So, like what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine sample tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible. Below is a wrap-up of the twitter reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find them so you can try them for yourself. Cheers!
- NV Anton Bauer Gruner Veltliner Frizzante (Osterreich): One likes what’s there, but wishes there was more there; too soft a voice. $18 B- >>find this wine>>
- 09 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz (South Australia): For a slice of blueberry pie; or, actually *instead* of a slice of blueberry pie. $12 B- >>find this wine>>
- 09 Eberle Steinbeck Vineyard Syrah (Paso Robles): Black cherry, raspberries, grit & pretty much everything to love about Paso Syrah. $24 B >>find this wine>>
- 10 Royal Tokaji Furmint (Tokaji): Goosing your palate with its heady, lovely gooseberry aromas; in a good way, I mean. Ok, whatever. $16 B >>find this wine>>
- 09 Lions Drift Silkbush Mountain Vineyard Pinotage (Breedekloof): SA’s divisive specialty gets a successful light-&-bright makeover. $18 B >>find this wine>>
- 10 Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River): Herbs, eucalyptus & grit get a vibrant, refined, & overachieving red-fruited touch. $25 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 09 Streiker Ironstone Block Old Vine Chardonnay (Margaret River): Rich, creamy melon & lemon-rind austerity? Happy together, in fact. $45 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 10 Moss Wood Chardonnay (Margaret River): Even Harry Belafonte probably didn’t reference this much coconut in his entire career. $40 B >>find this wine>>
- 10 Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay (Margaret River): Buttery nose? Not to worry, crisp, lemony lineal structure takes over the proceedings. $35 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 11 Vasse Felix Chardonnay (Margaret River): Almost all of the flinty, nutty, creamy, steely Heytesbury goodness, & a LOT less coin. $20 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 10 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay (Margaret River): Flinty, minerally, funky, linear, steely, tropical & tourniquet tight for now. $45 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 09 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Red (Margaret River): Blackcurrant, blackberry, black cherry, black cola, & probably black satin sheets too $60 A- >>find this wine>>
- 09 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River): Fan of 2ndary aromas (gravel, leather, tomato leaf, balsamic)? Prepare 2 B happy. $30 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 10 Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot (Margaret River): Elegant & firm, kind of like the heroine of some kind of modern day spy novel. $30 B >>find this wine>>
- 08 Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon (Margaret River): Soft & structured, tangy & tight, earthy & fruity, pricey but worth it. $45 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 09 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay (Margaret River): Like mineral water was used to wash fresh melons, apples, peaches & brioche. $76 A- >>find this wine>>
Were you in Western Australia
not sure where the rest of my comment went… here it is: Were you in Western Australia, or are those just the wines that are showing up at the moment? Seems, on the distributor (and retailer) side, no one wants to touch Australia now (thanks, Southeastern Australian G.I.). However, I always felt that Margaret River, etc. seemed to be making pretty nice wines. Maybe they'll rise out of the rubble, along with other great G.I.'s like Eden Valley…
@suburbanwino – I was. And all of the MR recco's above were tasted on that trip (the Paringa was the only Aussie sample out of that group).
I agree with you about WA. It's time for retailers to look past the SE Australia fiasco and promote individual producers in WA; which many wont do because it requires working with their customers and most of them don't do that in my experience, and rely on the crutches of wine review scores with the text about the wines going unread. Oh, wait, did I type that out loud?? ;-)
There are always a handful of great retailers who hand-sell the wine. But, yes, this is definitely the exception and not the rule. I try to assist them with tasting events and things like that whenever I can to evangelize overlooked places. Still, some folks make up their mind on a wine before it's tasted. I've heard people exclaim that bone-dry rosés were "way too sweet". Ugh.
@suburbanwino – pink is often guilty by pigmentation :(
Joe, thanks for reviewing Silkbush's Mountain Vineyards Lion's Drift. It's been a labor of love since a small group of folks in South Africa & the states lovingly planted the vines in 2000. The 2009 is really their first vintage to market (released in 2011). It's on cruise ships and airlines and has distributors in several states…it's an uphill climb as you know. The cool thing is that I've learned a lot about the modern era of Pinotage since assisting Silkbush with the market launch. I've created a new website (that will launch soon with fingers & toes crossed). You are right on with your review, Silkbush' s rendition of Pinotage is light & bright! High elevation vines are a big part of the secret… :)
@girlwithaglass – thanks. I really dug that wine, and it was a hit at the household here when I opened it, specifically because I think it was so bright and approachable and good with food. Cruise ships… that's brilliant, that is totally the type of wine I'd want to lounge back with in the sun with some warm ocean breeze action, come to think of it!