Memories Part I; Vue de monde Pinot Noir by Bindi 2007

 

Sitting around the chefs table many years ago at Vue de monde the idea of a serious house wine was realised. Bindi from Macedon was going to be the Pinot Noir. This is it's story, or one of its stories - cue Law & Order 'dung dung' tune.

Quite simple - its 2013, yet the wine is still singing. Spice and tart fruit still hold sway with cinnamon and cranberry evident. A smack of toffee is the primary palate with the mid palate all about spice and prickly acid. A cracking wine, but sad to say, all gone. Special one that Dennis!!!

Domaine A Stoney Vineyard Coal River Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

A few years ago I posted a blog about Domaine A proclaiming that they were the best Cabernet producers in Australia. A big call some suggested. This post reaffirms that position. The Domaine A Stoney Vineyard Coal River Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 in all intents and purposes may be an entry level wine or second label to many, but for me it stands as one of Australia's premier Cabernet Sauvignons. Simple!

The wine in the glass opens up with characteristic Left Bank wafts of cassis, dried herbal notes and profound  prickly dust. The palate has instant chewy tannins all woven in with layers of cassis, blackberry and tart cherry all washed clean with pitch perfect acid. What a great wine and certainly a no-brainer for these coller months.

Drink with slow cooked lamb shoulder
Drink till 2020+
98
Diam cork 13.5%v/v $34 Seddon Wine Store

Paradigm Hill Mornington Peninsula Col's Block Shiraz 2007

A truly captivating wine this one. The Paradigm Hill Mornington Peninsula Col's Block Shiraz 2007 is one of those new world wines that would fit very neatly alongside Northern Rhône gems; Ghislaine Fumat and Allemand Reynard from Cornas were two producers that spring to mind straight away.

One thing that always jumps out in this wine is the long and intense mineral line, once again drawing comparisons to Cornas with its ever present Massif granite that lies just below the top soil. The nose in this wine has certainly developed with a soft coffee note coming through as well as retrained black olive tapanade. The palate sits very cool in the mouth with the acid still holding court along with soft grainy tannins that are followed by even notes of black licorice and black olives. A wine that has got better with age and will again benefit with more cellaring to follow.

Seriously, this wine is so good, if Thom Yorke wanted to make wine he'd want to make this.

Drink with crusted slow roasted lamb
Drink till 2022
97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $50ish if you can still find it

Bindi Bottling 2012 - Quartz, Original Vineyard and Block 5

It's the day after bottling and the body is a bit sore and the house is quiet. And the rain keeps coming down. It's also cold! Hemingway I aint?

It should have been a quick day, but things don't always go to plan. What did go to plan however was the quality of the wine. The Bindi Quartz Chardonnay, Original Vineyard and Block 5 Pinot Noir's were all sitting in tank, all looking schmick as, but the mobile bottling truck got bogged at the top of block 4. It's a big truck, and big trucks do not get un-bogged easily.

It was also a slow start down here in Brunswick. All things being equal, I should have been in the winery at 7.30am, which is a 6.50am departure from home. Finishing work at midnight after a 15 hour day means that when the alarm goes off, a flurry a lewd expletives follows, the alarm gets tossed and sleep returns. So waking up at 8.45am, more expletives, a cold shower thanks to gas works and I'm off up the Calder. I pull up to the winery and the Quartz has all been bottled and some usuals, some newbie's, are milling around the winery enjoying cake and morning tea. I am greeted with a glass of Quartz Chardonnay, with Michael nodding, 'What do you think?'. Well, what do I think? I think this is a stunningly linear and focused wine that, the stuff I'm sipping anyway, didn't make it to bottle. Just imagine what it's going to be like in the bottle over the coming years - bit like a 1st year player winning the Brownlow.

It was the Original Vineyards turn next with the gremlins of earlier coming back. After a splutter the bottling line got rolling along nicely and the next thing you know there are 4 palates packed away and lunch is waiting in the winery. The Block 5 Pinot was next and like the Original Vineyard, some gremlins hindered the start but as soon as we knew it we had 2½ palates or so and things were motoring.

The last wine is one that Michael will be experimenting with over the next few years. When I say experimenting I mean that he is taking a sample of juice from the bottom and top of Block K, the highest altitude block on the vineyard, and holding it back for at least 3 years to then release to the thirsty public.

