Low Alcohol with Friends

Had a number of low alcohol wines with friends...Some of them were good, some were interesting...some were just ok..

Wynns John Riddoch 1988.  

Smells like a Coonawarra with green bell peppers on the nose...some spices..dark and red fruits...Palate is really nice...Lighter than what I normally associate w/ a Coonawarra Cabernet but still has great fine tannin structure..acidity is showing nicely as well.  Fruit is still there...I think some felt this was on its last legs..probably..but would be interesting to see if this changes a bit more in a few years.  I think this was showing better than the 91 JR awhile back...Either way, drinking very nicely right now... 92 points

Chambers Rosewood Gouais 2004.  

Gouais is apparently the parent grape of Chardonnay.  Nose reminded me a bit of an aged Semillon..but had some Chardonnay characters coming across too...Lemon pith, some honey, some peach....Palate was very Chardonnay like but with some of honey coming across as well...acidity and development of the fruit w/ the acid was very Semillon like..but this reminds me a lot of Chardonnay...Sensing a bit of oak as well...Overall these are quite nice..something different...and apparently these are also only around 15/bottle which makes it a great value.  90 points

Lakes Folly Cabernet Reserve 1994.

I didn't even know they made a reserve but apparently they did in 94 and 95.  The Hunter really comes across on the nose and palate..a bit of funk, leather, earth, sweaty saddle..but not a huge amount...Red fruits, spice, leather and earth on the palate..really very nice.  Great acidity, great texture...I can drink this type of wine all day....92 points

Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese 2006
I'm a fan of Donnhoff..I'm a fan of their Niederhauser Hermannshohle line.  2006 as a vintage is a bit fatter than what I would normally like from Riesling...and last time I had this it was a bit on the simpler side..but for me this was drinking quite nicely.  This really has come into its own with greater complexity, the acidity is showing a bit better as well...Fruit Salad on the nose...lemons, melons, rock dust...Palate has great acidity...star fruit, melon, lemon..nice minerality...Definitely a good amount of residual sugar but it balances so nicely in this wine...92 points

Main Divide Pinot Noir 2001
Some truffle and graphite on the nose...red fruits...Palate has nice acidity...Earth, minerality, red fruits...This is showing quite nicely really..and I think this is a lower tier from Pegasus Bay's normal line...Cellaring has helped this wine a lot...Actually reminds me a bit of Ata Rangi... 90 points

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...

Summer of Riesling 2013

I was lucky enough to attend a Riesling event at the Beresford Hotel.  It has a combination of stuff from Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria and the US.

Overall there was a fantastic selection of Rieslings even though it was a bit more Australiancentric than I would have liked.

Most of the German and Austrian Rieslings were ok.  Prices were actually quite good overall. 

I think as I have more and more Riesling...my palate is moving more towards some RS +  good acidity....Australian Rieslings tend to have very good acidity but with the whole bone dry thing, I think a lot of them fall short.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of VERY good bone dry Rieslings in Australia..they age fantastically well...but so many of them end up just being a battery acid mess lacking in any real complexity and void of any fruit...just because it tastes like petrol doesn't mean it has developed properly.

Here are some of the highlights from the show:

Gaelic Cemetery  Riesling 2012.  Very good depth to this.  Hasn't started developing too much but it has a very nice mid palate, good length, quite a  nice drop.  Just a touch of RS is really helping to soften this a little bit...it is nice.  Retail on this is stupid though..Something like 45AUD.  Made by the same winemaker as Pikes...I can see the similarity in style but even as expensive as Pikes Merle is...it is still cheaper than this...and a better wine to boot.  Good wine, worth drinking but probably 10-15 dollars too much...

Lethbridge Dr. Nadeson Riesling 2011....I love this guys stuff and this is no different.  Some RS mixed with high acid content and low ph makes for a very interesting Riesling...a bit of sweet and a bit of sizzle...It looks an importer may start bringing his stuff in the US..I'm actually excited about seeing that happen...

