For the past three years, Voyager Estate has generously conducted a masterclass to benchmark their Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon against the world’s best producers. There is only ever a small group, but it is one of the tastings of the year.

I was lucky enough to be there for the second year running and I think this was the best one yet. We saw wines from France, New Zealand, USA, and for the first time South Africa, along with top producers from Australia. All wines were tasted blind.

Chardonnay

2008 Kistler Sonoma Mountain Les Noisetiers Chardonnay – Sonoma County, California, USA.

The vines for this wine sit at an elevation of 800 metres, so it is very cool-climate. Visually it has a pale complexion and aromatically there is an abundance of grapefruit, pears and creamy lees characters. The palate is citrusy and textured with a mineral cut and a lingering length. It was wonderful to see such a restrained American and it appears to have life ahead of it. 14.1% alc. Cork.

2008 Felton Road Chardonnay – Central Otago, NZ

People tend to focus on the Pinot Noirs from Felton Road, but the Chardonnay is no slouch. White stone fruits, lemon rind and a slight cashew character waft out of the glass with the theme carried through to the palate. A creamy lees texture supports along with a long finish. The oak shows through a bit more than the Kistler, but it is beautifully handled. 14% alc. Screwcap.

2008 Hamilton Russell Chardonnay – Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa.

This deeply coloured wine shows dominant toasty and nutty characters on the nose together with ripe peaches. Stylistically it seems more ‘old school’ with plenty of oak over the fruit. It has apparently only seen 8-months in small French oak, but it appears to give it most of it’s character. However, it does have a decent acid line. Aficionados of the style will love it. 13% alc. Cork.

2008 Voyager Estate Chardonnay – Margaret River, W.A.

This pale wine shows fragrant white stone fruits together with nutty, lees notes and a slight Burgundian ‘funky’ character. On the palate it has powerful fruit weight with layers of complexity and tightly wound acidity. A brooding wine that is just waiting to cut loose.  13.3% alc. Screwcap.

2008 Louis Jadot Corton-Charlemagne – Burgundy, France.

Unfortunately the cork had emasculated the wine. Random oxidation.

2008 Kooyong Faultline Chardonnay – Mornington Peninsula, Vic

This pale wine is more citrus in style shouting its cool-climate roots from the rooftops. It is almost Chablis-esk with slight chalkiness and a minerally texture together with upfront grapefruits and orange zest. A restrained, elegant style.  12.5% Screwcap.

Shiraz

2009 Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah – Hawkes Bay, NZ

A vibrant wine showing florals, pepper, mocha and a slight herbaceous edge on the nose. It is very tight with a solid core of fruit and fine-knit, savoury-edged tannins. Needs time and lots of it! 14.1% Cork.

2009 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier – Canberra District, NSW

A bright, beautiful wine displaying floral and white pepper aromas with a whiff of deli-meats. There is powerful fruit on the palate supported by savoury, tight tannins and a spicy finish. It’s vin-fanticide to be drinking this now – needs lots of time. 14.2% Screwcap.

2009 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock – Heathcote, Vic

Here’s a lovely wine that has that added ‘feel-good’ factor. It’s organic and biodynamic displaying appealing florals, spice and dried herbs with a slight mocha note. Respectable fruit core on the palate with very tight, drying tannins and a spicy finish. Needs time to come together. 14% Cork.

2009 Voyager Estate Shiraz

Vibrant purple in colour, it shows bright forest fruits, blue fruits and exotic spice. The palate has a strong spiced-berry fruit core with tight tannins and a generally tightly wound structure. A very pretty wine. 13.9% Screwcap.

2008 Bernard Burgaud Cote-Rotie – Northern Rhone Valley, France

On the nose, lots of forest fruits with a slightly funky edge. Quite peppery, spicy and meaty with a touch of animal. Fruit still evident, but finish is slightly drying. At least the animal is tame in this one. 12.5% Cork.

2009 Shaw and Smith Shiraz – Adelaide Hills, SA.

Containing a smidgen of Viognier, this wine shows highly spicy and floral aromatics supported by a tight, firm sweet fruit core and an attractive spicy finish. A wine with finesse. 14.5% Screwcap.

