Gunns Estate. 2007 Pinot Gris

General: I think Gunn's Estate is better known for its Sauvignon Blanc. This is an odd combination of sourced grapes.

Variety: Pinot Gris

Regions: NZ and Italy (!)

Alcohol: 12.5%

Bouquet: Very restrained. A faint hint of freshly cut apple (like Jonagold apples)

Flavour: Persistent apple as in bouquet, also with those wrinkly, hard green pears. Dry with good minerality, however the balance wasn't quite right.

Points: 82

Comments: I have not yet tried much Pinot Gris/Grigio yet. This had components of a very nice wine but they didn't gell together for me. Price was $11.00 (181 Kc).

Note that now using an exchange rate of 1 $AUD = 16,5 CZK

Tasting of Mount Majura wines - Saturday 6 February

Mount Majura Vineyards is in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and as such, is part of the Canberra Wine Region. We stopped and I did a tasting of some of their wines on Saturday 6 February. I tasted:

1. Woolshed Creek White. 2009 - Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. 13% alcohol.

This was charming. Semi-sweet with lots of lovely fruit. I thought it was peachy in flavour. Not pretensious. A good summer drinking wine. At $15.00 (225 Kc) something different to the endless Sauvignon Blancs on offer.

Points: 83

2. Riesling. 2008. 12.2%

I did not get much on the nose and the wine itself is very austere. I found the flavour artificial.

3. Pinot Gris. 2008. 12.3%

I found this without much character at all. I quickly moved to the Reds.

4. Dinny's Block. 2006. 70% Cabernet Franc, 19% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon.
13.8% alcohol

My favourite wine from my tasting. Surprisingly some mocha in the nose followed by fruit. Medium in length, smooth and well balanced. Dark chocolate one of the wonderful flavours shining through.

Points: 85

5. Merlot. 2008.

I found the nose and flavour too earthy and stringent. I quickly skipped to the next.

6. Graciano. 2008.

I could not recall ever having tasted this wine. It had a lovely freshly sawn timber and plummy tones in the nose. The flavour carried through with plummy tones and black pepper. My only problem with this wine was its short length. It was all over too quickly. A little one-dimensional in taste.

Points: 81

A quick search of wikipedia shows that this is a blending variety from Rioja. It has potential but I think it should be blended rather than left as a varietal. $21.00 (315 Kc)

7. T.S.G. 2008. Tempranillo, Shiraz and Graciano. 14% alcohol.

Again, I enjoyed some freshly sawn timber tones in the nose although this time they were accompanied by sour cherry more than plums. Good, gentle tannins add to the complexity. Medium bodied and possibly a little short in length, leaving Dinny's Block as my favourite for the day.

Points: 84

At $21 (315 Kc) very reasonable for an interesting blend.

I actually chose this vineyard to try as it has Tempranillo as a varietal. They were out of stock when I was there. I tasted alone so I definitely missed enjoying this with someone. Anyway, it was a good first tasting for the Canberra Region.

La Cantina. ? Dry Red

General: The description looked good, but . . .

Varieties: Not stated. Not guessed.

Region: King Valley, VIC

Alcohol: 14.5%

Bouquet: Hints of overripe plum

Flavour: Medium length with harsh tannins. Something not right about the taste. Possibly some sour cherry in there but generally unpleasurable to drink

Points: 78

Notes: This was a gamble. I won't be getting this again. Even if it is at the cheap end of the market ($12/180 Kc), there is much better at this price point.

Rymills. 2004 MC2

General: Wow! I'm a fan of this style of wine and was suitably impressed at this wonder.

Varieties: 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc

Region: Limestone Coast, SA

Subregion: Coonawarra

Alcohol: 13%

Bouquet: A non-aggressive blackcurrant nose with hints of spice

Flavour. Complex. Berry fruit and nettles/brush are complimented by gentle tannins and some vanilla. Smooth with a long, satisfying finish. Lovely.

Points: 88

Notes: The best red blend since I returned. Now madly trying to find where I can buy more.

Pikes. 2007 The Red Mullet

General: This is the second time I have tasted this wine. I am a fan.

Varieties: Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre, Tempranillo

Region: Clare Valley, SA

Alcohol: 14.5%

Bouquet: Mild. Brush. Hints of Red currants.

Flavour: Very smooth with good length. Debated whether hints of red currant or sour cherry were stronger. Surprising that the alcohol is not noticeable given its strength.

Points: 84

Notes: At $14.00 (210 Kc) a very good ready to drink wine. Very good value.

Matua Valley Wines. 2008 Sauvignon Blanc

General: Another from the huge range of Sauvignon Blanc here. This one tasted on 14 January 2010.

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Marlborough, NZ

Bouquet: A very typical gooseberry bouquet

Flavour: A straightforward wine, balanced, dry, with a citric finish.

Points: 82

Notes: I followed this with a Cloudy Bay 2009 Sav Blanc which had more complexity. A good version of this wine. Nothing extraordinary about it. At $13.60 (204 Kc), there is much on the market which is similar.

Grape variety: Chambourcin

Tasted on Saturday, 9 January 2010 at the Shoalhaven Food and Wine Show, Nowra

The Shoalhaven Coast wine region has its "wine of the region" the wine variety Chambourcin, which is apparently a hybrid (fungal resistant) variety available since the 1960s. A number of local wineries were presenting at the SFWS and almost all had a Chambourcin on offer.

The wine in almost all cases was dark purple, light to medium bodied with a lacklustre flavour of watery plums with a pepperish finish. The finish was pleasant. Excluding this finish, I am clearly not a fan of the variety. It reminded me of pub-variety wines from Prague times, which at least were cheap whereas bottles of this stuff started at $19.00!

Locally, I found the Verdelhos to be done very well.

Coolangatta Estate, which had a wide variety of wines, had an excellent Tannat. This estate is one of three earmarked for KLD's visit to Oz :-).

The other two were Cupitt's Winery (best Verdelho tasted on the day) and from the neighbouring wine region of Southern Highlands, Bluemetal Vineyard which had a stunning Petit Verdot amongst a fine selection.