Monthly Archives: February 2010

Mud House Pinot Noir 2008

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It wasn’t too long ago that Central Otago Pinot invariably came with an elevated price tag. One of the surprises, then, of our visit to the region a year or so ago was the range of reasonably priced wines on offer. Indeed, from an accessibility perspective the region seemed to have come of age, with plenty of wines available at all price points.

The sensation, then, this wine might have caused at $28 three or four years ago is considerably harder fought today. Its aroma is exceptionally promising, a smothery blanket of thoroughly regional smells, with sweet and sour plums, cinnamon, a light sappiness and some toasty caramel. If it’s slightly blurry around the edges, and lacks a bit of depth, its volume and exuberance provide adequate compensation. 
The palate is more troublesome to me, as it pushes the boundaries of fruit sweetness. I’ve heard a criticism in the past that Central Otago Pinots have suffered from coarse acidification, a fault from which this wine doesn’t suffer. Indeed, its mouthfeel is voluptuous and slippery, lacking a bit of texture for my taste, though it does present some grainy tannins through the finish. Intensity is moderate, and I’d like to see greater substance to fill out what is a substantial physical presence in the mouth. Flavour-wise, the impression is of pumped up, silicone-breast-implant fruit, along with a fresh sappiness and caramel chews. It’s certainly not confected as a fruit profile; it’s just, well, so pretty. Too pretty, like an overly airbrushed teen model who looks slightly unreal and, hence, rather unsatisfying (not to mention illegal; but I digress). Interesting, quite savoury finish that surges back up after a dip through the after palate.
It’s a good wine, certainly, with plenty of flavour and real regionality. And I admit, it’s no doubt very well judged for broad appeal. For me, though, a bit more savoury complexity would really lift it to the next level. 

Mud House
Price: $A28
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

clos Clare Riesling 2002

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Interesting going back to a wine two years or so later on in its evolution; I last drank this in November 2007, and here we are again. This time around, the nose offers up a very spare emptiness, almost the idea of wine without characteristics. It’s an oddly Zen effect: a wine that is so quiet that concentrating on it leaves me very quiet indeed. There are notes of refrigerated butter, dried leaves, and wax paper on the nose; in the mouth, it’s surprisingly rich and full-bodied, with the expected shocking acidity having very much subsided over the last eight years or so in the bottle. On the finish, you get a 3D suggestion of Meyer lemon tart, all lemon rind and fresh pastry, before it slowly fades out.Again, absolutely lovely stuff here, and it doesn’t seem to have changed much over the last two years… and that’s a good thing because I think I still have a few more bottles. If all of the Australian rieslings I bought six years ago last this long under Stelvin, I’ll be very happy indeed as there’s no way I can drink most of them before they’re a quarter-century old.clos Clare
Price: US $14
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Undurraga Altazor 2005

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Altazor.jpgI’m jealous that Chris was able to visit this winery on his recent trip to Chile. Fortunately for me, the local distributor is a colleague of mine, and it was this connection that led to being able to taste Undurraga’s premium wine, the Altazor. 

Being half Asian, I appreciate the spectacle of ostentatious vulgarity as its own form of style. Hence, I am attracted to the packaging here. The bottle itself is weighty, with an obscenely deep punt, but what makes it for me is the unapologetically gold labelling, medallion-like in its glittering assertiveness. How can one fail to enjoy a wine so presented?
I thought it was corked at first, but the slightly corky smell faded and turned into raw oak and a curious tobacco note that reminded me of Carménère. No surprise, then, to know this wine, while predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, has a percentage of that characterful lost grape of Bordeaux. On the nose, crushed leaves, complex berry fruit — purple and red in character — and perhaps slightly jammy. I found the aroma to change throughout my experience of this wine, constantly shifting and evolving in an attractive way.
The palate is strikingly intense, yet only medium bodied, the combination of which establishes its intent as decidedly European. The fruit is pure, driven and attractive, varietal yet at the same time characterful, with an earthy, distinctively leafy edge. The attack is substantial and full, tapering slightly to medium and after palates of more elegant proportions. The finish powers through, extending to considerable length, with fruit and sweet, slightly uneven tannins carrying the can. There’s a particularly intriguing note of minerality on the finish, really striking and beautiful. Everything about this wine speaks of quality.
If you’re going to do a premium label, this isn’t a bad approach. It’s powerful and balanced, made in a classic mould, but with its own identity too. 

