This was an event held at Customs House in Circular Quay. I think the last time I was here was two years ago and while I remember there being significantly more wineries present, on the plus side they weren't limited to the number of wines they could present so that was a nice plus.
I've always been a big fan of Margaret River wine...They have a fantastic climate for growing wine, they have a large range of different things they grow there (Counting the greater WA area) where they basically grow all of the major grapes in Australia...Shiraz, Cab Sav, Merlot, Riesling, Sav Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay...even some Pinot Noir and Petit Verdot....
One of the things I've been less than impressed with as far as MR goes is, they love to make Semillon Sauvignon Blanc...I'm not sure why but they do but they do...but one trend I've seen happen is more and more places are starting to use oak barrels to give SSB a bit more depth and complexity and a much better texture than the watery mess I'm used to seeing from there.
Cowaraump Wines
Cowaramup Wines Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Reserve 2011
Really nice mouthfeel to this, good depth and complexity...a bit of passion fruit, lemon, grass, herbs...Really good use of oak..it really does at a lot to this wine and for 25 AUD, it is a really good buy. There is a significant difference between this and their Clownfish line of Sav Blanc Semillon and for only 5 dollars more, it is just a far superior wine.
Cowaramup Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2010
I huge step up from their normal Clownfish Cab, great mouthfeel, good acidity..really nice structure to this wine. Dark fruits, herbs, a bit of a leather a bit of earth....At 30 AUD RRP, this is one of the better deals out there.
Fraser Gallop
Fraser Gallop Parterre Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011.
58% Semillon, 42% Sauvignon Blanc, this wine really has great mouthfeel and texture. The oak really pulls the right flavors out of the Semillon while the Sauvignon Blanc seems to add a bit of lift to it. Some toasty notes, lemon, herbs...For a SSB this is really quite nice. RRP is 36 which is definitely a bit much for a SSB but this IS a good one. I'm also told they only make like 200 cases so this sells out quite quickly.
Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay 2012
Really nice nose, a bit of citrus and nuts...Palate splashes grapefruit, cashews, a bit of honey and lemon. Really nice minerality in this wine...nice restrained use of oak...has a little bit of creaminess but not from any Malo (unless some happened naturally)..Really nice acidity...This is a nice wine and at 32RRP, it is probably underpriced by a bit...Great value...Great Chardonnay from a consistent performer.
Fraser Gallop Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Another really nice wine from their Parterre line...wonderful dark fruit on the nose..some herbs, mint and a bit of earth. Palate has nice acidity, good tannin structure, nice dark fruits coming through and maybe even a tad of eucalyptus and mint...At 42RRP, this is also a really good value.
Honorable mentions:
Xanadu Chardonnay 2010- Wish the Reserve was here but their normal Estate was still pretty good...
Howard Park Leston Cabernet 2010. Really solid, tannins are big (I think every Leston I've tried has been like this) but good acidity, good fruit. Solid wine.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
Quinault L'Enclos 2004
Yes, not an Australian wine...but thought I'd talk about it anyways..
Quinault L'Enclos 2004. St. Emilion. Mostly Merlot, some Cab Franc and a bit of Cab Sav and Merlot.
2004 wasn't a great year in Bordeaux but I've always been relatively happy with the quality and they always seemed to be pretty good buys because most people wanted 2005....
Popped and Poured...this definitely needed more air but it was still showing fairly well...started off tight but opened up a tad...
A bit of chocolate and pencil lead on the noise...dark fruits...some herbs...Really fine tannins that stayed with your mouth to remind you it still had good structure....Reasonably good acid...Nice dark dark fruits...mocha...Picking up a bit of crushed rock as well. Nice balance...a certain elegance that you don't really find too often in Australia...With a bit more air it starts to open up a bit more...fruit starts to brighten a bit...finish seems a bit longer...I really do wish I had more time w/ this...
Quinault L'Enclos 2004. St. Emilion. Mostly Merlot, some Cab Franc and a bit of Cab Sav and Merlot.
2004 wasn't a great year in Bordeaux but I've always been relatively happy with the quality and they always seemed to be pretty good buys because most people wanted 2005....
Popped and Poured...this definitely needed more air but it was still showing fairly well...started off tight but opened up a tad...
A bit of chocolate and pencil lead on the noise...dark fruits...some herbs...Really fine tannins that stayed with your mouth to remind you it still had good structure....Reasonably good acid...Nice dark dark fruits...mocha...Picking up a bit of crushed rock as well. Nice balance...a certain elegance that you don't really find too often in Australia...With a bit more air it starts to open up a bit more...fruit starts to brighten a bit...finish seems a bit longer...I really do wish I had more time w/ this...
