Briagolong Estate Gippsland Chardonnay 1996

A wine that was left on its own too long is sometimes good, sometimes not so good. The Briagolong Estate Gippsland Chardonnay 1996 unfortunately sits in the latter. First purchased at a charity dinner as a six pack back in 2003, the wine was quickly consumed by Erin and me over the following 12 months, but ones slipped by. So, what does a 13 year old chardonnay taste like; custard. That’s all I got. A very golden colour with custard on the nose and custard on the palate. There is a perfectly good reason for this, but to find it I would have to trawl through all my uni wine science notes, but right now I cannot be shagged; something about phenolics breaking down with the acid – sorry!

Drink with something that has a lot of acid
Drink 4 years ago
84
Cork 13.2%v/v $30 – 7 years ago

Mount Langi Ghiran Grampians Cliff Edge Shiraz 2005

Possibly one of the best value for money wines you'll find. The Mount Langi Ghiran Grampians Cliff Edge Shiraz 2005 is filled with all of the hallmarks of western Victorian shiraz; licorice, white pepper, red fruit, olive tapenade and razor sharp acid.

Wonderful balance, wonderful length and super yet simple complexity. A great wine.

Drink till 2016
Drink with grilled venison
95
Screwcap 14.5%v/v $24 Rathdowne Cellars, Carlton North

Rockridge Clare Valley Watervale Riesling 2009

‘But the Eternal summer shall not fade’ – Sonnets, William Shakespeare

Another hot day, another bone dry Riesling. The Rockridge Clare Valley Riesling 2009 is soft and tight and has clear lemon and lime with a lip smacking finish.

As I said, another hot day, and really that’s all there is to say.

Drink with kingfish sashimi
Drink till 2011
88
Screwcap 12.5%v/v Sydney Rd IGA in Brunswick

I made it myself!

I love cooking. I also love plating up food the way it should look on a plate – simple and super gorgeous, and not just plating up since George and Gary and the hairy cravat said it was cool.

I love cooking and this is what I did when Henry was sleeping and Imogen was at Grandma and Papa’s house:

‘Twice cooked chicken on roasted lemon peepers with smoked garlic and chilli glaze’ - it needs another colour and bigger font because, as George would say, it was the hero of the blog!
So good Erin wanted it two nights in a row - so we did! Oh yeah, we also had a lovely bottle of Clonakilla Canberra Districts Riesling 2009, but I’m not going to talk about the wine because it will only steal the spotlight from my chicken dish, so tonight the wine is going off Broadway. That and it has been blogged by about 30 or so bloggers – no offence Mr. Kirk.

Sieber Road Barossa Valley Viognier 2007

Finally, a grape variety that gets the Barossa!

Although the Barossa Valley is serioulsy hot, a grape like Viognier can grow there because it can a) take the heat, and b)it needs a good long growing season.

Already yello gold, the Sieber Road Barossa Valley Viognier 2007 is probably at its apex right now so the timing is spot on. the wine shows plenty of promise with the usual apricot with a hint of soapy perfume thrown in. Quite big up front with no real anything straight up does not bode well until a massive whack of vinous wax, lavender, more apricot an slippery soap bring this wine home and goes to prove a no brainer food and wine match - viognier and pork chops; a Susan if ever there was one!

Drink with greasy pork chops
Drink now
93
Screwcap 14.5%v/v $20 bin end from Blackhearts and Sparrows

d'Arenberg McLaren Vale The Footbolt Shiraz 2007

..... lots of oak and lots of ripe fruit and lots of alcohol and lots of ripe fruit and lots of South Australia. So, like my mum used to say, if you haven't got anything nice to say.....

Yet at this price, it serves a purpose.

Drink with a dirty great big piece of meat, with lots of blood!
Drink till 2011
80
Screwcap 14.5%v/v (!!!!) $14 Preston Dan Murphy's

The Hangover Cure - A love story by Tim Cohen

After a night (and most of the day) of tasting this wine and drinking that beer and washing down that plate of super gorgeous cuttlefish from Gingerboy (to name but a few of the dishes), the head is, and was, generally worse for wear. So, here is the best way out of the ever faithful hangover; a commodity that is always in uber supply yet fetches absolutely no demand.

1. Medicine kit – Barocca, Neurofen, plenty of the wet stuff and Mylanta before you pass out next to a quite annoyed partner; if this does not totally shoo the hangover away, it surely will annoy the be-Jesus out of it!

2. Leftovers – if it was a house party and you can construct a pan flute out of the empty bottles, then this is the plate that will go a long way in helping out point 1.



3. Bratwurst – hop on a tram and leg it in to the Queen Victoria markets (if open and before 3pm) for a gut filling bratwurst from the Melbourne Bratwurst Shop. And why take the tram you ask? Because you will still be pickled from the night before ya drongo!

Simple, concise, unconventional and guaranteed to work, most of the time.....

Brown Brothers Victorian Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier NV

Quite simply the best domestic sparkling going around under $30 – and there are plenty let me just say. Displaying everything a great aperitif should, the Brown Brothers Victorian Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier NV has plenty of soft, subtle citrus and green apples to think you were drinking something from the Macedon Ranges or Tasmania. An absolute delight and definitely worth grabbing next time you are out getting supplies.

Drink with anything early
Drink now
93
Cork 12.5%v/v $13.99-$18.99 from all good bottlo’s

McWilliams Barwang Hilltops Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

This is a wine that is far too often over looked for something cheap from SA. The McWilliams Barwang Hilltops Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 is one of the best cheap wines you will find this and for that matter any year.

Quite bright in colour, with a real purple hue, the nose of this wine is jam packed with blueberries and herbs such as bay leaf and oregano wafting up tea from the billy in the bush – very bloody Aussie! This is a wine that certainly needs decanting; dark chocolate and licorice comes out towards the end with tight furry tannins driving this wine all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Drink with roast leg of lamb
Drink till 2014
90
Screwcap 14%v/v $14.99 from Purvis Cellar Surrey Hills

A very clean weekend indeed

All and sundries were good; all really except for the mysteriously named 'Reserve' Pinot Noir Van des Pays from France.

Cleanskins sever a purpose, and this purpose was well and truly served. Thats all I've got to say really. That and I'd love to meet the person who is responsible for giving these wines names!

Garagiste Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2008

‘Mystery is at the heart of creativity: that, and surprise’ – Julian Cameron

Isn’t it nice when things are not what they seem? This is the case for the Garagiste Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2008.

For a while now, Pinot’s coming out of the Peninsula have pretty much followed the mantra of being sweet fruit driven with deep colour from heavy extraction of skins (I reckon a few wine makers are adding enzymes in the fermenting pots to get some of the colours I have seen lately); but not this bad-boy. Now, back to the wine at hand.

I would definitely give this sometime in the decanter before drinking; still a bit of SO2 hanging about as you can see in the picture below (the SO2 is the soapy looking film clinging to the perimeter of the wine). A good Pinot colour with the wine quite translucent. Right away on the nose there is a good whack of tart raspberry and what seems to be dry tea. More tart fruit in the way of cranberries and more raspberries are all kept in check by racy acid and tight soft tannins. A cracking wine from Barney and Dave from allies wines!


Drink with moules verde
Drink till 2016
95
Screwcap 13%v/v $40 from http://www.allies.com.au/