Nick Walker Tasting

Tasting note and info on the special red we finished the evening to follow. Sorry about the delay, we had a wine dinner the following friday and then the Hurling final!

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Greenhough Tasting

Last Monday evening we were delighted to have Andrew Greenghough from Greenhough Wines in New Zealand in the shop for a private tasting. We had a great turn out with people literally sitting in every corner! Andrew guided us through a selection of his whites and reds and a few treats too.

First up was the Riesling:

2011 Nelson Riesling This was the favourite of the crowd, lovely nose of sweet green apple and mandarin. Rich sweet citrus on the palate with a lingering finish. The nose also had a slight kerosene edge that Andrew mentioned he wasn’t a fan of but which didn’t seem to detract from people’s likes.

2012 Nelson Riesling I Loved this! The 2012 wine hade more crisp acidity on the palate a fresher cleaner citrus lime/mandarin note. From a much cooler vintage than the previous wine. The crisp acidity and minerality give this wine a very fresh clean finish.

Next we hit the New Zealand Classic Sauvignon Blanc:

2011 Nelson Sauvignon Blanc has slightly ‘sweet’  passion fruit and tropical aromas, leading into a classy wine. Very mouthfilling, it is fruity, with ripe tropical-fruit flavours, showing lovely delicacy and richness, finely balanced acidity, and a long, slightly spicy, dry finish. Again the older more rounded wine was the favourite.

2012 Nelson Sauvignon Blanc punchy with vital  fresh  passion and citrus fruits over a hint of gooseberry and grassy-ness. Zesty and fresh on the palate with crisp tropical and citrus fruits and nice mineral edge. Absolute classic. Beats Sancerre any day!

Then the Pinot Blanc:

2010 ‘Hope Vineyard’ Pinot Blanc Subdued nose with slight hints of pear, apple and oaky spice. It’s very full-bodied, weighty, complex and rich, with deep peach, pear and spice flavours, slightly buttery and savoury. A wine that split the room,  this is certainly a food wine!

Next was the Reds:

2007 Nelson Pinot Noir Ripe dark and medium red cherry aromas, ripe cranberry and floral notes. The palate was juicy with fleshy cherry flavours and notes of strawberry and raspberry,  and light unobtrusive oak spice.

2010 Nelson Pinot Noir Intense red cherry and pomegranate aromas with hints of clove. Very Ripe and young style plenty of fruit flavours and structure from tannin. A wine that will mature nicely.

2003 ‘Hope Vineyard’ Pinot Noir** Very expressive nose despite being 10 years old,  with juniper berry, star anise and thyme. Berries is the theme of the seductive palate with complimentary fruit compot.  A vibrant mineral freshness adds life and elegance to the mouthfeel.  Soft silky tannins on the long lingering  finish  with notes of savoury berries, liquorice, subtle oak spice.

And finally the Desert:

2012 Noble Riesling Typical nose of botrytised Riesling citrus and apricot and peach. Lovely fresh and zesty palate and finish. Delightful desert wine that you could drink a whole bottle of in no time!!! Lovely and luscious!!

**Not Available for sale. This stock is from the shops tasting reserves.

Really From Austria

(First up sorry for the delay but the weather made it hard to sit down and type this up!!!) Last Thursday night we held our second last in shop tasting of the Summer, and it was the wonderful wines of Austria that we tasted. The wines from Weingut Muller in Krems have really been a revelation since we started importing them nearly two years ago. On the night we tasted 10 different wines including three Gruner Veltliners and two rieslings.

Müller ‘Göttweiger’ Riesling  2011                                                              €14.95

Fresh and fruit nose of citrus and apricot. Light spritz on the plate with crisp citrus fruit.

Müller ‘Kremser Kogl’ Grüner Veltliner  2012                                  €13.95

Pear, apple and spice nose gives way to fresh minerally pear and apple palate.

Tassilo ‘Alte Point’ Grüner Veltliner  2011                                           €16.95

Classic Wachau nose delicate flowers, apples, citrus and spice. Juicy crisp and textured palate. Fresh Finish.

 Müller ‘Neubergen’ Riesling  2012                                                             €18.95 

One of the nights real hits. Aromatic apricot, lime and yellow apple nose. Very fresh spritz on the palate and lots of apple, pear, peach and citrus fruits.

 Müller ‘Bergkristall’ Grüner Veltliner  2012                                      €17.95

Opens up in the nose with a wide range of different fruit aromas including grapefruit but also tones of garden herbs and excellent minerals. The palate is spoiled by a beautiful distinction and finesse, delicate nuances of apples and pears in the finish.

