Vintage variation’s a bugger if what you want is a reliable quaff, but picking apart this variation can be highly educational if you’re an obsessive wine geek. A magnum of Bin 65 for those who guess into which camp I fall.
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils Bourgogne Rouge 2005
A flashback to 2005; Bourgogne Rouge from a producer based in Saint-Aubin.
This wine looks more like a robust rosé than full blooded Pinot Noir, which is really not such a bad thing when you consider many rosés are spectacular to look at. Vivid red, little density of colour, and a bit hazy to boot. Personally, I think it’s very pretty and inviting. The nose is straightforward, with sweet red fruits that verge on confectionary, plus a tidy thread of savoury funk that enhances overall pinosity. No complexity to speak of, but what’s there smells good.
In the mouth, very clean and slippery, coming across (to the Australian palate familiar with our large volume, low price wines) as rather industrial. Actually, there’s a decent amount of fresh acid, but no tannins of significance, signalling firm suitability for immediate consumption. The flavour profile is as simple, and as pleasing, as the aroma, with sweet and sour red fruits dominating a background of caramel and a bit of funky spice. At first, I thought it was a bit dilute, but there’s actually plenty of flavour, and a perceived tendency towards angularity derives more from profile than volume. Most of this wine is packed into the entry and middle palate, with a falloff as it moves through the back of the mouth and on to the finish.
Very quaffable and varietally recognisable without much distinctiveness. Burgundy’s answer to De Bortoli’s Windy Peak Pinot, perhaps?
Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet et Fils
Price: $A25
Closure: Cork
Domaine Jean Tardy & Fils Fixin La Place 2006
A village wine from the northerly Fixin appellation of Burgundy. Fixin reds are usually described as sauvage, feral, rustic, and so on, but the producer here is based in Vosne-Romaneé, an appellation typically known for its silky, sophisticated style. I’m curious to observe what this combination means in the bottle.
Domaine Bart Bourgogne Rouge 2006
Alan McCorkindale Cuvée Rosé 2002
There’s something about incredibly naff labels on fairly spendy bottles of wine that catches my eye, every time. This bottle is from a Glengarry wine shop in a snobby suburb of Auckland somewhere east of the harbor; I picked it up on the way back to the airport last month. Given that today is St Valentine’s day, pink sparkling wine is a categorical imperative, so here we are.Sure, the label looks like a near-sighted librarian threw it together in Microsoft Word after a hell of a bender the day before, but what’s in the bottle is impressive. A dark onionskin color with a somewhat anemic bead, the nose is very much that of a proper red wine and is at first somewhat jarring. However, paying careful attention reaps rewards: there is definitely a lessy note thanks to extended maturation on the lees, and there’s that telltale fine aroma of brioche that marks this as a superior wine.Rich and full in the mouth, balanced by wonderfully refreshing acidity, the first impression I get is of freshly sliced Bosc pears, which seems incongrous with the, well, pinkness of the wine. Stepping back for a minute, the effect is of crushed roses in a forgotten corner of a spice market; then again, roses do have a spiciness inherent to them, so I’m probably just being overly enthustiastic here. All put together, this wine is mesmerizing; the bead may not be noticeable, but it provides a certain fullness in the mouth which is charming and rare. Add the spices, fresh pears, and rosy notes and I’m certain that no person in the world would prefer a box of chocolates to this bottle of wine. Delicious.Alan McCorkindale
Price: NZ $50 (appx.)
Closure: Cork
Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir 2005
There’s not much to do in Te Anau, New Zealand, on the night of your very quiet wedding except hunt down a nice restaurant and order the flashest-looking bottle on the list. So it was that I ended up drinking this very wine a couple of years ago. I’ve since tried it a couple of times (most recently in New Zealand with Chris) and it continues to provide enjoyment. Wine’s funny like that; it can be as much about the circumstance as anything else, and often I give in to this subjectivity.
Mount Difficulty
Price: $A50
Closure: Stelvin
Chard Farm Finla Mor Pinot Noir 2007
This label is one of Chard Farm’s lesser Pinot labels, though this doesn’t imply any less integrity in terms of region or winemaking approach. 100% Central Otago fruit, from the Parkburn area, which is nearer to Cromwell than it is to the winery’s location in Gibbston. I mentioned in my writeup of Central Otago wineries that, often, I have enjoyed lesser labels in preference to their “reserve” siblings, because they can represent a fresher, less scaled-up expression of Central Otago fruit, and so showcase the essential attractiveness of this region’s character more directly.
