Mount Williams Louise Clare VII Sparkling Red NV

One of the moments for me this year was seeing a shot of a lightning strike during an eruption from a volcano.

 

Image from tldm.org

Now here is how it relates to this wine. The base of the wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Cabernet which means that full, medium and light bodied varieties battle it out in the one wine which just shouldn't work. What happens in the wine is that each part plays a role perfectly.

Mount Williams Louise Clare VII Sparkling Red NV

To begin with the wine shows beautiful game meats drowned in milk chocolate and smoked herbs. The medium bodied palate has great complexity and wonderful length with the finest of beades. From the mid-palate on a refines mushroom compote and old leather boot componant takes over which suggests to me that Mt Williams has done all the aging for me so crack open one while the fire is burning. Just a beautiful wine with age and character.

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $45

Rated: 91

Drink: anytime

Mount William Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2004

Pinot Noir Chardonnay blends for sparkling wines are the traditional styles that work with foods such as Asian style entrées or mains, French style entrées and something food that are a bit spicy with tomato bases such as Mexican food. The bubbles in many Sparkling wines come from a secondary fermentation in the bottle but the majority of cheaper wine are soda streamed in the bottle to produce the bubbles before release. This wine fits into the higher end of the market and is lees aged for a fare time before release. The lees ageing allows a for a creamy texture and flavour to develop.

Mount William Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2004

On the nose there are aroma's of cherry blossom, crème fresh, strawberry jam, roasted nuts and toasted fresh bread. These flavour transfer over to the palate rather well in a supremely elegant and thoughtful style.  The entry of the wine is good as it hit all the right receptors, as does the mid-palate and it is added by a creamy texture which leaves my mouth coated with goodness. For the price this is a beauty for any special event and gives the French a good run for its money.

Alcohol: 12%
Price: $45
Rated: 91+
Drink: Now - 2018

Party Time Wines

Summer is in full swing and that means party time. It seems that every year we pack every get together with anyone in the two months of December and January.  This period is one filled with hot days, warm nights and fun filled moments with friends and family. The best way to celebrate this time is with refreshing whites and bubbles of happiness.

Hahndorf Hill Winery Gruner Veltliner 2012

This wine should come with a warning of don’t serve too cold as the palate shuts down a bit under extreme chills.  When the wine is allowed to warm up a bit flavours of crushed flowers and pears start to emerge.   The entry of the wine is light and delicate but from the mid-palate on there is masses of intense flavours and texture galore.  The flavours come across as those mystical crystals you see in the healing stores in the city mixed with peaches, spice and lemon blossom.  These flavours work brilliantly with the glycerin style mouth feel.  My god it coats my mouth, sticking the flavours to my receptors.  This is a wine to be proud of so get on board. This wine is so good I am going to predict that the Adelaide Hills will become a beacon for top quality Gruner. Just wait within 5 years the Hills will be Chardonnay and Gruner mecca.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $28

Rated: 88

Drink: Now – 2024

Tyrrell’s Wines Traditional Method Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2009

When wineries say that a sparkling is made using the traditional method they mean that it has been bottle fermented. This process takes much longer and allows the fruit to stay in contact with the lees which results in a creamer taste and mouth feel.  This wine has that in spades with extra flavours of dried grapefruit, toasted brioche, gun smoked strawberries and spice, in fact I would say this wine is packed with flavour. It feels like a party popper in my mouth, masses of flavours jumping for joy as they tumble along in my mouth.  At 26 bucks this wine is a sophisticated beast that will be easy to crack over this festive season.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $26

Rated: 87

Drink: Now or over the next 5 years

Mount William Winery Jorja-Alexis Rose 2003

This wine spent 8 years on lees before being disgorged and topped with fresh Pinot Noir which brings back the salmon colour.  Murray, the owner of Mount Williams Winery, describes it the best in his media release. Murray explains that "whilst the wine is on lees in the cellar, the large red molecules drop out and we end up with a rather anemic looking sparkling rose'. The addition of the young still Pinot Noir doesn't affect the flavour and it has a beneficial effect on the bouquet when it is added.".  This wine is one of the best Australian Sparkling roses that I have tried as it is light in weight yet powerful in the delivery of strawberries and crème, rhubarb and spice. This wine definitely stays on the savoury side of things but the strawberries and crème adds a little confectionary style note which is lovely. The wine pulls long in my mouth with a knife edge of acidity keeping the wine fresh and vibrant. This would be perfect as a starter on Christmas day or any other special event.

Alcohol: 12%
Price: $45
Rated: 89
Drink: Now or later

Torzi Matthews Vintners Frist Dodger Riesling 2012

Pitch perfect and vibrant is this Eden Valley Riesling. In fact this could be your archetypical version of Riesling from this region with flavours of slate, lemon, blossom, struck quartz and lime pulp. In the mouth the wine explodes and the flavours stick to every inch of my mouth. The wine feels like it is thick and textured yet light and bright all in the same mouthful which is interesting and cerebral.  All I want to do is sit back under my loquat tree with a big glass and just let the earth spin around me. I could drink this now but it only improved over the 5 days that I tasted it so I would leave it alone for a while.


Alcohol: 13%
Price: $22
Rated: 93
Drink: Now - 2027

Passing Clouds Pinot Noir 2007

This little number was grown in the Macedon ranges which is not normal for the Passing Clouds crew as their Pinot is normally from the Yarra Valley.  They have planted a little vineyard in the ranges where the pest control is managed by a set of cute miniature sheep, baby doll sheep if you are interested.  These little workers are too small to reach the bunches but can happily keep the weeds and pests to a minimum which has resulted in a huge reduction for the need to spray.

Oh aren't these guys adorable.

Passing Clouds Pinot Noir 2007

This has a lovely fungus dirty component with the fruit still playing a major role.  There is a beautiful balance between light cherry and strawberry and forest floor meets spice that I am left feeling like I have down a good deed for the day.  This wine would work brilliantly for a Christmas day lunch as it would pair well with a variety of dishes.  The wine finishes with a very good length of flavour and vibrant acidity which for the money is hard to beat.  

Alcohol: 12%

Price: $20

Rated: 87

Drink: Now - 2015

Curly Flat Chardonnay 2009

The Macedon Ranges isn't that far from Melbourne.  In fact you could be there within an hours drive of the big smoke.  Most of the vineyards are rather elevated, think up to 800m, which makes them perfect for cool climate varieties.  Generally they possess much more tannin structure with a core of vibrant acidity than the same varieties from South Australia. If I was going to say which one region is most exciting to me then I would have to hang my hat on this rather large region. Furthermore if you aren't into wine then the region boasts a lovely agricultural mix with meats, ciders, cheeses and breads plus every second town has farmers markets with antique stores galore.

Curly Flat Chardonnay 2009

The wines has a tail of two halves. Firstly there is the winemakers influence which is the apparent right from the get go.  The it moves into the high quality fruit flavours that are nestled underneath.  While I love this now the potential is staggering.  What more do I want than great length, lively acidity with an enjoyment factor written all over it.

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $42
Rated: 92++
Drink: 2014 - 2022

Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 2008

The other night I went to a blind tasting with all wines yielding from the 2008 vintage and of the noble grape variety, Pinot Noir.  All wines were tasted before each identity was revealed.


Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir 2008

A little bit of a muddled nose with very ripe notes of plum jam and meat are evident as the wine sits in the glass.  There are some lovely cooler elements that come through on the good length palate.  I had in my notes Victoria Pinot around the $40 so I was surprised to see that this was the Big Bindi.  This has already hit its peak so open it whenever you want. You could wait until Christmas comes to drink it with family and friends.

Alcohol: 14%
Price: $92
Rated: 89
Drink: now - 2016