 Müller ‘Eichbühel’ Sauvignon Blanc 2012                                          €19.95

The other superstar of the night; bursting with delicate tropical fruit notes, passion fruit, lime and citrus. Crisp mineral driven fruit on the palate. A real interesting alternative to both New Zealand and Sancerre. 

 Tassilo ‘Süssenberg’ Weiss Burgunder 2011                                       €17.95

Delicate nut aromas in the nose, elegant and powerful on the palate; an excellent wine with a great balance and length. A full-bodied food wine.

Müller ‘Mugeln Reserve’ Chardonnay 2011                                         €19.95

Ripe stone fruit on the nose and on the palate. Complex and powerful, already very harmonious, lingering finish. Again great food wine with excellent cellaring potential.

 Müller Zweigelt Selection 2010                                                                  €12.95

Ruby red colours in the glass, beautiful scents of cherries and fine spices develop in the nose, nice berry notes on the palate, fruity, trendy and smooth.

 Müller ‘Reserve’ Zweigelt 2010                                                                   €17.95 

Beautiful scents of red berries, cherries and fine spices on the nose, along with nice barrique tones. Powerful and substantial on the palate with nice juicy red fruit and silky smooth tannins.

The Jesuits, Francis and wine

Historic Sevenhill Cellars is the oldest winery in South Australia’s Clare Valley. Sevenhill was established in 1851 when Jesuit priests who settled in the area planted vines to produce sacramental wine. The old stone winery and cellar door at Sevenhill is the only remaining Jesuit owned winery in Australia. The Jesuits and lay staff share a common ethos of building the Jesuit Mission to support works of charity and compassion throughout Australia.

While the spiritual tradition continues (as does the production of alter wine), today Sevenhill is recognized for premium wines and fortified wines. Signature Clare valley styles are made from Riesling and Shiraz. Sevenhill is committed to creating distinctive wines that reflect the local terroir. Integral to this philosophy are modern winemaking techniques and highly prized, estate grown fruit from some of the Valley’s oldest vines. The benefits of owning and managing the vineyards from which all wines are made cannot be underestimated.

Sevenhill wines are easily recognizable by a strong link to the Jesuit heritage. They offer a diversity of style and pricing that suits a broad spectrum of wine enthusiasts. We are currently stocking the Inigo Shiraz 2010, St. Ignatius and in honour of our new Pope, the St. Francis Xavier Riesling 2012. The 2012 St Francis Xavier Single-Vineyard Riesling is produced using fruit fromSevenhill’s Weikert Vineyard, one of Sevenhill’s seven Riesling vineyards. This small vineyard(0.82ha) was planted in 1978 and has been recognised for consistently producing fruit to meet the premium requirements of the St Aloysius Riesling, which is normally released after at least three years in the bottle. The 2012 St Francis Xavier is a wonderful expression of pristine Riesling, coming as it does from a vintage widely regarded as one of the best in the past decade in the Clare Valley. The St Francis Xavier Riesling exemplifies the variety’s great purity and elegance with its floral style and delicate citrus character. ( The wine is named for St Francis Xavier, one of the first companions of the Jesuits’ founder, St Ignatius. )

A Charismatic Catalan

The simply excellent Carisma Gewürztraminer and Riesling blend has been knocking around the shop since a few weeks before Christmas, but I hadn’t gotten an opportunity to sample it until last week-end and now i can see why it was so popular at our Christmas Tasting. The wine has a complex nose that develops in the glass. Some peach and lychee but with distinct mineral, stone quality. On the palate the wine has pronounced acidity, great length and weight. The finish is a lovely lingering off dry flavour of luscious tropical fruits, think mango pineapple and lychee.

The wine is named after the charismatic Carles Ribes Masana who first planted these vines high up in the village of his birth, Montanissell. The climate in Montanissell is Alpine – with extreme cold in the winters and warm summers. The day night temperature differential is dramatic and can be as much as 25 to 30 degrees. The vines are situated at 1,200 metres above sea level, making them the highest in Spain. Carles died tragically before he could see his grapes become wine but today, together with his brothers, Nuria Altes of Herencia Altes continue his dream with the wine that bears his initials and continues his spirit.

The vineyard is planted to 50% Riesling and 50% Gewürztraminer. The Gewürztraminer is picked late September and taken to winery in refrigerated vans to be vinified. The Riesling ripens much later, around later October, and is vinified separately. The two wines are blended post ferment and left sur-lie for 5 months before bottling in May. The style of the wine is distinctly northern European, Alsatian like, and is capable of ageing for several years in bottle.