So another bottling done, my 14th, and like all bottling we pulled up seats in the winery and savoured some of Bindi's best wines. This year, like I said earlier, there were quite a few newbie's and they were duly treated to a recently disgorged Blanc de Blanc 1994 out of magnum. What a stunning wine with a beautifully tight bead and golden colour. this was followed with a 2007 Composition Pinot Noir which was pretty much drinking at its peak, a 2008 Block 5 Pinot Noir which is still quite young and not giving away too much and a specially made 2005 Vue de monde Pinot Noir that had all the hallmarks of an aged Bindi Pinot Noir - clean acidity with savoury earthy notes standing over a sun-setting tone of bright red fruit. So, another bottling done, with the end of February already booked in for the 2012 Composition's and Pyrette Shiraz. I will be heading up to Bindi before then for other bits-and-bobs, but it's always a little bit more gratifying coming home down the Calder with a booty of freshly bottled gems.

Cristom Willamette Valley Sommers Reserve Pinot Noir 2007

It was a whirlwind in-and-out trip to Perth a few weeks ago, so an impromptu BYO Wednesday dinner was organised for Tuesday, as you do. Like I said, it was a very impromptu dinner, but like so many things organised on the cuff, this one was not to be. I had to drink this on my own. The Cristom Willamette Valley Sommers Reserve Pinot Noir 2007; hey batter batter, soooowing batter!

A label that sees quite a few wine lists and retail shop shelves in Australia, and for a good reason. Pale red in the glass, backed up by the ‘Unfiltered’ statement on the label; the wine was a bit tentative to begin but after a while lovely pink musk stick, cherries and even more pink musk stick came wafting out of the glass. Much later the wine took on a very gamey feel on the nose. As with the nose, the palate was also a bit stilted and flat, so it was off to the decanter where the wine hits its stride. Bacon fat, game and tart red fruit were the obvious notes with still a great whack of acid and just the faintest touch of furry tannins. Great stuff.

Drink with duck and pork sausages
Drink now till 2015
95
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $95 Liquor Baron’s Mount Lawley

Surveyor Thomson Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007

This is the best Central Otago Pinot Noir I have had for years! The Surveyor Thomson Central Otago Pinot Noir 2007 has all the characteristics of a pinot noir that hasn't been made in CO; it's got finesse, thus lacking in CO; it's got super fine tannins holding up elegant and tart fruit, something CO pinot noir has lacked I believe due to the warm to hot growing conditions towards the end of vintage. But it's all objective right, and I'm just a blogger who hasn't any idea what they are talking about. So says the sommelier-come-wine maker (sic) in their email to me earlier this week; but I'm not going to air my dirty laundry in this medium.

Geez, where did that come from! Anyhoo, the wine. Dirty red in the glass with a wonderful and secondary waft of aroma's floating up; brown spice, toffee with a touch of tart cranberry; wonderful and long in the palate with the acid still holding everything together with ease. A super wine, but very rare in Melbourne.

Drink with BBQ quail
Drink till 2017+
97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $50 Tony's Cellars, Ryde NSW www.surveyorthomson.co.nz

S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo 2007

"what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I'm bleary eyed this morning. It's not because I tied one on last night - that would be Friday nite. I'm bleary eyed this morning because I had a really restless nite sleeping. You see I had this dream where I was the 'Great Gatsby', Robert Redford version, and I was there in the Long Island mansion swanning around with a bevvy of beauties and a herd of hangers-on. My attention really got going in this dream when all of the sudden one of the said beauties was dancing ona table holding a bottle of S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo 2007; thats the funky shit!

So today as I sit at the kitchen counter, I am reading in peace yesterdays and todays The Age newspaper, and I read not one but two articles with reference to 'The Great Gatsby'. Am I still dreaming or am I actually writing this?

So, onto the wine then. It wasn't that long ago that I pulled one of these out of my cellar. A dark and dirty reddish purple in the glass with lovely and dependable aroma's of rose petals, cherries and a leather the longer it sits in the decanter. Lip smacking tannins give way to big and full fruit, but not ripe fruit; tart and crisp instead. It's a great example of a very good Nebbiolo being made in Australia.

Drink till 2022
Drink with braised goat
92
Screwcap 14.0%v/v $50 Dan Murphy's Hawthorn East

Coombend Tasmanian Pinot Noir 2007

When the next morning greets you with a headache and many, many empty bottles with two children wanting breakfast at 6.30am the obvious line sneaks into the subliminal - I'm never ever going to drink again! You know you've heard it, don't deny it. Anywhoo, one of those empties was the Coombend Tasmanian Pinot Noir 2007 from the Freycinet coastline. The notes were scribbled on a post-it and quite illegible but this is what I got; very chalky red in the glass with plenty of feral and earthy aroma's wafting up the olfactory. Almost too pleasent sweet fruit of red licorice, raspberries and strawberries; the nose does not bely the palate.

