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Domaine Richaud ? Cotes du Rhone ?Terres d? Aigues? (2005)
If you?re in the mood for wonderful floral aromas followed by mind altering weirdness on the palate ? try this.
Dried herbs, strong garrigue notes and liquorice on the nose, full bodied initially, becoming seriously fat in the glass with some tobacco and grilled meat flavours which seem to fade but kick in again accompanied by a seriously weird sweaty iodine and dare I say it ? Sauerkraut fizzpop explosion which stopped me dead in my tracks between the kitchen and the lounge.
Top marks for creating something really interesting here, I just wonder if the flavours work for me. After two glasses it left me in a dizzy sweat.
Domaine Richaud produce top quality wines and I look forward to returning to the Cairanne or perhaps the Les Garrigues?decisions, decisions.
Rich and juicy, with a vibrant structure etching the peach and nectarine notes in relief. There's a nice mouthwatering finish, with a touch of mineral. Drink now through 2017. 2,000 cases made.
Dark black cherry hue with big fruity bouquet of minty black cherry and plum.
Palate--relaxed tannins with prevalent evergreen notes on top of dark berry fruit. Finishes a little quick. This Washington state wine is made in the popular style and is pleasant enough for the right mood.
For around $25, I'd rather spend it on something from K Vinters (also Washington state) or a Santa Barbara Syrah. Raise a glass.
For an in-depth look at starting up your very own vineyard, check out Vineyard Owner. It's still a work in progress, but it currently sports some nice articles on Disease and Pest Management, and Climate factors.
In the spirit of the upcoming Presidential election, one Washington DC restaurant, OYA Restaurant and Lounge, is pitting Arizona wines (from Senator McCain's home state) against those from Illinois (Senator Obama's home state). Neither state is well known for its wine industry, but according to the restaurant's Director of Wine Marketing & Sommelier, Andrew Stover, "Illinois has over 70 wineries and has been producing wine since the late 1700s. Arizona's wine industry is on a much smaller scale with close to 30 wineries."
According to Stover, the Lynfred Seyval Blanc has slightly outsold the Arizona wines during the summer, but fall could usher in a preference for the red wines of Arizona. The promotion will continue through the election in November.
Oya Restaurant and Lounge is located in Washington's Penn Quarter neighborhood. They serve an innovative menu that combines Asian ingredients with French technique.
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It’s sweatin’ time here again. We brought in the rest of our Pinot Noir last week, and processed about 35 tons in 3 days. We got through that, certainly, but then the monster that rears it’s head as a result is a *@!#-load of punchdowns….needless to say, I’m not very popular around here at the moment.
Maybe we should go back to doing it the old-fashioned way as it seems like it might’ve been more fun than modern times….at least the old-timers could drink some wine and hike up their skirts while mixing-up their fermenting must!
This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal.
This is one of the wines available in Belgrade restaurants in 0.2l bottles, so if you’re a driver among non-wine drinkers (meaning you can’t order a whole bottle of some fine wine) it’s a good chance you’ll be in a position to try it. Do so.
Fall is just around the corner and few wines are more enjoyable when the weather turns cool than Italy's Sangiovese wines. In the video below, Iron Chef Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich discuss how best to pair Sangiovese with food. Take a look:
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Iggy’s at the Regent Hotel in Singapore is the recipient of quite a bit of hype, with various awards and reviews proclaiming it to be among the best restaurants in Singapore and the world. It seems very few people have anything but good words to say about it. Wednesday the 25th of June saw me visiting this restaurant for the first time.
My expectations were high, but I will be one joining in with the praise for this establishment after my experience. The food we tried was sensational with both classic and surprising combinations of flavours that worked brilliantly together. The service was overall very good and with one or two minor tweaks could have been excellent.
Four courses at lunch (an amuse bouche, two entrees, a main and dessert) was an entirely reasonable $70AUD (including GST and a mandatory 10% service charge) per person plus wine.
The wine;
The list is heavily tilted toward white and red Burgundy, the prices are quite decent for a high quality restaurant. I was impressed when I asked to keep the bottles, they offered to remove the labels if I wished instead, and I was presented with them laminated and in perfect condition at the end of the meal.
