La Bruja Averia Madrid Comando G Grenache 2012

Beautiful. A Pinot Noir drinkers Grenache, Tart. Raspy. Dirty. Sexyasnuts - that's the technical term by the way. Ethereal. This is quite a stunning wine if you haven't hooked on yet.

The La Bruja Averia Madrid Commando G Grenache 2012, or Comando G, is a caloboration of five younbg Spanish lads who share a passion for Grenache and Pinot Noir. It shows. Look out for it. Buy it. Drink it. Repeat.

Drink with charred lamb
Drink till 2017
98 - new clubhouse leader for 2014
Quality cork 14%v/v $39 Seddon Wine Store

Wine Super Heroes Unite! Bodegas Roda Rioja Sela Tempranillo/Graciano 2009

It maybe that time of the year where a good proportion of my brain cells have been internally fried by excessive wine and beer intake, but humour me with this one. What if for some funky-arsed reason there were wine super heroes, and with this there were Nemesis's to said wine super heroes. Cool hey?

So, who are are wine super heroes and nemesis's you wonder. I think its a no brainer; Tempranillo and Pinot Noir.

There's this brash young upstart -Tempranillo for argument's sake - in the new territory who has been lording it up in the old world for god knows how long. So then we look at the perennially good guy, Pinot Noir; butter wouldn't melt in its mouth they say. Tempranillo looks down the street and sees a life of adulation and worship, and Tempranillo wants some of that, wants it now.

Then all of the sudden Tempranillo develops a little following, and slowly over time this little following turns in to a ground swell. Well, Pinot Noir does not particularly like this, not one bit. But it is not in Pinot Noirs make-up to respond in spite for Pinot Noir is a member of the Noble Royal European family and to stoop to a the level of a commoner would just not do.

So with this Pinot Noir offers Tempranillo a seat in the unofficial 'Cool Grape Society', and as they say, the rest is history with Pinot Noir and Tempranillo both sharing equal adulation and glory without any blood, or juice for that matter, being spilt. It is not everyday we can say we have peace in our lifetime.

This little piece was inspired by the lyrical genius of Tenacious D and the song 'Wonder Boy'.



And with that we need a wine note I think. The Bodegas Roda Rioja Sela Tempranillo/Graciano 2009. Super dark in the glass, the wine has a great waft of blueberries and a surprsing hit of marzipan - something I was not expecting, but nevertheless thought was rockin'. The palate is all about primary acid and tannins up front with a flow of spice and more blueberries and marzipan. I loved it.

You can probably see in my labels that Tempranillo is somewhat in the shadow of Pinot Noir on my blog. I promise to remedy this over time.

Drink with spiced lamb shoulder roast
Drink till 2019+
96
Natural cork 14%v/v $50 Seddon Wine Store

Castaño Yecla Ecológico Monastrell 2009

This is another Monastrell/Mataro/Mourvèdre that I simply cannot get enough of. The Castaño Yecla Ecológico Monastrell 2009 has been a regular in my recycling bin lately purely and simply because its so bloody good. Very red in the glass, the nose throws up blackberries and an almost iodinie-cum-medicinal- throaty-lolly-cum-gingerbread; that's the funky shit, and that's a good thing. The palate starts with crunching acid and tannins that flows along with more blackberries and black licorice. Just get some.

Drink with lamb sausages
Drink till 2017
94
Screwcap 13%v/v $22 Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick

A real Summer warmer - Romate Don José Oloroso Sherry Jerez Spain

What else would you want to be drinking while we freeze through another December week in Melbourne – Romate Don José Oloroso Sherry from Jerez Spain. Sinister and dark looking in the glass this little beauty is all seduction and is quite possibly on level terms with champagne as a no-brainer as an aperitif. Almost peanut brittle like on the nose, the palate jumps from earthiness, mushroom, almonds, and then truffles and so much other stuff that escapes me. Quite simply gorgeous!

Drink with truffle risotto
Drink now
98
Quality cork 18%v/v $38-$42 at all god wine stores

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