Sarsaparilla

I occasionally think I can smell sarsaparilla in my wine. Which is very curious, as my sole experience of sarsaparilla is the carbonated and confected variety. I suspect the amount of sarsaparilla extract present in these carbonated drinks is usually minimal.

I went and bought some bottles of root beer today for something I hoped to cook. The back label states the ingredients - carbonated water, cane sugar, sarsaparilla brew (which is sugar, molasses, ginger root, sarsaparilla root, licorice, vanilla bean and yeast), caramel and sarsaparilla flavour (along with additives 202, 211, 300 and 330).

I open the first, one sniff and the memories start to flicker. Last night's toothpaste. . . Then my parents are smothering my childhood mosquito bites with balm and now, I can see my long dead Grandparents, I've hurt my thumb, sewing machine needle, blood, pain, screams. They are treating it with some sort of smelly, skin staining poultice. . . No wonder I never liked root beer as a child.

J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Spätlese Trocken Riesling 2004

Walluf, Rheingau, Germany. Riesling. 12%. Vino lok (glass stopper). Approx $A50.

A delicious wine, which I have been struggling to describe. . . Words have their limitations. . . Does lime, citrus blossom and cut fennel bring you closer to the wine?

Does this description from A Field Guide to the Birds of Western Australia make you think of a Laughing Kookaburra? Length 41-47cm. Head and neck brownish white and pale brown with blackish brown streaks; broad blackish brown stripe though eye to ear coverts; back and wings dark brown; wing and tail coverts more or less tipped red with black; under parts greyish white. It's detailed and specific, but without the bird in front of you, it seems hollow and paradoxically superficial.

The Riesling is very dry, surprisingly so. It is not unlike an Aussie in its hardness and line, full of freshness and vitality. The current cliché of green shoots would be very apt. The nose is verdant (in a pleasing way) and delicate. There is a note of lime zest and freshly cut fennel and something that evokes river stones (perhaps it is the hint of sulphur). Vibrant, pure and intense. This has a pleasing sappiness and plenty of carry and mineral complexity.

Excellent.
95.
Now - 2019+

Riesling with pork chops.

I drank a surprisingly dry German Riesling with this, something from the Eden Valley or Western Australia's Great Southern would also have been excellent.

The meal is based on a recipe from this book. In a nutshell, three steps are involved. First - make an apple puree. Second - Grill the pork chops. Third - top the meat with apple and apple puree and return to the grill.

In more detail:

The puree - peel and core two apples (I used a Gala and a Granny Smith), dice and then add to a pan along with 2 teaspoon of sugar and the juice of half a lemon. Heat and cover for 10 minutes, till the apple is disintegrating. Mash to the desired consistency.

The meat - I was cooking for two, and used two pork loin chops. Place the meat under a grill for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

Third - top the partly cooked pork with the apple puree, and then thin slices of raw apple. I used a second Granny Smith for this purpose. Brush the apple with some melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Return this to the grill for another 3-4 minutes.

Restrictions

How many restrictions do you face each day? Walking through the city today, I was told I could not walk through the train station without a ticket. The absurdity and provincial small mindedness of the rule, plus the threat of sanction outraged me. It seems like another lost opportunity, and another case of rules and order taking precedence over accessibility and vitality.

A winos life can be one of ridiculous restriction too. Each meal (exclude breakfast if you must) is a potential drinking opportunity. Why waste it then on food which is too spiced or strongly flavoured? Why frequent a place which smells and has incorrectly proportioned stemware?

I managed to temporarily break free of these self imposed chains today, and enjoyed a wine free lunch and a very enjoyable plate of chicken curry and roti canai. The curry was powerfully flavoured and dripping with barely liquid fat, while the roti was another guilty pleasure - crisp, greasy and delicious. I can't think of any liquid other than cold water (or a freshly cleaved coconut) that could have enhanced the meal. Wine, even if it was allowed, would have been wrong. Still I was perfectly happy and savoured every mouthful. . . Which suggests that I should break my own rules more often. . .

Carmes De Rieussec 2005

Bordeaux, France. Semillon (mainly) with a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle. 14%. Approx $A30 for a half bottle.

Something to sip. There is a notably bitter edge, like an orange marmalade and like the 04, there is something about the nose that reminds me of resin and glue. Candied fruit, almond meal and frangipane. Thick and essence like, I can find dried apricot and maltose syrup in the mouth, but the constant is the undercurrent of bitter citrus pith.

Very good.
91+
2011 - 2021.

Tyrrell's Vat 1 Semillon 2005

Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia. Semillon. 11.3%. Screwcap (finally). Approx $A60.

It was about three o'clock in the afternoon, mid April, the sun was shining and the forecast of rain seemed wrong. With a pristine and borrowed copy of Raymond Chandler in hand, I was wearing a faded blue T shirt, cargo pants and work boots. I was casual, unshaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the off work doctor ought to be. I was looking for a drink, I was calling out for wine. . .

I've been wanting to read Raymond Chandler for some years and I've been waiting for the 2005 Vat 1 for almost as long. 05 was a terrific year and most importantly it is the first Vat 1 under screwcap. I collected both items of desire today.

Pale and singular, this is a wine deserving of praise and multiple descriptors. Arrow straight and full of tensile power, flint, citrus and taut acidity. Still very primary, the nose is already complex and unified, with citrus blossom, wax, grass clippings and gunflint. If this were snow, it would be the finest powder. Pure and intense this is delightful, rolling and harmoniously long.

Excellent.
95.
Now - 2020+

Duck with cherries

As much as I love duck, I usually find it bothersome to cook at home. The amount of fat rendered during roasting is frightening and often ensures there is much mess. . .

One solution is the use of oven roasting bags. I used one last night and was pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients:

• 2kg duck (I had to make do with a frozen supermarket duck, which I defrosted in the fridge for 36 hours prior to use)
• 1 celery stick
• 1 small onion
• 2 strips of lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour
• 1 clove of garlic - peeled
• 1 tablespoon or butter (or if you have some already - duck fat)
• 200g of frozen pitted cherries
• 1 glass of Pinot noir
• 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

How?

Cut the neck and wings off the duck and set aside. Place the lemon zest into the cavity of the duck (plus or minus herbs and spices) and then with a knife stab the duck all over, especially on the breast (which will help the fat render). Find a plastic oven bag and into this place the flour and season with salt and cracked black pepper, now add the wingless duck and the clove of garlic. Tie the bag off and cut a very small hole into the neck of the bag (just below your knot and on the 'breast' side, so the hole faces up). Place the bird onto a baking dish, breast side up and put this into a hot oven (preheated to 220 degrees C) and leave for 1 hour.

In the mean time prepare the sauce. First make a simple duck stock by frying the neck and wings in a saucepan till brown and some fat has been rendered, then add two cups of water, the small onion (now chopped) and the celery stick (which has been diced). Simmer for 30 minutes, and then strain. Take the strained liquid, and reheat and reduce by half. Now in a separate pan melt the butter and add the frozen cherries, pushing them around till they are warmed through and the butter is stained purple. Remove the cherries and set aside and to the pan add the vinegar and wine, turn up the heat and reduce. As this is boiling add the reduced duck stock and continue till the sauce is suitably concentrated. Just prior to serving return the cherries and reheat the sauce if needed.

After a hour, remove the duck (still in bag) from the oven (the skin will be brown and there will be almost a cup or more of rendered fat in the bag). While still in the baking tray, cut into the bag, releasing the cooking liquids (the fat should be collected and refrigerated for later use). Take the duck and place it into a fresh tray with a roasting rack to hold the duck in position, return this to the oven for a final 5-10 minutes to allow the skin to crisp further.

Serve as pictured. . . Drink the rest of the Pinot. . .

Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto D'Alba 2007

Dolcetto D'Alba, Piedmonte, Italy. Dolcetto. 13%. Cork. Approx $A45.

I spent the afternoon picking olives from my solitary tree. I think I collected three or four kilograms of fruit. I plan to pickle and preserve them, not that I have any firm idea about how this is done. . . from my reading, time, salt and water seem to be the consistent ingredients. . .

The Giacosa is very pleasing and seems the perfect olive picking wine. Rustic and yet appealingly pert. Deeply coloured with flavoursome, chewy tannins and surprisingly mouth puckering acidity. This smells of raw almonds, rosemary, lavender and cherry. There is a suspicion of complexity, but overwhelmingly this is delightfully bucolic.

Very good.
90.
Now - 2012

Max Lake

A great man died on Wednesday (1, 2). I happened to find one of his old books in a second hand bookstore yesterday, and I have spent much of last night and today absorbing his passion and words.

I choose to enjoy my wine by thinking about it, a great deal in fact. About what grapes have gone into it, where it was made, when, and by whom, how it has developed, and what it is going to do as it ages further. A single glass of wine can start a daydream or a book, and in my case even a vineyard. I am now engaged on a quest for such a Holy Grail, though it is not the chalice I seek, but the contents.

Published in 1966, at essentially the halfway mark of his life, it is remarkable to think of what else he managed to achieve from that point on. The completeness and concentration of his life is at once daunting and inspiring.

Blackened corks. . .

Three Marc Bredif corks. From left to right - 1985, 1996 and the blemish free 2006.

The oldest cork is shriveled and hard and the black end behaves like charcoal. The youngest is firm but springy. Each time I open an older bottle of Bredif Vouvray I am always fascinated by the cork. Why is the top end blackened? Why does it look burnt? If this is intentional, what is the purpose? Is it a game of La vache qui tache gone too far?

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2007

Canberra, Australia. Shiraz, Viognier. 14%. Screwcap.

And then there were three. . .

In many ways this is like its older siblings (02,03,04,05,06), it is delicious and beautifully poised. Fragrant, supple and muscular. Spiced and pointed before softening and yielding rose petal and musk. In the mouth tightness and flesh are perfectly juxtaposed, the wine is caressing and silken, but all the time there is juicy intensity and an undercurrent of muscle and hardness.

Excellent.
95+
Now - 2017

Montana Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Marlborough, New Zealand. Sauvignon blanc. 12.5%. $A6.90 for a 187ml mini bottle.

I spent the final day of the Easter long weekend in Fremantle, watching jugglers and heavily tattooed sword swallowers. The Port City was crawling with similarly motivated people and families, lapping up the the good cheer. While watching the street performers, I tried a mini bottle of this well known wine, it helped wash down my satisfyingly greasy serve of takeaway Cicerello's fish and chips.

Direct, grassy and laden with tropical fruit. While pungent enough, this seemed less confronting and more attenuated in its scent and focus, I had hoped and was expecting something a little sharper and with more playful tartness. Still for fish and chips wrapped in paper and consumed on the grass, this is pretty good.

Australia

Fallen soldiers

One day on, and with the aid of a handful of corks and a brace of mostly empty bottles, I'm starting to reconstruct, in my mind, the night before.

To begin, a bone dry Blanc de blancs. Tart and enlivening is this biscuit scented, green apple and lemon tasting Larmandier-Bernier Terre de Vertus (12.5% alcohol, Approx $A65, Excellent). Next something rose coloured which evokes mushroom and truffle. The Egly-Ouriet Brut Rose Grand Cru (Pinot noir 60%, 12.5% alcohol, Disgorged 12/2005, Approx $A120, Very good - excellent) has a twist of bitterness and there is a pleasing suspicion of oxidation.

Next two still whites, which are worlds apart in style and manner. The adolescent Marc Bredif Vouvray 1996. (Chenin blanc, 12.5%, Cork, approx $A45, Excellent) is initially sulfurous and stinky, but in time there is lovely candied fruit on the nose, and in the mouth a customary lightness and a terrific balance of acidity and sweetness. It never ceases to amaze me how well these bottles age. The also age worthy Leeuwin Art Series 2001 (Chardonnay, 14%, Cork, Margaret River, Excellent) is opulently oaked and brimming with fatty texture and cream.

Three reds. . . The 06 Bindi Block 5 starts well, but by the end of the night was shaded by the Bouchard. Whilst I'm fond of Turkish delight and rose water, it seemed simple in comparison to the cheaper and more complex Domaine Bouchard Pere & Fils Beaune Teurones 2005. (13.5%. Cork. Approx $A45. Very good - excellent). Evolving over the hours, this starts with dried citrus, a hint of rubber, stalk and aniseed seasoned small goods. I was especially fond of the shape and accent. The 07 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier was superb. The tasting note is here.

To conclude, two stickies. The pristine, nectar like 05 Ch. Guiraud and the sump oil coloured raisin and caramel scented Seppelt DP 59 Rare Tokay (Cork. 17.5%. Very good - excellent) which seems to stick in your throat for hours. . .

Chateau Guiraud 2005

Sauternes, Bordeaux, France. Semillon. 13.5%. Cork. Approx $A90.

My hands are sticky from fondling the long empty bottle, which I find myself sniffing in vain, wishing forlornly for one more drop. . .

Golden in scent and attribute, this smells like a warm afternoon. Oat and almond meal, lanolin, fabric softener, nectar. . . The smells are caressing, changeable and complex. Palpable and rich, at times this is like drinking apricot nectar, such is the concentration, endurance and intensity.

Very good - excellent.
95.
Now - 2025.

Cape Mentelle Chardonnay 2007

Margaret River, Western Australia. Chardonnay. 13%. Screwcap. Approx $A45

Lighter in body and seemingly shorter than its older siblings (05, 06) this smells and tastes of melon, peaches and butterscotch. A pleasing seam of acidity is there to offset the creamy softness and there is a customary trace of spiced and sweet vanilla oak. All in all very competent, but somewhat unexciting.