Cabernet Sauvignon / Bordeaux blends

2007 Wynns Glengyle – Coonawarra, SA

Very good colour with varietal cassis and tobacco leaf aromas. Very tight on the palate with a sweet fruit entry and fist-clenching, aggressive tannins. Time may rectify this. 14% Screwcap.

2007 Cullen Diana Madeline – Margaret River, WA.

This bio-dynamically produced Bordeaux blend displays ripe cassis along with cedar-box and that telltale Margaret River mint. On the palate, it shows characters in the herbaceous spectrum along with blackcurrant, fine abundant tannins and a decent length. Another keeper. 14% Screwcap.

2007 Voyager Estate – Margaret River, WA

A Cabernet Merlot blend, this vibrant Western Australian showed its roots through its typical choc-mint aromas. The palate was surprisingly savoury with firm tannins, a decent length and a slight lick of herbs on the finish. A lovely balanced wine. 14.2% Screwcap.

2007 Montelena Estate – Napa Valley, California, USA.

This wine needed time to breathe. At first it was dismissible, but it opened up to be a revelation!

At first look, the nose showed red licorice, a touch of meatiness and sage hints with a whiff of oak. The palate was VERY savoury, but not animal as there was an abundance of cassis fruit on the mid-palate and the length was long and tight. After many swirls, it opened up to wonderful floral aromatics, was multi-layered and long lasting. This was my first Montelena and I loved it! 14.3%. Cork.

2007 Tenuta Dell’Ornellaia – Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy

If ever there was a wine that needs time to integrate, it’s this one. Bright in colour, it is currently quite a leafy and showing lots of oak. The cassis and plum fruits are powerful and tightly packed on the palate and need time to unwind. It seems wrong to be drinking this wine now. Lay down for a little while and it might be a different story. 14.5% Cork.

2007 Leoville-Las-Cases – St. Julien, Bordeaux, France.

For a vintage that is deemed to be a bit mean and not that flash, this is a very good effort from Bordeaux’s finest producer in my book. Bright in colour, a symphony of cassis, plum, vanilla and cigar-box ooze out of the glass. The palate shows a clean, sweet fruit entry with firm, fine-grained tannins, a tight acid backbone and a persistent finish. Many wines were green and mean in this vintage, but not this one. Alcohol usually around 12.5%. Cork.

The reputation of Ricardo Palacios proceeds him. He is known as a rock star of the new Spanish wine frontier and for having the best hair in the business. Most importantly, he is boldly going where no man has gone before into Spanish regions that had been long neglected and almost forgotten.

Ricardo was always destined to be a winemaker. He is the fourth generation of Palacios to venture into wine. “It was a natural progression for me”, he said. “I have always loved wine, nature, animals and the land so it was always going to be that way”.

He studied wine in France ‘But not too much” he added with a mischievous laugh. He also completed vintages in Bordeaux in appellations such as St Emillion and Pomerol. “I was there in 1997, but it was not a very good year. It wasn’t my fault” he stated with another laugh.

His experiences in France certainly contributed to making him the winemaker he is today. Over the years, he has learnt what methods he finds useful. “The Bordeaux style of viticulture is not my preference”. Ricardo stated. “I prefer the viticulture in the Loire, Burgundy and the Rhone Valley. It helped me refine my approach to wine”. Ricardo also practices biodynamics on his vineyards, something else he picked up in France, with the full support of his famous uncle, Alvaros Palacios.

His involvement in resurrecting the Bierzo region in the far north west of Castile, and particularly the grape varietal Mencia, thrusted Ricardo to the forefront of the new wave of Spanish wine producer. When asked how he felt about being in this position, he couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. “Bierzo and Mencia have been around for centuries. It was not very well known and was almost forgotten. The wines ended up in Rioja or where ever. They were selling it by the litre” Ricardo explained.

One important factor for Ricardo is that Bierzo has approximately 7000 hectares of old vines. The two old Mencia vineyards Ricardo saved are situated in two differing environments. One is in a village in the valley on clay soils, the other in the mountain village of Corullon on slate soils. “When we went to Bierzo, there was a wine industry, but it was not refined”. Ricardo explained. “When we went there we grew with the region, and the region grew with us”.

