Jamie Oliver 15 Minute Meal Gorgeous Greek Chicken + d'Arenberg Custodian Grenache 2009

Jamie Oliver 15 Minute Meal Gorgeous Greek Chicken Herby Vegetable Couscous & Tzatziki

My wife cooked this one as she saw how much fun I was having with the last meal. This time we got the timer out and turned up the pressure. She was a little more organised as she had the kettle boiled, frying pan on full whack and the food processor ready to go. The Tzatziki was easy as you just combine the normal ingredients of cucumber, yoghurt, lemon and mint and it is ready to go. The Couscous salad is another easy one as most of the ingredients are served cold with a little lemon juice splashed over the top. We didn't have dill as we couldn't get it at our store and we don't have it in the garden but the capsicum  chilli, spring onions,  peas and black olives normally sit in our fridge or freezer. The last section of the dish is smashed chicken with some allspice and oregano which we have in the garden. My wife only took 20 minutes to make the whole thing so we were tucking in almost straight away. Once again Jamie has made a tasty dish that is easy to make after a long days work. Just have a look below.

d'Arenberg Custodian Grenache 2009

Now I thought the meal would be medium bodied but it was only light so the pairing of food and wine wasn't quiet right. The wine was medium bodied with flavours of a small goods shop that focuses on all things Italian. Once the flavours move from the meaty end of the spectrum there are hints of plum skin, dry roasted cloves, cherry balm and spice all rolled into to one. The balance between these flavours is lovely and there is a hint of tannin coming through. There is that true McLaren Vale savoury Grenache at work here with a price tag at the lower end for the quality that this provides.

On another note, it is easy to see why Chester Osborn has focused on all things Grenache as he seems to be able to produce great value and quality wines from the top to the bottom of his range. This fact must have something to do with him supporting people that grew grapes during the great grape depression. Everyone was  ripping out old vines and Chester was hunting around for the best vineyards, paying good money and securing those for the long hall.

Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $21
Rated: 86
Drink: Now - 2016

Summer Loving Wines

With the summer heat in full swing most people would be reaching for a refreshing white or zesty rose. I think a lot of the wine critics focus on is sparkling wines around Christmas and then they forget about them for the rest of the year. The two sparkling wines below deserve to be drink all year round as they offer interest and elegant drinking at a small cost compared to their French counterparts.

Domaine Chandon ZD Blanc de Blancs 2008

Unlike most of the other wines in the Blanc de Blanc style, this wine does not receive any dosage so it is bone dry and zesty to say the least. I love the way the wine flows through my mouth as it seems alive and rambunctious in its frolicking nature. This is a full on 100% Chardonnay style sparkling wine with brilliant palate length and flavours of crushed flowers, lemon rind, sour apples and kids chalk sticks running wild. I would serve this to my guests as they arrive to kick off a fantastic party.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $40

Rated: 93

Drink: now – 2018

Yarrabank Cuvee 2008

Compared to the above wine this is much richer and comforting. It is like being hugged by your grandma as it offers something warm and inviting. The flavours are along the nutty creamy end of the spectrum with notes of peach, struck quartz and smoked dried flowers latching themselves to my mouth. All these flavours sit on a long palate length and a mineral acid structure which finishes tight and torte. Love it!

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $35

Rated: 93

Drink: Now - 2017

SC Pannell Pinot Grigio 2012

Steve Pannell must drink, I mean taste, a lot of European wines as he has an innate ability to take Australian fruit and combine everything good about them into an elegant and European style like nothing else in Australia. This is the best Pinot Grigio that I have tried from Australia as it has all those lovely mouthwatering moments with nashi pear, crushed minerals and spice taking center stage. The flavours are bright and the palate weight is light and vibrant.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $25

Rated: 88

Drink: Now or over the next few years

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Alta Vineyards For Elsie Pinot Rose 2012

This smells like the Adelaide Hills during summer. I could walk through a couple of markets with the aromas of strawberries and cherries’ wafting towards me and that is identical to this wine but you have to combine it with sweet Turkish delight dusted in sugar. The wine is light in weight but has a little added texture than most wines of this style. This wine would work beautifully with seared scallops in an Asian style sauce so sit down and get it on.

