Wino sapien

Quealy Rageous 2007

2009-11-08T00:47:00.003+08:00

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. Sangiovese, Shiraz and Pinot noir. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A31.

The upside down text on the label has the rather cryptic message in the land of mules there are no rules.

What a curious, but thoroughly delicious wine. I started the night trying to dissect and detect the various components. It's a futile exercise, the strands are well hidden and the final sum seems greater than the parts. A hedonistic wine with no rough edges. Creamy, ripe, and seductive, a seamless amalgam which only unravels (slightly) after many hours in the glass. . . most bottles I suspect will empty much faster. . . Bucolic with the softness of vanilla, the warmth of raisins and the juiciness of cherries. Convincing and beguiling.

Now - 2011.
92.

technorati tags: wine

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling 2009

2009-11-05T21:26:00.004+08:00

Frankland River, Great Southern, Western Australia. Riesling. 12%. Screwcap. Approx $A30.

One of my pleasures is seeing my children read. They are voracious and inquisitive. I've been keeping my son company by reading the Harry Potter series. I thought I'd enjoy the books, but did not count on staying up to 2am each night, enthralled and amused.

And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.

A terrific wine. The obligatory lemon juice and lime zest is joined by a suggestion of tropical fruit. Mineral and textured in the mouth, I thought there was even a hint of white peppercorns. A Rolling and refreshing Riesling. 92. Now - 2019

Wynns Black Label 1996

2009-11-03T20:30:00.001+08:00

Coonawarra, South Australia. Cabernet sauvignon. 13% alcohol. Cork. Approx $A25 on release.

I have wine all over my house. Most stored in ideal conditions (temperature controlled cabinet), but some bottles contend with more fickle circumstances. This bottle has seen several Summers of suboptimal cellaring, having been relegated to my drink soon collection (five years ago), where it was then forgotten. . .

25th November 2007. Fully mature. Rosewood, polish, ginger, and a flourish of ripe blackcurrant. 1996 was a cooler than average, though sunny vintage, but even so I was surprised by the notable acidity - which is now no longer supported by fruit and softness. The tannins are very fine and nicely attenuated, though this is clearly a wine that is fading and starting to dry out. The decay hastened no doubt by its storage and the heat of too many Australian Summers. 87. Now - 2010.

3rd November 2009 and I needed something to accompany some surprisingly good supermarket sausages (Coles - Lamb leek and mint). While rummaging, I found another bottle lurking in my son's wardrobe, pleasingly, it was much better than the one above. Aged and stooped, but still holding on and showing plenty of sinew and grip. Malt and bonox nose with rosewood and plenty of spice and interest in the mouth. 90.

technorati tags: wine, australian wine

Dandelion Vineyards Eden Valley Riesling 2009

2009-11-01T21:49:00.003+08:00

Eden Valley, South Australia. Riesling. 12%. Screwcap. Approx $A25

A beautiful package. A wishing clock on the front and a screwcap adorned with parachuting seeds, while on the back, there is a transparent leaf, shiny and palpable, I thought it was dried patch of glue at first. . .

The liquid itself seems quite separate from any other Eden Valley riesling I have tried. Distinctive in its scent and taste, it is clear and pure. It smells of rose petal, talc and slate, there is only the slightest hint of citrus and lime. In the mouth it is like a ballerina - bright, floral and light, a lovely combination of refreshment, texture and crispness.

Excellent.
94.
Now - 2014+

A somewhat related post.

Innocent Bystander Moscato 2009

2009-10-31T20:26:00.004+08:00

Victoria, Australia. Muscat (Gordo and Black). 5.5%. Crown seal. Approx $A14.

This gets 10/10 for fun. The colour is suitably vibrant and the scent is a combination of rose petals, raspberry jelly and grapes. Tart, zippy and beautiful in its simplicity and refreshment. It seems slimmer and drier than the last one I tried.

