Archive:March 26, 2015

March 26
Winter Warmers – Domaine Santa Duc Les Plans 2012, Gigondas France

santa ducWith the end of Daylight savings almost here, the days will start to get shorter and darker and cooler. Winter is upon us and with this juicy reds are always welcome in a glass nearby.

The Domaine Santa Duc Les Plans 2012 from Gigondas in the Rhône Valley is full of juicy goodness, primarily thanks to 50% Grenache and 25% Syrah which gives the wine a plump and rich texture without coming across as jammy and stewy. It’s like a warm hug in your glass. It’s just ACE.

Winter is here. let’s embrace it head-on with a bottle of this gorgeous gear.

Drink with a lamb casserole and $20 always

March 22
Wine for a Beautiful Sunday – The Liquid Rock n Roll Riesling 2013

rock n roll rzaWhen it’s as good a day in Melbourne as it is today, then I would expect there to be plenty of picnic blankets covering grass in backyards and parks all over town. And when you get weather this good there is nothing better than fielding out deep in a little game of backyard or park cricket and sipping on a delicious Riesling; they won’t hit it to you.

So if that’s the case why not try this little number; the Liquid Rock n Roll Acid Rock Riesling 2013 from the King Valley. Beautifully balanced acid is accompanied with bitter melon, quince and cumquat. A ripping wine for your glass where you hope it’s going to be the sip that never quits.

Drink it with BBQ chicken and $23 always

March 20
#DrinkVegan – Ottelia Limestone Coast Pinot Gris 2014

otteliaYes, there is such a thing. Vegan Wine is real. But what is Vegan wine?

During the wine making process wine makers ‘fine’ wine. Fining is a procedure for claryfing and purifying the wine juice. In it’s simplist forms fining is all about electrostatic attraction; the fining agent – un-vegan friendly are egg whites, milk protein and isinglass – carries a particular electric charge that reacts with wine solids carrying the opposite charge. Milk whey can also be used in the vineyard under biodynamic practices where it is sprayed over the canopy to combat Powdery Mildew.

So, the wine. The Ottelia Limestone Coast Pinot Gris 2014; the Limestone Coast is just to the left of the bottle – near Coonawarra. A lovely rich pear aroma comes through on the nose mixed in with some subtle floral notes. The palate see’s more pear – bruised pear I get, and soft subtle spice all the length of the palate. An ACE wine and totally #VeganFriendly.

Drink with Asian spiced silken tofu and $22 always

 

March 19
Here For A Good Time, Not A Long Time – The Surrey Adelaide Hills Pinot Meunier 2014

Surrey PMPop quiz:

Q: Where does the name ‘Meunier’ come from for Pinot Meunier?

A: Meunier in French means miller, or baker. The grape has a very fine bloom on it that it looks like someone dusted it with bakers flour. So Pinot Meunier it is.

I only just saw this wine two days ago and I knew I had to get it in to the store. They only make about 100 doz, so as it says up top, here for a good time, not a long time.

The wine shall we; looking at the glass the wine, The Surrey Adelaide Hills Pinot Meunier 2014  appears to be quite dirty. This is due to no fining or filtering so one for the vegan’s I guess. The nose throws a lovely elegant perfume of musk, rose petals and subtle green cap from the 50% whole bunch press. The palate opens up where the nose left off with crunchy green cap, musk stick and spice notes. Just a ripping drop.

Drink with pulled pork and $40 always

March 18
My Birthday Wine – Domaine Seguin-Manuel Bourgogne 2012

seguinBirthdays are great aren’t they? Birthdays mean it’s all about you, and yeah, that’s it. I’m 44 so I’m going to have some Burgundy. The Domaine Seguin-Manuel Bourgogne 2012 was the wine of choice and yep, Delicious!!!

With fruit coming primarily from Pommard – about bang on in the middles of the Côte de Beune – this wine is everything I love about Pinot Noir; earth, spice, funk and game. No Funk & Wagnalls but…

So, the wine. The nose is tight with subtle perfume, tart red fruit and hints of cardamom. The palate is deliciously sexy; spice, pan juices, and what I really loved about this wine, cold black tea on the back palate.

Yep, it’s ACE having a birthday.

Drink with 2 point rib-eye roast beef (birthday dinner) and $52 Always

March 16
Tickityboo Wine of the Week – François Villard Syrah 2011

villardVery rare do things stay the same. We change our hair style. We become a vegetarian. We decide to eat meat… again. Did you know that as we get older our flavour receptors (taste buds) change? But don’t fear, age-related sensory change is not known to limit wine tasting ability but actually fine tune the ability to taste certain flavours. Science is ace.

I reckon it was about 5 years ago that a flavour jumped out from the glass and whacked me in the chops!!! I was stunned. Was I really tasting that? The that was black olive, or more to the point, olive tapenade. This pops up in a lot of cool climate Syrah’s (Shiraz) and some Pinot Noir’s. For me anyway.

Now the wine that does it the most and a wine that is frequently found in my recycle bin is the François Villard ‘L’appel des Sereines’ Syrah 2011. Coming from fruit primarily from Cornas in the Northern Rhône, this wine is tart and raspy, but no so raspy that it is just a boring dry red wine. Oh no indeed. Like I said before; olives, black olive tapenade. It’s swimming in the stuff I tell ya!!!

The nose has quick lifts of blackberry and earth which slowly gives way to the black olive goodness. The palate is an instant hit of tart blackberry and black olive which builds and builds and builds. Stop reading this and just get it!!!

Ace with smoked eggplant or chilli concarne and $27, always

March 14
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209…..

3.14Today is a once in 100 year event. PI Day. 3/14/15 (We will borrow the American version for today).

So swing on by today all you maths geeks, or any geek for that matter, and for today only anything that is $32 will be $31.40. There’s plenty at that price so come on in for look.

March 13
Torbreck ‘The Steading’ 2011 – A gem from a tough mother of a vinatge

SteadingFor those in the know, the 2011 vintage was tough. Real TOUGH. Pretty much the entire SE Australian growing regions suffered from either mildew rot, under ripe fruit or both. A great many producers didn’t even bother picking due to not been aloud to spray Copper/Sulfur because of organic/bio certification.

So when a lot of 2011 wines were first released a lot of ‘wine experts’ out there pretty much wrote them off due to them being products of a tough vintage. A lot of producers have even said to me that wine buyers wouldn’t even look at the 2011 gear just because of said wine experts comments. Pretty dumb really. It doesn’t cost anything to have an opinion but you will always be found out when you rely on the opinion of others.

So then, to the wine from 2011. The Torbreck ‘The Steading’ Barossa Valley Grenach/Shiraz/Mataro 2011. In vintages past this wine has been big and brooding and quintessential Barossa Alpha wine. A cooler vintage however has created a more perfumed and elegant beast.

I must add here that these days I don’t generally rate wines by variety but more so to style and flavour; so many varieties these days are interchangable that to do it just on variety would I reckon negate so many other parameters. But I digress.

Back to the wine. The nose has a very pronounced floral and spice edge to it with dried rose petals and roasted brown spice mixing it up. The palate starts very elegant with tart blackberry coming through. The mid palate almost feels green with an almost soft hoppy note that are it’s tannins which then moves in to a black olive tapenadey feel; real concentrated black olive. A cracking wine from one tough muffa of a vintage.

Drink with a fancy steak sanga and $40 always

March 12
Whats ACE – Agnusdei Rias Baixas Albariño 2013

agnus albarinoIt was all about Albariño not so long ago here in Oz. Seems everyone was planting it and selling bucket loads of the stuff out to market. Turns out though that it wasn’t Albariño but in fact Savagnin. The crowd went nuts cos they wanted Albariño. Not me though. I just went, and still go, to where it comes from. Rias Baixas, Spain. Not Mornington or Adelaide Hills or the Riverland. For me it’s only Albariño if it comes from Spain.

So enough of the soapbox. The Agnusdei Rias Baixas Albariño 2013 is the real deal. To me anyway. For me, real Albariño throws a thick wad of seapspray on the nose that without doubt always wakens the senses. This is followed but lovely even white peach coming through. The palate opens up with more soft stone fruit of both white peach and locut that also has a briney note like the nose. Great length and a great wine.

Drink with Massaman prawn curry and $26 always

March 11
Just Arrived – Hawkers Pale Ale

hawker1The ever dapper-man-about town and chief pan twirler Joseph Abboud from Rumi, just a bit further down Lygon Street from here, is turning his hand to beer. Thing is though, he’s not just importing the sexy-as-nuts 961 gear from Lebanon. Oh no. Joseph is now brewing his own gear up in downtown Reservoir in a bright and shiny brand-spanking new brewery with 961 hop master Mazen Hajjer now tweeking the hops down here in Oz.

So the beer. Lets start from the top. The Hawkers Pale Ale. Bright orange citrus notes fill the nose with green hoppy goodness pushing through after a while; there are 4 hops I have been informed and because I didn’t write them down lets just refer to them as Hoppy, Sneezey, Happy and Bashful. The palate follows a similar path as the nose but is driven by a malty richness that is all kept in line by the raspy hopes. Simply ACE!!!

$20 a sixer or $3.60 a stubby – Always, or until I need to drop the $$$

12