The Home of Renowned Tasting

It’s not commercially released until next vintage, hence the cleanskin bottle image, but I’ll review it quickly anyway.

Chunky, textured and mouthfilling as is the Fiano way with a good burst of lemon, waxy apple, candle (well the smell..not taste), dried herb and licorice root flavour. It’s fresher and finer than some with clean balanced acidity and good shape through the mouth, although still refreshingly rustic and closes with a pleasingly long finish. A very promising debut.

No Responses »

Rory of Enoteca suggested that this would be a lighter alternative for summer drinking. It has straw flavours with a bit of honey. It is just a shame I didn’t get the review up earlier. The acid is soft and it comes across as a lighter, fruit driven style of white that has a hint of rose as well as honey. I tried several unusual dry whites on the day I tried this and although I think it would be a good point of difference at a restaurant it was not my style.

2 Responses »

It’s a blend of Marsanne, Chardonnay and Rousanne and I think the Burgundy piggy in the middle really adds something to the blend - it gives that bit of shape and freshness that its Rhone pals sometimes lack when left on their own.

Apple cider, stonefruit, pear, a drizzle of honey and more savoury lees characters are the main flavours on a palate that’s weighty, dry, flintily textured and highly satisfying to drink. There’s fresh clean acidity, excellent shape and balance and a degree of interest that’s so often lacking around this price point. It’s a very good wine I think.

Other vintages : 2005

2 Responses »

Waskly Wabbit. This is made by Port Phillip Estate from brought in fruit - hence the name Quartier - meaning neighbourhood or similar in French.

I like the smell of it - it’s a bit nutty with almond, pear, lemon oil, spice and snuffed candle. On the palate it has pithy and pulpy sorts of flavours with hard green pear, bitter lemon, spice and almond. It’s dry, textured and quite weighty (although fresh) with a good dry finish. Interesting wine. The more I taste it, the more I like it.

No Responses »

We were in Santorini about this time last year, and the vineyards that cover the island are pretty amazing things, so when I saw this in the bottle shop I thought I’d grab a bottle. For interests sake mainly and also because I think that Assyrtiko is a good grape.

It’s unconventional to smell with the scent of pine, honey, wax, flowers and spice over lemony fruit. In the mouth medium to full bodied and, well, a bit fat, but also dry with good acid cut giving freshness. It has flavours of unripe pineapple, pear and lemon with pine and honey adding a touch of exotica and a bit of mineral too. Unorthodox, a little challenging, but a thoroughly engaging dry white. Great with food too.

No Responses »

Dominic Torzi and Tim Freeland have been at it again and this, their latest creation, is a blend of 28% Chenin Blanc, 28% Riesling, 22% Semillon and 22% Sauvignon Blanc from vines with an average age of 50+ years. It puts me in mind of a Northern Italian dry white and has many of the same positive attributes of refreshment, low alcohol and palate cleansing crispness.

It smells of fruit salad, soap, grass and dried herb with a bit of funky taxi drivers armpit wafting about. Not too overt or sweet smelling - more dry white. On the palate light, fresh and very crisp with subtle fruit salad drizzled with plenty of lemon juice, dried herbs and some minerally flavours. Finishes dry and clean with lemony acidity and excellent length. This has heaps of personality and excels at its purpose. If you like the style (I do) and want a wine with a point of difference then I can’t recommend it highly enough to you. It’s a bit out there and a whole lot more interesting than so much of the stuff that’s out there.

7 Responses »

I can offer more than a few incisive comments about this wine which is always a good thing. First is it needs to be served not too cold, secondly it looked much better after being open for a day and lastly (or thirdly if you enjoy a jolly good count) it’s a wine of character that really engages you.

It smells of no one thing in particular but you might include things like melon, lemon, flowers, woody spices, nuts and minerals if you were to list them - tending to savoury as much as fruity. On the palate its dry and tight with clean acidity, a little bit of phenolic grip to build texture and a distinct mineral character. It’s mid-weight like a Chardonnay, has a touch of warmth poking through and finishes dry and flinty. A paradoxical wine - it’s a great food style because it’s dry and fairly neutral but it also challenges you and demands your attention with every sip. I think it needs time in bottle to show its best but meanwhile you might like to decant it for best results.

Other vintages : 2006

No Responses »

The optimist looks at the donut whilst the pessimist looks at the hole. Could this explain my increasing level of portliness? I know I don’t spend a great deal of time looking at holes; I’m in the wrong profession for that. Anyway, this is a single vineyard wine that sees a bit of oak and barrel ferment action. I like what they are doing here. In fact, I like it a lot. You know you’re talking so hip you’re twisting my melons man.

Plenty going on here with green melon, gin and tonic (with a slice of lemon rind), cucumber, spice, grilled nuts and some smoky barrel ferment characters. On the palate medium to full bodied with crisp acidity, a touch of sweetness to balance and a rich creamy texture - although the overall impression is one of freshness. It tastes a bit like gin and tonic sorbet with additional flavours of melon, green herbs and a little spice. Finishes clean with good length and a lemon rind and spice aftertaste. If a change is as good as a holiday, then I feel positively refreshed.

10 Responses »

It’s a life full of surprises all right. You would not expect to get much of a wine out of 100% Carignan, let alone one made out of a rare white mutation, but this is great - full of character and interest. The secret, as best I can tell, is that the yield from the 80 year old vines has been restricted to 15hl per hectare (about 800kg/acre) as opposed to the usual mad cropping levels for Carignan that can go as high as 200hl per hectare (about 11 tonne/acre). The Domaine is situated in the region of Coteaux du Libron, Languedoc and is run organically with no herbicides or pesticides employed. The fruit is also hand picked and this particular wine is whole bunch cold pressed with wild yeast fermentation in oak (50%) before 3 to 4 months ageing in oak. The remainder being fermented in tank then blended 3 months before bottling. Importer is marcus@cesoirwine.com

It smells a bit like orange seed cake with honeysuckle, apricot and spicy vanilla oak aromas. On the palate full bodied with a slippery glycerol texture, gentle acidity and a little warmth from alcohol - it’s balanced though, not flabby and feels pretty fresh. It has flavours of orange, apricot, cinnamon and licorice root and closes with a long slippery slide of pulpy yellow fruit and spice. Interesting and engaging - I’m quite taken with this.

No Responses »

This is made mainly from the Verdejo grape and comes from the D.O of Rueda. Interesting wine in many ways, not least because Sam Connew from Wirra Wirra was at the controls for this vintage.

Has a fair bit of sulphide over fresh fruit salad (with plenty of diced apple), some spice and a floral lift. Punchy and fruity. On the palate medium bodied with spice, apple and lemon fruit and minerally sulphide characters. It has a dryish chalky texture with a bit of phenolic grip, a loose slightly-flabby-coarse-low-acid-easy-going sort of charm and a lemony apple skin and spice finish of good length. Really easy to drink and one of those wines where reaching for the bottle to fill up your glass is far more important than how high it scores. I could drink a lot of this.

3 Responses »

Some of the best packaging I have ever seen on these Krinklewood wines - looking at this one made me chuckle and smile. Wild White is the entry level offering from this Biodynamic vineyard and is a blend of 88% Verdelho and 12% Chardonnay. I have amassed about 18 Verdelhos to taste over the coming weeks so thought I might start by easing myself in with this one..

Smells like a pack of Juicy Fruit chewing gum, musk sticks and spice. Bold and beautiful. On the palate full, fat and slightly slippery with its lightly glycerol texture and soft but balanced acidity. It has flavours of chunky pineapple, citrus, musk and spice and drinks like a champion. Good finish too. It’s not a serious wine but it is quality. More importantly it’s also fun fun fun.

9 Responses »

It’s an interesting and unexpected trend this sudden rush of Moscato style wine. Everyone seems to be getting in on the act and putting one out. Naturally some are better than others and I particularly like this one. Really pretty bottle too…one of those things that make you go..oooohhhh.

Smells peachy and grapey with a very attractive fresh kaffir lime leaf top note. On the palate sweet and spritzy with flavours similar to stuffing your mouth full of ice cold sultana grapes drizzled with a squirt of lemon juice. It has a refreshing acidity providing vital cut and a clean but sticky ending. It’s tart fuel all right but can be enjoyed equally by tarts of both sexes…. at any time of day. How do you logically rate such wines? I don’t know, I just give the ones I like a 90!

4 Responses »

Wanted Man eh. I feel a bit of a Wanted Man at the moment what with contributing to Winorama, my real job and my new one of being a dad. So now I have a more tricky act of having three balls to juggle and every now and then you’d have to expect to drop one. Obviously it is the Winorama ball that I have to pick up and dust off (babies don’t like being dropped..or juggled for that matter as their heads tend to throw them out of balance) every now and then. I have been doing well with two balls for quite a while now and it’s a long time since either of them dropped. So I am sure I can manage with three nearly as well, but you’ll have to bear with me while I learn my new act. Rest assured I have been practising quite hard (our recycling bin runneth over) and have plenty of new material to deliver. Anyway, on with the show. This is a blend of 60% Marsanne and 40% Viognier.

Aromas of pear, citrus, stonefruit and honeysuckle with some nice dirty funky characters floating about. On the palate medium bodied with flavours of white peach, nashi pear and citrus with a light glaze of honey and a bit of earth. Not overbearing or too fruity - quite restrained. It has good weight, a slightly pithy phenolic texture and balanced acidity. Finishes dry and a little spicy. A good wine and one with interest that can be used as alternative to Chardonnay if you are matching with food, and as with most white Rhône blends, don’t serve it too cold.

3 Responses »

I have been putting off opening this wine for quite a while. Its age and the high alcohol have scared me off to a degree. Anyhoo, last night I braced myself, so to speak. A honeycomb yellow in colour. On the nose it was quite developed, rich glossy lemons, old citrus fruits, honeysuckle and almost varnishy. The palate is quite developed too, broad sweet ripe fruits, rounded lemon characters and almost toasty flavours, very interesting, honeyed and slippery. Initially it seemed too old for me and I was trying to convince myself to dislike it, but in the end I decided I liked it - a classy wine and highly recommended.

3 Responses »

Enoteca Sileno import and wholesale a pretty good range of Italian wines and Rory of Enoteca dropped this off for me to taste. This wine is from the Le Marche region and produced from the Verdicchio grape. It has quite a golden colour but tastes fresh. It reminds me of a cross between Marsanne and Pinot Gris because it shows honey, a little blossom and some spicey apple. We tried it at room temperature and lightly chilled and preferred the latter because it has some texture and fruit that make it quite big on the palate. A different style of white to try over summer.

No Responses »

Wandin Valley Estate kindly put us up in one of their splendid villas when we were up for a 2005 Shiraz tasting a few months ago and I pinched this from the fridge just before we left. I am not at a villa at present, nor do I have any milk in the fridge with which to make a cup of tea, so I saw this and thought hmmmm fruity. Must be good for you. And so it was.

Aromas of fruit salad, musk sticks, spice and licorice root. Typically yum Verdelho. On the palate a juicy explosion of fruit salad, spice and musk flavours. Full bodied with a little warmth, a lightly grippy texture and clean gentle acidity to balance. Good spicy finish with a bit of lemon zest to close. What a nice bit of fun it is too. Lovely wine.

2 Responses »

Here Voyager Estate winemaker Cliff Royle has worked a little magic and managed to disprove the old adage that you “can’t polish a turd”. Here we have a very good Australian Chenin Blanc.

Aromas of apple, lemon blossom and tropical fruit (maybe papaya and mango) with a bit of flintiness. On the palate nice and juicy with a mix of tropical fruit, apple and some citrus with a touch of tutti frutti sweetness to help things along. Good weight and texture and even a bit of minerality worked in. It feels balanced and has good length of flavour. Good fun.

3 Responses »

Sometimes I surprise even myself with my weirdness and today I decided to open a couple of 2007 wines of the Chenin Blanc variety. There are not that many wineries about that do a Chenin but Voyager and Coriole both have plantings that date back to the late 70’s.

Some woolly jumber free sulphur and then comes the dried apple, pear and green melon fruitiness. On the palate sweet red apple, pear, mango and a little spice. It feels a bit coarse and wanders around a little aimlessly but is flavoursome and really quite friendly. A touch of warmth and some phenolics on the finish round off an easy going wine.

One Response »

I saw this at the Wine Emporium on the weekend and it piqued my interest. It is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Bourbolenc and Picpoul, which is interesting in itself, but moreso because it would seem that Marsanne isn’t a permissible grape variety in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. You learn something new every day.

The nose showed aromas of pear and apple, yellow fruits, glossy lemons, a little yeasty with a bit of spice. The palate is textured and relatively big, hard green fruits, lemons and some quite exotic flavours, finishing with sour fruits. It has the softest acid, excellent length and does seem a bit oxidative in style. A pleasant surprise - would make a great options wine. Don’t serve too warm.

No Responses »

What a good grape albariño is. I love it. I would like it even more, however, if it came closed with a screwcap.

Bright and juicy with fruit salad (some of it tropical), ginger and white flowers. On the palate medium bodied with fruit salad, grapefruit, a sprinkle of green herbs and a little spice and mineral. Sweet fleshy fruit but with a dry texture. It has crisp but well rounded acidity and a good long fruity finish. A wine that bursts with fun and enthusiasm.

Other vintages : 2004

14 Responses »