Serriger Schloss Saarsteiner Spatlese Riesling 1986 (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany) - 8% alcohol - Golden coloured. Initially a bit closed, but as it warmed and shook off the confines of being in bottle for almost 22 years it blossomed beautifully with notes of honey, orange peel, lily petals and minerals. The palate showed fine, detailed acidity to balance the ripe fruit characters. Very good length and balance initially, with the mouth-feel and components coming together even further with time in the glass. Drinking very well now, but will hold for another 5 years. 91/100
Rossignol-Trapet Chambertin Grand Cru 2002 (Burgundy, France) - 13.5% alcohol - This was decanted for around an hour and a half. Deep ruby red in colour, the nose is expressive and sensual with aromas of red cherry, rose petals, strawberry, light earth and black truffles. The palate shows great finesse and depth. The structure is excellent, with tannins playing their role in the background and acidity giving great freshness to the mouth-feel. There are layers of subtle flavour and complexity to this wine that kept me enthralled with every taste. Delicious and approachable now, but it will get even better over the next 12-15 years. 93/100
The food;
Sweet Corn “Cappuccino” with Chocolate
Sourdough roll with garlic and herb infused olive oil
Charcoal-grilled bonito with white anchovies, mizuna salad, olives and peppers, citrus dressing
Roulade of kurobuta pork belly with red cabbage salad, whole grain mustard dressing
Fresh Burrata mozzarella with vine-ripe tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil
Home-made potato gnocchi with truffle salsa and soft-boiled egg
Classic onion soup served with crusty bread loaf
Braised kurobuta pork cheek with onion confit
Home-made Wagyu beef burger with white truffle sabayon
Confit of duck leg with rosemary potatoes, mesclun
Grand Marnier soufflé with home-made Java vanilla ice cream
Baked chocolate molten cake with Java vanilla ice-cream
Those of us living here know it's been positively FREEZING the past few days in San Francisco, but little did we know it's actually been SNOWING in wine country. Check out these pics of soon-to-be-opened, Gold-LEED certified winery (word has it it'll be the only one in Cali), Cade. A new venture from the PlumpJack Group (Go Gavin & fam!), Cade is slated to open its eco-friendly doors to invitation-only guests beginning in March 2009. Their PR team sent me these snaps of snow that fell on the gorgeous winery earlier today, and I just had to share. Clearly, the Juan Carlos Fernandez/Lail Group-designed facility - which is being billed as "one of the architectural showplaces of Northern California's wine country" by PlumpJack's PR machine - is a stunner. Can't wait to check it out myself - albeit in better weather.
Following the theme of my last post about Americans? increasing awareness of the quality wines that many artisan producers of Argentina are exporting, I?m pleased to post the first installment of my interview with Ed Lehrman of Vine Connections. Along with his business partner, Nick Ramkowsky, they formed a company that not only imports the wines of artisan Mendoza producers, but selectively forges meaningful, long term relationships with them. As Ed Lehrman explains in the interview, this type of involvement encompasses much more than shipping and distribution, extending into representation, consulting, label design and many other crucial aspects which in the end, bring American consumers the types of genuine artisan wines that multinationals couldn?t even conceive of delivering.
Based out of Sausalito, CA, Vine Connections has been at the forefront of the changing of the guard, in terms of tastes, that I described in my last post. Their portfolio includes excellent California, New Zealand and Japanese Saké producers, alongside the wines of star Mendoza winemakers Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky, along with others to look out for, such as Mapema, Tikal and La Posta del Viñatero. If you really want to know what Argentines really like to have at the table and moreover, the breadth that Argentine wines are capable of achieving, I encourage you to explore the types of artisan producers that Vine Connections represents and whose work, over the coming years, will ultimately triumph over the characterless, corporate-backed South American wines saturating our shelves.
I would like to thank Ed Lehrman for taking the time to provide his in-depth responses concerning Vine Connections, its vision and inspiration. Our conversation unfolded over e-mail:
*What is the vision behind your company and what were some of the key experiences that led you and your business partner to get started?
- My partner, Nick Ramkowsky, and I have both been in the wine business since 1986 (we started very young), and we could have done any number of things together. Nick was a small California distributor at the time, and I had just sold my direct-to-consumer wine business where he had been one of my suppliers. A fateful trip together in May of 1999 launched us into the importing/national sale & marketing business. We spent about a week in Mendoza on that trip tasting wines from bottle, barrel, tanks?you name it?and we met some incredible winery owners and winemakers. By the end of the week, we were looking at each other and asking, ?How does the 5th largest wine producer in the world hide incredible wines like these from the US?? It seemed like this must be the opportunity of a lifetime for wine guys like us to lead the charge in introducing Argentine wine to the US, and in a way that they would be fully appreciated for their quality and authenticity, and not just their price. As an aside, of the first 12 wines we imported from Argentina, the LEAST EXPENSIVE wine was $22 retail! So in fact, Vine Connections was originally formed in order to be an Argentine wine importer. *Compared to other importers, what is the depth of Vine Connection's involvement with the producers its represents? (in terms of consulting, marketing, other assistance, etc.)
- It is hard to speak about other importers, since some do quite a lot and some just taste and buy. As for us, we take the approach that we are the winery?s own sales & marketing department and they can use us for as little or as much as they need. That may mean writing back label copy, helping with label design, or determining whether a new blended wine is even a good idea to add to their portfolio.
For all of our wineries, we do the copywriting for all printed materials since we can communicate their stories in English more effectively, and along the same lines, we handle most press relations since we are here and readily available. And I guess the most valuable thing we do would be called ?consulting? since we offer our advice on many topics based on our 40 years of working in the U.S. wine biz. *How does your company forge relationships with producers? In this vein, what is the process like for you when considering an addition to your portfolio? Do the producers come towards you in the way of trade events, do you travel to areas to scout, so to speak, or some combination thereof?
- We are very careful in this regard since our objective as an importer is to build brands and not just sell wine. That requires long-term relationships, so besides tasting backwards and forwards through a winery?s production, we spend as much as time as we can with the owners and the winemakers to see whether there is a good fit for working closely together. When we meet people who already think they know it all about winemaking, marketing, etc., we politely walk away no matter the wine quality. Our initial screen is the wines?they have to be particularly good since that is what we are known for importing. Then we start talking about their philosophies, their dreams, their business objectives, and where we should all eat dinner together (a meal with a potential supplier is always a good way to gain more insight).
This process means that while we have run into some wines that we like, we have sometimes been unwilling to take the winery on. The most common stumbling block for us seems to be that the winery lacks a strong winemaking philosophy, and often because they have abdicated this cornerstone to a consulting winemaker (and most often to foreign winemakers). As time has passed, we have pretty much settled into the idea of only representing wineries owned by Argentines and with Argentine winemakers since the winemaking vision is usually clearer and more grounded in expressing what makes Mendoza so special compared to other regions.
From the first moment that we meet a winery team, it usually takes about 18 months before we come to an agreement, do the ground work, and then start selling the wines in the U.S. It seems to work--we have never lost an Argentine winery and every brand that we represent has achieved a significant level of success.
I wish I could say that finding these producers followed a particular recipe, but in truth, all of our brands have come to us via different sources. The key is to have your radar on all the time so that the best ones don?t slip by accidentally.
*You represent Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky's Dominio del Plata Winery?how did that relationship come about and how far back do you go?
- Well, if it weren?t for the ?dynamic duo? of Mendoza, we may never have been Argentine wine importers. We met them on our first trip to Mendoza in 1999, and they were so obviously talented and knowledgeable that they got us thinking a lot about the possibilities. We also formed a trusting relationship so quickly that it became obvious that we would work together, and together push forward a common vision of making Argentine wine part of the daily American fine wine conversation. That seems like an ominous task looking back now?we had no company yet and they were renting a very small winery at the time?but at the time it just seemed like destiny.
The average diner tends to be less than well-educated when it comes to pairing wine with their meals, or knowing how to serve it. To avoid turning ordering a glass of wine into a major ordeal, it's important to educate yourself about the wines available and the things you should or should not be doing to enjoy them.
[11/25/2006, 14:17]
Preparations for Christmas.
Santiago of Chile prepares itself to receive the Christmas.
While hurried wayfarers travel the Plaza of Weapon, a group of workers raised in nets, prepare a gigantic tree.
It will be finished in a few days more and be be almost so high as the centenary Cathedral, Satiago's former relic.
January 6th, 2005 was my first post to this new blog. Below is how it all started if interested. The popularity of our blog has surprised us. We try to stick to reviewing wine without a bunch of yada yada although I am the worst offender for what may be too much yada yada. It's just that the supreme enjoyment of wine is not merely what is in the bottle but whole experience of fellowship surrounding the event. And what is amazing is that you can have an "event" as mundane as a 3:00 snack, but add a bottle of wine, and it becomes an ocassion! I will resolve to temper my yada yada's without losing the experience. Raise a glass with us to a new year and we hope you visit us and leave comments--often.
