marcs wrote:
Also, re Chardonnay, has anyone tried the top New Zealand Chardonnays like Kumeu River? The London critics pitch that as competitive with Burgundy and it's similarly priced to the Chardonnays you mention
Kumeu River Chardonnay has always had a strong reputation locally. They used to be overly ‘buttery’ but have pulled back from that style more recently (like a lot of NZ Chardonnay to be fair).
Not sure if it is available overseas, but my favourite NZ Chard has always been Te Mata Estate, Elston. It ages beautifully and is one of the few NZ Chard's that comes close to white burgundy IMO.
Comte Flaneur wrote:
Kumeu River always does well in blind tastings against white burgundy. Everybody gets fooled. Until you sit down with a full bottle over an evening and you realise these wines are plodding/heavy in the saddle compared to fine white burgundy. Having said that the wine society Exhibition Kumeu River is good value at £17.99.
This is an interesting point about wines in the blind tasting context. It's why I only really trust the test of sitting with a wine over an evening. The second glass of a wine is where you learn a lot about how drinkable and appetizing it actually is, as opposed to just its initial palate impact. In my experience this "plodding heavy" quality is also a big deal with California Pinots as opposed to Burgundy
The one problem is that selecting a collection for irresistibly drinkable wines means you have a tendency to overindulge when you open a bottle...
I have taken a shine to another kiwi white this time a Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 2011, another remarkably young wine. It is a fine aperitif with its cacophony of bright tropical fruits. It is a nice pick me up, but only one glass at a time. One a day.
dstgolf wrote:Sounds like a few disappointments Nic on Canada Day. At least the weather was glorius.
Hi Danny. The Champagne was very good. my mother that doesn't like Champagne had two flutes!
Nice Canaday Day anyway, but i did not get the big wines out, it was literally too warm. But i might today, as it is MC's birthday, or tomorrow as my Canaday Day holiday has been reported to the July 3rd.
Hope everything's well in Ottawa. We might go to the country capital city this summer. Not fixed yet.
Guys
I don’t want to dump on Noo Zeelund producers as I do like a few of them but I find most NZ Chardonnay is nicer to taste than drink. I actually like NZ and us Aussies get on with them providing we don’t talk about rugby.
Most NZ chard’s have too much sweetness and taste like tropical fruit to me. I’ve travelled thru all the NZ wine areas several times and know them pretty well.
So my thesis here is that Australian Chardonnay has much greater variety in styles and suits my palate better. And my fav white wine has always been white Burgundy by a long way. Yet I wish Aust Chardonnay was recognized more broadly as there are many wonderful wines.
I’m drinking a Cru bourgeois from the Haut Medoc - Chateau Corconnac 2014, and it is pretty good showing the acidity of the vintage and good fruit and moderate tannins.
Mark
Who are your favourite Aussie Chardonnay producers? And which up and coming producers would you flag? The best Aussie Chardonnay I have tried is called Bindi. Very difficult to source unfortunately.
Mimosas made with Chandon Extra Dry Riche and freshly squeezed OJ. This is our 'Merican wine for the day. For dinner we always celebrate the fourth with bottles of wine from 'Merica's traditional ally that helped the USA break away from the Brits.
Last night we drank a Chave Circa Selection St Joseph Blanc 2017, pure Roussanne, very good but pushing the envelope at 14.5% ABV.
Then we had an enchanting Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco 1970 which gave us an autumnal forest magical mystery tour before the lamps starting going out after two and a half hours. It was joined by a Vietti Barolo Brunate 2000 which tasted very young in comparison, but is already pretty good, packing in a lot of dark fruit and density for a 2000 Barolo. It will gain more complexity with successive Blanquitoing...
Talking of which tonight I cracked a 1995 La Conseillante and it is showing the first signs of significant secondary/tertiary development. After all this time! I hope my 2019 La Cs does t take that long to get into the grove. Not a great La C and one with which I have never really never gotten along with, but good to see it is finally starting to come round.
Personally I've quite liked all the 95 Right Banks, as well as merlot heavy Pichon Lalande. Think they should be on the 'consume now' list though.
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Thanks for that comment on the Chave 'circa' St Joe blanc. I was just thinking of picking up the current release of that, but in the end I passed as I like at least some viognier in white Rhones.
MC surprise birthday party yesterday. Friends and family over.
Barnaut Blanc de noirs Grand Cru nv: extremely good. My favorite bubbles yesterday.
Mumm Napa: Quite good too, but not up to the Champagne level.
Le Mesnil blanc de blancs Grand Cru nv: yeasty, bread crust, butter, yellow fruits, a bid "too much" for me. Low acidity.
