Logan Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Logan Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
17,82€; 11,5%. According to the blurb, Orange is one of the coolest wine regions of Australia. I can easily believe that from this wine. This has an almost aggressive aroma, slightly reminiscent of jalopeño, mineral and citric. High acidity, pleasantly austere and elegant: it is neither an over-ripe, tropical style nor a painfully green one. I am not a great fan of Sauvignon Blanc, but to me this was one of the more palatable ones.

Blauer Wildbacher, Blauer Muskateller, Helios, Johanniter, Blauer Sylvaner, Freisamer - the unknown Germany!

Ever heard of grapes like Johanniter or Helios or Blauer Muskateller? Well neither had I until a friend over here, who travels often in Germany and Austria, invited me to a tasting with these strange, little grown grapes.

We started with a couple glasses of fizz:

Lazarus Prickelndes Gold Brut 2008 - label
From the Blauer Wildbacher grape. Yeasty and herbaceous aroma, a bit of bread; very high acidity as is typical for the grape, but it isn't an acid mouthwash but instead leaves an attractive taste of fresh berries. I liked this very much.

Weingut Georgiberg Blauer Muskateller Brut 2010 - Südsteiermark; label
A rosé fizz made from a very rare grape, otherwise only grown a little in Italy and Greece. A strongly grapey scent, very obviously Muscat. The palate, though labeled Brut, seems gentle and slightly sweet. Lacking nervosity, simple.


Then we tried a group of strange white wines:

Weingut Stelzer Portugieser Blanc de Noirs 2010 - Alzey-Heimersheim, Rheinhessen; label
A very neutral, simple wine. Easy. And easily forgettable though not unpleasant.

Weingut Ewald Ruppert Helios Prichsenstadter Krone Kabinett trocken 2010 - Prichsenstadt, Franker; label
A rather Sauvignon Blanc -like aroma of nettles. Crisp and racy; nice, simple quaffer for the 4,60€ this costs ex-cellar

Weingut Ewald Ruppert Johanniter Prichsenstadter Krone Kabinett trocken 2010 - Prichsenstadt, Franker; label
Quite a neutral aroma but slightly reminsicent of Riesling, appley. Nice enough body, but still a bit neutral. But you can't ask for much for a wine that costs 5€ ex-cellar. But I do understand why it isn't grown much.

Weingut Abril Blauer Sylvaner Kabinett trocken "Versuchsanbau" 2010 - Bischoffigen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden; label
Smells of rose-water and steel. Crisp, rather neutral, steely.

Weingut Bernhard Huber "Malterer" 2009 - Malterdingen, Breisgau, Baden; label
A 50-50 blend of Weissburgunder and Freisamer. Tons of oak; smells like it tries too hard to be fancy and grand. Bitter oak follows on the palate. Not one to my liking, though a hit around the table.


After these mostly cheap and neutral whites we had some serious reds:

Weingut Meyer-Näkel Us de la meng 2009 - Dernau, Ahr; label
70% Spätburgunder, 30% Dornfelder. A bit sweaty and reductive but becomes an attractive, unoaky wine with lots of red berry aromas. Crisp and refreshing palate, juicy. Nice!

Johner Estate Cabernet, Merlot & Malbec 2009 - Wairarapa, NZ; label
A NZ ringer, tasted blind I thought this was Australian. Lush, oaky, tarry and smells of mulberry jam. Thick, tarry, creamy. Nice, I imagine, if you like Barossa!

Domäne Müller Der Cabernet Franc 2008 - Ottenberg; label
This was one I really liked. Also served blind. It had a lovely leafy, savoury and even sharp scent, smells like cherry, juniper and sandalwood so I guessed it was unspoofy Chianti. Crisp and savoury, great vitality and strong structure. Lovely.

Weingut Pöckl Rêve de Jeunesse 2007 - Mönchhof, Neusiedlersee; label
40% Merlot, 20% Zweigelt, 20% Cab Sauv, 20% Syrah. Oaky, creamy, dark fruit - anonymous. Very tannic, maybe so much so that this is over-extracted. Not very enjoyable.

Weingut Heinrich Blaufränkisch Alter Berg 2007 - Gols, Neusiedlersee; label
Soft, a little bit jammy fruit, plenty of oak; sweet fruit, good structure, but seems to be playing it safe. Good but not too exciting.

Weingut Weninger Pinot Noir Kalkofen 2005 - Horitschon, Mittelburgenland; label
Nice beetroot aromas, peachy, some oak. Sweet and some Pinosity but there seems to be a touch of dirtiness to it (oak? some not quite prime grapes? - I don't know). Attractive despite that strange dirtiness. I wouldn't mind drinking this again.

Weingut Kollwentz Steinzeiler 2005 - Grosshöflein, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland; label
80% Blaufränkisch, the rest Cab Sauv and Zweigelt. Nice aroma, slightly leafy, some coffee bean oak aromas. Sweet fruit, upright structure, nice freshness. Nice though does need time for the oak to integrate.


Finally while cleaning up we shared a decent Pinot:
Weingut Jurtschitsch-Sonnhof Pinot Noir 2006 - Kamptal; label
Nice pinosity, quite sweet and slick, though, perhaps a touch oaky. Full body and sweet, well structured but could have been a bit lighter on its feet. Maybe a few years will do good for it?

A Child of Salem

Jose L. Ferrer Pedra de Binissalem Negre 2009

A quick taste would suggest that this isn't quite as spoofy as the couple other Mallorcans I have tried. 14,96e; 14,5% abv; 50% Mantonegro & 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. 6 months in French and American oak. Despite quite plentiful oak aromas and upfront fruit the wine ends up seeming quite fresh and light on its feet and has a lovely wildness that isn't - gladly - quite successfully tamed. Lovely, dark, tangy fruit, again a little bit wild but it seems like the Cabernet and oak try to tame it. Very fresh finish, mineral even. I actually quite like this wine despite my usual aversion to oak and Cabernet. But I can't help thinking that I would have liked it more with less of them. I prefer wildness and character to tameness and familiarity.

Oh? See a Pinot?

Cono Sur Pinot Noir "Ocio" 2009

The Ocio 2002 was one of the first non-Burgundian Pinots that I enjoyed. I tried it when it was just as youthful as this 2009 is today, very early in my personal wine journey. If I understood the blurbs correctly, the winemaking hasn't changed during this period: hand picked from cool climates mostly in Casablanca and a small, organic amount from Leyda, nothing said about yeasts, 100% new French oak.

14,5% abv; 45€. Very, very primary. Lots of oak, but also some genuine Pinosity peeking through. Crisp despite its size, savoury despite all the sweet fruit. The oak isn't annoying on the palate. The alcohol stays very well hidden. I think for those who appreciate a bigger, style of Pinot, this could be a great wine.

Now with more experience, I am not at all as enthusiastic as I was with the 2002, but I can still say that this is, apart from a few Oregonians, the best new world Pinot I have had. I just wish that they would lessen the oak: though the oak here doesn't obfuscate all the Pinosity, it seems to be such a pretty and attractive and sexy Pinosity that I would like to experience it more directly.

Cheap and cheerful

Viña Cono Sur Riesling Visión 2010 - Bío-Bío Valley, Chile
A little bit strange in initially smelling strongly of Sauvignon Blanc (added yeasts presumably?). But it does become more typical of the grape with air and even gets slight petrol aromas. Quite rich, even fat, for Riesling, lacking the nervousness and electricity of the best ones. But I suppose for the price (11€) it's ok.

M. Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2010
Fun, fun, fun. Who needs serious wines when you can drink this?

Rabl Blauer Zweigelt Vinum Optimum 2009 - Niederösterreich
This tries too hard to be a serious wine: ripe and inky aromas, even a bit of oak even though it should only see big barrels. Anonymous.

Blinds, Tempiers and Four Fails

I attended a lovely tasting of some Tempier and some other Mourvèdre heavy wines in comparison. The Tempiers were all lovely; sadly the comparisons mostly wowed me in the wrong ways.


Niepoort Douro Redoma Branco 2007
Served blind. A rather neutral aroma with some oak and tropical fruit. Rich palate, dense and sweet and fairly low in acidity. Decent length. Not really an exciting wine.


Dehesa del Carrizal Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 - Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Montes de Toledo
13,5% abv; served blind. It smells like an aged Bordeaux from a hot year (I guessed 1990): already some aged Cab aromas but with a surprising amount of sweet and dark fruit. No oak noticeable. Rich and sweet, lively still with healthy structure. Nice now; but it doesn't seem like there would be a hurry to drink this up. Very good.


Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale Cabassaou 1993
13% abv; served blind. A beatiful wine, but very young still and it took a long time for the scent to open up. At first it was all about lactic aromas and I couldn't see much else than a hint of red berries underneath. But the palate was already outstanding: deep, rich, tangy, savoury and tasted rather like pomegranate. Lovely.


Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 2005
14,5% abv. Slightly jammy and ever so slightly stinky nose. Quite lactic initially, but opened up to a dark toned aromas and lovely, tangy pomegranate smells. Dense, liquorous, deep and relatively voluptuous fruit compared to the '07s; not overly tannic or harshly acidic, but refreshing and well structured. Very nice, very young.


Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 2007
14,5% abv. Once the initial lactic aromas clear off this smells enchanting: meat/game bird's blood, tangy dark fruit. Full bodied but wonderfully, palate-cleansingly tannic and refreshingly bright acidity despite all the fruit. Tangy and crunchy. Lovely.


Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Classique 2007
14,5% abv. Really lovely dark, tangy Mourvèdre aromas, but not really any more open than the cuvées nor really a step down in quality either IMO. Instead it follows much the same path as the cuvées: at first lots of lactic aromas; then lots of pomegranate brightness and crunch. Palate-cleansing tannins; refreshing finish despite the copious fruit. Lovely.


Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine 2007
14,5% abv. This was my favourite of the '07s. Pomegranate, tangy and mineral aromas. Rich but wonderfully tangy and savoury, meaty/slightly gamy but fresh and refreshing. Lovely.


Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale Cabassaou 2007
14,5% abv. As so often happens, I preferred the more basic cuvées to this most special one. This had all that lovely meaty and pomegranate aromas but also seemed a bit too ripe and raisiny - which made it a denser wine but also, at least now when so young, masked the character I found in the "lesser" wines. Yet even this, with the ripeness and size becoming slightly raisin, managed to be refreshing on the finish. Possibly lovely in a few decades?


Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2000
What a delightfully stinky scent this has! And how wonderfully voluptuous it is yet still manages to be lively and refreshing. Sadly a slight raisiny character slightly diminishes my enjoyment, but it is still a great wine.


Bodegas y Viñedos El Sequé Alicante El Sequé 2006 - Spain, Valencia, Alicante
Lactic with strawberry jam aromas and toffee aromas of new oak. The palate is sweet, simple and oaky. Fail.


Torbreck Mataro The Pict 2006 - Barossa Valley
Wow! But the wow is for all the wrong reasons: super-sweet, completely confected, lacking freshness, lacking savouriness, lacking anything that would make me want to take a second sip. Smells like tar and has a similar texture. Fail.


Teusner Mataro The Astral Series Moppa 2006 - Barossa Valley
Smelled just like the Torbreck Pict except this had a minty edge. Cough syrup and tar. Lacking elegance, freshness and drinkability. Fail.


Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2006 - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
Smells of fancy French oak. I don't like fancy French oak. Or any sort of oak at all for that matter. Dark fruit. Massive, unrefreshing, undrinkable. Fiery, spirity finish. Nasty, brutish and unfortunately that's where the Hobbesian reference has to end. Colossal fail.

Chocolate milk

Andrea Oberto Barolo Vigneto Brunate 2006
If I had to drink chocolate milk made from Nebbiolo this would be my choice. In this one the oak-taint (for that it is - for some the tiniest hint of TCA completely obliterates all traces of the wine; for me the tiniest hint of oak obliterates all traces of wine) is less offensive than in most chocolate milk Nebbiolos. Here, I do get the occasional, slight whiff of something red berried and tart and resembling Nebbiolo as seen through a distorting prism. But mostly, the aromas are all about chocolate milk fuzziness.

The palate is soft, easy and lacks the energetic acid and tannin of young Nebbiolo; but neither is it bitterly oaky. It is, instead, oaky in a sweet and chocolaty way.

So for once, I can understand the enthusiasm that this chocolate milk Nebbiolo generates, but I am unable to partake in the enthusiasm. This isn't offensive (as long as I just drink it as a beverage, not as Barolo). But my main criticism is that the oak makes the grape disappear. This is a really well made, completely anonymous, completely a-geographical wine.

Devil's Dictionary

Keith Levenberg has a great Devil's Dictionary of wine. It's always a blog worth reading, but he has outdone himself this time.

