A Love Affair In Aromatics – Riesling.

Riesling is one of the ‘noble’ varieties of grapes used to make wine. I believe it to be the King (or should I say Queen?) of the aromatic whites. It is found in most wine producing countries over the globe, and if made by someone with a passion for the variety, they will usually have success. However, Riesling seems most at home in Germany, Austria and Alsace where its ability to transmit the terroir shines through. The best wines of these regions, indeed the best Rieslings from outside these regions too, seem to develop and display personality and soul.

It appears that Riesling as a variety doesn’t seem to capture the attention of the greater drinking public. It seems the domain of ‘wine people’ (heaven forbid we use the term connoisseur). I feel there is a lot to like about Riesling. And of course I’d say that, I’m a wine person! Even a basic Riesling can be lovely. The perfume, elegance and understated nature of the wine with its lovely structure underneath punctuated by fresh and lively acidity. Add to that the lack of oak to mask these graceful characters and all of this adds up to a clean and fresh drink that enlivens the palate. The very best though can charm, intrigue, beguile. They don’t always jump out of the glass and instantly grab your attention like a Sauvignon Blanc may do. But there are layers and nuances that become apparent the more time you spend studying the wine.

One barrier to people enjoying Riesling is that they can range from bone dry through to lusciously sweet. And generally it is hard to tell from looking at the label what you are going to get. When thinking of Riesling its best to consider it in three broad styles; Dry, ‘Dry’ and Sweet. The Dry Riesling styles are truly dry. As in they have little to no residual sugar left after fermentation, high acid, very crisp and clean. Most Riesling from Australia and especially Clare and Eden Valleys fall into this category. So to do Germany’s ‘Trocken’ Riesling. ‘Dry’ Rieslings tend to have a touch of residual sugar that is used to balance high levels of acidity. They are refreshing, fruity and really lovely drinks that you should not be scared of tasting. Kabinett Rieslings, a lot of Alsace and New Zealand Rieslings tend to fall into this category. In Australia we tend to use the term ‘off-dry’ to describe these wines. Sweet Riesling is sweet, can be late picked, botrytised or even ice wines (left to freeze on the vine in winter). The best are truly complex and almost seem too pretty to drink. Like all great wines, the key to sweet Riesling is the balance. No matter how sweet it should have acidity that balances the sugar to make a clean and refreshing wine.

Riesling is a wine that can be drunk on its own, matched with white meats, pungent cheeses, spicy foods and it has been known to out shine even Pinot Noir when you are faced with a plate of lovely duck. It is a wine that is cheap for the quality you get and it is a must for any serious wine cellar. How can one grape bring so much joy? It just proves that there is a lot to love about Riesling.

Riesling Cheat sheet

Flavours

Tropical fruits, citrus, white flowers, stones, slate, white chocolate, pork fat/sausage meat.
With age it can add toffee/caramel, dry biscuits, kerosene, undergrowth, crème brulee.   

Styles

Dry, off-dry, sweet, occasionally sparkling. Does not like oak.

Regions Germany – Mosel (esp sweeter styles), Rheingau (dry styles), Pfalz

Austria – Wachau, Kremstal
France – Alsace
Australia – Clare Valley, Eden Valley, Frankland River, Henty

Aging

Drinks well on release to 12 months then goes into a dip from 2 years from vintage until about 7 years. In this period all the fruit drops off and the wine looks flat and disappointing. Afterward though the fruit returns as does the bottle aged characters that are so desired in Riesling.  

Ready to try some Riesling? Why not check out some of TWD's current offers:
Alsace Riesling

Old World Riesling

Australian Riesling

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.

Wine Of The Week

WINE OF THE WEEK

Greenstone Rosso di Colbo Sangiovese 2011

The Greenstone vineyard is the result of a lot of know how, experimentation and breaking a few 'rules'. There is a strong focus on producing good quality Sangiovese (to good results it would appear!) but of course in Heathcote you have to give Shiraz some floor space too.



A great example of Sangiovese.

This wine was one of the highlights from Saturday's tasting at Mezzo. It is everything I want from a great Sangiovese. This could give more than a few Chiantis a run for their money! It is savoury, dry and lean with a nice acid backbone. It shows dark fruits, a hint of oak and a light floral note. Brilliant drinking! It went particularly well with Mezzo's wild boar ragu!

$31ea - Cheaper by the dozen. Email me philip@thewinedepository.com.au for more info or orders.

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.

Dinner With William Downie 10/07/12 at Scopri

It was 5.59pm on Tuesday and I took a call from Matthew Hanson who I have chatted to regularly for well over 5 years now and who runs Fine Wine Appreciation Melbourne http://www.finewineappreciation.com.au/ . He said he had a last minute withdrawal from his William Downie dinner so would I like to come along? "It starts at 7pm" he added. I had been keen to go as I've loved Bill's wines since day two (there is an amusing story about day one but I shall save that for another time!) but the dinner filled up before I responded. Given I had just opened a bottle of wine to cook dinner with and it was corked, it was obviously a sign that I should go. So I did.

Bill's three Pinots.(LtoR) Gippsland, Mornington, Yarra.

Bill Downie has been on a wine making odyssey that has seen him work at tiny producers and large wine factories most notably in Australia and Burgundy. Since 2003 he has also been making Pinot Noir under his own name from the Yarra Valley and subsequently added Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland to the range complemented by a one off wine (or two).

I made it to Scopri - fast becoming my second home with plenty of time to spare and a thirst! The dinner was to be four courses, each matched with a pair of wines Bill had made. Once again I have to say that Scopri's ability to match food to wine is outstanding.

The back labels are a bit more informative.... A bit.

Roasted quail with puy lentils and pancetta

William Downie Mornington Pinot Noir 2011 Red berries, bright fruits, floral, vibrant, pure Mornington Pinot. The palate was tart, clean with a hint of oak and spice, clean and crunchy.

William Downie Mornington Pinot Noir 2008 Much darker in colour and flavour than the 2011. 2008 was much warmer compared to the wet and cold 2011 vintage and it showed in all the wines. Curranty, aniseed, hint savoury.
Richly fruited in the mouth with more muscle and tannin. Great length with red fruits coming up on the finish.

Potato ravioli with veal ragu

William Downie Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2011 Red fruits, spice, earth, jubey, lavender, pepper, dense. Silky, great flesh, vibrant, spice, fine and lean with a flinty note. Very long, fine and even tannins, savoury finish. Much more dense and savoury compared with the Mornington.

William Downie Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2008 Dark, plums, currants, spice, rose petal/floral, lifted.
Rich mouthfeel, ripe fruits, vibrant, sour cherry, muscular tannins and a hint bitter (in the positive refreshing mould), good length.

Yep, I defaced my menu with all the vital notes you are currently reading.

Braised beef cheeks 

William Downie Gippsland Pinot Noir 2011 Tart, tea leaf, smoke, roses, red fruits, blood orange, pretty nose with an earthy edge. The palate showed red fruits that were vibrant and juicy with some dark fruit almost fruit cake like notes. The finish was fine, taut and structured. Great finesse. Possibly my favourite of the 2011s but it really is just splitting hairs and a little bit unfair to compare such young wines.

William Downie Gippsland Pinot Noir 2008 Dark and meaty. Some of the spiced hung meats, oaky, dense and intense. In the mouth it offered lifted lavender, creamy big oxy berries. Sweet fruits, silk, vibrancy, fine fruit tannins, good length and a hint of bitterness.

Italian cheeses


Thousand Candles - you just have to taste it.

Thousand Candles 2011 This is the first release of this wine. I won't try and replicate Bill's story about this wine because I couldn't fake his passion and belief. But this wine came about when he was asked to make a wine that speaks of the best of what Australia can do. He has full control of the process from the vineyard to the final packaging.
The wine is from one vineyard in the Yarra Valley and is a blend of Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The blend came about because Bill and the team felt that on their own they had three OK wines, but together they had a wine that offered "Truth in the Glass". The wine spoke of where it came from. The wine making process was simply "Whole bunches in a vessel." No destemming, no yeast additions, no crushing, no punched downs or pump overs. Even the Sauv Blanc was made with full stems and skins. In fact it spent almost a year on skins which would be considered almost heresy in most peoples winemaking manuals.
The wine itself was stunning. Dusty, gravel, earth, stemmy, tight, tart red berry fruits, hint sappy with spice. The palate was juicy, vibrant, silky, meaty, with great fruit tannins, smoke/flint. It evolved a lot in the glass. I felt like I could picture the vineyard in my head as I drank it. I'd love to visit the place in the near future. It sounds amazing.
There is quite a lovely story about how the name and the label came about. But that takes a bit of time and if far better to hear from Bill himself.