Brookland Valley Reserve Cabernet sauvignon 2001

2009-10-29T20:20:00.004+08:00

Margaret River, Western Australia. Cabernet sauvignon. 14.5%. Cork. Source: Cellar.

A beautiful wine, bold and pure. Black. Cassis scented with a note eucalyptus and cedar. Later on, a trace of earth, soy sauce and ground ginger. Big and soft to begin, there is sweetness and concentration together with a sense of envelopment and expansion.

Very good - excelent.
94.
Now - 2019.

Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008

2009-10-27T18:22:00.003+08:00

Macedon, Victoria, Australia. Pinot noir. 14%. Diam. Half bottle.

I love half bottles and these from Bindi are particularly welcome.

Vibrant, sappy and unresolved. Cherry and raspberry with a hint of ginger spice and creamy oak. Bigger and warmer than expected, the weight slightly overwhelms the Turkish delight and fleshy softness.

Very good.
91+
2011 - 2016

Somewhat related post.

Postcard: Boatshed 73 Crawley

2009-10-26T22:23:00.006+08:00

It's been a while since my last postcard. The days lengthen and though there has been rain there is no more cold. This is surely Perth's most photographed boat shed, captured here at speed and with minimal thought or planning. Mounts Bay road (from where the photo was taken), nestled as it is between the river and cliffs of Kings Park is equally therapeutic and functional. I can't think of a better drive in the City, generous curves, a beautiful and changing view of the river and no stop signs. . .

Borie de Maurel Belle de Nuit 2007

2009-10-25T21:06:00.004+08:00

Minervois, Languedoc, France. Grenache. 14.5%. Cork. Approx $A35.

I went wine shopping last week and found this hidden amongst the expensive bottles at the back of the shop. I picked it up on spec, thinking it would be rustic and honest. It's quite delicious. A wine with a pretty nose and suntanned body. Vibrant and fresh to start, with boiled lollies and raspberry. By nights end it has a more herbal note (dried oregano and bay) along with a trace of tar. Round and fleshy in attack, it is mouth-filling and warming. Languid and uncoiled, it eventually tightens and finishes with a streak of chalk and slightly inky tannins.

Very good.
90.
Now - 2012+

technorati tags: wine

Moss Wood Mornington Peninsula Pinot noir 2008

2009-10-22T20:10:00.005+08:00

Dromana, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. Pinot noir. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A60 (though currently available for $A42 through one particular national retailer).

Whilst this is a competent and enjoyable wine, I am not so sure about the marketing. In my simple mind Moss Wood = Margaret River = Cabernet. If there had to be a extension in the range I would have thought a better fit would have been a Moss Wood Coonawarra Cabernet. . .

The oak is notable, it's sweetly toasted, spiced, creamy and slightly clunky. Earth and stewed berries complete the olfactory profile, while in the mouth this is sappy, focused and slightly stern.

Very Good.
88+
2011 - 2015.

technorati tags: wine

Helm Riesling 2008

2009-10-20T21:35:00.002+08:00

Murrumbateman, Canberra, Australia. Riesling. 12%. Screwcap. Approx $35

Two interesting things on the back label. First the choice of preservatives - this contains 224 and 300. Potassium metabisulphate and Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C). I'm pretty sure this is the first time I have noticed a bottle with something other than Sulphur dioxide. The second thing that caught my eye was the story. Helm wines was established in 1973 on the site of the Toual Public school - hence the school bell on the label. The building, once used for Temperance meetings, now serves as the tasting room. . .

Clear and vibrant, there can be no mistaking the signal, it's kaffir lime, musk and fresh cut fennel. Electric and pulsating, this is wonderfully simple, direct and affirming.

