Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Adelaide Hills, South Australia. Sauvignon blanc. 13%. Screwcap. Approx $A22.

I spent a recent afternoon, blissful and relaxed, but also slightly disoriented. For my whole life King Park has been an increasingly infrequent backdrop, the geography though, remains imprinted. Pleasing, but disconcerting then to discover that half of Fraser avenue was missing, to be replaced by a grassed promenade. It's perfect - children and picnicking families dot the lawn and the war memorial once isolated and removed, seems close and more relevant than ever before.

I wanted to find a wine to match the image and the emotions. Something new and green. At short notice, the Shaw and Smith Sauvignon seemed the most appropriate. . . Crowd pleasing and tropical, there is wonderful note of passionfruit on the nose and in the mouth, though in time it becomes attenuated and by nights end it is a less distinguished pineapple and grass. For the trainspotters, a hint of fresh ginger and raw asparagus. Pert and sappy, the acids give the impression of salt and citrus. Something for a languid Summer's day. Now - 2012.

Image: Kangaroo Paw @ Kings Park.

Review: The Silver Spoon

Juxtaposed as it is, with a used car yard and a 24 hour convenience store, The Silver Spoon (691 Albany Hwy, Vic Park) is curiously located, but still, quite wonderful and well worth a visit. With its modest exterior and perhaps a few too many silver trinkets and baubles inside, the food and service does all the talking.

I visited on a Saturday night, and by seven, the room was mostly full, while the six waiters hovered around with ease and efficiency. The tables are adorned with large bowled wine glasses and pleasingly, they offer BYO for wine, for a very reasonable $6.50 per bottle. The published list is modest in scope and curiously offers the wines for two prices. Members can purchase wines from the list for not much more than retail, while everyone else pays a standard mark up. The Vasse Felix Chardonnay for instance is $53 to members and $75 to commoners while the 1999 Pol Roger is $125 or $180.

The food was very good and certainly there were no disappointments on our table. For starters we sampled the Charcuterie plate, the Seared scallops with shredded duck confit and the Woodfired chilli prawns. Each plate was thoughtfully constructed and each had small, but welcome flourishes - the riesling jelly on the duck liver parfait, or the perfectly cooked baby fennel bulb with the prawns. . . Mains were also of high standard, perhaps the standout dish on the table being the perfectly seared duck breasts. The other pleasing facet of the meal, was the sides. The potatoes are roasted in duck fat and they offer a superb plate of heirloom vegetables served with honey and fetta. Having lived on mass market produce for most of my life, these vegetables are quite extraordinary - the depth of flavour and sweetness is a revelation. (Note to self - grow some heirloom carrots and beets).

Concluding comments - if you order sweets, try the rose and hibiscus trifle, its $11 dollars, which like the rest of the menu seems about 10 - 20% cheaper than most establishments in Perth who are attempting to inhabit a similar niche.

Sutton Grange Syrah 2006

Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Shiraz. 14%. Diam. Approx $A60.

Deep and dark, glass staining and bold. To begin there is a note of reduction - skid marks and Szechuan pepper, eucalyptus, stems and whole bunches. At other times, early on, a suggestion of cream. It's mainly spice and small goods though, which is just fine by me. . . Bright and quite tart at first, the structure and sinew is obvious and even once my taste buds have been flooded, the meatiness and chewiness of the tannins remains. 93. Now - 2015+

Image: The season's first BBQ.

Queen's Birthday Fried Rice

A lazy Monday morning and a sudden craving for chorizo, eggs and pickled vegetables. . .

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs - beaten
• olive oil
• a small section (2-3 inches) of chorizo sausage - peeled and diced
• 2 spring onions - finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic - chopped
• 2 tablespoons of Italian antipasto mushrooms (I used these - 4th jar down)
• 1 bowl of several day old rice
• cracked black pepper
• a few sprigs each of fresh coriander and parsley

How?

Heat a large fry pan then add olive oil and the two eggs which have been beaten. Cook briefly and while the omelet still liquid on the top - fold and roll and remove from the pan and set aside. Add a little more oil if needed and then fry the chorizo, spring onions, garlic and the mushrooms. The chorizo should release some lovely paprika giving the oil a flush of colour. Add the rice and stir, after a few minutes return the partially cooked omelet to the pan and roughly segment with what ever cooking implement you happen to be using and again stir though. Serve and garnish with pepper and fresh herbs.

Post script: Being Western Australia, the Queen's Birthday is celebrated late in September, while the rest of the nation is hard at work.

Marchand and Burch Porongurup Chardonnay 2009

Porongurup, Great Southern, Western Australia. Chardonnay. 13%. Screwcap. Approx $A65.

Despite past experience, I did think for a moment that this might be lean and flinty. Instead it conforms to the personality of the land and its people. It's rich and creamy with freckles and all the signs of carefree, rude health. Peaches and lavender cream, butterscotch and cashews. All the usual suspects. . . Bright and disarming, the seam of acidity is still showing, though the small French oak barrels are doing their best to grab your attention. 92+. Now - 2015.

Spring 2010

Clonakilla Viognier Nouveau 2010

Canberra, Australia. Viognier. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A25.

After much procrastination, and several flirtatious but unrequited visits to the same store over several months, I finally relented and bought a new camera. Somewhat closer to an DSLR in performance, price and ungainliness, I've been playing with it for most of the afternoon, which perhaps explains why I still have not come to grips with the wine in question.

I'm finding it hard to find a form of words that encapsulates the wine more completely than my 2009 tasting note. It has that same spark and brightness and a slightly confection like nose with musk and pineapple. Wonderfully fleshy and textured, super tasters like my better half may find this overly bitter and gripping.

Delatite Dead Man's Hill Gewürztraminer 2009

Upper Golbourn, Victoria, Australia. Gewürztraminer. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A20.

Being slightly number obsessed I almost look forward to receiving my monthly power bill. From the most recent statement, I would infer that the days are growing longer and more specifically, that there was a lot more sunshine in August 2010 than August 09. . . Of course the evidence for this is available from a much more direct and aesthetic source. The streets are scented with magnolia and the Cherry blossom trees seem particularly heavy with petals, while the air is filled with all manner of allergen and insect.

It seemed appropriate then to select a floral and perfumed wine to dissect. Pale with flashes of green, this smells of musk and fresh lychee, but also flint. It's quite forward, crunchy and gripping, the acidity is pleasing, but the flavour profile seems short. A wine of medium body and medium interest. . .

Weekend wines

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling 2002. (Great Southern, Western Australia. 13%. Screwcap)

The re birth of the screwcap started with Riesling at the turn the century, as an avowed convert I still find it surprising and slightly disconcerting when I open bottles from the start of the revolution. The freshness is extraordinary. Tonight two examples, an infantile Houghton Frankland Riesling from 2001 which is still bright and tinted with green, and this youthful Isolation Ridge, which is just starting to show the spots of adolescence. After a few hours of sniffing I can discern star fruit, though more typically at the opening I found lime and toast. Crunchy and long, there is a suggestion of grapefruit pith and slightly unctuous and salty flesh. 92. Now - 2015+

Jamsheed Great Western Garden Gully Syrah 2008 (Great Western, Victoria, Australia. 13.5%. Diam.)

Delicious, though for me, marginally less so when compared to the Yarra Valley edition. Dark and vibrant, the first sniff and sip are heady and dense with sensation. Perfumed with stalk and spice and stewed berries, while in the mouth I'm distracted by competing signals; it's creamy with a hint of sweetness, which seems confection like in it's intensity. Turkish delight and cherries, surely I'm drinking perfume. . . After a few more sips, my taste buds and brain have accommodated and I can see the poise and appreciate the blueberries and the meaty tannins. Presumably, like its Yarra sibling, it will be better still in the days ahead. 92+ Now - 2020.

Earlier today

Siting on the edge of Sally Stewart's Lotus pond, temporarily situated outside the Art Gallery of Western Australia for the City wide outdoor arts festival, City in Bloom, is a good spot to witness the transformation of the a city awash with money and people from the China fueled mining boom. Perhaps it's parochial, but there seems to have been a notable shift in power and influence from Melbourne and Sydney to Perth in the last five years. The weekend papers for instance make mention of the fact that more listed companies are now domiciled in Perth than Sydney.

Ridge Lytton Springs 2005

Dry Creek Valley, California. Zinfandel 77%, Petit Syrah 17%, Carignane 6%. 14.4% alcohol. Cork. Source: Cellar.

I came across a most peculiar plant a few weeks ago. A Stylidium aka trigger plant. I was attracted to the flowers, the particular specimen I saw had white flowers, which looked like karyotyped chromosomes. If you ever doubted the importance of sex, this is the plant to dispel those thoughts. As the page in the image points out - Male and female organs are united into a stigma, which is placed on the end of a long column that is hidden under the plants' petals. The stigma is triggered by an insect landing on a flower - it bounces onto the back of the insect, loading it with pollen or receiving pollen from another plant.

Tasting note: Pleasing, though I'm finding it hard to be overly enthusiastic. Raisin and cola, spices and cedar, while in the mouth this is rounded and bold, a sweet core with chewy, gripping tannins. I feel warm, but underwhelmed. . .

Bindi Composition Chardonnay 2005

Macedon, Victoria, Australia. Chardonnay. 13.5%. Diam. Source: cellar

It's hard to escape anthropomorphisms when thinking about wine. I recall this as being tight and primary when I last tried it in 2006. It was a string bean with no curves, just telescopic length and tremendous acidity. Compelling, but also quite raw and unsettled. Four years on and it is more tanned and secondary. Adolescent flesh and curves along with a nervous energy and still restless tension. The intensity that was apparent from birth is now matched with complexity and richness. Smelling of flint, but now with notes of butterscotch and cashew and a suggestion of lavender and nougat. Sadly this is my last bottle, so its next phase of life will have to pass unwitnessed.

Valli Pinot noir 2006

Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand. 13%. Pinot noir. Screwcap. Approx $A65.

If each glass of wine is a self contained story, what matters more than the actual characters (sensory components) is the clarity and veracity of narrative and the ability of the story to hold your interest.

I think on all three counts, this wine passes muster. It's varietal, though clearly in the style of its region, while the story it tells has enough tension, contrast and pace to entertain, though perhaps some may find the interpretation and emphasis overdone. Engorged. It's a big pinot with plenty of richness and weight and a long seam of sappy, char flavoured tannins. Plums, spice and earth, its dense and forward and assertively structured. 89. Now - 2013.

Image.

Spring Vale 'Melrose' Pinot noir 2010

Freycinet coast, Eastern Tasmania, Australia. Pinot noir and Pinot meunier (7%). 13.4% alcohol. Screwcap. Approx $A24.

I thought the bottle image was rotated and poorly lit, so instead I've used a picture of a rooster that I took a few weekends ago. It's a Pekin Bantam.

The wine is the first red I've tried from the 2010 vintage. I was surprised to see it on offer, so early. It's usually only the unwooded whites and pinks that are so quick to market. It's bright and quite varietal, forward, extracted and more structured than I had expected. It's good in parts, the nose suggests rose petal and raspberry and turned earth; while it is sappy and slightly hard in the mouth. The pace seems wrong, it's hurried and the finish is overly firm and abrupt.

Recommended reading.

Recycling cork

I can't quite recall the beginning, the reason for holding onto old corks. I suspect it was accidental, a handful of forgotten closures, forming the nucleus of an expanding obsession. A record of my consumption. The good, bad and tainted, the bark mushrooms from Champagne, the long and stained stoppers from old estates and of course the new atomised, reconstituted and sterile closures, also known as Diam. Each with a story (which for the most part I can recall) and some still smelling of glory and pleasure. They are no more. Instead they will become someone's expensive floor or perhaps a leather covered projectile used in a future test match. If you have a similar collection or obsession or plight which needs treatment, or you just feel like recycling your old corks, click the links below to find out more. . .

Cork recycling in Perth
Cork recycling in Australia

Cherubino Porongurup Riesling 2010

Porongurup, Great Southern, Western Australia. Riesling. 12.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A35.

With only a few months in the bottle, this still seems raw and untamed. It bristles with energy and the line is still to be fixed. Already though, the nose is exemplary and a lovely combination of prettiness, purity and fragility. A fleeting suggestion of pepper, guava and white flowers, lime zest and apple. Later a hint of confection and lime cordial with an undercurrent of sappiness and fresh herbs. Tart and juicy, this is bone dry, but the texture gives the impression of flesh and generosity. Despite the citrus pith grip and the salty minerality, the form is yet to set and it is slightly diffuse and unfocused. Presumably all the dots will line up in the months ahead. 91+ 2011 - 2020.

Muddy Water Chardonnay 2005

Waipara, New Zealand. Chardonnay. 14.5%. Screwcap. Source: restaurant wine list ($A75)

Soda Cafe, is separated from the beach by two lanes of bitumen and a constant stream of traffic. Inside it's casual, verging on haphazard, but all around there are signs of loftier ambitions. Bottles of foreign wine hug the walls and a quick glimpse at the lunch / dinner menu reveals the extent of the dreams. I applaud the intent, though for my visit, the execution was patchy. My scallops were lovely, but my pork belly was cold and dry and the flavours simple and predictable. The dessert tasting plate was the highlight and quite wonderful, which suggests a more fruitful exercise would be a visit late in the afternoon, after a swim in the ocean, for coffee and sweets. . .

Bigger, nuttier and more diffuse than I had hoped for. It's ripe, round and golden, the olfactory signature is in keeping with this and is at the melon and fig end of the spectrum. Butterscotch and cream in the mouth, the flavours and warmth spreads and envelopes. 89. Now - 2012.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Margaret River, Western Australia. Cabernet sauvignon. 15%. Cork. Source: cellar.

It's been a week since I last opened a bottle of wine. At first the setting was wrong, and then the equipment stopped working. . . A late dose of seasonal flu meant I had no inclination and little ability to sniff and taste. Instead I've spent my nights reading and playing woefully inadequate chess.

Where do you start when you are ready to taste again? Where do you look when you think you might be lost? Though Venus is presumably no brighter now than in the past, for the last few months its brilliance has caught my eye as I drift home from work. . . If I come home late enough, I can see the Southern Cross hovering over the corner of my roof, and if I pay attention, above Becrux, I'll find Beta and Alpha Centauri B. . . Landmarks and signposts. . . we all have them, I even have several vinous equivalents to help recalibrate. . . my red wine yardstick happens to be Margaret River Cabernet.

10 years old and still in nappies. A black wine, Cassis scented but also with notable menthol, eucalyptus and later a suggestion of truffle oil. The 15% is there on the nose, with an initial prickle. Soft and fatty in the mouth, the attack is languid and dressed in velvet, though in time the tannins and alcohol show their hand. Firm, inky and spiced, the tannins seem a little too scorched, this impression not being helped by the warmth of the finish. I drank this with a beef stew, but the wine was too big and demanding even for this. Now - 2020. 88-90.

Spring reading

One of the striking things about this short Tolstoy novella is the flawed character of the protagonist. Born into comfort and ease, he lives the existence of a conceited poseur and careerist of questionable morality and taste.

For instance, this, regarding his choice of furnishings - But these things were essentially the accoutrements that appeal to all people who are not actually rich but who want to look rich, though all they manage to do is look like each other: damasks, ebony, plants, rugs and bronzes, anything dark and gleaming - everything that people of a certain class affect so as to be like all other people of a certain class. And his arrangements looked so much like everyone else's that they were unremarkable, though he saw them as something truly distinctive.

The medical profession looks unconvincing, the diagnosis of his eventually terminal ailment seems to vacillate between two dubious choices - a floating kidney or a blind gut, and the truth if known is hidden from him. Faced with this void of information and compassion Ilyich starts to question if he is being punished for his superfluous life.

==

Being removed in time and place from the significance of M.F.K. Fisher, I had no clear expectations. Now some chapters deep, I can report that there is no return, a door has been opened. . . Each page is full of opinion and anecdote and the prose is captivating, humourous and playfully seductive.

Regarding meal time and who to eat with she has this to say - What is more tedious for us than an early supper? It thrusts itself into the gathering speed of a day's life like a stick into the spokes of a turning wheel. It forces a pause, a stop, which acts as a kind of disequilibrium to the fine balance of the remaining hours of consciousness. . .

Dining partners, regardless of gender, social standing, or the years they've lived, should be chosen for their ability to eat - and drink! - with the right mixture of abandon and restraint. They should enjoy food, and look upon its preparation and its degustation as one of the human arts. They should relish the accompanying drinks, whether they be ale from a bottle on a hillside or the ripe bouquet of a Chambertin 1919 in a great crystal globe on finest damask.

==

Half way through this large print edition of the Blue Flower, and I can't find that elusive third mention of damask. . . I think I'm unlikely to, the world contained is materially barren, while intellectually and poetically rich. The words and ease of narrative and description are beautiful, while there is something pure and complete about her characters.

The children of large families hardly ever learn to talk to themselves aloud, that is one of the arts of solitude, but they often keep diaries. Fritz took out his pocket journal. Certain words came readily to him - weaknesses, faults, urges, striving for fame, striving against the crushing, wretched, bourgeois conditions of everyday life, youth, despair. Then he wrote, 'But I have, I can't deny it, a certain inexpressible sense of immortality.'