This wine I think will benefit from having it on its own and not with another 14 bottles!!

Drink with roasted pork belly
Drink till 2014
90
Screwcap 13.5%v/v bought somewhere on Sydney Rd Brunswick

Domaine de la Chauvinière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie 2007

“I find pleasure in things that are simple.” Stephan Jenkins

Pretty much says it all doesn’t it. The Domaine de la Chauvinière Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie 2007 is fresh and clean with citrus, honeydew and white oleander with a touch of phenolics about it on both nose and palate. By the way, the variety is not Muscadet but Melon de Bourgogne, a common misconception made here in Australia. Just a great little wine.

Drink with moules marinière while listening to Demolition by Ryan Adams
Drink till 2012
88-91
Good cork 12%v/v $20ish from Blackheart and Sparrows, Brunswick

Pinga Bridgewater on Loddon/Bendigo Nebbiolo 2007

Seeing that I am still on Melbourne time and that it is 6.20am in Perth and I have been wide awake since 5am, I thought I’d fill in some time while the kids watch ‘The Flintstones’ with a post on possibly the finds of the year – for me anyway. The Pinga Bridgewater on Loddon/Bendigo Nebbiolo 2007. From my understanding this is a second label from the Pondalowie folk in Bendigo, with Bridgewater on Loddon being found midway between Kyneton and Daylesford in Victoria’s Spa country.

Dark and brooding in the glass with an almost endless deep set tawny colour with purple hue, the aroma is straight out of the Piedmontese – a tight bouquet of lavender and violet with that evolving to black olive tapenade over the following two days. The palate displays tight and fine tannins and acid combined with effortless apricot, dark chocolate and after two days the trademark tar. All in all a super wine and priced in the mid 20’s is a dead-set bargain – simple!

Drink with slow cooked beef daube
Drink till 2016
97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $25 from Red, White and Amber in Kew

Clos Guirouilh Jurançon Sec 2007 Pyréneés-Atlantiques

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." - Sam Keen

We are not exactly in deep summer just yet, but what the hell is deep summer anyway? I guess it is the second part of the quote that rings true – “...laziness finds respectability”. And it was this laziness that I shared with a bottle of Clos Guirouilh Jurançon Sec 2007 Pyréneés-Atlantiques in South West France (Gros Manseng and Courbu varieties).

Sitting yellow white in the glass, the aroma has an instant hit of wax and honeysuckle wafting up the olfactory. Another thing that is quite noticeable is the viscosity in the glass – subtle hint on the sec I’d say. In the mouth it is rich and textured with just a touch of crème brulée about. The acid is not sharp, as expected, but nevertheless clean and pronounced.

A seriously good wine and such a great companion this summer.

Drink with salmon gravlax
Drink till 2012
94
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $26 Blackhearts and Sparrows Fitzroy North

Blue Poles Margaret River Allouran 2007

“We were drinking. We decided to paint something together. I wanted to get him out of himself and into colour again. We spread out a large piece of Belgian linen. It must have taken an hour, because it was wrapped in a canvas sack, and inside, it was wrapped in a kind of wax paper.” Tony Smith, friend of Jackson Pollack, on the creation of ‘Blue Poles: number 11, 1952’

It all starts over a drink.

And what a drink this one was; the Blue Poles Margaret River Allouran 2007. I picked this up yesterday at Carlton Cellars after bottling up at Bindi, and I must say what an impressive wine it turned out to be. But before I get on about the wine, where the hell has this little gem been hiding. I know we are very Victorian centric about what we drink here, but geez, something like this should not be hidden away in cosy Carlton.

A blend of Merlot (66%) and Cabernet Franc (33%)- 1% of fairy dust obviously - this classic right bank blend, a blend that is all to ignored by the greater wine producing regions, is everything I was expecting, and I mean every word I say! Beautifully dark in the glass, the nose is soft and subtle with blackcurrant and tobacco, with a little bit of leafy green towards the end which tells me the Cab Franc has not been mauled by the Merlot. In the mouth there is perfect harmony between oak, acid and fruit, with the acid holding it all together without being too punctuated. I must add also that this went perfect with the ‘old person’ casserole I made when I got home.

A great wine and absolutely worth the trip to Carlton.