When producing Mencia, Ricardo thinks it is important to talk about the grape and the soil. Mencia has naturally low acidity with fine, rounded tannins, but he feels it has good fruit presence. “They are nice to drink because they are refreshing and soft without harsh acidity and I think it comes from the clay soils”. He stated. He also views the influence from the Atlantic as an important factor.

Ricardo believes Mencia has the ability to age, however, he feels some people still use too much oak. “A few years ago, the fashion was for very ripe, oaky wines. Now the fashion is for more refreshing, elegant wines”. he said. “They are picking the grapes earlier now, but some are picking too early and getting green tannin wines. This doesn’t interesting me”. His philosophy appears to be pick grapes physiologically ripe, not over oak and minimal intervention. “We try to make good wines and the way to do it is to leave them alone”. Ricardo stated.

Of the other wine trends, Ricardo is most baffled by the natural wine movement. “What does that mean?” he said. “The natural thing is that vines are planted in the woods, so, no wine is truly natural. The vines are not there to make wine, we make wine”.

He believes that people who talk about natural wine, biodynamics and chemical usage miss, in his opinion, the most important thing – to make good wine that truly speaks of where is is from. “ It is not necessary to touch the wine too much, but it is necessary to work and make something good”. He added.

Ricardo thinks that ‘natural wines’ are just another fashion trend. “It is the new thing with sommeliers, just to be different”. he stated. “I can say I make natural wines. Our wines contain 40 parts per litre of total sulphur, which is not high. It’s more natural than most”. In the vineyards he explained that they only use sulphur and copper when needed, but years like 2003, 2005 and 2007 didn’t need any. “What we try to do is our best and take the best ideas that work”.

So, what does he believe the next big thing in wine will be? “The next thing could be diet wine perhaps, but maybe they should just drink water”.

(*First published in Winewise Magazine)

When the offer of a vertical tasting of Les Clos Chablis comes up, it’s the kind of thing you will drive two-hours to get to. Especially when the producer is one as decent as Louis Michel.

Having seen Chablis’s from various producers of various ages at various times, it was quite interesting to see a line-up like this to gauge how they develop. This tasting was interesting from several points of view.

Firstly, these wines see no oak, but do have lees influence. Secondly, it was uncanny how much like aged Semillon they look as they progress down the track – especially in the toasty characters they gain. Thirdly, when you see these wines it makes you question how much better they would be under a screwcap closure.

As usual, there were a few randomly oxidated wines that appeared to be cork related (not unusual in white Burgundy in my experience). In a couple of cases up to three bottles were opened to find something presentable. Ah well, that’s the risk when you play dice with the cork gods.

Here are my shorthand observations of the wines. Please note there was no 2004 vintage available.

2007

Very pale colour. Aromas of oyster-shells and slate with a slight lees character. Dry, steely palate with an almost salty minerality. Very slight toasty character creeping in. Still vibrant with a couple of years ahead of it.

2006

Pale straw colour. Toast and lees more evident in this one – almost like the bready autolysis character you find in Champagne. Appealing honeysuckle notes. Very minerally shell-like palate with a very dry, citrus finish.

2005

Pale straw colour. Nice stone fruits character that appears riper than usual. More fruit weight than the 2007 and 2006, but still has that Chablis-esk minerally palate and structure with a decent length. Beautiful wine and second pick of the tasting.

2003

Quite a full style from a hot year. Scents of ripe stone fruits, slight lemongrass and toasty characters. Very dry with a less minerality than previous wines. Drink soon if you have any bottles left!

2002

Straw colour. Quite honeyed and toasty. Showing oxidation. Shame, could have been one of the top wines.

2001

This was my top wine of the line up. Characters of honeycomb and attractive toasty edges. Shell-like minerality still evident with hints of preserved lemon and honey. The palate is still surprisingly fresh, long and memorable. If the cork and storage is good this wine is a little pearler.

2000

This was another lovely example of aged Chablis. Medium gold colour. Gorgeous quince, honey and toast characters with an oyster shell edge. Palate is still steely & minerally with a decent length.

