Aah. Julie Andrews. Children dressed in curtain material, frolicing through meadows of wildflowers. Georg in lederhosen.
Well not quite - just Burgundy and Mosel. And in this instance, the culprits are:
2004 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey Chambertin 1er Combe Aux Moines: Now starting to brick a little, this has a mushroomy, mulchy nose with a little bit pf plummy small berry fruit. Palate starts ot correctly, bright red berry fruits and a little bit of spicy oak. From mid palate onwards shows some spiky green tinges, and the acid isquite angular and finish raspy - and at thi spoint its a worry that this might be a dreaded green 2004. But a bit of decanter time sees this right, and there is more berry fruit focus and leathery mushroomy secondary characteristics. Age or decant further.
2006 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Auslese Godlkapsel: Aaah joy. Light and pure in its expression of fruit mixed with clean apricot and orange peel botrytis that seems to add weight and richness - indeed, this is a sipping wine when it warms as its intensity really slows you down. A bickfords lime codrial finish as well. Still plenty of weight and sugar to deal with the acids, will go for a long time yet and has every chance to build complexity nicely over the years.
Now where did I put my lederhosen?
Cheers
Andrew
Cellaring wine to advanced age isn’t my thing. No patience, cellar conditions OK at best, and I like primary fruit flavours. Margaret River Shiraz has never floated my boat. And I have no idea where this bottle came from. A random buy from my youth? A generous guest from days gone by? An X file?
Whichever way you look at it, it’s a chance to see how a relatively modest wine from a good producer and vintage ages. And it has done OK.
At the pop of the cork, this immediately smells like Worcestershire sauce, with a minty undertone speaking of a wine still alive. To my surprise an hour of airtime doesn’t see this fall apart, quite the opposite – blueberry and boysenberry fruit comes up, with some baked earth, making this a delight to drink. Tannin and acids are well resolved, and while there isn’t a mile of length, this is a beautifully drinking medium bodied mature wine, well beyond my lowly expectations.
About $20-$25 on release I would guess. Nice drink.
My Christmas Day selections this year:
Ployez Jacquemart Selection Rose: Lovely – just right, and its pinkness was Christmas-appropriate. And it won over a non champagne crowd with its delicate strawberry and lemon notes. Ployez Jacquemart Brut 2000: Served too warm – tasty nonetheless for being Christmas day. Another bottle will get consumed very shortly. Auburn Lowburn Riesling 2010: Improving out if sight with a year’s age (personal interest disclaimer on this label). Primo Estate Joseph Sparkling Red 2010 disg: My favourite disgorgement of this wine so far. Sweeter and fruit-fresher than earlier versions, although the alcohol seems to stick out a little more these days. Still…I like it a lot. Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Auslese 1993: A cellar release from 2010. Best bottle so far out of a sixpack. Shows its pradikat through weight rather than sweetness, with juicy acidity balance perfectly by racy green pineapple and lemon fruit which is nly now showing signs of its 18 years of age.
Cellar database says I bought this in 2005 out of a Sauternes tasting which was to showcase the 2001 vintage, paired with foods you might not expect. Smoked Salmon was a surprise match for some of the more elegant versions, as was a pork leg in a cream sauce. I have vague recollections of this being a standout in a strong lineup that included names liek Rieussec, Giraud, Climens, and even d’Yquem despite being 2eme cru classe among Sauternes, not exactly a lofty status in that company.
6 years on, I think there must have a dent in my palate - nowadays, Sauternes consistently smells and tastes like plasticene. Perhaps some supressed childhood experience with sweet foods coming to the fore.
The luxurious texture of the D’Arche is immediately apparent, powered by the 14% alcohol. The (plasticene infused) fruit set is cumquat, orange and apricots, set in a marzipan, almond like oxidative style. A wave of front palate richness sweeps by to a back palate with a fair bit of varietal freshness about it, in the form of cut grass and lime zest. The acids appear to have settled a bit, but as a 10 year old wine this s remarkably youthful.
An unusual palate shape, in a wine style that seems oxidative in its making. Alcohol makes it hard to get through a full bottle between two, but pleasant nonetheless. This is ageing very slowly and will keep much longer. If it doesnt taste like plasticene to you, then you might enjoy this.
