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

Serrat Yarra Valley Close Planted Pinot Noir 2010

It’s good. It’s nice. I did like it. I didn’t love it though. While on a constitutional a couple of weeks ago down Lygon Street, I popped in to Blackheart & Sparrows to see Adam behind the counter. We got chatting about vintage and wine, something I wanted to purchase, and Adam said I gotta try the Serrat Yarra Valley Close Planted Pinot Noir 2010, Tom Carson’s side project in the Valley. So I did.

Like I said, I didn’t love it, but I do like it. Piny-purple in the glass, the aroma throws up some crushed strawberries followed by tart cranberry. The palate again has a big whack of tart red fruit and a great finish of soy – really big; not big alcohol but big flavour. All in all, I’d have it again.

Drink with braised pork shoulder
Drink till 2015
90
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $40ish from Blackheart & Sparrows, Brunswick

Foster Mendoza IQUE Malbec 2010 - Half Bottle

This is just a great wine and a no-brainer when it comes to value for money. The Foster Mendoza IQUE Malbec 2010 from Argentina hits this market when Argentine Malbec is still a rising force. Dense black fruit on the nose with a strong hint of dustiness, the palate weaves around structured tannins, tort acidity and bright blueberries. In the half bottle format, this wine is a fair-dinkum no-brainer and an easy mucho fantastic! Drink with rare sirloin Drink till 2015 95 Screwcap 13.5%v/v $14 for a half bottle at the wine store in Albert Street Food and Wine, Brunswick

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

Paradise IV Geelong Bates' Ford Shiraz 2010

Ok. Geez. Its been a while. Right, where was I? Quite often I bandy around the term, ‘Shiraz drinkers Pinot’. This refers to big and sultry Pinots that show ripe fruit and high alcohol; think Paringa Estate and most Central Otago Pinot’s. Lately I have turned that around to, ‘Pinot drinkers Shiraz’, and that wine that fits that is the Paradise IV Geelong Bates' Ford Shiraz 2010. This is a wine that definitely has the Dave Graney spell about it – the Soft and Sexy Sounds spell that is. A very delicate and quite feminant aroma wafts up the olfactory with tight raspberry and plums dominating at this point. This I have to say is very similar to a sort of close neighbour in Ballarat, Eastern Peake’s Walshs Block Shiraz, where it sits almost cool in the mouth, and dare I say it, has a quite cooling affect. With the tiniest of tannins and a razor sharp note of tannin, this wine is more reflective to something from Côte-Rôtie rather than the generalist shiraz that Australia is known for. But hey, this Geelong, a lot cooler than people give credit to. A Cracking Wine! Drink with mushroom pizza Drink till 2016 95 Screwcap 13.5%v/v $35 Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick

Payton Vignerons Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010

In just under two hours our house in downtown Brunswick will be inundated by 4 screeching 7 year old girls and one screeching and attention seeking 3 year old boy for Imogen’s birthday party. Doesn’t sound like too much, but when you factor in one very fluie wife, the thought of wrangling 5 kids this afternoon and for dinner on my own is dead-set frightening! Need to go to a happy place toot-sweet!!!!

One such happy place lately has been the Payten Vignerons wine range from Yarra Valley; Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and a very handy little Tempranillo. Run by young guns Troy Jones and Behn Payten, who also happens to be chief cider maker for Napoleone & Co, their wine is easy to spot on the shelf by catchy caricatures of what can only be described as wine lushes. Brilliant, because isn’t that what we are all inside?


All are varietal. Thats important. Whats more important is they are all lip-smackingly awesome. I think the Sangiovese is my favourite right now, but the Pinot Noir had last night is an absolute cracker. But so is the Tempranillo. But to the wine at hand. The Pinot Noir 2010. Dirty pinkish/red in the glass, the wine smacks of subtle strawberry and tart raspberry. The palate has an instant hit of acid with the finest line of tannin coming through. More tart fruit, this time coming from cranberry. One of the best Pinot Noirs I’ve had from the Valley in a while. Easy.

Ohh God. They're here!

Drink with pizza with salty anchovies
Drink till 2015
94
Screwcap 13%v/v $26

The Wanderer Upper Yarra Valley Chenin Blanc 2010

This variety is vying with Pinot Blanc right now as my default wine; both are positively singing right now due to proper viticulture and dedicated wine makers. The Wanderer Upper Yarra Valley Chenin Blanc 2010 right now is in the groove. Bright and shiny nose - I know thats sounds like a bit of a wank, but hey, just works! Fresh ginger on the nose is followed by the gentlest of honeysuckle. Crisp in the palate, the acidiy is followed by more subtle ginger and the tiniest amount of white phenolics - sort of a talc feel in the mouth. I seriously do love this wine right now.

Drink with Hue prawn and pork pancake
Drink till 2014
97
Screwcap 13%v/v $26 Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick