Forest Hill Mount Barker Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Just hear me out for a sec. Block 5. Block 5 wines are fast becoming a marketing tool to so many producers. Don't quote me on this, but I think the first Block 5 in Australia was from Bindi in 1997 - the Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 1997 I recall was listed at $400 not so long ago at The Lincoln in Carlton; not bad for a vineyard that was planted in 1992!

Anyway, the Block 5 tag seems to have that marketing 'midas touch'. Here's just a few that I can recall of the top:

• Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges
• Yabby Lake Block 5 Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
• Felton Road Block 5 Pinot Noir, Central Otago
• Chalice Bridge Chapman Series Block 5 Shiraz/Cabernet, Margaret River
• Saint Clair Pioneer Block 5 Pinot Noir, Marlborough
• Forrest Estate Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon, Marlborough 

Talk about doing your block!!

So it was about 2 weeks ago that I had a tasting of the new Forest Hill wines from Mount Barker with their very pregnant winemaker Clémence Haselgrove; for me the Springvale Estate Riesling is pound-for-pound one of the best in Australia, but thats for another post. The last wine in the bracket was, now wait for it, the Forest Hill Block 5 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Block 5's aside, this is truly a cracking wine.

Deep ox blood colour in the glass, the nose throws up aroma's of whispy mint and eucalypt with the smallest hint of dusty tannins to come. The palate is all Left Bank with subtle blueberry notes woven together with pitch perfect acid, tannins and dry dusty cocoa powder. This wine has all the hallmarks of spending another 20 years in the bottle for plenty of reward.

Drink with shephards pie - I did last night
Drink till 2025+
96
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $60ish

I was Wrong!..... Vavasour Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010

.... and before you know it, it’s hot. Then it’s going to be cold, then hot, then cold, then.....

Melbourne; what a great city to live in hey? Yes summer has once again side-stepped spring in Melbourne and we find ourselves again switching from central heating to air-con over night. And that’s what this post today is based on – switching.

Now, to all those too cool for school rock n’ rollers out there, look away now. Everyone else, I like Sauvignon Blanc. It’s almost a Fonz moment, ‘I was w-w-w-w-w-w-wrong....’, but hey, when it’s warm and the nights are muggy, Savvy B really does hit the spot. And the Savvy B that floated my boat this week is the Vavasour Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010. Crisp, fresh and just a real good sense of balance about this wine; its got great acidity yet it is not astringent; the fruit is there but its not cloyingly sweet. This is a very nice wine.

So people, give this much maligned grape a go. And if need be, look up your local SBA (Sauvignon Blanc anonymous) group and tell the world that yes, I love Savvy B.

Drink with goats cheese and scallop salad
Drink now
93
Screwcap 13.5% v/v $17 from Dan Murphy’s Hawthorn East

Mount Riley Marlborough Pinot Gris 2009

For all of you who do not know who Jack Dyer is, here is a brief synopsis:

• Richmond Football club and VFL legend
• One of the dirtiest players in his, and for that matter any era
• TV personality
• Creator of some of the best quotes in last 50 years

A few times I have mentioned in my blog the phrase, ‘good average player’. This was one of Jack Dyer’s more common summations of players he commented on while he was in broadcasting, and probably for that matter, playing also.

For me, ‘good average player’ is effectively saying he is not a star, but he holds his own; wine imitating football you might say. A wine that will not blow your socks off, but something that deserved to be bottled. Pretty simple really.

This leads us to the Mount Riley Marlborough Pinot Gris 2009. A nice wine without the lap dance. All categories tick the box: colour – slight greyish pink; nose – prickly pear and full; palate – more pear with a slight viscosity about it. In the end, a nice bottle of wine, or in footy terms, a good average drop.

Drink with seared scallops
Drink till 2012
88
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $19 from Psarakos markets, Thornbury

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

Hans Herzog Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006

Sometimes, you wander in to a wine shop and think, ‘yeah, today I’m going to splurge out and spend $60 on a bottle of really good Pinot.’ After all is said and done though, all you have left is $60 less in the bank.

I gotta say that I was a little disappointed with the Hans Herzog Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006. It was a nice wine, but sort of left me wanting, wanting, wanting.........

‘.... and the wanting comes in waves....’ Hazards of Love – The Decemberists.

In the end Erin and I had a nice bottle of wine. Did I want a nice bottle for $60? No! I wanted a lap dance, but instead got a neck rub from my sister. Oh well, never thee mind.

And the wine. Good red with a tinge of brown in the hue. Not a lot on the nose, except for some brambly fruit and what I thought was a little formic acid – crushed ant smell. The acid is still bolt up-right, with a little touch of tart cranberry and a little ripe plum.