Very good.
91.
Now - 2015+

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2008

2009-10-18T20:07:00.003+08:00

It would seem that I was too harsh on this when I last tried it. I thought it short and unworthy. One year on I can see how wrong and impatient I was. The flavours are similar, but the striking thing now is the step up in intensity. It's like sucking on a slice of lime crusted in salt. Full of impact, zest and life. Wiser heads could see the charm and appeal much earlier, I could not. While I could reasonably hide behind the idea of a youthful bottle needing time to settle, I think I was just wrong with my assessment last time. . .

Very good - Excellent.
92.
Now - 2018.

technorati tags: wine

Shaw and Smith M3 Chardonnay 2008

2009-10-15T21:32:00.006+08:00

Adelaide Hills, South Australia. Chardonnay. 13.5%. SCrewcap. Approx $A40.

As I sip, my head is pounding and my concentration is elsewhere. Is it any wonder I find this slightly less compelling than the previous vintage? The spectrum of flavours is similar with melon, fig and butterscotch. I can smell and taste grilled pineapple, which is not always a positive. Creamy and sappy at once, all the components are present, but it still seems a little too diffuse and blurred around the edges for higher marks.

Very good.
92.
Now - 2012.

Turkey Flat Shiraz 2006

2009-10-15T14:10:00.004+08:00

A lazy lunch in the City and the most notable thing is the ongoing construction. Little by little Perth is being remade. It's paradoxical then that there seems to be such debate about whether to extend retail trading hours.

I had a spicy calzone stuffed with spinach, scrambled egg and Italian sausage and a tasting glass of slightly top heavy shiraz. Not a match made in heaven, so it was fortunate the wine arrived well ahead of the food.

A whiff and prickle of acetic acid and varnish before a more inviting note of raisins and creamy chocolate. The oak is notable, but stained with crushed berries. Lush, concentrated and flooding. This is unlikely to make old bones, but the combination of ripeness, intensity and the faintest suggestion of Port won me over.

Very good.
90.
Now - 2012.

Orlando Steingarten Riesling 2001

2009-10-13T20:06:00.004+08:00

I had the idea of cooking a recipe from David Thompson's peerless book and drinking a middle aged riesling. I did both, but as it turned out, not on the same day. My Tom yam was a mild disappointment, I could not get the balance of hot, salty and sour.

Likewise, my Steingarten epiphany will have to wait. I opened this to find the inside thread of the screwcap partly stained and crusted. The foam and foil disk which provides the hermetic seal was itself stuck down and any attempts at lifting it only revealed more stain. All of this suggests this is an atypical bottle with an imperfect seal. Despite the signs of leakage, I could find no particular suggestion of oxidation, indeed I thought this needed air. . . The wine is most peculiar, the nose is identifiably Barossa, with a whiff of wax, lime and kerosene. Like a previous encounter I found it blunt, dull and lifeless to begin, a strange and unnatural combination of mouse, mushroom and blue veined cheese. By nights end, there is more zest, texture and length. I feel more favourably inclined, but remain unimpressed.

Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005

2009-10-08T21:40:00.008+08:00

Macedon, Victoria. Pinot noir. 13.5%. Diam. Source: Cellar.

The fruit of Ficus macrophylla (The Moreton Bay Fig) are edible, but unrewardingly dry and gritty. I spent a lazy afternoon with my children collecting them from Hyde park, along with discarded feathers and oddly shaped seed pods.

The bottle in the image is a heavy weight (approx 1kg) La Baronne, imported from France. Pleasingly, the latest Bindi newsletter mentions that they will no longer use such bottles.

The wine has become more savoury and perfumed since my last encounter almost three years ago. I keep sniffing and returning to the image of dried porcini mushrooms. A beautiful and slippery wine, which manages to suggest all at once - plump abundance, umani and satin.

Excellent.
95.
Now - 2012.

Dr Loosen Bernkaster Lay Kabinett 2007

2009-10-06T21:43:00.004+08:00

Mosel, Germany. Riesling. 7.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A35.

There is nothing particularly complex or intriguing about this, the pleasure lies in the simplicity and balance. It's apple puree cut with lime juice, with an initial spritzig and the obligatory suggestion of slate and brimstone.