How it all started: It was 1979 and I was putting my time in at a hospital laboratory as a medical technologist. Someone brought in a magazine subtitled ?The magazine for physicians at leisure.? On my breaks I would page through it because it had some really nice photos of far away places in gorgeous spots of the world. In one issue there was a feature titled, ?The Ten Best Wines in America for under $10.?
Wine had intrigued me yet my exposure to the fruit of the vine had pretty much been relegated to the annual Thanksgiving sip my parents would serve of?sit down?Mogen- David wine. Even as a kid, I thought it had more in common with cough syrup than a drinkable beverage. That exposure is probably why I was much more a Guinness Stout kind of guy if anything at all.
Still, the mythical stories of the guy who could sit down with a glass of fermented grape juice in front of him and tell you the place it was made, the year it was made and the particular type of grape or grapes fascinated me. So, ?What made a good wine, a good wine??
Even I could afford a $10 bottle of wine every now and then so if the ones in the magazine represented the best in the country, I wanted to know what they tasted like and began to hunt down everyone I could. That was it; I was hooked. I joined a wine club called ?Les Amis Du Vin? which means ?Friends of the Vine? which entitled me to the wine of the month at a local dealer which meant I could get one bottle of the month?s selection for half price. That was the beginning of a lifetime pursuit of what has been an absolutely inexhaustible quest to understand wine. Do not misunderstand though, I am NOT a connoisseur but I do know a good wine from a mediocre wine from a bad wine. And I know a great value when I find one which these days abound! Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile are producing wines not by the hundreds or thousands of cases but by the hundreds of thousands of cases. With that kind of volume, phenomenal bargains are all over the place!
So if you are serious about pursuing wine beyond a bottle here and there, you have to subscribe to the Wine Spectator magazine. It will cost you $45 a year but is worth every penny. And will save you ten times that in a year by helping you to avoid over-priced and over-hyped wines. Their rating system is irrespective of a wine?s cost so when you see a wine that rates an 88 out of 100 scale and it costs $8 and then another wine that rates an 86 which cost $55; the savings are obvious. Til next time--
[07/20/2006, 00:27]
New Board of Directors for Colchagua's Wineries (Chile) and your Route of the Wine
The Association of Colchagua's Vineyards and your Route of the Wine, chose new board of directors integrated by Jose Miguel Viu,Viu Manent Vineyards, Fanor Velasco, Emiliana Vineyards, Andres Turner, Montes Vineyards y Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Estampa Vineyards. In turn it took up office as president of the board of directors Mario Pablo Silva S., Casa Silva Vineyards, who already had occupied the same cargo between the year 2000 and 2003.
The act of possession of the new charges was realized in the restaurant of Casa Silva Vineyards, where the manager - Tomas Wilkins - delivered a platelet in honoring to the pass presidents, receiving the distinction the gentleman Jose Miguel Viu.
The new president, Mario Pablo Silva S., proved to be very optimistic, emphasizing that "our challenge today is even major that before, we are in the showcase of the world. We feel proud in being pioneers in Chile in promoting a denomination of origin, know that our major secret is the diversity and quality of our wines, and the union of our people, in each of the corners from the valley, of mountain chain to sea, and trust that the pride of being Colchaguinos will continue being the engine that will stimulate our project".
It didn?t take long for a tribute album to surface following the death of Pink Floyd mastermind Syd Barrett. The groovy part is Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett avoids gimmickry with an all-underground roster of metal, prog and sludge bands.
Syd Barrett?s spacegrassy Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a building block for future stoner, doom and tech metal practitioners. As testimony to the Pink Floyd album?s pioneering spirit, Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett hoists six Piper cuts in addition to seven of Barrett?s solo tunes, largely represented by The Madcap Laughs.
Instead of obvious candidates like Queens of the Stone Age on this thing, you get Jesu, Yakuza, Intronaut, Zodiak, Stinking Lizaveta, Unearthly Trance and Kylesa as well as the mighty Pentagram, all likely nominees to do Syd Barrett?s frequently off-kilter music justice.
Jarboe and Giant Squid capture the sheer lunacy of Barrett?s quizzical music on ?Late Night? and ?Octopus? respectively. Meanwhile, Voivod drummer Away leads his offshoot project Kosmos in a laser-dashed version of ?Vegetable Man,? one of the compilation?s coolest tracks.
Other highlights include Intronaut?s ?Arnold Layne? as well as the Piper songs like Yakuza?s ?Lucifer Sam,? Pentagram?s ?Flaming,? Kylesa?s ?Interstellar Overdrive? and Dredg?s faithfully trippy interpretation of ?Astronomy Domine,? a translucent gem that briefly made Voivod stars.
Appropriate Syd Barrett should be represented by fringe rock and metal bands whose mutual appreciation for where their sounds originate makes Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett a rare tribute album with its heart in the right place.
Many people would be able to identify a bottle of wine that was truly faulty and, in a restaurant, ask for a replacement. But would you be able to tell what the fault was or what to blame for it? It is all to do with perception threshold. Different faults require different parts per thousand or even million to be perceived.
Some people are more sensitive to certain faults than others so while the host, who may taste the wine as it is brought to the table, is happily quaffing, one or more guests could be secretively retching into their napkins. Depending on how well you know your host and judging, diplomatically, how much of an ego dent your comments could produce, it might be worth discreetly asking people to have another careful sniff.
At a wine faults workshop this week, it was made clear that a fault is only a fault if the people drinking the wine consider it to be. For example the "fault" brett - produced from brettanomyces yeast acting on the phenolic acids of the grape - is a characteristic that some tasters love and some winemakers deliberately introduce. It can produce strong animal characteristics that enhance a wine's complexity and increases some people's pleasure.
Of course it is very important to get the balance right because the smallest increase tips a wine over from animal (yum) to bretty (yuck). And even in the lower doses some people adore the fragrant pong while others will recoil in horror at the filthy stench. Perception is all.
Then there is actual corkiness. Produced by TCA, TBA and TeCA it has various origins like the high levels of chlorine used to clean the winery and equipment, the breakdown of other cleaning agents by funghi in the winery - low ventilation and high humidity contibuting to high levels in the atmosphere.
The cork industry is keen to point out that it is not something inherently present in the corks more of a contamination at the winery. The plastic in alternative closure linings etc are equally susceptible to this contamination. With increased awareness, far higher standards of hygiene than ever before and alternative cleaning solutions available the problem should be getting better. However despite some high profile cases in California back in 2004, there are still many wineries taking the easy option and continuing bad practices.
At the other end is a sulfide problem that produces a tomato, truffle, cabbage, rubber character. This is reduction, the opposite of oxidation and the result of a complete seal which prevents any movement of oxygen into the wine. Unlike oxidation though, this can be corrected sometimes as simply as swirling the wine in the glass or decanting the bottle thereby allowing some air contact and dissipating the bad aromas.
This problem has been most associated with screwcaps which provide such an affective seal that all the positive benefits of cork permeability have been lost alongside the problems that can occur for freshness through excessive permeability.
New Zealand wineries have famously chosen to address this by slightly oxidising the wine before bottling in order to achieve balance once the wine is in bottle. As is often the case with the New World, they are quick to respond to problems and criticism.
However this is a dangerous and nervy solution and not always successful. Pascal Chatonnet, leading faults scientist, oenologist and consultant to wineries all over the world, argues that some of the essential character and originality is lost through this process and the overall quality and elegance is compromised, though this is not necessarily understood by the consumer as the original wine is not available to compare.
What is important to the cork industry is that while a consumer might recognise the wine is faulty, the only real language employed to describe or attribute the fault invokes cork. This is of major concern and is where the charm offensive needs to conentrate, for cork may not have played any part whatsoever.
For consumers the challenge to the industry as a whole is to find a closure with the correct level of permeability and which is kept free of contamination. It is in everybody's interests and with a more frank discussion opening up we can only hope that solutions won't be too far away.
I thought the food was of a high standard with good use of fresh ingredients and I felt like it was good value for the money (ended up around $75 a head for food, corkage and tip). We needed to take care with some of the dishes and the spice clashing with the wines (the Hokkien noodles especially!) but it was manageable. We had the table for 6-8 people that you can book, any more than 6 people and I think it would have been too squished.
The food was as follows:
Steamed Prawn Wontons with Organic Brown Rice Vinegar Dressing Steamed Scallop Wontons with Sichuan Chilli Oil Homestyle Fried Biodynamic Eggs with Organic Soy & Homemade XO Sung Choi Bao of Free-Range ‘Kurobuta’ Pork, Ginger & Mushrooms
Crispy-Skin Duck White-Cooked Free-Range Chicken with Shoyu Organic Soy, Chilli & Coriander Red-Braised Pork Belly served with Fennel & Leek Dry-Fried Organic Hokkien Noodles with Homemade XO Sauce Dry-Fried Green Beans with Organic Miso Paste & Garlic
Organic Steamed and Fried Rice
The wines were;
1995 Jacquesson Signature Grand Vin: The nose is bready, with lemons and green apples coming through. Youthful and taut on the palate with lemony acid at the fore. Very good, and it should get better as it unwinds over the next 7-10+ years. 90/100
2002 Marcel Deiss Altenberg de Bergheim GC Alsace: Nutty, orange peel, peach, smoke and floral notes. Richly fruited with opulent weight. Balanced palate, with the acidity holding up to the residual sugar and fruit sweetness. Finishes long and clean. Was a superb match with the slightly spicy Asian food being consumed. 94/100
1996 Zind Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain: Light citrus, minerals and a touch of candy on the nose. The palate is incredibly austere. The length is good, but with the acid dominating the palate, it was not very enjoyable. 85/100
2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne: Cashew nuts, smoke, graphite and chalky aromas comprise the nose. Lovely richness to the fruit on the palate. Balanced, long and very, very tasty. This is a beautiful wine that will only get better as it develops over the next 8-10 years. 93/100
2000 Fourrier Clos St Jacques: Earth and game meat aromas on the nose. Nicely balanced and textured on the palate. Seems to be in a pretty approachable place at the moment, although it is lacking some depth. 90/100
2004 Dugat-Py Charmes Chambertin: Forward, interesting nose of green beans, tobacco leaf, spice, blackcurrant and cherry aromas. The palate shows some green, slightly under ripe tannins. Good length, but the green elements distract from the experience. 88/100
2006 Hillcrest Reserve Pinot Noir: Cherry, floral, earth and spice aromas on the nose. Excellent layers and balance to the palate. Sweet fruit provides good weight and the tannins and acid provide great structure. A wine of obviously high quality and I think it will develop well in the bottle over the next 5-10 years. 92/100
1986 Chateau L’Eglise Clinet: Savoury aromas of game, smoke and tobacco - with some time the aromas became more bretty and animal like and a bit overpowering. Palate was smooth, medium bodied and well resolved. Best on pouring, the brett coming forward was a shame but it was still quite nice overall. 89/100
1997 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva: Complex nose of floral notes with tar, liquorice, blackcurrant and cherry. Well structured and balanced palate, with the bold, deep set fruit balanced well with the medium intensity tannins and well integrated acidity. Delicious. 92/100
NV Campbells Merchant Prince Rare Muscat: Maple syrup, caramel, coconut, brown sugar and raisin aromas on the complex, layered nose. Palate is superb - balanced, complex, delicious and brilliantly long. Technically and tactically world class. 97/100
Te Whare Ra ( "Tee Faree Ra" is supposed to mean house in the Sun in Maori)is based in Marlborough New Zealand. This is on the south Island in the town of Renwick which is host to quite a few wineries including Cloudy Bay, Montana etc...
Established in 1979, this small boutique winery probably has some of the oldest vines in the area. In 2003, the husband and wife team of Jason & Anna Flowerday took the helm and have significantly upgraded various aspects of the winery. Although offering a Pinot Noir, IMHO they are a white wine producer with offerings mainly from Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling, Gerwurztraminer and Chardonnay. It's their aromatic wines which to me show their stuff here. Current size of the vineyards ~9 hectares with many coming from the older vines planted in 1979 ( almost 30 years ago) - I was told the Gerwurztraminer. Fruit is basically hand sorted and picked - now we are talking.
Cutting to the chase, my favorite wines from their lineup would be the "Toru" bottling and their Gerwurztraminer.
The "Toru" is a blend of several aromatic grape varietals consiting of Riesling, Gerwurztraminer and Pinot Gris. While tasting this wine, images of a picnic & grilled seafood keep popping up - probably my mind telling me that's where I should be with this. 89 points The 2007 Gerwurztraminer to me is a standout here. The concentration and flavor in here just screams of old vines and low yields. The typical Lychee notes were present although not overpowering, minerals, hints of sweetness from the fruit with 22g/l of residual sugar - nice finish ( the wine was still going strong after being opened more than 24 hours). The best thing to compare this to would be an Alsatian Gewurtz VT. 92+ points
It is home to over one third of all vines planted in France. Yet, how the Languedoc adjusts to world glut in grapes will have a profound effect on its future. Once responsible for massive amounts of low quality grapes, growers in the France's south have had to make a choice as competition from other countries have made this a less viable business.
Faced with the option of simply pulling out vines, a new generation of winemakers have chosen to make higher quality wines. While lower yields have improved the wines, putting more emphasis on more marketable grapes like Syrah and Grenache have no doubt made them more attractive to today's varietal conscious consumer. However, this second decision has come at a price.
The Carignan grape, indigenous to the south, has suffered as many growers have switched to Syrah and Grenache. Carignan can do wonderful things if given the opportunity, adding color, structure, depth, as well as dark cooked fruits, licorice and earthy aromas. However, since it is often relegated to the more fertile plateaus where it over produces, it can become rather innocuous.
At a recent tasting of Languedoc wines, the bottles that had appreciable levels of well-grown carignan were the ones that stood out. If you place a value on the importance of regional ?distinctiveness,' look for those Languedoc wines with higher percentages of this grape. Coteaux du Languedoc 2001, Mas Jullien One of my favourite producers is Olivier Jullien. His estate, Mas Jullien, is spread out over 15 acres around the village of Jonquiers, just north of the Mediterrean coast and the city of Montpellier. I have already reviewed his Mas Jullien Blanc, a six grapes blend that includes Grenache Blanc, Viogner and Chenin Blanc, and to my taste is one of the most distinctive and interesting whites in France that requires years of cellaring to reach it's apogee.
His red, a blend of Carignan, Syrah and Mourvedre, is no less interesting. Like many carignan based wines, it requires a couple of years of cellaring to iron out some of the rougher edges, but it rewards patience like few wines from the region. This was my fourth bottle (I still have two left).
Drunk to the tune of a big juicy steak.
Deep purple in both color and style. Like Richie Blackmore's guitar playing, Jullien combines virtuosity with power, beauty without being very pretty. It smells and tastes of dark plums, marinated in licorice and sweet spices. Rich and concentrated, the tannins melted away to a dense, powerful and harmonious finish. This is not the new dulcimer Blackmore, but the Richie of Old.
The mood was festive, as it always is, at the BCWAS Christmas party and tasting. Plenty of sparkles and bling were in evidence as our usual gang of suspects gathered to check out a selection of Christmas offerings from around the province.
Naturally, there was sparkling wine to start the evening ? Steller?s Jay from Sumac Ridge and as you can see at the right, owner Harry McWatters himself was pouring. Wonderfully yeasty and a perfect complement to the freshly shucked oysters that were part of the smorgasbord of delectable nibbles. And Frank said he was going to be late? snicker. So of course, I just had to check that particular pairing again on my own.
During the course of the evening the food seemed endless and conversations delightfully varied ? wandering from the newest VQA stores in everyone?s ?hood to the emerging trend of creating strata housing developments amid the vines of established wineries to which grape varietals are best suited to BC and how that varies between the Okanagan and Vancouver Islands. But always, we came back to the main event ? the wines themselves. Picking a favourite was, as expect, a tough call, but by the time Frank got there, it seemed pretty much narrowed down to two.
From one of our favourite Gulf Island Wineries, Morning Bay, Keith (shown below with Francis, BCWAS' financial wizard) and Barbara had brought an unannounced bottle of their new release Bianco. Crisp and clean, with medium plus intensity of citrus with a hint of floral on the nose, Frank?s eyes took on that glint of appreciation when we went back to this one, and he was soon deep in conversation with Keith about the four strains of yeast used ? one for each of the grapes that make up this summer sipper blend: Schonberger, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, and a touch of Riesling. All are vinified separately with the Riesling adding just a touch of orchard fruit. Made in a bone dry, Alsace style, Frank?s first thought was oysters or shellfish ? especially if you can?t find a Muscadet. At that point I didn?t have the heart to tell him about the earlier nibblies he?d missed.
A highlight of the evening, one that had attracted a huge amount of anticipation was the 2004 Nota Bene from Black Hills.
Tecnorati
This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal. 