1999

A victim of the cork gods. Random oxidation.

For more info about Louis Michel go here http://www.louismicheletfils.com/uk/

(The wonderful cows)

Established in 1983 by Marc & Eva Besen, Tarrawarra covers approximately 29-hectares planted to mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with a smattering of other varietals, such as Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne.

Clare Halloran has been winemaker since 1996 and has certainly given the wines her feminine touch. The Pinot Noirs ooze subtlety and savoury complexity, but for me, the standout wines are the Chardonnays. These wines are beautifully balanced with the fruit always remaining the focus. The oak does not dominate and the palate is textured for added interest.

We made our way through as many bottles as Clare was prepared to crack, including a preview of the 2010 MDB Chardonnay and Reserve Pinot Noir, so here we go.

2010 Tarrawarra MDB Chardonnay

Aromas of grapefruit, orange zest and struck match waft out of the glass supported by a palate showing a lovely leesy texture, a nice line of minerally acidity and oak in check. A rich and robust style. 13% alc. Screwcap (yet to be released)

2008 Tarrawarra Reserve Chardonnay

We ended up snaffling the rest of this bottle to have with dinner that night because it was such a little beauty. Elegant in style white stone fruits jumped out of the glass together with citrus and a nice touch of Burgundian ‘funk’. It was very well balanced with oak harnessed by the fruit and a creamy texture.

2008 Tarrawarra Viognier Marsanne Roussanne

An attractive honeysuckle and lemon zest nose is backed up by some intense orchard fruit flavours on the palate, good use of phenolics as texture and a decent length. A lovely food wine.

(The Barrel room at Tarrawarra)

2010 Tarrawarra Reserve Pinot Noir

Light to medium-bodied it displays wild strawberries with a slight savoury edge on the nose. The savoury theme is continued on the tight palate along with fine grainy tannins, very slight stems influence, a graphite-like texture and decent length. Still a pup and not released until 2013. 13% alc. Screwcap

2006 Tarrawarra MDB Pinot Noir

Light to medium bodied, the nose flaunts aromas of subdued black cherry and dark plum. The theme is continued on palate with added savouriness and a rich mid-palate. This is a more generous style with softer tannins, but a nice wine from a warm year. 13.8% alc. Screwcap.

2001 Tarrawarra Reserve Pinot Noir

Here is another good effort from a warm year. Light bodied in nature, the nose revealed slight violet aromas, savouriness, secondary red fruits and a touch of toast. The palate had quite a minerally, graphite-like texture, plummy mid palate with fine tannins and a decent length. Still drinking well if you are prepared to roll the dice with a cork closure. 13.9% alc. Cork.

2009 Tarrawarra ‘J’ Block Shiraz

Co fermented with 2% Roussanne (yes, I said Roussanne). This wine was medium to full-bodied with a fragrant pot pourri nose and a savoury edge. The palate was quite spicy and tightly wound with equally tight-grained tannins. Needs a little time. 14.4% alc. Screwcap.

2009 Tarrawarra Merlot

I would have to say that this is probably one of the better Aussie Merlots I have seen. Bright and medium-bodied in style, spiced plums, subtle blackberry and slight char-oak aromas are evident on the nose. The palate is juicy supported by appealing talcy tannins and there is tightness to the acid. 14.5% alc. Screwcap.

 (One of the Tarrawarra Estate vineyards)

http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/529538/australian-export-panel-out-of-touch-and-under-fire

Now, when James rings up and say’s “I can be there in ten minutes, or I can go home and get something from the cellar” you tell him to take his time and go home. We’ll wait. In the meantime, we (Lester Jesberg, Lex Howard and myself) can get stuck into a cheeky little Les Clos.

The evening did not disappoint. Luckily the cork gods were smiling and every bottle opened brilliantly. So, here they are.

2007 Christian Moreau ‘Les Clos’ Chablis

Pale straw in colour, it had a very minerally, seashell nose supported by citrus and jasmine. The palate was very taut with tightly wound acidity, decent mid-palate fruit weight and a lingering length. I might keep my remaining bottles a bit longer!