Drink with old person casserole – an easy Susan!
Drink till 2018
97
Screwcap 14%v/v $27 at Carlton Cellars

Kientzler Ribeauville Alsace Gewürztraminer 2007

Gewürztraminer; just merely saying the word sends many people to their wine reference books to make sure they get the right spelling (take a bow Tim). It is the wine that you take with you to Victoria Street Richmond to have with the wonderful array of Vietnamese restaurants. And it is also a grape that people can quite easily spot in a glass of wine; sherbet and the obvious lycee. This, however, can sometimes be its downfall, for more often than not the gewürztraminer will be all too predictable and half way through the bottle the thought turns to what the next bottle will be.

For all of that I have just said, the Kientzler Ribeauville Alsace Gewürztraminer 2007 is all of that. Lovely and golden in the glass, before I put my nose to the glass my olfactory is already engulfed with the rich viscous aroma of lycee. A quick hit of spicy acid up front is followed by a long lick of sweet sherbet then once again followed by a whack of subtle spice. A really nice wine, but I knew before I opened it what it was to deliver, but sometimes you want that, and that is what gewürztraminer does – no surprises!

Drink with gunpowder chicken - an easy Susan
Drink till 2012
88
Cork 13%v/v $29 Blackhearts and Sparrows Brunswick

Mountford Estate Waipara Pinot Noir 2007

A truly great wine, but alas no longer available. Made in small quantities, I first had this wine last September at a New Zealand wine event I Melbourne and instantly fell in love with it. The Mountford Estate Waipara Pinot Noir 2007 displays bright red ink in the glass, this wine has gorgeous notes of red fruit laced together with dried tea and roasted beetroot. In the mouth a wave of sweet plum hangs around for a while but in time a very savoury stewed cheery dominates; much like a young Nebbiolo after about three hours in a decanter.

If you see Mountford Estate in a wine shop, buy it!!

Drink with BBQ five spiced quail
Drink till 2013
95
Quality cork 13.5%v/v /www.mountfordvineyard.co.nz/

Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2007

The guys from over the ditch really do make great wine! Without thinking about it, I have been finding my purchases leaning to the New Zealand isle in my local wine outlet. The Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Pinot Noir 2007 is such a super easy wine to drink. Plenty of dried spice and bramble fruit on the nose; this wine really hits its straps in the mouth with a gorgeous blend of spice, tart cranberry and lip smacking acid, but to get the most out of this wine, it really needs a good decanting – double decanter if you can. Two hours later the wine is totally unrecognisable with dense earthy aromas and dried tea on the nose with Burgundian funk flowing in layers in the mouth. If you see this wine, buy it! Mucho Fantastico

Drink with beef and Guinness pie
Drink till 2014
97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v NZ$40 http://www.mtbeautiful.co.nz/

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

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

The Killer Veneto IGT Pinot Grigio 2007

She's a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime

Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?
Killer Queen - Queen

Absolutely!

I think I have said this before, but this summer Pinot Grigio is the wine to have in your fridge. The Killer Veneto IGT Pinot Grigio 2007 is light and floral and fruity and just so easy to drink, and as labels go, very easy on the eye!

Drink with grilled trevaly
Drink now
89
Screwcap 12.5%v/v $16 at Blackhearts and Sparrows

Hewitson Barossa Vally Ned & Henry's Shiraz 2007

There’s something in the air today; flies are a buzzin’, snags are a fryin’, Gen Y are a moshn’ at the Big Day Out and speedo’s are a smugglin’ down at the beach. Yep, it’s Australia Day, and what better way to spend it than sitting out the backyard watching the kids play under the sprinkler (I think we can loosen the water restrictions for today, don’t you think!) while you stuff another sausage wrapped in bread down ya gob and washed it down with a great big juicy Barossa Shiraz (just for the record the author is actually sipping on a Margaret River Chardonnay). And seeing that it is our little Henry’s 1st Australia Day and his 1st birthday this Sunday, the aptly named Hewitson Ned & Henry’s Barossa Valley Shiraz 2007 is getting a run today.

Virtually black as you look at it in the glass, this wine is jam packed with ripe fruit and spice with a poke of licorice all sorts at the end. The wine in the mouth virtually has the same hallmarks as it did on the nose with a very noticeable punch of oak. A nice wine and very, very Australian, and with that Mr Hewitson – Ya bloods worth bottlin’!

Drink with BBQ sausages and lamb chops
Drink till 2012
89
Screwcap 14%v/v $20 at Dan Murphy’s Kew