Roussanne Beechworth 2012
Lovely floral quince brightness. Bold textural sweet depth. Very concentrated and generous.
Riesling Great Western 2012
Dense concentrated rich round, not your average riesling.
Healesville Syrah 2011
Lovely smoky ochre toasty. Wild spicy meaty character.
Garden Gully Syrah 2011
Insanely dark deep and intense, interesting celery character on the back.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Body Electric Sparkling Riesling 2010
Steely crisp and bright. Quite vibrant and fresh, a little maderised if that’s possible. A little bead, more frizzante.
Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Nice green herbal asparagus green beans. Very green herbaceous profile, tight and great though.
Cowley Pinot Noir 2010
Intense red purple fruits, full and a touch over extracted, under fruited. Thin.
Howell Cabernet Franc 2010
Savoury olive green spice earthiness. Juicy intense but again on the green and thin side.
Angel Flower Pinot Noir 2010
Floral fine and restrained. Juicy and intense but lifted, on the hot side and a touch too astringent.
Earth Smoke Pinot Noir 2010
More intense brooding masculine nose. Juicier and bolder but long and fine. Still too early, a little bit weedy.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Pinot Blanc 2012
Steely light fresh pure, limited white fruit notes. Some richness and depth on the palate, 6gm RS.
Pinot Gris 2012
A little richer and riper, more lifted floral stone fruits. Denser wilder earthier texture, lacking depth somehow.
Wanaka Road Pinot noir 2010
Bold juicy full and intense, very bright with soft dark fruits. Full and warm but balanced. Generosity.
Pinot noir 2011
Finer and more elegant, restrained yet concentrated. Bold but better integration and balance. Plenty of alcohol.
Filed under Tasting Notes
JE Assemblage 2011
Tight bright clean linear and fresh, minerality intensity. Long and delicately savoury.
Chardonnay 2010
Leesy malo. Rich dense bold and concentrated, full in fruit.
Viognier 2011
Bright floral yet spicy. Quite fresh bright and savoury, nice hints of spice.
Pinot noir 2010
Fine and delicate but structured with some reasonably intense tannins. Surprising.
JE Syrah 2010
Generous intense yet not jammy, sits in a perfect spot.
Syrah 2009
Nice lift but quite savoury on the nose. Soft and generous, quite round and a little fruit sweet, structured integrated balanced. Great Adelaide Hills Syrah.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Having worked in the Yarra Valley you would think that I knew the region pretty well. Well think again! For one thing it’s not that easy to get out and see a lot of other stuff whilst working, particularly when you don’t even live in the region. For another thing, the Yarra Valley is probably one of Australia’s largest regions geographically, but at the same is disparate and quite sparsely planted. There are many areas that I am still yet to explore outside of the valley floor. The other thing is that the Yarra Valley is possibly one of Australia’s most dynamic regions for wine, constantly reinventing itself with new wineries and winemakers almost every year. For me the exciting thing about this is that it is also one of Australia’s oldest regions, and was the first to gain international recognition back in the 19th century. It was re-established in the 1970s after almost 100 years of ignominy and since then has continued to evolve and develop while maintaining its boutique image. My quest for the day was to visit producers who have only had their own brand for ten years or less but are turning heads for their style and expression that is challenging preconceptions both of the Yarra Valley and Australian wine.
The best view in the valley
Filed under Winery Visits
2013 Prosecco Base Wine
Crisp and fresh but plenty of vibrant fruit. Needs a touch more bitey acid.
2013 Malvasia Istriana
Lovely bright sharp citrus pineapple guava. Freshness and texture, mouth filling and food-friendly.
2013 Pinot Bianco
A touch closed at the moment. Depth and weight, certainly not shy.
2013 Friulano
Looking a little reductive at the moment. But good structure.
2013 Friulano
Much more complete textural full wine.
2013 Picolit
Crunchy toast and marmalade.
2013 Viognier
Nice bitey tang, lots of quince, great with food.
2013 Rosé Sangiovese
Nice bright red fruits and raspberry. Nice and sharp and fresh
2013 Mudgee Clone Sangiovese
Fresh light balanced long and pretty.
2013 De Marchi Clone Sangiovese
Tighter and straighter.
2013 Grosso Brunello Clone
Darker plum.
2013 Nebbiolo (little barbera)
Good wine, but far from classic of the variety.
2013 Nebbiolo (new clones)
Very tight bright and lifted. Linear and precise, lacking flesh.
2013 Nebbiolo
Lifted floral structured finesse.
2013 Syrah Viognier
Sweet dark fruit fine long and elegant. Unrepentantly hands-off and simple approach.
Prosecco 2012
Slighter bead but finer, linear precise refined style. Not friendly punter style, brisk and lean. More interesting.
Grazia 2011
A little shy and thin at the moment. Perhaps the vintage. Good freshness but a bit lacking. Very late savoury almond notes.
Grazia 2012
More lifted aromatics, floral but also mineralic. More depth and expression, ripeness and concentration. Taken to its logical conclusion.
Viognier 2011
Intensity life but very fresh and lithe. Pinpoint accuracy, a very different expression.
Rosé 2011
Lovely colour. Depth life and plenty of flavour but dry, fresh and a bit savoury. Just a hint of sweetness at the end.
Sangiovese 2009
Darker plummier cherry fruit. Soft unctuous and just a hint if fruit sweetness, still very fine and fresh.
Nebbiolo 2008
Tight sweet dark fruit. Structure and depth, great tannins. Very young IMHO.
