Gaja Gromis 2000

A languid lunch with friends on a day punctuated by rain. I've had this particular bottle for five or six years. Like all other wine obsessives I can recall where and when it was procured with disturbing clarity.

Despite the multiplicity of adjectives, my tasting note is less clear, disjointed snippets gleaned by a tourist. . . A dusty, leafy nose with aniseed, menthol, stems and tar. Large and firm, the vigour and pace are obvious and the impact lasting. Inky, granular and bold, the tannins and finish are parching and slightly sappy.

Guanciale - Day 22

I've been squeezing my two pig jowls every few days, as if I actually know the signs of when they will be ready to eat. . . Cut through the middle, the fat to meat ratio is less shocking and once fried up they have a guilty crunch and perhaps a little more sweetness than I was expecting. On the basis of my first tasting, a small win.

Shafer Hillside Select 2006

Stags Leap, Napa Valley, California. Cabernet sauvignon. 14.9%. Cork. Source: Father

A bottle free from it's roots and tasted without any particular notions or expectations, I wonder if some may feel that my impressions are incorrect and suffering from translational issues. Heavily packaged and sealed with an impressive and blemish free cork, I now know that this retails for around $US200. It's big, bold, rich and ripe and because of this it seems non specific and generic. The nose is pointed, prickly and volatile. High pitched and drenched. In the mouth the fruit is dessicated and intense - raisin like, and as you would expect from a wine that has spent years in oak, it is sweet, creamy and laden with vanilla. I can see the appeal in the juxtapostion of weight and easy softness and the dense concentration of flavours, but for this palate it just seems wrong.

Image: Flower of the Cannonball tree.

Mountadam Pinot gris 2010

Eden Valley, South Australia. Pinot gris. 14.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A25

I wanted something textural to drink with dinner and so it seemed entirely appropriate to select this modestly priced Mountadam white.

Bright and slightly pink. Mustard fruit and poached pear, citrus zest, baking spices, honeysuckle and wax. I've scribbled 'Vouvray like' in my tasting notes, but in reality the nose has too much zip and spice. In the mouth - a large, loose knit, diffuse wine - there's a suggestion of sweetness and crunch and it seems at times dilute, fat and flaccid. Thankfully the finish is much better though some might find it a little too ginger flavoured. Now - 2013. 90.

First blood

After nine, possible ten months, the first casualty to black and first blood to Mr. Bathgate (Cxd5). My addled brain has no means of conjuring an imaginary board and the positions of each piece, and so every few weeks I physically reconfigure each army and try to imagine what devious plans my opponent might have. One of my dear sisters, fresh from a visit to Shanghai, was kind enough to find me a new chess board. Lacquered and ornamental, the pawns, bishops and King are all the same in shape and stature, and the men all have cues, so the pieces presumably represent a Qing dynasty court.

A Sunday duo #2

I've tried the Kumeu River wine previously, it remains wrinkle free and quite delicious. It's starting to loosen and for a fleeting moment it reminded be of a young Leeuwin Art Series. There is a hint of pineapple with the stonefruit and flint, which I had not noticed before and the finish is less sappy and now showing a trace of bitterness and citrus pith. 93-95. Now - 2015.

The second wine, not in picture, was the 2003 Stefano Lubiana 'Primavera'. Sealed with a screwcap you might hope that it would still be alive and fresh. Instead it is a brown wine which appears completely brett affected. Tasted blind it was hard to find anything varietal or geographically specific about it. It was all metal and rust.

Louis Latour Gevrey-Chambertin 2005

Burgundy, France. Pinot noir. 13.5%. Cork. Source: Cellar.

Satisfying and predictably familiar, hopefully contempt and boredom keep their distance. . . Stems and earth, whole bunches, raspberry and juniper berry. That well worn cliche of iron fist in velvet glove is entirely appropriate for what happens in the mouth. Fine, approachable and soft to begin, with increasing firmness, grip and tension before an eventual concluding release and relaxation. 91. Now - 2016.

Image: One week later.

Bernard Baudry Franc de Pied Chinon 2009

Chinon, Loire, France. Cabernet franc. 13.5%. Cork. Approx $A50.

Evocative and true, my note does no justice to the wine. Green sticks on fire, tobacco, herbs, juniper and pencil shavings. A dense, compact wine with more than a suggestion of leather and animal. To end - an emulsion of graphite, aniseed and an enduring sensation of pace and something wild and wiry.

Image: You know who. . .

