Bremerton Sauvignon Blanc 2009

From the Langhorne Creek region in South Australia, this is a very good value Sauv. Blanc, if perhaps a little young. The nose is fresh and delicious, with grassy pear aromas, and an underlying fruitiness that unfortunately is not strongly reflected in the palate. It is full of passionfruit, green capsicum and green apple, which is lovely and refreshing, though possibly a little more acidic than I would have liked. I think this would mellow over a year or two in the bottle, but it's perfectly good to drink now, too. Pair it with an oily, flavoursome fish such as mackerel, and you'll be laughing.

Price: $17 a bottle.

Food: Something full of fishy flavours, such as smoked mackerel, or bouillabaisse.

Cargo Road Riesling

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit what I believe may be the only town in Australia which is also a colour - Orange. It is a region which, being inland NSW, you would expect to lean towards heat and aridity. It's altitude, though, gives it a much cooler climate, and it gets plenty of moisture thanks to its location reasonably close to the Blue Mountains. This makes it the perfect place to grow grape varieties such as Pinot Noir and Riesling, although there are plantings of harder types such as Shiraz and Zinfandel.
This wine is from a winery nestled up on the side of Mt. Canobolas, the summit of which is the highest point between Sydney and Perth (in a straight line). Purchased from the cellar door (of course), it was consumed a week later at my favourite seafood restaurant, Pier 26 in Summer Hill. And I must say it suited the menu very well. It is a riesling in the Australian style, crisp and acidic. The nose has scents of nectarine, and plenty of citrus, and the palate is crunchy, with noticeable grapefruit tendencies. It is long and lingering, too, as is the acid. A great wine for hot days or for eating with seafood or thai.
The bottle I had was the 2008 vintage. The 2005 version having won numerous awards, I think this will cellar well for a couple of years.

Food: Barramundi with lime aioli.
Price: $25 a bottle.

Sydney Cellar Door

This week is, apparently, NSW Wine Week, and as an opening event, there was a "cellar door" in Hyde Park, complete with the obligatory Gozleme and dodgy Pad Thai, and massively overpriced tasting glasses.  Nevertheless, it was a beautiful Sydney day, so I headed out to see if I could find anything interesting.  Step one was to get a "tasting ticket"; $25 for a glass (plastic) and 5 vouchers, each worth 60ml of wine.  A little pricey just for tasting, but the line proved the price realistic:

Yes, the tent in the distance is the front of the line, glowing softly from the satisfaction of so much money rolling in.  

Vouchers purchased, I began wandering around, waiting for something to catch my fancy.  And I found it.  The first place I actually stopped for a drink was at the stall of a winery called Jeir Creek, from down near Yass, which apart from a wonderful fruity riesling produces what I think may be the only sparkling Shiraz Viognier in Australia.  Made in the full méthode traditionelle, it was absolutely delicious, all blackberries and violets.  

I also found rather a wonderful organic winery from near Mudgee.  Lowe make what I consider a wonderfully passable Pinot Noir, and an absolutely delicious Shiraz, all from (almost certified) biodynamic vineyards.  

There were other lovely and original wines as well, and all in all I think the day was a good showcase of NSW wines, though the price may have put some people off.  But what's 

to complain about?  The sun was shining, the wine was flowing, there was live music, and small children were playing in the War Memorial pond.  

What's not to like?  A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, all things considered.  

Capercaillie Chambourcin

I have a soft spot for chambourcin, I'm not sure why.  It stems from when M and I were on holiday in Berry, which was when I was introduced to the variety.  It can make big, heavy, spicy reds with lots of punch, and it's not something you see very often.  I cracked it open this evening so I could provide a glass of something to a friend of mine who had come over, and we weren't at all disappointed.  Capercaillie have made this wine predominantly in steel, so there is no heavy oakiness to get in the way of the flavour of the grape, which is a very full-flavoured variety.  

It's a lovely light ruby in colour, not as dense looking as some I've seen, and the palate reflects that, with no overly strong tannins.  The nose is full of that sweet dried fruit, fruitcake sort of smell, and the taste adds a delicious spiciness.  Definitely I wine I would buy again.  

Food: Veal.

Price: $25 a bottle.

Willow Bridge SBS

Judge a wine by its label.  Caligraphy and dark colours on parchment mean expensive, shimmering blue dragonflies mean affordable, summery, and delicious.  M and I opened this bottle, among any we could have chosen, chiefly because its exterior appealed to her.  Luckily, it was a good choice.  From Willow Bridge Estate, a fairly newish winery in the Ferguson Valley, WA, this blend of Sauvingon Blanc (60%) and Semillon (you guessed it, 40%) turns the red clay of the valley into a fresh, fruity, lingering delight.  The S mellows the SB, and together they deliver aromas of white peach and passionfruit, and a palate of tropical fruits, lime and pear.  

The other flavour I couldn't get away from was fish.  Not because the wine tasted like fish, but it transported me instantly to my favourite seafood restaurant.  Drink this wine with barramundi, and I guarantee you a taste sensation!

Food: As above.

Price: Between $16 and $20 a bottle.

Hungerford Hill Sauvignon Blanc

When I was at uni, I was part of the Wine Society, which was essentially an excuse for people to get together, drink wine, have dinners, and generally make the best of it. The major event put on by the society each year was a weekend trip to the Hunter; think fifty students on a bus, gradually getting more and more rowdy as one winery after another was visited, drained of its tasting bottles, and left behind in a shambles. One of the wineries I remember from that trip is Hungerford Hill, where we were treated to some sort of delicious food, as well as wine. I don't think it was lunch, but just what we ate escapes me.
By a happy coincidence, one of the bottles provided in my mixed case (the one I bought the other day; I didn't have the money for mixed cases when I visited the place) was a Hungerford Hill Sauvignon Blanc. It's a 2008 vintage, and I think it may still be a little young; though maybe I've had too much exposure to Malborough SBs. The nose is crisp and grassy, with green capsicum aromas typical of young fruit. They claim it has been fermented in oak, but it's hardly noticeable, with an almost painfully acidic palate of pineapple and citrus flavours.

Food: Salt and pepper squid.
Price: 25 bucks the bottle.

Sevenhills Inigo Shiraz

This was the first wine we tasted from the first case delivered from a hastily signed-up-to wine club. Signing up to 5 cases of wine a year taste untasted was a risky move, so we had high hopes that my foolish credit card waving would be repaid in full. Alas, this was not to be.
This is not an undrinkable wine, don't get me wrong. It's just not a very good shiraz. The colour is good, a deep plum, and the legs seem to promise a juicy mouthfeel. The nose has some good spicy cherry aromas, and hints of chocolate, but is a bit more spirity than is ideal. Once you have a gulp, you'll learn that the legs can lie. The wine is too light-bodied - the tannins are barely there, and the flavours run away down the back of your throat almost before you taste them. There are some good berry flavours in there, and a sort of cedary earthiness. In fact, we thought it had something of the light-bodied earth flavours of pinot noir, only it didn't work as part of a shiraz.
Nevertheless, if you bought it as a "light red", you'd drink it and be quite happy.

Food: Anything light or it'll overwhelm the wine.
Price: $19 a bottle.

Marius Symposium Shiraz Mourvédre

Marius is a delicious little winery in McLaren Vale in South Australia. They dry-grow a high percentage of their vineyard, and only minimally irrigate the rest. This leads to cultivation of High intensity, low-yield fruit, and subsequently big wines. This one is a 50/50 blend of Shiraz and Mourvédre, and is very appropriately named. "Symposium", from the Greek "sympotein", meaning to drink together; could there be a better name for an eminently drinkable wine?
This is a wine with flavour. It is thick and clingy, with a reasonably high alcohol content. The nose is packed with berries, fruitcake and chocolate mint. The berry flavours continue in the mouth, along with cherry jam. It is lightly spicy, and gives nice firm but not overpowering tannins. The flavour lingers on and on. This is a tremendous wine, and if anyone invites you to a symposium, you can only hope they have something like this in mind.

Food: Lamb casserole.
Price: About $30 a bottle, rrp.

Ashbrook Verdelho

Ah, Sundays. You think it's still the weekend, but actually, it's a school night, so the hangover the next morning (mostly caused by having to waken at 6ish) is always slightly startling. Still, better than Mondays, I suppose.
Yesterday, B & C came over to house-warm us more thoroughly than the first time - by which I mean that M was actually present this time. We shared a delicious bottle of 2003 Chandon...but I digress. The time came when we got peckish, so went in search of food. We had in mind to try a Thai place we'd seen in the back streets of Petersham, but having arrived, found it closed. Our minds stuck on Thai, though, we retreated to the familiar haunt of Thai Garn in Summer Hill.
To accompany a delicious meal, you need a delicious wine, and this was certainly one. Ashbrook are a small Margaret River winery, mostly selling through the cellar door, and selected outlets. They do not oak the verdelho even slightly, keeping it very fresh and fruity. Like a good verdelho should, it has vivid passionfruit and tropical fruit aromas (think lychees, bananas...), which are followed up by a full-flavoured tropical palate, and a big zesty dose of acidy lemon. This really is a great example of the variety, and while perfectly scrumptious even this young, will last a number of years if you feel like cellaring it.

Food: Lovely with our thai fish cakes.
Price: $22 the bottle, and a bargain at the price.

Marist Pinot Noir

The other night, M and I had our first guest around for dinner at our new place. After G & Ts, and copious appetisers, I cooked up a modest feast and we moved on to the wine.
I am a big fan of Pinot these days. It can take a while to develop the palate for it - it's lighter and more delicate than most other reds, and the flavours can be quite complex. The task is not helped, of course, by the fact that it's hard to get a cheap Pinot. The berries are thin-skinned and require tender care, so usually a good one has to be entirely made (and picked) by hand. This leads, naturally, to higher prices. But it can certainly be worth it.
This example is grown in the Southern Highlands of NSW, where conditions suit the Pinot variety very well. And the vines are tended, I can only assume, by monks, which is an advantage most do not share. I like to think the monkishness is evident in the wine - brown and husky aromas of dark cherry and cloves, and a spicy palate of stewed plum and earthy briar. Of course the Marist brothers aren't the rough-spun wool sort of monk, but a man can dream...

Food: This accompanied our appetisers - crackers and paté, etc, and went beautifully.
Price: A quite reasonable $25 a bottle.