Month: April 2020

2016 Arnaldo Rivera Sori del Cascinotto Diano d’Alba

Based on only a bottle or three and some encouraging reviews, it looks like the big cooperative, Cantina Terre del Barolo, is just getting more and more convincingly quality conscious. It’s fascinating to visit the cellar door, sprawled at the foot of Castiglione Falletto’s big hill. The name Arnaldo Rivera is celebrated by a range of wine produced from the Cantina’s members’ best grapes. Seeing as this extraordinary man was many things, school teacher, mayor of Castiglione and founder of the Cantina, it seems more than an appropriate memorial. Imagine trying to persuade over five hundred very individual growers to trust each other enough and band together in the late 1950s. Particularly at a time when the grape market was loaded firmly in favour of the big negotiants. The model apparently was a school project raising hens and selling eggs. If the kids can work together? Sixty years later and there’s a lovely Dolcetto on the table. Just over medium weight, fat juicy cherries, an undercurrent of liquorice and earthy spice and those soft but furry Dolcetto tannins, all freshened up with food friendly acidity; this is Piemonte after all.

14% alcohol. Cork. An extremely lucky win at auction for $9, helps knowing your obscure Piemonte denominazioni.

92 points.

2017 Elio Altare Dolcetto d’Alba

From one of the original modernista Barolo boys, this is a seriously ripe, deep and chunky Dolcetto. I think I remember reading Altare’s family have some connections with the best Dolcetto denominazione of Dogliani and this certainly has some of the thickness and depth of the best of that less famous bit of the Langhe. Dense and reticent on opening, the fruit finally emerging after a couple of days, showing a toffee and espresso edge to really ripe blueberry and the darkest tart black cherry. Mouth filling skin tannin extract and some cheek sucking on a firm finish. The heat of the vintage shows maybe but this is always a favourite Dolcetto, clean, even and beautifully made. Time to change the variety’s name perhaps, as this certainly isn’t little or sweet.

14% alcohol. Cork. $32 at auction.

93 points.

2017 Château de Pierreux Réserve de Château Brouilly

Not exactly a small producer, hand made Beaujolais. The property is owned by the very big indeed company of Boisset Mommessin and imported by one of Australia’s supermarket duopoly. Economy of scale and some don’t mess it up winemaking perhaps? Some earlier Beaujolais vintages from this maker were flattened by some pretty obvious sulphur additions, meaty and lacking freshness. This vintage though is bright and crunchy fruited with wafts of red cherry, strawberry, a lifted sort of wine gum banana thing and a tasty sappy, floral edge. The acidity is a touch firm, a greenish tug but not sour which maybe shows how quickly things ripened in yet another early warm vintage. The website marketing blurb claims the property has some old goblet trained vines and there is indeed a nice depth of fruit toward the end of a mouthful. It hung on really well for a couple of days, clean and pleasing but probably no threat to rival the detail and depth of a Foillard. There’s room in the world for supermarket and the niche too.

14% alcohol but it don’t show. Screwcap, another good Boisset decision. $19 in a six on member’s special, normally $22. A bargain at both prices.

92 points.

2018 vintage and nowhere near the interest, sadly. Dry red wine more than Gamay from Beaujolais. Anodyne supermarket version, well made, clean, safe and good effort from a sweaty vintage.

88 points

1999 Marquis d’Angerville Volnay Champans 1er cru

Côte d’Or aristocracy in a glass, something to lose one’s head over. My one and only bottle from this famous estate. It opened a bit off puttingly smelly like any twenty year old who’s just awake after the party that was vintage 1999. Lurking in the middle of the first mouthfuls was a core of deep, intense liquorice flavour that suggested a good bit of ventilation might improve things. A brave double decant and the perfume got sweeter, a little caramel and autumnal but some faded wild strawberry with a ferrous, bloody lip edge was visible through the mist. As the evening wore on and food in the form of a potato and truffle flavoured pizza arrived, the smells freshened and a deep, fine, and well, downright elegant purity of fruit emerged. The cut of perfect acid and iron filing tannin leaving a mouth just watering for more. In no way large scaled but lithe, the fruit a complex of that wild strawberry perfume, kirsch, a fine cocoa sprinkle and that earthy iron. A later reference to Remington Norman’s bourgeoisly informed “Great Domaines of Burgundy” notes that Champans does contain a lot of ironstone amongst the clay and limestone rubble. Well, there’s a coincidence. One of those bottles of Burgundy, well out of reach these days, that shows what caused the infatuation in the first place. Oh well, back to earth.

13.50% alcohol. Cork. Was about €50 in Paris some years ago.

95 points.

