruppertsberger Geisbohl Riesling Spatlese 1970 Pfalz Really rich. Crab meat like, peppermint, toasty, minerally/stoney, buttery.
A lot of richness on the palate. Hints of botrytis, honey, creme brulee and spice. Looking really good for its age.
Incidentally I tasted this wine with Patrick about 9 years previously as a young, timid and beardless wine sales assistant. It tastes better than I remembered then.

Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape 1999 Rhone Valley This was my wine. I smelt it in my initial run through and thought, "Gee I hope that isn't mine". D'Oh!!!! It was stale, that is all I can say. It wasn't corked. Didn't seem oxidised. It was just stale. I have tasted this wine previously and it was stunning. As James Halliday once said, "There are no great old wines. Just great old bottles."

Rayas Pignan Chateauneuf du Pape 2001 Rhone Valley Stoney, red fruits, floral, compost, zesty. Perhaps a hint of brett? (what is brett?)
Silky, meaty/bretty, vibrant fruits, dry leaves, pickles. A really enjoyable wine from a great producer.

Sassacaia Bohlgeri 2000 (update 26/3/12 thank you anonymous) Tuscany The initial offering of a Barolo was corked. So our generous donator went and sourced a bottle of Super Tuscan to fill in our line up. Frustratingly, I did not write down the vintage. I shall find it and correct this error!
Bananas, vibrant, liqueur fruit compote, caramelly oak.
Rich, ripe, vibrant, jelly fruits, very firm tannins. Young, dense, tight, syrupy fruits and tar.
Impressive wine, very young though and has a lot of time ahead of it.

Hammand-Geoffrey Gevrey Chambertin La Bossiere 1er Cru Monopole 1998 Burgundy Dry, minerally, stoney, tea leaf, zesty.
The palate was rich, light, mineral laden clean and fresh.

Chateau Ferrand Lartigue St-Emilion 1996 Bordeaux Beautiful nose. Pure, rich, lifted, cheesy. Lovely.
Light, pretty, fresh, aromatic. A very Burgundian Bordeaux in a lot of ways.

Chateau Cos d'Estournel St Estephe 1993 Bordeaux Pea, straw/grass, red fruits, smoke, minerals.
Dry, stoney, silky, pepper and jelly fruits.
This is one of my fav Bordeaux Chateau. It is always a pleasure to taste this wine!

Chateau Lagrange St Julien 1995 Bordeaux Corked. Sadly. It happens. What did James Halliday say again?

Chateau Soutard St Emilion Grand Cru 1989  Bordeaux Pure, dry leaf, herbal, minerals.
Silky palate, dark fruits, meaty, jelly fruits,
currants, dry tannins. Resembles an old Coonawarra Cab.

Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou 1989 Bordeaux Pure, dark, steak, plums, currants, floral/violets.
Silky, pure, dry spice, seamless, clay notes, tobacco.
Another of my fav Bordeaux. It was looking spectacular!

Fonseca Vintage Port I missed the vintage of this wine too. However, it was young, vibrant and rich. Like any of the charming Grand Marque Port houses.

Martinborough Or Bust

I was recently invited to attend a tasting that contained the best and brightest of Martinborough on New Zealands North Island. Sadly, I have not been there myself, although it sounds like one of those places I will have to make the pilgrimage to at some point in my life.

Martinborough, a sub-region of the Wairarapa region is still relatively new. Really it has only been a commercial site since the early 1980s. Most of the region's vineyards are concentrated around the town of Martinborough on special soils that are refered to as 'The Martinborough Terrace'. Low rainful, large diurnal temperature fluctuations and strong winds all contribute to it's unique terroir. They have built a strong reputation for quality Pinot Noir.


An example of the free draining, stoney soil in the area.

I've almost always liked the wines I've tasted from the region. In general the Chard is classy, the Sauv Blanc generally shows some restraint, the Pinots Noir aren't the Grenache like monsters of Otago and the Gris is quite pretty.

The chance to go and taste them as a group was too good to pass up on. I won't go through all of my notes (as I tasted quite a few wines and it's not all that engrossing), but I am happy to if you really want.

Below are my highlights:
Ata Rangi Everything they do is good. The Gris in particular was looking great (featured in our Pinot Gris offer). Dry, floral and really enticing. And of course their Pinot Noir; floral, dark, pretty, fruit cake and long. Great drinking!

Craggy Range These guys are hard to fault in any of the wines or regions they work in. Their Sauv had great texture. The Riesling was excellent, really well balanced, tart, fleshy and crystalline. The Pinot was lean, dry, spicy, dark fruited and meaty. Very enjoyable.

Escarpment The 09 Pinot was dark and spicy, really silky and a hint bitter. A great wine from a riper year.

Martinborough Vineyards Once again, the whole range was hard to fault. They do great work in getting a textural element in their wines that a lot of new world producers over look. Chard, the two Pinots and Pinot Gris were awesome.

Palliser Estate Their Estate Pinot 09 showed good depth, nice balance and lovely concentration.

Te Kairanga Showed three Pinots that increased in quality as you went up the tree. A newly bottled Estate PN that showed potential. The dark, savoury, truffly/undergrowthy Runholder Pinot 08 and the fantastic John Martin Reserve 09.

Some Wine Re-Research

So these wines were happily spruiked in my current Cellar Dozen. But I do like to be thorough... and I really enjoyed them last time I tasted them.

Franz Haas Pinot Grigio DOC 2010  - I've tasted quite a few really good Gris/Grigio wines in the recent past and this is one of the most enjoyable ones. It is quite subtle at first but certainly opens up with a bit of swilling in the glass. The perfume is quite fresh and pure. Lots of lovely floral notes, hints of spice and apple/pear. The palate is really refreshing but has nice body from the lees aging. The balance between all the factors is a real highlight especially when it is lightly chilled (too cold and you will kill all the subtleness).

Speri ‘La Roverina’ Valpolicella DOC 2009 - Valpol is not a widely drunk style, but it really should be. It has all the weight and power of good warm climate shiraz but with more savouriness, moderate alcohol and balance.
Quite dark and backwards at first - looking like oxidised blackberries. It really picked up with time, showcasing it's true worth on the table. Lots of dark fruits, plums and spice. With hints of leather and some spiced meat/salami thrown in. As I mentioned there is a good bit of body to this wine, and some firm tannins on the back of the palate. What I really love in this wine is the savoury element. The Italians sure do excel at that and makes their wines unique and enjoyable drinking prospects.

Marcarini ‘Lasarin’ Nebbiolo delle Langhe DOC 2010 - Nebbiolo is like the Italian Pinot Noir. Once you start really appreciating it, it is hard to go passed it (or stop thinking about it). Haunting perfume, elusive flavours and lots of complexity. Oh and the tannins. So much tannin.
Despite the colour looking quite light this is not a meek wine. Again, it really needs time in the glass to open up (or ideally a few years). Cherries, rose petal, pepper, hung meats, earth and undergrowth. This wine just cycles through layers of flavours. In the mouth it is all action. Those monsterous Neb tannins are somewhat tamed for this wine but they still grip onto every part of your mouth. Despite this the flavours and the acidity still cut through the tannins and make it a pleasureable drinking experience. Highly recommended.


If these guys sound tasty you can always email or call 0418230482 to place an order. And if you want to take it to the next level, all their 'big brothers' are available in our Special Bottle Club this month.