Drink with beef spare ribs
Drink now
87
Cork 14%v/v $60

Hunky Dory Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009

That’s right, I was shocked too! Turns out the Hunky Dory Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 isn’t just another bottle of insipid grape juice from across the ditch, but there is actually plenty to like about this wine. Plenty of passionfruit and gooseberry come wafting up the nose with a real pleasant acid rush in the mouth followed by a tinge of green and more passionfruit. An easy wine without the astringent cats piss finish – definitely worth a look.

So if you do find one out there, tell me where you got it from; this bottle was brought over to our place last Sunday by some friends of ours for a BBQ, but we never got a chance to have some so they left here. Thanks Joanna and Jeremy!

Drink with BBQ asparagus and goats cheese
Drink now
89
Screwcap 13%v/v from somewhere for so much?

Brave New World! Kharisma 'Isola dei Nuraghi' IGT Sardinia Vermentino 2007

A possible snapshot of future Australia written by guest blogger Aldous Huxley:

‘As the subtle hum of the biosphere’s dome rings in my ears, I step out in to the street where I am instantly coated with the perennial humid mist that is ever present in our lives. Heading down Chapel street I notice yet another ‘Oxybucks’ oxygen bar opening with dirt stained noses lining up for the morning ‘fresh’ hit. But it was another grand opening of a shop three doors down that got my attention. It was another MSA clinic – Marlborough Sauvignon Anonymous.
It had been 15 years since the planet exhausted its stocks of Marlborough Sauvignon, the drink that in the early years of the 21st century commanded 93% of wine consumption throughout the civilised world. In the years since the vine disappeared due to the rare disease, Catspissus necrosis, the 35 million Australians who were responsible for the majority of the demand were yet to get over the demise of the grape and had still not been able to stomach any other variety, with the Sauvignon stripping the nations palate completely.......’

Thanks Aldous.

Sounds scary doesn’t it! Bu there is hope out there people. There is life after Sauvignon Blanc, and it comes in the guise of many dry white wine varieties such as Gros and Petit Manseng, Semillon, Arneis, Pinot Grigio and my fave at the moment, Vermentino.

Grown primarily on Corsica and Sardinia, Vermentino as small plantings in and around the Murray Darling region, with Bruce Chalmers of Chalmers Nursery being the driving force behind its growth. But if you want a choice you will probably have to go to speciality wine shops who deal in imported wine, and one of those is the Enoteca Sileno on Lygon Street Carlton, an Italian providor dealing in all things culinary and alcohol, and it is here where I picked up the wonderful Kharisma ‘Isola dei Nuraghi’ IGT Sardinian Vermentino 2007. Yes the name ‘Kharisma’ is bit kitsch, but there is absolutely nothing kitsch about the wine.

On this day I needed a crisp white to go with my Carbonara. Chardonnay would have done the trick, but I’m always drinking Chardonnay, and I thought something Italian with my pasta sauce. Vermentino has naturally high acids which are perfect in cutting through the thick unctuous sauce that is Carbonara. And my Carbonara rocks – and there is no cream in this one people! So here is my recipe for my Carbonara:

· Four egg yolks
· 200 grams of good bacon
· One onion
· Two cloves of garlic, crushed
· Cooking white wine
· Good olive oil
· Parmesan cheese and good spaghetti – Martelli

Simply separate yolks from whites and place in a bowl with a splash of water and a good glug of oil and cracked pepper, mix. Reduce diced onion and garlic in white wine, add bacon and reduce again. Cook off pasta al dente, toss all ingredients together and top with biting parmesan. Yummo!

Now the wine. The Vermentino has a surprising yellow gold colour to it with quite a rich nose of flowers, preserved lemon and salt. The mouth is fantastic with layers of citrus, soft herbs, banana and melon. Fantastic complexity with this one and a definite ‘Susan’. On a side note, I would definitely decant this wine; there is plenty of SO2 in it so the air is necessary to blow off the burnt match smell.

Drink till 2012
Drink with my Carbonara recipe
92
Quality cork 13%v/v $42 at Enoteca Sileno 920 Lygon Street Carlton North

http://www.enoteca.com.au/

The Ned Marlborough Pinot Gris 2008

Very easy to drink and a deadest bargain is The Ned Marlborough Pinot Gris 2008! Peachy pink in appearance with similar on the nose; peach kernel and rose petals being very distinct. The palate is very Pinot Gris with a very slippery mouth feel up front with the acid being more pronounced rather than just a presence. The longer in the glass sherbet is also evident.

Lovely balance and complexity to this wine.

Drink till 2011
Drink with Thai chilli prawns
90
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $16