Alexander Park 2008 Central Victoria Pinot Noir

"Alexander the great"

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house was cooking and expletives and no sign of a mouse-spider.

Ah that time of the year when families come together in spirit and try not to harm one another. Everyone is pressured to get everything perfect for everyone else even though they are sure that no-one will appreciate their efforts. While Madam was cooking and swearing, I was hunting for a mouse spider that had resulted in several bumps to head and knees as I scrambled under tables in my quest and I hadn't even opened any alcohol as yet.

We gave up and decided it was time to eat (and drink) before St Nick came a clatter upon our roof.

Pinot Noir is a fiddly grape that can be difficult to make into good wine. Its a smaller grape than most red wine grapes, therefore it takes more acreage to make Pinot Noir than it does Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon. It needs the right soil and climate more so than other more robust varieties and is less forgiving than more masculine varieties such as Shiraz than can fare well in almost any climate.

Pinot needs a longer ripening season, more constant temperatures in its ripening periods form bud burst to harvest. Even if you get all that right it can still be stuffed up by the wrong choice of oak or the winemaker not paying attention during fermentation or oak maturation.

All of this means you usually pay a pretty penny for a decent Pinot Noir and many drinkers will confess that they lack the punch or depth of flavour they would have expected for the price.

This one however was a gem. It sits nicely in that sub-twenty dollar bracket (just), and provides everything you expect from a new world Pinot.

There was a slightly funky berry nose with hints of mushrooms and a silky sexiness that suggests a naughtiness lurking under the covers.

Ah yes tonight please Josephine! The palate is silky just as the nose suggests. There are flavours of dark cherries, cranberries, redcurrants and plums. This wine has good length and is the epitome of a great value elegant Aussie Pinot. If this was from New Zealand it would be twice the price. So shop locally and enjoy a great alternative to those masculine reds, and then head straight to bed. I'll be there shortly Josephine. Forget the spiders.

Purchase price was $19.99 last month - worth every penny and then some. Don't keep it hidden away in the cellar. Drink within two years will be my recommendation.

Mr Riggs The Gaffer 2007 McLaren Vale Shiraz

"Call me Gaffer me old son"

Most wines are purchased based on their label. For this reason wineries strive to create a label that will attract the consumer's attention enough to take it off the shelf and to accompany them on their journey home or to their favourite BYO. This simple black and white label depicts a man who appears to be somewhat of a ruffian, the kind that might lend you money in the darkest corners of that pub that no-one goes to. Is this the case? Well you have to pick it up and read the back label. Research indicates that once someone has read the back label of a bottle of wine they are usually engaged enough to buy it.

This didn't happen in my case. I was feeling somewhat rough and dusty after winning this weekend's worst handyman award for making retaining walls and steps that don't meet. I was thus inclined to buy several bottles of wine in the hope that it may improve my carpentry skills or at least allow me to forget where the back yard was and therefore the monstrosit I had created. It didn't work. The wine, however, was a nice distraction.

Made by famed Mclaren Vale winemaker Ben Riggs under his own label, the wine is a tribute to his Great Great Great Grandfather John "The Gaffer" Riggs who was a medal winning wheat farmer. Not a ruufian as far as I know.

The Nose is earthy with crushed leaf and spice. There is big alcohol in this wine (15%) but there isn't that alcohol heat on the nose or palate.

There is that typical Mclaren Vale edge of sweetness, which shifts into flavours of white pepper, camphor, and nutmeg. The flavours are more spice than berry, suggesting a more sophisticated wine that is Ben's trademark. Ben looks like he played for the Wallabies and makes wines to suit. Enjoy this with pepper steak medium rare and keep a sprig of wheat and a football nearby. Forget the spirit level and hammer, they will only lead to frustration.

I paid $19.99 last week - worth the money, and Mr Ben Riggs donates money from this wine to breat cancer research. That's gentleman's work there me old gaffer.

Zilzie Pinot Grigio vs Monte Campo Pinot Grigio

This wasnt meant to be any sort of pepsi challenge but that's what it turned into.

We opened the 2007 Zilzie Pinot Grigio from Karadoc in Victoria and were immediately confused. Not by the pinkish hue which sometimes comes through this type of wine buy by the flavours. It tasted green, tart, a load of acid, too much as it was probably picked too early and the fruit hadn't ripened enough. The back label promised us that it would be bursting citrus and fresh pear flavours. There were no pears and the citrus we received was lemon peel at best. All in all very disappointing. We paid $12, but doesn't matter what it cost, I wouldn't buy it again!

