Tasmanian Pinot Noir

Pirie Pinot Noir "South" 2008 - Tasmania
16,50€; 14% abv. My initial impression was very positive for this price with this grape in this over-priced country of purchase. But my positive were thoughts were positive through absence: there is no oak; there is no sucrosity to the ripe Pinosity. And because these were more anti-negative thoughts that actual positives, I liked this wine less the more I thought about it. Though Pinosity is always pleasant, there was nothing really to grab my interest in a more profound way. Also with time, I began to notice the heaviness. It never did become clunky, but I felt a little less ripeness and overt fruit would have made for a more pleasant experience: after the first glass, this ceased to be moreish. Though never hot, I was not surprised to see 14% abv on the label (it certainly doesn't seem like a cool climate wine though that is how it is marketed). Perfectly decent, but I let my initial impressions lead me to expect more.

Domaine Duseigneur Lirac Antarès 2007

Domaine Duseigneur Lirac Antarès 2007

14,5% abv; 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvèdre; certified Biodynamic. Starts out very sweet, even a bit jammy, as expected of such a hot-year wine. But with some time, it becomes an interesting wine with much more nuance than just very ripe fruit. There is a savoury, bright aspect to the fruit and a pleasant earthiness, too. The palate is nicely high in acidity, with some pleasant tannic dryness, unforced and even refreshing despite all the sweet fruit, moreish. Amazingly, the 14,5% abv is not noticeable. I like it. I would love to try this in a cooler year.

As I have often said, I rarely get along with Souther Rhones, so there might be some factors that made it seem so nice (other than the possibility of this just being a good, unforced wine) - like that we were celebrating a very positive write-up of our new bookshop in a major newspaper here with this wine.

Jean-Paul Brun / Terres Dorées Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2008

Jean-Paul Brun / Terres Dorées Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2008


I love the label:


But the wine is even better. Only 12% abv. Light red. Starts quite simple with sweet strawberry - I was a bit disappointed since the '07 was so wonderful immediately upon opening. But half an hour and this became the mineral, deliciously bittersweet, well structured wine that the previous vintage was. Pure Pinosity. The '07 was not only a lovely wine for the "lowly" appellation of Bourgogne Rouge, but was a lovely wine in its own right. And, with short air exposure, so is the '08. Outstanding, if one adores lightness, purity and structure instead of gobbiness.

Henri Naudin-Ferrand Côte de Nuits-Villages Vieilles Vignes 2004

Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand Côte de Nuits-Villages Vieilles Vignes 2004 - 13% abv; c. 30€; 50-70yo vines; label

A silly grin appeared on my face on the first sniff. It has all that sexy, beet-root fruit I want in Burgundy with a lovely touch of funk. A third of this wine sees new oak, which is less than in the lovely Orchis Mascula but I still felt that that showed less new oak aromas than this CdNV! But even though I notice the oak, I find the pure Pinosity so exhilarating that I can overlook it (so I guess very few others will be bothered by it).

It also has 13% abv alcohol instead of the 12% I have seen in the other Naudin-Ferrand wines, which must be part of the reason why it seems weightier. But, again, it has the purity and sexiness of Pinosity that I want to find in Burgundy and with fantastic grip. Substantial yet very refreshing.

Strangely, I read from my old notes that in May '09 I felt that the oak in this had begun to integrate, whereas the oak in the '06 Orchis Mascula hadn't. But in this bottle it is yet again noticeable - I guess Tom Blach was right that the oak in young Burgundies can go through some weird stages.

But even with my oak allergy, this was a lovely wine that brought much happiness to me tonight.

Riojas from Londoño

I had never even heard of this producer before, but the wines were quite decent. I think I like both of them: yet I have so little experience with young Rioja that I really don't know how these will turn out (I don't think either is built for the long haul, but both need more age). They seemed to have a brightness to the fruit aromas that wasn't obfuscated by lashings of new oak, so might these actually be "traditional" Riojas?

This was also my first taste of a varietal Graciano.

Bodegas Don Sancho de Londoño Rioja Vendimia Seleccionada 2007
90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano; 13,5% abv. A bit of the dill oak from presumably American oak (though I can't find any info on this producer so I can't check!), but it doesn't obfuscate the bright fruit aromas. Good body, juicy fruit, both strong tannins and crisp acidity. I think I like it, but I want to try it when the oak on the scent settles down more.



Bodegas Don Sancho de Londoño Graciano Rioja 2008
13,5% abv. Youthful color. A dense, dark toned aroma with lovely vegetal/loamy/tobacco aromas to the ripe, juicy fruit. Full bodied, starts out with fruit very apparent, but the structure becomes very apparent towards the finish with crisp tannins and moderately high acidity. Though primary, this seemed a very enjoyable wine.

Az. Ag. Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Bianco 6va - Grecanico dorato, Coda di volpe, Caricante & Cataratto of the 2009 vintage; 13% abv

Lovely orange color. A sweet scent, very floral, dried herbs and spice (though I don't think it sees any oak?). It is strange in the way that it doesn't really seem terribly vinous in its fruit expression, but rather smells remarkably like fresh fruit: oranges. Slight spritz on opening, on the tannic end of orange wines of my experience, nice ripe fruit. It does have refreshing acidity to it, too, but the main structural component in this bottle at this point in time was tannin. I love it.



Az. Ag. Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 6 - Nerello Mascalese from 2008 and 2009; 14,5% abv

Lovely, immature, transparent yet deep red. Strongly lactic aroma upon opening that does go into the background with air, but doesn't completely disappear. Lovely pepper and dark berry aromas which remind me a little of unforced Syrah, except with sweeter fruit. Really lovely and juicy palate with very refreshing amounts of acidity despite its Southern origin. Nice tannins, too, noticeable and firm but palate-cleansing rather than mouth coating. Usually such high alcohol is somewhat apparent, but here I didn't even sense a little bit of heat on the finish (no doubt the cool serving temperature helped). Also lovely.

But what does MunJebel mean? I know that Jebel is Arabic for mountain, but what is the origin of the "mun" in front of it? Is it a corruption of the preposition "min" meaning "from"?

I thought both of these were excellent "natural" wines (or whatever the favored term at the moment is). I really enjoyed them and found them both fascinating, thought provoking and pleasurable, but I also think the pricing is a little high. When I can get such orange wines as Terpin's for less than half the price, I wonder why I should spend 30€ for a bottle of Cornelissen? But I guess this is one of the few very well known names of natural wine, so I shouldn't complain about them asking for sums that they evidently can get. But it is annoying because I would like to drink these more often than I can with such prices.

Vincent Gaudry Sancerre "Le Tournebride" 2008

Vincent Gaudry Sancerre "Le Tournebride" 2008 - 23,70€; 13% abv

I am usually indifferent to Sauvignon Blanc: it is a boring grape and even the best wines very rarely transcend its inherent limitations. Yet I have had a handful of examples that made me sniff the glass again and again. This is one of the few.

It has all those typical, pleasantly greenish aromas mixed with citrus and mineral that are expected; but there is a depth to it that I have rarely seen in this grape. It is complex - and this is a word I have hardly ever used with this grape. But the marvel of this wine isn't its unusually complex nose, but the palate. It starts out rich - more so than I expected from this year - but an almost tannic sensation ensues that really perks up the mid-palate. After this initial richness, the end becomes more and more elegant and mineral and citric. But its wrong to call it the end or finish, because it doesn't.

Joszef Bock Ermitage 2007

Joszef Bock Ermitage 2007 - Villányi, Hungary
14% abv. A blend of pretty much everything red, but with the classic Bx blend making up most of it. Despite the bad glasses at the restaurant, this was a very enjoyable drop. Meaty, earthy aromas with primary fruit; crisp, more red toned palate than expected from the scent, good tannins, refreshing.

Pinot Gris and Merlot from Austria ... mostly

First the whites:
Domäne Müller Der Pinot Gris Ried Burgegg 1993 - Deutschlandsberg, Weststeiermark, label
Strange scent: it seems only like Barrique yet others thought it had no wood at all. Much better palate: citric, crisp, high acidity, more like Riesling than any PG I have had.

Domäne Müller Der Pinot Gris Ried Burgegg 1997 - Deutschlandsberg, Weststeiermark, label
Also an aroma of new wood + age and little sign of the grape, but neither did it seem like it was too old. Again, lovely acidity, really a refreshing drop - shame about the nose and the slight heat on the finish.

Domäne Müller Der Pinot Gris Ried Burgegg 2005 - Deutschlandsberg, Weststeiermark, label
The youngest of the Müllers was seemingly the least oaky and most like PG in my previous experience with aromas of glue and spice and red fruit. I thought I sensed a touch of oak on the palate, however, rich and creamy but with very good acidity.

Weingut Hirtzberger Grauburgunder Smaragd 2007 - Spitzer Puris, Wachau, label
A lighter, more appley style than the Müllers, but with all the typical heavy and spicy aromas I have come to expect from the grape in Alsace. There is perhaps a touch of RS, but it has good acidity and is an elegant style quite like the dry ones from Alsace. Very good.

