Monthly Archives: December 2007

McWilliam's Show Reserve Liqueur Muscat NV

Posted on by
2

Uncharacteristically, I didn’t feel like any wine tonight. Well, nothing I had lying around, anyway. So I reached for the only known antidote for such vinous ennui: Muscat. This one is McWilliam’s top Liqueur Muscat, and has won about a million medals and trophies, for what that’s worth. It’s made from grapes grown in the Riverina district, a region not known for premium quality wine. Another bit of useless trivia: this bottle is number 01156 of the “limited release.”


Initially, this was unapproachably hot on the nose, to the point where it was difficult to discern any flavours as such. A few minutes’ swirling made all the difference. Now, the wine is showing mind-blowingly complex flavours that keep changing with each smell. First there are earthy, almost scorched flavours of mushroom and dirt. Then, it shifts to deep oak notes. Still further on to a spectrum of dried fruits. Then burnt sugar. And so on. Usually I don’t get caught up in too many descriptors, but it’s hard not to with this wine, as it throws so much at you. I should add that all these flavours are basically seamless in presentation, moving from one to the next with grace.

The wine’s entry reveals its next trick: the silkiest, most luxurious mouthfeel one could imagine. This wine practically caresses the tongue in a very physical sense. In fact, it’s so striking that it takes a few moments to realise that a whole range of intense flavours have slipped on to the middle palate. I would describe this wine’s flavour profile as relatively “high toned,” in the sense that we’re not dealing with deep, heavy dried fruits so much as aromatic citrus peel, the scent of plum pudding, dried flowers, etc. There’s depth too, with profound vanilla-oak notes underpinning the rest of the wine. The point is, it’s quite light footed without ever suggesting it’s anything but an old fortified wine (a component of this wine dates back to 1964). Line and length are impeccable, as the wine is basically one continuous experience from nose to oh-so-lengthy finish. I’m sitting here a good minute after taking a sip, and I can still taste it all through my mouth. 

This is a truly superb wine. It makes an interesting comparison with another fortified recently tasted, the Chambers Grand Liqueur Muscat. Whereas the Chambers is all about concentration and balanced power, this wine is more elegant and presents even greater complexity of flavour. Quite different in character, but both beautiful wines.

Price: $70 (500ml)
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: December 2007

Offcuts

Posted on by
1

From time to time, I suppose it’d be a good idea to briefly mention some wines that I’ve purchased that don’t really deserve proper blog entries for one reason or another: they were too boring, faulty in some way, or I just didn’t feel like writing about them at the time.Here are a few to get started:Merryvale Vineyards ‘Antigua’ Dessert Wine NV: I saw this in a local bottle shop for $14.99, and it looked interesting: a half-liter bottle filled with dark brown liquid and a badly scuffed label talking about fortified Muscat of Frontignac. Hrm. Plus, it was a Californian producer. The poor bottle looked lonely so I took it home. As I put it in the fridge to chill it down a bit, I noticed that the bottle had a huge amount of incredibly gross looking sediment swirling around in it; when I poured it a bit later, my partner asked if this wasn’t a health risk to be drinking this stuff. Well, probably not – I’m still breathing – but it wasn’t good. It shouldn’t have been that color – it was badly oxidized, and had obviously been sitting around the bottle shop for years and years falling apart. The taste wasn’t horrible – somewhere between Rutherglen liqueur muscat and oloroso Sherry – but two small sips was enough to send it down the drain.Segura Viudas ARIA Sparkling Pinot Noir NV – This is a $7 sparkling wine produced by the Freixenet folks strictly for the US market. It smelled like dying robots having sex in a puddle of stagnant water – awful, truly awful. It didn’t taste of anything other than weak strawberry cordial, the bead was lame, and it was overly sweet to boot. Blecch. This joined the Antigua in the sewers of San Diego in no time at all.Bonny Doon Le Cigare Blanc 2005: I shared this with my extended family at Thanksgiving, and I don’t remember much about it other than it was delicious and that both bottles were the first to go at the party. It had kind of a vague waxy, honeyed taste that wasn’t particularly strongly flavored; very pleasant and OK value at around $16. 60% roussanne, 40% grenache blanc.Redwood Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2005: The polar opposite to the Cigare, this was revolting in every way, truly disappointing after other wines that had been drunk that evening. At $6, terrible value: the worst in industrial wine. Generic fruity alco-juice with totally unconvincing “new oak” flavor.