Syrah 2008
Purity elegance ethereal, lifted delicate expressive assured.
Vinea Marson Syrah & Sangiovese
Filed under Tasting Notes
2013 Mansfield Riesling
Nice bright crisp bright.
2013 Great Western Riesling
More subdued and less brightness of aromatics. Full focused broad and textured.
2013 Beechworth Roussanne 1
Buttercup sunflower texture brightness.
2013 Beechworth Roussanne 2
Rich bold bursting with fruit.
2012 Beechworth Roussanne 3
Exceptional purity.
2013 Cabernet Franc Carbonic Maceration whole berry vs. whole bunch
Whole berry prettier. Whole bunch more interesting.
2013 Beechworth Shiraz de-stemmed on skins
Bright intense passion fruit skin sharpness. Lovely food wine.
2013 Beechworth Shiraz 80% whole
Denser and more concentrated. Deeper fuller and power. Retaining elegance but needing to settle down.
Yarra Syrah 2012
Raw wild pepper,
Great Western Syrah 2012
Super ballsy intense.
Jamsheed Syrah
Filed under Tasting Notes
Chardonnay 2011
Nice rich golden colour. Mineralic texture flinty fresh. Great citrus elements, well maintained oak.
2012 Chardonnay
More lifted aromatics, more stone fruit freshness. Nice crunchy acidity and textural savouriness.
Syrah 2011
Wild raw pepper spicy. Bright fresh savoury dark fruits. Lively and lithe.
2012 Nebbiolo
Bright pretty floral red fruit aromatics. Brightness concentration but very tight and linear, textural and dense.
Luke Lambert Syrah
Filed under Tasting Notes
2013 Strathbogie Riesling outlying rows
Really rich and ripe, bright but still crisp acids. Lovely depth of fruit.
2013 Riesling (better fruit)
More complex nose, bolder but tighter, more subdued and long.
2013 Entry Level Pinot
Bright varietal dark fruits, classic Yarra Valley. Tight bright and straight. Good depth and length for the quality.
2013 Chardonnay Hoddles Creek
Tight flinty finesse.
2013 Chardonnay Seville
Deep and haunting, hustle and flow.
2013 Lusatia Park Chard
Full bold restrained nose, denser ripeness.
2013 Woori Yallock Chardonnay
Bright citrus nose, wonderful minerality and elegance, great structure and length.
2013 Field Blend (Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc)
Bright and wild, energetic and fresh but structured and savoury.
2013 Pinot Noir Coldstream
Classic Yarra Valley pinot noir notes. Ripe fruit sweet core, bright light straight. Awesome black cherry concentrated.
2013 Pinot Noir Woori Yallock
Ethereal there but not there, floats and ebbs on the palate, depth and concentration yet elegance and finesse.
2013 Pinot Noir Woori Yallock Middle of Row
A little wilder and more savoury, more whole bunch stalk.
2013 Pinot Noir Woori Yallock Middle oak ferment 4 weeks skins
Much bolder denser texture and dry tannins.
2013 Wesburn Pinot Noir
Darker fruit, more intense but still very light tannins, intensity brute.
2013 Yarra Junction Pinot Noir
Bright fresh vibrant balanced.
2013 Yarra Junction Pinot
Wonderfully bright fresh fruits. Intense but light structure.
2013 Syrah
Intense wild savoury full dark fruit with oodles of freshness.
2012 Hugh Cabernet merlot
Perfect placement.
Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2010
Bright tight and fresh yet dark intense and savoury. Fresh full of fruit and life, yummy savoury spicy mealy edge, contained and linear yet explosive.
Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2011
VERY light in colour, almost Bandol rosé/Beaujolais nouveau. Very shy retiring savoury nose. Tight light and a little sharp, delicate structure and subtle elegance, quite early in fact.
Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2012
Quite closed for now and yet to express. Softer and more delicate with plenty of dark fruit notes. All the elements there.
Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir
Filed under Tasting Notes
Roughly one year ago I was in Sicily and I was fortunate enough to encounter – at the same time and place – two people whom were amongst the most influential of my journey. The previous several weeks had been difficult in the south of Italy, with researching and securing appointments at wineries in Puglia, Abruzzo, Marche and Umbria. My expectations were modest for the largest island in the Mediterranean, as I had similar issues finding information about wineries, and also contacting and locating them. Of significant help to me was the team at Planeta, who are at the forefront of promoting not only Sicilian wine but the indigenous grape varieties found there. Through Planeta I was introduced to Arianna Occhipinti who is quickly becoming the shining star of all Italian wine, and whom I hope to interview in the near future. Visiting her was the other person, and his name is Jacopo Cossater.
Jacopo writes his own highly visited blog and is one of the contributors to the most influential wine website in Italy, Intravino. At the time he was on his own journey of wine discovery, through the central and southern regions of Italy over a period of several weeks. He wrote specifically about his experiences attempting to discover wines of great authenticity and personality as it is an area he has great passion for. One of the most honest, humble and personable people I have met he engenders both respect and affection from producers and communicators alike. Over several meals we were able to share our philosophies (which aren’t that different), and I was able to tell him of my own trip. When I returned to Perugia where he is based with his wife Laura, I was lucky enough to be able to introduce him to my parents as we were travelling together at the time. I was honoured when Jacopo interviewed me for Intravino not long after I returned to Australia, and as someone who is on the pulse of exciting movements in Italian wines, I wanted to return the honour by interviewing him.
Jacopo Cossater on the job
Filed under People
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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