Then I got to thinking, Pinot Grigio is supposed to be drunk while its young and fresh. Was two years from vintage simply too long? What if i compared it to another Pinot Grigio of the same age? So I went hunting through the cellar. Behold I have found one from Italy that is actually 1 year older, and the Italians allow oxidation of the fruit during winemaking so if anything it would be even more dull if 2 years plus is too long for Pinot Grigio. Thus our journey now takes us to the Delle Venezie region which is on the gulf of Venice and borders onto Austria in the North and Slovenia in the East.

Monte Campo 2006 Delle venezie Pinot Grigio

Wow! what a difference. The nose and palate had distinctive smoky flint, delicious fruit flavours of monsteria delicioso, longan and lychee. The texture was a touch oily, something you usually get when this grape is made into the Pinot gris style which often ends up more fruity rather than crisp. This wine was a bit of both. We looked at the Zilzie, poured it down the sink and went out to buy some more of the Monte campo.

Paid $14 in 2008, worth every cent, a great example of Pinot Grigio from the country of the style's origin and proof that you don't have to drink Pinot Grigio the week it was bottled.

Voyager Estate Tom Price Margaret River 1997 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

"from mines to wines"

This wine is dedicated to Tom Price an unsung hero of the WA iron ore industry.

Voyager vineyard is named after Michael Wrights original family business, also mining, in fact Voyager was one of their mines.

This wine is the white wine flagship of the Voyager winery, only released in certain years, in limited quantities, and is aimed to improve in the cellar for up to 10 years in the style of the great white wines of Bordeaux. 4,635 bottles were made for the 1997 vintage. Ours was number 934.

Just like in Bordeaux, this wine was fermented in 100% french oak, and after 12 years the result was like digging through coal and finding diamonds. This wine was inspired by some of the great white wines, from some of the great Bordeaux producers such Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Fieuzal, and Domaine de Chevalier. Many of these wines cost an absolute bomb, and are also hard to find. This little Aussie upstart is a superb alternative.

The style was so Bordeaux like that I laughed like an arrogant parisan and doused myself with parfum par Yves saint laurent. 60% Semillon, 4o% sauvignon blanc, fermeted on lees (residual yeast), and then stirred before sleeping in oak for another 12 months.

There were layers upon layers of flavour and texture. Herbs, basil and sage, cut hay, white nectarines, monsteria, flint, minerals, and a serious punch of French oak toast and honey that shimmered in bursts anidst all the other flavours yet seemed to come together in an absolute synergy of liquid senusality.

This wine was past the recommended cellaring expectancy but still had the potential for another 2-4 years where upon it would have donned a beret and a cravat and climbed Mt Ventoux to ponder the work of Hugo and Lamartine.

I paid $50 for this in 2004, current vintage, 2005 is only $55 - get some now!

Voyager always sign off their back labels with the statement, "it is made with all the care we have". This wine, I concur, was made with a great deal of care, along with energy, skill, and finess. Find one, keep it for a decade, and selfishly share it with one person you truly love.

St Hallett Gamekeeper’s Reserve 2002 Grenache Shiraz Touriga Mourvedre (Barossa)

In the immortal words of Will Smith: "Let's get jiggy with it!"

It's a good night to stay in. The rain that started at midday has continued into the night. As the saying goes: it doesn't just rain, it pours! In any case, it certainly is a good night to open up a bottle of red.

This wine is a sexy little blend of grapes that originated in two of the world's most romantic countries - France and Spain. In the Barossa Valley in South Australia, these grapes usually came together in the fortified wines eg. port. With the decline in the fortified market, St Hallett branched out to create a flavoursome, full bodied red, that would go with a large variety of dishes and still leave money in the pocket.

The 2002 vintage created a wine that offered juicy raspberries (from the Grenache), spicy pepper (from the Shiraz), fruit and floral notes (from the Touriga) and earthy textures (from the Mourvedre). They married together to create a wine that is not unlike a Coates du Rhone, with lingering characters of marzipan and pencil shavings derived from the Grenache.

This has always been a great value Aussie red. At the time in 2003 I paid a mere AUD 12.00 for it. Today, you can expect to pay around AUD 15.00 for current vintage - 2007. My suggestion is to have this wine with a French style casserole (which is what we did) and make your bank manager happy for the money you saved.

Friday night lesson: Riddling

If Champagne becomes Champagne because it's fermented a second time in the bottle, how do they get the yeast out?

