Domaine Les Fouques Cuvee Tradition 2013

Rose from the homeland is so very dry and appealing. The importer must be rose made as he only imports rose from France. This is nice to see some different roses popping up as the confected versions aren’t up my alley. 

Domaine Les Fouques Cuvee Tradition 2013

This wine comes from Provence and is made from a blend of Cinsault and Grenache. On the nose it smells lovely and complex with all sort of red fruits and forest elements coming out with hints of spice. The wine moves up a scale once it moves to the palate as there is a tannic grip and a thickness to the wine as well. The weight of the wine is balanced by some zippy acidity on the back of the palate. All in all a beautiful rose.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $27
Rated: 91
Drink: Now – 2016
Importer: Felixer   

Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve NV

I love the story about how Champagne came to being. The climate near Reims is cold with even the summers being very mild but with good daylight hours.  The grapes ripen slowly and are normally picked in autumn just before the big chill kicks in. What would have happened back in the time when the area was establishing itself was that the temperature drop would have resulted in the yeast and ferments slowing down to a standstill while the yeast goes into hibernation.  Many wine-makers would have bottled, what they thought was a still wine, only to find that when the weather warmed up they would have wine bottles exploding around them. The bottles would have needed to change to accommodate the bubbles and a new closure developed.  Now bubbles are opened on a mass scale and I have to congratulate the leaders in Champagne for persisting with the development in the early days.

 

Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve NV

 

My wife sucked down half the bottle before I could put the first sip to my mouth so I was thinking this was going to be good. The wine has precision and drive with plenty of champagne goodness. To start with moments of roasted nuts and glazed sweet bread emerge before transitioning to strawberry meringue, lemon rind and cut quartz. The flavours hold long enough to be recognised before moving onto the next delightful experience. There is depth of flavour and structure to keep this going for a while but I would recommend drinking this now and just buying another bottle if you run out.

 

Alcohol: 12%

Price: $65

Rated: 92

Drink: Now

Importer: Domaine Wine Shippers

 

Lanson Gold Label 2002

Lanson is owned by Lanson International and has 0 vineyard holdings. The house purchases grape from 110 different communes and supplies some for the royal family.   

 

Lanson Gold Label 2002

 

Champagne this time of year is a must but at this price you could drink this all year round. It seems that Champagne is getting cheaper. Is it that we are drinking more so they can buy bigger shipments or is it the price of our dollar? These bubbles of joy have complexity wedged with acidity and creaminess. On the palate there are flavours of lemon curd, sea salt, roasted nuts and spicy grapefruit that slowly unfold. Open on Christmas day!

 

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $55

 

Rated: 93

Drink: Now - 2020

Les vignerons d'estezargues cuvée des copains Cote du Rhone 2011

I have never heard of this winery and the label isn’t your normal French style as it has a huge pig on the front in bright pink. The wine is good quality and very well priced. The winery is a local cooperative that produces a lot of wines for negociants but this winery has decided to keep the better wines separate and handle them with care into the bottle without much interference.

 

Les vignerons d'estezargues cuvée des copains Cote du Rhone 2011

 

This light bodied 100% Grenache based wine shows lovely regional and varietal flavour in an earthy sort of manner. The flow of the wine is the thing that stands out as each flavour doesn’t seemed forced or contrived, rather it feel natural and easy. What the wine really needs is a bit of a beating as it opens up massively over the course of the night to finally produce lovely red berry notes mixed with musk sticks, river pebbles and dried earth. The mid-palate is pulsing with acidity and a joyous flavour which makes me think you can just crack into them now. At this price who really cares how long you keep them.

 

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $16

Rated: 89

 

Drink: Now – 2018

Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine des Espiers Cote du Rhone 2011

This tiny little family run winery spans 23 acres in Gigondas, Sablet and Cotes du Rhone. This wine comes from a 4 hectare plot of land in the Cote du Rhone region. This wine is a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre and 10% Syrah

 

Domaine des Espiers Cote du Rhone 2011

 

I like the dirty nature of the wine that has been produced by Philippe Cartoux. He has woven a number of elements including plenty of savoury flavours in the form of liquorice stick, cranberries, lemon balm, mixed dried herbs and fresh sage. The medium boded weight works well with the flavours and the easy going tannins. It isn’t a keeper but really for a village wine it is very good.

 

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $23

Rated: 89

Drink: Now – 2016

Importer: Eurocentric Wines

 

 

 

Claude et Florence Thomas Labaille Sancerre l’Authentique 2011

The wines from this producer come from older vines that are a planted on a hill side. They are hand pruned and picked before fermentation in concrete vats and stainless steel tanks then transferred to second use oak barrels.  

