In a moment of time....

Poured to about two fingers, the glass that sat in front of me was to be just a moment in time. It was a strangers slight glance of the arm walking down the street which stays with you for 40 years and the idea and notion of just what if? To prolong it's existence was achingly difficult; every motion to my mouth was met with the anticipation of Jeff Buckley's haunting sigh at the start of Leonard Cohen's mesmerising 'Hallelujah'. The Chateau-Grillet 2009. Beautiful.

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

Clonakilla Canberra District Shiraz Viognier 2008

Its Australia Day. Happy Australia Day everyone, and to celebrate its going to be this real Aussie classic, not the formulaic Ben Folds wines; play on words if you know what I mean. The Clonakilla Canberra District Shiraz Viognier 2008 will be opened when I get home tonight, but lets re-visit from about three months ago.

Deep red in the glass. The nose is full of soft tart red fruit, red licorice and subtle dried herbs. The palate is a kaleidoscope of ink, violets, faint spice, milk chocolate, game; just keeps going - the sip that never quits! Almost Burgundian in finish. Remarkable wine!

Drink with Haute Aussie BBQ while listening to Cold Chisel
Drink till 2020+
99
Screwcap 14%v/v $$$$

Vinea Marson Heathcote Viognier 2011 Part II

Gorgeously textured, the Vinea Marson Heathcote Viognier 2011 is a true expression of this variety with exactly the right amount of apricot and other stonefruit to balance out with the acid and supple white phenolics. And if you want to know exactly what the right amount of stonefruit is for a viognier, then its 59!

Drink with pork cutlets - with fat on of course
Drink till 2016  
93
Diam cork 13%v/v $30ish

Vinea Marson Heathcote Viognier 2011

Remember about 7 or 8 years ago how Viognier was going to tackle Chardonnay's dominance in the white wine market here in Australia. This was of course before Savvy B went boom, and with it so too did Viogniers rise. Since then there have been few producers that have been able to deliver consistent wines that demand an audience. One of them is Mario Marson of Vinea Marson and the 2011 is another great example of Viogniers class with this version full of candied apricot and coconut balanced neatly with the right amount of acid with a hint of crisp white phenolics. I also should mention that this is a product of probably the toughest vintage Heathcote had faced in many a year with disease pressure not seen in Heathcote for as many as some can recall.

Drink with sticky pork sliders - an easy Susan
Drink till 2015
92
Diam cork 13.5%v/v $30ish

Spinifex Barossa Valley Lola 2011

Q: How many grape varieties does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They’re grapes!!

My point exactly. But it does raise the question of how many varieties can make up a wine before any of them deliver the ‘wow’ factor. Seems that it doesn’t matter, and that’s fine with me all in all – literally with this wine. The Spinifex Barossa Valley Lola 2011 is a blend of Ugni Blanc (or Trebbiano), Semillon, Marsanne and Viognier. Seriously, they must really have been thinking that day, ‘what the hell!’ Thing is though, they made a pretty schmick wine.

Very nectarine on the nose, the wine follows suit in the mouth with more stone fruit, this time in the guise of white peach and a tickle of glycerol. My only beef though is that it is rather quick, but on a hot day like today wines like this are not going to have a long life span once the seal is broken.

Drink till 2014
Drink with BBQ squid
92
Screwcap 11.5%v/v $26 Albert St Food & Wine

Vinea Marson Heathcote Syrah 2008

Words fail me, so I’ll let someone else say it for me. The Vinea Marson Heathcote Syrah 2008…

To the onlie Begetter of these insuing Sonnets. Mr. W.H. All Happinesse. And that eternitie promised by our ever-living poet wisheth the well-living adventurer in setting forth.
T.T.


From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should time decrease,
His tender heir might bear his memory;
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed’st thy lights flame with self substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content,
And, tender churl, mak’st waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world’s due, by the grave and thee.


William Shakespeare; The Sonnets: 1


Drink with steak tartar
Drink till 2024
99
Diam cork 14.5%v/v $46 Purvis Cellars Balwyn and Bistro d’Orsay Collins Street

Ravensworth Murrumbateman Shiraz Viognier 2008 and Marco van Basten

Pedigree. In all aspects of life, pedigree is a major factor to getting it right! Pedigree is raw talent that is moulded from something into something!! But pedigree comes from somewhere; as stated in The Concise Macquarie Dictionary – pedigree /’pɛdəgri/, an ancestral line, or line of descent, esp as recorded: lineage.

