Autumn 2009

At the best of times, I'm prone to grumpiness. I'm ordinarily ornery. Winter is yet to arrive, but already I'm longing for the warmth of December. I think it is the prospect of another influenza season that has me wishing for the trouble free air of Summer. This flu season will be coloured with the spectre of Swine flu. A month ago, when I was eating pork chops and drinking Riesling, I first heard of the out break in Mexico. One month on and Perth has identified its first confirmed case. The wonders of air travel. . .

The last time I tried a bottle of this particular wine, was December 2007. Relatively trouble free times I recall. The wine is now less teasing and more satisfying, there is a transient sweet edge and the nose is more complex and interesting. Still peaches and cream, but there is a pleasing note of aldehyde. Intense, fleshy and powerful in the mouth. A wine of poise, this is full of pleasure and much needed warmth and insouciance.

Clonakilla Jack Reidy 2008

Canberra, Australia. Shiraz and 4% Viognier. 14%. Screwcap. Approx $A29.

A further expansion of the Clonakilla Shiraz train. First the Shiraz Viognier, then the Hilltops, the Syrah, the O'Riada and now Jack Reidy - a line that seems to be only found at one particular national retailer.

From the back label - As the Second World War raged across Europe, Clonakilla founder John Kirk spent holidays from his English boarding school at his grandfather's dairy farm in County Clare in order to 'get some decent Irish food into him'. It was there at Jack Reidy's farm 'Clonakilla' that John learned to love the country life.

This needs time and patience, but I was curious to see if I should buy some more. . . Captivating and beautiful to begin - all the usual Clonakilla suspects are lined up. Musk, spice and meatiness. In time it is a little less flattering, and there is a hint of rubber skid marks and dried citrus peel. Bold and textured, it reminds me a little of the 06 Syrah. Meaty, chewy and quite satisfying, this seems a little heavy and awkward at present.

Very good.
91+
2011-2019+

Post script. May 31 and about a week since I opened the bottle. The dregs, which I had intended to use for cooking are too beautiful for such a purpose. Hauntingly pure and delicate, while in the mouth there is more flow and grace than before.

Moroccan beef stew

After a an extremely dry and sun filled Autumn, the cold and rain has finally reached Perth. Time at last for rich food and heroic reds.

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg of blade steak cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon of ras el hanout
• 2 medium onions - roughly diced
• 3 cloves of garlic - diced
• Small pinch of saffron threads
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 200g of dried apricots
• 100g of pitted prunes
• 2 tablespoons of rosewater*
• 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• handful of roasted almonds
• parsley to garnish

How:
Mix the beef with the ras el hanout, so the beef is well covered. Let this sit for at least one hour. Then in an ovenproof casserole (eg Le Creuset) brown the beef in batches and set aside. This will leave a thin crust of spice on the base of the pot. Add a splash more olive oil and now fry the onion and garlic, after a few minutes add a pinch of saffron and if needed a few tablespoons of water to loosen the crust of spice from the bottom of the pan. Now return the beef, add two sticks of cinnamon and a half cup of water. Cover and place in a oven (160 degrees C) for 90 minutes.
While the meat is cooking prepare the fruit. Add the apricots, prunes, sugar and rosewater to a small sauce pan, fill with just enough water to cover the fruit and now bring this to the boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and then add the lemon juice. Add this to the casserole (after it has been in the oven for 90 minutes) and cook for a further 60 minutes. Just prior to serving toss in the previously roasted almonds and the parsley.

* I made my own by steeping a handful of rose petals in boiling water for 1 hour and then straining.

Eucalyptus

One of the interesting things about the novels of Raymond Chandler, is the number of times Eucalyptus trees are mentioned. In The High Window his character Marlow sniffs the air and finds a touch of that peculiar tomcat smell that eucalyptus trees give off in warm weather. . .

Eucalyptol is a pungent and volatile monoterpene, found in gum leaves (and bay leaves). On warm days, it is carried in the air and if there are grapes in the region, it will stick to the fruit. Over a particular threshold, it can impart a distinctive note to the resultant wine.

I've spent the last couple of hours occasionally sniffing at this gumnut that my son found in the playground. The size of a golf ball, its colour is in transition and its cargo is gone. It smells like a bay leaf, but with more volatility and sharpness.

I've also been sniffing a glass of Sandstone Cabernet sauvignon 1999 (Margaret River, 14%, Cork. Quite good - but a little hollow and tart). It has a hint of tomcat and a point of eucalyptus. Another day and I might have described the scent as dried herbs and bay leaf. . .

Glaetzer-Dixon überblanc Riesling 2008

Southern Tasmania, Australia. Riesling. 10.9%. Screwcap. Approx $A25

When I purchased this, I thought it might be slightly sweet, I blame the large red, confection like, umlaut. Instead it was bone dry, unrelenting and hard. Like biting into a green apple dipped in lemon and lime juice. I wonder if some residual sugar might have made this more enjoyable. . . Pale with a hint of green, this is freshly scented with apple, fresh cut fennel and lemon. It seems attenuated and simple initially, but in time it becomes more intense and focused.

Very good.
87.
Now - 2014+

Post script. Curiosity got the better of me. I added a few (15-20) granules of sugar to a tasting glass of wine, it felt more generous in the mouth, while retaining its steely edge and sharpness.

Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon Macon 2007

Mâcon, Burgundy, France. Chardonnay. 13%. Screwcap (for the first time). Approx $A38.

For the last few years, this wine and its siblings, has been a firm favourite. Succulent, bright and full of verve. The added bonus this year is the screwcap.

Tasted over two nights, the last sip being was most enjoyable. Fruit laden, but notably mineral and slate scented. For the trainspotters - peaches and nectarine, pineapple and melon, with a trace of nutmeg. Quite powerful and assertive, essence like with a pleasing line of intense citrus acidity and grapefruit zip and grip.

Excellent.
94.
Now - 2017.

Orlando Jacaranda Ridge 1988

Coonawarra, South Australia. Cabernet sauvignon. 11.3%. Cork (1/3 stained and crumbling).

Feeble to start, there seems to be no sinew or muscle. Instead it is rounded, sweet and with no edge. Mellow and uncoiled, the impatient might conclude this is a wine with no tension and no more story.

It's slow to wake but then quite graceful. The form, while lacking meat and power, is still classic in its proportions. Sawdust and varnish to begin, before blackcurrant, bell pepper and a pleasing trace of eucalyptus. Soft and sweet, the super fine tannins can still manage a chalky encore.

Very very good.
90.
Now.

Into temptation. . .

It started innocently enough. A cool, clear evening. A dinner meeting with colleagues and a few empty minutes to procure a bottle or two. I was looking for an interesting bottle of Riesling, what I found was plenty of trouble, with a French accent. . .

Review: Halo

I had a lovely Mother's day lunch at Halo, which is situated at Perth's Barrack St Jetty. The plates were beautiful, the vista excellent and the wine list comprehensive. The meal was free of fault, the service attentive and the atmosphere very pleasing. For a fee of $A80 I started with poached marron before a main of lamb rump with pumpkin risotto. Dessert was a well presented concoction of tomato and strawberry soup with lemon frangipane and basil ice cream. It's certainly not cheap, but it delivers. Now I feel sated and full of cheer (Bredif Vouvray 2006 and By Farr Sangreal 2006), I can't think of a better place in Perth for an indulgent and lazy Sunday lunch with loved ones. . .

Chateau Bernadotte 2005

Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France. Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon. Cork. Approx $A45

Since 1997 the adopted child of Pichon Lalande. . .

In the name of science - half the wine has been poured into a smaller bottle for cyropreservation. It will be re tasted in month or so. . .

Tasting note: Dense, oak dominated nose with only a much delayed hint of blackcurrant. Very good palate presence, but still unresolved, with the elements fighting for attention. Creamy sweet vanilla, lead pencil and ripe blackcurrant, in time the seams may be harder to find.

Very good.
88.
2012 - 2020.

Freezing wine?

Open a bottle of wine and follow it for a few days, and it becomes apparent that the sensory profile changes. Colour, scent and taste transform, flourishing for a while before fading. Some wines remain attractive for days, but the fate of all is the same. Once free of the bottle, wine is such a fragile thing.

Is freezing an option? I mentioned recently that I froze some wine for later consumption. I used an old 187ml bottle I had saved and today I let the wine thaw. Ethanol has a very low freezing point (which I had previously discovered when trying to make a white wine sorbet) and even straight from the freezer some free liquid was still visible.

Once the wine had slowly reached room temperature I tried a glass. It had the same signature and I felt the quality was similar to the fresh wine I had tried five nights earlier. Time I think for another trial, though this time over several weeks. . .

Further learned research can be found here.

Related post: Flametree Chardonnay
Frozen wine (May 2011)

Wine bloggers for beer?

Next week is American Craft Beer week, which is of course why I am writing about two beers from Australia and one from New Zealand. I thank/blame Shea Coulson for twisting my arm and hosting a beer event for wine bloggers. . .

I drink beer, but know very little. I feel a little embarrassed writing these incomplete and superficial notes, but do so out of solidarity.

Bootleg Brewery 'Raging Bull' (Margaret River, Western Australia. 7.1%. Porter). I had this with a lovely, mild, chicken curry. I usually avoid dark ales, as they are one of the few things I have come across that give me a migraine. This beer caused no such distress and was well worth seeking out. It smells of dessert, with its combination of burnt sugar, chocolate, malt and coffee.

Little Creatures 'Pale Ale' (Fremantle, Western Australia. 5.2%. website). With Lion Nathan (and hence Kirin) as a shareholder, I am not sure this qualifies as a microbrewery anymore. Smells fresh, herbal and, grassy. Full of flavour but still light and invigorating, this is what I tend to drink at the start of the night while waiting around at the pub for my usually tardy mates. . .

Mac's Hop Rocker Pilsner (New Zealand. 4.8%. website). This one is new to me. The back label though written in English is only vaguely comprehensible, it makes mention of the use of crystal malt along with the usual liquid form. It's pleasingly aromatic with sourdough, citrus peel and mushroom. Extra light and evanescent.

Zind Humbrecht Gewürztraminer 2006

Wintzenheim, Alsace, France. Gewürztraminer. 15%. Cork. Approx $A50

From 1961, this Fred Reinfeld book on chess (with its descriptive notation) starts with the anecdote:

Player one - "My wife threatens to leave me if I don't give up chess"
Player two (murmuring sympathetically) - "Terrible isn't it?"
Player one (casually) - "Yes, isn't it? I shall miss her dreadfully"

Tasting note: A flamboyant and confronting wine, this is a flood of sensations. Golden orange, beautifully scented, fleshy and gripping. Like biting into a pink rose. Exotic musk, lychee and petals, while in the mouth it is layered, fatty and essence like.

Very good, perhaps even better in small doses. . .
89.
Now - 2012.

Chateau Musar 2000

Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Cabernet sauvignon, Cinsaut et al. 13.5%. Cork (mostly stained). Approx $A65

If I was placing an ad in the social column, I might write this:

Wino sapien - Fast approaching 40, but stubbornly clings to the label of 30 something. Drinks and eats too much, needs to exercise and sleep more. Somewhat obsessed with Brettanomyces and in the middle of the night thinks his old Alma mater had a stone engraving with the words 'verily it is by beauty we find truth'. Coming down with a dose of the flu and starting to temporarily lose his sense of smell.

Musar - Interesting, full of charm and quirky personality. Well regarded in some circles. Rustic, natural and will appeal to those with similar interests. Overly technical drinkers and those obsessed with perfection and beauty need not reply.

The first date - Vexing. Initially I thought this was awful, but after a few hours I was starting to see its charm and appeal. With the rapid emergence of my anosmia (over the space of several hours), I've decided to freeze the rest of the wine and try again in a few days time.

Tasting note - The nose is quite appealing and convincing, full of leather, spice and small goods. Notably sweet and soft, the opened bottle improves with several hours of neglect. Still I thought it was a little truncated and it left my tongue coated, but unrefreshed.

McHenry Hohnen Tiger Country 2005

Margaret River (in Tiger snake 'country'), Western Australia. Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Cabernet sauvignon. 14%. Cork. Approx $A30.

After drinking and cooking with Sarsaparilla, I thought I'd search for a wine that might remind me of sarsaparilla. . .

This smells more of cola, ginger and malt, it is sweet and vanilla edged, rich and almost raisin flavoured. Quite firm and parching, but ultimately only a two glass wine for me.

Very good.
88.
Now - 2012.

Beef cheeks and sarsaparilla

I wish I had a better photo, so you might feel more inclined to try this amazing and comforting dish. The original recipe can be found here, on the Australian Gourmet Traveller site. After four hours of slow cooking, in a broth laden with sarsaparilla, soy sauce, Balsamic vinegar and spices, the meat is unbelievably tender and ready to just disintegrate.