 

Claude et Florence Thomas Labaille  Sancerre l’Authentique 2011 

 

This is an authentique Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc with a heap of complexity woven into the fabric of this wine. There are moments of banana skin that fleetingly pass by before citrus and asparagus notes kick in. There is also vibrancy and a chiselled edge to the wine that pulls everything together. While the wine isn’t cheap for a Sav Blanc the inherent complexity and style of the wine puts this way ahead of most of the blancs going around in Australia. The only other two Sav Blancs that are close to this quality are Micheal Hall and Domaine A from the Adelaide Hills and Tasmania respectively. The price of this wine is well under the Domaine A so I would buy this first and get through the case.  

 

Alcohol: 12.5% 

Price: $35 

Rated: 91 

Drink: Now – 2017 

Importer: Eurocentric Wines 

Domaine Faury Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah 2011

This northern Rhone wine is grown on schist and is primarily fermented in older oak. All this new age approach with wild ferments and temperature controlled ferments at lower temperatures to let the wine full develop. This wine is the vin de pays which means it is for immediate enjoyment. Generally the wines from this estate are classically style with wonderful structure underneath.

Domaine Faury Collines Rhodaniennes Syrah 2011

If you want a bit of graphite in your wine grab a bottle of this. It is like being smacked over the head with a large wand of graphite. Then you would be cuddled by your grandma. It is soft and refined in a medium bodied style with red berry flavours coming through. When I say red berry flavours they are fruit flavours but in the savoury end of the spectrum. I would get these out now as the flavours are open and inviting with none of that oakiness mouldering the joy.

Alcohol: 12%

Price: $28
Rated: 89
Drink: Now – 2017
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine Thomas-Labaille l'Authentique 2011

Sancerre is a region within the Loire Valley and is primarily planted with Sauvignon Blanc. There is also a little Pinot Noir planted but I have never had the chance to taste a red from the region. The wine-makers in the area utilize more oak than the producers in Australia which contributes to a more textural experience in the French versions.

Domaine Thomas-Labaille l'Authentique 2011

This is the best Sauvignon Blanc that I have had in a long time as it combines fragrance, medium thick textural on the mid-palate and balanced flavours. The flavours are more in the savoury veggie end of the spectrum with asparagus, crushed oyster shells, citrus, banana skins and lemon blossom. These interesting flavours sit on a long palate that finishes with refreshing acidity.

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $34
Rated: 91
Drink: Now - 2017
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Guigal Saint Joseph Rouge 2007

The sub-region of Saint Joseph is found in the Rhone Valley and is one of the bigger areas in the region. The red wines are Shiraz but may have rousanne thrown in. The wines that come from this region offer good quality drinking in the medium to short term in a true French style. 

Guigal Saint Joseph Rouge 2007

This is a a wine that offers a lot of comforting flavours that combines fruit with dirty French componants. Think roasted meats, dutch herbs, leather and spice with blackberries and ripe plums. The wine has presence and intensity on a ultra long palate. There has been plenty written about the ups and downs of this wine, ranging from ugly to brilliant and this bottle is closer to brilliant. I would just get cracking with it.

Alcohol: ?
Price: $60
Rated: 92
Drink: Now - 2016
Importer: Negociants Australia

Domaine Roland Pignard Beaujolias Villages 2010

The acid and tannin profile, on most Beaujolias, makes this region one of the best for high quality wines that can be enjoyed young with a large variety of foods. Generally speaking the oak control is pulled back which allows the flavours to sing without much airing. The wines of today are now light years away from the poo that was being produced in the 80s and early 90s. That pick and flick nouveau style that almost killed the regions reputations has started to shift back the other way. Rolan Pignard makes some of the better examples and they are styled in a more wild and earth manner.

Domaine Roland Pignard Beaujolias Villages 2010

Funky man, just grab a chair and sit back and feel the fro. This wine makes me want to put on some comfortable clothes and sit on the porch with a large glass of wine with some cheeses. The structure is easy going and I guess that is why I feel that way. The flavour of earth, mushrooms, cranberry juice and dark cherries are intense yet light in weight. The flavour are fine and transition over well. While the gyserol mouth feel addes texture and increases the length.

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $29
Rated: 89
Drink: Now
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine Oudin Chablis AC 2009

This little number is made by Nathelie Oudin from her different vineyards. Nathelie doesn't use too much intervention in her winemaking techniques so this doesn't have much sulphur added.