In the very beginning, Champagne makers weren't able to remove the yeast, and Champagne was sort of cloudy and gritty as a result. But in the early 19th century, riddling was invented. Called remuage in French, riddling involves inserting the neck of the Champagne bottle in a special frame, then turning and upending it slightly each day until the yeast slides down into the neck of the bottle. The neck is then frozen, the clump of yeast removed, and the final cork inserted. With quick twists of the wrist, a good remueur can riddle 30,000 to 40,000 bottles a day, and for centuries, it seems, no one complained about carpal tunnel syndrome.


as copied from "Wine Lover's Calendar" by Workman Publishing

Yalumba The Menzies Coonawarra 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon

"unfulfilled promise"

this wine was dedicated to Sir Robert Menzies after he reviewed a very early vintage of Yalumba Galway Shiraz (Hermitage in those days) as the best wine he had ever drunk.

The label design was promising. However it stopped short from delivering the promise. The wine definitely had elegance and length of flavour as promised on the back label, but it was thin, a touch green and stalky, tasting of unripe fruit. There was distinctive dust and nutmeg from the oak and eventually it opened to reveal flavours of dried fruit, camphor, eucalyptus, and finished with the intensity that you'd expect from a Coonawarra wine at this price tag. Yet it still left us disappointed. We expected more from 1996, which was a great year for Coonawarra, especially as it is a benchmark region for Cabernet in Australia. We assume the fruit was picked before optimal ripeness prior to maturing in oak for 24 months.

We paid around AUD 35.00 for this in around 2000. Current vintage of the Menzies 2005 is available for around AUD47.00. Although this one was a fizzer, previous vintages have been superb. We definitely wouldn't shy away from its subsequent vintages and will post the reviews as we came to taste them. For those of you looking for a bargain, the Galway Shiraz is currently available at around AUD14.00 (2005 vintage)

Howard Park Scotsdale Great Southern 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon

"go west (then South)"

We had a hankering for something West Australian tonight. But instead of stopping at Margaret River for a taste, we hopped a little further South and found the Great Southern region. As well as having a vineyard in Margaret River, Howard Park also has another at the Great Southern region which is where this wine is from.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River tends to have a capsicum overtones whereas the Great Southern region tends to be more Bordeaux like. We enjoyed the wine immensely now although it easily could have cellared for another 5 years. This Cab Sav came from 27 years old vines on a gravelly vineyard in Mt. Barker which is Western Australia's cool climate region (sometimes you even get snow here). It spent 18 months in French oak barriques resulting in a very smooth and dry style of Cabernet which married an earthiness with rich plums and berries.

We paid around AUD28.00 at the time in around 2003 for it. The current vintage 2004 can be purchased for around AUD40.00. If you are wondering about the front label (the dragon around the tree), it's a Feng-shui thing inspired by the owner's wife who designed the label.

tonight's side menu: beef casserole with veges served with couscous. It really does complement the wine! ha...ha...

Palandri Boundary Road Margaret River Shiraz 2003

"sweet taste of a bargain"

The internet is a wonderful thing. You could find some surprising bargains sometimes. We found this wine in the online bargain bin and thought tonight is as good as any time to try it.
We were mildly surprised. It has a lovely sweet savoury nose. The texture is very dry and dusty from the oak, there are flavours of fennel, cassia and nutmeg. It is a medium bodied wine and lacks a little bit of length. But considering it cost us AUD 7.00 per bottle, who's complaining?
The price is not reflective of its true value as it was an export wine bound for the UK prior to Palandri going into receivership. Current price and availability is unknown, but I'd have been happy to pay around AUD 15.00 for it.
It is nice to know you can still find a nice pleasant bargain now and then......

Tarapaca 2007 Syrah (Shiraz) - Maipo Valley, Chile

"the one that didn't get away"

following our Il Briccone disaster, we felt challenged to continue with a serve of red with the marinara. Still craving an international flavour, I rummaged through the racks and produced a bottle of Tarapaca Syrah from Chile.

This Shiraz is very different to the typical Australian style. While there were loads of blackberries, cinnamon and briar in this wine, there were also a very typical Chilean flavour of herbs, earth and medicinal characteristics which finished with the slightest touch of sweetness.

This wine is exclusive to Australia Wine Society and costs around AUD12.00. We also tried the Cabernet Sauvignon at a different occassion but weren't fans of it. Buy the Syrah instead.

Primo Estate 1998 Shiraz Sangiovese (IL Briccone)

"the one that got away!"