2004 Giaconda Chardonnay

Pale lemon colour. Lovely aromas of white stone fruits, grapefruit, slight struck-match ‘funk’ and vanilla notes. The oak appears to be a bit more subdued compared to previous vintages – much more Puligny-Montrachet than Meursault – and it’s highly attractive. On the palate the fruit is king showing those stone fruits again with a tight citrusy line of acidity, a hint of creaminess and a finish that won’t stop. It’s still one of Australia’s benchmark Chardonnay’s and under screwcap.

1978 (we think!) Daniel Senard ‘Clos Des Meix’ Corton

I say we think because we had to rely on Lester’s memory as the vintage part of the label was missing. However, James thought that it probably was a 1978 upon tasting, so that was good enough for us. This wine was a lovely, mature red burgundy. Aromas of bracken and earthiness wafted out of the glass, with a strong line of forest mushrooms coming to the party. There were also hints of woody spices. The palate was still alive and had plenty to offer for the next hour before drifting off to the wine gods.

2001 DRC Romanee St-Vivant

This is what James went home to get. With DRC it is easy to run out of superlatives. Even though 2001 is not deemed by the purists to be a great Burgundian vintage, I reckon tasting a DRC of ANY vintage is a win! Needless to say, the evening wasn’t long enough for this ten-year old Pinot Noir to open up fully. The thing that got me about this wine was the amount of exotic spices that sucker-punched me in the olfactory nerves. Later I saw some dark fruits and a touch of almost smoky oak. The palate showed a brooding fruit core just waiting to pounce, steadfast acidity and fine, evident tannins.

Once more I ventured into the back waters of New South Wales (NSW) to judge at the Small Winemakers Wine Show in Forbes. It’s was my fourth time at this little show – and I love it. What do I love about it? well, it’s not the almost five hour drive of kangaroo and wombat dodging, plus the various agricultural vehicles and trucks you tend to get stuck behind. It’s the excitement of seeing the latest wines that NSW has produced.

The beauty of this show is that it is a truly regional wine show. It is also only open to producers who crush a maximum of 500 tonnes per year, so no large corporate producers here. The experimentation that is happening on the small producer level is also quite a buzz. There are wines here of serious character that display what is really going on in the state.

This year was no different. The regions of Orange and Hunter Valley were the highlights this year, however, Cowra, Southern Highlands, Young and Canberra District were also amongst the trophy winners.

Quality was high with Chardonnay, Semillon and Shiraz. The big surprise this year was Bordeaux blends, a much improved class. Even the Verdelhos weren’t too shabby (Those of you who know me will know how much it pains me to say that! but credit where it’s due).

The styles of Chardonnay and Shiraz in particular was varied. It basically followed what I have seen from small producers around the country. The Chardonnay styles range from Chablis-like and funky through to the more ‘old school’, heavily-oaked styles, but the top examples were very well done. Shiraz is getting back to its more medium-bodied roots with some funkiness going on and some nice use of whole bunches. Very Rhoney in some cases, however, the fruit is still king.

Shows like this are so valuable to the future of Australian wine. They explore regionality and delve into the true character and sense of place that exists within the state. so, here are the trophy winners for you to discover.

20^th Anniversary 2011 N.S.W. Small Winemakers Wine Show

Trophies Awarded.