Some odds and ends from the last week:
2008 Schaefer Frohlich Bockenauer Kabinett: A higher residual sugar kabinett, Yep, back up the truck. Alive and joyful. Rich for an 08, creaming soda passionfruit and tropical, even creamy. bordering on Spatlese intensity. Yet herbal and slatey as well. Lively, lovely juggable.
2008 Chard Farm Gewurztraminer: Has gone well the last 18 months. Turkish delight, pink grapefruit, musk, ginger. Not much in the way of acid to speak of, very textural and just a little too broad on the finish. Best served cold.
2010 Telmo Rodriguez LZ Tempranillo: Inky purple. Sweet earth, sawn pine, black fruits and a bit of chook poo. Nothing terribly complex here, but fun to drink. Sadly – was dying in the glass 48 hours after opening.
2007 Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo: Lovely floral perfume on this along with purple jubes. Violets, kid leather, redskins, blackcurrant, ribena. Clearly needs more breathing, or ageing, than this bottle was ever going to get. Finishes with Size 14 nebbiolo tannins on the back of a Size 8 palate.
Well, sort of - a weekend in is bliss at the moment with my day job just being insane. Here’s what we drank with some tasty home meals of fish on Friday and pork on Saturday.
1993 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese
This must have been searing and hard to approach in its youth – unless it has stood still for 18 years! This has the same lemon juice and slightly unripe passionfruit as previous bottles, The acid is still mighty in proportion although softening, and a vanilla and a limey petroleum element rides through to the finish which appears quite dry and is beginning to fall away slightly. Classic aperitif - mouthwatering profile and some lovely flavours.
2005 Selbach Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spatlese
This still has a lot of weight for Spatlese - this has been a trait of some recent Selbach Osters. Lightly honeyed grapefruit, ripe orange, pith, apricot and ribena. Plenty of energy here in a creaming soda way, with the first touches of petroleum on the finish and also a botrytis element as the wine warms. Still has some years in it, although it may not improve much further from the tasty plateau it is on now. Has an odd mid palate hole and not great length about it – but forget that, just drink it with a ginger and garlic rubbed piece of pork. We did, and enjoyed it very much.
2005 Willi Schaefer Graacher Himmelreich Auslese #5
Is it a godlkapsel or isnt it? My guess is no based on the palate. Needs quite a bit of airtime to strut its stuff, which is lemon, lime and paw-paw tells of nice ripe fruit but not much botrytis involved. Full of drive and energy this is light on its feet with some green apple acid driving this on and on. Length to burn, this is a real pleasure to drink, and will be for many years yet. Leave them alone to rest a few more years.
I love Riesling. Riesling I love. The thing I love is Riesling.
And oddly I have almost no Australian Riesling and almost no dry Riesling from anywhere. I’m off the uberlime Clare Valley things. I have no floral beauties from Eden. I don’t even have the bathsalts minerally morsels from western Victoria.
But from time to time I do buy Riesling from Clonakilla. It rounds out a case when I buy my Shiraz Viogniers, but I think I’d buy it anyway. It’s a lovely drink.
The 2011s are in the post and this bottle of 2010 has been on the bench for a while. There’s a Chilli and lemon chicken in the oven, so I reckon we might move from dry to off dry over the evening.
This is lime juice and florals to smell, lightly spiced with some vanilla. Airy and delicate in its way. Floral and lemonade on the attack, this is fresh and bracing and hasn’t fallen into any sort of hole. I don’t recall the 2010’s being rated as bracing and built around a strong acid frame but it certainly seems that way. Yellow and white flowers, lemons, a touch of passionfruit and pineapple, just a hint of development appearing. Fresh and alive, what a joy.
Respect Tim Kirk – if there was no Syrah in Canberra you’d be a star for this wine alone.
Less respect for this version of Wordpress - inserting images seems to be a challenge >:-( .
As I sip this wine I can think of two ways to describe it.
Clinically: This is glowing gold, and tastes like ripe pineapple, passionfruit, orange pith, apricot and seville orange rind, with a touch of vanilla and honey. Decent length, and leaves you salivating and wanting another glass.
Emotionally: Walking the rows at the Lowburn vineyard that Auburn takes its fruit from, snips in hand, 20 litre bucket at my feet. The buzz of happy, hung over pickers around me who are doing this for the love of it. There’s a fully botrytis affected bunch in my field of view – I taste it to see its OK. Its nice. Really nice. Dry botrytis. Intensely apricotty. The pips are ripe. Its like eating a Riesling paste (hmmm – Auburn Wines, Auburn Jelly, Auburn Paste???). I take this bunch to add to this year’s Auburn Lowburn Riesling.
