There's a few things I'm loving at the moment: The World Cup - obviously. The Uruguayans defending the indefensible that is Luis Suarez. And closer to home, Gin. I'm loving Gin at the moment. Why? Because its finger-lickin-sexy-as-nuts and its from the Yarra Valley.
This is My #Gineration
There is a massive explosion right now with Gin. A phenomenon really. Negroni's. Martini's. White Lady's. G&T. Ken Bruce has gone completely mad and we LOVE IT. And reason for this is quite simply The Melbourne Gin Company - Andrew Marks, and Four Pillars - Cameron MacKenzie. Both highly respected Yarra Valley winemakers who quite obviously love Gin Thank you boys.
The Melbourne Gin Company made my best of list for 2013. Its that good. Four Pillars, most notably the Barrel Aged jobby, is quite remarkable. Cinnamon. Vanilla. Orange. White pepper. It made working on my feet for 13 hours worth I tell ya.
Knock off last night
But get in quick with the Four Pillars Barrel Aged because its here for a good time, not a long time. Stocks are seriously slender. I got mine. The world is good. Cheers.
The Melbourne Gin Company - $69
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin - $75
Four Pillars Barrel Aged Gin - if you see it, buy it
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
If you are in Melbourne today then yes, Melbourne weather sucks!!!
Now I've got that sorted, lets talk smokin hot wine. The Witness Point Yarra Valley Shiraz 2012. This is made from fruit declassified from the Thousand Candles project, but to be honest, and I said this to the rep when showed the wine - the Thousand Candles - that I much preferred the Witness Point Shiraz, and at a fraction of the cost too boot.
The nose shoots a quick whack of green edginess, but I like that, with tart and crisp blackberry following. The palate is all racey acid and tight fine tannins with bursts of peppercorn flowers, more tart blackberry and a hint of black licorice.
Cannot wait to see the fish John West rejects next year.
Drink with chilli beef snags
Drink till 2015
96
Screwcap 12.5%v/v $22 Seddon Wine Store
A very pretty wine. The Wedgetail Yarra Valley Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 is everything you want from a Pinot coming from a great vintage; perfume, tart red fruit - think raspberry and cranberry, spice and plenty of acid. It should really be a crowd pleaser, but coming in the high $40's, its not everyone's cup of marmite when it delivers, but just doesn't deliver. All things being equal, a nice wine.
Drink with BBQ quail
Drink till 2016
91
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $40+ Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick
You see, a funny thing happened on the way to the winery. The Chardonnay grape, a grape that can be done this way or that, decided to stand up for itself and spoke to the winemaker who just happened to be driving the tractor. This is the conversation that took place, word for word; I swear!!!
Chardonnay Grape (CG) - hey winemaker person
Winemaker (WM) - yeah little chardonnay berry
CG - that building we are heading to, the winery. Now I'm not trying to tell you what to do when we get there, but I'm just giving you the skinny of what may happen
WM - the skinny hey. This should be good.
CG - sigh!!! Yes the skinny. Now when we get there I reckon you have two paths that you can take. First path is the old school path. This is where you allow me to suck up as much new and used oak as you can give me and then allow me to go through not one, but two ferments; oh the butterscotch. Secondly, the new school method where you can pick me green and just bath me in the steel tank just so as I can get all my sugar, which is not much, in to CH3CH2OH. Lovely!
WM - so then, you know the skinny.
CG - but, as the Bard would say, 'here in lies the rub!'
WM - since when do you read Shakespeare?
GC -you'd be surprised what gets passed along in the canopy. Anyway, whats it gunna be?
WM - well, seems you have been doing your homework, but I'm one step ahead of you.
GC - go on ......
This did go on for a while so I will not bore you with, as the Chardonnay grape calls it, the skinny. In the end the wine maker was all over the two methods - old and new school - and he managed to combine the two methods to bring us a chardonnay that is dripping in uber cool licks. The Hoddles Creek Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2011 is a wine that was made in a difficult vintage, but Franco D'Anna put together a cracking wine that has surely got to be one of the bargains of the year.