Clear Image Trophy, Best White Wine of Show

 Mistletoe Wines 2009 Reserve Semillon

Vintec – Transtherm Trophy, Best Red Wine of Show

 Stockmans Ridge 2009 Outlaw Shiraz

 Winetitles Trophy, Best Boutique White Wine of Show

 Mistletoe Wines 2009 Reserve Semillon

Winetitles Trophy, Best Boutique Red Wine of Show

 Stockmans Ridge 2009 Outlaw Shiraz

Westpac Bank Trophy, Best Sweet White Table Wine

 Lillypilly 2006 noble Harvest

Pymont Bros Shell Trophy, Best Riesling

Tertini Wines 2008 Riesling

Robb’s Jewellers Trophy, Best Verdelho

Coolangatta Estate 2011 Verdelho

McGroder’s Solicitors Trophy, Best Semillon 2010/11

 David Hook 2011 Old Vines Pothana Semillon

 Highlands Design Trophy, Best Semillon 2009 & Older

 Mistletoe Wines 2009 Reserve Semillon

BWR Accountants Trophy, Best Chardonnay 2010/11

Leogate Estate 2010 Early Release Reserve Chardonnay

 Pigot Miller Wilson Trophy, Best Chardonnay 2009 & Older

Audry Wilkinson 2009 Reserve Chardonnay

Central West Diesel Trophy, Best Merlot

Shaw Vineyard Estate 2009 Canberra District Merlot

 Court Press Trophy, Best Dry Red Table Wine – Bordeaux Style

 Windowrie Estate 2010 “The Mill” Cabernet Merlot

Chris Killeen Memorial Trophy, Best Dry Red Table Wine

Italian or Spanish Varieties and their Blends

Angullong 2010 Bulls Roar Tempranillo

  Amcor Trophy, Best Shiraz 2009/10

 Stockmans Ridge 2009 Outlaw Shiraz

Riedel Trophy, Best Shiraz 2008 & Older

 Chalkers Crossing 2008 Hilltops Shiraz

Firstly, we found ourselves at Tetsuya’s. For those of you who have been living under a rock it is deemed to be one of the top restaurants in Sydney to worship at the church of cuisine. This was about my sixth visit to this wonderful place and it never fails to inspire me. Last night the wines reigned supreme in which was probably one of the best line ups of vinous pleasures to pass over my palate. In the words of Spandau Ballet, to cut a long story short, here are the highlights.

1996 Salon ‘S’

This Blanc de Blanc Champagne is one of the closest things to god you will ever encounter. Complex floral, citrus aromas with a palate structure so tight, minerally and linear you feel it will take years to reveal itself. A wine of enormous finesse that is close to perfection. What more is there to say.

2006 La Chablisienne Grenouilles Chablis

This was the first time I had seen a wine from the co-operative of Chablisienne which is apparently one of Burgundies best. It is the front for around 250 Chablis producers and has existed since 1923. This particular wine was highly citrus and almost creamy on the nose with a hints of floral and herbaceous characters. The palate showed spine tingling lemony acidity and a slight saltiness with a lingering finish. Lovely stuff!

2002 Raveneau Blanchots Chablis

I always go weak at the knees whenever I see a Raveneau and this was no exception. These wines always appear to need some time, so seeing this one at over seven years since vintage was about right. To start with the colour was excellent for an 02. The aromas were quite complexed with wonderful honeysuckle, jasmine and citrus layers. The palate was very tightly wound with edgy acidity and a never ending finish. I can only imagine how unforgiving this wine might have been when first release.

2002 Coche Dury ‘Les Rougeots’ Meursault.

This wine is not for the faint hearted. It was freaky, left field and I loved it. Extreme Chardonnay winemaking at its best. Plenty of struck match funk with stone fruit, hazelnut and oatmeal aromas. The power of fruit on the palate was awesome with a lovely line of acid to carry it along. A super funky wine that will amaze.

2006 Dennis Mortet Clos du Vougeot

When I first smelt this wine I was struck by how pretty it was. Its gorgeous colour was supported by lovely florals and almost peppery spice. The palate was quite taut with good fruit weight, but at present the oak is poking out a touch. This baby needs some time and will be worth the wait.

1982 Chateau Calon Segur (St Estephe) – Magnum

Quite an A-typical Bordeaux with some appealing tobacco, preserved plums and sweet cedar aromas. The palate was seamless showing good weight and evident acidity. A wine in its prime.

1982 Chateau Margaux – Magnum

Our esteemed wine show committee chairman, David Clarke, brought this one from his cellar. The colour was excellent in this wine and the nose showed lots of cassis, licorice, leaf and sage. The palate was tight with silky tannins and a lingering finish.

1962 Chateau Latour (Paulliac) – Magnum

It’s easy to get carried away when you see a wine that is almost 50 years old, but this one was quite amazing. The colour was awesome for its age and the nose showed distinctive cedar and white truffle with preserved black fruits and earthy undertones. The palate still had good acidity and the length was highly respectable. I only hope I look that good at 50.

