2000 Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Hunter Chardonnay

This bottle had been in the bottom of my fridge calling out “drink me, drink me” for a few months now. The occasion of christening a new Weber BBQ seemed to be the perfect time. BBQ’d pork chops, asparagus wrapped in pancetta, grilled zucchini and thinly sliced potato – all cooked on the BBQ – would be the perfect companion for this wine.

The Ah-So cork puller didn’t do a great job with the cork seemingly loose in the neck. But after extraction the cork was in good condition and an opening sip of the wine proved it to was in great shape.

It poured golden yellow, not as deep in colour as a Semillon of the same vintage, but rich and bright aluding to the quality of the wine. This Chardonnay is consistently rated as one of Australia’s top 20 Chardonnays and this vintage has captured the sunshine and strength from what was a warm vintage.

The wine demonstrated flavours of stone fruit and finished as a typical, old fashion Australian Chardonnay : plenty of fruit well balanced (but definitely not over powered) by quality oak. This wine has probably drinking at its peak now, but a well cellared bottle will have many good years left in it yet. Which is a shame, because this was my last example. But for $50 or $60 a bottle this represents good value.

Here’s what others have to say:

Only three of Tyrrell’s own vineyards are ever used for the Vat 47 – The HVD (Hunter Valley Distillery) Vineyard which had the original Penfold Clone planted in 1923,the NVC (New Vine Cuttings) Vineyard that has thirty year old Chardonnay vines and Tyrrell’s Short Flat. These vineyards share a common sandy alluvial soil, which imparts a unique clarity of flavour in the fruit that is grown on it.

As at 2008, since its inception in 1971, the Vat 47 Chardonnay has been awarded 37 trophies, 185 gold, 202 silver and 311 bronze medals.

James Halliday says:

Medium yellow-green; a fine, elegant, silky smooth bouquet offers melon, stone fruit and positive but integrated oak. The palate has great balance, but also intensity and life; nectarine, stone fruit, a touch of cream and good acidity to close.

Jeremy Oliver 96 points! “Ripe peach, lemon and melon aromas with lightly smoky, clove and cinnamon oak background. Long and succulent with a tightly-knit marriage of white peach and melon flavours, finishing long and savoury with citrusy acids. Tightly focused and restrained; a warm year wine with significantly more alcohol and substance than is usual for this label. Drink 2008-2012.”

 

1994 Wynns Michael Shiraz

It was Australia Day 2012, hot humid and I was in the middle of moving house. This coincidence of events meant we cooked a butterflied leg of lamb on the BBQ (this being Australia Day and all) and since we’re moving house it’s time to drag out some of the more delicate bottles from the cellar. So for Australia Day 2012 it was a bottle of the 1994 Wynns Michael Shiraz.

The bottle itself was a gift from my wifes employer to her quite some time back and I put it down in the cellar for a suitable occasion. With the lamb doing its thing on the BBQ a decanted the bottle leaving a respectable crust in the bottle. I don’t know if it was the cooler temperature coming from the cellar or the lack of time to breath – but the first taste was austere, old and nothing much to write home about. Sure it was well made and balanced, but it just had that old flatness about it with the oak overpowering what remained of the fruit.

So I turned my attention back to the BBQ and had another taste while the lamb was resting. Wow! Did it open up and build richness and flavour over maybe an hour in the decanter. This was going to be a real cracker : full of opulent Coonawarra fruit from a great vintage. Plenty of rich dark berries now balanced the oak with some spice and a reasonable 13% alcohol. The tannins had softened with the years (this was an 18 year old wine after all) to create a classic big drinking red. Perfect for Australia Day and a suitable accompanyment to the lamb.

This wine has a few more good years left in it yet. Drink a good bottle between now and 2018.

As Sam Kekovic said this year, “Come of Barbie let’s go party”!

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what some others have said:

Jeremy Oliver 96 points! “A brilliant, sumptuous, savoury red of fabulously rich, concentrated fruit perfectly married with lashings of smoky new oak. Classic spicy, peppery shiraz, with a long, supple palate whose power and intensity almost belie its poise and elegance. A classic.” Jeremy Oliver, OnWine.

James Halliday says:

Dense purple-red; extremely rich, ripe and concentrated mulberry and spice fruit is supported by toasty vanillin oak. The palate is every bit as concentrated and chewy as the bouquet suggests it will be, with abundant spicy berry fruit and even more abundant oak.

