Blog Archives

Let’s Taste – d’Arenberg Wines August 2017

It’s always a pleasure to look at some d’Arenberg samples, and fortunately that’s something I can do regularly as they release a lot of different wines!. Some of the latest batch of wines are tasted on this edition, let me know what you think in the comments below!

Wines tasted;
d’Arenberg “The Dry Dam” Riesling 2017 – RRP $18.00
d’Arenberg “Stephanie the Gnome with Rose Tinted Glasses” Rosé 2017 – RRP $18.00
d’Arenberg “The Derelict Vineyard” Grenache 2013 – RRP $29.00

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August 31, 2017 · 10:32 am

Let’s Taste – Out of Step Wine Co. August 2017

I’m always thrilled when I get an email from David Chatfield letting me know there are some new Out of Step Wine Co. releases. This is probably even more the case since I was privileged enough to share winery space with Dave this year, and see some of the wines in their early developments. One of those wines is tasted on this edition of Let’s Taste, accompanied by a few 2016 wines. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Wines tasted;
Out of Step “Catbird” 2017 – RRP $28.00
Out of Step Willowlake Pinot Noir 2016 – RRP $33.00
Out of Step Malakoff Estate Shiraz 2016 – RRP $32.00

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August 29, 2017 · 10:14 am

Let’s Taste – Blue Wren White Port

I’ve tasted a few wines from Blue Wren, but this is certainly the first Australian white port I’ve ever tasted. Here are my thoughts, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Wine tasted;
Blue Wren White Port (375ml) – RRP $25.00

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August 24, 2017 · 4:48 pm

Let’s Taste – Shaw Vineyard Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2015 & Shiraz 2014

Shaw Vineyard was a producer I wasn’t familiar with, but to be honest I’m pretty unfamiliar with a lot of wines from New South Wales. The Canberra area is one of the states most premium wine-producing regions, so I was intrigued to look at the Shaw Vineyard wines. Here are my thoughts.

Wines tasted;
Shaw Vineyard Estate Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2015 – RRP $22.00
Shaw Vineyard Estate Shiraz 2014 – RRP $34.00

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August 24, 2017 · 4:03 pm

Let’s Taste – Rymill Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 & Maturation Release 2012

I’ve been familiar with the Coonawarra producer Rymill since my days as a wine buyer for a Melbourne independent wine store, though it’s been at least five years since I’ve tasted any of their wines. I was very interested to look at two of their cabernet sauvignon wines that I received as samples, here are my impressions.

Wines tasted;
Rymill Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 – RRP $32.00
Rymill Maturation Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – RRP $45.00

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August 24, 2017 · 3:42 pm

Let’s Taste – Giaconda Nebbiolo 2010

I was joined by a very special guest on this edition of Let’s Taste, Piero Fonseca, who as an Italian sommelier and wine wholesaler is an expert in Italian varieties. We looked at a bottle from my cellar, the 2010 Giaconda Nebbiolo. Giaconda is one of Australia’s most cult producers, it’s Beechworth vineyard producing one of the finest chardonnays in the country. I was fascinated to see what their interpretation of the noble nebbiolo grape would be.

Wine tasted;
Giaconda Nebbiolo 2010 – RRP $100.00

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August 13, 2017 · 2:21 pm

Let’s Taste – Yeringberg Chardonnay 2005

As mentioned before here on Let’s Taste and on my podcast The Vincast, Yeringberg is a very special winery for me as they produced my epiphany wine that led me to follow my career path. For a period of time I would try to find older bottles of Yeringberg wines, and this was the last one I had. The bottle unfortunately wasn’t in great condition, but the wine still looked pretty good. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Wine tasted;
Yeringberg Chardonnay 2005 – RRP $60.00 (current vintage)
Website – http://www.yeringberg.com

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August 13, 2017 · 11:07 am

Let’s Taste – Toppers Mountain Tempranillo 2012 & Shiraz 2013

Not the first time I’ve tasted Toppers Mountain wines on the channel, but the first time I’ve tasted some of their red wines. Toppers Mountain – located in the northern New South Wales region of New England – are known for their use of alternative varieties. They do however produce some more prominent international varieties, so here I can compare their approach to two grapes!

Wines tasted;
Toppers Mountain Tempranillo 2012 – RRP $32.00
Toppers Mountain Tempranillo 2013 – RRP $30.00
Website – http://www.toppers.com.au

The Intrepid Wino
Website: http://intrepidwino.com
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August 12, 2017 · 2:57 pm

Vino Intrepido 2017 Part Three – The Press

Increasing the volume of fruit for this vintage meant a lot more pressing. Luckily that was largely automated thanks to the pneumatic press, but there was quite a lot of manual labour required, bucketing solids into the press. Six separate skin-contact ferments were all press at different times, and every time the press needed to be cleaned. The pressing program was as follows;
– One of two tonnes of Riverland Vermentino were fermented on skins in two separate ferments. One was pressed immediately after the completion of fermentation, spending a total of nine days on skins. The other was pressed twelve days later, spending a total of three weeks on skins. Both were transferred to neutral white barriques for ageing.
– One tonne of Mildura Nero d’Avola was de-stemmed and split into two fermenters. After only two days of fermentation one half-tonne was pressed and completed fermentation in a stainless steel tank, whilst the other half-tonne completed fermentation on skins but was pressed soon after, a total of 10 days on skins. Each press went to a 300L mature hogshead barrel for ageing.
– Two tonnes of Pyrenees nebbiolo were de-stemmed and split in half. Both finished fermenting on skins. Nothing was added or removed from these ferments. One tonne was pressed after 15 days on skins, the other spent 56 days on skins. They were split between 2010 and 2012 vintage barriques.

Vino Intrepido is a (soon to be launched) brand that combines great Italian grape varieties with great Australian wine regions and growers, experimenting with different winemaking techniques to bring you delicious wine! If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch via email on vinointrepido@gmail.com

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July 5, 2017 · 8:24 am

Vino Intrepido 2017 Part Two – Fermentation

The 2017 vintage was very prolonged, and each of the three varieties finished fermenting before the next one arrived. The fermentations were as follows;
– Two tonnes Riverland Vermentino were split in half – one tonne was pressed and one tonne de-stemmed for skin-contact fermentation. Half of the pressed juice was transferred to neutral barriques for barrel-fermentation, the rest fermented in stainless steel. The two skin-contact ferments had a neutral commercial yeast added to help them through ferment.
– One tonne of Mildura Nero d’Avola was de-stemmed and split into two fermenters. After only two days of fermentation one half-tonne was pressed and completed fermentation in a stainless steel tank, whilst the other half-tonne completed fermentation on skins. Due to the low acids and high pH, tartaric acid was added to help balance the wine.
– Two tonnes of Pyrenees nebbiolo were de-stemmed and split in half. Both finished fermenting on skins. Nothing was added or removed from these ferments.

Vino Intrepido is a (soon to be launched) brand that combines great Italian grape varieties with great Australian wine regions and growers, experimenting with different winemaking techniques to bring you delicious wine! If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch via email on vinointrepido@gmail.com

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July 4, 2017 · 11:20 am