Kings and Queens. Of all the wines from Burgundy, Gevrey-Chambertin is the commune we seek out most often. Certainly Shell’s favourite, the wines are masculine, yet elegant. The region deserves the title ‘King of Burgundy’. The Gran Crus and Premier Cru’s are consistently some of the great Burgundy’s of the world. The is reason Tuesday’s…
Chasing Vintages in the Hunter Valley
The other vintage of the century. In Australia, particularly the Hunter Valley, even the most resilient consumer gets vintage fatigue. As winemakers wrap up picking, the grapes are pressed, fermented, barrelled or bottled, the media rolls out some old winemaker from a famous Hunter Valley family and he declares ‘this was the best vintage in…
2014 Pio Cesare Barolo
Join the club. Some vintages are difficult. Despite the romantic notions associated with wine, grapes are fruit, they grow in vineyards and mother nature does not care what baumé your grapes are; when you need rain, and when you do not and how much sunshine there is in September. In 2014 around the Barolo region,…
Size Matters.
Little things. We don’t get back to Australia often. These images were from our last night in Sydney. We had dinner at a local Italian restaurant, I don’t recall the name. As we were walking through the side streets home we stumbled on a tiny bottle shop. Australia is dominated by huge chains, owned by…
Australian Cabernet v the World
Bigotry exposed. I am very critical of Australian wine. Perhaps that needs rephrasing, I am very critical of the Australian wine drinkers perceive Australian wine in a global context. It is not a wines fault that an individual claims it is world-class having never experienced the same variety from another country. It mostly happens with…
Gevrey Tuesday: 2003 Lucien Le Moine Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers
Melbourne Burgundy Social Club Gevrey-Chambertin Tasting, June 2015. Part 2. Every Tuesday I am going to take a look back at one of the wines from the MBSC Gevrey-Chambertin tasting night. I apologise for the poor quality images, it was late and I was inebriated. A recent post in the Malaysian wine Club reminded me…
2015 Pio Cesare Langhe Oltrè
Not a food blog. I am determined not to turn this commentary into a food blog. The reality is, wine and food will always share a relationship. Sometimes it is this combination, along with the company of someone special, that brings about an entirely pleasurable experience. Tonight this was this case. The wine was superb,…
2016 Fontodi Chianti Classico
Playing it safe. After the Ashton failed to deliver and Shell asked for another bottle to be opened, quick decisions needed to be made. It may seem ridiculous, but I put a lot of thought into what wine I am opening. It is not just the food, many elements are in play. There are wines…
2016 Ashton Hills Estate Pinot Noir
Jekyll and Hyde. I can count the number of Australian Pinot Noirs that consistently produce high-quality wines on one hand. There are plenty of reasons, primarily Pinot is a notoriously difficult grape to grow. Add to that Australia has only a few climates that suit the variety. The main reason, for my mind, is that…