James Halliday says:

Dense purple-red; extremely rich, ripe and concentrated mulberry and spice fruit is supported by toasty vanillin oak. The palate is every bit as concentrated and chewy as the bouquet suggests it will be, with abundant spicy berry fruit and even more abundant oak. Retasted October 1997 and developing exceptionally well, losing brashness and gaining elegance.

2008 AOC Bordeaux Blanc Jacquet Chateau

Now where was I? Christmas interrupted my entry of wine tasting notes from my recent trip (almost) around the world. But now I’m back. Where we left off, intrepid reader, was after tasting some Chinese wines with mixed success. The Air China flight departing Beijing for Milano served the 2008 AOC Bordeaux Blanc Jacquet Chateau as the French white. There was a choice of French red or white or Chinese red or white. So it was a pretty limited selection. I’d picked up a cold from breathing all the Chinese pollution for a week or so hence I wanted to stay away from the red.

The 2008 AOC Bordeaux Blanc Jacquet Chateau is probably about a $12 bottle of wine and would represent pretty good value at that price. And while I’m conscious that altitude affects your sense of taste and alcohol (plus I had a cold), my recollection of this was quite vivid. It’s a complex wine and I later found out is made of 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Semillon and for something different 25% Muscadelle.

It had good body and balance and went very well with chicken soup, but it seriously clashed with the thousand island dressing on the salad. However there was a tiny portion of lobster with a wasabi dressing and this wine managed to hold its own against the wasabi. The wine was fruity and aromatic, perhaps thanks to the Muscadelle.

2008 AOC Bordeaux Blanc Jacquet Chateau

It’s hard to find out too much about this wine, I suspect it’s one of those commercial drops that is focussed upon airlines, hotels and restaurants rather than the retail trade. It was once explained to me that once a wine is well known in the retail market it has a price / quality perception set (let’s say $12). Once this is done a restaurant cannot try and charge $60 for it and if the wine was served at a function or in a plane, people will know it’s just a $12 bottle of wine.

But enough theory : this was far better than the Chinese white and is well worth trying if you fly with Air China in the near future.

I managed to find out the following about the winery:

Chateau Jacquet is a family property located in the village of Targon in the heart of the Entre-Deux-Mers region, south east of the city of Bordeaux. The Barthe family has owned the estate since 1789. Today, the vineyards and winemaking are under the control of Veronique Barthe, who has been acclaimed as one of the top young winemakers in Bordeaux. She is responsible for the revitalization of the property just over 10 years ago. The vineyards have been restructured with increased respect for the environment’s natural balance. She installed modern vinification and aging equipment. Today, their entire production is estate bottled and is sold around the world.

The clay-limestone soil of the rolling hill terrain, and the average vine age of 25 years, with many still older Semillon and Muscadelle plants, ensures fully ripe grapes. Chateau Jacquet is vinified in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. Temperatures do not exceed 19 degrees Centigrade to preserve the fruit’s aromas and vivid fruit flavors. Chateau Jacquet sees one day of skin maceration at the beginning of fermentation and then aging on the fine lees before bottling to allow the fruit to express all of its complexity and length.

Such meticulous winemaking makes Chateau Jacquet an outstanding value. Its crisp, zesty citrus and melon flavors allow the wine to serve as a refreshing aperitif or with salads, lighter pastas, Thai cuisine, and seafood. It is bottled with a state-of-the-art screw cap in order to ensure that the wine retains all of its freshness.

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,100 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

2002 Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Penfolds Bin 407 is one of my favourites from the Penfolds stable. Always reasonably priced and they cram a bottle and a half of fruit into every bottle. The 2002 vintage is no exception. We recently cooked a leg of lamb covered in home made pesto with fresh basil from the garden. So this called for a rich opulent red full of richness and flavour.

In my view the 2002 is one of the better vintages of the marque. Certainly since 1998 and maybe even 1996. It more than covered the lamb and was approachable enough after about an hour or so of air to enjoy a glass while the meat rested prior to serving. The jamminess of the fruit is matched with cassis and cigar box flavours. This is not a wine for the feint hearted and certainly is in the Australian style of big reds. This is drinking well now, but has the legs to mature further and to become even more refined as the next 5 years pass by. Lucky there’s a few more of these in the cellar.

Others have said: (and I must say that I admire Regan Drew’s self restraint in managing to make this last two nights.)

Regan Drew says:

Bin 407 to me is the dark horse in the Penfolds Bin stable. It doesn’t have the pedigree of Bin 389, nor the flash and dash of the Bin 28 or 138 (predominantly Barossa) or the single region idiosyncracies of the Bin 128. Yet, I’m consistently and pleasantly surprised each time I try a 407. This 02 was tasted over two days: upon decanting, it showed massive amounts of blackcurrant jube aromas. On the palate, definitely a Penfolds ‘house style’ from blending top fruit from various South Australian regions: Plushness from Barossa; herbs, mint & dust from Coonawarra. By day 2 it had settled into its skin: gorgeous chocolate oak flavours being well integrated with black plum and a lovely long tail of eucalypt/mint. Outstanding stuff.

Huon Hooke & Ralph Kyte-Powell says:

The aromas are pristine cabernet: blackcurrant and blackberry, lovely and clean and ripe. The palate has concentration and power, excellent ripeness of flavours and tannins, and it’s a fruit-driven style with subtle oak – a different approach for Penfolds. Excellent value and will surely cellar well. Food: pink roast leg of lamb.

Jeremy Oliver says:

A long and brightly flavoured cabernet whose violet like fragrance of cassis, dark plums, cedar/chocolate/ vanilla oak reveals leafy undertones of mint and earth. Smooth and supple, its long and vibrant palate delivers intense but confectionary flavours of cassis and small red berries framed by firm, but smooth tannins and sweet vanilla oak. It finishes with length and astringency but remains too confectionary for a higher score.

James Halliday says:

Medium-bodied; savoury black fruits, earth and spice; well-balanced oak; very good, but not great in the context of the vintage.

2001 Fox Gordon Sassy Sauvignon Blanc

This post is a little out of order. I interrupt my tour of foreign wines to capture my thoughts of a cheap white wine I bought for my wife to drink while I was away. Alas, she didn’t drink this one so I had the pleasure a night or two back. (Of drinking the wine that is!)

So Sassy it isn’t, by Sydney standards. But then again Adelaide Hills is a little way from Adelaide, so for that part of the world perhaps it is a bit “sassy”. First it pours like water. By that I mean the colour is crystal clear like. To me this says summer from the first impression. Then it tastes of fruit salad, nectarines in particular with just a touch of passionfruit and maybe a hint of pineapple. So it definitely is Sauvignon Blanc but without some of the New Zealand excuberance.

Without wanting to boast, before I even looked at the label I could taste that this was Adelaide Hills. There’s something about this region : take Geoff Weaver and his amazing collection of aged Sauvignon Blancs for example. It must be in the dirt. While this summer treat is not nearly of the complexity of a Geoff Weaver 10 year old SB – it is a lot of fun and something to enjoy – now.

Liquorland says “Sassy by name, sassy by nature. This new wine from our friends at Fox Gordon captures the clean, varietal characters of Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc, without going down the overt or pungent road. Lively flavours are lifted by textural notes and surprising length.” (and the colour of the wine of their page is pretty well what it looks like.

Nathan’s wine shop has clearly got his tasting notes mixed up when he says “An acclaimed producer whose wines exhibit the complexity of the terroir of Chavignol, being chalky with a touch of gunflint, initially steely, then ripening in the mouth with a broad array of flavours and wonderful length. The wittily titled Petit Bourgeois misses appellation status by a gnat’s whisker. This belt-tightening faux-Sancerre has undeniable typicity. ” This is definitely not a Sancerre, there’s no gun flint or minerality at all. It’s a bit of bright bubbly fun. Enjoy it in summer, the hotter the weather, the colder the wine and that will suit this drop perfectly.

Don’t think too much about this fruit juice, marvel at how the sunlight reflects of the clear nectar, drink it before the sun goes down and reflect upon how youth can sometimes be a good thing.

2009 Concha y Toro Trio Reserva Merlot Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

After our last experience with a Chinese Red, we were cared off for a bit so decided to head for safer ground. If you find yourself in Shanghai a must see place is the House of Blues and Jazz. Not far from Nanjing Rd at 60 Fuzhou Rd, lies this tiny outpost of western music and drinks unfortunately at tourist prices. Check out www.houseofbluesandjazz.com for details before you go. When we were there the house band was Cuban

But back to the wine, after a few nights of drinking just beer we craved a decent red and the 2009 Concha y Toro Trio Reserva Merlot Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon did the trick. It was mellow and complex with a jumble of flavours competing for attention. It’s a Chilean export that stands on the world stage and is well worth giving a go. It’s made in the new world style with a strong fruit driven approach, but enough oak to keep the interest levels there.