Undurraga
Price: $A80
Closure: Cork
Source: Sample

Red Lion Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

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If there were ever a shining example of a vin d’effort, this wine is likely it.

Unfathomably black in the glass, this wine smells damn good in exactly the same way that breast implants look good: you can’t help but like it, even if you recognize that those tell-tale half-grapefruits aren’t even remotely, you know, human. The color of this wine is straight up sci-fi, the color reminiscent of an inky black, otherworldly, viscous ooze that looks like it’s about to do something nasty to Tasha Yar. The nose is moderately complex, with suggestions of Asian spices in a forgotten cedar box that someone’s stashed in amongst strawberries mixed with rising dough; yes, it’s very Cabernet after a fashion, but entirely without the green, leafy notes that so often add interest. At times, though, it reminds me of a shoeshine stand in a dusty Delta town not too far away from Napa; at other times, it tends towards stewed prunes and pencil shavings. You have to admit, though, that this wine is incredible value for what it is: with all of this going on, I’d expect the price tag to be twice as much.The progression of the wine is simultaneously surprising and trite. Wonderfully balanced the initial impression (fleeting, mind you!) is of a vapid California cabernet, quickly resolving into something much more interesting, with sneaky acidity firming up against a billowing cloud of smoky red fruit, which suddenly vaporizes into an entirely delicious, savory, dark expression of Cabernet that – although it doesn’t really seem particularly Californian, or particularly anywhere in particular at all – is admittedly entirely fabulous. It smooths out on the finish even further, transmogrifying into something that damn near approaches pure pleasure, going on for an age, suggesting nothing more than raspberry liqueur, baker’s chocolate, and perhaps star anise. Tannins make themselves known, yes – who snuck in and put socks on all my teeth? – but they’re fully ripe and in their right place here.

To sum up, this is for my money a home run, no questions asked. Sure, there’s no real sense of place or any strange, haunting beauty here, but honestly: do we always, always have to care? Surely it’s sometimes enough to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the contents of a shrink-wrapped magazine or bottle of well-crafted wine? Isn’t it?

R Wines
Price: $13
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2008

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Seems I had a similar reaction to last year’s model. I thought it terribly spicy, perhaps more so than usual, yet here I am with the 2008, inhaling a veritable pepper grinder of aroma. Perhaps it’s a function of youth; I confess to having drunk more of this wine with a few years’ age on it than at release. Whatever, it’s nice to be surprised year after year. 

The aroma is quite wild, with pepper and spice and a herbal character akin to fragrant aniseed; think Thai basil. It’s also a bit meaty, and I can imagine some people reacting really negatively towards this wine for its forthright, savoury character. I’ve always enjoyed the Hilltops label, though, and this is certainly feeding that enjoyment. As it gets some air, the purple berry fruit aromas are peeking out a bit more, though it remains a spice-dominant aroma profile.
The palate is really well-weighted. On entry, more black pepper and herbs, before some berries start to bubble up through the middle palate. I like the Hilltops Shiraz character; I always think of purple fruit when I taste it, though I’m not sure that’s terribly helpful to anyone but my nagging inner voice. There’s a simplicity to the fruit character, though, that — when combined with moderate intensity of flavour — is a little disappointing. Structurally the wine comes across as almost easygoing, at least until ripe, abundant tannins start to caress the tongue through the after palate. A clean, acceptably long finish.
Delicious wine if you like the style. I just wish it sustained its complexity better through the entire line.

Clonakilla
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail