Rock of Wisdom Mataro 2016

Rock of Wisdom Mataro 2016

  08:30    Stu.

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When I was a wee lad, my dear late mother loved a bit of Cadbury's Fruit n Nut. Now, I'm not for a minute suggesting that this smells like a bar of Cadbury's, but it sure does carry this heavenly mix of Mataro's classic plummy depths married to this nutty/ raw peanut/ walnut mix. 

A palate that belies its stated alcohol, weighing in more medium than full. Poised, balanced - set against classic Mataro depth: earth and licorice in the main. 

A creamy aspect just adds another layer to the wine: another nostalgia tinged recollection, this time a 'walnut whip' the memory of a life past. Cracking Mataro and a trip down memory lane. How could I resist? 93, possibly touch and go a point higher.  

Tasted on: Tuesday 22nd August, a Fruit day
Source: Sample
Price: $28
Alcohol: 14.2%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: https://rock-of-wisdom.myshopify.com

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Bremerton Selkirk Shiraz 2015

Bremerton Selkirk Shiraz 2015

  15:00    Stu.

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Serious intent from aromatics: oak with choc-mint lavishness. 

Deep, dark and bitter - a full on, not quite full-throttle manifestation of Shiraz. Nudging more the 15% by taste. Chocolate, blueberry, spice - delivering in spades. Reasonable finish, pulling up with a dark chocolate biterness. 90 

Tasted on: Tuesday 22nd August, a Fruit day
Source: Sample
Price: $22
Alcohol: 14.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.bremerton.com.au/

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Shaw Vineyard Estate Shiraz 2014

Shaw Vineyard Estate Shiraz 2014

  12:39    Stu.

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Looks a bit like this,
but more 2014ey

Canberran Shiraz often imparts this peanut husk/ nutty lead for me, an aroma that sits over the top of dusky, cool fruit. No exception, the savoury adding a foil to the fruit, a little mintiness almost like a seasoning. 

Doesn't quite back it up through the middle. A little bitterness, flash of acidity, an altogether meatier guise here. Feels a bit arms and legs at this stage, I want it to settle. Good drinking, mind. 90

Tasted on: Wednesday 23rd August, a Fruit day

Source: Sample
Price: $34
Alcohol: 14%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.shawvineyards.com.au/

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Katnook Founders Block Shiraz 2015

Katnook Founders Block Shiraz 2015

  14:30    Stu.

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Short and succinct, but like this tasting note.

Fudgey, berry, oaky Shiraz. Not what I think of as Coonawarra, but it lends the impression of a well made sub-$20 wine

Medium bodied, more than a hint of cassis sweetness, not excessively jammy - perhaps more a conserve. Ok length. Does what's needed. 88 

Tasted on: Thursday 24th August, a Fruit to Root day
Source: Sample
Price: $20
Alcohol: 13.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: https://www.katnookestate.com.au/

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McNicol Riesling 2009

McNicol Riesling 2009

  09:56    Stu.

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Beautiful Clare Riesling where the winemaker has done the work of cellaring for you. 

Clearly a Riesling with a bit of age on it, has a whiff of kero/ gun oil with the unmistakable citrus tinges of preserved lemons. 

With 8 years there's still a freshness and the palate has a delightful textural width and weight to it. There's a kumquat and lime marmalade tang about things, a gentle twist of spice and a generosity that gives hints to  the years ahead. 

That an 8yo wine can be procured, ex-winery says much for how under-appreciated the variety is. 92 

Tasted on: Wednesday 23rd August, a Fruit day
Source: Sample
Price: $35
Alcohol: 13.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.mitchellwines.com/McNicolRiesling

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Riesling Revival

Riesling Revival

  20:45    Stu.

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Image stolen from the Internet

Pressing the "pause" button on the blog has given me some much needed time to take stock, to think about why I chose to pontificate about wine in the first place. To think what it is about wine that still gets me excited. For wine to be the reason that a holiday choice is often a veiled means to consider what regions/wineries may be able to be included in a trip, either a weekend break or something longer in form.

I think back to some of the earlier posts that reference, or reflect, some of those early influences, see Wine List, or "The Wine Everybody Loves But Nobody Buys", and perhaps wine is "Just a Drink" after all.

And after all that reflection, and perhaps the need to just have a drink, i kept coming back to Riesling. If the "Wine List" was my great introduction to both Grenache and Riesling, it seems that the former is again having its time in the sun. Well, it is if a Gourmet Traveller Wine tasting of that great variety in the September edition is anything to go by.

And so I came back to Riesling. To its ability to reflect place. To its ability to enliven. To its ability to make me think of the warmer months ahead. To its ability to make me think of buckets of prawns shared, of sand in toes, of looking forward to visiting Europe come the end of 2017 and hopefully tasting and possibly drinking more of it in its Germanic guise.

I don't profess any singular ability to revive significant levels of interest in this fantastic variety, but by jove I'm gonna give it a damn good-one-man-and-his-wine-glass try to bring a few to your attention.

Wanna join me for the ride?

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The Battle for Wine and Love.....

The Battle for Wine and Love.....

  10:39    Stu.

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Except, I don't claim to have saved the world from Parkerization.

You see, I've been challenged by wine a lot of late. I'm not going to go as far to say we've fallen out, it's just that, well maybe our relationship changed for a bit.

"Love changes, changes everything

Love makes you fly it can break your wings"

~ Climie Fisher, Love Changes Everything

The relationship we have with our Muses can often change. Just as change can and does occur within relationships. We find a particular aspect about a love fascinating and it acts as the most barbed of hooks to dive headfirst into, to immerse ourselves totally into that particular aspect.

We become absorbed, besotted, and then - perhaps - almost blind to that particular aspects faults.

Look, I'm still here wine, it's just we're possible having trouble understanding each other as we once used at the minute. And perhaps you're presently serving a different purpose.

I'll be back. Very soon.

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