 

2009 Concha y Toro Trio Reserva Merlot Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

 

I don’t know how much you’d pay for a bottle like this in a bottle shop, but anything less than $30 would be great buying.

NV Dynasty Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

My exploration of Chinese wines continued in Shanghai. After the good experience with the Greatwall Cabernet Sauvignon we decided to try the Dynasty Dry Red. No vintage was recored on the bottle, but the label did say “A light and fruity red wine made from grapes grown in the Tianjin region of China”.

On their website the winemake says “This dry red wine is made from the world-noted grape — ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ grown in Jixian Vineyards of Tianjin by applying traditional winemaking technology of Bordeaux. The grapes are handpicked at the peak of their maturity. After being carefully selected, de-stemmed and broken, they are fermented on skins in stainless steel tanks of controlled temperature （ 26 －28 ℃） Ruby red in color and crystal clear in appearance, rich in grape flavor and wine bouquet, this wine is well-balanced, smooth and soft with a round and full body and long finish.”

Certainly China’s winemakers have bene heavily influenced by Bordeaux for example with Cabernet Sauvignon being the dominant red grape variety. However this example was nothing like a Bordeaux wine, in fact it was nothng like any other red wine I’ve ever drunk. If the label and website were correct, then the restaurant owner must have drunk the wine and replaced it with something else. (This is not totally out of the question, this being China and all.)

The drink (I’ll use that word rather than wine) itself tasted strongly of cloves. It was more like an Italian digestivo (a drink made of herbs) than red wine.

Dynasty Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

So if you see this one on the wine list, stick with beer. You’ll thank me for it.

Greatwall Dry Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

After some my experience with the white wine I hadn’t even yet reached mainland China and I was forming a pretty negative view. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered a glass of the Greatwall Dry Red Wine. The fact there was no vintage recorded and that the wine list described it variously as “Brown Red. Clear.” and “Sense of Hierarchy” didn;t help, but for you dear readers I had to grit my teeth and give it a go.

It was good, very good. If I closed my eyes I could have been in Bordeaux. It’s a straight Cabernet Sauvignon (I’ve seen some pretty scathing reviews about a Greatwall Cabernet Merlot blend) that lacks imagination which is probably not surprising given the Chinese penchant for copying. The wine showed a deep ruby colour with tobacco flavours and rounding effect one is more used to from France rather than new world wines, and China must surely be the newest.

I also tried the french wine on the wine list and quickly went back to the Chinese. It was that good. This is definitely one to watch.

Greatwall Dry Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon)

 

2009 Great Wall Sun God Chateau Reserve Riesling Dry White

I didn’t have to wait to reach China to try their attempt at an old world classic. As the Chinese build their economy at a massive rate and the ranks of the middle class and elite grow at an astounding rate, so to does their appetite for anything western. As you drive through the streets of Beijing or Shanghai you will notice the numbers of Bentley’s, top model Mercedes and I even saw an Audi A8 W12 which I don’t believe is available in Australia. As a result wine has gone from something imported, rare and poorly understood by the Chinese (the Tea list part of my inflight menu was far more comprehensive than the wine list part), to something local, rare and still poorly understood by the Chinese.

Another point to note is that there seem to be several Great Wall wines with the same name (maybe copies in the country of copiers?) and one could never be really sure what one was drinking.

However, back to my first taste of a Chinese wine the 2009 Great Wall Sun God Chateau Reserve Riesling Dry White … it was bad. I mean really bad. (Not as bad as a red wine I had a few nights later, but more on that in a few more posts). This was super dry and astringent, it lacked fruit and any body what so ever. It was served cold (which I think in hindsight I should be thankful for) and when it warmed up it did improve a touch. I was left with the summary of dry and austere.

I’ve noticed a few other reviewers using much more kind phrases such as “Seems gentle and lithe”, “light honey, plus light hay”.

2009 Great Wall Sub God Chateau Reserve Riesling Dry White

Note the typo on the wine list above.

So stay clear, give them a few more years to sort things out before approaching again.