Weekend Wino sapien #8

Perhaps dandelion wishing clocks are more easily seen by children. I seem to recall them being everywhere as a child. . . They seem so frail and temporary, the parachutes just waiting to be scattered by a well directed puff. I spent the weekend on a farm, inhaling and recalibrating my nose to the smell of manure, stables and an extraordinary array of growing herbs, vegetables and flowers. It seemed wrong and superfluous to be sniffing wine in such a setting (what should you drink from a plastic cup, around a camp fire while toasting marshmellows?), where the scents and sensations are so direct and primary and so not in need of imagination, swirling and aeration.

Dujac Fils & Père Chambolle Musigny 2007

Burgundy, France. Pinot noir. 13%. Cork. Source: Cellar.

Medium red. Stems and earth along with a suggestion of spice, cooked pancetta and black tea. At first I thought this a little too short and plain, but it grows with time and becomes more expansive and sappy. In the mouth there is aniseed, sour plums and sense of place. 90. Now - 2015.

A meeting of hearts and livers

A Perth wine bloggers meeting of sorts initiated by Tim Cohen @ Mt Lawley's Cantina.

Pommery Apanage NV. Arriving late, all the Champagne was gone by the time I arrived, except for a teaspoon of this bright and vigourous fluid. Recently disgorged it is not surprisingly fresh and zippy. Green apples and electricity. A perfect appetizer, with lovely grip and phenolics. 18/20.

Vinterloper Riesling 2010 (Watervale, Screwcap, 12%, from Kristy). Quite a wonderful wine, aromatically distinct with fresh fennel, rose petals and lime. Salty and searing in the mouth. V. Good - excellent. 18/20.

Vinterloper Sauvignon blanc 2010 (Adelaide Hills). I called it bubblegum, Matt went one better with Grape Hubba Bubba. . . 15/20.

Freycinet Chardonnay 2006 (Tasmania, 13.8%). Jesse's wine. Very good, with a lovely blend of wine makers tricks and tight acidity, perhaps a hint of sweetness, malo and flint. 17/20.

Ostler Audrey's Pinot Gris 2008 (Waitaki, New Zealand, 13.8%). Interesting. Lovely aromatics - a hint of smoke and a strong note of tropical fruit and lychee. Textural and perhaps a little too challenging for some. 17/20.

Felton Road Calvert Pinot noir 2008 (Central Otago 14%, screwcap). The nose is perhaps the best part. Delicate and restrained, but full of seduction and gentle perfume. I could smell truffles and earth and something beautifully rounded and pure. It's much more assertive and slightly rushed in the mouth, but still it is lovely and full of nuance and character. Perhaps there is a little too much (initial) zip and heft for higher points. 18/20. Additional and recommended reading.

Vinea Marson Nebbiolo (Heathcote, Victoria 13.5%, Diam). I've tried this before and liked it very much. It's still lean and tight, there is a shell of acidity around it and something I had not noticed before, the smell of stems and whole bunches. 17.5/20.

Image: Perth's Protestant Hall, on Beaufort St

Can you spot the Australian?

Flying Fish The Italian Job 2009

Margaret River, Western Australia. Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Cabernet sauvignon. 14.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A20.

A curious blend and for the first few minutes, a most unusual amalgam of sensations. Bright, slightly sharp and minty with a lovely pure and evanescent note of concentrated maraschino cherry and rose petals. The olfactory kaleidoscope settles in time, and any suggestion there might be of Italy is replaced by the scent of Margaret River, and eucalyptus. Sweetish and slightly confection like in the mouth, this is big boned and warming. The edges and angles that I found initially have settled and by morning this is more flowing and even, while the tannins have developed a pleasing earthiness and balsamic intensity. 87. Now - 2015.

On this day

Having no particular passion for today's politics, I thought I'd mark the day with this image. I walked to the nearest polling station, selected as much for its location as the fact that there's always a cake stall. The voting took seconds, while the hard decisions, which cakes to bring home for breakfast, took much longer. . .

The present contenders and the policies on offer made me think of this quote from Hazlitt:

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are, and what they ought to be.

Isole e Olena Cepparello 2006

Tuscany, Italy. Sangiovese. 14%. Screwcap. Approx $A100.

A wonderful and vigorous wine, which is now pleasingly offered under screwcap. Bright and structured, I found the nose quite elusive and changeable. Dried herbs, meat and smallgoods, though at other times citrus peel and spice (pepper and curiously nutmeg). Bold and quite sappy in the mouth - sour plums, haw flakes, a squirt of ink and lovely, assertive, almost chalky tannins. An excellent wine. 93+. 2010 - 2020.

Little Willie's

A half hearted attempt at clean living has seen me free of caffeine and alcohol for the last 72 hours. I still can't sleep and I keep looking in the fridge every few minutes to see what I might be able to eat or drink. . . Not finding anything suitable, I go for a long slow walk down Beaufort and then William Street. There's a new bookstore opposite Lawley's, it's prim and proper, but it also has to compete against Planet books and I can just see it ending in tears. A few doors south is another new addition, which I suspect might have a longer future. Kartique has some lovely pieces of antique Burmese furniture, some with wonderful manifold doors. . . I'm on William street now and I can spot the forlorn and sometimes monstrous figures that populate the murals created by Creepy (aka Kyle Hughes-Odgers). My appreciation is infused with the smell of Chinatown (today - raw meat, spices and Chinese buns) and I feel a mix of mild revulsion and hunger. . . I briefly contemplate going into another new establishment, What the Pho, but it's empty (presumably it is a franchise) and seems heartless and devoid of charm. I finally end my fast of sorts at what was once the il vero gusto cafe. There's a tiny chalkboard at the entrance saying something like 'little willie's, come in for food, coffee and a polite conversation', on the pavement there are boxes of old olive oil tins with mint and parsley waving and growing in the city fumes. It's relaxed and effortless inside, recycled and yet full of youthful energy. I order and enjoy a breakfast burrito ($10.50) with a freshly made beetroot and orange juice ($6). To quote Dylan - 'What's the reaction? Satisfaction.'

Mt Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 2005

Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia. Semillon. 11.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A55

A wonderful wine, five years old but still green and primary (I don't recall the 2003 version of this being quite so lively). Lime zest and green beans on the nose, along with flint and fresh herbs. Pure, rolling and at times electric, the length is superb and in the mouth it is loaded with energy and spark. It manages to be salty and sour, seamless and searing. 95. Now - 2020+

Postcard: Rochelle Adonis Nougat

This is easily the finest and most pleasing piece of nougat I have ever tried. Nothing before this comes close. . . the scent is wonderful, honey and rose petal. . . I feel like a bee in Spring. The texture is sublime, soft and crumbling, it reminds me of Halva as it disintegrates in my mouth, releasing wonderful pistachios and tangy pieces of barberry. Finally a piece of confection with beauty, complexity and extraordinary persistence of flavours.

Website.

Heemskerk Chardonnay 2006

Coal River, Tasmania, Australia. Chardonnay. 13.5%. Approx $A45.

A day of molluscs. . . First finding a univalve specimen to pose, and then half a dozen bivalves on a plate for lunch (Saccostrea glomerata from Albany, WA).

With it's lovely minimalist packaging I wanted to like this more. . . strangely for a wine from the cool climes of Tasmania, it reminds me most of a hot Summers day, each sip leaves my mouth hot and parched, in need of refreshment. It's worked and somewhat overdone, there's butterscotch and flint on the nose, along with peach and a clean woollen jumper. Creamy and slightly sweet initially, this is fleshy and diffuse before becoming more spirit like and heated. The fine thread of acidity never had a chance. . . 89. Now - 2013.

Beef cheek Goulash

I've never tried or felt inclined to cook a Goulash until I saw this recipe in David Bouley's book, East of Paris. The clincher was the use of beef cheeks. I love the melt in the mouth quality that you get from slow cooking this cheap ($A12/kg) cut of meat, which is all the more extraordinary when you see how tough the cheeks are initially.

Wikipedia has this to say about the ingredients - they do not really need anything else than the onions and paprika (hot and/or mild), although garlic, a little tomato for the colour, a small amount of caraway seed, fresh green pepper when in season, and wine for game, are always acceptable. Other herbs and spices should be avoided.

Which is more or less true for Bouley's recipe, though he does add Thyme and Marjoram and the onions are slow cooked for two hours till deep brown, and the capsicum is made into a puree rather than being added rough and ready.

Wine match - I've more or less given up on prescriptive wine match suggestions, though the use of the peppers did make be think that a Cabernet would be appropriate.

I had a few glasses of a 1996 Jack Mann Cabernet Shiraz (Great Southern, Western Australia, Cork - mostly stained, 14% alcohol, Source - Brother in law). It's still holding on despite the cork. Leather and spice, a hint of rosewood and ginger, lead pencil and ripe blackcurrant. Slightly acetic in the mouth, but this appears to resolve leaving a soft attack and mid palate spice before slightly adhesive tannins. Fading. 88. Now.

An alcohol free day. . .

is of course a sensible thing to schedule at regular intervals. I'm wondering if I should align mine to this new app (Wine tonight? available for free on iTunes) which I read about in the most recent copy of Gourmet Traveller Wine. . .

If my palate were more constant and not affected by mood, food, children, work etc, I would think of performing some sort of half scientific blind tasting experiment just to test the hypothesis.

Related.
Related 2.

Collector Reserve Shiraz 2008

Canberra, Australia. Shiraz. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A49.

This is a beautiful wine, though watch the tartrate crystals, as you try to finish the last drops. . . There are similarities to junior in terms of olfactory descriptors, but the poise and refinement here is notably more. Perfumed and exotic with musk and Turkish delight along with spice and a hint of stems. It smells complete. Coiled and energetic, it's full of interest and brightness; cherries, freshly crushed berries, aniseed and pepper, along with a suggestion of meatiness. Effortless and beguiling. 95. Now - 2020.

Reminds me of. . .

Penfolds Reserve Bin 07A Chardonnay 2007

Adelaide Hills, South Australia. Chardonnay. 12.5%. Screwcap. Source: cellar.

I can't quite remember when I bought this or how much it cost, but I do know that ever since I have been thinking about opening it. Last night I relented, even though the guest of honour was teetotal. . .

A wonderfully pure, bright and crystalline chardonnay. Struck match, grilled peach and nuts. The nose is expressive and exuberant, while in the mouth it is complex, measured and tremendously long. This is taut and intense, but all the time graceful and precise. A superb wine. 96. Now - 2015+

Some Young Punks 'Monsters Monsters Attack 2010'

Clare, South Australia. Riesling. 11% Alcohol. Screwcap. Approx $A22

This is quite a convincing, though unconventional South Australian riesling. It smells of Clare, with its combination of lime zest, cut fennel, blossom and slate, while in the mouth it is loaded with contradiction and surprise. If I had paid more attention to the back label (in particular the 11% alcohol) I would have known before hand what to expect in the mouth. . . Presumably there's 20-30g of residual sugar married to the punchy citrus acidity, what ever the exact numbers, the titration seems almost perfect. 91. Now - 2013.

Another review can be found here.

There was a time. . .

when work was so novel that I would write and think about it for days. Pages would be filled with stories and situations, diagnostic wins and misses, puzzles, tales of resilience and laughter. Now I find the new and surprising less frequent and less noteworthy. I hope I am no less empathic, it is just that work has become secondary and the charm and shock of humanity now comes with forms to fill and certificates to sign.

Image: When I'm bogged down at work, I think of Thursday (my day off) and my favourite breakfast plate (from Mt Lawley's Cantina), Beef Hash with pickled vegetables. . .

Collector Marked Tree Red 2008

Canberra District, Australia. Shiraz. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A28

Less than a month of winter to go, and I wonder when it will begin. There's been bugger all rain and surely the water restrictions this Summer will be tighter and longer.

I'm pleased with tonight's wine - it's full of meat, spice, grip and length. It's wonderful value and I'm particularly impressed by its clarity and definition. I keep returning to the lazy mental image of a medium rare steak with cracked white peppercorns. There is of course much more including a curious and fleeting hint of Frangelico and cherries. In the mouth it is chewy and assertive, though at times a little inky, raw and stalky. Patience will presumably resolve this. 91+. 2012 - 2018.

Image: 5pm on a Winter's day

Mac Forbes Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008

Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Chardonnay. 12%. Screwcap. Approx $25

Flint and struck match, while in the mouth it is tight and lively. For it's price and weight, this has much more nuance and complexity than expected - grapefruit and melon, a whisper of butterscotch and a lovely blend of mineral like acidity and savoriness. The other notable and uncommon thing is the restraint. . . this is no caricature, making it easy to recommend. 92. Now - 2013.