William Downie Petit Manseng 2009 Hailing from the King Valley, this wine came about because Bill had no Pinot in 09. So rather than compromise he thought he'd find something completely different. Petit Manseng makes brilliant high acid sweet wines in the Southern French region of Jurancon. This wine was a fair facsimilie. Tropical, floral, pure and clean. With a waxy bitterness and piercing acid to balance out the sweetness. It had great intensity and was a lovely way to finish the evening. Only topped by a second glass of the Thousand Candles!

Overall it was a great experience. It's not often I get to taste so many classy Australian wines in one sitting. So I have to say thanks to Matt for the invite and Bill for the wines!

WINE OF THE WEEK

Kate Hill Riesling 2011

What? White in winter? Yes, and it is fantastic.

For more than ten years Kate has been making wine in some of the world’s prime wine-making regions including South Australia, Tasmania, France, California and Chile in both large companies and small. After all this experience she chose Tasmania to settle down, and it seems to have been a brilliant decision.



Kate Hill Riesling - Can't be many better Ries in Australia.

Made from fruit in the Coal and Derwent Valleys of Tasmania. 2011 was a high acid year. But never fear, this wine (as always) has great balance, there is a lingering floral perfume to balance out the citrusy and minerally notes. It probably will get better with age, but when they taste this good it's hard ...to lay them down.

So beautiful.

A steal at $30ea.

If you are tempted email me philip@thewinedepository.com.au to order.

Pinot Noir Tasting 05/05/12

Over the past few months I've been asked to host numerous private tastings for customers. The most recently run event was about a month ago near Heathcote and it involved educating a group of 14 people about Pinot Noir.

Grasping a chance to drink a handful of my most favourite Pinots from around the world, I looked forward to this event and the attended to the notes and wine selection with particular vigour. Of course having a willing and eager bunch of participants makes it all the more entertaining. Thankfully the attendees had that in spades.



The warm up act. Seriously good for the price.

The event was structured into four brackets, which built from entry level wines and graduated up to tasting the pinnacle of Pinot Noir - Burgundy.

Bracket One. Flavours of Pinot Noir.
Bress Vineyards Silver Chook Yarra Valley & Macedon 2010 $22 Showing the easy, cherry/red berry and rose petal notes. Excellent value and highly recommended.
Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba 2009 $25 Darker, plums and a hint undergrowth. Riper fruit and more generous mouthfeel.
Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge 2008 $32 Great entry point to Burgundy, showing the minerally, structured and more savoury styles they tend to make. If drinking water was impossible, this is what I would turn to.


Bracket One under way.

Bracket Two. Regionality and the wide world of wine.
Pegasus Bay Canterbury 2008 $63 From the South Island of New Zealand. Showing the typical style of great NZ Pinot. Bold with perfume, subtlety and restraint.
Apsley Gorge Tasmania 2008 $69 East Coast of Tassie based producer. A bit stinky when first opened, but possessing great texture, balance and silkiness. Beautiful wine.
Bernard Huber Baden 2009 $43 A Spatburgunder (aka Pinot Noir) from Germany. Showing perfume, oak, balance and nice refreshing acidity.
Britten Vineyard Willamette Valley Pinot Noir  The host added this wine so the USA got a jersey.  It has great pedigree with the owner being a former member of the Stags Leap team. This tasted slightly oxidised on the day sadly.



You can always tell a Curly Flat family.

Bracket Three: Terroir and aging.
We used two wines made in almost the same way to highlight how much a region or vineyard (ie Terroir) can affect the taste of a wine.
William Downie Mornington Peninsula 2010 $71 The more floral, red berry and vibrant style. Showed really well upfront. Beautiful balance and lovely to drink.
William Downie Gippsland 2010 $71 Darker, more brooding and darker fruits. Needed a bit more time in the glass to show its best. But definitely had that hallmark Downie balance and texture (and drinkability).
Then we used two wines from the same producer and different vintage to show how a wine can change with time in the bottle.
Curly Flat Macedon 2008 $56 Dark, powerful, generous with a lot of depth and great mouthfeel.
Curly Flat Macedon 2001 En Magnum The host once again donated this wine to the tasting. It showed more savoury/undergrowth/truffle and was a lot more silky and supple. I would say at its peak now in the best possible way.