And that’s what wine is about for me.
This gem from Dr Loosen is a lovely wine from a Mosel vintage that doesn’t seem to get a lot of airplay. I make no secret of my scepticism of Dr Loosen, althogh what he does in Erden is something else. I’ve looked at this vineyard across the river from the village of Erden, and its impossibly steep, even looking through a flyscreen…
And wow, it must be hard work to pick the grapes fro this - 70 degree slopes, nothing like the 15 degrees or so at Lowburn.
Getting expensive at $75 for a half bottle, but so worth it for the sweet tooths out there.
Holy unseasonal weather batman, its 32 degrees today in Brisbane! I thought I’d be drinking pinot noir tonight, but too hot. And lamb cutlets means riesling just wont do. This bottle of chardonnay has been winking at me for a while so tonight is its night.
A healthy straw colour. Smells of freshly cut hay, almonds and cashews. Opens with some apparent sweetness in its orange citrus attack, and makes me wonder if there are a few grams RS in this. This starts out lush and plump at the mid palate and jumps to attention as it finishes. It shows more cut hay and ripe honeydew melon on the way to revealing its acid spine which closes this out nicely and leaves a lingering sense of satisfaction on the finish. If Burgundy analogies float your boat this is Mersault rather than Puligny – but firmly Australian styled.
Recently a group of 10 of us went to dinner to celebrate Lincoln changing jobs. The venue was Cinco Bistro at Camp Hill, and the wine theme was “Those wines you’re saving for the special occasion that never came”.
Cinco was up to its usual standard, and the wine list was one of very high repute. And they lived up to expectation(with one minor exception). This was probably one of the best set of wines I’ve ever had to accompany a meal.
96 Dom Perignon: I had the privilege of trying the 2000 a few weeks prior, and this just blows it away. Rich biscuity powerful, bready lemony stuff. Needs another 10 years to settle into its stride. What a brilliant start. Grower champagnes are very trendy right now, but there is no doubting the supreme quality of the 96 Dom.
04 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne: This is a wine I know and love, and this was my bottle. Mealy, slightly green herbal nose. Richly textured, almond meal and cashew, nougat, white peach. This is more advanced than some recent bottles, and while it shows its pedigree, just a touch of oxidative character slightly lets this bottle down.
06 Bouchard Chevalier Montrachet: And we step up a notch or two. Holy cow, the silky fat rich texture really makes its mark, without being overblown in any way. Smoky ouster shells lemon, melon, peach, oranges. Searingly intense and powerful. Long. Beautifully judged wine.
95 Jean Boillot Volnay 1er Fremiets: Lanolin and some VA-lifted cherries and cedar. Strawberries, forest floor and a pretty lift. Fine bones here. A tad short but fabulously interesting.
01 Leroy Pommard les Vignots : Exotic eastern spices mark the nose here - musk, cinnamon, sumac, mixed peel. This is immediately present on the palate, dense and closed purple fruits, and mouth coating chewy tannins. Clearly a wine of class, and needing a long sleep in the cellar.
01 Louis Jadot Latricieres Chambertin: A second 01 to compare, and it compares very well thank you. Lifted rich black berries, a touch of brown spice and brown sugar. Lovely juice, sweet candied fruits, exotic spice, some green steamy stuff (did I write this???). Rich without being over the top, finely tannic , warm finish, outstanding.
02 Leroy Vosne Romanee les Genaivrieres: Now this isn’t bad for a ring-in! Raspberry strawberry and spice, in a lifted peppery way to contrast the exotic Pommard. Lovely. Chook poo earthniess. Interesting and seriously tasty if ridiculously young. The savoury forest floor note evolves a bit in the glass. Needs a long sleep as well.
This group isn’t much into sweet wines, but this next pair of half bottles really gets my attention. The 07 Emrich Schonleber Monziger Fruhlingsplatzchen Riesling Eiswien is just insane. Searingly intense and yet delicate, apple passionfruit pineapple vanilla, syrupy and almost hot with weight on the finish. Length is significant. For a sweet tooth this is absolutely outstanding.
Cheers until the next time someone changes jobs,
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