Tribaut rosé nv: quite good for the price. Second bottle opened in the last few days. Light red berries, strawberries, dry and fresh. I will buy more.
2018 Brocard Chablis: mineral, good typicity, convenient. I liked.
2017 Berthenet Montagny 1er cru Saint Morilles : very nice Bourgogne. More minerality and freshness than Côtes de Beaune. Fruity, complex. Very very nice.
2018 Chateau de Nozay Sancerre: ripe sauvignon, green lemon, lightly sweet, weedy, drinks well.
2018 Valpolicella (i have to check back the producer): light, perfumed, sweet cherries, flowers, soapy incense, long.
2018 Chateau Montus: was probably very good, disappeared before i had any chance to sample.
2016 Domaine de Perdrix NSG 1er cru Terres Blanches: quite concentrated and with tons of elegance. Blackcurrants, red berries, earth, light woody spices. Class and length. Wow.
2018 Daumen Côtes du Rhône: well made, alcohol under control. Quite fruity, blackberries, plums, good acidity, excellent.
Ian
I obviously don’t know what producers you can get but I’ll suggest a few. There are probably many new names and faces now so I am probably a little out of date, but am suggesting well established producers.
Margaret River: Often regarded as the best Chardonnay region in Australia.
Leeuwin Estate Art Series - LEAS for short (generally has the best rep of all Aust Chardonnays)
Cullen Kevin John (just as good as LEAS)
Vasse Felix Heytesbury
Pierro (high reputation though needs time - quite woody)
Voyager (slightly lighter, fresher style with more overt lemon/lime character)
Cape Mentelle (quite honeyed and rich)
Devils lair (again a big style though good acidity and length)
Xanadu Stevens Rd (rather worked style but interesting)
Moss Wood (famous Cab Sav producer also makes medium bodied and VG chardonnay)
Flametree SRS (more commercial style)
Deep Woods (can be very good but also variable)
Gralyn Reserve (quite restrained style though becoming a bigger wine in recent yrs)
Driftwood Artifacts - cant recall much about it, though it is now getting good reviews.
General character is lots of citrus and stone fruit, good natural acidity, length and freshness. Wines here are probably more consistent than anywhere else as the weather is kind to vineyards. Few rotten vintages.
Adelaide Hills:
Eileen Hardy (bigger, richer style with oak and leesy characters)
Shaw & Smith (showy, slightly sweet and oaky)
Petaluma Tiers (powerful, ideosynchratic wine. Can be over-worked but never boring)
Penfolds Yattarna (bit expensive) and Bin 311 (I am not as great a lover of these as some others but they are now more restrained than the oak monsters of the past)
Grosset Piccadilly (excellent acidity and balance, Puligny like)
Tapanappa Tiers (big wine)
Murdoch Hill (more secondary style, leesy, nutty)
Henschke Lenswood (pear, apple and leesy characters. Quite different style to most others.
Many different styles here, but Adelaide Hills Chardy is generally quite secondary - fruit is less obvious than MR, more Burgundian in some places especially Lenswood area.
The Tiers vineyard is regarded as one of the best sites in Aust for Chardy but the wines are expensive and can be over-worked.
Southern Vic:
Stoniers Reserve And KBS (nice citrus and stone fruit. SBS wine can be very oaky)
Savaterre (personal fav from Beechworth - really nutty/marzipan flavours and leesy, barrel ferment notes. Not overtly fruity)
Dalwhinnie (different style, good acid and quite powerful)
Giaconda (next door to Savaterre but twice the price)
Coldstream Hills single vineyard and reserve wine. Well made in commerical styles.
Giant Steps single vineyard (Sexton, Tarraford) - secondary characters, not fruity, I like them to not to everyone's taste.
Paringa - lighter and zippier style.
Bannockburn - complex and rich
By Farr and Farr Rising - father and son team who used to run Bannockburn. Similar results
Tarrawarra Reserve - used to be Chassange style. Now a bit more commercial with ripe fruit and good balance. I liked the old version better.
Hoddles Creek Road Block - unusual flavours - more tropical - like banana and mango. Well balanced.
Hillcrest - small prducer who makes quite a Burgundian style, good balance and lots of oak and lees.
Yabby Lake - rich, ripe and complex
Kooyong - quite rich style
Ten minutes by Tractor Judd
Moorooduc - secondary style - leesy, nutty, some good citrus fruit.
Crittenden
Bass Philip (often seen as best PN producer also good powerful and balanced Chardonnay)
Curly Flat - firm acidity and good fruit
Scotchmans Hill - commercial style with good balance
The Yarra Valley style is similar to MR with good acidity, citrus and stone fruit flavours, and often some honey and quince.
Several of these wines (eg, Giant Steps, Tarrawarra, Hillcrest etc are also not overtly fruity and show more Burgundian characters and leesy notes.
Mornington is coastal and cooler in summer yet often warmer at night and in winter, producing good acidity, apple, citrus and stone fruit characters.
The Bellarine area including Geelong is a very good Chard area, with the wines showing a lot of balance and complexity.
Beechworth is central Victoria (warm days, cold nights) and both Savaterre and Giaconda are personal favs. Some tasters don't like them as they are woody, nutty, leesy and have more overt quince and yellow fruit characters.
NSW:
Tyrells Vat 47 - one of the first ever Chards in Australia, full of flavour - white peach, melon, nuts, less acid than the cooler areas.
Lakes Folly - big rich style with ctone fruit and nuts.
McWilliams Tumbarumba - cooler area with more acid and crispness.
NSW is not a great state overall for Chardonnay. Rosemount used to make good Chardonnay in the upper Hunter (Roxburgh, Show Reserve) but never see them any more.
Overall, Hunter style is fatter, richer, more buttery/caramel characters and stone fruit. Tumbarumba is near the snowy mountains and it is very cold in winter, thus more typical grapefruit, pear and nuts.
Yet I think the Hunter struggles to produce good Chardonnay though the few I've mentioned are worth seeking out.
The Hunter is more famous for Semillon.
Tasmania:
Tolpuddle - well balanced and good acidity.
Freychinet - my fav of the Tas wines. Hard to find. Make best PN in Tassie. Lots of everything here with richness and freshness.
Heemskerk - bigger style, quite commercial
Pipers Brook - more secondary style. This area produces best sparkling wine in Australia. More acidity and chalky tones than elsewhere.
Bay of Fires - good commercial style
Stefano Lubiana - not tried for a while, but good so far.
Hard to really characterise these wines as they come from very different sub-climates and soil types.
The big wine co's are all planting Tasmania out with Chardy as it has good acidity and freshness, and sometimes melon and pear. It is lighter than southern Victoria though there are some exceptions.
Tasmania can also make good PN.
Bindi by the way is in the Sunbury area north of Melbourne.
They are hard to find even in Melbourne and their Quartz and original vineyard wines are sought after at auctions.
I have not tried than for some years.
Thanks for taking the retime to put such a comprehensive and impressive list together Mark.
Quite a few of those names are familiar. Over the years I have tried quite a few from MR and SA, but I need to try more from Vic and Tassie. Like the sound of the Freychinet. Will look out for it.
Blanquito wrote:Will that be our general conclusion for the 95s— better than we feared, not as good as we hoped?
Quite possibly Patrick I really enjoyed 95 Conseillante for the first time. I would say definitely better than feared, as our November dinner demonstrated.
2014 Branaire Ducru. Opened Friday and drank with hot dogs. Finished the bottle last night with cheeseburgers.
Rather light and red/blue-fruited, which was unexpected. Still, it had a nice richness and good flavor profile. Actually it filled out nicely on Saturday and was more enjoyable. Definitely held my interest.
1988 Ducru Beaucaillou with lamb chops. Just a touch of taint in this bottle, which Lucie did not notice. The basic wine is very good with red currants and wild strawberries that rested on dried grass before being pressed, but thinner than Ducru is in better vintages. I think the one or two parts per trillion infection detracted from the usually magnificent Ducru bouquet, which nevertheless was lovely.
We finished with 2003 Guiraud from a 375. It was much sweeter than the pear custard pie Lucie made and the acid level was too low for the pairing, but its burnt orange flavor made me wish that oranges came in maroon.
Tonight I opened my last bottle of 2010 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva. This wine drank well young with some decanting time. In recent years it has been good with just a few minutes or air. I am sorry to say good bye to this lovely wine, having enjoyed all 12 bottles from the case. I passed or missed out on several vintages after that, but look forward to enjoying the 2016 vintage, which I was able to obtain recently.
Drinking a Ch Maltroye Chassange Montrachet Clos St Jean 2009 Rouge.
Had it now about 6-7 times and it is always a nice wine. Good dark fruit with some minerality and smoky, nutty oak.
Wendy thought it was a bit too oaky but the fruit does come though. Have some more and will drink it over the next few years.