Tunkalilla Riesling  2010 from Willamette Valley in Oregon.  I was really surprised with this one...really nice development on the nose..good complexity..you can smell that it has a bit of residual sugar...Citrus, lemon, some herbs...looks interesting.  On the palate it just smacks you in the face...REALLY strong acidity...but it it all balanced out by the RS...17-18g of sugar which isn't too high but it strikes a very interesting balance of RS and Acid..I think I actually like this better than the Lethbridge...with 9.9g of acid (which is high) and a ph under 3....

Weiser Kuenstler "Enkircher Ellergrub" Kabinett 2011.  This is the same wine I tried at Sepia..although because they've kept them too cold, I'm not getting as much from the nose.  Still, the wine had great depth and great balance.  It was still one of my favorites but I didn't get the same wonderful nose from before...I do like some of the new world style Rieslings..but German Rieslings have it down when it comes to integrating RS into the wine...such great balance and oneness and the minerality tends to really show through a bit better...

I was a little disappointed there weren't any German GG's there and I felt the foreign section was a bit smaller than it should have been..but overall it was a great showing...

Sepia Sepia Sepia

I have been meaning to go to Sepia for a long time...with a great reputation for food and wine, I was really looking forward to it....I won't really review the food but I will mention what I had and the wine I tried and how it matched with the food

Water - You can have Sparkling, Still or Tap.  The sparkling and still are on the expensive side (9 dollars pp) but because they charge per person, this means you can keep drinking water and it really doesn't matter.  People can have what they want and you don't have to split up bottles.  Expensive but just one less thing you have to think about...

1st Course - Kingfish Bacon, Citrus Soy, Olive Oil, Smoked Trout Roe.  No matching wine with this.


2nd Course - Sashimi Tuna, Smoked seared Ocean Trout, Poached Banana Prawn.  These were a reverse nigiri...I'll let you imagine what that might be like.
Wine:  (or in this case sake).  Umenoyado "Gin" Junmai-Ginjo.  Having had quite a bit of sake lately, I wasn't too overly impressed with this.  Very nice solid, sake but I wouldn't say it was overly interesting.  Good match to the food in that the sake didn't take away from the fish, which I think is its intention.

3rd Course - Beetroot butter, Goat milk Chevre, Rhubabr, apple balsamic, rye, goat milk crisp.
Wine:  Felton Road "Bannockburn" Riesling 2011.
I've had a number of rieslings from New Zealand and when they have some residual sugar, they are definitely quite pleasing.  To me they are distinctly different from Australian Riesling as well as German Rieslings...In this style, I think it is actually quite easy to pick it is from NZ.  Nice Limes and Lemons on the nose with a whiff of sweetness.  Palate has very good acidity to balance out the sugar.  Almost very lime ade in nature.  It has very good focus but next to my wife's riesling it seemed a bit on the simple side.  Excellent match though to what was a very excellent dish.

Weiser-Kuenstler "Enkircher Ellergrub" Kabinett Riesling 2011.  I thought this was absolutely fantastic.  The nose on this was absolutely fantastic..Lemons, citrus, some leafy greens and nice minerality.  The palate had very good acidity which was a perfect balance to the residual sugar.  For whatever reason I think German rieslings seem to have a oneness when they have some RS and this is no exception.  What was amazing about this is the amount of depth, each swish showed a new side to it.  A little rock, a little fruit, a little sugar, which turned into a slightly different shade of fruit...I was shocked.   While not part of the pairing, this might be my WOTN.

4th Course  - Butter poached Port Lincol squid, Citrus scented ink, barley cured egg yolk, wild wood sorrel.
Wine - Txomin Etxaniz 2011.  A combination of Hondarrabi Zuri and Hondarrabi Beltza.  I've never tried this type of wine before.  Very tight acidity, combined with a very apple like flavor.  It was actually quite nice and definitely a food wine.  By itself it was fairly decent, but maybe a bit on the simpler side.  Nose was quite good...but what impressed me about this was how well  it went with the food.  A VERY good match because the acidity was a perfect pairing with the fattiness of the squid yolky ink.

At this point in the meal I'm already impressed by the food but really impressed with wine pairings..they're not only spot on but they all have a very nice nose....and looking into the next few wines I can see they'll be something different as well....

