Hoddles Creek 1er Yarra Valley Pinot blanc 2008
Date: Sun, Jan 4, 2009 Wine Tasting
Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Pinot blanc. 12.8%. Screwcap. Approx $A30.
Pale and with a notable European accent, this is fragrant, pert and quite delicious. Clad in a tall Alsacian bottle, the only thing missing a musty old cork. . .
Smelling of musk, pear skin and flint, this is a juxtaposition of crisp acids and voluptuous texture. Gripping (grapefruit bitterness and citrus zest power), spiced (nutmeg) and savoury, this is easy to recommend.
Very good - excellent.
92.
Now - 2012
technorati tags: wine, australian wine
Roast chicken
Date: Sat, Jan 3, 2009 Wine Tasting
After posting about eggs, I thought it only appropriate to mention the chicken. . .
This is perfect for a causal meal and a bottle of dry white wine. I opened a bottle of Pinot blanc for the occasion.
How?
Take 1 large chicken and butterfly (cut out the spine with kitchen scissors and then open and flatten), lift the skin on the breast (without tearing or removing) and smear with a mixture of butter (50g), thyme (2 sprigs), crushed garlic (2 cloves), lemon zest (of 1 lemon) and salt (and pepper). Now find a large roasting tray, and scatter in a handful of table grapes and three or four whole medium tomatoes. Place your chicken on top of this, initially breast side down, and then add a glass of dry white wine, the juice of 1 lemon and a scattering of rosemary. Place this in an oven (180 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Remove to baste and turn the chicken over before returning to the oven for a further 30 minutes (at which time the skin should be crisp and brown). Just prior to serving, pour off the cooking juices into a small pan and reduce, to create a sauce.
A slow cooked egg
Date: Wed, Dec 31, 2008 Wine Tasting
1000!
Try this. . . Take an egg and place it in a pot of cold water. Gradually and gently heat the water, but don't let it boil, instead keep it at 65 degrees Celsius (use a cooking thermometer and remove pot from heat whenever needed). After 20-25 minutes remove the egg and eat. . .
Egg white is 64% ovalbumin and this denatures and sets at 80 degrees C. Ovotransferrin which makes up 12% of the egg white sets first, at around 62 degrees C. The yolk is next, setting at 65 degrees C. For additional details read this.
Which explains why an egg cooked at 65 degrees, for 25 minutes has the most unusal and pleasing texture. The white is silky and in the mouth has a soft jelly like texture. The yolk should be just cooked and still moist.
Penfolds Grange 1991
Date: Wed, Dec 31, 2008 Wine Tasting
Barossa and McLaren Vale fruit, South Australia. Shiraz (95%), Cabernet sauvignon (5%). Cork. Source: Father's cellar.
999 wino sapien posts. . .
From the warm and dry year of 1991 comes this magnificent wine. It is complex, layered and ridiculously long. Malt, chocolate and plum nose overlaid with something distinctly Grange and Penfolds. Whilst the nose is pleasing and richly accented, it is the palate which is distinguished and superb. There is power married with supple grace, intensity with nuance, sourness softened by creamy oak and excellent chalk edged tannins of considerable length and poise.
Outstanding.
97.
Now - 2028.
technorati tags: wine, australian wine
Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 2004
Date: Tue, Dec 30, 2008 Wine Tasting
Grampians, Victoria, Australia. 13.5%. Shiraz. Screwcap. Approx $A55.
998 wino sapien posts. . .
Tasted alongside the 91 Grange, this is notably different but still quite superb. I sniffed and slowly sipped at the Grange, luxuriating in its showiness, in contrast this is a wine to drink. . . A beautiful and perfumed nose, like a Cote Rotie, with rose petals, pepper and meat. Spiced and zippy in the mouth with juiciness and lovely grainy muscled tannins.
Very good - excellent.
94.
Now - 2024.
technorati tags: wine, australian wine
Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Auslese 2004
Date: Mon, Dec 29, 2008 Wine Tasting
Mosel, Germany. Riesling. 7.5%. Cork. Approx $A70
997 wino sapien posts. . .
Petit, pert and nearly perfect. After 5 days of eating and drinking (at least 30 different wines from memory) this is a welcome antidote. With a fleeting spritzig this is light, sharp and sweet. Sulphurous and stone like to begin before smelling and tasting like a freshly opened bag of sun dried apricots. A superb life affirming wine.
Excellent.
94.
Now - 2018.
Image: In keeping with the Germanic wine, a back drop of Germanic blocks. . .
technorati tags: wine
Chateau Mouton Baronne Philippe 1972
Date: Sun, Dec 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
Sometime in the mid seventies (1970's), my father was given this bottle as a present. It has been hidden away for over three decades, moving from its resting position only as we have moved house. The wine is well and truly dead, the cork crumbled, the fill low and the liquid browning. . . A score too many Australian summers without airconditioning. . . Still it's interesting to sniff the liquid. It smells of its roots. . . earth, leaf litter, char and day old coffee grounds.
I've decided to keep the bottle, it will remind me of my father's patience and the dangers of waiting too long. . .
Domaine Leflaive Macon-Verze 2006
Date: Sun, Dec 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
Macon Villages, Burgundy, France. Chardonnay. 13%. Cork. Approx $A45.
A terrific wine, which in this time of economic uncertainty is the only Domaine Leflaive I'll be drinking. . .
Tight and coiled but still managing to evoke fat and bacon. Peach and grilled pineapple on the nose, tasted blind I would have thought Margaret River, but with more conviction, concentration and more savouriness. In the mouth grapefruit tartness and bitterness along with compelling length and fleshy texture.
Excellent.
95.
Now - 2016.
Tasting context: This was tried with several other wines, including a plump and corseted 2005 Leeuwin Art Series and a delicious, tight yet creamy 2007 Moss Wood Chardonnay.
technorati tags: wine
Chateau Léoville Barton 1997
Date: Sun, Dec 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
St Julien, Bordeaux, France. Cabernet blend. 12.5%. Cork. Source: Brother in law (J).
Despite smelling slightly stinky and reductive, this is still youthful and full of vigour. Dried herbs and violets soon emerge and persist (even as a I sniff the empty bottle it is perfumed and pretty). In the mouth it is texture, grip and well judged acidity. Certainly not profound, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Finishes with competent, meaty, soy and malt flavoured tannins.
Very good.
90.
Now - 2013+
technorati tags: wine
Picardy Tête de Cuvée 2006
Date: Sun, Dec 28, 2008 Wine Tasting
Pemberton, Western Australia. 13%. Cork. Approx $A50.
Heavily scented, but there is not a rose or cherry in range. Distinctly wild and barnyard smelling, with rosewood, earth and the occasional cow pat. Bright acids and pleasing persistence, though the seams are still showing. It's an interesting interpretation, but one that did not appeal to me.
Very good.
88.
2010 - 2015
technorati tags: wine, australian wine
Chateau Lascombes 2001
Date: Fri, Dec 26, 2008 Wine Tasting
Margaux, Bordeaux, France. Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Petit verdot. 13%. Cork.
A captivating wine, which is certainly more beautiful than my tasting note might suggest.
Fragrant and perfumed, this smells of violets, cherries and bacon fat. At the same time there is something that manages to evoke minerals and the earth. Lovely in the mouth with a silky seductiveness and creamy slightly savoury tannins. For a fleeting sip, it even manage to taste like camphor. . . A wine that in the glass, is constantly evolving and becoming more nuanced. Delightful.
Excellent.
95.
Now - 2016+
'Twas the night before Christmas. . .
Date: Tue, Dec 23, 2008 Wine Tasting
and I'd like to thank all the kind souls who have shown an interest in Wino sapien. I hope you all have a festive and memorable Christmas.
Cullen Cabernet Merlot 1996
Date: Sun, Dec 21, 2008 Wine Tasting
Margaret River, Western Australia. Cabernet sauvignon (75), Merlot (20), Cabernet franc (5). 13.5%. Cork. Source: cellar.
With less than a handful of sleeps till Christmas, my siblings and in-laws are converging. It's a great excuse to open some of the the more precious bottles in my cellar. Surely great wine is even better when shared. . .
The Cullen is a beautiful wine.
Dark and abundantly scented, this is complex and complete. To begin there is ripe blackcurrant and eucalyptus, later soy, dark chocolate and freshly turned earth. Inviting and soft, with a trace of sweetness to complement the sour edge, spicy oak and the fine, mouth tessellating, tannins.
Excellent.
94.
Now - 2012+
Also tried was the Majella The Malleea 1998. (Coonawarra, Cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, 14%, Cork, Source = brother in law). Tasted blind, I eventually settled on Coonawarra, on account of the mint, sap and blackcurrant. It was clearly a wine of pedigree and cost, again it was quite sweet (sweeter than the Cullen and certainly sweeter than anything from Bordeaux), with lovely meaty tannins and a dark chocolate finish. Very good - excellent. 92. Now - 2011.
technorati tags: wine, australian wine
Chateau Siaurac 2005
Date: Sat, Dec 20, 2008 Wine Tasting
LaLande de Pomerol, Bordeaux, France. Merlot 80%, Cabernet franc 20%. Cork. Half bottle approx $A20.
Well made (in a generic kind of way), structured and serious.
A stylish though austere wine that reveals very little about its place (the geography is hidden by the furniture). Firm and assertive with very little sign of softness or padding, the nose is dominated by cedar, spice and black olives, while in the mouth there is hardness and length.
Very good.
89.
Now - 2013+