Domaine Oudin Chablis 2009

Really withrawn to begin with but after 2 days it opens out a bit to show struck matches, exploded quartz and pink grapefruit. The wine is more about texture and feel than just flavours as the wine seems to have a gyserol feel to it. It coats the taste buds and moves on ever so slowly. By day 3 the ugliness that started has disappeared all together. What is left is a balanced wine with richness and liveliness all in one.

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $35
Rated: 90
Drink: Now - 2018
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine Camille Giroud Cote de Beaune Villages 2010

The Cote de Beaune is located in north of Burgundy which encompasses 16 different appellations. The Cote de Beaune Villages label is the second to bottom along the hierarchy and it able to be drunk upon release.

Domaine Camille Giroud Cote de Beaune Villages 2010

The vines for ths wine have been biodynamically farmed and is the entry level wine for Camille Girourd. The wine possesses a real funk and dirtiness but also has fruit weight more associated with the new world. I have in my notes mushrooms, warm earth and plums and spice on a medium bodied palate that finishes with firm tannins. I personally would crank this out now as it offers so much.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $44
Rated: 88
Drink: Now - 2017
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Domaine de Saint Odile Morgon 2011

The more I taste Beaujolais the more I think I need to buy more to drink at home. The tannin to flavour ratio is brilliant and I think that Morgon offers the ability to stash them away in the cellar for a few years.The 2011 vintage sits inbewteen the full on fruitiness of the 09s and the elegance of the 2010s.

Domaine de Saint Odile Morgon 2011

My god the dark cherries, wild herbs and layers of spice are mind blowing. The spice comes in the form of pepper, cumin, cinnamon and sumac whcih makes it savoury yet sweet at the same time. While the palate weight is on the lighter end of the spectrum the flavours pack a punch. Complexity? Hell yes and it is through the roof. Structure? Hell yes as well with prominant tannins and waves of acidity balancing everything out.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: ?
Rated: 90
Drink: Now - 2020

Domaine de la Tournelle Fleur de Savagnin 2009

I was expecting a full on vin jaune style wine but this wine actually gets topped with fresh Savagnin in the barrel. Just have a look at the site below for more details.


Domaine de la Tournelle Fleur de Savagnin 2009

Hints of grilled nuts but it has more fruit than I was expecting. I don't research the wine until after I review the wine which makes for interesting tastings when things don't fit with my preconceived understanding of the styles. There is a huge amount of texture that fits perfectly with the flavours of caramelised grapefruit skin, crushed grilled nuts, pineapple, sweaty socks and mixed Asian spices. While the flavours lead the way there is a bright core of acidity and a glycerol style palate feel that balances out the wine brilliantly. All in all a wonderful beverage with many unique elements.

Alcohol: 13%
Price:
Rated: 92
Drink: Now or over the next 12 years
Importer: Eurocentric Wine

Jean-Marc Burgaud Les Vignes de Thulon Beaujolais Villages 2011

Over the years of working in the wine industry I have noticed a shift in the consumer patterns for red wine drinkers in Australia. The shift has been from larger more full bodied wines to a lighter medium bodied style that are more savoury and food friendly. If I was to serve 10 customers in one night 10 years ago, 8 out of 10 would have chosen a big bold Barossa Shiraz to go with their meal but now the pendulum has turned the other way as wine like this elegant Beaujolais are rocking peoples world. I guess it is easier to have a glass or two over lunch of these styles and still be able to drive or get back to work for a few hours rather than having to take the rest of the day off.

This wine is imported by Neville Yates of Eurocentric and this producer is fast becoming my favourite for Beaujolais as they seem to offer tremendous amount of savoury flavour in a light to medium frame that possesses structure and finesse.

Jean-Marc Burgaud Les Vignes de Thulon Beaujolais Villages 2011  

The wine starts off savoury and earthen with specks of plum and tart cranberries before the gravy train of cracked pepper kicks in. During the three days that I looked at this wine it stayed elegant and balanced the whole way through but it was the mild chalky tannins that built over that time. They were only a supporting act but the dryness inched up a notch over that time period. The initial flavours came across rather well and it was the mid-palate that plumped up a bit before a nice bitterness on the back-palate presented itself. All in all I could suck down buckets of this stuff without much problem. If I was to compare it with the 09 or 10 vinetage I would say it is more savoury and elegant than the 09 but more fruit than the 10.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $25

Rated: 87

Drink: Now – 2016

Importer: Eurocentric Wines

                                                      



Domaine Coudert Pere et Fils Clos de la Roilette 2010

The Fleurie is a district of Beaujolais and normally produces wines which are lighter in weight and in structure yet the wines possess a lovely floral aromatic which is uplifting. The Fleurie district boarders Moulin-a-vent and Chiroubles which are considered two highly acclaimed areas with total the vine acreage standing at around the 2,000 mark.

