Just add beer. . .

Date: Mon, Nov 12, 2012 Wine Tasting

Image: A bowl of fried school prawns from el Publico.

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Heemskerk Riesling 2010

Date: Mon, May 21, 2012 Wine Tasting

A minimalist bottle with suitably austere contents.

I liked it best five minutes from the open. It tasted briefly of tangerine and passionfruit and the zip and acids felt smooth and sculptured; it seemed less searing, though all the while intense and focused. To begin and end however it is less unexpected; it smells of pollen and lime zest, the sort that already echoes petroleum. It's green and tart and hard, and four and five hours from my first sip I find the subtle nuance and curious notes have been scrubbed away by the lime juice. Ninety - ninety two.

Coal River Valley, Tasmania, Australia. Riesling. 12.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A35.

Image: Reflected.

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Marchand and Burch Chablis 2010

Date: Sat, May 19, 2012 Wine Tasting

Authentic and yet underwhelming. It's lean and tight; though perhaps some might call it thin and joyless. Flint in a glass of water, cut with half a lemon. . . From a restaurant list ($A61, 160% retail), I think this is the weakest wine (I've tried) from this usually promising new venture.

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A fading beauty

Date: Sat, May 19, 2012 Wine Tasting

Tomorrow the petals will fall and its sex will be awkwardly exposed, but for now in the setting light
with its wizened and rumpled fabric it remains delicate and beautiful.

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Littorai Mays Canyon 2009

Date: Thu, May 17, 2012 Wine Tasting

Russian River, California, USA. Pinot noir. 13.7%. Cork. Approx $A90.

The Anderson Valley sister is hard and knotted, perhaps time will improve and soften the edges. I'm less certain about this, it's sweet, plump and moves with heavy steps. The claim is 13.7%, but it seems hotter and heavier and at times syrup and confection like. A momentary whiff of dark cherries and the stink of rubber and reduction, but mostly it's spiced oak. There's an expansive, but oak flavoured tail, which only seems to highlight how removed this is from its French relatives.

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Domaine A & P De Villaine Côte Chalonnaise Les Clous 2007

Date: Tue, May 15, 2012 Wine Tasting

Tastes of a stone and stings like a bee. . .

Another bottle where the wine has seeped past the cork and stuck the foil to the glass. Thankfully the contents remain pure and seemingly unperturbed. It's made of stone; there's a lovely mineral like sensation from the acids and a mid palate sting so intense you stop. . . Grilled stonefruit and melon, white flowers and strike of flint and white pepper. An extraordinary buzz of sappy acidity which is partially foiled by an opening note of nuttiness and a savoury slightly salty edge. Superb.

Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy, France. Chardonnay. 12.5%. Cork - fully stained. Approx $A55.

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Mindful

Date: Tue, May 15, 2012 Wine Tasting

A mind full of distraction
Noticing seeing feeling tasting
Stopping in the middle of the road to capture
the weather moving and shifting
The sky bigger and more conflicted
I'm feeling small but elevated

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Domaine Christian Moreau Les Clos 2009

Date: Sun, May 13, 2012 Wine Tasting

Restrained, understated and elegant.

Chablis, France. Chardonnay. 13%. Diam. Approx $A80.

A wonderful wine that deserves a more attentive palate. . . Flint and white pepper, but also a curious note of orange zest to go along with the river stones. Flesh and essence in the mouth, it gives the impression of softness and sweetness while still being chalk and mineral.

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Jean Foillard Morgon 2010

Date: Sat, May 12, 2012 Wine Tasting

A beautiful wine. Fragrant, delicate and true. Tasted blind my Brother in law thought it was a new Rhone red. I can see how he might reach this conclusion - there is a lovely cherry and confection nose and fine drying tannins. With the benefit of information, I find it smells and tastes like a Beaujolais, but there is much more finesse and depth than is usual. The nose is floral with cherries, spice and stems, while in the mouth the notable thing is the ease and grace. A slippery and effortless wine, fluent and fluid, it's pretty and wonderfully satisfying.

Côte de Py, Morgon, France. Gamay. 13.5%. Cork. Approx $A50.

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Harvest 2012

Date: Sat, May 12, 2012 Wine Tasting

A root day, but the sun was shining and I'm a non believer. Even more fruit than last year; my unchecked olive tree seems to have had a spurt of growth, making it more precarious to hand pick the highest and best fruit.

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Catherine et Claude Maréchal Auxey-Duresses 2009

Date: Fri, May 11, 2012 Wine Tasting

It's becoming clear that one path to (relative) sobriety is the acquisition of a demanding pet. The owner of the white fluffy pom pom tail wants to be walked three and four times a day. . . For the first time in years a run of days where I have felt almost too tired for wine . . .

I had the wrong expectations for this bottle. I thought it might be modest and light in body but still pretty in scent and shape. The most notable thing seems to be the density, extract and char. It's quite formidable and I thought it too broad and loud. Perhaps I'm too fond of stems and acid to fully appreciate this. . . A momentary hint of rose and a more enduring streak of rubber. Cola, rosewood and bay leaf; toasted sawdust . . . In the mouth - there seems to be too much furniture for the space.

Auxey-Duresses, Beaune, Burgundy, France. Pinot noir. 13%. Cork. Approx $A60

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Chicken flavoured toothpaste

Date: Mon, May 7, 2012 Wine Tasting

I'm not sure there is anything else to say. . . the dog I'm looking after loves the stuff which is a cross between clay and chicken liver pâté.

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Domaine de Bellivière Vieilles Vignes Eparses 2009

Date: Sun, May 6, 2012 Wine Tasting

The wine is crafted by Eric Nicolas from 50-80 year old vines. A quarter of the liquid is matured in new oak and it is presented in a tall slender riesling bottle, with a plain white and orange label.

Coteaux du Loir, Loire, France. Chenin blanc. 13.5%. Cork. Approx $A60.

Less bracing and with more flesh and spice than the last Loire Chenin, this is flinty and sulfurous on opening though later it is stone, nutmeg and baked apple. Green and sappy. Rounded and curved to begin and then gripping, hard and slightly bitter. While it tastes like white flowers, orange pith and almond meal, it feels like something carved from granite.

Image: A toadstool from the same day.

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Dog days

Date: Sun, May 6, 2012 Wine Tasting

I temporarily taken custody of one small extremely pampered dog, who needs walking, at regular intervals and odd hours, so he can mark his territory and survey his surrounds. It's comical watching him frantically sniffing at lamp posts and power poles, how they must pong with the spray of the street's canines.

I used to envy a dogs ability to detect scent, assuming it was superior to ours. They certainly have a better designed nose for sniffing - when they exhale the air moves laterally, to each side, so what is directly under the nose is undisturbed and undiluted by the exhaled breath. My sense of olfactory inadequacy has been lessened by reading Gordon Shepherd's book Neurogastronomy. While it is true that dogs are better at sniffing (orthonasal), it seems humans aremuch better at tasting (retronasal). . .

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