Tasting Notes - Maison Tardieu Laurent

Another excellent little educational put on by Rob Walters and team from Bimbendum. Approach these notes with caution as I really do know buggar all about all things Rhone....

Oh yeah, Rob Parker seems to like this dude...."Michel Tardieu's work with his Rhone Valley negociant firm is spectacular. This superstar estate in the Southern Rhone (the western end of Provence to be exact) will have an impact for decades to come.....I was blown away by these wines, and intend to purchase as many as my budget will allow."

2004 Condrieu $85 (Recommended)
(100% Viognier)
Ripeness evident on the nose and the variety is dead east to pick. Ripe notes again dominate the palate, very forceful compared to most Condrieu I have tried over the years. Spice and nutty oak to finish, along with some thickning on the back palate.

2005 Guy Louis Cotes Du Rhone Blanc $38
(Marsanne & Rousanne)
Less powerful aromas when compared to the Condrieu. Daggy old oak and just a hint of wet wool (not corked). Some bitterness on the finish.

2004 Hermitage Blanc $94 (Recommended)
(95% Marsanne & 5% Rousanne)
Attractive 'wide' palate style; would have easily picked as a marsanne rousanne blend such is the varietal character. Great oily mouthful and almond driven finish. Really quite good, perhaps one of the best white wines I have drunk in the last 12 months.

2004 Crozes Hermitage Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine) $47
(100% Syrah)
Earthy nose; the fruit takes a while to get going. Stinky notes underpin the aromas along with berry fruits and a hint of stone fruit. Long palate presence, salty, some spice, and an appropriate sliver of acid. Has a great floor that will bode very well for extending aging. Quite restrained but has obvious underlying power.

2004 Saint Joseph Vieilles Vignes 'Les Roches' (Old Vine) $54 (Recommended)
(100% Syrah)
Striking nose; I might have picked as a coriander and spice laden Belgian witbier. The tangy fruit aromas are very, very unique. Palate is similarly impressive with pepper, dark cherry and nice touches of charry oak. Just like a 5yr old Craiglee to taste.

2004 Cornas Coteaux $74
(Syrah & Petit Syrah)
Sweetish oak drives the nose with a striking saw-dust character. Plenty of berry and plums in a more modern twist than most wines from the region. Old fashion tannic finish; spicy and mouthcoating.

2004 Cornas Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine) $117
(Syrah & Petit Syrah)
Standard subdued shiraz fruit nose. Quite similar to the Coteaux with plenty of obvious tannin, and the structure suggests this wine will be very long lived. Call me a bogan but there's just not enough obvious appeal with respect to the fruit component.

2004 Grands Bastides Cotes Du Rhone $25 (Recommended)
(60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre)
Brett on nose but done very well, and I like the complexity it brings through mazipan and sweet cake characters. Palate is very mellow, very European with low impact spicy oak, furry tannins, leaving a verry dry and long finish. Needs time I think. Great value at $26.

2004 Grands Bastides Gigondas $49
(70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre)
Well balanced nose with hints of sweetness. On the nose grenache fruits arer more obvious and oak not really evident. The sweet grenache is very evident early in the palate but quickly gets kicked aside with some fairly fierce tannin. Will be interesting to see if the fruit holds up over time.

2004 Vacqueyras Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine) $59 (Recommended)
(85% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre & Syrah)
Softness nose of the three non-Chateau du Pape GSMs tried at this tasting with sweet red fruits. In fact not that far removed from a typical Barossa of comparable make-up. Hints of funk to smell as well. Manages to combine sweeter fruits and firm backbone really well. Slivers of barnyard right throught the palate together with spice and firm tannins. Should go 10 years with ease.

2004 Grands Bastides Chateauneuf Du Pape $59
Funky aromas, touches of brett, and a surprisingly strong hint of plums late in the aromas. Very good depth of pure fruits to smell - impressive. Spicy broad palate with more faint funky notes. Heaps of spice and medium weight tannins. Just lacked some spark on the fruit side.

2004 Chateauneuf Du Pape $77
(80% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre & Syrah)
Piercing nose with very upfront fruits. Tangy, zingy, nice acid lift. Very attractive aromas. Much drier and tannin in the palate than the nose suggests. Good underlying fruits and a spicy tanninc finish. Needs time.

2004 Chateauneuf Du Pape Cuvee Speciale $100
(100% & Grenache)
Beautiful perfumed paspberry and cherry fruits. Robust tannic structure, very long, and its very hard to see the fruit. Presumably will last for a long time. Sweet fruits poke through mildly on the finish.

2004 Chateauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes (Old Vine) $113 (Recommended)
(80% Grenache, 20% Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Vacarese)
Fruit and blackcurrant laden nose. Excellent depth and penetration. Palate is very good; sweet grenache early before the house structure (ie big tannins) kick in. Nice cool licorice fruits as well.

New Releases - Late July

Cabernet
Arlewood Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 $32 (Margaret River)
Balnaves The Tally 2005 $80 (Coonawarra)
Serafino Sorrento Cab Sav Cab Franc Merlot 2004 $15 (McLaren Vale)

Chardonnay
Picardy 2005 $34 (Pemberton)
Tapanappa Tiers Chardonnay 2005 (Adelaide Hills)

Pinot Noir
Old Kent River Backtrack 2005 (Great Southern)
The Cups Estate 2005 Reserve $35 (Mornington Peninsula)

Riesling
Frankland Estate Poison Hill 2006 $25 (Great Southern)
Poonawatta The Eden 2006 (Eden Valley)

Sauvignon Blanc & Blends
Arlewood SSB 2006 $19 (Margaret River)

Shiraz
Hewitson Private Cellar Shiraz Mourvedre 2005 $64 (Barossa Valley)
Poonawatta The 1880 2005 (Barossa)
SC Pannell 2005 (McLaren Vale)
Trevor Jones Boots 2005 $16 (Barossa Valley)
Yarraloch Shiraz Viognier 2004 $38 (Heathcote)

Tasting Notes - Kiss Chasey Current Releases (Recommended)

Kiss Chasey is the el cheapo label of Margaret River's Swings & Roundabouts winery. Both will trade at around $14 and both represent solid value.

2006 Premium White
Quite a classic if now old fashioned style. Reminisce of the Houghton's White Burgundy; this Chenin Blanc Chardonnay Verdelho delivers a heathly dose of rich tropical fruits in a straight forward and uncomplicated style. Fruit sweet, not dump sweet, and really quite gluggable. I love finding decent cheap wines like this.

2005 Cabernet Shiraz Merlot
A 'premium red' perhaps? Just about on par with the white. Again a dead simple fruit profile with a classy herbal grainy note from the cabernet (probably the dominant grape) and even a touch of tabacco. A little sweet to finish but in the main attractive for the price.

Tasting Notes - Jamieson Valley Estate Jameaux Pinot Noir 2006

Striking label, classic style with a real European vibe. Perhaps the slightly dorky 'Jameaux' title is trying to achieve the same? Sweet strawberry fruits and oak hit the nose quite forcefully, kinda attractive but ultimately very simple. More sweet character to taste but I can't really assess the fruit as the oak overall lends a layer of sweetness I can't really pick. There's plenty of oak but it's not 'oaky'. Spicy finish is quite ok. All-in-all not really enough here to get me excited.

Tasting Notes - Charles Melton 9 Popes GSM 2002 (Recommended)

I ripped a few bottles of this off the shelf just before it sold out and I'm glad I did. A very good example of a super balanced wine that is aging beautifully at 5yrs. Note sure how this wine looks with a heap of cellaring but the 2002 looks like a drink 'now' through to early 2009. Quite generic in many respects with settled red berries and plums and a nice underlay of stinky grenache, albeit in the mildest possible form. Middle weight at best, but drinking nicely.

Tasting Notes - Feathertop Pinot Gris 2007

One would assume that you can't help but get a little apprehensive when tasting 2007 whites from NE Vic (first sample I've seen btw) given the potential for smoke taint etc but this one looks ok. And I would also assume the Alpine Valley may have faired better than King Valley.

Ripe nose, quite varietal with musky peachy fruits. 'Feels' riper than its 13.5% quoted ABV. Palate shows plenty of ripeness again and is a fraction thick in texture; a fair representation of gris I guess. More big musky notes with a touch of heat in the back palate; not sure if this is alcohol related or note. Very pleasant but a bit too simple. Ok priced in the low $20s but there's plenty of competition around from 2006 vintages still in the market, particularly from lower priced Marlborough offerings.