2018 Marquis de Surblet Chinon

To be truthful, I’ve found it difficult to find versions of Loire Cabernet Franc which are technically well made and not blighted by dodgy old oak or bitter sulphide reduction. It’s a beautifully expressive variety, an ancient parent of the assertively tough Cabernet Sauvignon and extremely disappointing when it ends up down the drain. A recent, acclaimed version from the famous Saumur Champigny Les Poyeux vineyard was filthy with both brett, sulphide and a lingering mousiness. Sad really that the most enjoyable efforts have been the more mass produced and commercial. This is a supermarket chain direct import from the cooperative, La Cave des Vins de Rabelais, who it seems enjoyed a good glass of wine himself. Probably made in an all stainless steel, safe yeast and whole berry ferment way for brightness but deliciously glossy from a pretty warm season. There’s bright red fruits, a touch of bubblegum and a sweet green herby drag of ruffled acidity. The first day, there was a balsamic breath to finish that raised doubts about its ability not to collapse by day two. Happily, it actually got better, more fruit weight, more even length and structure. When the Loire’s not being decimated by increasingly common spring frost, it seems global warming is certainly helping with ripening the fruit destined for the everyday table. Just about qualifies as being typical of place and grape which is impressive for the price.

13.50% alcohol, lush. Screwcap, quelle horreur. $13.99.

90 points.

The 2019 has appeared and it’s just as interesting. Probably fresher and herbier, there’s a real raspberry fruit and lots of leaf perfume. Shining bright acidity leaves a sweet reminder of surprisingly decent fruit for the price. Very Loire just ripe enough for me but perhaps not all.

13% alcohol. Screw cap. $12 members’ special.

90 points again.

2013 Jamsheed Great Western Garden Gully Syrah

Yet another Great Western Shiraz, this time from the venerable Garden Gully vineyard planted in the late 19th century. Made by a fluent Japanese speaking, literary polymath, just in case you were wondering about the lucky kitty in the photo. Wine making influenced by the Beaujolais Gang of Four, no additions other than a pinch of sulphur with plenty of whole bunches. There’s a good punch of Grampians bush scents, blackberries, plums, tarry earth, spices and that dark, sort of ironstone grunt of ancient soils. It’s really difficult to describe a sense of something that bypasses the thought process and hits on what seems a primeval stirring. A bit silly and fanciful but smell is a curiously evocative sense to say the least? The stems lend a brown woody savour and push the soft acidity into the tannins to counterweight the sweet fruit ripeness. A seriously deep and meaningful capture of place and season. A heartfelt hope that Jamsheed’s new inner suburban winery and bar survive the coming months. See you there for a glass of real wine soon!

14.5% alcohol. Diam. About $45 on release.

95 points. Oishi des.

2014 Mudbrick Vineyard Reserve Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon

Waiheke island, only forty minutes by ferry from downtown Auckland, is a beautiful place of beaches, vineyards and desirable weekend escapes. A few days propping up cellar door tasting benches was both fun and interesting. For this precious and probably overly fussy wine bore, there were many wines that were just too ripe and oak showy. Such is the obvious comfort of wealth, the pricing was pretty aspirational too. This enterprise stood out a little for more moderate alcohol levels and better fruit clarity. Yes, even at 14% this appealed for its comparable freshness. It’s all relative goes the truism, when opened at home this looked quite ripe at first taste. Over time it evened out with some gorgeously lush red fruits, a splash of cassis and a delicious balance of herby Cabernet gravel bringing up the rear. A little taste of really good dark chocolate too. Clean and pure, like the sparkling sea surrounding Waiheke where the orcas crash through the swell. Such rich balance of fruit, natural cleansing acidity and sweet tannin would not be out of place in a similarly patrician Bordelais concoction.

14% alcohol. Screwcap. Was about $NZ 60? Their flagship Velvet bottling is now $NZ 750, take that Pauillac.

95 points.

2012 Seppelt Drumborg Riesling

From another remote Victorian vineyard in the ocean breeze swept South West, another 2012 Riesling. A long and even ripening season seems to have produced fruit of glorious balance. On first sniff, I must admit to thinking the amount of residual sugar left was out of step but as this woke up a bit and warmed from fridge cold, the clip of sweetness settled like a plump cushion on the laser acid drive. Smells and flavours of lime, white peach and almost green mango with some sort of coriander pesto, the sweet green bit not that odd soapy edge of the raw leaf. Cool river water fresh in a fanciful way that brought to mind the Floyd’s Granchester Meadows. Silly old hippy. Not a scintilla of broad petro chem, just pure, beautifully grown fruit. Subtle and powerful. So good, so sad to see the empty bottle.

12% alcohol. Screwcap. $30 roughly on release.

95 points, it’s that good.