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.