Pedigree. It’s where you come from. Just like the Ravensworth Murrumbateman Shiraz Viognier 2008 with Bryan Martin at the helm. And where did Bryan Martin come from (and still works with)? Clonakilla and Tim Kirk. It is safe to say that Tim Kirk is Australia’s main man when it comes to the Côte-Rôtie blend and Bryan Martin has obviously been watching Tim over the years to with his 2008 wine one of the best local Shiraz Viognier’s I have drunk. A lovely mix of fruit and savoury aromas and flavours define this wine with chalky tannins holding it altogether; there’s also a hint of green in the form of eucalyptus, but it is the dark and brooding flavours of olive tapenade and subtle brown spice that keeps me heading back to Dan’s for this gem.

Now if the Ravensworth Murrumbateman Shiraz Viognier 2008 was a footballer, I would suggest that it would come in the form of Holland’s Marco van Basten. Discovered by the Godfather of Dutch football, Johan Cryuff, van Basten was thrust into AFC Ajax Amsterdam as a 19 year old and dominated the centre forward position there until his departure to the powerhouse AC Milan in 1987. It was the following year in the 1988 European Championship where is flower blossomed by not only being the top scorer in the completion, but also being a member of the winning nation and scoring quite possibly the best volley ever. EVER!

Bryan Martin/Tim Kirk:Marco van Basten/Johan Cryuff. Its kismet baby!

Drink with calves livers
Drink till 2015
94
Screwcap 14%v/v $30 Dan Murphy’s Coburg

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

Mitchell Harris Pyrenees Shiraz (little bit of viognier) 2008

... then there are things that are just really good. The Mitchell Harris Pyrenees Shiraz (little bit of viognier) 2008 is just plain and simple really bloody good. Sitting dark in the glass, really dark, the wine has an instant hit of white pepper, blackberries and my all time favourite, mulberries – I’ll tell you all about the massive mulberry tree in my back yard in South Fremantle another time. It took me a while to actually have a sip of this wine thanks to my little boy Henry refusing to go to sleep on his own, so I lay down with him and hey presto, I’m asleep as well. So then I wake up and yum; fine tannins, lip smacking minerality followed by more blackberries and mulberries. Super job Mr Harris – bravo!

Drink with rib eye roast – rare
Drink till 2018
97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $30 take away from Wine Bank on View, Bendigo

Head Barossa Valley/Stonewell ‘The Blonde’ Shiraz Viognier 2009

Start the new year off on a good note I say. Head Barossa Valley/Stonewell ‘The Blonde’ Shiraz Viognier 2009. Loving all things Rhône, Alex Head brings together Côte-Rôtie staples shiraz and viognier and creates a gorgeous wine from a place where I didn’t think had the elegance to pull off this style. So with that I bought a dozenand hopefully get an allocation of another of his sexy wines, The Brunette. An almost ox blood colour in the glass, my tasting notes on the nose were a bit eligible so I am just going to go with sexy! As like the nose, sexy in the mouth with plenty of apricots, licorice and a touch of dried sage with xmas pud and prunes coming through after a couple of days - very much reminding me of the Shobbrook Nebbiolo. Other than that just a ripper wine, and that’s it really.

Drink with ox tail ravioli
Drink till 2021
97
Screwcap 14.5%v/v $30 mailing list http://www.headwines.com.au/

Blue Poles Margaret River Viognier 2009

"Things are pretty, graceful, rich, elegant, handsome, but until they speak to the imagination, not yet beautiful" Ralph Walso Emmerson.

Viognier. It was a contender not that long ago until Marlborough Savvy B entered the fray. Yes, Viognier five odd years ago had such a bright future. Thing is though, no-one really harnessed Viogniers true potential; enter stage right Blue Poles Margaret River Viognier 2009.

The first thing that I noticed from tasting this wine is that there wasn't that great big smack in the face of apricot that you generally associate with this variety, instead you get lovely honeysuckle and floral notes on the nose with a more subtle burst of apricot in the form of those little apricot and coconut slices you find at school fetes; I did anyway. Another plus for this wine is that it does not come with a massive whack of alcohol with 13.7%v/v for less than the norm of about 14.5%v/v you may find from producers in SA.

Overall, a lovely pretty thing that definately deserves your attention.

Drink with chilli prawns
Drink till 2012
90
Screwcap 13.7%v/v $20 at Decanters by the bay, Port Melbourne

Koots Salle A Manger, 474 Glenferrie Road Kooyong

It’s been some time now that since I’ve added Birk review, not that I haven’t been out, just that lately I haven’t had too many experiences that have floated my boat. Yes I have been to MoVida and Gingerboy quite a few times recently. And yes, Gingerboy right now is my favourite eatery, but it like MoVida, have been critiqued so much that a recent blogger commented on the creases in the MoVida’s linen napkins – geez people, just eat and be happy!