Pure shit

Autumnal weather has arrived and that was all the excuse I needed to make a big pot of boeuf bourguignon. And that, naturally, needed a couple red Burgundies to go with it.

Girardin Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2006
13% abv. A robust style. Though it has obvious Pinosity and nice vegetal aromas, it is too heavy-handed and shows more obvious oak than ideal. More in the dark fruit end of the spectrum on the scent; the palate however is crisp and tart and reminiscent of red, acidic berries. It seems like there is a delicious, rustic wine in hiding but the rusticity was seen as a negative so a massive amount of oak was used to try to tame it. It also appears that much effort was put into making this wine; but I like my wines to be like the singing of John McCormack - no matter how much effort was actually put in, it should always appear effortless and unforced. So disappointing this ended up being pure crap for my tastes.

Henri Naudin-Ferrand Pinot Noir Bourgogne 2007
12% abv. I have posted so many notes on this wine (because I love it!) that one more seems superfluous. But the vegetal funk has diminished much in the half year from my previous taste. This is shaping up to become a wine with wonderful purity of Pinosity and a wonderful lightness of touch. Light and un-hedonistic but full of the most wonderful and life-affirming aromas. Delineated and focused. Awesome wine. With both awesome purity and still some honest stink, this is pure shit in the good sense of those words.

Mayu enjoy this instead of me...

Mayu Carménère Reserva 2007 - Elqui Valley, Chile
13,37€; 15% abv. Partly late-harvested and partly dried grapes used. Astonishingly fake tasting: the fruit smells confected and as if the aromas of cranberry jam and pepper and dark, plummy fruit are chemical additives that approximate these aromas. Even the vanilla aroma doesn't smell like oak, but something added as an afterthought and equally fake-smelling as the fruit aromas. Thick, sweet, flabby, hot. Unbelievably unpleasant.

Parducci Deep Roots

Parducci Deep Roots White 2009 - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
10,89€; 13,5% abv; Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Muscat Canelli & Friulano. A strange blend, and, indeed, it doesn't really smell of anything easily identifiable. But it is pleasant, ripe and mineral - it smells "natural" rather than something made in a laboratory. Rich but lively palate. Nice acidity that counters the richness. Nothing complex, but a perfectly worthy cheapy.

Parducci Deep Roots Red 2008 - USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County
9,99€; 15% abv; Grenache 40%, Zinfandel 35%, Syrah 25%. Unlike others' notes on CT, I didn't sense much oak at all. Instead I sense some very ripe, dark fruit, but not jammy and seemingly natural instead of something spoofy. Thick and fruity but acidic and with genuine seeming tannins. It is a fruit-forward wine, but at least the sensations of fruit don't seem fake. Very decent for the price.

Class struggle: down with the Bourgeoisie

Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Rouge Les Baronnes 2008
I bought a bottle of this because I remembered liking the previous vintage. I should have checked my notes on CT before: it turns out I disliked the previous vintage because of too much oak. And that theme continues, except that not only does this have too much oak, it is also confected in a most appalling way, since the confection isn't just sweetness, it comes alongside artificial aromas of rhubarb and lingonberry. Some Bourgeois whites have seemed like bad imitations of bad NZ SB; this seems like a bad imitation of bad NZ PN. Nasty.

All things truly wicked start from an Innocence

Johann Topf Blauburgunder "Stangl" 2007 - Austria, Niederösterreich, Kamptal; 17,74€; 13,5% abv; 14 months in Allier oak.

Immediately upon opening I thought this smelled wonderful: pure Pinosity - albeit in a rather obvious way - and plenty of savoriness to counter the upfront fruit. Sadly it didn't take long for the oak to show. After a promising start, it ended up being like a stereotype of New World PN: hot, jammy and smelling of cola. The palate follows a similarly unpleasant trajectory. It begins with purity and ends up so encased in char and oak that what at first seemed perfectly acceptable, ripe fruit, begins to taste hollow and thin and unpleasantly bitter. Perhaps I'm drinking this at a bad time; but I am more inclined to think that, with my strong antipathies toward obvious oak aromas of any sort, I will never like this.

I have had many wonderful reds from Austria at this price, but I've now been having too many with badly judged oak. Over-oaking was supposed to be going out of fashion, wasn't it? I hope my recent sampling is skewed and that this trend is really happening.