Monthly Archives: July 2009

Louis Latour Montagny 1er Cru "La Grande Roche" 2006

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The first impression is of the circus: hot sawdust, popcorn, leather, saddle soap, and a hint of sulfur – hey, you need something to shoot a midget out of a cannon, right? There’s also a light dusting of minerals and chalk; there’s also a distant yeastiness, the smell of bakers just getting out of bed in the morning. Finally, there’s an overtone of pineapple, lychee, and soft white flowers, a soft halo of freshly baked brioche steaming next to freshly-cut fruit – exactly the sort of thing you’d expect at a French beach resort in, say, Tahiti. It’s all impossibly genteel, subtle, and elegant.Surprisingly, the wine turns out to be pretty substantial in the mouth, landing with the thwack of pizza dough slapped against a cool marble slab. Somewhat akin to butterscotch glaze on a Parker role, the wine is big, chewy, and supported by a thin, steely wire of subtle acidity that sets off the fruit to great effect here. The finish is lacy, hazy, lovely; it begs to be drunk outside in the long days of summer, shared with friends.Louis Latour
Price: $16
Closure: Cork

Lake's Folly Cabernets 2007

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This label continues to fascinate me. Tasted over two evenings.

At first, an austere nose comprising cedar, sap, vanilla, and concentrated dark berry fruit. Quite classical in profile and less immediately giving than some young Follies. Still, such complexity in youth is wonderful to see, and the overall impression is of restrained, coiled power. Later, an aroma with fruit more to the fore, greater complexity and some regional influence. It’s never quite plush, each note instead winding its way sinuously around the others in an elegant dance. I’m not done smelling this wine, but the bottle is almost empty.

The palate shows all the classic markers of quality: intensity, complexity, power and structure. This is a real “line and length” wine, though of course these terms don’t speak to personal preference. Luckily for me, it’s my kind of wine. An éclat of flavour on entry, dark berry fruit building towards an astonishingly dense, powerful middle palate. The wine tastes like a concentrate of sorts, which in the abstract might be awful but here works brilliantly, happening as it does within a decidedly medium bodied context; it’s all form and elegance, and the fruit is expressed on these terms, packed with detail and complexity. Despite the intensity, there’s no shred of overripe or raisined flavour. Just delicious berry fruit, mouthwatering sourness, pencil shavings and a hint of leafiness. The finish is especially long and fine, showcasing some quality oak. Although the acid and tannin are very approachable if given a few hours to breathe, the overall impression is of youthful potential. Clearly, there’s sufficient fruit and structure to carry this wine through what I hope will be a positive ageing process. 
Excuse me, but fuck this is good. Perhaps more austere than some I’ve tried, yet the style retains enormous integrity. 13% abv.

Lake’s Folly
Price: $A50
Closure: Cork

Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling 2000

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I have absolutely no idea how this bottle found its way into my cellar, but I suppose it was bought in Australia as there doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the USA where I can buy another bottle of this, which is a shame.Wonderfully honeyed gold in the glass, there’s a squant of orange tint here as well; it’s clear that this wine is old, beautifully so. The perfume is subtle and hints at dessert wines; it’s eerily, subtly orange and vaguely reminds me of liqueur muscat, but of course it’s terrifically dry. Surprisingly young in terms of taste, the aged kero characteristic are upstaged by what I suppose are textural quirks; this wine has a novel mouth feel, strangely full, offset by a sort of white-flower effect that is reminiscent of a previous generation’s floral perfume.The line here is also somewhat odd; relatively straightforward, the wine eventually peters out into a subtly spicy finish which largely hides the acidity here, which briefly makes an appearance well after the wine has been drunk. In terms of flavor profile, it’s really much more like a delicate Belgian lager than anything else, with hints of orange blossom and spice. Probably not drunk best on its own, this seems to be crying out for spicy stir fry which is sadly lacking in my house at the moment.Incredible value for money, it seems to me that this wine still has a long life ahead of it. If you’ve got it, drink it, but it likely wouldn’t hurt to hang on for a few years yet.Leo Buring (but really Fosters)
Price: $10
Closure: Cork

Navarro López Tierracalar Tempranillo 2006

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It seems to me the turf war at the lower end of the wine market is, in a lot of ways, more interesting than any perceived battle of the premiums. Burgundy is no substitute for Central Otago Pinot; I’ll take both, thanks very much. If I take a more functional view of wine, though, one wine becomes more or less interchangeable with others of a similar style and price. Hence the availability of large numbers of inexpensive red and white wines the variety and region of which is of less import than, say, price point or style. On this view, I might easily substitute a local flavoursome red for a similarly priced import, so long as it meets my broad requirements of a tasty red wine.