Pouring the 95 Pruliers.

Bracket Four: Burgundy.
Nicholas Potel Vosne Romanee Les Petit Monts 1er Cru 2000 $105 The budget didn't quite stretch to Grand Cru but this high quality Premier Cru certainly showed the best of the region and why it is the pinnacle. Supple, savoury, minerally, perfumed, vibrant, spices, depth, layered, intense and thrilling. Great balance, depth of fruit and plush but with fine tannins and great length.
Dom Laurant Nuits-St-Georges Les Pruliers 1995 Because more is more, yet another bottle was taken from the cellar to be shared. This wine really showed up the difference between communes and vineyards in Burgundy. This wine reflexed the denser, more chunky style of Nuits compared to the refined, elegance of Vosne.



Expert host and wine waiter... me.

Additional Wine.
Roda I Rioja Riserva 2004 This wine was pulled out just as we took our leave of the group but I stuck around long enough to have a glass. I have included it because Tempranillo is often described as tasting like Pinot with a bit of age. It does share the red fruits, floral notes and spicy notes. Along with the silk and purity you would expect.

All in all a great tasting. If you are interested in hosting a tasting like this, we can work together to find a theme, budget and venue that suits. Email philip@thewinedepository.com.au 

Dinner at Mezzo 07/05/2012

Having missed one month due to work pressures, the Mezzo crowd were all pretty keen to catch up and taste some seriously good wine.  And we were far from disappointed despite cork playing a starring role in two of the wines. CURSE YOU VILE THINGS! This month the theme was 2004 Burgundy, a vintage that I have tasted a lot of and enjoyed since release. A lot of people don't rate this vintage because it was a cold vintage, but the good producers made excellent wines. The wines below are a good example.

Lanson Gold Label Vintage Champagne 2002 I'm a huge fan of Lanson Champagnes (see why) and this wine only served to further my love. Great texture, zesty, floral, good amount of yeasty/autolytic notes and plenty of life in it. This is one Champagne that definitely lends itself to aging. Even a few years on this would have some of the lovely honey, toast, brioche and truffle notes that good older Champagne develops.

Maurice Ecard Savigny-Les-Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru 2004 Floral, mineral, ironstone, chocolate, tea leaf, dried leaf, herbal tart and hint oxidised.
Nice tart acid, clean, fresh, rounded, mineral/stoney, chocolate, very long.
Everything you want from a good Savigny!

Most of the 04s we tasted.

Robert Chevillon Nuits-St-Georges Les Vaucrain 1er Cru 2004 From the Southern end of the village of Nuits this wine initially showed signs of TCA. It did also show some good character too. Herbal, dry, leafy sour, pickles, red fruits, potatoes. The nose certainly changed with air.
The palate showed coffee, chocolate, increased density, good flesh, nice tannins if a hint on the astringent side, ironstone. V. long and persistent.
I'd love to see another bottle of this as I have had a few of their 04s and they just had more lift. The makings of an excellent wine were there though.

Jean Grivot Nuits-St-Georges Les Boudots 1er Cru 2004 This vineyard is situated at the Northern end of Nuits right next to Vosne and was served as a bridge between the Chevillon and the Mongeard that followed.
It was lovely, almost wine of the night! Floral, lifted crushed ants, currants, tobacco, blood orange mulch, mulberry.
Dark cherry, tart, chunky tannins, stoney, marachino cherry, hint bitter.
Very enjoyable wine from an excellent producer

Mongeard-Mugneret Vosne Romanee Les Suchots 1er Cru 2004 Defintely the wine of the night. Les Suchot is a Premier Cru situated amongst some of the greatest of the Grand Crus. At its best it rivals them. Tonight, it was by far and away the best wine on the table.
It opened up a lot with time in the glass. Coffee, savoury, rocket, pepper, brown spice, clay, meaty, pickle, dense, musky, oak.
On the palate it was dense, silky, pretty, red frutis, musk, violet and cherry. It was a complete Burgundy that just made me happy to be drinking it.