Alcohol: 12%

Price: Under $20

Rated: 87

Drink: Now to 2015

Hahndorf Hill Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2012

The vines of Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot are similar as it has thicker skins and stout short leaves with the flavour spectrum really depending on how the wine-maker treats the variety. The majority of the Adelaide Hills is heading down the unoaked path with only a few using oak or extended skin contact in the process.

Hahndorf Hill Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2012

This wine is made in the finer style with flavours of passionfruit, cracker pepper, jelly crystals, warm undies and specks of citrus peel. There is a richness running through the mid-palate and the flavours hit hard on the front palate and melt away after that. The flavours of this wine offer something a little different than the normal Blanc from the Hills which is refreshing but it doesn't have the minerality or length of the top examples. Really this wine over delivers for the price as it is easy to drink and easy to like.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $23

Rated: 85

Drink: Now or over the few years

Altamont Wine Studio Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Altamont Winery is run by Bendon Keys of BK fame and he takes his fruit from the Adelaide Hills. This winery is trying to produce wines of interest in more of a European style. The winery is located in the old Nepenthe winery in Lenswood but they do not have access to the vines that live at the wineries door step.

Altamont Wine Studio Sauvignon Blanc 2012

This is a mix between natural wine and the more commercial styles as the texture of the wine feel like a box of glycerol but the flavours are your typical guava, snowpeas, asparagus and crystalised vanilla. The length is good with a thickness running through the middle of the palate that leaves a great impression. The best part of the wine is the entry and is well worth a crack just for that.

Alcohol: 12.8%

Price: $22

Rated: 86

Drink: Now - 2017

View Road Wines Sagrantino and Shiraz Vineyards

I went and took some photo's of the Sagrantino and Shiraz Vineyard that I take fruit from. The Sagrantino is located near d'Arenberg and the Shiraz comes from Blewitt Springs.

At the moment the grapes are massively high in acid with no flavour development.

Sagrantino Vineyard Oliver's Taranga

I take my fruit from one row of a vineyard

 The vineyard is run organically but isn't certified

The fruit is only just starting to change

Shiraz Vineyard Blewitt Springs

This vineyard is run biodynamically

 The vines are 40 years old and are dry grown

It was planted by two brother over 40 years ago

Coriole Lloyd Vineyard

Here is a shot of the Lloyd vineyard with the grapes starting to go through veraison. This is the period where the grapes move from berry growth to grape ripening.

The berries changing colour means that it is coming up to the exciting period of the year.

Jamie Oliver 15 min meal plus Bimbadgen Estate Semillon 2012

At Christmas I was given Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals so my wife and I decided to cook our way through all the meals. The first one on the menu was the Chicken Tikka, lentil, spinach and naan salad. There is a nice mix between traditional spice, chilli and fragrant chicken mixed with more modern elements in this dish. The meal was easy to cook but some of the ingredients were a bit difficult to find as I live in a small country town.  I wasn't able to get naan bread or the chestnut mushrooms but I could get puy lentils which I had to cook myself before starting the recipe. Once my wife and I sat down to consume this medium bodied meal our taste buds went wild with each little flavour making an impact. The balance of the fresh flavours was really well executed and I would happily cook this as a main meal or as a side salad for a larger group.

My daughter enjoyed the meal as well and always wants to get involved.

Bimbadgen Estate Semillon 2012

After tasting this wine I was sure it was a 25 to 30 buck wine but a quick search on the internet shows how wrong I was. This wine has those typical lime and lemon notes before an element of crushed flowers and spiced herbs comes in. The winery is rather stunning, as the photo below outlines, and this seems to come through in the purity of the wine. In fact the wine is so easy to drink I almost forgot what I was doing.

Alcohol: 10%

Price: $18

Rated: 86

Drink: Now - 2019