2010 D'Issan. First of 2 bottles purchased at retail last month. Perfect cork and fill. Dark red to rim. Dark fruits, coffee, hints of smoke and earth on the nose. Medium-full body, ripe fruit, good balancing acidity, hint of refreshing green, moderate tannins. Moderate-long finish. Has emerged from shut-down but not yet showing true aged complexity. Excellent now but should be better in another 5-10 years.
2009 Pipeau St Emilion... sexy, flashy levels of brambly, spicy fruit underpinned by enough brightness, structure and minty freshness to be fun to drink, instead of a chore. Certainly a fruit bomb, but one with enough balance and restraint, and it’s saving grace is there’s little to no oak signature. Of course, there’s no complexity and little nuance, but that’s okay.
Tonight with grilled flat iron, baked potato, and broccoli I drank 2009 Malartic Lagraviere. This wine is modern styled, but attractive, with chocolate and coffee mixed with blackberries. The entry is powerful, the mid palate firm, but it does die off fairly quickly. The oak has integrated well with the sweet fruit. I plan to drink a bottle every couple of years in the next decade.
Day 4 out of 14 in quarantine in Israel, drinking one glass a day of the 2017 Domaine Bachey-Legros Santenay 1er Cru Clos Rousseau Les Fourneaux Vieilles Vignes. This is from a small parcel within Clos Rousseau of vines planted in 1914, the wine is delicious, the nose is flowery, the fruit is bright and focused, raspberries and red currants it shows elegance, complexity and structure. Only Burgundy makes them like this, expect added complexity with age. Very long finish 91
stefan wrote:Tonight with grilled flat iron, baked potato, and broccoli I drank 2009 Malartic Lagraviere. This wine is modern styled, but attractive, with chocolate and coffee mixed with blackberries. The entry is powerful, the mid palate firm, but it does die off fairly quickly. The oak has integrated well with the sweet fruit. I plan to drink a bottle every couple of years in the next decade.
Been waiting on my bottle of this, as I really enjoyed the 05 and had a similar experience. Think I should wait a little longer stefan?
Yes, Joel, if you only have one bottle and are not thinking about buying more. Like all my young red wine, the Malartic was stored at 64-66F, so yours will be less advanced than mine. I don't anticipate moving mine to colder storage in the next five years; maybe not even ten.
Been sampling 2010s ten years out. Was warned off the La Lagune so last night was 2010 du Tertre. Another recent retail purchase with a perfect cork and fill. Dark red to rim. Nice nose of cherry and cassis with some earthy and savory notes. Medium body, crisp fruit, nice acidity, nice fresh green streak, grippy tannins, medium finish. No aged complexity yet but it’s out of its shell. Not as big or as promising as the 2010 D’Issan a couple of nights ago but will likely be better in 5-10 years. Excellent.
Way too young to be opening this of course, but curiosity got the better of me. Consumed over 2 days with significant decanting.
Super intense, sweet dark fruits coupled with a big, chunky tannic backbone. Deeply concentrated and oaky - full bodied.
Overall, the distinctive ripe fruits and bold tannic structure just didn't meld well for me.
Currently drinking a Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cab Sav 2016.
This is a very good cab medium body, moderate tannin and acid and lots of blackcurrant and mulberry fruit. Oak tends to be in the background and despite its youth, it is quite open and balanced.
Actually I hope you guys don’t like it as the price is creeping up.....
2015 Fattoria di Fèlsina Berardenga Chianti Classico - excellent!
2012 Les Vieilles Pierres - very good
2017 Dr. Loosen Riesling Blue Slate Kabinett - good (but too sweet for me)
2012 Réserve de la Comtesse - excellent
1001 Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley - very good
2017 Hugel Gentil "Hugel" - good
2014 Château Branaire-Ducru - excellent
2016 Château Graville-Lacoste Blanc - very good
2014 Les Vieilles Pierres - good
2000 Malescot Exupery -- very solid wine, nice vein of jammy fruit on the nose without interfering with the proper complexity of an aged wine. On the palate, full and satisfying while retaining earthiness and balance. However, there was a slightly gritty and sourt/tart quality to the midpalate and finish that made it more rustic than I generally prefer. Definitely a very down to earth wine for better and worse. I would say that the 2000 Lanessan I recently had was better, because it was somewhat lighter-bodied, more harmonious, and more elegant while having similar levels of fruit intensity.
Last night we had 2 couples come over for dinner in our back yard.
We started with a bottle of Aria Cava Brut, with a few raspberries in each glass.
For my friend who likes Riesling and to go with the shrimp cocktail and Caprese salad I opened a bottle of 2016 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Reserve, and a bottle of 2016 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve. I liked the Riesling better.