This Spanish Tempranillo has me questioning what it might take for local red wine drinkers to switch en masse to an imported product. Certainly, the horse has bolted when it comes to white wine, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc having captured the palate (and wallet) of many an Australian consumer. This wine (and others like it) is in some ways a parallel case study — it’s just different enough, just cheap enough and just bland enough to represent an attractive alternative to a lot of local wines. 
None of which is meant as a compliment in particular. In fact, I wasn’t going to write this up as I am finding it quite uninspiring. But then, so are many wines at the $A15-20 mark, so it’s no failure of this wine in particular. The nose is moderately aromatic, showing woody spices alongside red dried fruits and a hint of cured meats. Quite easygoing, with just enough of a twist to raise an eyebrow and differentiate itself from the mainstream of mid-priced fruit bombs. The palate is very much more of the same, and to its credit is quite perfectly balanced for immediate consumption. Tasty sour red fruits and rough vanilla oak run the length of the tongue. And, well, not much else, really. A bit of meaty complexity, perhaps, and a pleasingly textured mouthfeel that is the highlight of the wine for me. Reasonable finish. Again, it’s only one step away from the generic mainstream of value-oriented industrial red wine, but that discernible step means a lot in this context.
Whether I’d personally choose this over a local wine of similar price is a moot point; the fact is, this is a real alternative and one I cannot fault as an everyday drinking wine. At $A12 or so, it would fly off the shelves.

Navarro López
Price: $A16.15
Closure: Cork

Best's Great Western Riesling 2007

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A nose that shows some development, with typically honeyed, toasty, almost kerosene-like aromas. There’s also a thrust of powdery minerality, savoury and strident, perhaps slightly sulphurous, pushing up from below. What little citrus fruit there is sits delicately within this mix, more floral than fleshy in character. As an overall aroma profile, I found it initially cumbersome and loud, but have warmed considerably to its charms through the evening.

The palate is totally consistent with the nose, with some bottle age sitting alongside assertive bath salt-like flavours. On entry, rough acidity makes a rambunctious first impression, before fruit and mineral flavours take over. The fruit is quite full, edging towards an interesting rockmelon note, all the while maintaining satisfying generosity and good focus. I thought at first there was some residual sugar here, but it seems dry, just ripe and buxom. The aged flavours are, to me, most interesting. Sweet honey is slinking its way across the palate in a subtle, elegant way, and there’s enough softening of acidity on the after palate to suggest a happy transformation may well be in store.
Funny wine, this one. It presents a noisy flavour profile, full of elements that are close to clashing with each other, yet the whole comes together and is deliciously drinkable. I know that’s a highly subjective judgement, and I should note the other half did not like this at all. But it ticks a lot of boxes for me: distinctiveness, magnetism, food-friendliness (it stood up to roast pork quite well). To be sure, it’s not an elegant wine, but it’s very fun and, noting the manner in which it is developing now, I suspect it will be quite sensational in five years’ time.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A20.89
Closure: Stelvin

Tulloch Verdelho 2008

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I opened this wine tonight because I was looking forward to drinking a 1997 Château de Besseuil. Clearly, Hunter Valley Verdelho isn’t white Burgundy; the Tulloch is also different in that it’s not corked to a nostril-shocking degree. After smelling the tell-tale wet cardboard on my Besseuil, I reached for the wine in my immediate vicinity least likely to be faulty. And here we are.

Perhaps not a very generous way to introduce this wine; the reality is, this label has been most consistent over the past few years, and the Hunter Valley does a solid line in Verdelho more generally. So there’s some pedigree at work here. 
The nose is really friendly and almost joyously perfumed, with bubblegum fruitiness alongside floral notes that remind me of my favourite outmoded “French whorehouse” fragrances. It’s also very, very clean. It’s a very commercial style, but in a way its flavoursome anonymity is refreshing in a sea of Sauvignon Blanc on the one hand, and Pinot Gris on the other. 
The palate seems to be a step up from previous vintages, with a sense of calm sophistication that I wasn’t expecting. Mostly this is due to a full, slippery mouthfeel that carries a whole fruit salad of flavour over the tongue. The acidity is notable, as it’s both lively and very fine at the same time. In character, this wine is fruity with a high toned powderiness that recalls perfume and a persistent sense of levity that is, finally, quite convincing. It’s not complex, intense or long, but who cares? 
A really fun wine that would be perfect Summer afternoon drinking. 

Tulloch
Price: $A13.30
Closure: Stelvin

Vina Ginesa Reservas Granrojo Rojo Garnacha 2006

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I went from a Great Western Shiraz to this in the space of a few sips and, if nothing else, the exercise served to reinforce how instructive comparative tasting can be. I thought this wine quite horrid at first; Eurotrash to the Great Western’s laconic charm. Improved through the evening, though.

