Vinea Marson Heathcote Syrah 2008

As was in August 2011, only William Shakespeare can give it true justice:

My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which longer nurseth and disease;
Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
Th' uncertain sickly appetite to please.
My reason, the physician to my Love,
Angry that his prescriptions are not kept, 
Hath left me, and I desperate now approve
Desire is death, which physic did expect.
Past cure I am, now reason is past care,
And frantic mad with evermore unrest;
My thoughts and my discourse as mad men's are,
At random from the truth vainly express'd;
    For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright,
    Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.

Sonnets 147

Brooding. Dark. Blackberries. Black Olive tapanade. Soy Sauce. Balsamic. Lust. Love. Envy. Need. Want.

The Vinea Marson Heathcote Syrah 2008  

Drink!!!
Drink till you have licked all residual flecks from the glass
100/100
Diam cork 14.5%v/v

Fathers Day 2013

A gorgeous start to spring. A ride in the park with the kids and Erin. A super roast chook. A delicious wine - the Giaconda Beechworth Chardonnay 2006 Cette Bouteille porte le No. 4882 ; Developed. Sensual. Beautiful. Stunning. Happy Fathers Day indeed.

Clonakilla Murrumbateman Shiraz Viognier 2009

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”
― John Keats, Endymion: A Poetic Romance

Not knowing how long forever may be, the Clonakilla Murrumbateman Shiraz Viognier 2009 was, and will be no doubt, a thing of beauty. Opened and finished last Saturday night, all I could write was 'majestic'. You're a good egg Mr. Kirk. More beauty please.

Drink with something stonkingly good
Drink till 2025+
100/100
Screwcap 14%v/v $105 Seddon Wine Store

Paradigm Hill Mornington Peninsula Les Cinq Pinot Noir 2010

So it's over for another 12 months. The Melbourne Cup has been run-and-won and I can once again forget about a career as a professional punter after my worthless box trifecta I spent 2 hours on this morning; seems being smart at maths doesn't work here.

Green Moon. It was written off by the experts after the Caulfield Cup I think. Since a little after 3pm I have been humming a host of songs in my head with 'Green' in the title; 'Green Eyes' by Coldplay, 'Devil with the green eyes' and 'Evergreen' by Matthew Sweet, 'Everything's gone green' by New Order and most of the 'Green Album' by Weezer. But it has been 'Devil with the green eyes' by Matthew Sweet that has stuck. And this stuck too. The Paradigm Hill Mornington Peninsula Les Cinq Pinot Noir 2010 is not green, but it's a wine that if you didn't get any, you'd be green with envy.

This has got to be one of the best ever Pinot Noirs to come from the Peninsula. And I'm not just saying that because George Mihaly is like a defacto dad to me. Not at all. The nose is all seduction with a woven mix of brown spice, tart cranberry and gamey goodness. The palate is a class above anything I have had this year I'd say. Supple and generous acid and stunning tight tannins combine up front that open the way to brambly red fruit, earthy sweetness all flushed along by mouth watering minerality.

My notes got a bit blurred so I'll just leave you with this. Buy it. Drink it. But try sharing it.

Drink with as few people as possible

Drink till 2030

100/100

Screwcap 13.5%v/v $85-$90

PS. Good luck with the $100 million jackpot tonight

By Farr Geelong Sangreal Pinot Noir 2009

I think the last time I blogged about a By Farr wine, Tout Pres I think, I likened it to a Pommard with the wine delivering a supurb mix of power and elegance. Well they have done it again down in Geelong with the By Farr Geelong Sangreal 2009 simply stunning. Enjoyed last month at Must Wine Bar in Perth on Bastille Day, the wine was simply stunning with prickly semi-ripe fruit woven delicioulsy with game, funk, bacon fat and earth, it has it all. Just stunning.

Drink till 2024
Drink with Beef Bourguignon
100/100
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $120 on wine list at Must Wine Bar, Perth

Rockford Black Shiraz Barossa Valley, Disgorged 1998

Simple words need only apply....

‘I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.

I hunger for your sleek laugh, your hands the colour of a savage harvest,
hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.
I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body, the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes, and I pace around hungry,
sniffing the twilight, hunting for you, for your hot heart, like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.

