My Wine Information

2006 Katarzyna Contemplations Triple Red

2009-04-03T11:51:00.021+02:00

Country: Bulgaria
Region: Thracian Valley
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €11,00
Closure: Cork

As with so many other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria has a long history of grape growing and wine production; some estimate that vines were already established in this area around 2 AD. During the years of communism the wine industry lost it's way as wine production was monopolized and consolidated into a state-run industry. The target market was also adjusted to be exclusively the eastern block socialist countries. As a result wine quality suffered severely.

Katarzyna Estate, equivalent to the English Catherine or Catherina, was established in 2004 with the goal to put Bulgarian winemaking back on the map. The site selected for the winery is located on section of no man's between Bulgaria and Greece where watchtowers that still exist give reminder of another era. Since 2002 350 hectares of wines have been planted here along with around 12 million investment in a modern winery.

The 2006 Contemplation Triple Red is the estates first release of this wine. It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Mavrud (a variety indiginous to Bulgaria). Here is my summation:

Attractively dense and dark in colour. Upon opening delicious dark berry aromas really wafted powerfully across the room. The palate is very rich and full-bodied with smooth, spicey, black berry fruit, pepper and an earthy mineraliness/chalkiness. Nice tanninic grip in there too. Ends with some attractive, slightly bitter notes on a good length. This is a really impressive effort first up. Efforts such as this will go a long way to restoring Bulgaria as a wine producing country of note.

2007 Thanisch Alte Reben

2009-04-01T14:12:00.001+02:00

Country: Germany
Region: Mosel
Alcohol: 12%
Price: €10,00
Closure: Cork

The Thanisch family story is an interesting one, with it's history traceable all the way back to the Thirty Year War. During this time a a village by the name of Thanisch existed between the towns of Bernkastel and Trarbach along the Mosel. Sometime in the period between 1630 and 1640, a traveller brought the plague to the town, killing its entire population with the exception of one citizen, who later named himself after the village of his ill-fated ancestors.

Weingut Thanisch has been owned by the Thanisch family since 1648. Jörg Thanisch, considered one of the rising stars of the Mosel region, has run the estate since he took over from his father Ludwig in 2001. Thanisch strives for a high quality, limited production harvest that produces a great classic Mosel-Riesling. The estate has 5.5 hectares under vine and produces around 60,000 bottles a year. The dominate grape variety is the riesling (75%) along with some Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir.

This is the 2007 Thanisch Alte Reben; alte reben meaning old vine and referring to the 35 year old vines from which this vine was made. The wine is produced from 100% riesling grown in the Süssenberg vineyard which forms a part of the weingut's premier vineyard, Niederberg-Helden. Here's what I thought of it:

Golden / dark straw yellow in colour with some tinges of green. On the nose honey, apple and hint of citrus. Really clean and pure on the palate with apple and pear along with a mineral aspect. Quite some sweetness on the palate though well balanced by mouth puckering acidity. A very nice wine, though not for those who want their riesling bone dry.

2005 Chateau Rocher Calon

2009-01-24T19:30:00.058+01:00

Country: France
Region: Montagne-Saint-Emilion
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €5,00
Closure: Cork

This wine was picked up for a bargain price of 5 euro in the bargain bin of one of my local wine stores. I love a bargain as much as anyone, especially when it comes to wine, and will often take a punt on a wine that I don't know. This one being a 2005 from St. Emilion I was more than willing to give it a go at that price. Rightly, or wrongly, 2005 is considered by many as one of the best vintages of the decade in Bordeaux.

Chateau Rocher-Calon is located in Montagne-Saint-Emilion, the largest satelite region surrounding Saint Emilion. The region characterized by it's production of exclusively red wines, produced from the grape varieties Merlot (75% of vines grown), Cabernet Franc (20% of vines grown) and Cabernet Sauvigon (10% of vines grown). Two other grape varieties allowed in the region, but very rarely used, are Malbec and Carménère.

Clay and limestone along with some sand over a calcious limestone base (also known as roche calcaire, or asteries) make up the ground in which the vines are grown. The summer drought is softened by the inflow of water that rises through the porous limestone allowing the growing of high quality grapes.

Chateau Rocher Calon is an estate 12 hectares in size from which 80,000 bottles are produced with traditional winemaking methods in stainless steel vats with a long maceration of 20 to 25 days and ageing over 18 months. Michel Rolland and his team are used as consultants during the winemaking process.

This wine is typically a Merlot based red (95%) along with a small percentage of Cabernet Franc (5%). Here's what I thought of it:

Dark, deep and purple/red in colour. Nose is very clean; dark plum and current. Some evidence of oak there too. The palate is very closed at time of opening and needed quite some time to even begin opening up. Still it reveals some punchy, juicy black berry fruit on the palate. Quite big and powerful. Quite a lot of acidity in there too. Tannins are evident but not overpowering for a wine this youthful. This one really needs a lot more time in the cellar. A good effort that is value for the normal €12 let alone €5.

1995 Chateau Musar

2009-01-09T19:06:00.076+01:00

Country: Lebanon
Region: Bekaa Valley
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €30,00
Closure: Cork

Chateau Musar is the most famous, and in the eyes of many the greatest, of all the wineries in Lebanon. Though it is not the oldest or the largest estate, Musar has a cult-like following the world over. Since the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair, where Michael Broadbent described the wine as the discovery of the fair, the estate has not looked back. And this despite the civil war that tore Lebanon apart in the 1970's and 1980's.

There is so much information about the story of Chateau Musar, its history, the wines it produces etc. that I will not go into further detail here. A great starting point is the Musar website which has a great number of articles for download. Then there are two interesting articles written by Andrew Jefford that are worth reading as well (The Magic of Musar and Understanding Musar). A quick search on google will produce even more.

If two words could best typify Musar it would be uniqueness and individuality; both of these qualities coming from the man behind the creation of the wine for so many years, 1984 Decanter Magazine's Man of the Year, Serge Musar. After his oenology degree in Bordeaux, Serge took over the winemaking in 1959 immediately putting his own unique stamp on the wines making Musar into what it is today. Even though he no longer makes the wine, he still has an enormous influence on this unique wine.

Not only the situation in which wine was made, and to a lesser extent still is, is unique. The processes used to produce the wine, and the resulting wine are also unique. For a start the wines are fermented in cement vats and not stainless or oak. Then some of the winemaking rules are slightly relaxed allowing the wines to have a certain amount of volatile acidity and, in many cases, brettanomyces. The Musar philosophy is that of respect for nature and ecology which is the reason the wines are neither fined nor filtered. There are no chemical additives with the exception of the minimum necessary dose of sulphur. Natural yeasts are also used during fermentation while the bottles are individually hand filled. Everything to attempt to translate what natures intends.

The resulting product are the wines are of superb quality, albeit in particular Musar style, that have the ability to age and mature for long periods of time. This does not only refer to the red wines, as the whites also have the amazing capacity to age, and are considered by Serge Musar to be his greatest wines. No two vintages are the same, each vintage (or in many cases bottles) has it's own individuality. This makes Musar such in interesting, and valued wine for many wine drinkers.

The 1995 vintage yielded 30% less fruit than normal, although the fruit was of an excellent quality. The assemblage of this wine is Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Carignan in equal portions. This is the first time I have tasted a Musar, something I was looking forward to for a long time. Here is what I thought of it.

Nice red in the core fading to brown. The nose is complex and very interesting; quite powerful with cherry fruit, cedar and a shoe polish element. The palate begins candy-like with sweet, soft strawberry, cherry fruit. As the wine opens up it reveals earthy, tobacco and mushroom characters giving the wine a great degree of interest. There is also an almost leathery meatiness to the wine. Like a iron fist in a velvet glove, the structure beneath the fruit is firm with great acidity and good tannin. A long sour cherry finish completes an amazing wine. All I can say is wow.

Chatour Latour on the market

2009-01-09T14:42:00.024+01:00

Chateau Latour, located in the Pauillac region, is one of the most famous chateau in the region, if not in Bordeaux and the world. The estate is located in Pauillac region also home to two other world-reknowned estates Chateaus Lafite-Rothschild and Mouton-Rothschild.

The last years has seen the wines of all these estates rise quite dramatically so that today they all cost in excess of 700 euro per bottle and are all inaccessible to the average wine drinker. These are astronomical costs for 750 ml of liquid. While I would love to try these wines one day, if only in an attempt to taste whether they are really that much better than all the rest. I, however, just can't justify that much money for a wine, even for such a one-off event. There is simply too much other good wine available to enjoy that are much better value for money.

With interest I read that Chateau Latour is on the market. Apparently the winery and vineyards will be on the market for anything between 200 and 600 million euro. An amazing, and possibly stupid amount of money for 78 hectares of land with some vines, even if they are considered to be some of the best in the world.

It's a shame that many of these estates have aligned themselves exclusively with the rich and the famous. I wonder what the future brings for them, especially with the current financial crisis giving ample evidence that our decadent, growth-at-all-costs, consumerism is not sustainable.

2005 Heartland Directors Cut Shiraz

2009-01-04T18:50:00.071+01:00

Country: Australia
Region: Langhorne Creek & Limestone Coast
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €19,00
Closure: Cork

I plan on moving back to Australia within the next two years so I am busy trying to sort of the wines to drink, give away or move with me. It's an interesting job as you find wines hidden away in boxes that you forgot you had purchased. This was one of them, a single bottle of the 2005 Heartland Directors Cut Shiraz.

Heartland Wines is the creation of a small group of South Australian wine identities and friends who all share a passion for making great wine; second generation winemaker Ben Glaetzer and wine industry professionals Grant Tilbrook and Vicki Arnold. All the wines are made by Ben Glaetzer a member of a family as synonymous with the Barossa as Shiraz.

The Shiraz grape was brought to Australia by the father of the Australian wine industry, James Busby, in 1832. Since then it has become the "Australian" grape and has been the driving force behind the industries amazing growth over the past ten years or so. Australia is also home to some of the oldest shiraz vines in the world with a number of wineries having vines older than 100 years.

This wine is Heartland's flagship wine and is 100% Shiraz produced from fruit grown in Glaetzers own vineyards. In this case 60% of the final wine is Langhorne Creek fruit with the remaining 40% coming from the Limestone Coast. Here is what I thought of it:

Dark, deep and dense opaque purple in colour. Great nose with plenty of dark plum and berry fruit along with some coconut. The palate is big and full-bodied with plenty of upfront, almost velvety, fruit. Ripe rich plum, peppery spice with a fair dash of oak. Really good fruit concentration and intensity. Tannins are there but are not too obtrusive. The finish is quite lengthy with spicy dark berry fruit. I really enjoyed this even though it really deserved some more time before consumption.

Georges Vesselles NV Champagne

2008-12-31T19:35:00.029+01:00

Country: France
Region: Champagne
Alcohol: 12%
Price: €27,95
Closure: Cork

I was never really a big fan of Champagne until I completely the WSET Intermediate Certificate where we were required to taste a number different sparkling wines including Champagne. The Champagne served at the course was an eye-opener; lovely bready aromas. Wow! I then realized that the average Champagne sold at supermarkets, and served at the average New Years, is generally Moet & Chandon et. al. mass production.

Generally the better known, and higher quality Champagnes are also those that cost a little more, in many cases a lot, money. Fortunately, there are a number of smaller Champagne houses that, though not well known, offer an excellent product that is well worth seeking out. Georges Vesselles is one of these smaller, lesser known Champagne houses.

The house of Georges Vesselle is one of the oldest and highly ranked “Grand Crus”, its vineyards covering some 42 acres. The estate has been owned and operated by the Vesselle for a number of generations. The estate produces Champagne as well as a red Bouzy based on the Pinot Noir grape that is only produced in good vintages.

The various Champagnes produced by Vesselles are all around 90% Pinot Noir with the remaining 10% being Chardonnay. This is the Brut Champagne, a wine that is a blend of 2 and 3 year old cuvees. Here's what I thought of it:

Light golden colour. The bead is tight and small; clearly finer than the Spumante. On the nose apple and pear along with light bread-like aromas. The palate is delicate and fresh. Very dry with smooth apple and citrus fruit. Nice complexity. Dry citrus on a finish of good length. A lovely wine and certainly a class above the Spumante.

2003 Casa Pedro Domecq Reserva Magna

2008-12-29T19:49:00.050+01:00

Country: Mexico
Region: Valle de Guadalupe
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: €33,00
Closure: Cork

I visited Mexico on vacation for a couple weeks and purchased this at the airport on the way home. There wasn't that much available, but trapped in amongst the various Tequila's and other spirits were a couple of wines including the Casa Pedro Domecq Reserva Magna. I picked up two of these based purely on price, label and general gutfeel.

Casa Pedro Domecq, producer of this wine, was the first commercial winery established in the Valle de Guadalupe. It was a part of the Domecq group, started by Irishman Patrick Murphy in Spain, that has been taken over by Pernod Ricard in 2005. Domecq has been a driving force behind the modernization of the wine industry in Spain, and is doing likewise in Mexico. Domecq Mexico is based in the Valle de Guadalupe and is the Napa valley of Mexico. In fact the Valle lies just a couple of hours drive south of the Napa Valley and has the same capacity to produce high quality wines.

While Mexico is not a power in the wine world wine has been made here since 1590's when Spanish missionaries and settlers settled in the Valle de Parras. While it's history does not stretch back that far Valle de Guadalupe also has a relatively long and interesting history with wine production dating back before the 17th century. It was in 1834 that Dominican priests began growing grapes at the Northern Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mision de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe del Norte). This despite the ban placed on vine planting by the Spanish Crown which feared the competition from the new world wineries. The name was later shorted to Valle de Guadalupe.

Reserva Magna is a relatively new release by Pedro Domecq and is their attempt to produce a world class wine that at its best will match the best wines in the world. Since the wine is a recent release it probably has some time to go before it will ever rival the worlds best wines. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (20%) and Nebbiolo (20%). It has been aged for eighteen months in new French oak and bottled aged for a minimum of one year before release.

Here are my thoughts on it:

Beautiful deep red with purple hues. A powerful nose that really springs out of the glass with plenty of dark cassis fruit and hints of vanillan oak. On the palate there is plenty of juicy, sweet dark berry and cassis fruit; really silky and smooth. Evidence of french oak though it's not overpowering. Fine-grained tannins that do stand out a little now. Plenty of length on the finish. This is a lovely wine now and it will improve with some more cellaring time. Fantastic effort.

2005 Divinica Reserva

2008-12-24T21:11:00.013+01:00

Country: Portugal
Region: Douro
Alcohol: 14%
Price: unknown.
Closure: Cork

Produced by Quinta da Arnozela a quinta that I could find no further information about. This is a wine produced from a blend of Touriga Nacional (70%) and Tinta Roriz (30%) arguably two of the most important grapes in port production.

Here is what I thought of it:

Dark, deep purple - teeth-stainingly youthful - in colour; shows it's youth in the intensity and consistency of colour. The nose is quite powerful with plenty of dark berry fruit, spice and hints of french oak poking through here and there. Very much fruit-forward on the palate with plenty of rich black berry fruit, some vanillan oak and plenty of tannic grip. This wine is still very youthful and powerful that needs time to settle down, mature and integrate.

1980 Chateau Carbonnieux Rouge

2008-12-24T20:51:00.040+01:00

Country: France
Region: Graves
Alcohol: 12%
Price: €50,00
Closure: Cork

Chateau Carbonnieux is an estate located in the Graves subregion of Bordeaux. The chateau was constructed in the late 14th century at a time when the Hundred Years' War was in full swing. For a long period of time it was under the ownership of the Benedictine monks from the nearby Sainte-Croix abbey.

For forty years, between 1910-1950, Carbonnieux was left abandoned and uninhabited. The vineyards and cellar equipment were in states of disrepair. The year 1956, however, saw the Perrin family take over the chateau. First run by Marc, who passed any in 1982, and later by son Anthony, who passed any in September of this year, the chateau was graudally restored to top condition. The estate is now in the hands of the next generation Perrins: Philibert and Eric.

The chateau has 90 hectares under vine is divided almost equally between white and red varieties. Red varieties dominate slightly with about 47 hectares, whereas the red vines average 32 years of age, these being 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. leaving 43 hectares for the white. Average vine age is 26 years for the whites, which are 65% Sauvignon Blanc, 34% Semillon and 1% Muscadelle, It would be fair to say, however, that this estate is better known for it's white cuvee than the red.

Typical of Bordeaux-style blends this wine has a cepage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. I'm not sure what the exact percentages are but the more modern day red cuvees are made up something like this: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot.

This wine is the red cuvee and has been resting in the cellar since the date of purchase back in the early 1980's. The 1980 vintage is considered an average vintage, one which should be drunk now. I guess there is a fair chance that this wine will be over the hill. At the very least wines from this vintage will be well and truly showing their age.

This is what I thought of it:

Brick red-brown in colour fading rapidly towards the edges of the glass. Lack of real colour depth reveals this wines age. The nose is not powerful but reveals tabacco and cigar box characters with some dried red fruit and mineral-like elements. On the palate it's the dried red fruit that dominates, almost sour cherry with hints of smooth cedar-like oak. The tannins are fully integrated - all components are nicely in balance. Sour cherry hangs in there desperately on a finish of reasonable length. Despite this wine being right at the end of it's life I still really enjoyed drinking it.

2006 Domaine Chante Cigale Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc

2008-12-21T20:52:00.050+01:00

Country: France
Region: Rhone
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €20,00
Closure: Cork

Domaine Chante Cigale is located in the famous Chateauneuf du Pape sub-region of the Rhone Valley. The soils of this area are a mixture of sandy clay (40%) and limestone (60%) covered with what are known in France as "galets"; round, smooth stones (almost river stones). The stones are typically quartzite and remnants of Alpine glaciers that have been smoothed over millennia by the Rhône River.

A typifying characteristic of the terroir in the Chateauneuf du Pape sub-region, "galets" fulfill a two-fold purpose in this regions. Firstly, the stones absorb heat during the day and at night slowly release this warmth which aids the ripening of the grapes. Secondly, the stones can also serve as a protective layer to help retain moisture in the soil during the dry summer months.

The domaine encompasses a total of 40 hectares of which 5 hectares are white varieties with an average age of 30 years. These 5 hectares equate to around 20,000 bottles of white wine per year. Fermentation takes place in two separate batches using the natural, or wild, yeasts. The majority (95%) was fermented at 16°C in stainless steel tanks for a period of 3-4 weeks. The remaining 5% was fermented in new barrels at 20°C for a period of 8-10 weeks. No malolactic fermentation took place in order to keep the wine fresh.

Cepage of this wine is Bourboulenc (25%), Grenache Blanc (25%), Roussanne (25%) with the remaining 25% made up of varieties native to the region such as Picpoul and Clairette. This is what I thought of it:

Straw yellow in colour with tinges of green coming through. Very fragrant and fresh on the nose with hints of apple and pear. On the palate its quite rich with plenty ripe, almost juicy fruit - pear, apple along with hints of citrus. A soft roundness probably stemming from the partial oak treatment complements the high acidity beautifully. Finishes strongly with a burst of citrus long with some mineral qualities. Really classy, well balanced wine that I really enjoyed. For me this is something that I will definitely drink again in the future.

1998 Bodegas Riojanas Vina Albina Gran Reserva

2008-11-12T20:54:00.048+01:00

Country: Spain
Region: Rioja
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: around €20,o0
Closure: Cork

This wine is produced by Bodegas Riojanas, a bodega with over 100 years of history in the Rioja region. The Rioja region is divided into three main regions one of which one is the Rioja Alta where Riojanas is based (the others being Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja). The Rioja Alta region has higher elevations than the other regions is famous for its concentrated, fruity, smooth textured wines.

Bodegas Riojanas currently has more than 300 hectares of vine under direct control of which the majority is Tempranillo. Interestingly enough, however, is that the bodega also has one of the largest vineyard expanses dedicated to both Graciano and Mazueo in the Rioja region. From this they produce a number of wine ranges with the most serious being the Gran Albina, the Monte Real and the Vina Albina ranges. Most of the ranges include a crianza, reserva and gran reserva depending on the vintage and fruit quality.

In Rioja wines are categorized as either joven, crianza, reserva, and gran reserva. This system has everything to do with ranking according to the aging of the wine; in the last three the length of time the wine was aged in oak. This wine is the gran reserva which means that it must, at a minimum, have aged for two years in oak and at least three years in the bottle. Currently Riojanas has 25,000 barrels plus a stock of 4,500,000 bottles stored in a purpose-built installation of more than 35,000 square meters in size.

As you would expect from a Rioja, the majority of the wine is made up of the Tempranillo variety (80%) blended with Mazuelo (15%) and Graciano (5%). Here's what I thought of it:

Cherry to brick red, browning towards the edges of the glass. Really nice soft, fruity nose with some funky, earthy aromas. An attractive, almost velvet, palate with stewed ripe, red cherry fruit and tones of American oak. Also some interesting savoury characters in there. Grippy tannins are still evident but well integrated and not too obtrusive. A classy, mature wine that, though definitely in the later half of its life, is still really good drinking now and probably will be for a couple of years yet.

2001 Chateau Villars

2008-10-17T21:41:00.094+02:00

Country: France
Region: Fronsac
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €13,95
Closure: Cork

Fronsac is a hilly, picturesque region located along the Dordogne and L'Isle rivers to the west of the much more famous Pomerol region. A part of what is known as the Libourne satellite appellations - appellations that surround more famous wine regions - it's wines are recognized as some of the best value in Bordeaux. The soil on the right bank of the Dordogne contains a high percentage of clay which is a marriage made in heaven for the Merlot variety.

It is in this region that Chateau Villars has a history spanning more than two centuries and has shown itself to be one of the better performing chateaus in the Fronsac. Le Guide Hachette des vins has long rated this chateau as one the gems of its appellation which gives you an idea of the wine quality produced here. Had this chateau been located a little further east it would have a much bigger reputation.

The Gaudrie family has run chateau since the beginning of the 19th century with Jean-Claude and his family currently in control of operations. Thierry Gaudrie has managed to successfully combine the ancestral traditions of his forefathers with today’s modern methods. This wine (the Chateau Villars) is the flagship wine, a blend of predominantly merlot (75%) along with some cabernet franc (15%) and cabernet sauvignon (10%). Here is what I thought of it:

Despite being seven years old, this wine is still a very youthful, deep purple in colour. Nice mature nose with red strawberry and cherry-like aromas. Some earthy, yeasty, bread-like characters in there as well. On the palate it's smooth and soft with earthy, red berry fruit and hints of cedar. The tannins are quite soft and well integrated. It is full bodied but well balanced and nicely structured. All-in-all an honest, nicely matured red that is very good value for money and shows what Fronsac is capable of.

Casa do Raposo Fine Ruby Port

2008-10-02T20:32:00.064+02:00

Country: Portugal
Region: Douro
Alcohol: 20%
Price: €19,95
Closure: T-Cap

Casa do Raposo Fine Ruby Port is produced by Casal dos Jordoes, one of the first organic port producers. This producer is one of the smaller producers in the Douro producing around 140,000 litres of port, of which they bring 35,000 litres onto the market under their own labels, and 275,000 litre of table wine from their 50 hectares. Alongside this they also produce olives from 13 hectares of olive grove.

This ruby port is produced from a blend of the Touriga Franca (Francesca) (60%), Tinta Roriz (20%), Tinta Barroca (10%) and Touriga Nacional (10%) grapes. These four varieties along with Tinta Cao and Tinta Amarela make up the most important grapes in port production (of the forty eight grapes types permitted). Touriga Franca provides structure along with a mix of fruit and floral characters, Tinta Roriz (tempranillo) provides firm structure and flavors/aromas of dried cherries and spice, Tinta Barroca provides a high sugar content, floral aromatics, black cherries, plums and purple flowers, and finally the Touriga Nacional provides deep colour, structure and rich flavours of black fruit.

Ruby Port is the most basic of port styles and is generally made with a blend of red grape varieties and blends from several years. It is generally a drink now port, although there are examples of unfiltered Ruby ports that will allow some bottle aging. This port is port is one of those unfiltered examples with the etiquette suggesting that decanting is required. Not too sure how long it will age, but after more than a week in the bottle it was still going strong.

Anyway, what do I think of this Ruby Port:

As expected a really deep purple in colour. Plenty of fruit on the nose with spirit coming through as well. Smooth on the palate with plenty of good, juicy, concentrated, sweet fruit. Really quite sweet but the acid combined with the grape spirit gives the wine a good balance. Tannins are quite light on, as expected, which means a really easy drink exactly as a ruby port should be. I really enjoyed drinking this and in my opinion this is a lot better than your average ruby.

2007 Leasingham Magnus Riesling

2008-10-01T21:03:00.038+02:00

Country: Australia
Region: Clare Valley
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €12,00
Closure: Screwcap

When I think of Riesling I cannot help but think of the steep, hilly regions of Germany along the Rhine and the Mosel rivers. The riesling, originating in Germany (Rhine region), is a very versatile grape which can produce wines in many different styles. In fact it is one of the reasons some commentators, such as Jancis Robinson (and many others I may say), refer to riesling as the king of the whites.

Riesling is possibly one of the most underrated white varieties after it's reputation was destroyed by wines such as Blue Nun, Liebfraumilch and Niersteiner. Thouge these wines often contained little or no riesling in them riesling was tainted by association. These wines gave riesling the reputation of sickly sweet wines; beginners wines that were not to be taken too seriously. Over time Riesling is winning back some of the lost ground, although there is still a lot of ground to be made up.

In Australia the Clare Valley is one of 'the' places to produce riesling and is home to some of the best producers such as Leo Buring, Petaluma and Grosset. With an average rainfall of 632mm and an average winter temperature of 13 degrees, the Clare Valley is one of Australia's coolest wine growing regions. The long, warm summer days and the cooling nights allow the grapes to develop flavour as well as maintaining the crisp acidity Australian rieslings are known for. In general Australian riesling is drier than those produced in Germany for example where a little residual sugar is often left in the wine left fermentation.

This wine is the 2007 Leasingham Magnus Riesling produced in the Clare Valley. Against all advice Leasingham was the first winery in the Clare to plant the riesling variety in the early 1950's. The variety flourished and the rest they say is history.

Here is what I thought of the wine:

Light; almost straw-like in colour. Typical floral nose with a dash of green citrus. Quite dry on the palate with juicy, lemon, lime citrus fruit and plenty of mouth drying acidity. A little short on the finish but a nice, varietally correct wine. While very clean and correct I do think it lacks that little bit of interest for mine. I would, however, be interested in tasting this with some bottle age.

2003 Monasterio Del Pueyo Reserva

2008-09-25T19:20:00.039+02:00

Country: Spain
Region: Somontano
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €6,99
Closure: Cork

I purchased this wine at the Aldi without having a clue what I was really purchasing. The little advertisement on the left-hand top corner of the label stating "90 point Robert Parker" did catch my attention even though I am neither a fan, nor a reader of this particular wine critic. I was, however, interested enough to grab two bottles just to have a look see.

On arriving home wack the wine name into good old google. Nothing much available about this wine. Certainly not what I would have expected from a 90 point Parker wine. Anyway, after further searching I found that, according Aldi marketing and advertisements, this wine is a Marboré produced by Bodegas Pirineos located in the Somontano region. According to the Aldi it was not possible to use the original labelling so it was labelled as Monasterio Del Pueyo Reserva. Of note was that the Marboré was not actually rated by Parker, but by Jay Miller.

The wine comes from the foot of the Pyrenees in Spain, from a region called Somontano. Somontano, which actually means under the mountains, has a long oenological history with grapes having been grown since at least since the beginning of 2nd century BC. The region is generally known for its full-coloured, rustic reds with high tannin content, good acidity and good cellaring ability.

The cepage of the Monasterio is temperanillo (60%), cabernet sauvignon (20%) and merlot (20%) according the etiquette. However, if this is really the Marboré then it also includes lesser known local varieties parraleta (5%), and moristel (5%) at the expense of the same percentage of temperanillo. Whether this is so remains to be seen.

Ok, now to what I thought about this wine:

Deep, dark purple in colour. Powerful nose, especially when the wine was first opened and poured. Definite vanilla on the nose along with plenty of red and dark berry fruit and some spice. Plenty of power, yet quite elegant, on the palate with sweet, black, spicey fruit. Some tannin in there which probably needs a little time to settle down. A nice drop, certainly for the price, and certainly worth stashing a few away in the cellar. Whether the 90/100 is justified remains to be seen. I'm not such a big fan of this system myself; you either like the wine or you don't.

WBW#49 A toast to the end of the Bush Era

2008-09-15T10:02:00.025+02:00

I got married last month which is the reason that this blog has been neglected over that same period. This will then be my first post for quite some time; hopefully of many more to come.

The current Wine Blogging Wednesday topic, a toast to the end of the Bush Era, is hosted by Dhonig of 2 Days Per Bottle. This is an interesting topic, and one that I could not let slip by. My bottle of wine for this theme is one from France seeing they were one of the few countries stand up the US when it counted (despite much criticism). I have great respect for that, thus a French wine.

Well, like the citizens of most countries world-wide I've never been a Bush fan, and over the term of his office he has proven himself to be worse than I imagined when he was elected the first time around. The fact that he got a second term boggles my mind and probably says volumes about the majority living in the United States. Needless to say I won't sad when he leaves the Whitehouse for the last time.

Domaine du Jas Le Chevre d'Or

Country: France

Region: Cote du Rhone

Alcohol: 13%

Price: €14.95

Closure: Cork

Anyway, onto the wine. The wine I have chosen is the 2004 Domaine du Jas La Chevre d'Or produced in the Rhone Valley. This wine is 100% Syrah and produced by organic and byo-dynamic methods.

Here's what I thought of the wine:

Dark, purple-red in colour. Nose is not all that powerful, but is distinctive with red and dark fruit, hints of wood and dusty, earthy aromas. Again plenty of concentrated red and black fruit on the palate. Oak is hidden away nicely behind the fruit. There is also some earthiness there too along with nicely integrated tannins. A lengthy, dark fruit finish to a very good wine. I really like this wine; very concentrated but not over the top in power.

WBW#48 Back to Our Roots

2008-08-15T20:33:00.009+02:00

For a variety of reasons I started this post but never managed to finish it. This was a milestone in Wine Blogging Wednesday; it had been four years since Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours fame kicked off WBW.

Unlike many I never started on white, sweeter wines; whites have been something of an investigation project later on. I started with the lower end reds. Jacob's Creek, Hardy's Nottage Hill etc. were all names that served me well at the beginning of my wine journey. I couldn't find any of these, even though I have previously seen them floating around the supermarkets previously, so I purchased the Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz instead. Here's what my thoughts on it are:

2006 Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz

Country: Australia
Region: Multi-Regional
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €9,00
Closure: Cork

Deep purple red; quite dark and dense in colour. The nose shows red fruit and spice along with vanillan aromas. On the palate the red fruit is ripe, sweet and upfront and exhibits plum and dark berry flavours. Typical of Shiraz it also showed plenty of spice too. The oak was also evident but not overly so. Tannins were soft and velvety. A very decent, albeit commercial, drop and pretty good value for money.

2005 Niepoort Vertente Tinto

2008-07-19T20:10:00.015+02:00

Country: Portugal
Region: Douro
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €19,00
Closure: Cork

In my eyes Portugal, along with Italy, is one of the most exciting wine producing countries in the world today. With the many indigenous grape varieties available at their disposal the potential is there to produce interesting, unique wines that could differentiate Portugal from many other wine producing countries.

Port, Portugal's most famous of wines, has long been the king-pin in the Douro. Over the last ten to twenty years, however, this has all been changing as consumers tastes changed from drinking Port and Sherries to table wines. The rise of a new generation of winemakers in the Douro, and Portugal as a whole, has seen many producing table wines in addition to their ports. As a result many have released a range of table wines.

Among these is van Niepoort, a wine producer of Dutch origins. Van Niepoort is run by a 5th generation Niepoort, Dirk. Over the years Dirk Niepoort has established a reputation as one of the most skilled winemakers in the Douro. While he is also a tradionalist he was one of the first in the Douro to start dabbling with table wines.

This wine, named the Vertente, is a tinto produced from a blend of Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, Tinta Amarela, Touriga Nacional and others. The vineyards producing the grapes are quite mature with vine ages ranging between 20 and 70 years. Here's what I thought of it:

Great depth of colour with the deep purple showing it's youth. The nose is powerful and shows dark berry fruit. On the palate there is plenty of fresh, dark berry along with good, dying tannins and really good acidity. The wood is nicely integrated behind the fruit. This is a wine that is more about elegance than power. Nice length on the finish. I really liked this wine though at the moment of tasting I'm unsure whether this good value at €19.00.

WBW#47 Today’s Wine Brought To You By The Letter “S”

2008-07-08T19:32:00.026+02:00

This months Wine Blogging Wednesday theme is presented by the guys at Grape Juice. An interesting theme this one; Today’s Wine Brought To You By The Letter “S”. Well all I can say this wine was definitely brought by the letter "S". Read more to find out why.

NV Pertaringa The Full Fronti

Country: Australia
Region: McLaren Vale
Alcohol: 18.%
Price: €16,00
Closure: T-Cap

The liqueur styles Tokay (Muscadelle) and Muscat/Frontignac (Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains / Brown Muscat) are classically produced in Australia, especially the Rutherglen area in Victoria. This one, however, is not from Rutherglen but from McLaren Vale where the Hardy and Leask families have been fortifying grapes for well over 150 years. Today they own and run Pertaringa Vineyards releasing the Full Fronti for fun rather than necessity. The Liqueur Fronti is a blend of liqueur frontignac that averages to around 20 years in age.

These are my thoughts on it:

Amber-brown in colour with hints of olive green. Very thick and viscous. Powerful on the nose; the aromas almost leap out of the glass with ranchio aromas, raisins and currants, spice and just a hint of spirit. Thick, luscious and powerful on the palate with the same ranchio characters, raisins, currents, apricot, caramel along with hints of spirit. A spirited long, lengthy finish completes a seriously superb drink; stupendously spectacular, sensuous, and sublime. Oh heck why not? It's SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUSLY good.

2005 Churchill Estates Tinto

2008-07-02T21:47:00.045+02:00

Region: Douro
Country: Portugal
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €15,00
Closure: Cork

Churchill Estates is a relative newcomer to the world of port, having been founded by Johnny Graham in 1981. Like many other producers in the Douro, Churchill has also started producing tables wines based on the traditional port varieties such as Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz and Touriga Franca. This is the second of their table wines, the 2005 Churchill Estates Tinto.

The wine is produced from the Tinto Roriz (60%) and Touriga Nacional (40%) varieties. Tinto Roriz, also known as tempranilla in Spain (the star of Rioja) and aragonez in Portugal, has small grapes with a thick skin which produces wines of intense colour depth. It generally produces wines with lower acid and tannin in warmer climates such as the Douro. Touriga Nacional on the other hand is a grape producing wines with massive colour and big tannins. The real star of the Douro, it provides structure, generally high acidity, powerful tannins and deep, powerful aromas.

Anyway here's what I thought of it:

Really great colour; deep, dense and purple. On the nose it's powerful with red and black fruits, and gives the impression that this will be a big wine. The palate is, however, more elegance than power and exhibits smooth, soft, sweet black fruit backed by cedar-like oak. Fruit is fresh and grippy tannins quite elegant. Nice black fruit finish completes a really elegant wine. Churchill aims to produce elegant, balanced wines rather than over the top, overripe fruit bombs which is exactly what they have achieved. Attractive and impressive wine that I definitely recommend.

1964 Chateau La Burelle

2008-07-01T08:33:00.019+02:00

Country: France
Region: Saint Emilion
Alcohol: 11-13%
Price: Unknown
Closure: Cork

My father-in-law (to be) took this one out of the cellar - as far as I know it's been there for all of it's life bar the first 5-6 years or so. Of interest was the brown wine bottle - it was certainly the first time I have seen one of those from Bordeaux. Also of interest was the alcohol percentage being displayed as between 11 and 13 % .

Now I always like to know a little more about the wines I drink. In some cases, however, this is nigh impossible especially where the wine is old and the estate or chateau no longer exists. In this case I couldn't find anything about the chateau which is a bit of pity.

1964 was an interesting vintage. It followed the superb 1961, the variable, underrated 1962 and the rain-ruined 1963. While plenty of rain fell in 1964 it fell primarily during the harvest. In general the summer months were warm and dry which allowed the earlier ripening grapes such as Merlot to fully ripen. Merlot ripens a few weeks earlier than does Cabernet (left bank Bordeax) and many right bank properties harvested just before the rain came down to ruin whatever was left including the left bank harvest. While I have no idea as to the quality of this Chateau, the chances are the grapes for this wine were harvested before the rain came and that it is more than likely largely (if not soully) Merlot.

The words of one Ellen Eller sum up the right bank vintage: "It was such an exquisite 1964 Bordeaux that one sip was more like inhaling a soft fragrance than imbibing a liquid"

Here's what I though of it:

The Orange-red clearly indicates an older wine; the core is still has good depth of red with light orange at the edge of the glass. A little funky at first but then opened up to show plenty of red cherry fruit and some cigar box aromas. On the palate it still has quite a lot of red fruit backed by soft and well integrated tannins. Acidity added some freshness. Good length on the finish. This wine has aged beautifully over the years. It certainly tasted a lot younger than a 44 year old wine. Really enjoyed the experience.

2006 Matahiwi Pinot Noir

2008-06-26T19:02:00.013+02:00

Region: New Zealand
Country: Wairarapa
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €12,00
Closure: Screwtop

This wine has been produced by Matahiwi Estate from Wairarapa. At 75 hectares Matahiwi Estate is one of the largest family-owned estates in the region. Located on the Southern tip of the North Island of New Zealand, Wairarapa was "discovered" as a wine possible wine region in the 1970's making it quite a young region. It contains the Martinborough sub-region home to some of New Zealands best Pinot Noir producers among others Dry River, Ata Tangi and Palliser.

This wine is a 100% Pinot Noir produced from a variety of clones and rootstocks (over 40 I read somewhere) grown at the Estate. The Pinot Noir variety makes up the 30% of the vines with the remaining 70% being Sauvignon Blanc. Here's what I thought of the wine:

Typically of Pinot it is quite light red in colour. Attractive, youthful and quite pronounced nose with the ripe cherry fruit along with some earthy tones. The same ripe, soft, young cherry fruit on the palate along with smokey oak. Not complex but a well balanced wine with good acidity. A nice length completes a really attractive wine that is lovely drinking right now.

WBW#46 Rhone Whites

2008-06-11T07:43:00.021+02:00

This month the theme is Rhone whites and is presented by dr debbs of goodwineunder20. I chose two wines one Australian and the other a Rhone. The wines ended up being totally different in style which made for interesting comparisons; one was quite fresh with good acidity as opposed to the other which was fatter and rounder with clearly less acidity.

2005 Yering Station M.V.R

Region: Australia
Country: Yarra Valley
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €16,00
Closure: Screwtop

Yering Station has some of the oldest vines in Victoria and was one of the first wineries in Victoria having been established in 1838 by the Scottish-born Ryrie brothers. While certainly better known for it Pinot Noir, Yering Station have a reputation for quality across the entire range. This wine has been matured for 3 months in oak of which 22% was fermented in oak
and the remaining 78% in tank. The cepage of this wine are the classic northern Rhone varieties of Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne.

Pale, straw-like in colour. Really fresh on the nose with plenty of peach and pear fruit. The same pear and peach fruits show up on the palate along with some citrus and mineral characters. The wine is lean and very fresh with good acidity. A lovely wine for a warm summers day.

2003 Paul Jaboulet Aine Crozes Hermitage Mule Blanche

Region: Rhone
Country: France
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €19,00
Closure: Cork

This estate also have a long history with evidence suggesting that winery was found in the early 19th century. Until 2005 the estate was in the hands of the Jaboulet family when it was sold to the Frey family, who also own Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux.

Of interest is that the comes from the days when mules where used as pack horses in the vineyard. The wine is a blend of Marsanne 50% and Roussanne 50% sourced from a 7 hectare vineyard where vine age is between 40 and 60 years. It spends nine months in oak.

Bright intense yellow-golden in colour. Butter and honied melon on the nose backed up with some hints of oak. The palate is quite thick and oily with the same buttery creaminess and plenty of honey-like fruit. Acidity is quite low but the wine is not flabby. Oak gives the wine structure. Interesting, attractive wine that I would be more than happy to drink again in the future. Good stuff.

2003 Castello Dei Rampolla Chianti Classico D.O.C.G.

2008-05-22T21:27:00.024+02:00

Region: Toscana
Country: Italy
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €20.95
Closure: Cork

Castello Dei Rampolla is situated close to Panzano in central Tuscany and has a long history going back to the 13th century. The 42 hectare vineyard, farmed biodynamically for the past ten years, is situated on calcareous soil about 360 meters above sea level. The sangiovese variety thrives in this environment. Quality is further increased by high-density planting of vines and ensuring low yields.

While Castello Dei Rampolla's main claim to fame is their cabernet-based super-tuscans like Sammarco and D’Alceo around 60% of the total production is Chianti Classico (around 100,000 bottles). The remaining 40% is divided between the D’Alceo, the Sammarco and the Trebianco. This wine is the Chianti Classico, a blend of 95% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Here's what I thought of it:

Garnet in colour fading to orange at the rim of the glass. Almost a little smokey on the nose with red cherry, berry fruit and a hint of mushroom. The same red fruit reappears on the palate backed up by firm, dying tannins and some toasty oak. Nice length completes a wine where all components are nicely in balance with one another. All-in-all a really delicious, well structured wine that matched nicely with the wild mushroom and truffle ragu we had for dinner.

2007 Thorn Clarke James Goddard Shiraz

2008-05-17T18:36:00.024+02:00

Region: Barossa
Country: Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €9.99
Closure: Cork

Thorn-Clarke Wines was launched in 2002 as a result of the 37 year marriage between David and Cheryl Clarke (nee Thorn). The Thorn family have a long history in the Barossa having grown vines in there since the 1870’s. They still proudly own and manage some of the oldest vineyards in the region.

Thorn-Clarke abides by a strong philosophy of over-delivering in terms of the quality at every price level. They strive to ensure that whether people buy the Sandpiper range at $15 or the Shotfire range at $23 they are drinking wines that are excellent value for money. So far that has definitely been the case.

This shiraz is a tribute to the ambitious James Goddard, an ancestor of the Clarke family, who found gold in the Barossa Valley in the 1870's. Having migrated from England in the 1850’s, he moved to the Barossa during the gold rush, developing and managing the Lady Alice mine in search of riches. Here are my thoughts on the wine:

Dense, deep, inky purple-red in colour. Nice nose with plenty of black fruit and hints of vanilla. Full-bodied on the palate with black berry, plum and some sour cherry backed by toasty oak and fine-grained tannins. A lengthy, drying finish completes a nice wine that punches well above its weight class.

2007 Boschendal 1685 Chardonnay Pinot Noir

2008-05-11T18:53:00.044+02:00

Region: Franschhoek
Country: South Africa
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €13.50
Closure: Cork

An interesting, unique blend that caught my eye at a local wine store - a still wine produced from the grapes of one of the traditional Champagne blends, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. This wine is produced by Boschendal Wines a wine producer in the Franshoek region in South Africa. One of the oldest producers in the franschhoek region it has a rich history dating back over 300 years to the arrival French Hugenots in the area.

While the early history has strong links the the French Hugenots the name Boschendal is an old Dutch name which literally means forrest (bosch) dale (dal). The strong Dutch influence continues with the magnificant manor house that has been built in the Cape Dutch style. Completing the estate is 200 hectares of vines consisting of wide range of different varieties.

This wine, from the 1685 range, honours the arrival of the Hugenots in the area, and the beginning of winemaking, in the year 1685. It is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in equal portions barrel-fermented. Here's what I thought of it:

Interesting colour with an orange-yellow-brown, almost a light copper in colour. The nose with tropical fruit - pineapple etc. though there is some hint of cherry/strawberry too. Full bodied and powerful on the palate with the same tropical fruit as on the nose along with a spicy, fresh cherry finish. Really fresh with some bitters on the finish. Not bad, although I am not blown away by this one at all.

2004 Penfolds Thomas Hyland Cabernet Sauvignon

2008-05-06T22:25:00.010+02:00

Region: Adelaide, Coonawarra, and Robe
Country: Australia
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €9.99
Closure: Cork

It was Thomas Hyland's hands that took over the reins after the passing of Penfolds founder Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold. Hyland was married into the Penfolds family and, together with his mother-in-law Mary Penfold, saw the company develop into one of Australia's most famous wine names.

This cabernet is one of a trio of wines that form the Thomas Hyland range honouring the enterprising, pioneering spirit of Thomas Hyland. Typically of many of the Penfolds range it is a multi-regional wine that draws its fruit from Adelaide, Coonawarra, and Robe. Here's what I thought of it:

Deep, dark dense red with purple hues. The nose is not super powerful but shows nice ripe red plum fruit, some black olive and hints of vanillan oak. Soft, round and fruit forward on the palate with the oak nicely tucked away behind red plum and berry fruit backed up by fine, grippy tannins. Decent length completes a drink-now wine that is well made, but is not all that exciting.

WBW#45 Old World Riesling

2008-05-06T21:30:00.009+02:00

Region: Ahr Valley
Country: Germany
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €12.00-15.00
Closure: Cork

The wine blogging wednesday theme (hosted by Tim at winecast.net) for this month is old world Riesling (in essence Germany, Austria and France's Alsace). Of all the white varieties I can't think of a variety that I love and hate (at the same time) more. When well-made Riesling wines are superb, when done badly they are terrible. Cheap brand names such as Blue Nun and Black Tower, as well as wines designated Liebfraumilch, have really given the reputation of Riesling a hammering in the past. Thankfully things have changed since then with Riesling now some of the world's most undervalued wines.

For this theme I decided to pull out a bottle that I have had lying in the cellar for quite some. I purchased this wine when travelling on a wine tour to the Ahr Valley in 2001. It was at Weingut H.J. Kreuzberg, one of the stops on the tour, that I tasted a lovely 10 year old Riesling that really caught my attention. I ended up buying a half case of the 2001 Dernauer Pfarrwingert Riesling Auslese Trocken based on that experience. This wine is interesting in that it is an auslese (late harvest) trocken (fermented to dryness) - where late harvest (auslese) fruit is fermented out to dryness. Here are my thoughts:

Pulling the cork revealed some tartrate crystals typical of aged wines. Nice clear, intense gold with some hints of green - it almost reminds me of a dessert wine. The nose is almost botrytis-like with hints of petroleum. Quite powerful and full-bodied on the palate with green apple and steely, mineral-like characters. Quite a dry wine with good acid balance that reminded me somewhat of a dry tokaji I had in Hungary a few years back. All-in-all an interesting style that I thought went quite well with the homemade fish and chips we ate with it.

2004 Borghese Barrel Fermented Pinot Noir

2008-04-24T19:10:00.035+02:00

Region: Long Island

Country: U.S.A.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: €22.00

Closure: Cork

I recently spent some time visiting a friend in New York. The wine freak in me meant that a visit to Long Island was always going to be on the cards. The Long Island wine region is around 90 kilometers from New York city and at around 25 years a relatively young wine region. The region has warm, humid summers and cold winters with moderating influences in the form of the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay.

Castello di Borghese Vineyard & Winery (formerly known as Hargrave Vineyard) is located on the north fork of Long Island. The vineyard, established in 1973 by the Hargrave family, has 84 acres under vine and produces around 10,000 cases per year. With the selection of Pinot Noir as their flagship wine the owners, Ann Marie & Marco Borghese, have gone away from the trend of using Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes as primary red varieties.

This wine is the Barrel Fermented Pinot Noir, a wine that I was most impressed with when tasting at the winery. Here is what I thought of it:

Light cherry red in turning to orange at the glass rim. Lovely nose of red berry fruits; primarily cherry along with hints of strawberry and toasty oak. On the palate it is quite earthy revealing the lovely crisp, fresh cherry and strawberry fruit along with some hints of tobacco. Fine, almost powdery tannins give the wine some backbone. Decent length completes a really interesting, well balanced wine that I thoroughly enjoyed drinking.

WSET - Week 2

2008-04-16T18:09:00.003+02:00

This weeks topics:

Viticulture
Winemaking
Wine Labels.

2004 Penfolds Bin 128

2008-04-10T19:17:00.019+02:00

Region: Coonawarra

Country: Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €13,00
Closure: Cork

Penfolds has been around since 1844 and over the subsequent 160-odd years has done much to put Australian wines on the world map. Their most famous wine is undoubtedly their flagship bin 95 (otherwise known as Grange), creation of the brilliant (and stubborn) Max Schubert. The naming of wines after bin numbers stems from the days when the wines were still stored in numbered underground storage bins at Penfolds Magill winery.

Penfolds has continued the tradition of labelling wines with bin numbers, among them the Bin 128. Formerly known as Bin 128 Claret, Bin 128 could be described as an oddity among the Penfolds range as it is one of the few wines where the grapes do not come from multiple regions; all grapes are sourced from the Coonawarra region. The wine is a cool climate Shiraz that is matured exclusively in Franch Oak.

I purchased this to assess whether I like it enough to purchase a case to stash in my cellar for a few years. This wine is, in my own humble opinion, a little too young to drink now.

Here's what I thought of it:

The first thing that hit me about this wine is the whimp of a cork used by Penfolds - what a joke. Anyway on to the wine. Really deep, dense red in colour with purple hues. almost black. The nose shows dark plummy, almost cassis-like fruit with some oak there in the background too. Medium in weight on the palate this wine shows nicely ripe dark berry, curranty, plummy fruit along with some hints of white pepper. This is all nicely framed with toasty oak. A lengthy, drying finish completes a really nice wine (though you need to appreciate some oak). Given the quality this is really quite decent value for money.

WBW#44 Cabernet Franc from France

2008-03-31T22:43:00.012+02:00

I really enjoy wine blogging wednesday as it really pushes you to taste something that is a little off the radar. This wine blogging wednesday theme, hosted by Gary Vaynerchuck, is that of French Cabernet Franc. For this theme I have decided to do two wines since neither of the wines I reviewed is a straight Cabernet Franc. Co-incidently both of these wines are entirely contrasting in style. So here goes.

2005 Villebois Cabernet Franc Malbec

Region: Loire
Country: France
Alcohol: 12%
Price: €9,00
Closure: Screwtop

Domaine La Chardoisie is based in the Loire Valley and is owned by four Dutch wine-crazy investors. They produce four wines including this Villebois Cabernet Franc Malbec (2005) which is a blend of Cabernet Franc (60%) and Malbec (40%) and is produced from 15-40 year old vines. While these grape varieties are of lesser importance in Bordeaux in the Loire these varieties play an important role.

Here is my tasting notes:

This wine has a deep purple red in colour. The nose is delicate with hints of raspberry and strawberry. The colour fools you as this is is a lighter-bodied wine with raspberry / strawberry jam, hints of cherry and some earth too. This is a very fresh with good acidity, balance and grippy tannins. A tasty lighter, fruity wine perfect for a warm summers day.

2005 Mas Champart Vin de Pays d'Oc

Region: Languedoc
Country: France
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €9,00
Closure: Cork

Mas Champart is owned by Matthieu and Isabelle Champart who took over the then run-down Languedoc (St Chinian appellation) domaine in 1976. Since then the estate vineyards have doubled in size from 8 hectare to 16 hectare. After initially starting out as grape growers selling their produce to the local co-operative they soon turned to producing their own wines. This is blend is primarily cabernet franc along with some syrah which is generally unusual for the Languedoc region.

Here is my impression of this wine:

Intense deep red with purple hues. Quite closed on the nose initially it opened up to reveal black berry fruit and violets. Medium to full-bodied on the palate with plum, black berry and solid almost chewy tannins. Quite a lot of spice in there too, almost paprika. Quite good length on the finish. Overall a really nice wine, that probably deserved some laydown time in the cellar before consumption.

2005 Campolargo Vinha Do Putto Tinto

2008-03-30T19:55:00.022+02:00

Region: Bairrado

Country: Portugal

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: €5.95

Closure: Cork

Mention wine from Portugal and chances are people will be thinking Port. The production of quality tables wines, however, is definitely on the rise. Couple this with a wide range of indigenous grape varieties (over 500), a variety in wine regions, and in general very reasonable pricing can set Portugal apart from many other wine producing countries. In my opionion two words that can best describe Portugal as far as wine goes are exciting and individual.

Bairrado is one of the three wine regions (the other two are Douro and Dao) located in northern Portugal. Production is 80% red with the native variety Braga synonymous to the region. Of note is that the region has a huge number of growers, some 4700, with an average vineyard size of 0.2 hectare. The region was officially demarcated in 1979.

This red (Campolargo Vinha Do Putto Tinto a name that would possibly be found offensive in Spain) has been produced by Manuel dos Santos Campolargo a wine maker located in the Bairrado region. It is not made from the Braga grape, but is a blend that can comprised of some or all of: Cabernet Sauvignon, Tinto Roriz, Touriga Nacional and Syrah depending on the year. The composition is determined on a year-by-year basis. This is what I thought of it:

Deep ruby red in colour with an attractive nose of red berry fruits and some hints of tabacco. The palate is fruit forward and probably medium weight at best with the same red fruit and some savoury, green pepper elements. A dry finish completes a decent entry-level quaffer.

WBW#43 Comfort wine

2008-03-12T19:20:00.020+01:00

Region: McLaren Vale
Country: Australia
Alcohol: 15%
Price: €15,00
Closure: Cork

Initially I felt that this is one the toughest WBW topics so far. I'm not really all that sure that I drink wine as a comfort drink, although I certainly do drink it when I am unwinding. Anyway here is my effort at this months wine blogging wednesday theme (presented by Joel over at Wine Life Today).

The past weeks have been pretty hectic for me; a wedding to plan for August and a new freelancing world (it's my second week). Initially I thought maybe a nice bottle of vintage port or a bottle of Tokaji. Living so far from home, however, I could not go past relaxing with a good glass (highly likely a few more than that!) of Aussie Shiraz.

My choice of wine for this theme is the Gemtree Uncut Shiraz from the low yielding and excellent 2003 vintage. Here is my tasting note:

Really good colour; deep red with tinges of purple. Nice nose with plenty of plum and berry fruit. Big and full bodied the palate is smooth with concentrated plum and black berry. Some spice in there too. Oak is there but definitely takes a back seat. Fine grained tannins provide for a nice lengthy, dying finish. This is delicious wine that really is great value for money.

2005 Leasingham Magnus Clare Valley Shiraz

2008-03-07T18:09:00.024+01:00

Region: Clare Valley
Country: Australia
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €11,95
Closure: Screwcap

The Stanley Wine Company was established in 1893 by Joseph Knappstein (a merchant), Doctor Wein-Smith (a general practitioner), Magnus Badger (a solicitor), and John Cristion (a noted brewer). Now known as Leasingham (changed in 1984), and run by the Hardys Wine Company, it was started by the quartet in order to produce high quality wines in the Clare Valley.

Around one hundred and fifteen years later Leasingham has certainly shown that their vision for quality wine in the Clare Valley has certainly been realised. This is the Magnus Shiraz, a relatively new range, named as a tribute to solicitor Magnus Badger. Here is my tasting note:

Really dark, teeth-staining purple-red, almost black in colour. The nose is made up of peppery black fruit, along with some herbs. Quite tight and elegant on the palate with plenty of black berry fruit and nice firm tannins. Some vanillan oak comes through on the lengthy finish. This is the real deal, a lovely and good value for money wine.

2006 Calvet Reserve Du Ciron Sauternes

2008-03-06T20:09:00.034+01:00

Region: Bordeaux
Country: France
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €10,50
Closure: Cork

Calvet was founded in 1818 by Jean-Marie Calvet, and was where the great Emile Peynaud started his illustrious career in the wine industry. The company was once one of the best family-owned negotiants in Bordeaux although this changed in 1982 when the company become a subsidiary of the Whitbread group and was subsequently consumed by the giant multinational Allied Domecq.

1997 saw the company once again become an independant French-owned company under the leadership of Jack Drounau. There was limited success and the 188 year old Calvet went through several restructures in an attempt to move into profitability, selling off its property holdings and bottling line, making a large number of redundancies and finally being taken over by H Mounier. In 2006 it was finally sold off to Grand Chais de France, a wine company based in the Alsace.

Anyway, lets get to the wine. This wine is a blend of semillon (80%), sauvignon (15%) and muscadelle (5%). The aim behind this blend is as follows: the semillon forms the base of the wine and provides the wine with body and sweetness as it lacks in acidity and aromatics. The sauvignon blanc, on the other hand, gives the wine these aromatics along with lively acidity. Last but not least the muscadelle gives wine the more elegant, subtle aromatics. Here is my tasting note:

Yellow-gold in colour; maybe some tinges of green too. The nose is more elegant than powerful; lightly floral with honey and some hints of botrytis. More honey on a palate that is not all that sweet and a lot lighter than I expected it too be. Some flabbiness too which is kind of dissappointing. Finishes with the sweetness giving way to some slightly bitter characters. A lighter style that really lacks the weight. Disappointing.

2001 Tatty Road Cabernet Pertit Verdot Merlot

2008-03-03T17:46:00.014+01:00

Region: McLaren Vale
Country: Australia
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €15,95
Closure: Screwcap

I've read many good reviews about the wines produced by Gemtree Vineyards and have been looking forward to trying their wines. The vineyard is owned and run by the Buttery Family, and the wine made by Mike Brown (who is married into the family).

Mike Brown's winemaking philosophy is all about quality fruit and minimal intervention in the wine making process. He aims to produce wines that are powerful, concentrated, and express the true characteristics of each variety and the region.

The wine is a Bordeaux blend of cabernet (70%), petit verdot (25%) and merlot (5%) from a good year in 2001. According to the information on the wesbite cabernet dominates the blend and creates the platform and base, petit verdot gives the aromatics structure and tannin, and merlot the juiciness.

Here is my note:

Terrific colour: very deep, dark red in colour with purple hues. The nose is not that powerful but shows some olives, black currant and hints of oak. The palate is full-bodied and all about the fruit with spices, plums, and sour cherry. Oak takes a definite back seat as it should. Grippy tannins complete a solid wine that for some reason doesn't really do it for me.

2002 Franciscan Oakville Estate Merlot

2008-02-29T20:36:00.021+01:00

Region: Napa Valley
Country: U.S.A
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €19,95 (on sale from 39.00)
Closure: Cork

Since the movie Sideways, merlot has certainly come across some tough times (especially in the U.S.A). Miles, one of the major characters in the movie Sideways, gives wines produced from the grape an extremely hard time. "If anyone orders merlot, I'm leaving. I am not drinking any fucking merlot." was probably his most famous line in the film. As a result merlot sales plummeted (mostly in the U.S.A I might add).

There is not doubt that there is plenty of poor to average merlot being produced (as per wine from pretty much any other grape variety). However, it should be noted that some of the worlds most sort-after, and costly wines are also made from the varietal. One only needs to think of the great wines from the Pomerol in Bordeaux such as Chateau Petrus and Chateau Le Pin. I just wish more people would trust their own palate rather than follow a trend started by a bleeding movie.

Anyway, this wine is a merlot and is produced by the Franciscan Winery which was founded in 1972 by a group of lawyers and doctors from San Francisco who decided to try turning their passion for wine into a business. The wine is a blend of 87% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is my note:

Dark, dark red/purple in colour moving more to brick-red at the edges. Powerful nose initially quite funky sweet medicinal though it settles down nicely to reveal plenty of ripe, sweet cherry and black berry fruit. Good mouth-feel with plenty of intense curranty, black berry / cherry fruit. Initially little evidence of oak, but the finish shows a lot of drying, chalky tannins that really dominate the finish way too much which in my view ruins the wine.

2006 Vina Errazuriz Pinot Noir Wild Ferment

2008-02-26T20:06:00.019+01:00

Region: Casablanca Valley
Country: Chile
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €15,95
Closure: Screwcap

This Pinot Noir is part of the Speciality Range from Vina Errazuriz. This range is produced by using the natural grape yeast present on the grape skins at the time of harvest. Francisco Baettig, winemaker at Vina Errazuriz, believes that wines vinified using natural yeast have more complexity and flavour. So each year a small portion of the premium grape production is fermented in this fashion.

I must admit I don't have much tasting experience with Pinot Noir, and quite often I haven't really enjoyed them all that much. Anyhow, lets see what I think of this one:

Dark red in colour; a lot darker than I would have expected. Nose is a little restrained but shows some berry fruit; maybe a little cherry and strawberry. The palate is very smooth, almost silky, with plenty of red cherry and berry fruit along with some hints of creamy, well-integrated vanillan oak and good tannins. Good complexity. The finish has reasonable length, though does have a little heat. Lovely wine.

2004 Chateau Livran

2008-02-25T20:04:00.021+01:00

Region: Medoc
Country: France
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: €6,50
Closure: Cork

Chateau Livran has a very long history with vintages dating back to 1310. During this time the chateau has been owned by a number of famous names including chevalier Arnaud Gargie de Goth (brother of Pope Clement V), Comte d’Armagnac, the De Bordeaux family and the Du Perrier de Larsan family.

The chateau, now owned by the Godfrin family, has some 52 hectares under vine with an average age of around thirty years. I read in another source that the varieties planted in the vineyard are made of merlot (50%), cabernet (35%), and cabernet franc (15%). This is atypical Medoc as the norm would be wines dominated by the cabernet variety. Whether this is totally correct or not I am not sure.

Here is my tasting note:

Ruby red in colour; very clear. The nose is attractive with cherry, smokey bacon and some hints of barnyard. Cherry and some plums along with hints of caramel on a palate that is also quite earthy. After a good start the finish is where this wine lets itself down badly as it just disappears into nothing; some bitter, spicey fruit maybe but very little indeed. Disappointing.

2006 Chateau de Luc Cuvee Cecile

2008-02-22T14:47:00.006+01:00

Region: Corbieres
Country: France
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €3,99
Closure: Cork

Corbieres is located in the Languedoc region one of France largest wine regions producing a quarter of all French wine. In general it is a largely underrated region producing primarily red wines (around 90% are in fact red wines). The region has a history of producing wines that could best be decribed as quite rustic. However, over the past 5-10 years many producers in this region have been focusing on inproving the quality of the wines, and improving the sense of place (or terroir) in the wines.

The region has around 4285 ha. under vine with the allowed grapes for red and rose: carignan, grenache, mourvedre, syrah, cinsaut and for the whites: clairette, grenache blanc, bourboulenc, ugni blanc, roussanne, rolle, maccabéo and marsanne. The maximum production is 60 hl. per ha.

This wine is the Cuvee Cecile which is a blend of Carigan (45%), Syrah (20%), Grenache (20%) and Cinsault (20%). This is quite typical of Corbieres where the majority of the grapes grown (around 50%) are in fact Carignan. Here is my tasting note:

Purple almost maroon in colour. A very attractive nose with cherry and bramble. Full, round and soft on the palate with good mouthfeel. Ripe red berry fruit; cherries and red berries with a little caramel-like oak influence. Some spice in there too. The tannins are very soft and well integrated. An elegant, and very nice quaffer especially if you consider the price.

2006 Domaine de la Pigeade Muscat de Beaumes de Venise

2008-02-20T20:18:00.039+01:00

Country: France
Region: Southern Rhone Valley
Alcohol: 15%
Price: €1.99 (severely discounted)
Closure: Cork

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise is a sweet muscat-based Vins Doux Naturel produced in the Cötes de Rhöne. Vins Doux Naturel is basically a fortified wine produced in a similar fashion to port where the fermentation is stopped by the addition of neutral grape spirit which kills the yeast. Whereas ports reach alcohol levels around the 19-20% mark a typical Muscat de Beaumes de Venise is normally fortified to just over 15%.

There are currently 489 hectares under vine in this AOC producing Muscat blanc à petits grains (small berried Muscat), also known as ‘Muscat de Frontignan’. The grapes must have a sugar content of at least 252 g/l and the mutage (or stopping of 95 proof. The wines must contain 110g/l of sugar and have a minimum alcohol percentage of 15%.

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise has a long history with sources mentioning a muscat-based being produced here in the 1st century A.D. (Pliny the Elder descried the Muscat of this region as this lively and fruity wine, long cultivated at Balme in his natural history). Later, in the fourteenth century, Pope Clement V, had a 70 hectare muscat vineyard planted on the slopes of the Beaumes-de-Venise. In 1945 the decree dedicating the title of A.O.C., backdated to 1943, was awarded to Beaumes-de-Venise Vin Doux Naturel Muscat.

Thierry Vaute is the name behind Domaine de la Pigeade, a family domaine located at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain ridge in Southern Rhone. Thierry's family vineyard was formerly part of the local village co-operative until he took over the domaine in 1996. He decided to go it alone and has spent the past seven years improving the vineyards, renovating the winery buildings, reducing the yields and increasing the quality of his wines. It certainly appears to be paying dividends as my tasting note will attest:

The colour is a very pale gold in colour; almost straw-like. On the nose it is powerful with absolutely gorgeous honey and apricot tones. Very smooth, sweet honey and apricot fruit on a palate that is more about finesse and elegance than power. Acid balances the sweetness beautifully. Reasonable length completes an elegant wine that was an absolute steal.

2005 Douglas Green Reserve Selection Chardonnay

2008-02-16T17:43:00.015+01:00

Country: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €9.95
Closure: Cork

This chardonnay has been produced by Douglas Green Wines a part of the DGB group South Africa's largest independent wine and spirit producer and distributor. DGB was formally established in 1991 following a merger between Douglas Green (founded in 1938) and Union wine (founded in 1946).

Here is my tasting note:

Pale green/gold in colour. Typical tropical chardonnay nose of pineapple and apple with some citrus. While there is upfront fruit the palate is kind of tight with some melon and apples along with some hints of creamy oak. The kiwi fruit gives the wine a nice zingy, citrusy finish - certainly nothing flabby here. A pretty decent chardonnay for the price.

2005 Guidalberto Tenuta San Guido

2008-02-16T00:05:00.023+01:00

Country: Italy
Region: Toscana
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €25.00
Closure: Cork

Tenuta San Guido is the winery behind the production of this wine. The winery was started in the mid-1950's by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta who dreamed of producing a great, noble wine in Italy. Strongly influenced by Bordeaux he experimented with a number of French varieties before settling for Cabernet Sauvignon, as it produced wines with the "bouquet he was looking for". The resulting wine was the Sassicaia.

The wine, however, was not well recieved by the local consumers who were used to the lighter wines produced from the more traditional Tuscan and Piedmontese varietals of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. As a result the first twelve vintages of the new wine were consumed at the estate with the first commercial release occurring in 1968. Over time the wine has been elevated to the status of super tuscan, was the first Italian wine that established itself abroad, and is now a highly sought-after wine.

This is not the Sassicaia, however, but the second wine for the winery, the Guidalberto Tenuta San Guido. Named after Guidalberto della Gherardesca, a maternal ancestor of Incisa who cultivated vines in Bolgheri in the 19th century, it is also a wine based on Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) though it also consists of an almost equal portion of Merlot (40%) and a tiny percentage of Sangiovese (5%). The wine has spent 14 months in American and French oak of which 1/3 is new oak.

Here is my tasting note:

Dense purple and red in colour. Nose is quite closed but is elegant and exhibits some fruity plum and mineral characters. Intense fruit on the palate with plenty of plum, prunes, spice and some earthy mineral characters along with some caramel-like oak. Fruit carries the 14% alcohol very well indeed to the extent it is not noticible. Tannins are quite prominent and provide good grip on a powdery chalk-like finish. This is a serious wine with good structure that needs some cellaring time in order to settle down and mature. Superb now but will be even better over a couple of years.

WBW#42 Just Seven Words

2008-02-13T16:48:00.030+01:00

Country: Italy
Region: Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Sicily)
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €14.95
Closure: Cork

This weeks wine blogging wednesday theme, hosted by the guys at Spittoon, is to describe an Italian red in seven words. Considering I am a wordy bastard that's quite a challenge. Anyway first a little about the wine, the varieties it was made from and region in which it was made.

The wine I will review is the 2006 Planeta Cerasuolo Di Vittoria. Planeta is a family business started by three members of the Sicilian Planeta family - Alessio, Francesca and Santi - in the mid 1980's. They produce 11 wines and 3 Extra Virgin Olive Oils from the 350 hectares of vineyard and 75 hectares of olive grove that they own throughout Sicily.

The wine is made from Nero d'Avola (60%) and Frappato (40%) both grape varieties indigenous to Italy and both very important in Sicilian wine production. The vines producing this wine are around ten years old and the wine produced has seen no oak treatment.

Here are my seven words: like your mother-in-law; spicey, tart and sweet.

1995 Henriques and Henriques Single Harvest Fine Rich Madiera

2008-02-04T22:00:00.032+01:00

Country: Portugal
Region: Madeira
Alcohol: 19%
Price: €18.00

Portugal's great claim to fame in the wine world is undoubtedly the great ports produced in the Douro valley. Lesser known, and certainly far underrated, are its other great fortifieds produced on the tiny, volcanic island of Madeira. The wine, also called Madeira, is one of the most amazing and unique wines produced in the world.

Between the 16th to the 18th century Madeira built up a reputation as wines of quality. Madeira's strategic position in the Atlantic meant that it became an important port in the trade routes between Portugal and the West African coast. Along with with sugar (cane), wine was also one of the products traded from Madeira. Pipes of Madeira (around 600 litres each) were often used as ballast in the ships. Like port, Madeira was initially a strong, unfortified wine. However, the wines were unstable and deteriorated before arriving at their destination. Merchants who knew about Port wine’s fortification with brandy decided to apply the same technique, since there was enough molasses from sugar cane plantations to ferment and distill. With the addition of the distillates madeira became stable and as many voyages proceeded through the tropics it was found that the hot weather improved the wine even further.

The mid 19th century, however, saw things change very rapidly. First, the discovery of powdery mildew in 1851 severely reduced production for around three years. Just as recovery was beginning came the phylloxera epidemic that had plagued most of the European wine regions. By the end of the 19th century, there was only 500 hectares of vineyard left as most of the island's vineyards had been ripped up and were converted to sugar cane production. In addition many vineyards that did replant choose to use American rootstock as Europe had done, as well as using hydrid varieties such as Cunningham and Jacquet which were prohibited in Madeira production.

Over this time period Madeira Madeira lost it's market share and, as quality also dropped, struggled to regain it. The wine industry in Madeira has certainly suffered with only six winemakers left from over sixty once in existence. The tide, however, is slowly turning with wine producers set on improving wine quality, and with some replanting of the noble four. Interest from the public is also slowly returning.

This wine is the single harvest from Henriques & Henriques produced from 100% Tinta Negra Mole. Tinta Negra Mole is the workhorse grape in Madeira and makes up roughly 85% of total vines planted. A cross between Grenache and Pinot Noir it is said that this grape does not produce Madeira of the same quality as that produced from the four nobles Malvasia, Sercial, Verdelho and Bual.

Here is what I thought of it:

Deep honey, gold, almost marmalade-like in colour. The nose is quite piercing with sweet toffee and caramel. On the palate its all honey, toffee, caramel along with some hints of apple. Some citrus-like freshness balances the sweetness beautifully. The finish is a little bitter burnt orange and completes with considerable heat. I have very little experience with Madeira but I found this a nice entry-level Madeira that I really enjoyed.

2005 Casa Mayor Carmenere Reserva

2008-02-03T20:37:00.002+01:00

Country: Chile
Region: Central Valley
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: €9.95 (30% discounted)
Closure: Cork

Carmenere, the sixth grape variety of Bordeaux, is now almost impossible to find there as there are only a few hundred acres left. It was once an important and prized grape variety in Medoc offering colour and flavour to wines from other varieties. Known at the time as Grosse Vidure or Grand Vidure, the variety was dying out until the mid 1990's when a large percentage of the Merlot (brought in from France in the mid-1800's) growing in Chile was found to be Carmenere.

The grape joins three other French varieties - tannat in Uruguay, malbec in Argentina, and durif in Australia / US - that have performed far better in their adopted countries, then in the country of origin. While some espouse the view that Carmenere is a variety that is better for blending with other varieties than for producing a high quality single varietal, Chilean producers obviously believe that this variety has enough to go it alone.

This wine is a 100% Carmenere. Here is my tasting note:

Really good colour; intense red / purple. Lovely nose of spicey black fruit with some hints of toasty, cedary oak. Once the wine opened up it showed very soft, smooth and round on the palate with plenty of plummy, jammy fruit and soft, round tannins. Reasonable length on a dry, spicey finish. Not a top wine, but a good value, varietally correct wine made for immediate pleasure.

2002 Hess Cabernet Sauvignon

2008-02-01T19:01:00.001+01:00

Country: U.S.A.
Region: Napa Valley
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: €11.99 (50% discount)

Hess Estate was established by Donald Hess in 1985. Hess inherited his Swiss families beer business in his 20's which he set about converting into a water business. Looking to further expand his water business, Donald arrived in the Napa valley and was immediately impressed by the quality of the wines produced.

Donald then proceded to procure his first vineyards on Mount Veeder called Veeder Hills. Over the corresponding eight years more vineyards at Mt Veeder, Veeder Crest, Veeder Summit and La Salle were purchased.

From the very beginning Donald Hess was looking to produce a product of high quality. A quote from the website illustrates this:

"From the beginning, my philosophy for new business development has been to deal only in natural products. Over the past twenty-three years of the Hess Collection's existance, I patiently stuck to this belief and strove to offer great value at the paragon of quality."

Hess has built up a reputation for high quality, good value wines across all product lines going a long to achieving this paragon of quality. Here is my tasting note:

Fantastic deep red, purple in colour. Typical Cabernet nose with plenty of dark cherry fruit and hints of mint and french oak. Open, generous new world style with upfront dark berry fruit and some vanilla. Well balanced despite the massive 14.5% alcohol with fine, grippy tannins and good acid. While quite chunky its not huge or over-the-top though it does lack a little on the finish. All-in-all an impressive wine.

2005 Chateau Saint-Paul

2008-01-30T20:27:00.003+01:00

Country: France
Region: Haut-Medoc
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €6.00 (Discounted)
Closure: Cork

Chateau Saint Paul is the result of a union of two plots of vines; one belonging to Chateau Mornin, the other to Le Bosq, both of St-Estephe fame. The vinyards, totalling 48 hectare, have a long history and date back well into the 17th and 18th centuries. The chateau is located next to the great chateau Sociando-Mallet overlooking the Gironde river. With the pedrigree of the dirt in which the vines are grown, there is no real excuse for producing anything but good wine.

The wine is a blend of cabernet (65%), merlot (35%) and cabernet franc (5%) with cabernet being the dominant variety as is typical in wines from the Haut-Medoc region. It has matured in oak for 18 months, of which 25 percent is new oak. Here is my note:

Deep, dark red in colour with tinges of violet. Intense, attractive nose of cassis, spice and some cedar. Concentrated on the palate this is a powerful wine with a good fruit core of cassis, plums and some hints of vanilla. Good balance and complexity with quite substantial tannic grip and a decent length on the finish. This wine is a fantastic bargain that needs a couple of years to settle down.

2007 Eymann Classic Riesling

2008-01-20T19:11:00.000+01:00

Country: Germany
Region: Phalz
Alcohol: 12%
Price: €7.95

Riesling is, in my opinion, the one single white grape that can lay claims to nobility along the same lines that Cabernet does for the red varieties. Riesling has suffered enormously because it is associated with sweet and semi sweet wines of low quality that have been produced in Germany in past years. However, this perception could be nothing further from the truth; when handled correctly this grape can produce phenomenal wines with good potential cellaring.

This riesling, produced by Weingut Eymann, is classified as a classic riesling. The classic category, introduced in 2000, means that this wine has no more than 15 grams of residual sugar per litre of wine. Here is my tasting note:

Clear and very pale yellow in colour. The nose is quite sharp and floral with lots of citrus fruits. Good mouthfeel; crisp and fresh with plenty of citrus fruit and sour apple. Well balanced with plenty of sweet fruit to counter the high acids. Nice length on a rather tart finish. A well made Riesling at an affordable price.

2003 Siam Winery Monsoon Valley Shiraz

2008-01-19T16:18:00.000+01:00

Country: Thailand
Region: Pak Chong
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: €5-6

First there were wines from the Old World, then along came wines from the New World. Now there are also the New Latitude wines; wines produced in countries such as India, China, Thailand, and Brazil where the environment does not naturally support the growing of wine grapes, and where is little history of producing high quality wine. Advances in winemaking and better control over cropping levels etc. have allowed wines to be produced in these areas where the vine would normally not do all that well.

Monsoon Valley is part of the Siam Winery group based in Thailand, a country certainly not known for producing quality (or any wine at all for that matter). What makes this winery interesting is it's promotion of two so-called "local" red and white grapes: Malaga Blanc and Pokdum. Malaga Blanc was introduced to Thailand in 1685 and has been used as a table grape whereas Pokdum is a mutation of a crossing of Golden Queen and Muscat Bailey A varieties. While both grape varieties are rarely used elsewhere in the wineworld in Thailand they both show promise to produce a product unique to Thailand.

The way some of these grapes are grown is also very non-conventional. The winery purchase a good percentage of its grapes from vineyards located in the Chao Phraya delta. It was here that a network of canals was built for drainage, irrigation and transport purposes during the reign of King Rama IV. The vine grow on narrow small islands with canals in between the rows which gives the illusion that they are floating on the water. Some photos can be found here.

While Monsoon Valley produce a number of wines based on largely on indigenous grapes it also produces from 100% Shiraz grapes grown in a more traditional way in Pak Chong. I had the opportunity to purchase some around two years ago. The total wine geek that I am I decided to purchase a case of this wine. The first bottle was consumed around 2 years ago. At the time I was quite disappointed with the wine and as a result it was left in the cellar until today when I decided to give it another go. Here is my tasting note:

Ruby red in colour. The nose is dusty and dominated by cedar aromas with some black, plummy fruit and hints of mint poking through. Quite round and smooth on the palate with the same plummy black fruit and hints of spice. Tannins are very soft. Smooth and decent length on the finish with spicey black fruit. Though a lacking a little structure this is a decent, and very respectable effort from a country not known for wine production. I am certainly a lot more impressed than I was the last time I tasted this.

WBW#41 Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Friuli-Venezia Whites)

2008-01-16T19:15:00.000+01:00

This month the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday, suggested by Jack & Joanne at fork and bottle, are the whites wines from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy. Friuli is a region with a long history of occupation; the Celts, the Romans, the Barbarians, the Lombards, the Avari, the Austrians and the Hungarians have all had control over this region at a certain period of time. I would imagine that this variety of cultures would have left a distinct mark on the gastronomy of this region including the wines.

While good reds are produced here, Friuli is primarily known for it's high quality white wines; in some sub-regions white varieties outnumber red varieties by a ratio of 5 to 1. An estimated thirty grape varieties are grown here including a number of indigenous varieties of which Tocai Friulano is the most important and widely grown. Soon to be known as Friulano, in order to avoid confusion with Tokaji in Hungary, this variety is found almost entirely in the Friuli region, except for some plantings in Chile (where it is known as Savignon Vert).

The entire region of Friuli is known for the quality of it's wines. However, the two sub-regions of Collio and, especially, Colli Orientali located to the east along the border with Slovenia are said to produce the best wines.

This month I have chosen to review two wines. Since I found it rather difficult to find wines for WBW themes in the past, I bought the first bottle I came across (more by chance than by design). This was a 2006 Sauvignon (blanc) produced by Tenuta Ca' Bolani. However, I rather like to try something new and original so I also managed to get my hands on a Tocai Friulano - Storico (Cru) produced by Adriano Gigant. This wine comes from 70 year old vineyards located in Colli Orientali, is limited in production to 7000 bottles, and was rated as a tre bicchiere (three glass) selection in the 2007 Gambero Rosso Guide to Italian Wines.

2006 Tenuta Ca' Bolani Sauvignon

Country: Italy
Region: Fiuli
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: €9.00

Very clear, pale, straw-like in colour. The nose is distinctly sauvignon blanc quite perfumed and aromatic with grass and gooseberry. Palate is limes, gooseberry; round and smooth with hints of butter. The finish is tart lime fruit with a reasonable length. This is very, very easy drinking Sauvignon Blanc. Lovely.

2004 Tocai Friulano - Storico (Cru)

Country: Italy
Region: Fiuli
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €15.95

Pale, clear gold in colour. The nose is elegant, fragrant and floral. Crisp citrus fruits dominate the palate, yet it also has some creamy aspects too. Very well balanced with good structure. The long, thick legs on the sides of the glass are evidence of 14% alcohol though you wouldn't know it. Nice long, slightly bitter finish completes an excellent wine.

2000 Chateau Capet Duverger

2008-01-05T17:20:00.001+01:00

Country: France
Region: St. Emilion
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €11,50
Closure: Cork

I bought this wine on a whim - most probably because it was on sale in some random wine shop. This is a vineyard that I had never heard of, and certainly couldn't find all that much about it on the web either as I find it the way with many French wines.

What I do know is that this chateau has a rather small with a vineyard of around 7 hectares in size. As you would expect from a right-bank Bordeaux vineyard Merlot dominates the vine plantings with 64% followed by Cabernet Franc (28%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (8%). It's safe to say this red blend contains the same varieties in similar proportions. The average age of the vines is 29 years.

Here is my tasting note:

Nice deep purple, red in colour. Shows some age with the brick-red near the edge of the glass. Typical Merlot nose of plummy, black fruit. The wine took a while to open up and show it's true colours but when it did it showed the same plums and black fruit as on nose. Very much Merlot in it's softness and roundness with some firm tannins but not enough here for mine. Ends with slightly bitter red fruit on the finish. A nice red, though not quite what you would expect from a grand cru.

2006 Honore Lavigne Pouilly-Fuisse

2007-12-30T18:20:00.000+01:00

Country: France
Region: Burgundy
Alcohol: 13%
Price: €7,99
Closure: Cork

Honore Lavigne is a wine range offered by wine négociant J.C. Boisset, the second largest exporter of wine in France. This Pouilly-Fuisse is another wine recommended by the Supermarkt Wijn Gids. Pouilly-Fuisse wines originate from the Bourgogne region, and are not to be confused with the Sauvignon Blancs from Pouilly-Fumé and Pouilly-sur-Loire in the Loire Valley.

Pouilly and Fuissé are two distinct villages in the Mâconnais. The larger wine area actually encompasses 4 villages to produce a white wine based on the Chardonnay grape, and sold under the name of Pouilly Fuissé. Most Pouilly Fuissé can be drunk when relatively young though the best can possibly be cellared for 20 years or more.

Here is my tasting note:

Gold straw-like in colour. Powerful, yet elegant, nose with intense aromas of peach and melon. The palate is quite lean and mineral with the same peach and melon. Some creaminess is the only indication of oak handling. Tart and cleansing on the finish with good length. Simply delicious Bourgogne Chardonnay at an excellant price. I love it!

2006 Aliwen Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah

2007-12-29T18:33:00.000+01:00

Country: Chile
Region: Central Valley
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €4,95
Closure: Cork

One of the gifts I received this Christmas was the Supermarkt Wijn Gids which rates the wines sold in the supermarkets in the Netherlands. My intention is to slowly work my way through some of the wines that were highly recommended in the book. A number of Aliwen wines are highly rated including this Cabernet blend.

