Category Archives: Tasting Notes

Notes on wines I have tasted

July 2, 2014 · 12:36 pm

Silvano Follador – 13/06/2014

Prosecco Superiore 2013
Concentrated juicy fruit, extremely varietal, lots of crisp apples. Clean consistent long nice fruit with minerality showing much stronger on the palate.

Cartizze 2013
Much more subtle on the nose, more mature fruits and spices. Very bright on the palate very serious fruit concentrated and longer on the palate, deep complexity.

Metodo Classico 2011 (50 months on lees)
Lees autolysis veritably jumps out of the glass, but fruit supports quite nicely. Rich creamy brioche sitting over apple fruit, almost like an apple tart. Settled down a lot, almost shy, very unusual unexpected expression.

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July 2, 2014 · 12:29 pm

Damijan Podversic – 12/06/2014

2012 Nekaj
Supercharged fruit and floral, oodles of minerals. Very warm, concentrated candied fruit, plenty of botrytis character. Is this style too much for friulano?

2012 Malvasia
Much more subtle and cleaner saline minerality. Rich and warm yes but better contained, linear and mineral. Long balanced complex and heaps of time to settle into itself.

2012 Ribolla Gialla
Much denser and more toasty, picking up more wood notes but nicely integrated, richer rounder and more brooding.

2011 Nekaj (hotter vintage)
Lovely richness and velvety softness, creamy sweet tannins, warm yes but voluptuous too.

2011 Malvasia
Wow super concentrated but soft and silky, long and rolls on the palate, constantly evolving. What an amazing vintage.

2011 Ribolla Gialla
Fucking wow. So complete, balanced complex textural. Outstanding.

2010 Ribolla Gialla Riserva
Speechless. Even more amazing than the 2005. Shame it’s so expensive.

2013 Nekaj
Cold vintage. This wine doesn’t seem to go well in cooler (wetter/botrytis) vintages.

2013 Malvasia
Better but far too early to tell.

2013 Ribolla Gialla
As above.

2011 Prelit
Looking fantastic

2011 Kaplja
Fantastic.

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July 2, 2014 · 12:09 pm

Paterna – 6/06/2014

Il Terraio 2013
Lighter in colour than the 2012, but still the hallmarks of skin-contact. Just a hint of texture, not as concentrated as the 2012, fresher and livelier, slightly more protected, nice concentration of fruit and herb, will come together beautifully in a few months.

Chianti Colli Aretini 2012
Lovely density earthiness but bright with some dark bloody fruits. Super fresh and tight, just enough softness but a saltiness to the acidity making it ideal with food. Surprisingly long…

Pugni Rosso 2011
Pugnitello is a variety specific to the area of Tuscany between Arezzo and Siena, but was largely abandoned because of it’s low production. Pugnio means fist, so Pugnitello means small fist. 7-8 farms in Tuscany grow the variety after it was rediscovered by the University of Florence. The wine is 80% Pugnitello, 10% Colorino, 10% Sangiovese. Totally hand-made.
Much darker in colour, plenty of concentrated extraction, pugnitello has large berries with thick skins, on small tight bunches. Historically blended to add colour and intensity. Deep dark fruit aromas with mature herbs and spices. Deep dark concentrated fruits and tannins, but very lively and fresh. A darker and denser expression of the same style as the Chianti, wonderful balance of fruit and savoury notes.

Vignanova 2006
95% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino. 3 years in cask, 4-5 years in bottle. From the oldest and lowest yielding vines.
Mature toastiness and mature tannin notes. Amazing density and concentration, very firm tannins and dark fruit characters, the oak and tannins are just getting to that soft point where they are both firm yet supple. Very aristocratic wine, ultimate expression.

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July 2, 2014 · 11:39 am

Cascina Bruciata – 5/06/2014

Barbera d’Alba 2012 – planted 2009 first vintage release
Nice rustic herbal spicy red fruits, quite floral as well. Juicy fresh, vibrant acids and tannins, soft yet focused, nice tightness to the acid structure, fleshy and fresh at the same time.

Usignolo Langhe Nebbiolo 2011
Very hot dry vintage, harvested on the 30th of August. Much more on the fruity side aromatically, sweet floral notes too, a little bit of dustiness coming through quite late. Tannins quite dense and concentrated on the front middle palate, fading on the mid palate but showing good length. A warmer expression thanks to the vintage.

Langhe Freisa 2012 – planted 2009 first vintage release aged for one year in used barriques
Bright but a darker more concentrated colour. A bloody red tomato character, some spiced cured meats too, on the rustic side, red fruits coming through. Bright acidity and freshness, soft yet dark tannins, focus drive and nice complexity without being too much.

Dolcetto d’Alba Rio Sordo 2011 – 65 year old vines aged six months in used barrique
Quite rustic sour cherry wildness, bordering on the volatile side. Very intense and warm, but exceptionally fresh on the palate, vibrant fruit and acid, has really good staying power. Confident concentrated expression.

Barbaresco 2010 – aged in a mixture of Slavonian casks and cement
Extremely lifted aromatics, very complex aromas, dark red fruits, pretty but also dense. Exceptional balance and precision, perfect poise and persistence, fresh and light, concentrated and firm, vibrant and drinkable with a lot of class.