Incomplete notes

Even with time, pen and paper, my tasting notes are rarely more than a few lines. What follows is the product of a night of mostly inattentive sipping and a morning of hasty recollection before the sensations disappear forever.

Peos Estate Four Aces Chardonnay 2008 (Manjimup, Western Australia). Rich and full, peaches and cream. Competent and unremarkable.

Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Shiraz 2009 (Barossa, South Australia). Ripe and raisin like, slightly porty, a disarmingly soft, some would say flabby, wine.

Ployez Jacquemart Cuvee Liesse d'Harbonville 1996 (Champagne, France). Superb. While the preceding two wines are caricatures of excess and emphasis, this has complexity, poise and something stern and timeless. Crunchy green apples laced and offset by all the pleasures and nuance that may be provided by yeast autolysis. Mineral and edgy, this is wonderfully bright and youthful.

Pegasus Bay Prima donna 2006 (Waipara, New Zealand). Lush and full, whilst I could admire it at the time, my glass provided no challenge and it would seem no enduring memory.

Guanciale - Day 7

After one week sealed in plastic and coated in salt, sugar and spice - some fresh air and sunlight. The pork jowls have shrunken (if only I had thought to weigh them before hand) and they smell reassuringly fresh. I'll let them partially dry on my olive tree before finishing the process in the fridge. . . I'm not sure I can trust the winter rain or the introduced fauna to hold off.

In a world where speed is king and things are packaged, instant and disposable, it's comforting to be able to make something that is so slow, deliberate and old fashioned. Like Proust's madeline, the sight and smell of home made salt cured meat opens a window on my past. I can picture my large and slow moving grand mother, hair pulled tight and gathered in a net, climbing into the forbidden attic to salt and dry meat.

Weekend DIY

A slightly easier salt mix to cure two pairs of duck breasts. For a pair (combined weight of around 450g) I used 1 cup of crushed rock salt, 10 juniper berries and 15 black peppercorns. After 36 hours the meat was removed from the salt and wrapped in muslin before 1 weeks worth of cooling and dessication (refrigeration).

A winos desk

Some men have sheds, I have a desk and study full of books and bottles, papers and unfinished thoughts.

Image: taken with the Paper Camera app using the neon cola filter.

William Downie Gippsland 2010

Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Pinot noir. 14%. Diam. Approx $A70.

Like the preceding releases from William Downie this is beautifully packaged. The bottle is still heavy and deeply punted (1, 2), which is somewhat against the current green inspired flow. It's a juxtaposition of excess (heavy bottle, wax capsule) and minimalism (beautiful word free image on the front and a sparse back label), which to this observer, seems particularly effective.

As to the liquid - it's very good, excellent in fact. Bright and primary, there's a lovely tension and edge which is matched by its prettiness and curves. Sour cherry, stems and spice. A concentrated and seductive nose. Hedonistic and silky in the mouth - if I were blind I would guess Martinborough. The slippery softness is rimmed by a slightly spiced and hot, fresh ginger finish. This and the occasional impression of cola are the only negatives. 92-94. Now - 2014+

50 cent

satay.

Image: Lau Pa Sat. I think the satay sticks sell for 70 cents a piece, but once you factor in the exchange rate. . .

Cattier NV

From a supermarket chain, with only a modest price tag, bottled laughter and sunshine. Free of complications and undue complexity this is bright, pert and much needed. The perfect foil for a room full of energetic children and a hurriedly scoffed party pie.

Guanciale - Day 1

I've become slightly obsessed about guanciale since recently having it on a superb pizza. It's not a common thing in Perth. I've certainly not come across it before on my various and frequent smallgood buying trips. It was fortuitous then that I should happen upon some pig jowls and a recipe, all within a 24 hour period. . .

I bought two cheeks and decided to follow the Batali recipe faithfully for one, while the remaining cheek was seasoned with the addition of some fennel seeds and garlic (in addition to the 70-80g of salt and sugar and the 15 - 20 crushed peppercorns).

Image: atheroma on wood.

Recommended.
Related.

Day 7.
Day 22.

Nicholson River Chardonnay 2009

Eastern Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Chardonnay. 13.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A40

Though the words are not visible in the photo above, the label does mention that the wine is a rich complex style, and that the liquid in question has been subjected to 100% malo lactic fermentation. It seems superfluous to attempt a tasting note, when all you need is written on the label. . . It's bold, loose and laden with stonefruit, nuts and butterscotch. It even has a suggestion of toffee bitterness and confection. Presumably it's been cut and fashioned with an eye to Burgundy, but the underlying shape lacks definition and tension. 89-90. Now - 2015.

Jurtschitsch Grüner veltliner Kamptal 2008

Kamptal, Austria. Grüner veltliner. Source: Restaurant wine list.

I think this will be my last specific post relating to my recent Singapore trip, though it's likely I'll use some of the images at random to illustrate my tasting notes over the next few months.

I spent a considerable amount of time in and around the pictured Marina Bay Sands complex. It's architecturally striking, but somewhat chaotic and train station like within. The hotel lobby is surprisingly narrow at the waist. . .

At the core of the whole complex is the casino. You can smell it - the acrid scent of cigarette smoke oozes from the various entrances. Step inside and there is an unremitting din and echo of buttons and an orchestral crescendo of noise, which never ends. It's disorientating and thrilling at once. I ascend the escalators and from three floors up the people below resemble ants in a colony, unified and captive to their own vice.

I need to escape and indulge in a vice I can understand. I order a glass of wine, it's floral and steely, somewhat subdued with mineral and flint. Understated. Beautiful balance and tension, it's crisp, correct and stony. My brain is starting to uncoil, I sniff deeper and I can smell mustard and curiously durian. . .

Image: The other remarkable thing is how rapidly the resort was constructed. The top right picture was only taken in November 2009.

Arrivo Nebbiolo 2007

Adelaide Hills, South Australia. Nebbiolo. 14.5%. Screwcap. Approx $A60

Perfumed and deep scented, I thought it was quite meaty - like a concentrated jus. Later - rose petal, small goods and spice and the scent of whole bunches (sap, stems and earth). Rich, full and perhaps a touch overdone. Structured and lingering (aniseed and lead pencil) with bright appealing acids. It seems to have more meat than what I can recall of the previous vintage. 92. Now - 2016.

Family

Image: Orangutans @ Singapore Zoo.

Arab Street

One of the curious things about Singapore, is how seemingly modest and outwardly unappealing hole in the wall restaurants and food stalls can produce such wonderful and soul-nourishing food.

Image: Smelling of spices - Cafe Le Caire @ 33 Arab street.

Pizzeria Mozza @ Marina Bay Sands

I had high expectation and was pleased that they were surpassed. My favourite pizza of the four I tried, was the pictured Guanciale (pigs jowl). Though the toppings and flavour combinations were superb, I think the outlier for all the pizzas was the quality of the crust and the dough. The base is exquisitely thin in the centre, but lovely and puffed at the edge. Quite unlike any pizzas I can recall.

I tried two wines, which were pleasing enough, but both were thoroughly overshadowed by the food. The 2007 Bastianich Malvasia was a combination of crispness and fleshy texture. Flint, mustard fruit and dried pear on the nose, while in the mouth a hint of fattiness and Pinot gris like texture. It becomes less unctuous in time, but in my fading memory it remains big, sunny and citric. A glass of freshly opened 2008 Brandini Barbera d'Alba was alcoholic and bold. Non specific. A warm embrace in the mouth, after a slight prickle on the nose. Quite inky and balsamic. This quite possibly would be better with air and time.

Postcard: Chinatown

Somewhere in the midst of the jumble of lanes and streets that makes up Singapore's Chinatown is an Austrian sausage stall peddling guilty pleasures for a few gold coins. It's totally incongruous but an essential stop for all lovers of pork.

Write a sentence

It's a standard component to any Folstein mini mental state exam. Today was my first day back at work. I spoke to a lovely and lively old man who after much prompting thought it was the 1st of March 2003.
Despite, or perhaps because of this, he was able to write me an existentially loaded sentence.

What am I here for?

Image: Inside the Singapore Botanic Garden's cool room.

Durian

For something so iconic, it's curious that they are not more widely available. In the foreground a pile of unopened D24 durian, while in the red plastic baskets an extraordinary number of freshly discarded shells and husks.

A quote from Harold McGee - The armored mass of fused ovaries, each containing a seed, can weigh more that 6kg, and apparently evolved to appeal to elephants, tigers, pigs and other large jungle creatures, which are drawn to it by its battery of powerful sulfur compounds, including some found in onions, garlic, overripe cheese, skunk spray, and rotten eggs.

Post script: This durian store, and another like it, is opposite the Jurong East MRT station. For the hardcore enthusiasts, like my better half, some establishments offer a durian desert buffet. . .