This wine is a good example of my point. A forthright, full nose of savoury Pinot fruit and cough syrup, herbs and light oak. Luscious, very ripe, very fruit-driven, it gives the impression of considerable complexity deriving from the fruit itself rather than any winemaking trickery. In the mouth, impressive presence and generosity. The entry delivers flavour very quickly, along with a slippery, somewhat viscous mouthfeel. Things get fuller towards the middle palate, with savoury fruit washing over the tongue. There are some high toned flavour components here, herbal in character, but the berry fruit is so full it tends to dominate. Good extension through the after palate, with a nice lift and very fine, ripe tannins that create good persistence of flavour on the finish.
A fuller, more luxurious style than many, but one that focuses on fruit character rather than anything more complicated. If I were to level a criticism, it would be that the fruit may lack a little freshness, pushing the boundaries of ripeness somewhat. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy here.
Update: retasted the following morning, this wine showed greater delicacy and layers of perfume. The impression of overripeness was reduced slightly. Nice wine.
Chard Farm
Price: $NZ39
Closure: Stelvin
Sarah's Vineyard Pinot Noir Estate 2004
The nose on this guy is very smooth, fruity, and somehow worked (if that makes any sense). It doesn’t seem terribly complex; however, this is an undercurrent of something like molasses or burnt sugar which lends some interest to the proceedings.
Initially frankly dull, the wine quickly rears up with a blast of ripe Pinot fruit – and then quickly finds itself buried under alcohol; at just under 15%, this is kind of a bruiser. The finish is short – or, rather, you think it’s going to be. Suddenly, the flavors come back and then ride out on a note of rich strawberry fruit and toasty oak. The tannins aren’t noticeable; this wine seems generally built as a New World fruit bomb.
Overall, how is it? I’m afraid I’m not a good judge of this: it seems fairly well constructed, but it’s all to ends that I don’t particularly care for. There’s no funk, no subtlety, no strangeness, no real beauty here – at least not to me. If you’re a fan of rich, fruity California wines, you might very well like this one. Me, though, I’ll pass.
Sarah’s Vineyard
Price: $26
Closure: Cork
Three Miners Pinot Noir 2005
One sub-region of Central Otago I’ve not had the pleasure of visiting (as opposed to driving through) is Alexandra. This wine, purchased from the Central Otago Wine Company’s cellar door, was recommended as fairly typical of the sub-region. As an aside, I can highly recommend the drive South from Alexandra, as there’s a stretch of the most spectacular scenery, dotted with schist and scarred by dramatic slits as the Clutha river cuts through the landscape. Quite lovely.
Bang, we’re back in Central Otago. The nose is fragrant, meaty, with a big dose of pepper and dark spice. There’s also a bit of vanilla, a sprig of fresh thyme and rather savoury fruit. Though I’ve listed a lot of descriptors, this isn’t an overwhelmingly complex wine, or perhaps I should write that it’s not an overtly complex wine. There is a fair bit going on here, but its aroma profile has a coherence and integrity that suggests itself more than a collection of independent notes. It’s also quite similar to some cool climate Shirazes I’ve tasted.
In the mouth, more straightforward than suggested by the nose, with a clean shot of fruit dipped in fresh thyme. There’s a bit more sweetness to the fruit, although its core remains savoury. The oak here stands out more, pleasantly so, as its character meshes well with the fruit. Slippery mouthfeel of some elegance, this wine is light to medium bodied at most. Tannins, while adding some grip to the finish, are subdued and gentle.
As a whole, the wine exists mostly in the middle to high registers. By way of comparison, I poured myself a glass of the 2006 Hoddles Creek Pinot while tasting this one. Side by side, the Hoddles Creek was almost all bass notes, lacking presence and detail in the upper registers. Of course, they are completely different wines, both showing integrity in terms of their particular expressions of Pinot. Perhaps less crowd-pleasing, this wine strikes me as a Pinot for enthusiasts who don’t mind a thinner, funkier expression of the grape. I must taste more wines from Alexandra.
Three Miners
Price: $NZ25
Closure: Stelvin
Cloudy Bay Pelorus 2004
It’s sparkling night at Full Pour, and what better occasion? I believe Chris has a bottle of this same wine, possibly for consumption this evening (in New Zealand), so consider this note a sort of virtual drinking session.
Of course, it’s totally fabulous. Quite an aggressive mousse that settles into a moderately fine bead. On the nose, exuberantly bready like fresh baguettes, plus some mushroom. Full, fragrant and distinctive, though not especially complex or detailed. The palate is an explosion of flavour. There’s a deal of savoury complexity but what hits one here is a big dollop of round, delicious Marlborough fruit. Weight is relatively full. Thank goodness it’s all quite dry. Mouthfeel is lively, with a smooth-feeling effervescence and some creaminess caressing the tongue. Excellent presence in the mouth and impressive length. Very far from Champagne, and all the better for it.
Bloody delicious. Happy 2009!!
Cloudy Bay
Price: $A50
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: December 2008