Very good.
91.
Now - 2011.

Shrinkage

Almost three years separate the two Champagne corks. Both come from more or less identical half bottles of Billecart NV, the one of the left was removed yesterday, and the one of the right some time in 2006. Of course corks are not the only thing to shrink with time in the bottle! (1, 2 )

Houghton Crofters Cabernet Merlot 1999

Pemberton and Frankland River, Great Southern, Western Australia. Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot. 14.5%. Cork. Source: Cellar. (? $15-20 on release).

I'm not sure what I have been waiting for with this bottle. It's been gathering dust and dappled sunlight for the last seven years. I think I bought three or four of these in 2001, when I used to buy a lot more Cabernet based wines. I seemed to have more patience then. . .

I have a vague recollection (and an old 2002 tasting note) of the wine being agreeable, alcoholic and dominated by vanilla and mint. Seven years on and wine is transformed and surprisingly good. Despite very marginal cellaring conditions (unused fireplace in my sons bedroom) the wine is fresh and quite delicious. Smelling of an über ripe blackcurrant, there is a varietal herbal edge and a hint of furniture polish. It's lush, rich and full, well weighted and pleasingly meaty and chocolate laden in conclusion. Being hypercritical, it does conform and follow a well trodden path, and perhaps the initial attack is a little slow and broad. Still, for its very modest price, this has over delivered and it still shows no signs of fatigue.

Very good.
91.
Now - 2014.

Voyager Chenin Blanc 2008

Margaret River, Western Australia. Chenin Blanc. 13%. Screwcap. Approx $A20.

I drank this with a dim sum lunch at, the Four Seasons Restaurant in Northbridge. The food seems to have slipped and the venue seems grimier than I can recall. . .

Seemingly devoid of colour, this smells of tinned pineapple, pear and musk. It's surprisingly fleshy and textured, almost unctuous. In time, the hint of flab and excess gives way to a brace of tight, focused acidity.

Very good.
86.
Now.

Weekend wino sapien #5

Dinner for two at one of my favourite Perth dining rooms. Like all good meals, I suspect the wine may have ended up costing more than the food. . .

Ayala Brut Majeur NV (this bottle was predominantly pinot noir and mostly from 2003 fruit and disgorged in 2006).

Smelly, like an old sock, or more generously - a piece of stinky cheese. Oxidized and slightly attenuated. Good. 88.

Yves Cuilleron Côte-Rôtie Madiniere 2004. 13%. Cork. Source: Restaurant wine list.

A sensual and satisfying wine. Deeply coloured, this smells of bacon, blood (raw pork), and flowers. There is a hint of spice and plenty of perfume, but overwhelmingly it will be the meatiness that I will recall. Serious and firm, but possessing lightness and grace. Very good. 92+. Now - 2019.

Image: The over sized, over priced and under utilized Ferris wheel on the Perth foreshore.

Stonecroft Serine Syrah 2004

Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Shiraz. 13.5%. Diam. Approx $A40.

This is not unlike the 06 Cape Mentelle I tried recently. Both savoury, both laden with pepper and structure. Like a good Côte-Rôtie this reminds me of pepper steak, with its spice and meaty flavours and tannins. To complete the picture there is a crowd pleasing lick of creamy, mocha rich oak.

Very good.
91.
Now - 2014.

Domaine Taupenot Merme Gevrey Chambertin 2002

Gevrey Chambertin, Brugundy, France. Pinot noir. 13%. Cork. Approx $A50

Call it affectation, but when I'm at home, removing the bark from a bottle, I sniff at the cork. . . It's supposedly a waste of time, but I still think it gives a clue as to the state of the wine. The cork from this bottle is impressive to look at, long, firm and visually blemish free. I'm pleased until I sniff - it smells musty and stale. . .

The wine too is smelly and tainted, not extremely, but in the mouth it feels like Velcro, harsh, truncated and at times menthol like. Oddly enough, I'm not overly disappointed, indeed, I've been waiting for such a wine for some months. . . I remember reading about the use of cling film (saran in the USA and glad wrap in Australia) to remove cork taint (1,2) and this fusty bottle is perfect for my purposes. The treated wine is better, though vaguely diminished. The scent is clean but also attenuated, while the mouth feel is notably softer, longer and fleshier.

Cling wrap and cork taint

Does it work? My non blinded, trial suggests there is some merit. After 5-10 minutes it (the scrunched up ball of cling wrap) removes the offending 2,4,6-trichloroanisole odour and the mouth feel of the wine is much improved. Still, even if there is no taint left, there seems to be a homeopathic echo, with the wine still tasting subdued and diminished.