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Vintage Cellars International Wine Fair 2013
One of the biggest complaints I have about the Australian wine market is there is a severe lack of imports and when they do import, the stupid pricing associated with it.
On the plus side, in the last couple of years there has been a good number of things brought in at much better price points...
The main thing I noticed was there were probably 2-3 times as many sparkling wines as previous years...with a lot of that coming from Champagne...
Most of the Champagne was very competent..Most of them missed some of the yeasty biscuit I really enjoy from Champagne..or maybe it was just my palate...
A couple of impressions..
Moutard Brut Grand Cuvee NV. A growers Champagne..VERY solid. Nice acidity, good balance, some citrus and fruity notes.. a bit of yeast and scones....I wouldn't call it mind blowing..but for 30 some odd AUD, I don't know if there is anything better in this category...Better than Veuve NV (Which embarrassingly costs nearly twice as much) or most of the Moet line up (which is pronounced Moe - Eht...not Moe Aye or Moe ee). Really solid, priced right...really good buy. I know this is an Aussie wine site but for those that are interested in Grower's Champagne..look for RM on the label. It stands for recoltant-manipulant...which basically means it was made by the same producer of the grape..
Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 2008. I was a bit shocked by this. Big fruit but very medium bodied compared to most Australian shiraz. Tannins were silky but providing structure..and the most shocking thing? It had very good acidity. It wasn't Hunter Valley nice..but still, really good acidity...so that combined with the clean Barossa fruit and supple tannins... made for a very good wine. I've had several of these I thought were fruit bombs or borderline fruit bombs....I've always thought this wine was good but not my style..but the 2008 is really good..really really good.
Georg Breuer Estate Riesling 2010
Really good acidity...and dry for a German Riesling..this was very much borderline Aussie in style but still had good elements of fruit..whereas I generally feel really dry Aussie rieslings tend to strip out most of the fruit...Good complexity and balance..I was really surprised by this. There were a couple of other Rieslings I thought had better complexity..but not sure I enjoyed them quite as much...and when GG Rieslings are 100+ in Australia..the choice is really easy....This was nearly on par but for 1/3rd the price...
Chalkboard Hunter Semillon 2012. Made by Tyrrells for Vintage Cellars...this one really shocked me. I was expecting something really mediocre (the price point is 12 dollars) but what I got was something with excellent acidity and really good development. I'm not sure this is going to go the long haul...but it is already starting to show some toasty notes which gives is good complexity and helps balance out the strong acidity...I'm sure this will stay excellent for at least a few years and for a daily quaffer, this might be one of the best buys in Australia. I'm not sure what happened here and if it was just pure luck combined with great winemaking..but this is a steal...
Glorioso Reserva Rioja 2007. Well made Rioja made entirely of Tempranillo....spent a good time in oak and in bottle before being released...at for 20some odd dollars, this is a very good buy. Dark fruits, good acidity, nice balance...has the structure to go quite a few more years...a better structured and made wine than this price would suggest..
Some honorable mentions...Saint Cosme Cote Rotie..which was 100% Syrah...it was just priced a bit too high for what you get...really nice wine. Howard Park Cabernet and Shiraz..all made with big tannins...I thought it was a bit odd that the guy said their mid range (like the Leston) was made to go about 5 years...I don't know if these significantly soften and quickly..but certainly I didn't get the impression these would be peaking in 5...
On the plus side, in the last couple of years there has been a good number of things brought in at much better price points...
The main thing I noticed was there were probably 2-3 times as many sparkling wines as previous years...with a lot of that coming from Champagne...
Most of the Champagne was very competent..Most of them missed some of the yeasty biscuit I really enjoy from Champagne..or maybe it was just my palate...
A couple of impressions..
Moutard Brut Grand Cuvee NV. A growers Champagne..VERY solid. Nice acidity, good balance, some citrus and fruity notes.. a bit of yeast and scones....I wouldn't call it mind blowing..but for 30 some odd AUD, I don't know if there is anything better in this category...Better than Veuve NV (Which embarrassingly costs nearly twice as much) or most of the Moet line up (which is pronounced Moe - Eht...not Moe Aye or Moe ee). Really solid, priced right...really good buy. I know this is an Aussie wine site but for those that are interested in Grower's Champagne..look for RM on the label. It stands for recoltant-manipulant...which basically means it was made by the same producer of the grape..
Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 2008. I was a bit shocked by this. Big fruit but very medium bodied compared to most Australian shiraz. Tannins were silky but providing structure..and the most shocking thing? It had very good acidity. It wasn't Hunter Valley nice..but still, really good acidity...so that combined with the clean Barossa fruit and supple tannins... made for a very good wine. I've had several of these I thought were fruit bombs or borderline fruit bombs....I've always thought this wine was good but not my style..but the 2008 is really good..really really good.
Georg Breuer Estate Riesling 2010
Really good acidity...and dry for a German Riesling..this was very much borderline Aussie in style but still had good elements of fruit..whereas I generally feel really dry Aussie rieslings tend to strip out most of the fruit...Good complexity and balance..I was really surprised by this. There were a couple of other Rieslings I thought had better complexity..but not sure I enjoyed them quite as much...and when GG Rieslings are 100+ in Australia..the choice is really easy....This was nearly on par but for 1/3rd the price...
Chalkboard Hunter Semillon 2012. Made by Tyrrells for Vintage Cellars...this one really shocked me. I was expecting something really mediocre (the price point is 12 dollars) but what I got was something with excellent acidity and really good development. I'm not sure this is going to go the long haul...but it is already starting to show some toasty notes which gives is good complexity and helps balance out the strong acidity...I'm sure this will stay excellent for at least a few years and for a daily quaffer, this might be one of the best buys in Australia. I'm not sure what happened here and if it was just pure luck combined with great winemaking..but this is a steal...
Glorioso Reserva Rioja 2007. Well made Rioja made entirely of Tempranillo....spent a good time in oak and in bottle before being released...at for 20some odd dollars, this is a very good buy. Dark fruits, good acidity, nice balance...has the structure to go quite a few more years...a better structured and made wine than this price would suggest..
Some honorable mentions...Saint Cosme Cote Rotie..which was 100% Syrah...it was just priced a bit too high for what you get...really nice wine. Howard Park Cabernet and Shiraz..all made with big tannins...I thought it was a bit odd that the guy said their mid range (like the Leston) was made to go about 5 years...I don't know if these significantly soften and quickly..but certainly I didn't get the impression these would be peaking in 5...
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Etiquette at Tasting Events
So I go to a good number of tasting events each year..public, private and industry...and by far, I enjoy private/industry tastings a lot more...
Why? Because the place isn't filled with people who are there trying to get drunk and don't know how to behave..
I actually don't mind that people are trying to get pissed drunk..it is that along with wanting to get drunk, they just have no idea how to behave.
IT IS NOT A BAR/PUB OR A CLUB.
You don't go up to a table with your friends, get some wine, and proceed to stand there, in front of the table, gabbing with your friends...
You get your pour of wine and you move away from the table so that other people can get through...or in the least, if you see people around you and you've had your pour, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY.
There are plenty of people that are well behaved and do this..in fact, a majority of people at these events don't stand in front of the table and talk away....they move when they notice people are around you....Granted, sometimes you are waiting behind others which means it is perfectly acceptable to be standing there..but once you have your pour...MOVE.
THIS ALSO APPLIES TO THE SPITTOON..Don't stand there in front of it and block people...I don't know if people really realize what it is for...and plenty of people give you funny looks when you actually spit in the spittoon...as if the person spitting is ignorant..funny how that works..
It seems rather intuitive you should do this...I don't think anyone ever told me or the other 80% of the people to do that...I really don't understand it at all. I've heard this same complaint over and over from other people both industry and wine geeks alike...as well as some non wine geek people....Am I being a snob? I don't think so...
Why? Because the place isn't filled with people who are there trying to get drunk and don't know how to behave..
I actually don't mind that people are trying to get pissed drunk..it is that along with wanting to get drunk, they just have no idea how to behave.
IT IS NOT A BAR/PUB OR A CLUB.
You don't go up to a table with your friends, get some wine, and proceed to stand there, in front of the table, gabbing with your friends...
You get your pour of wine and you move away from the table so that other people can get through...or in the least, if you see people around you and you've had your pour, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY.
There are plenty of people that are well behaved and do this..in fact, a majority of people at these events don't stand in front of the table and talk away....they move when they notice people are around you....Granted, sometimes you are waiting behind others which means it is perfectly acceptable to be standing there..but once you have your pour...MOVE.
THIS ALSO APPLIES TO THE SPITTOON..Don't stand there in front of it and block people...I don't know if people really realize what it is for...and plenty of people give you funny looks when you actually spit in the spittoon...as if the person spitting is ignorant..funny how that works..
It seems rather intuitive you should do this...I don't think anyone ever told me or the other 80% of the people to do that...I really don't understand it at all. I've heard this same complaint over and over from other people both industry and wine geeks alike...as well as some non wine geek people....Am I being a snob? I don't think so...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)