Domaine Coudert previously to the 1920s was considered a part of the Moulin-a-vent district but when the new Fleurie district was zoned the estate fell outside of the area to the dismay of the owner.  The estate eventually fell into disrepair and a new set of owners acquired the property in the late 1960s and set about resurrecting the label.

Domaine Coudert Pere et Fils Clos de la Roilette 2010

This wine tasted nothing like the normal Fleurie wines as the structure of the wine is fearsome yet the flavours of gravel riddled plums, tart cherries, dried earth and spice manage to fight their way through. The restrained and elegant nature of the wine is beautiful and is in contrast to the massive depth of flavours that came out in the wines from the 2009 vintage. At the moment the wine is pretty tight and unyielding but over the course of the 5 days that I tried it the true charm and great length of the wine came to the fore. Once again the wines from Beaujolias are just ridiculous for the quality that they provide and the price tag that they command.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $30

Rated: 92

Drink: 2014 – 2022

Importer: Eurocentric Wines

Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial NV

New Years Eve is the best time to crank out some bubbles and oh did the bubbles flow last night. I hope everyone had a great night with friends and family with a safe trip home at the end of the night.

There seems to be a trend in terms of the pricing of Champagne in Australia. They are all getting cheaper which might be a result of the strong Australian dollar, increased consumption of the fine wines which leads to an increase in the buying power or increased competition between retailers and distributors. 

Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial NV

This is made by one of the big boys which may mean that this wine is made for the masses. It definitely tastes a little bready on the initial attack of favours but then a mass of sweetness takes hold. The sweetness comes across as candied pears or sugared lemons. While I liked the bready component the rest of the wine wasn't up to the what I thought I was going to get. If I was buying this I would slap down another 40 and get the vintage version as it offers so much more. That said, it was still not a bad wine. 

Alcohol: 12%

Price: $50

Rated: 87

Drink: Now - 2015

La Maison Ruinart Blanc de Blanc NV

Ruinart was founded in 1729 and produces Chardonnay dominant style of Champagne. As I've been tasting Blanc de Blanc's a lot over the past month, I have come to the conclusion that this house is one of the leaders  in this style. They are the king amongst the kings!

Ruinart Blanc de Blanc NV

Light and delicate yet with power galore. The lightness comes across as flowers and grapefruit before the power of honeysuckle and toasted bread takes over. My wife decided to join me as I was tasting this and she finished off three glasses before I had finished my notes which is more of endorsement than the note or score that I am giving to it as my wife is a very discerning drinker. The Ruinart would be a perfect wine to drink at a big event like Christmas day so I hope everyone has a great day and open something special.

Alcohol: 12%
Price: $99
Rated: 93+
Drink: Now or over the next 8 years

J Moreau & Fils Premier Cru Fourchaume 2007

These guys have been around for a while as they started in 1814 and it is one of the leader wine negociants in the region.

J Moreau & Fils Premier Cru  Fourchaume 2007

Did you even go to a fish and chip shop? Yes well this wine gets most of the flavours from there as they are buttered lemons with crushed flowers, deep fried banana and flint. So the fish and chip ship may have been a bit weird but the one my mum used to take me to was bohemian and I loved it. This is the sort of wine that takes you back to the day I spent basking in the glory with your parents.

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: ?
Rated: 92
Drink: Now to whenever you want

Double take Chardonnay style

Michael Hall Chardonnay 2010

I approached this wine lightly, as it has received not the greatest reviews from some of the big scribes. When I opened the wine it smelt like a great wine from great year with loads of acidity keeping the wine vibrant. On the palate that acidity transferred through but the fruit flavours covered the tartness. There were flavours of grilled mixed nuts, like the ones you get at a carnival, caramel, grapefruit, peach and a little white nectarine. At this stage of the wines development, the oak is already embedded within the wine which makes me think that this is going to be spectacular in about 5 years time.

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $42
Rated: 93
Drink: 2016 +

Jean Claude Boisset Les Clous 2007

Intense, like a bunch of wine nerds standing around a bottle of DRC, is this wine as it slowly unfolds over the course of the night. There is richness but it is the acidity that balances it out perfectly. From a flavour perspective think honeycomb, crushed flower followed by exploded quartz and grapefruit as the wine starts out rich but finishes light and delightful. What a contrast the palate is, which is both intriguing and mesmerising. 

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $75

Rated: 94

Drink: In 4 more years