The Two Echezeaux

Bruno Deaunay-Bissey Echezeaux Grand Cru 2004 This was an unsual wine. It was green as a they come on the nose, a really good example of why people might dislike the vintage.
The palate was much better though. It had dark fruits, olives and minerals. But it was still tart and green. I have no experience with this producer but it was a shame because it wasn't all that enjoyable.

Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux Grand Cru 2004 Sadly this was a corked as they come. It was almost DNPIM (Did Not Put In Mouth). But curiosity got the best of me and I instantly regretted it. It was definitely and undeniably corked.

Options Wine
Lynch-Bages Pauillac 5th Growth 2004 If you saw my notes from last Matteo's Dinner (here) you would remember the pride I had at picking the options wine. Well it all came undone tonight. I thought it was Italian, then Merlot based and then Patrick gave up and told us what it was.
Earthy, dirt, dense, clay/terracotta, hint beef and pepper.
Fine moderate tannins, limes tones. Long, floral cherries, seductive.
It was an excellent wine but just a baby. It has a lot longer to go yet!

Lynch Bages 2004 - Awesome wine. Just a baby.

Additional Wines
Grosset Gaia Cabernet 2002 I'm not sure how we came to be drinking Gaia. It was definitely welcome on the table, but as always, Australian wine tends too look sweet, thin and bland after a lot of good European wines.
I thought it looked quite smart if you ignored the French winese. Currants, cherry, clay, earthy, stalky. The palate was silky, elegant and it looked young and lean despite being the equal oldest wine on the table.
Good old screwcaps, sealing in freshness and keeping away nasty cork taint!

Awesome Aussie Cabernet - Grosset Gaia 2002

Outis Nessuno Etna 2007 So this was the last wine of the night and if you don't know much about it, neither do I. It comes from Sicily and the region is Etna which is near the Mount Etna volcano. The varieties are Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, both of which are native varieties.
It was a lovely drink, but again after all that old wine looked and tasted almost like a fortified. There was some nice characters there.

Awesome Australian Wine

Today is my 30th Birthday. What better way to celebrate then tasting some of my favourite Australian wines?
That's right, on my birthday I was willing to brave inclement weather and bad Melbourne traffic to taste wines - so they would have be special. And I wasn't disappointed.

These wines are for sale and wines I recommend, I have included the price which is correct at the time of publishing. They are subject to change in price and availability.

If you want to order please email me philip@thewinedepository.com.au or call 0418 230482



Lovely, lovely Ngeringa Chardy.

The first table I visited was occupied by my friend Erinn from Ngeringa based in the Adelaide Hills. Erinn and the team make really thoughtful, elegant and expressive wines from their biodynamic vineyards. We tasted through some of his range which included the stunning Ngeringa Chardonnay 2009 ($42ea), a lovely and lean chard with purity, clean stone fruits and a floral lift. The Chard is one of the best wines they make in my opinion. The Viognier 2010 ($48ea) and Viognier dominant blend JE Assemblage White 2010 ($27ea) both had excellent textural qualities with aromatic complexity and great subtlety - quite rare for Australian Viognier.
The reds kicked off with his elegant, savoury and silky Pinot Noir 2009 ($42ea). This is a wine of great perfume and certainly opened up with air. Then we tasted two Syrah - the flagship variety at the winery. JE Syrah 2009 ($27ea) showed delicate aromas of cola, pepper and cardomon with hints of blood orange and plums. The palate was balanced, savoury and with lovely fine drying tannins. The big show Syrah 2008 ($53ea) was showing its typical refined lean, smokey, spicy and savoury nose. The palate was very fine and a hint on the tannic side. The palate was not as impressively balanced and vibrant as previous years; Erinn explained that as it is from a difficult year (extremely hot conditions plagued the country), and picked early to retain the freshness and acidity. They took a lot of care to make it the best possible wine they could and he was proud of the result given how many producers picked later and produced jammy, alcoholic wines.
I tend to agree, with a bit of time in the bottle (or the right food match) and this wine would be stunning.
Still one of my favourite wineries in Australia.



Next stop was the Jamsheed table. Gary Mills has been making some of the best wines in Victoria for a while now, in the April TWD Magazine I featured some of his entry level wines in the drink now list. I would encourage you to taste these wines as they are extremely drinkable and amazingly good value. I also got to try his Gewurztraminer, Riesling (and friends) blend Le Blank Plonk 2010 ($21ea), the Gewurz definitely sticks out on the nose with its lychee and rose water notes. The Riesling adds a citrusy spine and length to the palate. This is refreshing and very drinkable. I also tried some of his Roussanne which I did not catch the vintage or price of but throughly enjoyed for its faint stone fruits and white flower notes and mineral purity and textural bliss.

After that was a chat with James Lance and his wines from Punch in the Yarra. James' offerings were a bit unique and special because they had lost all of their fruit in 2009 due to the fires that came through the vineyards. With the support of vineyards in Victoria and New Zealand there was the birth of the label 'Friends Of Punch'. And there was a lot to like about the wines. Gippsland based Mallani Vineyard Chardonnay 2009 ($36ea) had everything I want in good Chard. Silky, vibrant and elegant. Plenty of stone fruits, floral notes and citrus. Great balance and lots of length of flavour. It was so good for the price. The best of the friends wine (to my palate) was the Quartz Reef Vineyards Pinot Noir 2009 ($65ea). Quartz Reef is a producer in Central Otago (Kristina and I spent some time with Rudi on our trip in 2007 and loved every second). They made some batches with the Punch style in mind and let them pick how they wanted them blended. The wine was then sent to Punch for finishing. The result is a smokey, dense, full, spicy and tasty Pinot. There is lovely structure and good length of flavour. Very drinkable. By contrast there was also the Bannockburn Vineyards Pinot Noir 2009 ($65ea) which was more savoury, herbal, undergrowth like Pinot. It was very tight and tannic at the moment. The final Friends of Punch wine I tasted was the very Rhone like juby, smokey, slightly herbal and fine boned Bannockburn Vineyards Syrah 2009 ($65ea), one for the cellar!
James was also offering advanced tastings of his 2010 wines. Chardonnay, Pinot and Close Planted Pinot all looked amazing. You will hear more about them when they are released. They are knock outs.

I did taste a few other wines before I headed home to celebrate my birthday without having to spit the pretty wines. But I'll save those stories for another day.

Adventures with Olde Wines.

A little while ago I purchased a couple of crates of old wines from Australia. They were cheap and came with no guarantees where they had been kept or what shape they were in. I've had a few wines that were good enough to warrant the price of the whole purchase and I have slowly gone through the wines when I am in the mood to freely pour wine down the sink because it is terrible.

My most recent attempt included four such bottles. They weren't all bad, I did enjoy one small glass of the Redman Claret 69 - it had red fruits and a rose petal like note, it just was faded and not built to last 43 years. And the Osicka's Cabernet NV (from the 70s, probably a blend of vintages) was still reminisciently Cabernet. But too dried out to actually enjoy.

The 'misses'

There is a point to this story: When tasting old wine, always have a back up... or two. Thankfully mine performed superbly.

The Back ups

Lunch At RACV Club

Recently I was lucky enough to have lunch at the RACV club and no lunch there would be complete without some amazing wines.

Bass Phillip Rose - Dry, spicy and savoury. Nice elegance and texture. Really freshing and really moreish. The best I have seen this wine in ages taste wise. Not so sure about the new packaging though.  

Crawford River Riesling 2010 - Once again confirming why, this is one of my favourite wines in Australia. Textured, dense, aromatic and compelling. Still very young, but the freshness and structure is worth the price of admission alone.

Durche Gevrey Chambertin 06 - A producer who I did not know before this lunch. Very typical Gevrey; firm structure and dark fruits. A lot of charm and drinkability despite it's youthfulness.

Quinta do Noval Tawny NV - One of the Kings of the port producing sphere, this is a great entry point to Tawny and absolutely, in no way related to the typical Australian take on the style. It is dry, savoury and complex with refreshing acidity and fine but firm tannins. It also has the key to great port - it is extremely well balanced.

Toro Albala Pedro Ximenez 82 - Because more is often more at a lunch like this we indulged in a vintage PX from Montilla, not Jerez so it is not Sherry but made almost identically. Dark, silky, rich and with plenty of character and sweetness. One glass is often enough for me. But the aged PX tends to have a density and savoury edge that allows of a second or third glass to be savoured.