A bottle of 2018 Muirwood Chardonnay was brought by one of our guests. That's not something I'm likely to ever buy, particularly after taking a small pour.
To go with our dinner of grilled halibut, grilled zucchini, rice blend, and green salad I decanted a bottle of 2014 La Croix Ducru Beaucaillou, which may not have been a perfect choice for the white fish, but sure was good, and the pairing was just fine in my opinion.
Chris
My theory as I get older is that you can drink anything you want with anything you are eating. Never heard of Muirwood but not to worry.
Currently drinking 2006 Darenberg Dead Arm Shiraz which went well with tenderloin steak.
14.5% alc but does not show it. Masses of rich dark fruits - plums blackberry and dark cherry meshed with fine ripe tannins and vanilla oak. Yet the oak seems more integrated than a year or two ago. McLaren Vale wines never lack flavour and this is a good example. More acid than most vintages with a long finish. Tannins are firm but not aggressive.
A couple of bottles of 2007 Chateauneuf recently. I sold off most when we downsized. Was a fan early on, no doubt influenced by a now-retired critic, but as they aged and I became intolerant of sickly sweet ripe Grenache, they fell out of favor. Held on to a few Beaucastel, VT, Charvin, and Pegau in hopes they would not remain over-ripe caricatures of Chateauneuf.
Checking the cellar, looks like I polished off the Pegau. But what’s this? A bottle of 2007 Usseglio mon Aieul escaped the downsizing ax? A confected cocktail of a wine redolent of childhood candy necklace. One glass and I was done with wine for the night. There’s a place for this in the wine world but happily no longer in my cellar.
Then last night a 2007 Beaucastel. Compared to the remains of the prior night's 2007 Usseglio mon Aieul, this is relatively restrained and enjoyable. But still a lot riper than a "normal" Beaucastel, with some pruney/raisiny character. These have been ok over the years, but not up to Beaucastel par, and not as enjoyable as the 2007 Charvin, VT, or Pegau. Others on CT seem to love the 2007 Beaucastel so maybe it’s my disappearing tolerance of ripe Grenache.
Leftovers going into a marinade for a roast. Need to get back to Bordeaux tonight.
For lunch today I finished off the remains of a bottle of
2015 Goodfellow Fir Crest PN
that I opened for dinner a couple of nights ago and Repoured. I have become a fan of this winery. Marcus' 2015 Fir Crest is open and pure, with a lovely mixed red fruit nose and a yellow cherry taste that lingers. His PNs are very different from those of Mark Vlossak, which is good for me because I like both styles. Whether the difference is due more to different approaches to vinification or to the different terroir I do not know.
DavidG wrote:A couple of bottles of 2007 Chateauneuf recently. I sold off most when we downsized. Was a fan early on, no doubt influenced by a now-retired critic, but as they aged and I became intolerant of sickly sweet ripe Grenache, they fell out of favor. Held on to a few Beaucastel, VT, Charvin, and Pegau in hopes they would not remain over-ripe caricatures of Chateauneuf.
Checking the cellar, looks like I polished off the Pegau. But what’s this? A bottle of 2007 Usseglio mon Aieul escaped the downsizing ax? A confected cocktail of a wine redolent of childhood candy necklace. One glass and I was done with wine for the night. There’s a place for this in the wine world but happily no longer in my cellar.
Then last night a 2007 Beaucastel. Compared to the remains of the prior night's 2007 Usseglio mon Aieul, this is relatively restrained and enjoyable. But still a lot riper than a "normal" Beaucastel, with some pruney/raisiny character. These have been ok over the years, but not up to Beaucastel par, and not as enjoyable as the 2007 Charvin, VT, or Pegau. Others on CT seem to love the 2007 Beaucastel so maybe it’s my disappearing tolerance of ripe Grenache.
Leftovers going into a marinade for a roast. Need to get back to Bordeaux tonight.
I had a bottle of the 2004 'Mon Aieul' blind a while back and thought the same thing. I don't think its a vintage issue with those Rhone tete du cuvees - it's the general problem of using prune/raisin level grapes means that they don't have the balance to age well. Some props to VT that they have avoided the general urge to make a half dozen bottlings (look at St. Damien!) and just stick to the grand vin, and for some markets and vintages, Telegramme.
David and Arv, P. Usseglio was across the board my least favorite 07 CdP producer. Even the base cuvee was hotter than a swig of Everclear. And they went from bad to worse with time in the cellar. Lucky you only had one, David!
The beaucastel doesn't sound much better, as I really dislike a pruney note in wine, it tastes like a red wine reduction.
. Pommard is better.
