Twitter Tasting Notes: 9 Jan 09 - 17 June 09 (most recent notes first)
Sorry about the typos - most of these were from my cell phone and I can't spell to save myself.
07 @SalvareEstate Chardy, Ngatarawa Triange HB - Clean and pure, chalky texture, restrained & elegant. Racy! http://twitpic.com/7izcs
08 Greenhough Chard, Nelson - bright acid and fruit, soft oak. Drinks well.
07 Les Volcans Syrah, Languedoc - made by Theo at Crater Rim, pure dark plum fruit ferric bloody tang, soft floral spice. Yay! No oak!
08 Crater Rim Canterbury Rielsing, Waipara - braeburns and peat smoke. Great lemony acid and a hint of sweetness - fucking crazy good.
Crater Rim Fraher Vineyard SB 07, Waipara - mello with wonderful sauvage charicter and a whisp of oak. Passion, funk and finty smoke. V Cool
08 Felton Road Vin Gris, Bannockburn - Dry but v rich w steely minerality. Pear and quince fruit with white pepper & vanilla! #TweetBunchNZ
07 Johner Res PN, Gladstone - punchy fruit and florals; good acid and tannins- quite stunning but lacks length.
05 Zepelin Syrah, Havelock Hills HB - Balsamic and spice on nose. Powerful fruit balanced by clean acid, earth spice and meat. A stunner!!!
07 Johner Cab, Martinborough - bright blackcurrant on the nose with wet earth and dusty dry oak....nice weight, underwhelming & great finish
...07 Johner Cab, Martinborough - sorry folks "underwhelming" in a good way!
08 Fiasco Black Pearl PN, Southern Valleys Marlb - Dark silky plums, florals and spice, Italian licorice. Beautifully young: lithe & supple!
2007 Johner PN , Gladsone - game meats and offal with bright red fruit, mushroom underrtones and a green floral lift. Elegant weight. VG
Johner 07 Noble Syrah - very medicinal and liniment with blackcurrant fruit and botritic richness... orange peel and pepper...
07 Black Estate Chardy, Omihi - flinty nose with bright apricot & lemon fruit and mineral undernotes - needs age E
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
2007 Craggy Range 'Glasnevin Gravels Vineyard' Riesling
Waipara, North Canterbury
Crunchy lemon and lime with crunchy texture and a hint of kerosene. Good acid and purity - hint of florals. Engaging and alive! VG
Waipara, North Canterbury
Crunchy lemon and lime with crunchy texture and a hint of kerosene. Good acid and purity - hint of florals. Engaging and alive! VG
Food Match: Grilled Haloumi in Citrus Herb Dressing with Te Whare Ra 08 'Awatere' Sauvignon Blanc
I love haloumi - but I can't often get fresh stuff now we don't live in Wellington so I was thrilled to see that the cheesemakers at Whitestone Cheese down the road had whipped some up. This is such a simple recipe - thinly slice some baguette, grill some haloumi till golden brown in some olive oil on a medium-high heat and finish with a dressing of lemon juice, salt and pepper, dijon mustard and fresh herbs (I used mint and parsley but coriander works wonders). EAT!
To wash it down I drank the 08 Awatere SB by Te Whare Ra - personally a little to much cut and grass for me by itself but worked beautiful with the dish matching the acid of the lemon juice, herbaceous of the herbs and balancing out the salty cheese.
Yummo.
More tonight!
I love haloumi - but I can't often get fresh stuff now we don't live in Wellington so I was thrilled to see that the cheesemakers at Whitestone Cheese down the road had whipped some up. This is such a simple recipe - thinly slice some baguette, grill some haloumi till golden brown in some olive oil on a medium-high heat and finish with a dressing of lemon juice, salt and pepper, dijon mustard and fresh herbs (I used mint and parsley but coriander works wonders). EAT!
To wash it down I drank the 08 Awatere SB by Te Whare Ra - personally a little to much cut and grass for me by itself but worked beautiful with the dish matching the acid of the lemon juice, herbaceous of the herbs and balancing out the salty cheese.
Yummo.
More tonight!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Out of action...
I have just about the worst ailment for a professional drinker - the flu. Just hope its not bacon flu but I can't see how I could have been exposed to it. Anyway because of being blocked up I haven't been able to taste as much as I'd like. As soon as my head is clear I will be posting more notes. Also have an 08 Marlborough Pinot Gris vid in the works.
I have just about the worst ailment for a professional drinker - the flu. Just hope its not bacon flu but I can't see how I could have been exposed to it. Anyway because of being blocked up I haven't been able to taste as much as I'd like. As soon as my head is clear I will be posting more notes. Also have an 08 Marlborough Pinot Gris vid in the works.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Lets face facts - most Marlborough savvie is "evil, watery, grassy wine"
EVIL, WATERY, GRASSY...
No truer three words were ever spoken.
I read about this today on Paul Sharp's Wine Consultant blog which linked to the original article and to the coverage it has been getting here.
If we are going to be realistic most Marlborough savvie is thin, underripe, insipid shit. Barely drinkable. Luckily I don't taste a hell of a lot of Marlborough savvie but I taste enough to know this is true - particularly of the lower end labels but especially so of the 08s. I'm glad someone said it because hopefully it will convince the wineries to pull finger and manage their vineyards properly and encourage their growers (financially) to increase quality by lowering yields rather than penalise them for failing to meet maximum yield levels that they don't understand - a grape's a grape right?
As a kiwi who wants the best for our industry I salute Jane MacQuitty. Of course - not all Marlborough Savvie fit this description but the ones that do are made in super huge quantities by massive international conglomerates who dupe the customer into believing that theirs is a quality product when it is really just mass produced pissed. EVIL. WATERY. GRASSY.
"We're a very big winery" - YEAH RIGHT
EVIL, WATERY, GRASSY...
No truer three words were ever spoken.
I read about this today on Paul Sharp's Wine Consultant blog which linked to the original article and to the coverage it has been getting here.
If we are going to be realistic most Marlborough savvie is thin, underripe, insipid shit. Barely drinkable. Luckily I don't taste a hell of a lot of Marlborough savvie but I taste enough to know this is true - particularly of the lower end labels but especially so of the 08s. I'm glad someone said it because hopefully it will convince the wineries to pull finger and manage their vineyards properly and encourage their growers (financially) to increase quality by lowering yields rather than penalise them for failing to meet maximum yield levels that they don't understand - a grape's a grape right?
As a kiwi who wants the best for our industry I salute Jane MacQuitty. Of course - not all Marlborough Savvie fit this description but the ones that do are made in super huge quantities by massive international conglomerates who dupe the customer into believing that theirs is a quality product when it is really just mass produced pissed. EVIL. WATERY. GRASSY.
"We're a very big winery" - YEAH RIGHT
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