Barbaresco Rio Sordo 2008 – 2 years in old barriques
Deeper darker nose, more brooding but no less intense, more dark chocolate dust notes. Soft opulent voluptuous tannins, bold generous and sweet dark fruits, interesting slightly savoury herbal kick on the back. Warmish but well-balanced with good acidity.

Barolo Cannubi-Muscatel 2010 – The only true Barolo Cannubi-Muscatel
Very very complex, wild dark fruits, crushed roses and violets. Powerful yet supple, rich yet fresh, round yet focused, so much pleasure in the glass, yet so much complexity at the same time. Very long…

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June 26, 2014 · 12:06 pm

Fiegl – 12/06/2014

NV Brut Rosé (100% Pinot Grigio)
Nice savoury red fruit leesy nose. Bright tight crisp citrus raspberry fruit, very pleasant and clean.

Ribolla Gialla 2013
Clean fresh a bit of texture, hard to see the true character of the variety.

Pinot Grigio Collio 2013
Much more floral on the nose, sweet berry wine. Nice texture and length, much more serious style. Worth it for the price?

Cuvée Leopold Blanc 2010 (Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia, Friulano)
Good, not great, needs more time, oak hiding the character quite a bit.

Friulano 2013
Wonderfully intense fruit and floral aromas, good concentration but still freshness.

Malvasia 2013
Lovely and clean fresh, nice minerality, just not enough personality and structure for the price.

Cabernet Franc Villa Dugo 2012
Absolutely singing.

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June 26, 2014 · 11:55 am

Vodopivec – 11/06/2014

2012 Origine
Very fresh in the nose. Nice acids, round and soft very long some warm wood textures, a little spicy

2012 Anfora
More vibrant concentrated fruit aromas. Tighter leaner more focused minerality and orchard fruit, lean and long but needs a bit more settling down.

Wines very clean and bright, not ORANGE

2011 Origine
A little wilder and more volatility, fresher fruits, very tight and fresh, so well protected.

2011 Anfora
Showing much more mineral characters on the nose. Honeyed fruits, much more concentration and earth.

2011 SOLO
Incredibly complex, one of the most nourishing things I’ve ever tasted. Absolutely stunning. Totally complete.

Anfora 2010
All the best fruit went into this only wine. Tastes different, a little more savoury, pithier texture.

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June 9, 2014 · 2:56 am

Ceretto – 3/06/2014

Blange Langhe Arneis 2013
Lovely juicy bright fresh, juicy ripe pear and apple, with some guava texture. Generous expression in youth, potentially also vintage related.

Rossana Dolcetto d’Alba 2012
Very concentrated lifted floral almost cough syrup cassis herbal notes. Tight lean focused fresh, good tannins, not overtly fruity, refreshing and pleasant yet serious.

Piana Barbera d’Alba 2012
A little bit more closed on the nose, slightly earthier meatier and spicier notes. Livelier on the palate, vibrant but not simple fruit, meatier tannins and a bit more length.

Monsordo red blend
Bordeaux varieties therefore not worth talking about.

Bernardina Nebbiolo d’Alba 2011
Lean focused cured meats, spicy raspberry, some dried currants dipped in carob. Juicy and generous but light and savoury, very focused, tannins a  little drying.

Riesling 2012
Absolutely nothing wrong with it, very delicious in fact. Does it compare to German, Austrian or French riesling? Probably not. Is that a bad thing? Not at all!

Prapo Barolo 2009
Rusty dusty dark fruits, some salted dark chocolate. Some middle eastern sweet spices on the palate, some soft dark cherry savouriness too.

Brunate 2005
Not showing that great. I think possibly a product of the vintage, rarely am I amazed at 2005 wines.

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November 18, 2013 · 4:50 pm

Bentleigh Tasting Group – Piedmont Nebbiolo

This month I got the opportunity to pick the theme, and for obvious reasons I chose an Italian theme. Considering many of the members of the Bentleigh Tasting Group are very experienced sommeliers, some of which are studying either WEST or Court of Master Sommelier courses, I thought the most beneficial topic would be nebbiolo from Piedmont. Considering how revered wines from this variety and region are, and the complicated nature of the DOC and DOCG systems, it would be interesting to look at how vintage, producer and site variations effect the wines.

Bentleigh Tasting Group discussing nebbiolo

Bentleigh Tasting Group discussing nebbiolo

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November 3, 2013 · 10:36 am

Bentleigh Tasting Group – Alsace Whites

The group met recently after a brief hiatus to look at a pretty diverse topic. Alsace is a French region very close to my heart having visited twice. It is possibly the most underrated and also misunderstood, which is partly to do with the seemingly unfocused nature (no one key variety or style) and the fact that it has a complicated history (several times it has been part of Germany). In my opinion it is the most beautiful wine region, and the people are some of the warmest in the country, possibly due to their history of oppression and war.

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September 29, 2013 · 7:25 pm

Bentleigh Tasting Group – Morey-St-Denis

The Bentleigh Tasting Group met again recently, and this time the theme was a particular appellation in the Cote-d’Or of Burgundy; Morey-St-Denis. Not unlike the first tasting, it was incredibly hard to source wines for this tasting, particularly as it was a single appellation, and the wine also had to be younger 2008 or younger. On a fixed income the $100 price tag was a bit tough, but at the end of the day it was worth it to be able to taste not one but 10 outstanding examples. Also like the first tasting and limited access to wine there were two bottles that were the same, and again through bottle variation looked different. Here are my notes from the tasting. Continue reading →

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