Odds and Ends I

You might be surprised to know that I don’t review everything I taste, or drink for that matter. The cause of this is normally laziness on my part, but sometimes it is just inopportune timing; I mean I do have trouble talking and writing notes at the same time. So if we are out and about, or entertaining at home I don’t lift a pen. Oh, I also don’t like writing reviews based upon in-store tastings, situations where you get a thimble full of wine and 1 minute to make an assessment. Anyway, the idea for odds and ends to do give a brief impression of wines tasted over the past week that didn’t get a full review. Not sure if this will be interesting or relevant or useful, but I’ll give it a go for a while and see if it floats.

I got a case of the Jack Mattinson’s Deluxe Dry Red 2009 from the Mountain X website for $150, and the first bottle was a honest Shiraz Cabernet blend, medium bodied and quite tidy, but really needs another 6 months in the bottle. I also have a bottle of Seppelt Grand Muscat on the kitchen bench that I occassionally get a sip from. Quite a nice wine, but perhaps a little syrupy. I also just finished my case of Meerea Park “The Aunts” Shiraz 2003, and after worrying that it was falling over a bit, the last bottle turned out to be a cracker. Such are the vagaries of cork. During the week, I also snuck in a bottle of the Louis Tete Beaujolais Fleurie “La Bonne Dame” 2005 that was a bit stinky on the nose, with strawberries, a touch of bubblegum, and a light palate that looked a bit bleak without food.

The week also presented the opportunity to taste the new Balnaves wines, with Doug Balnaves in attendence. I thought it was a solid range of wines, perhaps reflecting a strong vintage in the Coonawarra for 2008. As you would expect, the Tally was a very big and high quality wine, but I don’t think the cheaper wines should be ignored by any means, particularly the Blend. I also asked Doug about the absence of a Shiraz/Cabernet blend in the range, and he said it was never something that they’d considered making.

The weekend presented a swag of good wines, the highlights being Bouchard Pere et Fils Meursault “Les Perrieres” 1er cru 2006 which was stunning with delicious fruits and concentration and finesse, a Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2006 that showed ferocious tannins initially, but settled somewhat after 3 or 4 hours in a decanter. Tough work now but showing promise. Next was a bottle of the Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune “Greves – Vigne de l’Enfant Jesus” 1er cru 2004 which was an excellent wine, and particularly surprising considering the ill regard for the 2004 vineyard in Burgundy. Lastly, a bottle of Wendouree Shiraz Mataro 1998 which was youthful and powerful, but showed that menthol/camphor/eucalypt character I don’t particularly like. Oh, there was also a particularly nice bottle of Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but I cannot remember the vintage.