And speaking of happy, it was me who was happy last week when I stopped in to Koots Salle A Manger in Kooyong last Thursday for lunch. Located in the hollow of Glenferrie Rd Kooyong, which is effectively a Roger Federer top-spin lob away from the Kooyong Tennis Club, Koots has recently celebrated 10 years service in the little village where with what locals say are the noisiest train signals in Melbourne. Add to this a chefs hat in the Good Food Guide, Koots has lasted a lot longer than plenty of other restaurants that have recieved sicophantic praise over the journey, let me tell you!

Having recently sold Koots some champagne – Pommery Grand Cru 1995 – I thought I would pop in before the lunch service and have a chat with the very likeable Denis, the maître d’, about this and that and how the ‘Le Blue’ will do in the World Cup (45 more sleeps to go people). The longer the chat went, the more the little dining room was attracting my attention. Furnished with huge cushioned seats and crisp linen table cloths with the walls being adorned with minimalist prints of various food stuffs, Koots seats about 35 in the front room with the bar able to seat a further 7 or 8. Yet it was the growing aroma from the kitchen that was becoming the real distraction. Denis, I said, can you fit me on the bar for lunch at about 2? But of course Tim, Denis replied. I went back to work and waited for my lunch booking.

Track about two hours and it was 1.15pm and I couldn’t wait anymore. Fifteen minutes later, I was back in the dining room and ready for lunch. A quick hello to Patrice, the chef-owner, who was having a chat to Denis in the bar, and I was seated at the bar looking out to the four tables of locals enjoying their lunch. A little more small talk with Denis and it was time to order. I went for the $30 lunch special, entrée and main with a coffee at the end. I like this option because Koots is not a restaurant that is pushing a very inferior glass of wine on to you, rather giving you the option to choose a glass that suits your meal, rather than a have a glass of un-oaked chardonnay or shiraz from Rutherglen or Mildura!

For starters I had the crumbed veal sweetbreads with frisée salad. It is a shame not more chefs are cooking with sweetbreads, offal from the thyroid glands and not sugar coated bread, because the gorgeous flavour that Patrice has extracted is quite stunning. The main consisted of twice cooked chicken with carved baked potatoes. The glass of wine that I was able to chose, was actually expertly chosen by Denis - 2008 Picpoul De Pinet Ormarine ‘’Sur Lies’’ Coteaux Du Languedoc, France – a blend of Roussanne, Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon, and a wine that is only available at Koots. This is why it is better to spend an extra $10 over lunch and get the right glass of wine rather than something red or white! Quite possibly Melbourne’s best express lunch menu, simple!


Koots Salle A Manger, 474 Glenferrie Road Glenferrie 9822 3809
www.koots.com.au

Christmont King Valley La Zona Savagnin 2009

To tell you the truth, I don’t believe the hype.

On almost a weekly basis, some new young pretty thing is trying to take credit for ‘discovering’ a wine or variety that is going to take the market by storm; Viognier – last seen trying to pull its way out of a jar of apricot conserve, Chenin Blanc – keep it WA, it’s yours, Trebbiano – best left unsaid, and Verdelho – ditto.

This brings us to Albarino, that little powder keg of spine tingling citrus with a soft woven texture to it, or is it. Seems those smart folk at CSIRO have been working on a few new projects other than working out water is wet and sticks are brown (no seriously, I do respect the work they do – I almost became one of them!). Anyway, seems that wonderful complex white grape from Spain wasn’t the hip and funky thing people were hyping it up to be – it was Savagnin!

Sav-an-what you say; doesn’t that come from New Zealand from a pipe that was just layed in the ditch to get it to us quicker and fresher?

Close my eager friend, but no. This, too, is sort of a Spanish variety with links dating back to Germany somewhere about the time Bill and Ted landed back there in episode 1 – the 17th Century; seems there was some witch hunt on and the good folk of Bavaria needed to amscray toot sweet, and supposedly on their way brought with them Savagnin.

This brings us back to the 21st Century where man knows everything, now that DNA is 99.9999999999012% spot on, or almost spot on. Ever since the unglorified debunking of Albarino to Savagnin, the good young bright things out there have been going, ‘Yes, Savagnin, marvellous stuff that. Must have it next time I’m with Chad and Miffy up at Cape Cod... snort snort, sniff sniff’ – think young Major Charles Emerson Winchester the third when reading that.