Aliwen is a range of wines produced by Vina Undurraga, a fifth generation company with around 1011 hectares of vineyard in the Maipo and Colchagua valleys. It was founded in 1885 by Don Francisco Undurraga Vicuña one of the pioneers of winemaking in Chile. Don Francisco was a man of many colours including lawyer, politician, writer, painter and ofcourse farmer.

The name Aliwen is taken from a local Mapuche legend where the Machi (shamans who represent good as opposed to the kalkos or sorcerers who represent evil) joined her Aliwen (sacred tree) forming a single being a mystical bond that symolized the connection of human beings with the universe. The most important rituals are performed around the trunk of the tree (it is a fundmental element in the rituals). The wines of Aliwen are concieved as pure beings, a composition of elements that have evolved out of the experience of nature and the diversity of human spirit.

This wine consists of 75% cabernet sauvignon and 25% syrah. Here is my tasting note:

This wine is a deep ruby red in colour. Lovely and elegant nose with aromas of cassis and hints cedar like oak. This is a well-structured wine with plenty of upfront fruit; currants and blackberry fruit. Mouthfeel is good with firm, grippy tannins. With good length on the finish this is an excellant value for money Cabernet.

Christmas Cheer

2007-12-26T13:29:00.001+01:00

Well Christmas is here, along with the presents, food and ofcourse plenty of wine. These are the wines that we had with our Boxing day dinner that we held at home. An interesting note here is that all the wines were at least 13.5% alcohol but this did not show in any of them. Anyhow, here are my tasting notes:

2006 Montana East Coast Unoaked Chardonnay

This a wine from New Zealand. The vineyards is quite far inland as thus avoid the cooling influence of the sea. In the summer months leaves are plucked from the vines in order to increase sun exposure of the grapes in an effort to improve flavour and ripeness. This is an unoaked Chardonnay (stating the obvious there I suppose :)).

Pale gold in colour. Nice fresh nose with grapefruit and pineapple. Fresh and crisp on the palate with citrus, melon and some pineapple. Though fresh, it's suprisingly creamy for a Chardonnay that has not had any oak treatment. Nice crisp finish. An allround good value quaffer.

2006 Emiliana Adobe Chardonnay

This is the first of the Chilean Chardonnays. Emiliana Orgánicos is dedicated to producing environmentally responsible wines It has started as an organic producer with the goal of adopting biodynamics. I understand this is something of a rarity in Chile at this point in time. The Adobe range is the value for money range.

Bright gold in colour. Nice fruity, creamy nose with cirtus fruits, melon and some cashews. On the palate the same fresh citrus and tropical fruits are again evident. Oak treatment has taken place, but it has been handled well. This is quiet a light, elegant style of Chardonnay. Not a top Chardonnay, but a good value for money drink.

2006 Casillero Del Diablo Chardonnay

Casillero del Diablo means Cellar of the Devil. Legend has it that more than 100 years ago Don Melchor of Concha y Toro, founder of the winery, reserved for himself an exclusive batch of the best wines produced. To keep strangers & light fingered workers away from this special private reserve, he spread the rumour that the devil was living in his cellars, hence the name. Casillera del Diablo is owned y Chiles largest wine company Concha y Toro.

Light, pale gold in colour - almost straw in colour. Crisp, yet creamy, with plenty of sweet, tropical fruit and pineapple. This is more upfront fruit than the other two; more in the mould of the creamy new world style Chardonnay but not at all over the top. Decent citrus fruit length. I liked this the best of the three Chardonnays on offer.

2003 Boschkloof Syrah

I don't pay any attention to awards but for interests sake this wine was rated highly by wine Spectator (91/100) and won a gold medal at the Michelangelo International wine awards. I decanted this a number of hours before consumption as we started with the whites.

Lovely deep purple, red in colour. Superb nose with spice, blackberries, currant and cedar. On the palate it is full bodied with a nice concentration of spicey blackberry and bramble along with some hints of mint. Excellent mouth feel with nicely integrated tannins. Nice lengthy finish with some toasty caramel character. This is a serious wine and by far the best of the night.

2000 Peter Lehmann Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz

2007-12-22T20:01:00.000+01:00

Country: Australia
Region: Barossa Valley
Alcohol: 14%
Price: €19,00
Closure: Cork

Sparkling Shiraz is quintessentially Australian. Living in Europe it was actually quite difficult to source any at all. A number of wine store owners informed me that there wasn't enough demand for sparkling reds which confirms that outside of Australia sparkling Shiraz is not really accepted or understood. Eventually I finally found a small quantity of Peter Lehmann Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz in a small wine store of which I purchased the majority.

Sparkling Shiraz was first produced in the 1880's in South Australia. The early 1930's-1950's saw the Seppelt winery at Great Western in Victoria become known as the home of Australian sparkling Shiraz, or sparkling Burgundy as it was commonly referred to at the time. Today Seppelt is still Australia's largest producer of sparkling wines, though there are numerous other wineries also producing sparkling Shiraz. More information about the history of Sparkling reds in Australia can be found in this well researched article by Dr. John Wilson of the Wilson Vineyard.

Peter Lehmann initially started with the production of a small number of cases of sparkling Shiraz for personal consumption in the 1980's. The first serious sparkling shiraz for public was released almost twenty years later in 1999 (from the 1994 vintage). The wine is produced using the method champenoise where secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle. It has spent 6 years cellaring on tirage (or on the lees) before disgorgement which allows the wine to gain further complexity.

The wine is named after the Queen of Sheba (also depicted on the label), member of the Ethiopian royal family. Not all that much is known about her, although she is mentioned in a number of key religious books such as the Bible and the Koran. In the limited literature references to her she is described as a mystical, exotic, dark beauty; as "dark [am I] and comely". As wise as she was beautiful, she was blown away by the wisdom of Solomon, even converting to his God. It is also possible that more took place considering Solomon was quite the ladies man.

Here is my tasting note:

Pinkish, brown head when poured. This is black, red in colour with brown towards to the edge of the glass. Rich, fruity nose of ripe blackberries and some hints of American oak. Plenty of sweet rich blackberry and plummy palate with a lovely fine bead and some hints of tannin. Nicely balanced with good length on the slightly bitter finish. Certainly dark and comely, this is a lovely example of Sparkling Shiraz.

My Person of the Year 2007

2007-12-19T22:43:00.000+01:00

It was (and still is) my intention to keep this blog purely wine-related. However this is something I feel very strongly about and so I felt compelled to blog about it.

Vladimir Putin was recently announced as the Time Magazine person of the year for 2007. Nothing wrong with that as he fits right in with a number of previous 'winners' including Osama Bin Ladin and Adolph Hitler. What really ground my gears, so to speak, was the reasons behind Time Magazines choice.

According to the magazine Putin was chosen because he has brought Russia much needed stability despite the costs of freedom. Apparently he has brought Russia back the brink of world power. The Time goes on to say that "if Russia succeeds as a nation-state in the family of nations, it will owe much of that success to one man, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin." And that is exactly what really gets me. Apparently the West has no problem with stability over human rights issues such as freedom of press, ideas, democracy etc. On the issue of Checnya Russia is allowed to do whatever it likes hiding behind the excuse that it is fighting terrorism and the West seems to have no problem with that. And just because Russia has oil?

Some time ago I read the book Putin's Russia and I was both amazed and horrified at the way things are handled in Russia. It would not surprise me if the average citizen would feel that they would have been better off under Communism than the current democracy. And while the Checnyans are not totally innocent, their fight is a legitimate one.

Anyway since 2007 is drawing to a close I would like to nominate my person of the year for 2007, Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya who was shot to death on the 7th of October 2006. I feel it is appropriate to remember her a little over a year after her death.

Politkovskaya, a fearless crusader for human rights who deserves far more recognition for her fight.

2006 Miolo Cabernet Savignon

2007-12-17T16:06:00.000+01:00

Wineries are popping up all over the world these days and wine is being produced in even the most remote and unlikely places. I rather enjoy tasting wine from unknown places even though this often leads to dissapointment. Anyway this Brazilian wine caught my attention in the local supermarket, and seeing I had not tasted any wine from Brazil before I grabbed a bottle.

Initially I thought Brazil was new to wine production. However, that could not be further from the truth. Wine production in Brazil has as long a history as Australia albeit not as illustrious or successful. The late 1800's saw the vine introduced by Italian migrants who brought a wine tradition when they settled in the southern half of the country. While wine has been produced in Brazil since this time, it only started to develop in the 1960s. The 1990s saw serious exports including to the US. It was around this time that the Brazilian Wine Institute was established.

The past decades have seen a lot of investment in wine technology, and there is no doubt that the wine quality continue toimprove in the coming years. How much improvement remains to be seen. The big hurdle for the Brazilians to overcome is climate. According to Jancis Robinson the climate is too tropical meaning that rain and fungal diseases are perennial problems. As a result it is to difficult to allow the grapes sufficient hangtime to fully ripe. There are also critics that say two harvests in a year weakens the vines. How true this is I am not sure.

Miolo wines is a family owned winery that is known as one of the better producers in Brazil. Established in 1847 it has vineyards in all five of Brazils wine-producing regions: Vale dos Vinhedos, Vale do São Francisco, Campanha, Campos de Cima da Serra and Serra Gaúcha. The winery is modern and employs modern winemaking techniques and technology.

This Miolo Cabernet Sauvignon wine comes from a vineyard located in Vale dos Vinhedos - the first Brazilian denominação de origem contralada (DOC) or appellation. Vale dos Vinhedos is a sub region of the largest wine region in Brazil, Serra Gaúcha, which has 8000 hectares under vine and produces 90% of Brazilian wines. Here is my tasting note:

The saignée process was used to increase colour depth and it has certainly worked as this wine is a deep red / purple with excellent depth. The nose, although not powerful, is a nice combination black cassis fruit and some oak. Soft and round on the palate with some nice cassis fruit and soft tannins. Balance is good. It finishes with the same cassis and some caramel-like oak. Not a bad effort for a country not known for quality wine. However, it lacks complexity and doesn't really do it for me.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #40 - Que Sirah Sirah

2007-12-12T15:53:00.000+01:00

This month the Wine Blogging Wednesday theme chosen (by wannabewino) is Petite Sirah or Durif depending on who you talk to. The wine I chose to review for this theme is the Westend Estate 3 Bridges Durif 2003.

Westend Estate is a small family-owned and operated vineyard with around 20 hectares under vine. The estate was established in 1945 by the the Calabria family who still own it today. The vineyard is located in close to the town of Griffiths in the Riverina region in New South Wales. Chief winemaker is Bill Calabria, who cannot consume his wines but is limited to taste and spit as he has allergy to acids in the wines.

Anyway now to the wine.

Typical of the durif grape, this wine is a very deep, dense, inpenetrable purple in colour. The is nose powerful and attractive with plenty of sweet fruit: plum, black berry and hints of vanilla. Massive is the only way to describe the wine on the palate. Plenty of fruit here with plums and black berries; also a little vegemite. American oak contributes some toasty vanillan flavours. Tannins are big and grippy but don't dominate the fruit. Thick legs sliding down the sides of the glass give testament to the high alcohol content which is nicely tucked behind a wall of black fruit. Still a baby this is a big wine that packs plenty of punch, just as Bill Calabria would have done in his amateur boxing days.

2004 Quinta Grande Touriga Nacional

2007-12-07T19:28:00.000+01:00

Quinta Grande Touriga Nacional is a red wine produced from the Touriga Nacional, a grape native to Portugal. Touriga Nacional is generally considered one of Portugals best, and most expensive, wine grapes. The grape plays a big part in the production of the Port wines produced in the Douro region. The wine produced from the Touriga Nacional is generally typified by its deep colour, intense fruity aroma, and powerful tannins. This is my tasting note:

Nose: Initially kind of wacky sweet nose with sweet American oak and hints of plums and prunes. Once it opened up it was very much dark red berrys and plums.
Colour: Lovely colour; dense, deep reddish brown.
Palate: Full bodied with plum and black fruit with nicely integrated tannins. Nicely balanced.
Finish: Plums with a slightly bitter, grippy finish.
Comments: A very young wine that is nicely balanced wine and excellant value for the 6.95 it sells for.

List of Australian Durif Producers

2007-12-07T11:10:00.000+01:00

While doing some research about the Durif / Petite Sirah grape I came across quite a few winery websites. This got me thinking perhaps it might be interesting to provide a list of all producers in Australia who grow Durif. Please let me know if I have missed any.

919 Wines (Riverland)
www.919wines.com.au

All Saints Estate (Rutherglen)
www.prbwines.com.au

Anderson Winery (Rutherglen)
www.andersonwinery.com.au

AT Richardson Wines (Grampians)
www.atrichardsonwines.com

Battely Wines (Beechworth)
www.battelywines.com.au

Beelgara Estate (Riverina)
www.beelgaraestate.com.au

Bellarine Estate (Geelong)
www.bellarineestate.com.au

Big Barrel Vineyard and Winery (Queensland Coastal)

Boyntons Feathertop (Alpine Valleys)
www.boynton.com.au

Brown Brothers (King Valley)
www.brownbrothers.com.au

Brumby Wines (Swan Hill)
www.brumbywines.com.au

Buffalo Mountain Wines
www.buffalomountainwines.com.au

Buller Calliope (Rutherglen)
www.buller.com.au

Calais Estate Hunter Valley
www.calaiswines.com.au

Campbells Wines (Rutherglen)
http://www.campbellswines.com.au/

Cape Horn Vineyard (Goulburn Valley)
www.capehornvineyard.com.au

Casella (Riverina)
http://www.casellawines.com.au/

Cassegrain Wines
www.cassegrainwines.com.au

Ciavarella (King Valley)

Cofield Wines (Rutherglen)
www.cofieldwines.com

Connor Park (Bendigo)
www.connorparkwinery.com.au

Currans Family Wines (Murray Darling)
www.curransfamilywines.com.au

Date Brothers (Swan Hill)
www.datebroswines.com.au

Dos Rios (Swan Hill)
www.dosrios.com.au

Drinkmoor Wines (Rutherglen)
www.drinkmoorwines.com/

Eumundi Winery (Queensland Coastal)

Flynns

Gapsted (Alpine Valleys)
www.victorianalpswinery.com.au

Gehrig Estate (Rutherglen)
www.gehrigestatewines.com.au

Golden Grove Estate
www.goldengrovee.com.au

Granite Belt Heritage Estate Granite Belt

Jaengenya Vineyard Goulburn Valley

John Gehrig Wines (King Valley)

Judds Warby Range Estate (Glenrowan)

Jones Winery & Vineyard (Rutherglen)
www.joneswinery.com

Kama Sutra Wines (Mudgee)
www.kamasutrawines.com.au

Kingston Estate (Riverland)
www.kingstonestatewines.com

Lake Moodemere (Rutherglen)
www.moodemerewines.com.au

Massena Wines (Barossa Valley)
http://www.massena.com.au/

Melange Wines (Riverina)

Michael Unwin Wines (Grampians)
http://www.michaelunwinwines.com.au/
Miranda Riverina
http://www.mirandawines.com.au/

Morris (Rutherglen)
http://www.morriswines.com/

Morrisons of Glenrowan
www.morrisonsofglenrowan.com

Mount Prior (Rutherglen)

Mudgee Wines Mudgee Murray River Wines (Murray River Region) www.murrayriverwines.com.au

Myattsfield Vineyard and Winery Perth Hills

New Glory Goulburn Valley

Normanby Wines Queensland Zone
www.normanbywines.com.au

Nugan Estate King Valley

Patrice Wines
www.patricewines.com.au

Pieter van Gent Wines ()
www.pvgwinery.com.au

Petersons Glenesk Estate (Mudgee)
www.petersonswines.com.au

Piako Vineyards (Murray Darling)

Piromit Wines (Riverina)
www.piromitwines.com.au

Pyren Vineyard (Pyrenees)
www.pyrenvineyard.com

Reedy Creek (Northern Slopes Zone)
www.reedycreekwines.com.au

Renewan (Swan Hill)

Riverina Estate Wines (Riverina)

Roland Kaval

Rothbury Ridge (Hunter Valley)
www.rothburyridgewines.com.au

Rusticana (Langhorne Creek)
www.rusticanawines.com.au

Rutherglen Estates (Rutherglen)
www.rutherglenestates.com.au

Sam Miranda Wines (King Valley)
www.sammirandawines.com.au

Scion Vineyard (Rutherglen)
www.scionvineyard.com

St Petrox (Hunter Valley)

Stanton and Killeen Wines (Rutherglen)
www.stantonandkilleenwines.com.au

Swan Hill

Tamburlaine Vineyard (Hunter Valley)
www.tamburlaine.com.au

Taminick Cellars (Glenrowan)
http://www.taminickcellars.com.au/

Tinonnee Vineyard (Hunter Valley)
www.tinoneewines.com.au

Toolleen Vineyard (Heathcote)
www.mttoolleen.com.au

Valhalla Wines (Rutherglen)
www.valhallawines.com.au

Vale Vineyard (Mornington Peninsula)
www.valewines.com.au

Vintara (Rutherglen)
www.vintara.com.au

Warburn Estate (Riverina)
www.warburnestate.com.au

Warrabilla Wines (Rutherglen)
www.warrabillawines.com.au

Watchbox Wines (Rutherglen)
www.watchboxwines.com.au

Wedgetail Ridge Estate (Darling Downs)
www.wedgetailridge.com.au

Westend Estate (Riverina)
www.westendestate.com.au

Wirruna Estate (North East Victoria)
www.wirrunawines.com

Yacca Paddock Vineyards (Adelaide Hills)
www.yaccapaddock.com

Yendah Vale

Petite Sirah aka Durif

2007-12-04T10:34:00.000+01:00

Since the next Wine Blogging Wednesday theme is petite sirah i decided to do some research into the background of the Petite Sirah grape. Petite Sirah, Durif or pinot de l’hermitage, respectively if you are American, Australian, or French, is a grape producing wines of massive proportion. It is the only reasonably well-known grape variety to be named after a person, botanist Dr François Durif, who propagated it in the Rhone Valley in late 1800's. Interestingly, the Durif vine was not propagated from cuttings but originated from seed stemming from a Peloursin vine germinated by Syrah pollen.