So the wine. All chardonnay on the nose with citrus and a touch of stone fruit and toasty oak. In the mouth there was plenty of natural acidity coming through, but there was also a great mix of more stone fruit and a touch of leesy creaminess without being bathed in butterscotch drops. Like I said, easy one of the bargains of the year.
Drink with grilled whiting
Drink till 2014
95
Screwcap 13.2%v/v $18 Prince Wine Store, Essendon
The owner of the coolest wine name and label, Anthony Fikkers, knows what to do with Sauvignon Blanc. No you holier than thou wine snobs out there, he doesn't pour it down the drain, he blends it with Semillon and a lick of Muscadelle and pulls out a little ripper of a wine. The Fikkers Two Bricks SBS 2011 from the Yarra Valley is quite easily one of the easiest drinks right now, jammed full of green and white spice and a palate that has more weight, depth and flesh than Paris Hilton. Bad simily; dishwater fills that category.
Drink with pork schnitzel
Drink till 2014
93
Screwcap 12%v/v $22
I love this wine, and I have fallen back in love with Yarra Valley Chardonnay - this Yarra Valley Chardonnay anyway.
The Hoddles Creek Yarra Valley 1er Chardonnay 2010 is all heirs and graces (whatever that means I dont know) with a delicious blend of new world razor sharpness and old world finesse and style. Straw colour in the glass, the nose is singing between tart grapefruit, mealy almonds and licorice powder.
Like another recent fave of late - the Eastern Peak 2008 Syrah - this wine almost sits cool in the mouth. Not Fonzy cool, but temperature cool. From my tasting notes we drunk this wine at temperature range of about 6-10 Celcius, and the cooling idea comes from the way it just sat in the palate so effortlessly.
Back to the wine at hand. The palate was like the nose, with a wonderful mix of tight citrus acidity, but as the wine developed over the night, a denser Puligny-Montrachet feeling came to the fore with licore powder and minerlaity.
A welcoming wine from many years of citric acid madness I say.
Drink with veal cutlets
Drink till 2018 97
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $42 Albert Street Food & Wine
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
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
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
So here I am. Its 12.20am and I’m watching the replay of Super Bowl forty something-or-rather and Madonna is singing something from when it was Super Bowl twenty something-or-rather. I’m watching the replay because I am a New York Giants fan and I got through the day without finding out the score, so if you know – zip-it!
As I said, its half time and Madonna interests me as much as a hernia so I thought I’d write a post. The Jamsheed Healesville Vineyard Yarra Valley Syrah 2010. Had this one a few days ago for the third time and loved it as much as, well as much as the first I guess. Quite dense in the glass, the Healesville Syrah for me is hard to separate from Silvan or Yarra Glen, but I guess it is pretty common these days to highlight mesoclimate, so Healesville, you rock! The nose throws a good amount of tart fruit and savoury notes and a good amount of dust which suggests a good amount of chewy tannins. I suggested right. Long and persistent with acid and tight chewy tannins built around subtle raspberry and red licorice with quite an intense purity throughout the glass. All in all I loved it.
There’s a flag on the play so I’m going to wrap up. Great length and plenty of time left in the tank. And for the rest of the mesoclimates in the Valley – lift your game!
Drink with Buffalo wings, in honour of the Super Bowl Drink till 2018 96 Diam cork under wax seal 13.7%v/v $46 Albert St Food & Wine, Brunswick
Quote the label: “…continues the tradition of Hardys rich blending heritage” I think you are reading from the wrong manifest Jenkins!
The Hardys Pemberton/Yarra Valley HRB|D643 Chardonnay 2008 – maybe the license plate of the B-double that ferried the juice over the Nullarbor – barely scrapes in as a Jack Dyer wine and is unfortunately headed to the near-sub 80 category. On first glance the wine in the glass has all the hallmarks of a chardonnay; its bone/straw colour and tight and closed nose right away makes me think I have got a bargain from Uncle Dan’s at $28. Oh the fleeting glimpse of joy, with the palate displaying full, heavy and rich and chockers of all that was chardonnay back in 1994 – big and flabby; nuts and creaminess dominate the palate with the notable absence of lemon that is clearly printed on the label. Oh well, never thee mind.
Drink with fondue Drink now or at a ‘Melrose Place’ party (thats a reference to the early 90’s if you didn’t pick it up) Near-sub 80 Screwcap 13.5%v/v $28 Dan Murphy’s Coburg
Lauren Bacall on Humphrey Bogart, “For myself, I can only say that he changed me. He was my teacher my husband, my friend. In his life and his work, Bogey was integrity, truth, and courage. He taught me how to live. That it was okay to trust. He taught me to keep going no matter what. He did. And he is.”
You get the jist; they were soul mates. Just like duck and Pinot Noir I guess. And it was Friday night in downtown Brunswick in my little kitchen that I introduced Punch Yarra Valley Close Planted Pinot Noir 2006 to my crispy skin duck with tarragon lentils with baby carrots braised in white wine and butter with fennel seeds – cue wocka wocka music now.
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Punch wines – Huge! It is safe to say that I am also a big fan of duck. So why has it taken me so long to figure this little union out? Buggered if I know. Needless to say, the wine was just sexy as (my last six pack is now a five pack) with layer upon layer of toffee, bacon fat, delicate violets and just simply gorgeous and quite frankly perfect. And the duck; cooked to perfection (i just had my oven fixed the following day after being without her for close on three months). There’s nothing else to say really.
Drink with the above dish Drink till 2021 100/100 Screwcap 13.5%v/v $75 mailing list three years ago
I do love Australia Day. Lamb on the BBQ, good wine and most of all a day off – even though I’m on holidays anyway. One thing I did love about this one was the fact that my 5 year old daughter (almost 6 she will tell you) Imogen has recently fallen in love with cricket. More to the point, back yard cricket. So as well as a multitude of lamb, cider and wine, there was also back yard cricket, with the obligatory breaks to climb the fence and fetch the ‘6-and-out’ shot.
Like most of the posts, there is wine. There were a few bottles open, but the most enjoyable was the Donny Goodmac Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. I worked vintage in the valley in 2008 and it was a quick one, with most of the fruit being processed in about 6 weeks. That’s sparkling base wine to Merlot in 6 weeks. What I do remember however was that there wasn’t prolonged heat. It was hot, don’t get me wrong, but the heat didn’t hang around for the 4, 5, 6 or 7 day periods that you will have in SA.
So to the wine. Like I said, the 2008 vintage was one where they got the fruit of the vines in a quick time, so with this you are going to have your cool climate wines showing through. There is almost a coolness about the wine with blackcurrant and cassis very primary. A bit of greenness to the wine up front, but I like that.
It may sound like I am boganing it up for this post - not at all. Like I said, I love Australia Day, but I will not chant "oi, oi, oi', no-sir-ri-bob!
All in all, another bonza Australia Day.
Drink with BBQ lamb Drink till 2015 90 Screwcap 13%v/v $32 Blackheart and Sparrows Brunswick
Good grief, I think I am finally accepting my Brunswickness.
Yesterday in Melbourne was very muggy and quite hot, and instead of inhaling beer I gave in to cider; geez it was good. Nice work Punt Road and rock on Napoleone & Co Apple Cider - made by winemakers if you didn't know!
For some reason I feel like buying a crappy 80's bike and riding on the footpath without a helmet carrying my Mac in the floral basket - I am so rad now!
It has been made aware to me that most of my recent posts have been of rather lofty scores, including a 100/100 and a couple of 98's and 99's. I did not realise that I had to show distaste to the wines I drink, for who in their right mind would go out to a wine shop and think, '.... hmm, what can I buy that is going to leave me a little disappointed'. So, if you think I have been rating wines too high of late, look away now cos' this one is way up there.
