'Its the end of the world as we know it...' REM, Document, 1987.
Its not the Armageddon but simply the edge of the world: Albany style deep in the SW of Western Australia. Its a great label represents exactly what the great south west is all about. Just a little bit of jingoistic pride.
The Express Winemakers Great Southern Shiraz 2012 is a new project (aren't they all these days) from two young bucks from out West, and if this is anything to go by, these two lads have a smokin hot future in front of them. So the wine...
Deep red in the glass, the wine takes a while in the glass to get going and when it does layers of slate, blackberry and black licorice waft up the nose. The palate is very chewy at first with fine grainy tannins with elements of black olive and soy/fish sauce at the back; that's a good flavour for me. Over all this wine was really singing in the glass on the second and third days. How that happened in my house is a serious head scratcher.
Drink with lasagne
Drink till 2017 93
Screwcap 14%v/v $26 Seddon Wine Store
You can throw all the cliches you want at this one, but finally I am releasing my best of 2013. But hey, if James Halliday can release the Wine Companion in August with the following year's title on it with current release wines then, 'what the heckity heck bang chuck', as my five year old son Henry would say. Sorry James.
There is also a new moniker to add to the blog: The Paul Keating Wine, '...the recession we had to have' here becomes, 'the wine you have to have'. Yeah, what are you going to do hey.
So, 2013 hey. For me it was dominated by reds and a few steamy imports. So without further adieu and the blah blahs, here we have the best of 2013.
Mac Forbes Strathbogie Ranges RS16 Riesling 2013 - a most beautiful wine with the RS16 effectively telling the drinker that it has 16 grams per litre of residual sugar. But you wouldn't know. Sexy as nuts this one.
Man O' War Waiheke Island Dreadnought 2009 - pretty much the perfect Right bank blend you can have; from the Right bank or for anywhere for that matter. Stunning balance of fruit weight and minerality and an early club house leader.
BK Adelaide Hills Cult Syrah 2012 - the 2011 of this was my fave for 2012 and an example of certain wine experts going far to fucking early in writing off 2011 (Just today sampled a Geelong 2011 Pinot Noir that was simply singing!!!). Superb balance of cool climate Syrah - blackberry, soy sauce and black olive tapanade. Will not be the last time you see those tasting notes typed. Sorry no pic, must have deleted.
Sutton Grange Bendigo Fairbank Rose 2013 - Not only the best Rose's of last year but almost the top dog. A blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and a squirt of Merlot (yes Merlot you dilettantes), this wine got me with its classic onion skin colour and funky fermier cider mid palate. Oink oink!!!
Precipice Yarra Valley Syrah 2012 - Pipped at the post for wine in show at the Yarra Valley Wine Show. Not bad for a bloke making his first wine on his own. And the bloke is Marty Singh. Watch this name.
Cavallotto Piedmont Dolceto d'Alba 2011 - I love Dolcetto and so should you: tart, crunchy, little tickle of herbs, earth, sex and other wicked stuff. Just get it.
The Melbourne Gin Company - Save the World - drink Gin. This one. Go on. Nice one Marksy!!!
Il Borghetto Toscana Montigiano Sangiovese 2011 - This is the wine that stopped me dead in my tracks. Seriously. What a wine. Seriously (again), this wine could be confused with a rootin-tootin red Burgundy. It is that good.
Giovanni Almondo Piedmont Roero Arneis 2010 - A wine that delivers an uncanny balance of tart bitter lemon and grapefruit with beautiful ripe pear and quince. A stunner.
Vinea Marson Heathcote Syrah 2008 - Only the Bard can do this justice. A near perfect wine, but 100/100 really.
So there you have it. There were definitely some wines that are unlucky not to feature; Stoney Vineyard, Abbazia Di Novacella and Wickhams Road. But hey, 2014 is a big year, or 10 months to go anyway.
But the Paul Keating wine for 2013 - Il Borghetto Toscana Montigiano Sangiovese 2011. Twas the clubhouse leader back in September and kept the lead all the way to midnight December 31, 2013.
Special thanks and recognition to John, Paul, George and Ringo and the all time classic 'Revolver' playing throughout my banging of keys. xxooxx
The coolest of cool climate Syrahs; cool label, cool wine maker, cool cool. SuperCoola!!!
The Precipice Yarra Valley Hyde Park Vineyard Syrah 2012 is the first solo outing by Oakridge stalwart Marty Singh and what a first outing indeeed. The wine is jam packed with concentrated blackberry, black olive tapanade and soy sauce; all classic cool climate characteristics I reckon. The wine is just off the charts and keeps getting cooler with the lookalike Brunswick Barista hipster on the label. C'mon, you know you've seen a bloke like that making coffee in Brunswick somewhere!!!
Just so smokin hot!!!
Drink till 2018
Drink with BBQ lamb chops 98
Screwcap 13%v/v $33 Seddon Wine Store
One of the finds for 2013 for me is this belter; The Melbourne Gin Company out of the Yarra Valley is so smokin hot that my liver, and that of my partner and two very good friends this summer has taken quite a beating. But remember, the liver is evil and must be punished.
Distilled from rain water run off from the Gembrook Hill winery where man-about-town Andrew Marks for the past few years has been tinkering with batches and has quite simply nailed it with this bad boy.
All aromatics, five native I believe, are stilled individually giving this blend a purity of spice and fruit that I have not come across before; clean white pepper, subtle citrus and gorgeous white spice all play a part in delivering a smooth, elegant and compelling mouth feel that one bottle just doesn't cut it.
And the garnish? citrus by all means but instead of the lemon/lime flesh, try grating the zest in to the gin - with tonic - or something different would be the above picture; peppercorn flowers and leaves found in many parks and near train stations all over Melbourne. As Split Enz said many years ago, 'why don't you give it a whirl...' Go on!!!
Available at all good independent wine retailers for about $70
As summer whites go, this is it. The Brumont Gascogne Gros Manseng-Sauvignon Sec 2011. And yes it has a lick of Sauvignon Blanc in it so those Savvy B poopooers stop reading here... ya flogs.
Smokin hot nose of dried grass clippings and tropical fruit - guava comes through. And once again, Savvy B is here and is all class giving the Gros Manseng bright acid and structure. This one is a winner.
Drink till 2016
Drink with mango chicken salad 95
Diam cork 12.5%v/v Seddon Wine Store $23
The
best Rosé In Australia. That's pretty much it. Sutton Grange Bendigo Fairbank Rosé 2013. Red fruit - tart; Acid - bright;
Freshness - there. But the big winner is a flavour that you just don't see in
Rosé, be it here or the old world. The flavour is French fermier cider.I cannot explain it, its just there. And its
great. Smokin Hot Great.
Drink with ouzo cured smoked salmon, made by me and cold Drink till 2015 97 Screwcap 12.5%v/v $25 Seddon Wine Store
It is now 2014. Usually I will post my top wines of the year either at the end of that year or the very start of the next. Right now there are just too many good wines waiting to find their way on this site and all while I am setting up the Brunswick East Wine Store; this blog must feel like the unwanted mistress right now.
So this will be the first of many short sharp and succinct look at some beauites before I compile the best of 2013.
The Artigiano Sicily Grillo 2012. Bright and briney with layers of preserved lemon and limestone. Its just $15 and quite simply stonkingly good and gluggable. Just get it.
Drink with BBQ baby sardiners
Drink now 95
Screwcap 13%v/v $15 Seddon Wine Store