2001 Chateau Suduiraut (Sauternes)

our International Judge, Ch’ng Poh Tiong, got very excited about this wine and described it as a beautiful wine from a legendary vintage. It was almost floral with some lovely brulee, honeysuckle and orange blossom aromas. The palate was tight and balanced with nervy acidity and a very persistent length. I loved the 1989 Suduiraut, but I think Poh Tiong was right when he said that this one was destined to be possibly the greatest Suduiraut.

1999 Chateau D’Yquem (Sauternes) – Magnum

Another brilliant Sauternes showing lemon curd, orange rind and complex floral characters. The palate, once again, was tight with a lovely balance of sweetness and acidity together with a lingering finish. This one is a keeper that is not revealing itself.

As for the menu, there were several stand out dishes. The ones of particular note were the sashimi of kingfish with black bean and orange. A raviolo of octopus with oregano and black olives (I would challenge anyone to pick the filling as octopus. There was some rice in the mix too and it almost looked like pork). Another standout was a 9+ sirloin of Wagyu with braised leeks, sansho and soy. The dessert course of salted sable with lemon scented leatherwood honey went perfectly with the Sauternes

So, that is the night that was. There were other wines, but unfortunately the wine gods struck them down with cork taint and random oxidation. There was also one that smelt like it should be in a Melbourne cup field due to excessive ‘brett’. I was particularly disappointed when the 1996 D’Yquem was out of condition due to a dodgy cork. Ah well, that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Well, I’m off to catch up on my sleep before another wine show next week. Until next time.

Ciao

2009 KT & The Falcon ‘Churinga’ Vineyard Watervale Riesling (Clare Valley, SA – Australia)

This wine should be wearing a little black dress because it is the most tightly packaged of KT’s Riesling babies. Loaded with lemon / lime citrus characters it also shows hints of floral and a slight mineral edge. The palate is textured with limey acidity that is tightly wound and an excellent length, which is good news for the future of this wine. It is almost a crime to drink now, so put some in the cellar and wait for the magic to happen.

2009 KT & The Falcon ‘Peglidis’ Vineyard Watervale Riesling

Highly floral and lime juice with good fruit weight, texture and palate structure. Slightly more giving than the ‘Churinga’ at present (which needs some serious time in bottle), with good line and length. This is a stylish, elegant drink that will probably keep on giving over the next 10 years or so.

2009 KT & The Falcon ‘Melva’ Watervale Riesling

This wine has lazy summer days written all over it. It also has 12 grams of residual sugar making it more off dry in a euro vein. The label states that the fruit is from the Peglidis vineyard and it shows aromas of jasmine, honeysuckle and lemon rind with possibly a touch of lees. The palate is balanced and approachable with that lovely texture evident again. It’s perfect for sharing with good friends on the veranda.

2004 Ridge Santa Cruz Cabernet Merlot (Santa Cruz Mountains, USA)

The colour of this wine is quite striking and it backs up with aromas of cassis, anise and leafiness. The structure is pretty spot on with lovely plush Merlot fruit in the mid palate. The fruit comes from the highly regarded Monte Bello site, so I suppose you could say this is declassified Monte Bello. However, if you check out the website it states that some parcels on that site are only ever used for this wine. Just as a side note, we had two bottles at the same time and the other one suffered random oxidation quite badly. Ah well, that’s the gamble with corks!

1992 Great Western Shiraz (Victoria, Australia)

Although this was not the greatest of bottles from a less than great year, it showed a flutter of its former glory before it went paws up in the glass. It was quite garnet with brick hues and on the nose it showed cedar, anise and preserved cherries. The acidity had an almost citrus edge with a moderate length and soft, grainy tannins.

1996 Château Poujeaux (Moulis-En-Medoc – Bordeaux)

A customer bought this from my wine list and it gave me quite a surprise. It is classified as a Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, but this end of the Bordeaux classifications is very much in flux at present. Poujeaux (named after the commune) is deemed as one of the better château’s at this level. The colour was good for its age with cedar, liquorice, preserved blackcurrants and dried herb aromas. The palate was balanced with just the right amount of acidity and tannin along with a respectable length. It was a particularly good bottle.

Until next time, Ciao.