Tasting Notes - Neagles Rock Riesling 2006

From the small range of '06 Clare riesling sampled, to date, there hasn't been much to really blow us away. This wine is a case in point; quite competent but lacks that certain hook. Notwithstanding, not bad value at $18 - $19. Pale gold in colour, about right for the age. Text book nose of citrus and faint honey-lemon. Same again to taste. Tart fruits are quite pronounced and mouth puckering. Flavours perhaps just a little subdued right now.

New Releases - Mid July

Chardonnay
Manna Gum 2005 $16 (Mornington Peninsula)
Providence Miguet 2005 (Tasmania)

Merlot
Craggy Range Sophia Merlot Cabernet Franc 2005 (Hawkes Bay)

Pinot Noir
Dalla Mia Finestra 2004 (Yarra Valley)
Hillcrest Premium 2004 $50 (Yarra Valley)
Three Wishes Vineyards 2005 $35 (Tasmania)

Shiraz
Longwood 2002 (Strathbogie Ranges)

Other Reds
Gapsted Durif 2002 (King Valley)
Killibinbin Shiraz Cabernet 2004 $19 (Langhorne Creek)

Other Whites
Scion Viognier 2006 (Rutherglen)

Tasting Notes - Full & Plenty Pinot Noir 2006 (Recommended)

I can't believe how different this vintage is compared to the 2005. The latter was clean-cut, brightly fruited with relatively simple and very approachable cherry fruits, the 2006 is funky, earthy, adventurous....the complete opposite. The only obvious differences are, at face value, the use of Mac Forbes as wine maker (but I could be wrong here), and the ultra cool low yielding vintage. Only 1,600 bottles made this time around.

Light maroon in colour, perhaps dull blood red. The lack of filtering is very evident. Nose is expressive with salty, spicy notes and sour cherry fruits. Big tick for complexity and interest. Very savoury and spicy to taste, a very fair reflection of what was on offer in the bouquet. Fruits are sour and tangy, although perhaps just a touch shy and do tail off a fraction on the finish. Full of interest and well priced for the style.

Tasting Notes - Creed Wines Two Brothers Shiraz Viognier 2005

Creed is a relatively new Barossa producer that sources fruit from a number of trusted growers to producer a range of full bodied reds. Head honchos Mark and Dan have built a great winery on the slopes above the Dutschke vineyards in Lyndoch and are extremely focussed on building a sustainable "brand" (ie good wines, appropriately priced, etc etc..... = good idea).

Somewhat rare for us we consumed this bottle over two nights. Not that impressive when first tasted; slightly raw fruits mated with an acidic like burn, perhaps alcohol related, but the wine settled over time. Typical red fruits emerged with a really quite attractive gamey undercurrent. Almost Euro-like despite the fruit weight. Held up well 24 hours although the heat was still evident, albeit within check. Don't know the price yet but would be a fair buy in the mid $20s. Well worth keeping an eye on this label as they have the desire and principles to do some good things.

Tasting Notes - Dalla Mia Finestra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Recommended)

This wine is infact a Yarra Valley cabernet (despite the Italian-like name) and a fairly solid one at that for just under $20. Doesn't aspire to any great heights but delivers quite well. Silky smooth palate, almost milky texture, with soft berry fruits, hints of blackberry and a nice earthy note. Perhaps it caught me in a good mood but I thought an admirable, slightly upmarket quaffer.

Wine Industry News - Camberwell Store Refurb

Ok , hardly news in the grand scheme of things but it did make the 5 o'clock Channel Ten news!

I know parking spots can be a little tough to find in Camberwell but I think this guy's efforts went too far!!!

Apparently had to serve to miss another truck who had cut him off..... I await the police report with interest.

Expect our Camberwell store to be out of action for 10 - 15 days whilst we get a face lift.
cheers

Tasting Notes - Brancaia Il Blue 2000

Region: Tuscany (Radda in Chianti)
Appelation: Chianti Classico

This wine, a merlot sangiovese blend, is a regular 3 glass recipient in Italian wine bible Gambero Rosso. Peaking now for my palate; dry, classically built with medium grippy tannin, savoury touches, and well balanced with some sweetness from the merlot. Finishes with nice tobacco leaf and cold tea notes. At full retail of $100 not good value but a sound wine nevertheless.