5th course - Roast Scampi tail, shellfish mousse, scampi shell crumb, sudachi Japanese land seaweed.
Wine - Pierre Luneau Papin "Clos des Noelles - Semper Excelsior" 2007.  A muscadet that has been on lees for an extended period of time which gave it a lot of added complexity.  On its own I thought this was a very  interesting Muscadet..it was definitely more interesting  than the ones I had in the past.  I wouldn't exactly say this was anything more than a well made wine but it went very well with the food.  It was a good contrast to the very rich shellfish mousse and really seemed to bring out the flavor of the scampi...At this point I'm laughing because the pairings have been really great with what are not very expensive wines..in fact, I don't think any of these go for more than 30 USD a bottle..and yet they are really singing with the food.

6th Course - South Australia Lamb, Goat Cheese and sake kuzu dumplings, black olive miso vinaigrette, fennel molasses
Wine - Gaia 14-18h Rose 2011.  Made from Agiorgitiko in Greece, I was looking forward to seeing what Gaia could do when making a Rose.  Overall - It was just a Rose.  Well made but not overly interesting.  As much as I'm trying to understand Rose, I still have a hard time understanding Rose.  That said, if you're going to drink Rose,  this is a fairly decent one.  This was also the only wine I didn't really felt was a good match for the food.  I can definitely see where this was heading though..the lamb was very delicate and lightly flavored..it did NOT come across as very lamb like and did not have overly strong flavors..but the rest of the food did have some stronger flavors.  I'd say the only disappointing match of the night and probably my least favorite wine.

7th course - Seared Rolled David Blackmore Waguy Beef, Chestnut Mushroom, roasted red onion juice wasabi fried potato and kombu crum, citrus soy.
Wine - Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2009.  Mostly Sangiovese in this.  Had a wonderful nose with a very expressive oak/vanilla coming off of it.  Nice red fruit and some herbs.  Palate had very very nice acidity...I love reds with good acid...medium bodied, good fruit, I guess American oak but it is French/Slovenian casks..either way, it has imparted an almost fruit bomb type of oak to it but not too much and at the same time, it has carried this very medium bodied acidity that is coming across very nicely.  I tried this before the food came out and I was expecting something really fatty (since we hadn't had a heavy red meat yet).  This was an excellent excellent match to the Wagyu...While I think a lot of people throw big big tannic reds at meat...it was really nice to see how the wine and its composition was selected to match how the food was, to match the fatiness or the strong flavors of the food...really nice.

8th course.  Lemon Verbena Curd, Alpine Strawberry caramel, crisp meringue.
No wine

9th course.  Poached paradise pear, salted goat milk ice cream, maple crepe, candied waluts.
Wine - Royal Tokaji "Late Harvest" 2009.  So rather than rely on botrytis this relied on a very late picking for its sweetness.  I was looking forward to trying this...Nice balanced sweetness but maybe a little on the simple side.  Matched very well with the 2nd pre-dessert.

10th course.  "Summer Chocolate Forest".  Soft Chocolate, hazelnut and almost, rose geranium cream, sour cherry sorbet, blueberry jellies, green tea  licorice, chocolate twigs.
Mas Amiel "Prestige - 15 Ans dAge".  Somewhere between a sherry and a port but without being too porty...this added a nice chocolate element to what was already a chocolate overload in the dessert.  It was quite an interesting wine but at this point I'm well sugared out...I wouldn't mind trying this when I'm not quite as stuffed and without the food.

Overall - Food - Excellent.  One of, if not the best dining experience I've had in Sydney...which includes, Quay, Tetsuyas, Marque, est. Aria, Momofuku and several others....Very "safe" food but at the same time very interesting...a nice twist on different dishes and my understanding is the degustation on Saturday is changed on a regular basis which I think is great.
Wine - I think every wine I had here was very well made and they all had one thing in common.  They all had VERY good noses...The matchings were easily the best I've had in Sydney.  They weren't the most expensive wines I've had in a pairing but they were paired the best, by far, than any place I've had in Sydney. The fact that they were able to do this with relatively low cost wine (again, I don't think any of these are over 30USD a bottle although they might be more expensive in Australia) and with wine that you might never have tried otherwise, speaks volumes about the quality of their sommelier.  The wine list is very well thought out, a very good mix of different things to try...and you can see a lot of effort and thought is put into what it is they're selling.