Tahbilk Winery in the Nagambie region of Victoria sent me samples of their 2013 Reds for my appraisal. You may have seen previous Let’s Taste episodes looking at Tahbilk wines, and you may have heard my episode of The Vincast with owner Alister Purbrick. If you haven’t, head to the Intrepid Wino website.
Tahbilk 2013 red wines
Yeringberg is one of the most historic viticultural sites in the Yarra Valley, and is also one of the oldest family owned wineries in Australia. The de Pury family have been in this part of Victoria since the 1860s, and have an incredible connection with their land, farming a number of different agricultural products. They make a number of outstanding wines, and the Yeringberg sits at the top. I opened the 2005 vintage from my cellar and shared my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below.
Yeringberg 2005
Brendan Tracey originally hails from New Jersey in the U.S.A. but went to high school in France, and moved to Paris in 1981 to work as a DJ on a new radio station. After a career in radio spanning 27 years, he decided to throw it all in and study winemaking. In 2009 he apprenticed with Loire Valley legend Thierry Puzelat who no doubt influenced his wines, as they are of minimal-intervention style. Based in Saint-Anne he makes a range of Vin de France wines in his garage from organically-farmed grapes. The wines are imported in Australia by George McCullough Imports.
Rue de la Soif 2013
Sour lime warheads, sherbet, salted almonds, quince and nashi pear. Very fresh light bright, intense fruit acids, citrus and peach, nice energy, crisp and good bite, excellent and vibrant.
Rouge 2013
A bit stinky, funky raspberries, sour cherries, earthy dried meats, dried florals. Juicy crunchy fresh, nice bite of pomegranate cherry raspberry tomato, lithe focused all through the mid palate, crisp clean finish. Surprising!
Gorge Seiche 2014
More intense darker fruits still vibrant, bitter dark chocolate, some dried mushrooms, sweat breads. Bold darker fruits, all in the mid palate, some hints of barrel, sweetness of salted caramel. Juicy but still very fresh and delicious!
Brendan Tracey wines
Filed under Tasting Notes
Good friend and wonderful Melbourne-based sommelier Jasmine Wakely is studying winemaking at Melbourne Polytechnic in Epping. In 2015 she made her first wine, a cool-climate syrah named Le Timbre. She only bottled the wine in magnums, and she generously gave me one to open here on the Intrepid Wino channel. Let me know what you think!
Le Timbre Syrah 2015
My first real wine job was working in the cellar door at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, which I did for 18 months from the beginning of 2006. One of my colleagues there lived at Coldstream Hills as her partner was one of the winemakers. She very generously put together a mixed dozen of back vintages of their Reserve wines, many of which are still in my cellar. I decided to open the three wines from the 2004 vintage (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Cabernet Sauvignon), and these are my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Véronique Souloy and Anthony Guix established this estate in the French region of Roussillon in 2006. with the oldest vines on the estate they purchased around 100 years old. The vineyards are located at 450 metres above sea level, with soil consisting of granite, schist and gneiss. The viticulture is certified organic, and the winemaking has little to no intervention, from spontaneous fermentations to avoiding the addition of SO2. The wines are imported in Australia by George McCullough Imports.
Ose 2013 (grenache blanc, carignan blanc, muscat petit grains, maccabeu)
Cloudy amber colour, with some sediment. Oxidative sherbet sour apricot, a hint of a fairy floss floral sugar note. Light slightly chewy, bitter almond funk on the back of the palate, raw wild porcini. Lacking a bit of definition, varietal fruit character and sense of place, but fresh vibrant textural in nature, generous and good acidity.
Mano a Mano 2013 (60% grenache, 40% carignan)
Dark raspberry colour with some haze. Quite vibrant fruits, pomegranate bitter cocoa, black cherries, dried violets and jasmine. Tight sinewy lithe tannins, a bit of bite but a generous finish, mealy rawness on the back but not pretty or too funky, nice energy and drive, happily take another glass.
Monica Mariet 2013 (60% grenache, 40% carignan)
Slightly darker colour but still bright with less haze. Darker fruits, black olives, a lot wilder gamier and funkier, showing some brett notes. Soft and round on the palate, nice fresh dark fruits in the mid palate, hints of earth and cumin, slightly dirtier texture but fairly clean finish. Possibly could open up a bit more, showing some reduction notes.
Domaine Matin Calme 2013 wines
Filed under Tasting Notes
Josh got in touch with me via intrepidwino.com and offered me the chance to look at some wines from a brand that has recently been introduced into the domestic market, previously only being available overseas. The four Millon Estate wines I tasted are made from Eden Valley fruit, and are all from the 2014 vintage. Here are my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Millon Estate 2014 Wines
Filed under Tasting Notes, Videos
On the way home I popped into my new favourite go-to wine shop/bar on the north-side of Melbourne, Cult of the Vine. I was after a nice bottle for sunny Saturday afternoon imbibing, and a bottle that stood out in the fridge. It was from a label I had put on my ‘to-try’ list a while ago, Simão & Co. I was intrigued to try the Ugni Blanc 2015 and share my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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Simão & Co. Ugni Blanc 2015
Sam Underdown, owner of Samu Wines, contacted me recently after seeing some of my other Let’s Taste videos. He was down in Melbourne and hand delivered his two wines from the 2015 vintage for me to taste. Here are my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments.
Samu Nero d’Avola Merlot 2015
These were wines that I tasted while visiting Best’s Wines in Great Western, on their invitation to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the estate’s establishment , and also to record an episode of The Vincast with owner Viv Thompson. Make sure to listen to the episode to hear how you can win a bottle of the 2014 Bin 0 Shiraz that I tasted. Many thanks again to the Thompson family and everyone at Best’s for the wonderful opportunity, for the bottles of wine, and of course to Fireworks PR for facilitating an amazing visit.
Riesling 2003
Lime sherbet floral. Quite viscous fresh broad, very shy at the moment, possibly an awkward phase.
Riesling 2014
Flinty spritzy zippy zesty like cordial yellow flowers. Nice intensity.
Foudre Ferment Riesling 2014
Lemon barley cordial, a little toasty. Dried pear, toasty honey, crystallised ginger.
Chardonnay 2013
Pithy grapefruit white peach kiwi. Quite toasty but not too flabby, hints of smokiness dried orange and a bit leesy too.
Pinot Noir 2014
Tight light bright lithe cherries strawberries. Actually quite yummy and drinkable.
Dolcetto 2013
Black fruits, sweet black olives, fresh soft but without the bite of Langhe dolcetto.
Riesling 1995
Oily viscous ambrosial lime blossom, walnuts maple syrup blue cheese, apricot. Constantly evolving.
Foudre Ferment Riesling 2015
Toasty almonds, peaches and cream.
Bin. 0 Shiraz 2014
Peppery briny spicy pickles and black fruits. Solid soft focused fresh juicy fruits and spices.
Bin. 0 Shiraz 1984
Savoury earthy meaty leathery red fruits. Still exceptionally fresh bright fruits, lively acids, some dried red fruits but fresh black fruits, rosemary sage, unctuous soft delicious.
Best’s winemaker Justin Purser
Filed under Tasting Notes
A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.
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