The main reason for, and importance of, the development was that it demonstrated the resistance to downy mildew, a fungal disease that had been causing widespread damage to European vineyards in the 18th and 19th century. Whilest the grape showed resistance to downy mildew it was very susceptible to grey rot in areas where there is high humidity such as the Rhone Valley. As a result the French, however, were never charmed by the wine produced from the grape and today there is very little grown there.

While never quite taking off in France, Durif did take a hold in the United States (California) and Australia (Rutherglen). Today these two regions are still the primary producers of the Durif variety. Both regions are warm and dry, conditions in which the durif grape thrives without much threat from grey rot. The late 1800's saw much of the Vitis Vinifera planted in both the US and Victoria wiped out by the root louse phylloxera. It was at this time that Durif was introduced in both regions.

Exactly why Durif was introduced in either Australia and the US is unclear. I am inclined to think that, if not the introduction, then the spread of Durif was more often incidental than by design. In the US durif was called petite sirah, and the syrah petite syrah. The two Rhone varieties coexisted and were often mistaken for each other. The Prohibition saw the Durif became a favorite as it was tough and stood up well to cross-country shipping by rail.

On other hand in Rutherglen the gold rush taking place at the time possibly provided a ready market for the wines. Very little is known about why exactly durif grape found it's way there. As in the US it is highly probable that some of the spread can be attributed to the similarities in appearance between the Syrah and Durif vines certainly in old age. Even recently there has been much confusion between the syrah (Shiraz) and durif grapes. This is how Carmen vineyards came to grow Petite Sirah in Chile for example. There is no doubt that this also played a large role in the spread of durif (petite sirah) during the late 1800's and early 1900's.

Typically, the Durif grape produces monumental wines dense, impenetrable purple/black in colour with massive concentration, balanced by a massive palate normally laden with black fruits, licorice, chocolate and vanilla. And it doesn't end there as the the tannins are big, but soft and the alcohol high. Paradoxally it also has a soft side, allowing the wines to be enjoyed right away or cellared for 10+ years. Decanting wines these wines is absolutely essential in order to enjoy these wines at their best, as is a number of years cellaring.

Today the Durif is still not a widely grown grape although it is becoming more popular. In Australia its home is Rutherglen, and it rarely strays from here. Total tonnage for Durif in Australia was 5430 tonnes a mere 0.5% of the 1,023,006 tonnes of red wine grapes crushed in Australia in 2005. In terms of planting Durif covers 402 hectares of a total red planting of 98,112 hectares, just 0.4%). In the US California is home to Petite Sirah. The popularity of the grape is similar in the US (California to be more exact because it grows 90% of all wine grapes in the US) where in 2006 36,281 tonnes, 1.9% of the total red crush of 1,873,892 tonnes, was crushed. The grape accounts for 2640 hectares from a total of 119,003 hectares just 2% of total red wine grape vine.

Durif: a grape producing wines of massive proportion, but miniscule in production.

Sources:
www.nass.usda.gov
http://www.adelaideadvertiser.com.au/
http://www.sallys-place.com/
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/
http://www.rutherglenvic.com/
http://www.vinodiversity.com/
http://www.psiloveyou.org/
http://www.awbc.com.au/
http://www.carmen.com/

Wine Blogging Wednesday #39: Silver Burgundy

2007-11-03T18:09:00.000+01:00

I initially intended this post for Wine Blogging Wednesday, an intiative started by Lenn Thompson. I forgot to submit the post in time but since I've written it I might as well post it. The theme of the month was silver burgundy meaning wines (white or red) from the Côte Chalonnaise or the Mâconnais regions, and was brought by brooklynguy.

In the first place I found it quite difficult to get hold of a Silver Burgundy, but eventually found a bourgogne offered by the cooperative Cave des Vignerons de Buxy. The wine is 100% pinot noir based and cost me €7.50 (roughly $11.00).

Here's my tasting note:

Colour: very clear and light cherry red in colour.
Nose: not a strong nose; red berry fruits with some barnyard-like aromas.
Palate: medium body with some red berry and cherry - quite spicey. tannins are smooth and soft. ends a little tart towards the finish. good balance. Not enough body for my liking.
Finish: finishes off with spicey cherry fruit.
Comments: I find this wine lacks some body and some fruit. It's quite thin but then I guess what do you expect for $10.00 I guess. Doesn't do anything for me.

Vinologia

2007-11-02T17:50:00.000+01:00

While in Porto I visited a small wine bar called Vinologia (also known as La Maison des Porto) located in the heart of Porto very close to the ribeira. The owner and founder, Jean-Philippe Duhard, is a Frenchman who fell in love with the wonderful ports of the Douro over ten years ago. It is probably better described as a port bar as this small, cozy place serves nothing but port offering over 200 different bottlings of port.

I was also planning on visiting Solar do Vinho do Porto, the port bars operated by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto but unfortunately they were closed on the day I chose to visit. As a result I can't really write about them with any of my experiences in mind - which is a pity.

Vinologia, while smaller that Solar do Vinho do Porto, is a fantastic place to taste port offering a number flights of different ports for tasting. It also has any number of bottles open on any given day including a vintage port. Each flight of port (or single glass for that matter) is offered along with a small bowl with saltanas and chocolates.

For mine, the most impressive aspect of this port bar is the commitment to the sales and promotion of the smaller, individual producers. This is unlike Solar do Vinho do Porto, which is somewhat more focused on the larger producers, and the better known ports.

I also found it interesting that the employees of Vinologia don't consider it to be just a port bar / port store, but rather they consider it to be a port school. The flights of port offered are also graded in beginner, intermediate, and advanced etc. The staff were also extremely helpful and willing to share their knowledge.

Vinologia also has a lot of rustic appeal, with every nook and cranny filled with port bottles, port books, and other wine utilties. The port bottles hanging from the ceiling, and the tables and benches made from the lids of port cases adds to the appeal. You can see the coziness of the bar in the photos above and left.

This bar, in my view, is a place you must visit during your next trip to Porto. In fact, I would recommend visiting it a number of times just as I did when I was there!

2002 Little River Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

2007-10-05T19:46:00.007+02:00

Little River Winery is a tiny 15 acre winery owned and run by Count Bruno and his wife Jan de Tastes. It is located in the Swan Valley, some thirty minutes from Perth. The winery is run applying old world-style principles with new world technologies. The utmost is done to ensure wines of high quality; the vines are not irrigated, the fruit is hand picked and a traditional Basket Press is used to press the fruit.

I visited this Swan River winery while back in Australia and I must say I was very impressed across the entire range; both whites and reds. This is the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, a traditional Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon (50%), merlot (40%) and cabernet franc (10%). The wine has been aged in French oak for five years and does not undergo any fining or filtering processes.

Here is my tasting note:

Deep red in colour. A lovely elegant nose of red berry fruit with hints of mint and oak. Plenty of spicey red cherry fruit on the palate with hints of mint, eucalypt and some caramel-like oak. Great mouth-feel with grippy tannins. Smooth and well balanced. Spicey cherry lingers nicely on the finish. This is an excellant effort that is lovely drinking now, but definitely has cellaring potential.

Downloadable Aroma Cards

2007-10-03T09:26:00.000+02:00

Alder from the Vinography blog has a handy, downloadable aroma card for those who would like some additional help finding descriptors for the aromas etc. in the wine they are tasting. It's available free of charge (a donation is welcome if you find it useful), in colour or black / white, and in Francais, English, Español, and Italiano. I'll be trying these out during my WSET course which starts next month.

2004 Santa Rita Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon

2007-09-22T18:21:00.000+02:00

Chile has gained a strong reputation for the quality of it's red wines, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon. It has become a worthy competitor for Australia in the high quality, value-for-money wines that have put so much pressure on the French winemakers. This wine produced by Santa Rita, one of Chiles largest wineries, is the reserva Cabernet. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Deep, dense red with purple hues.
Nose: Lovely nose of spicey black fruit along with hints of vanilla.
Palate: Slightly medicinal with plenty of juicy black current and hints of eucalypt. Full bodied with chunky tannins; though quite well balanced.
Finish: Nice grippy finish lingers for while.
Comments: I like this wine although I do find it to be a little one-dimensional. Still, for the price, it would be good every day drinking along with food.

2005 Chateau Bellegrave

2007-09-10T18:02:00.000+02:00

I've been trying to grab as much different 2005 Bordeaux as I can. The 2005 Chateau Bellegrave is a Medoc, a wine based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Colour: Deep, dense red, purple in colour.
Nose: Quite a strong nose with plummy, spicey black fruit.
Palate: Lovely, spicey, black berry fruit with excellent mouth-feel and plenty of grippy tannins.
Finish: Decent length finish for a wine at this price point.
Comments: A little one-dimensional, but at this price point it's very hard to beat. Still a little hard at this stage, but has plenty of years ahead of it. Excellent value for money.

La Trappe Quadrupel

2007-08-17T19:03:00.001+02:00

There are a total of seven trappist breweries world-wide. La Trappe, located in the Netherlands, is the only non-Belgium trappist brewery. The beer is brewed at the Koningshoeven Brewery in the Onze Lieve Vrouw van Koningshoeven abbey located in Tilburg. The brewery produces five regular beers - a Witt Trappist, a Blond, a Dubbel, and a Tripel - and two seasonal beers - a Quadrupel and a bockbier.

The aging of the monks meant that the total control of the brewery was becoming increasingly difficult, and lead to the sale to a commerical beer brewer, Brand, in 1999. The purchase lead to a dispute with the International Trappist Association (I.T.A.) which felt that the brewery was becoming too commercialised to be labelled a trappist beer. This has since been resolved, with the monks taking more direct control in daily brewery operations.

Since the purchase by Bavaria the quality of the beers has improved. However, there is still some confusion about the fact that Bavaria brews some if its non-Trappist products, including the Moreeke and Kroon brands, at the abbey brewery. I feel it's a great pity that the continued commercialisation and globalisation of the world has not left this little part of the world untouched.

This beer is the Quadrupel, the biggest beer produced by the abbey at 10%. Here is my tasting note:

Nose: nice spice nose with hops and raisins.
Colour: caramel in colour. a delicate white - yellow head.
Palate: a smooth and chewy mouth feel; quite delicate in a way. malt, nuts and spice with a good balance between tartness and sweetness. 10% alcohol is well hidden.
Finish: nice long, spicey finish.
Comments: this is an excellent beer.

Gala Solene 10 Years Old Tawny Porto

2007-08-11T18:37:00.000+02:00

I purchased this 10 year old tawny in the local Aldi supermarket for around 6 euros. I can't find any further information about the producer of this port. To be honest I don't have that much hope for it really, but I guess I can always be suprised. Here is what I thought of it:

Colour: Nice and clear; orange-brown in colour.

Nose: Dried, stewed fruit with some hints of oak.

Palate: Sweet but well balance, with plenty of dried fruit.

Finish: Lengthy finish, albeit a little stringent.

Comments: Lacks the complexity of a high-end port and a little astringent. However, a decent port for the price paid.

Leffe Brune - Dubbel

2007-08-11T17:24:00.000+02:00

This beer is produced by Abbaye de Abdij van Leffe located in Belgium. Leffe is an abdij, or abbey beer, which is a brewed along similar lines to the famous Trappist breweries with the exception that the beers are not brewed in monasteries. This is the Brune beer (or Dubbel beer) one of the five beers produced. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Deep, chocolate brown in color. Nice white, foamy head.
Nose: Not a big nose, but there is some sweet stew apple here.
Palate: Very smooth and soft with plenty of sweet fruit along with brown sugar and caramel like flavours.
Finish: Nice dry, spicey finish.
Comments: A good, easy drinking beer.

2005 Chateau la Fleur des Amandiers

2007-08-09T18:27:00.000+02:00

Montagne-Saint-Emilion is a satelite, and located to the northeast, of the Saint-Emilion Appellation. As with Saint-Emilion, and the neighoring Pomerol, Merlot is the dominant grape with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Merlot and Malbec used as for blending. While I don't know anything at all about this Chateau, 2005 was a very good vintage in Bordeaux so I went on a gut feel and bought a case of this wine.

Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Deep, dense red with purple hues.
Nose: Black fruits and some hints of oak.
Palate: Plenty of fruit here; black berry and plums. Lovey grippy tannins. Good balance.
Finish: Nice long, spicey finish.
Comments: This is a lovely wine. While drinkable now, this is still a very young wine that still has its best years left in it. Excellant value for money.

Hertog Jan Grand Prestige

2007-08-04T22:51:00.001+02:00

Coming in at 10% the Hertog Jan Grand Prestige is one of the more heavy, powerful beers brewed in the Netherlands. It is also called gerstewijn which means something like grain wine due to the fruit flavours and high alcohol content. This beer goes through a second fermentation in the bottle which gives the beer it's full, round flavours. This beer will also improve with some additional bottle age, developing port-like flavours.

Here is my tasting note:

Colour: A deep, dark reddish brown with a nice creamy head. While very dark it's also very clear.
Nose: Plenty of hops and some berry-like flavours.
Palate: Full flavoured beer with good balance between sweet and bitter. Nice ripe fruit flavours. Rather powerful alcohol dominates.
Finish: Long bitter finish with some alcohol.
Comments: A beer with good flavours but in my opionion the alcohol dominates a little too much. Maybe it will balance out a bit better with some time on its side.

Kasteel Bruin-Brune

2007-08-04T19:37:00.000+02:00

Kasteel Bruin (also known as Kasteelbier Donker) is produced by the Van Honsebrouk brewery. In general it's difficult to categorise beers produced in Belgium as they produce the largest variety of beers in the world. This bruin beer is just another one of these beers. It is a strong brown ale style beer with a high alcohol content of 11%. This beer will also last a couple of years in the cellar.

Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Rich Dark Red-Brown; very dense. Small beige head.
Nose: Not a strong nose. Hints of coffee and chocolate.
Palate: Full, rich and smooth. Sweetness nicely balanced by bitter. High alcohol but not too dominant. Hints of chocolate and coffee.
Finish: Long smooth, slightly bitter finish.
Coments: A nice, well balanced dark brown beer.

2006 Novelito Vino Novello

2007-07-30T17:59:00.000+02:00

I tasted this wine without knowing what vino novello actually meant. My first impressions, as you will see in the tasting note, were of Beaujolais Nouveau. Later I did some checking to see what it really meant. I soon found out that just like Beaujolais Nouveau it is a new wine, a celebration of the harvest.

New wines are the first wines of the crop and are permitted for sale in November (6th for Italy and 16th for France). The fermentation process that takes place to produce new wines is that of carbonic maceration. What basically happens with carbonic maceration is that the wines are fermented whole rather than crushing (or breaking up) the grapes in making a normal wine. The result is that the juice ferments inside their skins. After a number of weeks the winemaking process is continued as per normal. The resulting wines are light and fruity with very little tannin and thus no aging ability.

Here is my tasting note:

Colour: light, bright cherry-red in colour.

Nose: fresh, bright cherry nose.

Palate: Beaujolais-like; quite spritzy with the same spicey cherry as the nose. virtually no tannins at all.

Finish: light spicey finish.

Comments: a nice light summer drink, and piece of tradition that will hopefully stay.

2003 Botalcura El Delirio Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2007-07-21T19:09:00.000+02:00

One of my favourite red grape varietals is Cabernet Sauvignon; in my opinion it is the king of red wine grapes. I simply love the powerful wines the Cabernet grape produces.

Over the last ten years the Chilean wine industry has been on the up with Cabernet Sauvignon becoming Chile's trademark wine. The rise of Chilean Cabernet has been based on high quality wines that overdeliver in the 10-15 euro mark. This is the El Delirio Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the Botalcura winery and cost me around 9 euros. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: deep and intense purple-red in colour.
Nose: a big waft of sweet black currant. some oak here too.
Palate: plenty of sweet cassis fruit. nice grippy tannins. well balanced.
Finish: spicey black fruit.
Comments: a nicely balanced wine that i could drink all night. pretty good value for the 9 euro price tag.

2005 Antica Contea Di Castelvero Piemont Barbera

2007-07-20T21:38:00.000+02:00

Antica Contea Di Castelvero is a vineyard located in the limestone-clay soils of the Monferrato hills in the south of the province of Asti, Piemonte. This wine has been fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks, and has had not oak handling. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: ruby red-garnet in colour.
Nose: light and fresh. vibrant plummy fruit. some savoury characters here as well.
Palate: medium bodied. light red berry and cherry flavours. little or no tannins.
Finish: light and savoury on the finish.
Comments: a medium bodied wine that would suit food.

2004 Chateau Fourcas Hosten

2007-07-15T18:49:00.000+02:00

I purchased six bottles of this wine as one of the weekly specials from the local Aldi store. Chateau Fourcas Hosten is situated in Listrac (Medoc) and produces some of the better wines from this region. It is a 2004 vintage which was a good year in Bordeaux, although not quite so good as the 2005. The wine is made of twenty five year old vines, and is a blend of 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Here is my tasting note:

Colour: deep purple-red in colour. good colour depth, but not inpenetrable.
Nose: oak hits the nose first backed up by hints of black fruits.
Palate: elegant, peppery black cassis fruit with fine tannins. a nicely structured wine.
Finish: solid finish; green and peppery.
Comments: nice solid wine that will last a fews years tucked away in the cellar. excellent value for money.

2000 Gilberts LBV Porto

2007-07-05T19:48:00.000+02:00

This is the Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) port produced by Gilberts, and comes in a 500 ml bottles instead of 750ml. I purchased this on a whim when I saw it on sale at the local Gall & Gall. This port has been produced by the traditional treading of feet in stone lagaeres (open topped tanks).

Here is my tasting note:

colour: deep, dense red in colour. browning slightly towards the rim of the glass.

nose: lovely big nose of sweet, jammy red fruit.

palate: full bodied and powerful. begins with smooth, spicey red fruit. acid and sweetness are nicely in balance. was a little sharp until the wine opened a little more. some fermented wood in here as well.
finish: long, sweet and smooth. a tad sharp and alcoholic towards the end.
conclusion: this is a nice LBV and good value for money.

2005 Terroir De Dentelles

2007-06-30T17:54:00.000+02:00

Vacqueyras is a region located in the Rhone valley which gained it's own appellation status in 1990. The main grape used here is the Grenache which must make up at least 50% of the wine. It can then be blended with Syrah and Mourvedre in what is sometimes called a GSM blend. This is the case with the 2005 Terroir De Dentelles. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Purple, red in colour.
Nose: Red fruits; red and black berries.
Palate: Kind of earthy with spicey red and black berries.
Finish: Earthy, spicey finish.
Comments: Nice food wine; A good value for money, every day drinking wine.

2005 Pepperjack Shiraz

2007-06-29T04:37:00.000+02:00

Coming from a town close to the Swan Valley I have come to realise that I really enjoy a glass or two of the warmer climate reds. I picked up this bottle of Barossa Shiraz on one of my daily, holiday tours through the local liquor store. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Deep red and purple; i like wines with good colour depth, and this certainly has that.
Nose: A big, solid nose of black berry fruits and some vanillin.
Palate: Very soft, round wine. Plums and black berries. Generous wine typical of warm climate Shiraz. Good tannins round the wine off.
Finish: Nice soft, slightly spicey finish.
Comments: I loved this nice, generous Shiraz. Will also go a few years in the cellar.

2004 Waters Edge Merlot Cabernet

2007-06-19T12:54:00.000+02:00

I was in the Swan Valley and swung by what used to be Olive farm. I saw it has been renamed Waters Edge and decided to stop by. It appears most of the wines have been made from fruit grown down south in places like Pemberton. I purchased two wines for further tasting at home: and Cabernet Merlot and a Merlot Cabernet.

Here's my tasting note for the Merlot Cabernet:

Colour: Vibrant cherry red in colour.
Nose: All fruit with Cherry and Plum. Some vegemite here too.
Palate: Cherry and plums. Nice soft tannins.
Finish: Short finish of Cherry and Plums.
Comments: Nice easy drinking wine. Plenty of fruit there when the wine opens up a bit.

2004 Faber Vineyard Riche Shiraz

2007-06-18T13:26:00.000+02:00

I purchased a case of this wine a few years back. Pulled one bottle out to see how it was getting along. Here is my tasting note:

Nose: Deep intense purple; very intense in colour.
Palate: Gobs of juicy plum and dark berry fruit. Spice and some tar. Very round and big; voluptous with solid tannins.
Finish: Nice lengthy finish.
Comments: An impressive wine that got bigger as it opened up. Next time I will give it more airtime. Clearly still too young; needs a piece more in the cellar.

2004 Zilzie Cabernet Sauvignon

2007-06-17T06:01:00.000+02:00

I am a big fan of the cabernet grape, and was looking forward to tasting this wine as I have read good reviews of their wines around the place. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Deep purple in colour.
Nose: Black currents. American Oak and Vanilla.
Palate: Typical cab flavours of black currants and berries. Also some numeg spice. Good firm tannins.
Finish: Finishes with vanilla and nutmeg. Slightly weak on the finish.
Comments: Ok wine, but in my opinion lacking fruit. Expected more from this.

2000 Killerby Shiraz

2007-06-16T11:42:00.000+02:00

I purchased this wine back in 2000. Over time I seen some less than postive reviews of the Killerby marketing tactics - I haven't noticed this as yet. Anyway, some six years later pulled one out to check how these are travelling. here is my tasting note:

colour: deep red bordering to purple in colour. some fading of colour to the edge of the glass.
nose: nice nose with spicey red fruit. hints of cedary oak and pepper also.
palate: a rich wine with a good dose of spicey red fruit; blackberrys. some oak imparted vanilla. nicely structured with lovely grippy tannins.
finish: nice long finish.
comments: i'm quite impressed by this wine. it's certainly travelled well so far.

2005 Zilzie Buloke Cabernet Merlot

2007-06-14T14:48:00.000+02:00

I have read pretty positive reviews on the Zilzie range of wines in a number of different sources. The Buloke range (meaning Bull-Oak) is named after the range of Buloke trees overlooking the vineyard and aims to deliver everyday drinking wines that overdeliver in quality. In my opinion Zilzie have achieved this with this wine. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Lively red in colour. Nice colour density.
Nose: I can only identify fruit here; mainly dark berry aromas. Oak is not noticable.
Palate: Dark berry and plum flavours dominate the palate. Very soft, smooth tannins. Some oak and spice decernable here.
Finish: Oak and spicey fruit linger a little on the finish.
Conclusions: Nice food wine for every day drinking; quite good value for money.

2003 Ferngrove Symbols Cabernet Merlot

2007-06-13T13:13:00.000+02:00

Ferngrove Estate is located in the South West of Western Australia some 360 km south of Perth. It's one of the rising stars of the southwest. The climate here is a temperate mediteranean meaning a cool climate wine region which the wines produced by Ferngrove reflect. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Red in colour; good depth of colour.
Nose: Typical Cabernet Merlot nose. Dark berry and plum. Lots of sweet fruit.
Palate: Same dark fruits as on nose. Nice grippy tannins.
Finish: Nice dark berry finish. Slightly short as you would expect with wine of this cost.
Comments: A nice, simple, entry-level cool climate Cabernet Merlot.

2005 Taylors Shiraz

2007-06-12T16:50:00.001+02:00

I am currently back in Australia at the moment. I always like to purchase wines from regions known for their particular wine varieties. In this case it happened to be a shiraz from the Clare Valley one of Australia's oldest wine regions that is well known for Reisling, Cabernet and Shiraz. Here are my tasting notes:

Colour: Deep purple red. very dense bordering to black in the centre of the glass.
Nose: Lovely nose of cherry. Definite American oak gives the wine a nice hint of vanilla as well.
Palate: Spicey red fruits: plum and again cherry. The palate also has a creaminess about it probably due to the oak. Nice soft tannins.
Finish: Nice smooth, creamy finish lingers for a while.
Comments: Lovely wine that will probably soften a little as it ages.

1997 Chateau Coufran

2007-06-05T17:33:00.001+02:00

Chateau Coufran is located in northern Haut-Medoc. Suprisingly for a left bank Bordeaux Chateau Coufran grows predominately Merlot rather than Cabernet Sauvignon in contrast to the majority of estates. While this estate is not very high profile, it does produce quality wines.

The wine is now ten years old, and it took some time before it opened up. While 1997 was not a great year for Bordeaux it did produce some quality wine albeit with shorter lifespans than better vintages.

Here is my tasting note:

Colour: Still a deep red with some browning at the rim showing it's age.
Nose: Lovely elegant nose. Once it opens up it shows black fruits with some hints of cedar.
Palate: Black current and cherry. Spicy with solid tannins.
Finish: Lingering finish, though more tannin than fruit.
Conclusion: Nicely structured wine.

2004 Doluca Antik

2007-06-02T22:54:00.000+02:00

Doluca is one of the best independent producer of wines Turkey. The winery, which was founded in 1926, is situated on the Sea of Marmara close to the Black Sea. I haven't tasted a lot of Turkish wine: in fact this is just the third time. This particular wine is produced from Gamay grapes. Here is my tasting note.

Colour: Light red in colour.

Nose: Pleasant nose with some hints of cherry.

Palate: Uncomplicated dry red. Typical of Gamay it's light with cherry and red berry flavours.

Finish: Short finish with the same light cherry.

Conclusion: Pleasant, simple wine.

2005 Chateau Roc de Cazade

2007-05-04T22:42:00.001+02:00

This was a wine that I picked up at my local Gall & Gall store. Mainly chosen because it was a 2005 Bordeaux; I am trying to taste as much as of this vintage as possible.

Colour: deep red, purple in colour. nice looking wine.

Nose: i love this nose. elegant and full of red fruit. more cherry-like than cassis. my nose is slightly blocked up today so i may be way off here!

Palate: spicey red fruits followed up by solid tannins. my first impression is that the tannins are little dominant which is a pity. I guess at this price who can complain.

Finish: slightly bitter; the tannins hang around for a bit too.

Conclusion: All-in-all not a bad budget-priced red wine. I just prefer a bit more fruit than this wine offers.

2002 Chateau de Charmes Cabernet-Merlot

2007-04-09T20:44:00.001+02:00

Chateau des Charmes is a winery located on the Niagara Peninsula in Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is owned by the Bosc family, and family of French origins. The winery is best-known for it's reds, and it's old world style.

This Cabernet-Merlot is classic bordeaux-blend made up of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: nice red in colour, going to brick-red towards the edges of the glass.

Nose: lovely currant and black berry aromas. some spice and earth aromas.

Palate: good fruit: currants, black berries and cherries. a nicely balanced cabernet with an excellent structure. nice solid, grippy tannins.

Finish: nice length to the finish.

Conclusion: a very nice wine. worth the $17 canadian i paid for it.

Wine and Food Arrogance

2007-04-04T04:46:00.000+02:00

I've been in Canada for work the past week. Tonight, while zapping through the channels I spotted a show on Slice TV called The Heat. I spotted the footage of the wines, and vines immediately so began watching. The show was about catering for a harvest party for the part-owner of Canadian winery Inniskilin, Donald Ziraldo.

Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with good good and wines. However, what really ground my gears was the way in which Donald tasted the food cooked for the test meal. Every dish had too much sauce, not enough flavour, too dry etc. Ok, he's the client but it really struck me as so stuck up. It's everything that I hate about about a certain section of food and wine. It's that snobbish arrogance. Pathetic is all i can say. After watching the show there's no way i will ever purchase any of Inniskilin's overpriced wines.

2004 Chateau Tour Prignac

2007-03-25T22:20:00.000+02:00

Travelled to the UK this weekend. On the way I saw a special in one of the duty-free shops. Chateau Tour Prignac 2004 two for the price of one. Now 2004 having been built up as a pretty decent vintage for Bordeaux, I picked up a couple of bottles.

Coming from the Medoc region (left bank Bordeaux) the wine is a blend of 50% merlot and 50% cabernet sauvignon. Here is my tasting note:

Colour: dense red in colour. colour shows this wine is still very young.

Nose: lovely elegant nose. primarily black currents and cassis, with some hints of mint and oak.

Palate: plenty of ripe black fruits much in the same vein as the nose. soft, smooth tannins give this wine good structure.

Finish: good length on the finish.

Conclusion: good qpr as the last one i reviewed. should be enough in this wine to last at least a few years.

2005 Chateau Fourreau

2007-03-14T17:46:00.000+01:00

I picked up a couple of bottles of Chateau Fourreau after reading a very positive Hubrecht Duijker review. The producer of this wine is a family-run winery located, south of St. Emilion, in Pujols. The wine is 100% merlot-based from the 2005 vintage which was very favourable in Bordeaux.

Here is my basic tasting note:

Colour: dense deep red/purple in colour.

Nose: black fruits: currents and black berries.

Palate: same black current. lovely and smooth. good mouth feel. tannins are well integrated, although slightly hard at this stage.

Finish: nice finish, albeit slightly short.

Conclusion: very good qpr. i also suspect that it has enough in it to last for a few years. a great daily drink.

The Wine Writers Workshop

2007-02-15T21:18:00.000+01:00

As you can probably tell from the small number of posts on my blog, I am seriously interested in wine. I like tasting it, drinking it, reading about it. So the next logical step is also to learn how to write about it. I'm considering doing some writing about wine, and maybe also food. The course i had in mind was the Travel, Food & Wine Writing Class which will take place in St. Emilion, France from the 27th May until the 1st June 1, 2007.

St. Emilion is a lovely place and I really look forward to traveling there again. A week of wine and food sounds like heaven to me. I just hope it's not a snobby affair as I have a hard time tolerating that. In my opinion good food and wine don't have to cost the earth, and should not only be available for the rich.

WSET

2007-02-04T10:02:00.000+01:00

The courses offered by WSET are much more accessible for persons not in the wine industry than the master of wine qualification is. However, they provide a good stepping stone for further studies. WSET provides a level 1 through to level 4 certification described as follows on the WSET website:

Level 1 Foundation Certificate in Wines

This one day wine course provides basic product knowledge and skills needed in the service and sale of wine.

Level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wines and Spirits

This wine and spirits qualification offers broad coverage of all product categories in the field of wines and spirits, together with basic wine tasting technique. It underpins job skills and competencies in the customer service and sales functions of the hospitality, retail and wholesale industries.

Level 2 Professional Certificate in Spirits

This spirits course gives a greater breadth and depth of knowledge in the specific area of spirits and liqueurs. The qualification covers spirits categories, use of identified products and spirits tasting. It underpins job skills and compentencies in the customer service and sales functions of the hospitality, retail, wholesale and spirits industries.

Level 3 International Higher Certificate in Wines and Spirits

This qualification is available through International WSET providers only. It is also available in several different languages.

Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Wines and Spirits

Provides a more comprehensive coverage of the wide range of wines and spirits around the world to equip those in a supervisory capacity with the authority and confidence to make informed decisions in a wide variety of trade situations. The qualification has an increased focus on wine tasting technique.

Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits

The Diploma is a specialist qualification where detailed knowledge is combined with commercial factors and a thorough system for the professional evaluation of wines and spirits. Divided into 6 individually assessed and accredited units. A pass in all 6 Units must be obtained to gain the WSET Level 4 Diploma qualification.

Level 5 Honours Diploma

The WSET Level 5 Honours Diploma is an individual research project that enables students to develop skills in research, evaluation and analysis in a wine and spirit related subject of their choice. This qualification is open to anyone holding the WSET Level 4 Diploma.

Students are taught to taste in a logical, systematic and above all professional manner through the WSETs tasting system, which is designed to build an individual’s skills progressively through the different qualification levels. If you check the The WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting you can see the steady progression in detail required when tasting wine. This progression will take place as the student tastes and experiences more wine.

Introduction

2006-10-07T21:57:00.000+02:00

I'm a wine freak; i love tasting it, drinking it, reading about it. over time i have purchased books covering a whole range of wine related topics, including growing wine grapes, wine making, wine regions etc. i have no formal wine education, and do not work in the industry itself. the wine knowledge i have has been gathered by reading and tasting as extensively as i can.

I have always been intrigued by the wine education offered by the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW). The Institute is an international organisation with total membership of 257 made up of 19 different nationalities since it's inception in 1953. Achieving the Masters of Wine award is quite an achievement, and something I aspire to sometime in my life.

The one small problem i have, however, is that I don't have a background in the wine industry or work in the industry at all. So I will be starting my from the ground up with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) certification. I am planning on using this blog to record the information I gather about wine and wine information specifically following the WSET and IMW syllabi. I will also add posts about various wine related topics that I find interesting and relevant.