Very good.
90.
Now - 2017+

Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot 2001

2009-10-03T21:29:00.004+08:00

Margaret River, Western Australia. Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot. 14.5%. Screwcap. Source: Cellar.

I've started reading Nick Hornby's latest book - Juliet Naked. I'd strongly recommend it to all my fellow bloggers. One of the main characters, Duncan, maintains a website devoted to his obsession. . .

Tobacco, tomato leaf, earth and smoke. Bay leaf, dried rosemary and eucalyptus. The oak is notable to begin and gives an inviting, but fleeting, creamy sweetness to the nose and palate. Big boned and vigourous, the concentrated and dark chocolate flavours give plenty of impact.

Though my previous note is not quite the same, I suspect the wine has changed little in the intervening years.

Very very good.
91.
Now - 2019+

Flametree Cabernet Merlot 2008

2009-10-01T22:53:00.005+08:00

I thought I'd try a slightly different way of presenting my tasting notes (click on the image). Please let me know what you think.

Poderi Aldo Conterno Masante Langhe Dolcetto 2007

2009-09-29T23:46:00.003+08:00

Langhe, Piedmonte, Italy. Dolcetto. 13.5%. Cork (tight and hard to remove). Approx $A45.

Matured in stainless steel, there is nothing blurred or ill-defined about this. It is sharp and acid laden, primary and quite delicious. Scented with rose petal, juniper berries and dried herbs (aniseed and bay leaf). While on the tongue, it is flavoursome and chewy, with a burst of blueberry and juniper. Bravo.

Very very good.
91.
Now - 2014.

technorati tags: wine

September books

2009-09-28T23:09:00.005+08:00

I've been dipping my nose into these three books for several weeks. I started with The Periodic Table, which is beautiful and harrowing. Each story is tinged with sadness and tragedy and yet there is a lightness to the words and more than a trace of whimsy throughout. I've stopped for now at Mercury, distracted by a library deadline and pizza. . .

I borrowed Bad science. It's an important book, which deserves a wide audience. If you buy vitamins, visit a homeopath or have concerns about MMR, then this is a good place to start. The author is like a terrier when prosecuting his argument, so this was something I read in small bites.

From the book this rather sobering thought:

"They (Kruger and Dunning, 2 psychologists) noted that people who are incompetent suffer a dual burden: not only are they incompetent, but they may be too incompetent to assay their own incompetence, because the skills which underlie an ability to make a correct judgement are the same as the skill required to recognise a correct judgement. . . people who performed particularly poorly relative to their peers were unaware of their own incompetence; but more than that they were also less able to recognize competence in others."

Total Perfection is the most unusual and ambitious cook book I have come across. There are almost 500 pages and only 16 recipes. Each of the classic dishes (such as Pizza, Peking Duck, Roast chicken, Fish and Chips. . .) is dissected and placed in a historical and geographical context. Additionally there is science. It is refreshing to see that he experiments with techniques and ingredients, rather than giving a didactic set of instructions.

Post script: Looking at his chapter on pizza, I should be using flour with at least 13% protein, water with pH of 7.2 (better for gluten network) , and the kneeding should be done by machine (more air bubbles). Given my lack of wood fired pizza oven, I need to crank up my cooking temperature, he suggests using a cast iron frying pan instead of my trusty and stained pizza stone (hotter and so faster cooking time). . . I'm not sure I will follow his path exactly, given the complexity and the extra effort required. Still, I found the additional information and vigour of investigation commendable.

Kooyong Meres Pinot noir 2006

2009-09-25T07:31:00.002+08:00

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. Pinot noir. 13.5%. Diam. Approx $A65

Image: Wine bottle with freshly prepared but unproven pizza dough.