Weingut Bercher Burkheimer Schlossgarten Grauer Burgunder Spätlese Trocken 2006 - Kaiserstuhl, Baden, Germany, label
This was perhaps my favourite of the PGs tonight: elegant, very mineral aromas; dry, strong acid but not harsh at all, the richness inherent in the grape is kept under restraints and the way it continually tries to break loose makes this a very exciting drink. Gladly it never does break away, so it is taut throughout.

Weingut Stelzer Grauer Burgunder Halbtrocken 2007 - Alzey-Heimersheim, Rheinhessen, Germany, label
Vegetal aromas, very open and spicy; slightly sweet but with enough acidity to counter it. It is pleasant but simple and one dimensional. But for something far cheaper than the others in the tasting (4,5€ IIRC) one can't be too harsh!


Then the red wines:
Schloss Gobelsburg Merlot "Privatkeller" 2004 - Langenlois, Kamptal, label
It smells of oak disguising itself as chocolate behind which slight whiffs of dark, scorched fruit can be found if one looks hard enough. Soft, sweetish fruit, far too much oak.

Weingut Willi Opitz Merlot "Silver Lake" 2005 - Illmitz, Neusiedlersee, label
A little reductive at first, but becomes a pure and unspoofulated and pleasant drop: bright red fruit, some herbaceous character, pleasantly bittersweet. Lovely, high acidity, refreshingly crisp palate with purity of fruit. I like it. Terrible label, though.

Rotweingut Iby Merlot Rager 2006 - Horitschon, Mittelburgenland, label
Dark fruit, a touch of oak, not as toasty as the Gobelsburg, but still in such amounts that I wasn't too keen. Soft, easy palate, not much excitement but correct.

Weingut Paul Achs Merlot 2006 - Gols, Neusiedlersee, label
Smells a bit like plastic on opening; clears up to have dark fruit of considerable depth, some pleasant herbaceous aromas, complex, gains sweet aromas (strawberry) with air. Pleasantly sweet fruit, easier on the oak than most reds tonight though it is still noticeable, good and refreshing structure. Amazingly this is supposed to have 15% abv - one of the handful of wines where such levels haven't bothered me.

Rotweingut Iby Merlot Rager 2007 - Horitschon, Mittelburgenland, label
Quite a different aroma from the 2006 a couple glasses earlier: much oak, chocolate, coffee - unpleasant. Dense, rich, good structure, but marred by the massive oak.

Weingut Vylyan Villányi Merlot 2006 - DHC Villányi, Hungary, label
Very sweet with a pronounced dried fruit character, porty and scorched, but gladly no new oak that I can sense. Rich, a bit sweet, tannic yet hollow. Certainly "different" but I think more in its euphemistic sense.


Then the blind wines:
Ch. Cheval Blanc 2001 - label
Herbaceous, tobacco aromas, nice Cab Franc-like freshness in addition to the dark fruit. Rich, more typical of Merlot than the scent which was more CF, good structure, very full bodied. Classy.

Feiler-Artinger Hochzeitswein 2003 - Rust, label
The F-A version of Cheval Blanc, with a roughly similar cépage. Sadly, where the Cheval Blanc's admittedly still strong oak seemed harmonious with all else in the wine, here the chocolate and coffee aromas overwhelmed all else. Sweet and soft but with fair acidity for the year.

Feiler-Artinger Ruster Ausbruch Essenz "Jonathan" 2005 - Rust, label
430 g/l RS, 6,5% abv. So massive its apricot jam aromas and so sweet and so acidic that it was just too much. It was tiring and clunky. One sip was interesting and fun; I couldn't manage more.

Heinrich Blaufränkisch 2008 - Burgenland, label
Nice, bright red aromas; high acidity, wonderfully refreshing. Nice stuff.

Weingärtner Brackenheim Brackenheimer Zweifelberg Lemberger Spätlese Trocken 2008 - Württemberg, label
Sweet and juicy, quite simple but clean scent. Seems more off-dry than Trocken, but with enough acidity that it makes for a decent enough drop.

Ch. de Ségriès Tavel 2009

Château de Ségriès Tavel Rosé 2009

14,10€; 14,5% abv; Grenache 50%, Cinsault 30%, Syrah 10%, Clairette 10%. Very deep pink. Quite a simple aroma of very sweet strawberry and some nice, savoury, earthy notes to counter the sweetness. Very full bodied, dry but with much sweetness of fruit. It has some tannins, but low acidity, so the sheer magnitude of fruit becomes rather overwhelming. The alcohol is very noticeable. I very much prefer lighter rosés.

I have not yet found a Tavel that I would have enjoyed - the ones available here have always seem simple, sweet and massively alcoholic. So who does the good ones?

Lovely Chardonnay

J-P Brun / Terres Dorées Chardonnay Classic Beaujolais 2008

Fuck me this is good! Lemony, mineral goodness. Life affirming.