The risky business of what to open after a Grand Cru burgundy. 16 April 2016 With the Burgundy finished Australian pinot once again became a discussion point. Why do we get it so wrong so often? Curly Flat is the rare exception. Clearly inebriated, it suddenly seemed an excellent idea to open a half bottle…
Category: wine
1999 Domaine Gaston & Pierre Ravaut Corton Les Bressandes Grand Cru
Grand Cru from a great vintage. 16 April 2016 Shell runs the cellar. Browsing through the list and selecting the wines. Narrowing her search to ‘Burgundy’ she chooses whatever takes her fancy. In this instance a Grand Cru from the highly rated 1999 vintage. When I suggested that this might be considered a special occasion…
2014 Oakvale Limited Release Semillon
Quail for lunch. 16 April 2016 Aside from the occasional Chablis, Shell does not drink white wine. After a glass or two with the quail she declared this undrinkable. Taking one for the team I finished the bottle while making dinner. 2014 Oakvale Limited Release Semillon Typical Hunter Semillon. Lemons, pears and green apples on…
2001 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
A change from burgundy. 6 April 2016 Sometimes you need a change. It cant be all about burgundy all the time can it? 2001 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz Black berries and cherries. Olives, tar and tobacco on the nose. Balanced with well integrated tannins on the finish. The 389 never seems to live up…
2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Goergres Les Vaucrains Premier Cru
Birthday celebrations continue. 27 March 2016 After the Cristal there was no going back. I have vague memories of great food and fine conversation. So nice to share a birthday with my beautiful wife and her family. Oh, there was some wine as well…. 2008 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits-Saint-Goergres Les Vaucrains Premier Cru To be…
2007 Louis Roederer Cristal Champage
Birthday celebrations 27 March 2016 Rachelle and I have birthdays only a few days apart. Leanda and Vishal treated us to lunch at Cumulus Inc on Flinders Lane. Celebrations were off to a flying start when the bubbly was ordered. Even Shell, who claims to dislike bubbles enjoyed this. 2007 Louis Roederer Cristal Champage Straw…
2002 Henschke Cyril Cabernet
A change from Burgundy 20 March 2016 It took some persuading for Shell to abandon Burgundy for the evening. Ox cheeks braised in red wine for most of the day was going to require something with a bit of weight. We picked this up a few weeks ago from our ‘not to be named’ bottle…
2012 Stonier Merron’s Vineyard Pinot Noir
A public holiday is reason enough. 14 March 2016 After a morning drive through Mt Macedon Shell decided we should try the wild boar we picked up at Prahan Markets the weekend before. It should be noted that before the cooking began we stopped for tea and coffee at a location Shell won’t allow me…
2011 Curly Flat Pinot Noir
An adequate substitute for Burgundy. 5 March 2016 Having finished a remarkable Chablis while cooking beef ragu, it was time for the main course. This wine was trashed by Australian critics on release. Two years later it was awarded Australian Pinot of the Year by Decanter. We purchased this wine from the Curly Flat Cellar…