I wish I could remember exactly its sibling, the Kooyong Ferrous tasted like, instead I must rely on a two month old tasting note for reconstruction and comparison. My earlier note suggests the Meres is a slightly less complex wine. On opening there is a flood of stewed cherries, though in time there is more earth, spice and minced meat. In the mouth it is like sucking on cherry pips - such is the combination of intensity and sourness.

Very very good.
91.
Now - 2011.

Chinese roast duck calzone

2009-09-24T20:59:00.005+08:00

I think it is fair to say that I've become slightly obsessed with making pizza. It seems to be all I've cooked for the last month. I've borrowed and read half a dozen books, the best is still the one by Lanzafame, which Australia Post is currently selling (with a round pizza stone) for $A35.

There seem to be some constants and a number of variables in terms of pizza dough recipes. The flour to water mix is almost always 100:60 (ie 60 mls of water for each 100g of flour), while the American authors frequently add a small amount of sugar.

One other variable is the yeast. I'm curious about the amount recommended. Given the rapidity at which yeast can reproduce, does it really matter whether you start with 7,8 or 15 grams? For my purposes and convenience, a single sachet is all I ever use, I rely on time and budding to take care of the rest.

How? Once you have your pizza dough and have bought your roast duck from Chinatown, this takes almost no preparation. For the stuffing, I used the meat and skin from five or six pieces of roast duck, three roughly diced spring onions, a tablespoon of chopped coriander and half a medium tomato which I diced. For moisture and flavour I used a few tablespoons of the Hoisin sauce which came with the duck.

Tiberio Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 2008

2009-09-22T21:34:00.004+08:00

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Abruzzi, Central Italy. Trebbiano aka Ugni blanc. 13%. Cork (twin top).

Two found objects. A bottle of wine, simple and refreshing, like a watered down shot of ouzo served with a slice of lemon, and a scary potato (possibly a Royal blue) found sprouting in a dark recess of my pantry. I suspect I acquired both at about the same time. The wine, full of function but lacking in complexity, was promptly opened and used to wash down some home made pizza. The spud has been packed away, to be the subject of this week's show and tell at school.

Asparagus pizza

2009-09-21T08:26:00.006+08:00

I bought my first 'crop' of Spring 2009 Australian asparagus on the weekend. Right at the moment, I can think of no other seasonal vegetable I look forward to more keenly.

The sight triggers a whole series of greedy, mostly dribble producing, associations. The first is proscuitto, followed by goats cheese, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, smelly urine, gooey eggs, cracked pepper. I can now add pizza. . .

Preparation.

The day before make some home made yoghurt cheese (aka Labneh). If you are like me, and slightly disorganised, the time for this can be reduced to 2-3 hours, as long as you are prepared to frequently twist and squeeze your muslin to wring out as much whey as possible.

2-3 hours ahead of time, make a 300g ball of pizza dough. (for 2 balls, I used 380 g of strong flour - at least 11g protein per 1oog, 20g of semolina, 2 pinches of rock salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 8g sachet of instant yeast, 25o mls of water).

While waiting for the dough to prove do and find the following:
Finely slice a small brown onion and fry in olive oil, with gentle heat for 5 minutes, till clear. Set aside to cool.
Attend to the Asparagus - break off the woody bits, clean and just before needed, blanch for no more than 20 seconds in boiling water. Refresh under cold water after.
Grate enough mozzarella - a generous handful.
Roughly chop a handful of parsley.
Locate the remaining ingredients - small handful of walnuts, and the optional extra of white truffle oil.

Construction.

Shape prepared pizza dough into a round ball, then flatten with hands forming a thick but circular disk. Complete the process with a rolling pin. Coat the pizza base with a thin layer of Labneh. Scatter with grated mozarella, parsley and the cooked and now cool onion. Top with the blanched asparagus spears, a little more mozzarella or grated Parmesan and some ground black pepper.

Cook in a hot oven. For me this was 240 degrees C for 6 minutes. Remove and garnish with walnuts and truffle oil. Slice and serve.