De Bortoli Windy Peak Cabernet Merlot 2005

Posted on by
Reply

Part of a six pack of cheapies I bought the other day at Dan’s. The Windy Peak range has often surprised me with wines that substantially overdeliver at their price points. How about this Cabernet Merlot blend, then?Varietally correct aromas of dark fruits, leafiness and a rather yummy fried bacon note (plus a hint of tinned corn, or DMS). The fruit has a slightly bright, “forced smile” character that starts to suggest industrial winemaking to me, but it stops short of being truly offensive, and is well and truly balanced by more interesting tomato vine-like aromas. The entry ushers flavours to the middle palate quickly. The palate is medium bodied and neatly balanced between those just-shy-of-confected fruit flavours and more savoury elements. Tannins are quite lovely and fine, kicking in towards the rear of the palate and carrying the wine through a finish that is satisfyingly long. Not hugely complex, but balanced and well made. No doubt this wine is excellent for the price. If one might criticize it for lacking individuality, it’s hardly a serious fault at this end of the market. Having said that, it’s also just good enough to make me pine for a better wine, if that makes sense. De BortoliPrice: $A13Closure: StelvinDate tasted: December 2007

Houghton White Classic (nee Burgundy) 2006

Posted on by
Reply

The first thing that strikes one about this wine is not the colour or aroma but the back label, most of which is devoted to explaining why the name has changed from White Burgundy to White Classic (it’s all because of “international trade agreements”, apparently). In any case, this is the same venerable dry white blend that has been a budget priced staple for many years. I’ve never been entirely sure of the blend of grapes that goes into this wine, and at the risk of inflating this entry’s tags beyond reasonableness, have determined that it contains Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Verdelho and Sauvignon Blanc. Phew.Surprisingly complex aromas that also show what appears to be a bit of honeyed bottle age. A mix of this sweet honey and powdery florals, slightly thick smelling and overlaying more reticent honeydew-like fruit. It actually smells a bit like cheap perfume. The entry is slippery but without immediate flavour, and it’s only towards the end of the middle palate that fruit flavour begins to build. Flavours are again in the light melon and perhaps apple spectrum, quite tasty, but lacking what I would call “integrity” in its flavour profile. Some wines present flavours that somehow add up to a satisfying whole — this wine seems more scatterbrained. Flavour continues to build towards the after palate, and the wine finishes with subtle, bitter phenolics. There’s also relatively lively acidity running the length of the palate, which is refreshing and helps the flavours gain some impact.I’m not sure what to make of this wine. Clearly, it’s exceptional value for money, and it’s quite different from your run of the mill Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon or Chardonnay. That in itself worth something. But when it comes time to assess what’s in the glass, I’m having a hard time getting particularly excited. It does the job. That’s about it. I believe this wine ages well (although I’ve never tried an older example). Perhaps, like our beloved Hunter Semillon, this may turn into something unexpectedly interesting with time.HoughtonPrice: $A8Closure: Cork (!)Date tasted: December 2007

Rene Florancy Champagne NV

Posted on by
Reply

Cooking dinner this evening, I poured myself a glass of this straight out of the fridge and decided to give it time to warm up on its own. The mousse is textbook perfect: tiny bubbles, very consistent upward flow, and it makes a lovely heart-shaped display on top of the wine in the glass.The nose is subtly biscuity, with a hint of fresh pears and green apples, along with a bit o’ honey. In the mouth, the acidity is spot on: it’s all fairly lightweight, but immensely appetizing, with a delightful prickling sensation as well. Mmm good. The dosage seems perhaps a bit high – although this is labeled brut, perhaps it should have been labeled as extra dry?My only complaint is really the price: although this wine sells for about £24 in the UK (making it ridiculous cheap here in the States by comparison), you can get similarly high quality house brand Champagne for $20 (Costco), or even name brand Champagne for $22 (Piper Heidsieck at Vintage Wines here in San Diego). So why does this cost $27?[but really fresh&easy]Price: US $26.99Closure: CorkDate tasted: December 2007

The Black Chook Shiraz Viognier 2006

Posted on by
Reply

The modern, and painfully fashionable, Shiraz Viognier blend exists on a knife edge, stylistically. Too much Viognier and the wine, for my taste, slips into clumsy territory, the extroverted Viognier dominating partner Shiraz and creating a wine of cloying obviousness (if that is even a word). The right amount, however, adds perfume and mouthfeel and complexity that is quite rewarding. What can we expect from a McLaren Vale blend of these varieties selling for about $A17?Alas, a whole bunch of dried apricot and boiled lollies. On the nose, dried apricot, bright red fruit and, well, not a lot else. The aromas have a confected and slightly thin character that feels, to me, a bit industrial. The palate shows more of the same, with slightly less apricot and a whole lot of bright red fruit, wrapped up in a medium bodied palate that lacks significant structure or direction. Rather, it’s an easygoing wine of generous, though again rather confected, fruit flavour, nothing too heavy or challenging. Mouthfeel is slippery. The wine sort of disappears away on the finish; not that it dies prematurely, but rather it simply fails to register anything notable as it slides to a close. I didn’t like this wine much, as the bright, sweet fruit flavours were, for my taste, not balanced out by structure or any savouriness of flavour. I should note, however, that the other half rather liked it. I’d serve this wine at BBQs, and make sure it was a bit below room temperature.Ben Riggs (winemaker)Price: $A17Closure: StevinDate tasted: December 2007

Yalumba Wild Ferment Eden Valley Chardonnay 2005

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve had this wine before but, interestingly, this wine showed a lot tighter than the previous bottle.  It’s labelled “Wild Ferment” and there are certainly some super funky aromas hanging around, along with some matchsticky sulfur, citrus and white stonefruit. Most definitely super complex for a Chardonnay at this price point. The entry is quite linear and surprisingly, considering the nose, primarily structural, leading to a middle palate that is flavoursome but also very focused and acid-driven. Here we get moderately intense grapefruit and white peach notes, more funky flavours and light sulfur, along with astringent acidity and some oak-derived flavours. The acid structure takes the wine over a little and drives it through to a finish that is quite drying, perhaps with some phenolics coming into play. I paid $A14 for this wine, and I would expect a technically correct but quite uninteresting Chardonnay at this price point. This wine totally overdelivers and presents not only good winemaking but some personality too. We had this with a snack of Italian bread and macadamia salsa, and the wine responded well to food, although it didn’t soften as much as I thought it might in the face of oily food. YalumbaPrice: $A14Closure: StelvinDate tasted: December 2007

Suxx 2006

Posted on by
2

Don’t laugh, but I sniffed this the second I unscrewed the cap and thought whoa. What is this, Gucci for Men? It’s got a full on nose of sandalwood, with a curious scent of camphor and velvet as well. I’ve never smelled a wine like this before. How the hell did they make this stuff? It’s just so huge, so jammy… amazing, and somehow floral as well. Raspberries and roses?It’s so dark that it looks like it should be in a Mont Blanc bottle. Taste-wise, it’s again pretty damn big: brooding, dark, earthy, and with an almost medicinal, herbal, minty edge to it. Amazingly, it doesn’t feel particularly alcoholic, which is a huge surprise given that this is supposedly in the 16-17% range: the finish is not hot, but very well balanced and exceedingly smooth, tapering off into a woodsy, sweet trail of incense and spice. It all works surprisingly well.SuxxPrice: US $16.99Closure: StelvinDate tasted: December 2007