I should note the comically short cork keeping the wine inside, as I don’t believe I’ve seen one so small before. A robust aroma consisting of dried flowers, bright spices and aggressively sour-edged red fruit. There are also funkier smells that remind me of cured pork sausages. In the mouth, bright and brash with coarsely textured acid and brisk, raspy tannins. There are flashes of intensely sweet, confected fruit in amongst all the butchers’ shop smells. Pepper, spice and rusticity add interest. The whole is light to medium bodied and sufficiently cleansing, though I could never describe a wine like this as easy drinking (in the “brain off” sense) because it’s just so angular. 

I kept wanting chewy bread and tangy cheese while drinking this wine, and suspect it would go down a treat at a picnic or other casual dining circumstance. 

Vina Ginesa Reservas
Price: $A18.95
Closure: Cork

Best's Great Western Bin No 1 Shiraz 2006

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Jeremy over at Wine Will Eat Itself recently blogged about terroir and (amongst other things) its relationship to quality. I’m inclined to think that a sense of place contributes interest quite apart from objective notions of quality and that, indeed, the two can be quite separate. This wine is a real live example, albeit on a regional scale. 

Utterly regional on the nose, with exotic spices overlaying darkly-fruited aromas and some vanilla oak. It’s quite straightforward and lacks the complexity that might elevate it beyond simply being correct. However, if you like Great Western Shiraz, it will be like coming home.
Very much more of the same in the mouth. Lots of flavour from the word go, with ripe plums and blackberries the key fruit characters, along with tantalising spice and balanced oak. Medium bodied, the middle palate is especially luscious, showing the greatest level of flavour density and a velvet texture. The acid and tannin seem very well balanced and provide a nice framework within which flavours can move over the tongue. For all that, there’s a blocky or blurry character  that prevents it from feeling truly sophisticated. And, despite the rich flavour profile, it’s not the last word in intensity, which leaves me wanting more.
Impressive typicité, then, without rising to an exalted level of quality.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A22.80
Closure: Stelvin

Telmo Rodríguez Dehesa Gago 2007

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Tempranillo-based wine from a not-exactly-renowned vintage in the Toro region. The label totally rocks. This really stood out on the shelf. 

The nose is quite confronting, with black pepper, oak, spiced meats, strange floral notes and the smell of dark red fruits that have fallen from the tree and been trodden into the pavement (overripe, sour-edged). It smells both excessively and insufficiently ripe at the same time. Nothing if not expressive, its character is sufficiently outré that I’m sure it will test some peoples’ sense of appropriateness. Not a bad thing. 

Structurally, this wine is all over the place, mostly due to a lack of harmony in the placement of its constituent parts: sweet fruit, coarse tannins, rough acidity and a lift of oak flavour. Drinking this wine is like having a bunch of things thrown into your mouth in no particular order; it’s not an especially refined experience. Yet it’s also quite drinkable in an odd way, probably because it’s so forthright and unapologetic. Quite a short finish.
I would imagine a better vintage might yield greater class and balance, and will look out for the 2008, which is (from what I’ve read) a superior wine. Still, I’m having fun drinking this and imagine it will complement well the chorizo sausages frying away in my kitchen.

Telmo Rodríguez
Price: $A27.55
Closure: Cork

Margan Semillon 2008

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After a few vintages (2005-7) of relatively forward Hunter Semillons, it’s nice to open one that is clearly a leaner style, perhaps more suited to delayed gratification. As such, this wine presents a challenge to the taster in that much of its interest is projected rather than immediate. But I’m enjoying it a great deal, even if this enjoyment is related to a sense of anticipation around what it will turn into. Sort of like a slightly measured date you know will end in fantastic sex. I keep visualising how its fine structure and flavours will fill out and change, with honeyed opulence and (I hope) the slippery mouthfeel that my favourite aged Semillons have.

But back to what’s in my glass now, which is by no means unenjoyable on its own youthful terms. The nose, while lean, is strikingly perfumed, with powdery citrus notes and more astringent, grass-like aromas. It actually reminds me a bit of Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, but without the outrageous herbs and tropical fruits. There’s weight, too, some juicier lemon and mandarin perhaps. All in all a fresh, vibrant nose with tremendous focus and just enough weight to encourage a sip. 
The palate delivers the full promise of the nose in all respects. It’s taut, with shards of intense lemon and lime piercing the tastebuds alongside more grassy flavours. Good impact and volume initially, tapering smoothly through the mouth to a finish that is ultra-lean but terribly persistent. Mouthfeel is a highlight even at this young age, with fine acidity and excellent form. It’s a great framework for the wine to develop its mature flavours. 
It’s a cheapie ($A18) and I think it will turn into something very special. Next bottle in about five years’ time, I reckon. 

Margan
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin