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......