We were in that rebellious sort of mood where you break the classic rule of red with red meat, and white with white meat. We decided to have this Shiraz blend with seafood marinara. However, it seemed we had left it a bit too long in the rack. And the great little wine that this was in its youth had got away.

It is predominantly Shiraz with lesser amounts of Sangiovese Barbera, Nebbiolo and Cabernet. It is made with older oak and because this wine was designed to break rules, Joe Grilli the wine maker decided that it was quite a rogue which, in Italian, is Il Briccone. In its youth, this wine has spice, dust, and herbs and all marries in quite nicely. However, what we were left with both tasted amd smelled like sweaty socks (not good whether or not you like sweaty socks!).

Primo Estate is located in Virginia, Adelaide plains region, South Australia. At time of purchase, this wine costed me AUD16. The current vintage (I think it is 2007) retails around AUD22.00. Buy it in its youth - it's well-worth drinking.

As for our dinner....Luckily for us, the seafood marinara was in its prime! and we have other wines in reserve....

Seville Estate 2001 Yarra Valley Shiraz

"between the Rabbit and the Veal"

Last night, we went to Crinitis in Parramatta for a friend's birthday. We've never been to the restaurant before. It was pretty packed on Saturday night. The waiters were roaming around with headsets on and instructing diners and food around the restaurant like a flight deck commander on an aircraft carrier scrambling F-18 fighter jets.

We took 2 bottles of wine and planned on choosing one based upon the food that we would order. I chose rabbit which was incredibly tender and so huge I was unable to finish it (me suspects more than one rabbit!). Nansia chose veal Oscar which was very nice and also very huge (she tried to pass it on to me but I had no room).

The wine we chose was a Seville Estate 2001 Yarra Valley Shiraz. This is a typical cool climate Shiraz with more elegance than fruit explosions that you'd expect from warm climate Shiraz. Eight years in the bottle had produced a wine that was very soft yet powerful, it smacked of white pepper, berries, and a touch of oak. We shared it around, and it was quite popular amongst the masses.

Purchase price was around AUD22.00 in 2004. Current vintage 2005 retails for around AUD27.00. It is one for keeping.

The vineyard was originally established in 1972 by Doctor Peter McMahon. We think this wine is just what the doctor ordered.

Salena Organic Shiraz 2006

"Simply Organic"

Nansia came home and announced loudly -"I'm cooking!"

So I stayed out of the kitchen and looked after the drinking department instead. I decided on something unusal - an organic wine!

Well, we enjoyed it accompanying Nansia's mildly spiced hokkien noodles with fish cakes and bok-choy.

Don't be confused by the picture. Yes, the bottle is clear (as well as being empty!), adorned by a very simple label, dominated by the winery's logo of a pelican in flight.
We tried this wine at both room temperature and chilled. We preferred chilled. Although this wine is 14% alcohol, it is a lighter style, due to a combination of organic viticulture (how the grapes were grown), and the wine making approach. The wine is lightly oaked, is very dry with subtle tannins and flavours of mulberry, white pepper, morello cherries and marzipan.

Now, this is not a wine to be analysed, it is just a good quaffer for lazy summer time lunches.

It is from Riverland district of South Australia, approximately about AUD15.00 retail. Chilled, it makes a good alternative to Rose.

Orlando St Hugo 1990 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

"Great food, Great wine, Great Company"
The cousin is back from Stockholm, and we're having him & his girlfriend over for dinner.
Nansia made Bruschetta as starter and vegetarian dinner - spinach & ricotta cheese lasagna. I cooked Bouillabaisse from scratch (mussels are a pain in the ass to clean!). The result, however - if I may say so myself - was worth the effort.
I decided to spoil ourselves and opened up a bottle of Orlando St Hugo 1990 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. It was freaking fantastic!
The year 1990 was considered an excellent year for Coonawarra Cabernet and the back label states that this wine offers excellent cellaring potential. We have to agree completely. I decanted this wine as suggested by the winemaker and there was a distinct sentiment build up. Once it opened up, we were hit with a load of berry and plum flavours, with layers of complexity after nineteen years of oak marrying with fruit. The tannins were very fine and soft, with great length. The wine evolved in the glass throughout the meal, crossing the flavour spectrum from berries, plums, blackcurrants, through to chocolates and blueberries. We enjoyed every drop of it. The resulting food and wine match was perfect.

This wine cost around AUD22.00 in 1994 when I bought it. Today, at the famous Beppi's at East Sydney, this bottle is listed for AUD400. But you can get the current vintage (2004) for about AUD45/bottle retail, and if you wait patiently, you may experience similar rewards.