April 3, 2013 · 6:13 pm

Chateau de Pibarnon – 18/05/2012

The Bandol Rosé 2011
70% mouvedre and 30% cinsault, and had a ripe savoury cherry and pumpkin spice nose, with some complex aromas of cured salty meat, whilst on the palate had very fresh and vibrant texture and warmth, with great balance and acidity with some nutty and cheesy notes on the back.

Les Retanques de Pibarnon Rouge 2009
Fascinatingly complex nose combining spice, game, dark fruits and even some pickled red onions. On the palate the wine was quite light and fresh, with good intensity and spicy tannins.

Chateau Pibarnon Rouge 2009
Very wild and feral game nose with spiced dark cherry and rhubarb, and introduced some shiitake broth elements too. Impossibly complex on the palate with full and mellow tannins and spicy fruit, but in spite of the complexity was very approachable.

Chateau Pibarnon Rouge 2008
Even more complex, showing some nut and popcorn, cinnamon, cumin and red curry aromas with star anise and red liquorice. On the palate the wine had focus, drive and precision from the concentrated acids and fruit, showing the red cherry and pomegranate freshness with good savoury elements too.

Chateau Pibarnon Rouge 2001
Developing some floral elements over time, and on the palate was decidedly silkier in the tannins, but no less focused and driven, developing some delicious mature savoury notes.

Chateau de Pibarnon range

Chateau de Pibarnon range

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March 25, 2013 · 11:29 pm

Where’s the beef?

Being an Australian wine traveller gets you in a lot of doors around the world. For one thing Australians have been loved as travellers a long time as they tend to be open-minded, fun, aware and generally up for a good time. I’m concerned that this positive image is starting to lose its sheen but that’s another topic. As one of the world’s major producers and the largest exporter outside of Europe you would struggle to find anyone in the global wine industry that isn’t aware that Australia makes wine.

In fact most are aware of the meteoric rise of Australian wine in the ’90s in Europe and North America thanks to the strong marketing and communications of varietal labelling. Not to mention the major strides made in large-scale commercial production reducing costs whilst making clean fruit-driven wines. Australia became the number one country imported into the United Kingdom and in many cases second only to Italy or France. It’s brands seemed indestructible.

Wine Australia uses its most familiar symbol

Wine Australia uses its most familiar symbol

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March 16, 2013 · 3:18 am

Mornington Peninsula – 10/3/2013

When I was young my grandparents owned a holiday house that our family made use of at least twice a year, particularly during summer. The house was pretty old, the beds weren’t very comfortable and worst of all there was no television. In spite of this I always looked forward to holidays there. The house was in Rye on the Mornington Peninsula between Rosebud and Sorrento, and I have fond memories of beaching, fish & chips and the summer carnival. They sold the house when I was in my early teens and suddenly there was a hole in my heart where those experiences used to be. Once I became interested in wine that hole was filled in a different way when I discovered it as a wine region. Over the years I was introduced to many other wines and regions in Australia, especially in the Yarra Valley where I worked for quite a while, but Mornington always remained my favourite region in Australia. So it seems fitting that the first region I visited since my return was to the Mornington Peninsula.

At Main Ridge Estate, my favourite producer in the world

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March 10, 2013 · 9:23 pm

Eldridge Estate – 10/03/2013

Chardonnay 2010
Bright citrus melon peach, clean leesy ripeness. Tight dense ripeness, not warm or heavy. No malo character, heavier texture. Varietal.

DRL 2011 (50/50 Pinot gamay)
Quite pale in colour. Nice slightly spicy red fruit nose. Quite savoury in character, spice rosemary and bright red fruits. All on the front food wine, pleasant and most importantly different.

Gamay 2011
A little darker in fruit, a sharpness on the shoes, pomegranate turnips, medicine(?). Full yet fresh and bright, nice extension of fruit on the palate, round soft tannins, plenty of spice to it.

Pinot Noir 2010
Nice dark fruit with some good mature stalk elements. Very tight on the palate, focused linear, a product of location, focused and fresh, dense fruit.

MV6 Pinot Noir 2010
Soft pure quiet, focused dark cherry notes. Dark soft round but building on the palate, very late dark sweet spice savoury edge. Tight acids.

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March 10, 2013 · 11:49 am

Ocean Eight – 10/03/2013

Pinot Gris 2011
Piercing sharpness, very citric. Lovely soft unctuous texture, good warmth, a little savoury oiliness, really good integration.

Verve Chardonnay 2010
Soft rich slightly creamy almost floral notes, hints of lees. Focused sharp bright, a little green, clean and solid acidity with some minerality to boot.

Pinot Noir 2010
Soft clean nice savoury red fruits. Pure fresh focused acids, supple yet tight and brisk tannins, a sharpness that will soften with some age.

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March 10, 2013 · 11:15 am

Yabby Lake – 10/03/2013

Red Claw Pinot Gris 2011
Very light and thin on the nose. Solid balanced textured yet fresh. Looking a bit tired though.

Single Vineyard Pinot Gris 2012
Blossomy honeyed lychee peach notes. Warmer fuller mouth feel, Moore concentration of fruit, lacking in acidity somewhat.

Red Claw Chardonnay 2010
Clean light fresh citrus, not much else. Dense warm fruit, nice and clean from malo oak and lees, nice and ripe with good concentration.

Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2011
Much bolder and riper on the nose, a little leesy and curdy. Dense texture and phenolics, little green and lacking in depth, worked in terms of lees and oak, Mornington Chardonnay has changed.

Red Claw Pinot Noir 2011
Bold vibrant fruit nose, a tad reductive, a little savoury. Hot and reductive, not aggressive or hot but forward and bold.

Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010
Quite closed and young at the moment, very solid though, tight and focused ripe red fruits. Full balanced and soft, silky tannins, well structured with exceptional length.

Block 6 Pinot Noir 2010
Amazing purity. Soft supple and slightly spicy, gentle extraction but really builds on the palate travelling back. Extraordinarily young.

Block 2 Pinot Noir 2010
Denser and more concentrated. Much warmer and more tannic, a little aggressive for now. Needs a lot more time.

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March 10, 2013 · 10:59 am

Main Ridge – 10/03/2013

Chardonnay 2010
Bright mineralic crisp flinty and citrusy. Lovely texture, very supple, focused fresh and intense, wonderful balance, integrated oak and alcohol.

Chardonnay 2008
Showing a little more richness depth and lees character. Fuller rounder and riper, a lot more character, excellent flavour and texture maturity.

The Acre Pinot Noir 2010
Light bright but not at all varietal. Tight lean and focused. Wonderfully delicate fruit, supple and long tannins, wonderfully balanced alcohol.

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March 8, 2013 · 3:11 am

Felton Road

Back in 2011 not long before I left for my trip I attended a media lunch at Vue de Monde with Blair Walter from Felton Road, by accident. I should have been there the day before at the trade lunch but got mixed up, and somehow was able to stay with the illustrious likes of James Halliday, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Dan Sims, Ben Edwards, Matt Skinner and a number of other Melbourne-based journalists and educators. Feeling very guilty and intimidated I then had the fortune of sitting next to Blair himself for the tasting of the entire range of new releases and then the insane lunch prepared by the Vue staff on the hundred-and-whatever floor of the Eureka Building. Over the many courses we were all regaled by tales from the god of Australian Wine James Halliday working the classic 1983 vintage in Burgundy, which not only put me further in awe of his legacy but also look forward to my trip in the hopes I would have even half the experience. That surreal afternoon will stay with me and created quite the connection with Felton Road wines. This week I had the chance to catch up with Blair again as he was in town for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, and taste a few of the wines.

Blair Walter

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March 7, 2013 · 10:53 pm

Interview with Jacopo Cossater

Jacopo Cossater is a very prominent wine blogger in Italy based in Perugia. Amongst the many publications he contributes is the website Intravino.com, one of the most important and most visited wine-related websites in the country. Shortly I will be writing a piece about Jacopo and how we crossed paths as I think he is one of the most singular and fascinating people I met on my trip, not to mention incredibly generous and humble. He showed particular interest the unique nature of the journey I took, and my overall impressions of Italian wine, and so he interviewed me for the Intravino website. Google Translate doesn’t really do it justice so here is the original English version.
Jacopo Cossater in action

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March 7, 2013 · 7:40 am

Felton Road – 7/03/2013

Bannockburn Chardonnay 2011
Nice hit of lees autolysis and pithy lemon and lime, flinty volcanic minerality, very slightly toasty. Fairly rich and round, nice and creamy on the back but focused and clean acids. Fairly fruit bold and good level of ripeness. Warmish.

Block 2 Chardonnay 2011
Denser and darker fruit, more stone than citric, slightly more oak and lees characters. Fuller heavier, more fruit and denser texture. Richer, more expressive mid-palate and showing youthful oak and alcohol. Powerful yet subtle expression given time.

Bannockburn Riesling 2012
Bright blossomy florals, a touch musky with some candied citrus. Crisp yet soft with the combination of acid and RS. Gentle subtle and long, caresses the palate in a moorish way. Very long acidity certainly mineralic.

Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2012
Bright dark stalky earthy black fruits, blackberries and black cherry, very exuberant. Dense and forward, a little short on the palate for now, not integrate yet. Concentrated fruit and small bunch at that, a touch sharp at the moment.

Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2011
A little more restrained in colour. More focused and less varietal, earthy and more red in fruit, stormy and deep. More elegant and balanced on the palate, showing great mid-palate structure and exceptional length. Fruit needs more time to express itself, a bit closed under selection and barrel. Certainly more terroir-driven and individual.

Felton Road Tasting

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