When last I'd tried a CR Shiraz it was the 2008 and at that time I'd not yet discovered the magnificent Warrabilla reds, so I declared that wine to be about as big as they get. Well that wasn't true, though perhaps most of the Warrabillas I've tried aren't all that much bigger. This 2009 though, is even more on par with them in intensity, though not on overall balance.
This CR wine won't age as well as the Warrabillas do, and I suspect Mr. Ringland would be fine with that, he's kept the acid fairly much in the background and the tannins are pretty soft really. It makes for a great drink now wine (where now really means winter), but since I'm having lamb roast tonight I chilled the bugger slightly and I am loving it. Having said that, I do reckon 4-5 years is fine, it's just not likely to go 10.
I asked my wife to guess the alcohol, and remember it is slightly chilled, and 15% was the guess. It's actually 16.8%, which is kinda crazy in some ways, but it works for me. I've had 15% wines that taste and smell hotter. There's a fruit intensity I get that is not mixed with alcohol heat, and my tastebuds absolutely love it.
This is a wine that some will hate, and I can understand their point of view. But I love both AC/DC and Mozart, and I don't see why I can't also enjoy this and a 10 year old Clare Riesling. Perhaps not on the same night.
Better than the 08 and much better than the 07, but probably not as good as the 06 thought that's a guess as I only tried the 06 at five years old.
No rating on this one, it's too polarizing in style, but lovers of huge Shiraz should seek it out.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Lazy Ballerina Shiraz Viognier 2009
I'm a bit new to Shiraz Viognier really, I mean who would think it's a good idea to co-ferment a white grape with a red one? I'd somehow picked up the idea that it's done to lift the aromatics, but if done poorly it can leave the wine smelling like apricots.
However James Hook (aka the Hookmeister), informed me when I pronounced his SV free of such stonefruit 'taint' that the reason for the Viognier is to soften the tannins a little. There's under 3% Viognier in this wine if I recall correctly.
Thus this wine is slightly more approachable than it's 09 Shiraz sibling, which if you'd read my review you'd know I reckon it needs a little time for those tannins to soften up. (Which you can't have read yet because I lost my notes in a Freudian desire to have a need to open another bottle of it, despite it being too young.)
A side note on this wine is that the Shiraz in it is from a completely different vineyard to it's straight Shiraz stablemate.
A couple of hours in the decanter first and it's clear this is one classy drop. The nose is plums and spice and all things nice. On the tongue it's full bodied high quality fruit supported by fine young tannibles and excellent acid balance. Despite the Viognier, the tannins will benefit from a wee bit more bottle age.
This is a very good wine and I have no hesitation in rating it Highly Recommended++ and ****. (Remember I try to mark hard)
However James Hook (aka the Hookmeister), informed me when I pronounced his SV free of such stonefruit 'taint' that the reason for the Viognier is to soften the tannins a little. There's under 3% Viognier in this wine if I recall correctly.
Thus this wine is slightly more approachable than it's 09 Shiraz sibling, which if you'd read my review you'd know I reckon it needs a little time for those tannins to soften up. (Which you can't have read yet because I lost my notes in a Freudian desire to have a need to open another bottle of it, despite it being too young.)
A side note on this wine is that the Shiraz in it is from a completely different vineyard to it's straight Shiraz stablemate.
A couple of hours in the decanter first and it's clear this is one classy drop. The nose is plums and spice and all things nice. On the tongue it's full bodied high quality fruit supported by fine young tannibles and excellent acid balance. Despite the Viognier, the tannins will benefit from a wee bit more bottle age.
This is a very good wine and I have no hesitation in rating it Highly Recommended++ and ****. (Remember I try to mark hard)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Kimbolton House Block Shiraz 2008
I discovered Kimbolton wines via the Winehouse in Langhorne Creek, which is a cellar door for a number of local LC wineries. They also do functions there, well worth a visit. In fact the entire area is probably underrated for it's wines.
Dark crimson on the pour. Blackberries, noticeable but quality oak and Indian spices on an intense and somewhat hot nose. The blackberries follow on the tongue with hints of white pepper and salami. Medium bodied with silky tannins, the acid balance is very good.
The fruit intensity isn't as expected from a 2008, and I'd like more complexity but perhaps that will come in time when the oak settles in a bit. There's a lot to like about this wine despite my somewhat harsh judgement, and at $20 it's reasonable VFM.
Recommended+ and ***
Dark crimson on the pour. Blackberries, noticeable but quality oak and Indian spices on an intense and somewhat hot nose. The blackberries follow on the tongue with hints of white pepper and salami. Medium bodied with silky tannins, the acid balance is very good.
The fruit intensity isn't as expected from a 2008, and I'd like more complexity but perhaps that will come in time when the oak settles in a bit. There's a lot to like about this wine despite my somewhat harsh judgement, and at $20 it's reasonable VFM.
Recommended+ and ***
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Inkwell 2010 Shiraz (preview)
I've tried it.
It's not released.
It won't be released until 2012.
Get on the mailing list.
You will thank me later.
It's not released.
It won't be released until 2012.
Get on the mailing list.
You will thank me later.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Inkwell 2010 "Inkling" Shiraz/Primitivo
After trying lots of Zins in June, I had this thought that the grape has a lot of synergy with Shiraz and wondered why I hadn't noticed any blends of such.
Next time I was talking to Dudley Brown I asked him if he'd ever thought of blending the two. I think I surprised him a little since he had indeed made a Shiraz+Zin and was just about to bottle it. Clearly I am either clever or can read minds, or both - I know my wife can read my mind so perhaps I've absorbed that skill.
Dudley is obviously as clever as I think I am because this blend works really well. It smells like I've gone picking cherries in the Adelaide hills just before xmas. It tastes vibrant and yet not acidic, and would eminently suit being ever so slightly chilled for a warm summer's eve dinner.
I only had a small taste of it but I think it's a very exciting wine and well worth trying this unusual blend. I see a great future in it (I'm prescient as well as clever and having ESP).
Rated Highly Recommended.
http://www.inkwellwines.com/Inkwell/Shiraz.html
Next time I was talking to Dudley Brown I asked him if he'd ever thought of blending the two. I think I surprised him a little since he had indeed made a Shiraz+Zin and was just about to bottle it. Clearly I am either clever or can read minds, or both - I know my wife can read my mind so perhaps I've absorbed that skill.
Dudley is obviously as clever as I think I am because this blend works really well. It smells like I've gone picking cherries in the Adelaide hills just before xmas. It tastes vibrant and yet not acidic, and would eminently suit being ever so slightly chilled for a warm summer's eve dinner.
I only had a small taste of it but I think it's a very exciting wine and well worth trying this unusual blend. I see a great future in it (I'm prescient as well as clever and having ESP).
Rated Highly Recommended.
http://www.inkwellwines.com/Inkwell/Shiraz.html
Inkwell Infidel 2010 aka Primitivo
Infidel [in-fi-dl,del]
noun
A person who has no faith; unbeliever
That's what Dudley has called this 2010 Primitivo (or as I prefer, Zinfandel), and whoever doesn't believe Zin can make great wines is indeed an infidel. A quick grape variety lesson here, Zinfandel and Primitivo are indeed the same grape. Read more about them on wikipedia if you're interested. I'm calling it Zin for the rest of this article BTW.
I first sought out Dudley because he was growing Zin in McLaren Vale. I had first tried Zinfandel in Napa Valley 15+ years ago at Cline Cellars in the Sonoma Valley, and I was blown away. I've been randomly searching for a local version of similar style for a long time, but it's just not a popular variety in Australia, possibly because it's pretty hard to grow.
My search has ended. This 2010 Zinfandel is brilliant.
In June I spent 3 weeks in Hawaii, and surprisingly there is actually a pretty good selection of Zins if you take the time to find the specialty wine shops. I reckon I tried two dozen Zins hunting for what my taste memory said I should expect from this grape, and I got close with a few but nothing that blew me away. What I found was many lacked complexity, such that after one glass I was ready to move on. That may well be my ignorant palate when it comes to Zin because I wasn't buying the cheap ones, well mostly not anyway.
This Infidel though, well lets just say I had to tell my wife off twice for trying to steal another glass of it - I was trying to save some of the bottle for day 2 to get a bit of an idea how it might go longer term. BTW, the answer is it's impressively even better today and sadly not enough left in the bottle for my liking either.
I'm not even going to attempt to describe it in detail, but I can say it's fruit forward, silky smooth tannins, perfectly balanced acid and flippin more-ish.
There's unfortunately very few bottles of it, and there's now at least one less than there was.
I rate it Excellent. And in my somewhat limited but enthusiastic search it's the best Zin I've ever had.
http://www.inkwellwines.com/Inkwell/Primitivo.html
PS. the label print is done as a eyesight focus/sobriety test, but I had no trouble reading the word "INKWELL" so I reckon I'm fine. (you'll understand my waffle when you get a bottle)
PPS. US consumers will be buying this under screwcap cos only an Infidel would think cork is better.
noun
A person who has no faith; unbeliever
That's what Dudley has called this 2010 Primitivo (or as I prefer, Zinfandel), and whoever doesn't believe Zin can make great wines is indeed an infidel. A quick grape variety lesson here, Zinfandel and Primitivo are indeed the same grape. Read more about them on wikipedia if you're interested. I'm calling it Zin for the rest of this article BTW.
I first sought out Dudley because he was growing Zin in McLaren Vale. I had first tried Zinfandel in Napa Valley 15+ years ago at Cline Cellars in the Sonoma Valley, and I was blown away. I've been randomly searching for a local version of similar style for a long time, but it's just not a popular variety in Australia, possibly because it's pretty hard to grow.
My search has ended. This 2010 Zinfandel is brilliant.
In June I spent 3 weeks in Hawaii, and surprisingly there is actually a pretty good selection of Zins if you take the time to find the specialty wine shops. I reckon I tried two dozen Zins hunting for what my taste memory said I should expect from this grape, and I got close with a few but nothing that blew me away. What I found was many lacked complexity, such that after one glass I was ready to move on. That may well be my ignorant palate when it comes to Zin because I wasn't buying the cheap ones, well mostly not anyway.
This Infidel though, well lets just say I had to tell my wife off twice for trying to steal another glass of it - I was trying to save some of the bottle for day 2 to get a bit of an idea how it might go longer term. BTW, the answer is it's impressively even better today and sadly not enough left in the bottle for my liking either.
I'm not even going to attempt to describe it in detail, but I can say it's fruit forward, silky smooth tannins, perfectly balanced acid and flippin more-ish.
There's unfortunately very few bottles of it, and there's now at least one less than there was.
I rate it Excellent. And in my somewhat limited but enthusiastic search it's the best Zin I've ever had.
http://www.inkwellwines.com/Inkwell/Primitivo.html
PS. the label print is done as a eyesight focus/sobriety test, but I had no trouble reading the word "INKWELL" so I reckon I'm fine. (you'll understand my waffle when you get a bottle)
PPS. US consumers will be buying this under screwcap cos only an Infidel would think cork is better.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Dandelion Lionheart 2008 Shiraz
Gawd, I've neglected the blog again. I have written a few posts in my head but they never made it as far as my fingers. It's not the wine's fault, I'm sure.
Interesting wine this, and not in the way that people who use the word interesting to mean "I don't want to say bad things about this but...", rather I mean it's not an obvious wine. It's not obviously big, or obviously light, nor indeed can you fall back on the now obvious, 'obviously medium'.
The colour is light, the acid balanced, the tannins substantial, and the fruit is red. I think someone is pulling my leg, this is a Grenache yeah? Perhaps GSM? I know I wouldn't have guessed a Shiraz in a blind tasting.
The wine smells like a winery, well at least the room where they sit the barrels of wine to age. There's probably a name for such rooms, but personally I just call them heaven on earth. You'd think most wines would smell like that, but what I mean is this smells fresh, rich and heady.
Really the most obvious thing about this wine is it's obviously good. Light colour, medium bodied and huge nose - there's a joke at someone's expense in there somewhere.
Highly Recommended with a ++ I reckon.
Interesting wine this, and not in the way that people who use the word interesting to mean "I don't want to say bad things about this but...", rather I mean it's not an obvious wine. It's not obviously big, or obviously light, nor indeed can you fall back on the now obvious, 'obviously medium'.
The colour is light, the acid balanced, the tannins substantial, and the fruit is red. I think someone is pulling my leg, this is a Grenache yeah? Perhaps GSM? I know I wouldn't have guessed a Shiraz in a blind tasting.
The wine smells like a winery, well at least the room where they sit the barrels of wine to age. There's probably a name for such rooms, but personally I just call them heaven on earth. You'd think most wines would smell like that, but what I mean is this smells fresh, rich and heady.
Really the most obvious thing about this wine is it's obviously good. Light colour, medium bodied and huge nose - there's a joke at someone's expense in there somewhere.
Highly Recommended with a ++ I reckon.
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