Now we know it’s Savagnin we can rejoice the wonders of it while secretly dissing that imposter Albarino – I knew it was a fake the whole time!

This brings us to the wine of this already long and shamelessly ‘in your face’ post. The Christmont King Valley La Zona Savagnin 2009, a wine making its debut due to the simple fact that last year it was Albarino. Crisp bone straw colour with an almost watery hue. Absolutely nothing on the nose except aggressive citrus. The mouth, pretty much the same unfortunately. A very dull wine with no saving graces to think of – sorry.

Drink with whatever you have with Albarino
Drink only if you need to impress someone
74
Screwcap 12.5% $19.99 Dan Murphy’s Kew

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

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!

Logan Weemala Central Ranges Shiraz Viognier 2007

Lately I have had a fascination, more a hankering really, for wines produced from Orange and the Central Ranges in NSW. There are plenty of good wines coming out of these areas but you have to look for them. One thing I also have to say is do not dismiss these areas because they are not that well known; our wine drinking habits have come a long way since Mateus and ‘Man and Woman in Boat’, aka Coolabah cask wine, but I digress.

The Logan Weemala Central Ranges Shiraz Viognier 2007 is packed with wonderful layers of fruit and savoury notes. Deep garnet with a purple tinge to it, this wine throws plum and rhubarb on the nose. In the mouth there is an abundance of licorice and morello cherry with the faintest hint of apricot kernel at the end. Add in the silky smooth tannins and even acid, this is a wine that will last for at least seven more years yet is drinking absolutely fantastic now. Another great find from Blackheart and Sparrows.

Great balance and length; a real crowd pleaser this one!

Drink with roasted pork and especially the crackling!
Drink till 2015
94
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $19 from Blackheart and Sparrows, Lygon St Brunswick

E. Guigal Côte Rôtie Brune et Blond 2000

This is a stellar wine! The E. Guigal Côte Rôtie Brune et Blond 2000 was absolutely pure joy to drink and unfortunately my last one.

E. Guigal has been described as the ‘Locomotive’ of the Rhone and the ‘Pirate of the Valley’ in the way they forage out the best fruit year after year. I would describe them as the Penfolds of the Rhone with parcels of fruit from Côte Rôtie up in the north to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the south and everything in between.

From an average year, this wine still has all the hallmarks of a great Côte Rôtie wine. There is still plenty of brightness in the colour with no signs of an orange rusty hue. The nose is the winner here with layers of complex aromas; savoury cherry, herbs - bay leaf sticks out massively, and the prickly spice of tobacco. The palate still has a wonderful acid hit that is not astringent but clean and sharp with more savoury flavours dominating and finishing with subtle dusty tannins. Pure joy this was!

Drink with Roast Chicken
Drink till 2020
96
Quality cork 13%v/v $130 Langton’s online auctions www.langtons.com.au

South Pack tasting @ Transit Lounge Fed Sqaure, August 2009

It has been four months since I finished up at ‘The Point’ restaurant in Albert Park as Head Sommelier and traded in my ‘Laguiole’ wine knife in for Huggies night time nappies and sterilising teats twice a day – oh the joys of parenthood I hear you sigh. One of the great perks of being a sommelier of a restaurant like The Point was the steady stream of invitations to what seemed to be daily wine tastings in and around Melbourne; and it is no exaggeration when I say daily!

With so many producers out there trying to sell you their product, these tastings were not only important for them, but also for the trade in knowing the product you were selling. But us sommeliers are a busy lot, so you sort of have to pick and choose the tastings that are not only going to interest you, but tastings of wines that have a realistic shot of getting on to your list.

But as I said, for four months now it has been nappies and walks and 3am feeds. So it was a quick yes that James and Claire Lance from ‘Punch’ wines got from an invite I received from them for a tasting at Transit Lounge in Federation Square put together by South Pack, a wine group repersenting new Victorian winemakers.

So on a rainy Monday afternoon I toddled off to Fed Square and to probably one of the best ‘independent’ tastings I have been to. ‘... a fiercely independent collection of likeminded souls.’, read the handout as I entered the room filled with sommeliers, restaurant managers, wine retailers and wine writers, and on show were some of the brightest and hippest producers from Victoria; Barney and David from Allies, Timo Mayer, Luke Lambert, Lincoln Riley and Adam Foster of Foster e Rocco and Syrahmi.

What made this group of winemakers ‘likeminded’, was that all of them were singing the praises of low alcohol wine. This is not to be mistaken with ‘low carb’ or ‘diet wine’, but wine that is driven by savoury tannins and piercing acid made for drinking with food, and wine not driven by massive oak, ripe fruit and seem splitting alcohol; I reckon the highest volume was about 13.5%v/v shared by a few of the bigger reds on show.

As I said, it had been a while since I have done something like this, so it was good to see my own likeminded people as well and swap the obligatory story of horror diners and more to the point, horror nappies. But back to the wine.

With glass in hand, I tried to start with whites first, but the first stop was Luke Lambert with some really sexy Nebbiolo, my favourite wine – a 2008 and 2007 release with the 2007 being the standout with great early characteristics of Nebbiolo coming through. On to Foster e Rocco and then to Punch for a catch up with Claire and James and a chat on how everything is going out at the property since the February 7 bushfires; and things are looking good with minimal damage to the vines, but not so lucky with the winery however.

On the other side of the room were Barney and David from Allies, two of the nicest blokes in the industry I reckon. On heading over there I was pleasantly greeted by David with a warm ‘Hello Tim’ – do I know this bloke from somewhere I thought, which was also very easy to read from my expression when he then politely said, ‘that’s what your name tag says’ – I told you it had been a while. So for the next 20 odd minutes I learnt a lot more about these two, and more particular their wines and vineyards, which were all dynamite and very affordable also.

From here I ventured over to ‘macforbes’ followed by Jamsheed and finally with the very affable German, Timo Mayer. Having made wine with Gembrook and now Tibooburra, Timo has firmly entrenched himself as one of the Valleys more astute, and busiest, winemakers. And his current selection under his very Chambertin label, together with Bloody Hill and Big Betty labels, puts Timo in almost every corner of the Yarra Valley.

After having a wee chat with Timo, it was time to go. A quick beer with Claire Lance and I was off to Rockpool where I was meeting some of the aforementioned likeminded heads for some ‘witty’ banter, burgers, wine and more beer as well as a debate that is still going on now – Is Twin Peaks a child of the 80’s or the 90’s? My money is in the 90’s.

Here are the highlights of a fantastic line up:

Foster e Rocco Sangiovese Rosé 2009 - a fantastic pink number for the upcoming Spring Carnival; soft in colour with fragrant palate that is both dry and refreshing.

Punch Berry’s Creek Vineyard 2008 Noble Riesling – low alcohol makes this wine not only a great drop with season tropical fruit, but also as an aperitif with heaps of zingy acid.

Luke Lambert Heathcote Reserve Nebbiolo 2007 – a super drop with gorgeous notes of Nebbiolo characteristics coming through and at Barolo alcohol levels – 13.5%v/v, not the Australian levels.

Luke Lambert Heathcote Reserve Syrah 2007 – layered with liquorice and super firm tannins, this wine will definitely demand time and a decanter when you open her up (12.5%v/v).

Syrahmi ‘Maelstrom’ Heathcote Shiraz 2008 – ripe red fruit alongside a whack of pepper and perfume; a great follow up to the 2007 ‘Don’.

Allies Tuerong Viognier Saone 2008 – a wine that is definitely a personal style rather than the big oily imitators of the Northern Rhone. There is still apricot, but with a more balanced palate with soft acid and lowish alcohol – 13.5%v/v.

Allies Heathcote Stone Axe Shiraz 2008 – an immense wine this, with deep garnet red and no over ripe fruit make this one of the standouts of the tasting. This spent 19 days on skin which ended up extracting a perfect amount of tannin to balance a very savoury palate.

Mayer Yarra Valley ‘The Doktor’ Pinot Noir 2008 – the standout wine for me; 100% whole bunch pressed wine displaying a very complex nose and palate with savoury spice and game already noticeable. And you know what Timo said about the wine, ‘...it works!!’ Yes it does!

Spirituality and Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

Spirituality is important in our busy modern world. With over 6 billion people crammed on to this rock, we all need to have our quiet time of peace and reflection. I take my lead from the Wino-sapien and share with you three items that are currently stabilising my inner peace.

How to see yourself as you really are – His Holiness, Dalai Lama; this is something I picked up last year when my career was heading south, with one passage having very real meaning:
‘A person whose mind is distracted dwells between the fangs of afflictive emotions.’

This is a nice segue for Hurry up and Meditate – David Michie; a very user friendly book to the art of blocking out all the shit and focusing on all that is good:
‘Once we accept that body and mind form a systemic whole, the idea of focusing all our attention on only one part of the system - the body – while excluding the other – the mind - seems more than just a little crazy.’

This leads us to my Clonakilla allocation that arrived yesterday – peace and harmony people!