Love Sonnets XI – Pablo Neruda

A wine that took my breath away from the very first faint aroma to the last soft bead in the glass. An Australian masterpiece. Thats all I’ve got xxx

Michel Niéllon Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru Burgundy at Albert St

It would be very easy of me to waffle on about these wines, but I won’t. All I’ll say is that they were both exquisite, with the 1982 coming in just that little more perfect. And to think, Michel Niéllon has only .22 hectares; thats about 2000 vines. Thats Sweet FA!

Michel Niéllon Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 1982 – still holding its colour and acidity, this wine has soft crème brulee and licorice powder flowing the whole way through the glass. A pleasure to drink. 100/100

Michel Niéllon Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru 1983 – colour had turned a slight orange with an abundant mix of truffles and crème brulee. 99/100

Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Les Vaucrains 2009

Lets paint the scene. Its Monday afternoon in Melbourne and the Indian summer we enjoyed paints a beautiful day. I am sitting at The City Wine Shop on Spring Street and enjoy the side walk banter of wine reps coming and going and sipping lattes at the bar. My lunch partner is the affable Sam Davies, head sommelier at the new Zuma in downtown Bangkok. He is in town for a few days to cool down from the 120% humidity that has become his life for the past 9 months. We lunch. We wine. We laugh. And we finish with the super sexy Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains 2009. Perfect. Exit stage right! Drink with The City Wine Shops chicken snitz Drink till 2023 100/100 Quality cork 13%v/v $160ish The City Wine Shop

Bindi Macedon Ranges Quartz Chardonnay 2004

Only in bottle size people! The Bindi Macedon Ranges Quartz Chardonnay 2004 in magnum is, actually was, superb! To quote Bleek Gilliam – aka Denzel Washington – from “Mo Better Blues”

“….. I’ll even give up my full season tickets to the New York Knicks… Courtside!
And you know how I feel about basketball, that’s gotta be L-O-V-E!”

Yes, Love. Bleek loves basketball, Romeo loves Juliet, A flower loves the rain and I love Bindi; the Quartz for this particular post. It was just perfect. Oyster shell, clean acid, licorice powder, lively minerality; just perfect. L-O-V-E!

Drink with a loved one
Drink with abandon
100/100
Diam cork 14%v/v

Cake and eat it! René Rostaing La Landonne Côte-Rôtie 2001

Just finished watching Masterchef on tellie and have taken this little gem away from George, ‘So guys, can you have your cake and eat it too?’ Maybe the three in the elimination test but me? Yes George, yes I can. The René Rostaing La Landonne Côte-Rôtie 2001. What a wine; tobacco leaf, violets, pepper – more white than black, figs, musky sweat then mint/chocolate all still evolving around taut acid with just a touch a sweet chewiness. Gorgeously gorgeous and awesomely awesome.

Yes George, I will have my cake and eat it too……


Drink with wagyu carpaccio
Drink till 2017
Drink listening to Dirty Three 'Horse Stories' - both are hauntingly beautiful
100/100
Quality cork 13%v/v $210 from auction in 2008

Punch Yarra Valley Close Planted Pinot Noir 2006 (II) and crispy skin duck

Lauren Bacall on Humphrey Bogart, “For myself, I can only say that he changed me. He was my teacher my husband, my friend. In his life and his work, Bogey was integrity, truth, and courage. He taught me how to live. That it was okay to trust. He taught me to keep going no matter what. He did. And he is.”

You get the jist; they were soul mates. Just like duck and Pinot Noir I guess. And it was Friday night in downtown Brunswick in my little kitchen that I introduced Punch Yarra Valley Close Planted Pinot Noir 2006 to my crispy skin duck with tarragon lentils with baby carrots braised in white wine and butter with fennel seeds – cue wocka wocka music now.

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Punch wines – Huge! It is safe to say that I am also a big fan of duck. So why has it taken me so long to figure this little union out? Buggered if I know. Needless to say, the wine was just sexy as (my last six pack is now a five pack) with layer upon layer of toffee, bacon fat, delicate violets and just simply gorgeous and quite frankly perfect. And the duck; cooked to perfection (i just had my oven fixed the following day after being without her for close on three months). There’s nothing else to say really.



Drink with the above dish
Drink till 2021
100/100
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $75 mailing list three years ago

Splitting the difference - Bindi Block 5 2005 and 2006

Over the past few weeks, Cameron (my boss) and I have been trying to put together a ‘Block 5’ lunch somewhere in town to celebrate the release of Yabby Lake’s new Block 5 Pinot Noir. You see Cameron’s dad Keith Harris is the vineyard manager down at Yabby Lake, and together with Bindi and Felton Road we thought we could scrounge up some wine and have a Block 5-off; just for fun of course, no medals or trophies, just the undivided love of all those who attend.

I couldn’t wait though. The Bindi was there, but Yabby Lake and Felton Road were missing. So to keep up with the idea of seeing which was best I needed two bottles; 2005 and 2006 (still have 3 of each left thank God). So here are the findings:

Bindi Block 5 2005 – an instant hit of minerality, spice and a mixture of raspberry and blackberries and earth in the glass that make a path through my olfactory and palate; such a magic wine with notes from the Michael about the vintage being rather cool all the way with a whack of heat just before the fruit came off. This is probably the fourth or fifth 05 I have had, with each one being better than the last. Simply stunning 100/100

Bindi Block 5 2006 – darker in the glass with heavier layers of dark fruit than the 2005. Prickly acid, firm chewy tannins combined with spicy plums and raspberries with the tartness of cranberry holding it all together. A little warmer than the previous vintage which shows with a little more ripeness. Still a great wine though! 98/100

So there you have it. A somewhat expensive task, but geez, the Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir’s have easily got to be Australia’s finest – no argument!

Jamsheed Yarra Valley Gruyere Syrah 2008

It has been made aware to me that most of my recent posts have been of rather lofty scores, including a 100/100 and a couple of 98's and 99's. I did not realise that I had to show distaste to the wines I drink, for who in their right mind would go out to a wine shop and think, '.... hmm, what can I buy that is going to leave me a little disappointed'. So, if you think I have been rating wines too high of late, look away now cos' this one is way up there.

What a wine this is. The Jamsheed Yarra Valley Gruyere Syrah 2008. I think I am going out on a limb here when I say that this is by far the best shiraz/syrah I have tasted from the Yarra Valley.

A few years ago, I had a conversation with Ian MacLean from Yarra Yarra Vineyards, about what he believes was growers not understanding the Yarra Valley when they first planted Pinot Noir there. Ian first planted back in the late 70's where he received advice from Stuart Anderson to plant Bordeaux varieties, for one day the Valley floor will be too hot for the delicate Burgundy variety; I reckon he knows what he is talking about.

I don't think anyone can disclaim climate change, so much so that Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda has grafted over a lot of his Pinot Noir (maybe all of it) to shiraz and nebbiolo; two varieties that will be able to stand up to warmer growing conditions. So it is no surprise that we now see more and more shiraz/syrah coming out of the Valley. Eight years ago I only knew a handful of producers making Yarra Valley shiraz - Sylvan Estate and De Bortoli to mane two, but now it seems that some wine stores have dedicated shelves for the stuff.

Enough about that, now onto the wine. A great raw red colour in the glass, with what to me appears like a chalky red/purple hue. The nose is full of dusty tannins, black pepper, olives and black fruit - but not ripe black fruit. In the mouth the wine starts off with tight acid and chewy firm tannins and builds up ever so slowly with black licorice and waves and waves it seems of olive tapenade. This is truly a fantastic wine.

So, the score is going to be big, so what. If you are going to be objective about something, you might as well like what you are being objective about!

Drink with rare rump steak and pommes Beaucaire
Drink till 2016 - but it is mad gorgeous now
99
Diam cork with wax seal 13.5%v/v $42 Rathdowne Cellars Carlton

Rockford Barossa Valley Basket Press Shiraz 1998

Boy, two Barossa Shiraz’s in one week, I fair dinkum don’t think I can do it! I know it’s the Rockford Basket Press and I know it comes from one of the best vintages from the last 50 years, but hey, it’s the Barossa!

So for just this one time, I am going to pass the keys over to my very good friend Archibald Hinkletroffer, who just as it happens is a third generation Barossavite whose family hails from Dusseldorf can you believe it (put it in the boot you dunkoff!!). So because of my avoision (see George Costanza) to the Barossa, here’s Archibald.

One more thing, the wine is from my birthday dinner. Thanks Archibald (in photo)

No, thank you Tim,

First may I say that the greedy bastard Tim did not give me any of the wine, and that he is making me translate from his notes – wanker! Now, what can I say, the super excellent super gorgeous Rockford Barossa Valley Basket Press Shiraz 1998. Apparently the colour in the glass was quite red, hmfff, I could have told you that. He also goes on to say that the hue had a tinge of orange; does he think I am a moron; of course it had a tinge of orange – blah blah blahhhh!

He goes on and on! The aroma exuded eucalypt and cherries which apparently then turns in to licorice allsorts, cedar and leather – wow, magic cherries these ones hey! Here we go; the mouth was like Dave Graney ‘n’ The Coral Snakes, ‘Scorched earth love affair’, and it goes a little something like this....

‘...it’s a scorched earth love affair,
They were going at it like a couple of minks,
And they aint thinkun about the wider community.....’

Very good, now I get it (he told me to write that!).

Thank you Archibald. Really, I thought this was going to be an easier gig for Archibald. Just because I am not the biggest fan of Barossa Valley shiraz, and just because he didn’t get any does not excuse the tome he just used. Fuck it, the wine was amazing and Rocky Callaghan was right to write on the back label, ‘Cellaring for 10 years will reward’, and definitely no JABS!!!!

So thank you again Archibald and sucked in that you missed out.

Drink till 2015
Drink with people you love; that’s you Erin. Also try my Corsican braise
100/100
Quality cork 14%v/v plenty if you get it at an auction site; Erin won it back in 2001 at a work team bonding exercise. God bless that woman hey!

Marcarini Piedmont Barolo La Serra 2001

Indulge me, it’s my birthday!

Barolo, you sexy beast, you. I first saw you on my travels to Italy when I was young and fanciful and only really liked two types of wine – red and white.

There I was, alone, vulnerable and staring into another empty glass of wine. That’s when you appeared. Dark and brooding, you stood tall and handsome in front of me with a stately world view, yet seemed too easy with a commonly rustic charm. Your breath was warm and savage; your scent strange yet wonderfully alluring. You came at me. It was strange and I was overwhelmed. What was this in front of me?

I was trapped. I wanted to run away but was somehow drawn back to your sweaty elegance. It was over; my lust could not be contained. Seconds seemed like hours, minutes turned into days – I had to have you, I had to have you now.

My Visa in hand I returned again and again. Soon I had nothing left. My craving for this ancient beast had left me with nothing but a hunger and a need for more. There was nothing left.

I decided then that the only noble and proper way to have my craving restored was to write a message in big letters on a white sheet and take myself down to Kennington to watch the annual AFL game and hold aloft my plea:

Send money now Mum!!!

And the wine, the Marcarini Piedmont Barolo La Serra 2001 - pure and utter perfection.

Drink till 2023

Drink with the curtains drawn and a little Barry White

100/100

Quality cork 13%v/v $90 five years ago

100/100 for post 100 - Lamy Pillot Le Montrachet Grand Cru 2005

‘Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it.’ James Stephens, Irish poet and writer – 1882-1950

Arrghh, poets, what more can you say about those troubled and tortured souls whose career choice will always haunt them. ‘There are lumps in it’ – yes there are, in the label that is. There are also lumps in Gisele Bundchan and people have said she is perfect! The Lamy Pillot Le Montrachet Grand Cru 2005 is perfect, lumps and all, and for my 100th post it is fitting that I write about a perfect wine, 100/100!

Montrachet is certainly the Holy Grail when it comes to Chardonnay. Consisting of just 7.68 hectares (18.9 acres), the Montrachet vineyard producers on average just 4,500 cases a year, which makes tastings like this very rare and very expensive. It is suggested that these wines in good years, and 2005 was good if a little warm at times, be cellared for about eight years before tackling. Well, if your maths is as good as mine I have failed in the game of patience.

The wine in the glass is a very straw yellow with a greening hue about it. The nose is just gorgeous with the oak marrying perfectly with citrus, apricot and liquorice – there is a power here that has you fair-dinkum salivating for what it is going to taste like, yet you find yourself unable to get your nose out of the glass; I did anyway! The mouth, oh wow! Incredibly complex with so much happening, yet there is absolutely no confusion of flavour with grapefruit, mascarpone cheese, liquorice powder and oak that seems to hold everything in its place. The acid also is quite restrained. On first opening the wine at about 5°C, the acid was very much poised at the front, yet it was by no means over powering the other characteristics in the mouth. After about an hour at room temp, the wine I reckon got to about 11°C, which some may say is the desired temp for a wine like this (me included), the acid was more of a presence in the mouth rather than a sensation, and it was this presence that held – and developed – all of the complex flavours that were in the mouth.

Perfect, Perfect, Perfect!

Drink till 2019
Drink with fillet of Turbot in flaky pastry
100/100

Quality cork 14%v/v $ 490