Date: 11 February, 2012
What: 2005 Curly Flat Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges
Purchased: Dan's, I think. Dont recall price but current vintage $48 on website
Food: Rabbit and mushroom pie, green beans
Comments: wow. Just travelling beautifully. Nice and crisp look. Earthy, spare nose early doors but opens up after a glass. Forest floor. Mushrooms - but am I just thinking of what was on the menu? No, it is in fact a good match. Pine nuts. Very Burgundian, or at least what I think of as Burgundian. Nice stink. Keep coming back to forest floor. Keep coming back to swirling and sniffing, for that matter. Loving it. Some slight red fruits but a bit of spice with more mushrooms; soft but defined tannins. Good length. Linear although in a positive structural sense - no lack of flesh here. Quite tasty indeed.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Savaterre Chardonnay
Date: 4 February, 2012
What: 2008 Savaterre Chardonnay, Beechworth
Purchased: cellar door, about $70
Food: BBQ honey prawns, Thai-inspired mango and bean shoot salad
Comments: last one we spoke about balance. This is more about being on the precipice of what I like without going over the edge. I prefer my chardonnays more linear and minerally, rather than the oaky/buttery end. This peers into the buttery abyss but stays just outside. Just. Bright straw yellow colour. Classic argument in favour of drinking whites above fridge temperature. Opens up and delivers more (albeit closer to the edge per above) when a touch warmer. Apricot, lychee flavours; a bit chewy and coats the mouth nicely but with enough acid to cut through. Kind of hangs around for a chat after the fact, too. I suspect those more in favour of chardonnay will be all over it. I like it but partly driven by the wine wank side of things as much as general drinking enjoyment.
What: 2008 Savaterre Chardonnay, Beechworth
Purchased: cellar door, about $70
Food: BBQ honey prawns, Thai-inspired mango and bean shoot salad
Comments: last one we spoke about balance. This is more about being on the precipice of what I like without going over the edge. I prefer my chardonnays more linear and minerally, rather than the oaky/buttery end. This peers into the buttery abyss but stays just outside. Just. Bright straw yellow colour. Classic argument in favour of drinking whites above fridge temperature. Opens up and delivers more (albeit closer to the edge per above) when a touch warmer. Apricot, lychee flavours; a bit chewy and coats the mouth nicely but with enough acid to cut through. Kind of hangs around for a chat after the fact, too. I suspect those more in favour of chardonnay will be all over it. I like it but partly driven by the wine wank side of things as much as general drinking enjoyment.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Pyramid Valley Pinot Noir
Date: 27 January, 2011 (I'm back!)
What: 2007 Pyramid Valley Growers Collection Eaton Family Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marlborough
Purchased: by a Freo supporter who lost this in a bet (go Tigers!) but I suspect not on the budget end of proceedings
Food: Eye fillet (lighter one!), couple of excellent summery salads
Comments: lovely open. No need to spend too much time waiting for it to wake up. Darker colour with a bit of the browny/aged colour on the edges; quite vibrant given unfiltered. Balance is the word here. Excellent balance between (red) fruity flavours, tannins (smooth, nice mouth feel) and a sharper version of the forest floor nose. Also strikes a nice balance between chunky/solid Otago pinot and the stewed cherry end of Marlborough. Finishes with a vaguely chocolate (milk) and vanilla flavour mixing in with the more classic PN. Cinnamon? Very enjoyable and a much more grown-up version of the Marlborough standard.
What: 2007 Pyramid Valley Growers Collection Eaton Family Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marlborough
Purchased: by a Freo supporter who lost this in a bet (go Tigers!) but I suspect not on the budget end of proceedings
Food: Eye fillet (lighter one!), couple of excellent summery salads
Comments: lovely open. No need to spend too much time waiting for it to wake up. Darker colour with a bit of the browny/aged colour on the edges; quite vibrant given unfiltered. Balance is the word here. Excellent balance between (red) fruity flavours, tannins (smooth, nice mouth feel) and a sharper version of the forest floor nose. Also strikes a nice balance between chunky/solid Otago pinot and the stewed cherry end of Marlborough. Finishes with a vaguely chocolate (milk) and vanilla flavour mixing in with the more classic PN. Cinnamon? Very enjoyable and a much more grown-up version of the Marlborough standard.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Mac Forbes Gruyere Syrah
Date: 22 October, 2011
What: 2009 Mac Forbes Gruyere Syrah, Yarra Valley
Purchased: cellar door, $36
Food: Welsh rarebit
Comments: bought this one this arvo at Mac Forbe's "urban cellar door" in Collingwood. Good not to have to travel far for cellar door-style tastings! The syrah struck me as a bit fleshier then compared to now. Why is it that tastings are always different to the bottle at home? It has a really funky, earthy, rustic nose. Gets a touch of spice as it opens up, but still more of a (bullish) pinot stink rather than what I might expect from syrah. Bit of a linear mouthfeel. Has some damp wood, forest floor gear in the mouth with a hint of chocolate to go with some more spices (think cloves etc) but interestingly for a cool climate shiraz/syrah there is no pepper to speak of. Finishes with some length although still in the linear mould - not a fleshy finish. These wines are not quaffers in my world. This is one the wine wank, thought provoking end of the spectrum. Provoked thoughts might include "what food would I have with this next time"? And answers might be lamb (roasted), or perhaps an aged cheddar.
What: 2009 Mac Forbes Gruyere Syrah, Yarra Valley
Purchased: cellar door, $36
Food: Welsh rarebit
Comments: bought this one this arvo at Mac Forbe's "urban cellar door" in Collingwood. Good not to have to travel far for cellar door-style tastings! The syrah struck me as a bit fleshier then compared to now. Why is it that tastings are always different to the bottle at home? It has a really funky, earthy, rustic nose. Gets a touch of spice as it opens up, but still more of a (bullish) pinot stink rather than what I might expect from syrah. Bit of a linear mouthfeel. Has some damp wood, forest floor gear in the mouth with a hint of chocolate to go with some more spices (think cloves etc) but interestingly for a cool climate shiraz/syrah there is no pepper to speak of. Finishes with some length although still in the linear mould - not a fleshy finish. These wines are not quaffers in my world. This is one the wine wank, thought provoking end of the spectrum. Provoked thoughts might include "what food would I have with this next time"? And answers might be lamb (roasted), or perhaps an aged cheddar.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Foster e Rocco Rose
Date: 24 September, 2011
What: 2011 Foster e Rocco Rose (Sangiovese), Heathcote, Victoria
Purchased: website, $25
Food: bbq fish, blood orange and asparagus salad, roast potatoes
Comments: roses rank alongside sparkling reds as things I like but without taking seriously - fun quaffers and nothing more. Time to get a bit more thoughtful. Have had the previous two vintages of this one, oddly enough on the same night at MsG's in Sydney. Quite different with the '10 being the more linear and acidic, the '09 being slightly sweeter. This takes it a step further than the '10 - but does it have enough flesh? Was better with food rather than now, post food. What is that on the nose? Can't place it but perhaps is the start of the rasberry background that appears on the palette. Have picked up a case for summer and will be interested to see my thoughts evolve as the wine gets a few more months into it and I try it with different food. Definitely a food wine.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Domaine Taupenot - Merme Morey Saint Denis
Date: 23 September, 2011
What: 2006 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey Saint Denis, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy
Purchased: Dan's, $100
Food: pizza
Comments: so, a bit of a challenge - a type of wine I've not had a lot of and outside my usual ones. Lighter colour - clearly pinot. Had to wait for it to open up to give something interesting on the nose. Bit of a damp, forest floor thing, perhaps a touch of pine forest and wood. A bit of chocolate (milk) somewhere. In the mouth has a sort of bouncy, green vibrancy that settles a bit in second glass after some time. Flavours? Hmmmm. There is a sort of dark fruits thing but it is in the background if that makes sense. Background spices - cloves. This is interesting in a wine wank way. Good structure - you can almost feel and taste four walls. Tannins are fine but certainly make themselves known - grippy after the fact but very much part of the structure on the way through. You sort of start to understand where the bullshit about Burgundy comes from. There's a lot to wank on about! More enjoyable if you want to spend some time thinking about it rather than quaffing down a couple of glasses whilst your head is elsewhere.
What: 2006 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey Saint Denis, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy
Purchased: Dan's, $100
Food: pizza
Comments: so, a bit of a challenge - a type of wine I've not had a lot of and outside my usual ones. Lighter colour - clearly pinot. Had to wait for it to open up to give something interesting on the nose. Bit of a damp, forest floor thing, perhaps a touch of pine forest and wood. A bit of chocolate (milk) somewhere. In the mouth has a sort of bouncy, green vibrancy that settles a bit in second glass after some time. Flavours? Hmmmm. There is a sort of dark fruits thing but it is in the background if that makes sense. Background spices - cloves. This is interesting in a wine wank way. Good structure - you can almost feel and taste four walls. Tannins are fine but certainly make themselves known - grippy after the fact but very much part of the structure on the way through. You sort of start to understand where the bullshit about Burgundy comes from. There's a lot to wank on about! More enjoyable if you want to spend some time thinking about it rather than quaffing down a couple of glasses whilst your head is elsewhere.
Saturday, 27 August 2011
Best's Pinot Noir
Date: 27 August, 2011
What: 2009 Bes'ts Great Western Pinot Noir, Great Western, Victoria
Purchased: Dan's (I think), low $20's
Food: duck breast
Comments: it's a really robust, almost aggressive pinot this one - in the right way. Barry Hall on a good day. Anyone who is a francophile, Burgundy/old world-is-the-only-pinot wanker type will hate this! I had a French (Alsace, not Burgundy) pinot at a restaurant last weekend and this couldn't be a bigger contrast. Big, full mouthfeel - announces itself early doors. Nice touch of earth/dirty pinot thing on the nose initially which firmly says "pinot" but then the mouth is bouncy and a bit chunky rather compared to Frenchy light and ephemeral. Distance is not the only thing that separates it from Mornington Peninsula. None of that cherry/red fruits bizzo - real earthy, dark fruits pinot. Interesting to consider on the pinot spectrum - not often you get a pinot that in the mouth might give you pause to think it was something other than a pinot.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)