What a wine this is. The Jamsheed Yarra Valley Gruyere Syrah 2008. I think I am going out on a limb here when I say that this is by far the best shiraz/syrah I have tasted from the Yarra Valley.
A few years ago, I had a conversation with Ian MacLean from Yarra Yarra Vineyards, about what he believes was growers not understanding the Yarra Valley when they first planted Pinot Noir there. Ian first planted back in the late 70's where he received advice from Stuart Anderson to plant Bordeaux varieties, for one day the Valley floor will be too hot for the delicate Burgundy variety; I reckon he knows what he is talking about.
I don't think anyone can disclaim climate change, so much so that Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda has grafted over a lot of his Pinot Noir (maybe all of it) to shiraz and nebbiolo; two varieties that will be able to stand up to warmer growing conditions. So it is no surprise that we now see more and more shiraz/syrah coming out of the Valley. Eight years ago I only knew a handful of producers making Yarra Valley shiraz - Sylvan Estate and De Bortoli to mane two, but now it seems that some wine stores have dedicated shelves for the stuff.
Enough about that, now onto the wine. A great raw red colour in the glass, with what to me appears like a chalky red/purple hue. The nose is full of dusty tannins, black pepper, olives and black fruit - but not ripe black fruit. In the mouth the wine starts off with tight acid and chewy firm tannins and builds up ever so slowly with black licorice and waves and waves it seems of olive tapenade. This is truly a fantastic wine.
So, the score is going to be big, so what. If you are going to be objective about something, you might as well like what you are being objective about!
Drink with rare rump steak and pommes Beaucaire Drink till 2016 - but it is mad gorgeous now 99 Diam cork with wax seal 13.5%v/v $42 Rathdowne Cellars Carlton
I really do not like hot weather. I don't like hot weather in December, and I certainly don't like the hot weather that comes with January and February, but hot weather in April - c'mon!
So with all this hot weather - the in car temp reader said it was 34 at 3.30pm in down town Coburgaria - it was time for a clean summer wine, the De Bortoli Yarra Valley Gulf Station Pinot Grigio 2009. Simple, fresh and swimming with clean acid and subtle white pear, this wine is literally gone in 30 minutes because it is just so easy to drink.
Drink now Drink with the thought that winter is almost upon us 88 Screwcap 12%v/v $12 from most good wine shops
After the fourth ‘paddy’ of the morning from my eldest – way too many Easter eggs I’m afraid, and the departure of Erin soon to her ‘12 Ladies are Lunching’ day (sounds all very festive doesn’t it?) I sneakily sneak away to the study to talk about a wonderful, wonderful wine; the Mayer Yarra Valley Dr. Mayer Pinot Noir 2008.
I would hazard at a guess that the Mayer Pinot Noir 08 found its way to my recycling bin on at least 10 occasions in the last 12 months – such a good wine. But it is Timo Mayer’s ‘Dr’ Pinot Noir that massively hits the high note, yet a note only hit twice due to its limited production.
Before I had drunk this wine I would have probably said that only about three or four Australian Pinot Noirs could stand up to wines from Burgundy; Bindi Block 5, By Farr Serre and Bass Phillip Reserve. Throw in The Doctor to that list!
The colour easily translates the unfiltered product with a hazy dark raspberry that almost turns purple in natural light. The nose is very tight at first, but after sometime in a decanter a very pronounced tart cranberry and beetroot aroma fill the glass and my olfactory. Layers of red licorice, more beetroot and cranberry with a wonderful dirty fungal bight to it (I’m not going to say forest floor because as Stuart Anderson told me there are many forest floors in the world as too are there many types of meat!). An amazing wine with so much more time left in the bottle. Mucho Fantastico!!Drink with cassoulet.
Drink till 2019 98 Diam 13% cannot remember how much it was, so go to www.timomayer.com.au
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