Bouscasse Madiran 2009 Gotta a whole lotta South West France love! Since the weather is still cold what better for you than a corset of tannins that is like a hug in a wine glass? Dark, minerally, hint of oak – somewhat reminiscent of Hunter Valley Shiraz. Nutty, smokey/flinty, nice acidity, silky and dense. Great … Read more
One of the occasional perks of this job is a long lunch. Sometimes you get the added bonus is great company and wines that you find compelling. I definitely hit the jackpot with this lunch at Maha! I’m a huge fan of the wines of Bordeaux BUT… Often find them just above my comfortable spending level for … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEK Greenstone Rosso di Colbo Sangiovese 2011 The Greenstone vineyard is the result of a lot of know how, experimentation and breaking a few ‘rules’. There is a strong focus on producing good quality Sangiovese (to good results it would appear!) but of course in Heathcote you have to give Shiraz some … Read more
The place to be on this cold afternoon. Having done quite a focus on Italian wines over the last few months, I thought it was time to bring it closer to home and show some Australian interpretations of Italian varieties. Teaming up with Silvio at Mezzo Restaurant we selected seven wines from interesting Australian producers making … Read more
It was 5.59pm on Tuesday and I took a call from Matthew Hanson who I have chatted to regularly for well over 5 years now and who runs Fine Wine Appreciation Melbourne http://www.finewineappreciation.com.au/ . He said he had a last minute withdrawal from his William Downie dinner so would I like to come along? “It starts at 7pm” he added. I had … Read more
Mezzo in all its glory Yep, it has been a busy week and very much focussed on Italian wines, it has been fun and informative. On Saturday TWD teamed up with Mezzo Restaurant to host a tasting that featured wines from two of Italy’s premier red wine producing regions. Piedmont – the foggy, hilly region in the North West … Read more
That is right folks, it has been an Italian-a-thon in my tasting circles. But far out it has been a great adventure. This was my third Italian wine event in a week and while I was a bit tired, my enthusiasm for their wines is as strong as ever. This dinner revolved around the 2001 vintage of Produttori del … Read more
This was only the second dinner I hosted for the The Wine Depository so there was a lot of fussing to make sure I was on top of everything. I wonder if Led Zeppelin felt this much tension for their second outing? Luckily I had a team of seasoned veterans around me who made everything … Read more
Kate Hill Riesling 2011 What? White in winter? Yes, and it is fantastic. For more than ten years Kate has been making wine in some of the world’s prime wine-making regions including South Australia, Tasmania, France, California and Chile in both large companies and small. After all this experience she chose Tasmania to settle down, … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEKKaesler Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 – Continuing the theme of Cabernet for winter is this delicious example from the Barossa. Kaesler was established in 1893. The estate has changed hands a couple of times since then but at the core of the property is large parcel of vines over 40 years old, affectionately known as ‘The Old Bastards’. A great … Read more
Over the past few months I’ve hosted numerous private tastings for customers. The most recently run event was about a month ago near Heathcote and it involved educating a group of 14 people about Pinot Noir. Grasping a chance to drink a handful of my most favourite Pinots from around the world I looked forward to this event and … Read more
Continuing my Italian Odyssey (sadly without leaving Melbourne) Patrick’s group assembled to taste most of the Single Cru wines from one of the worlds best cooperatives Produttori del Barbaresco from the fantastic 2007 vintage. It is a sight of beauty. Barbaresco is in the region of Piedmont in North West tip of Italy, you can read a … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEKPatrizi Moscato d’Asti 2011 – One of my (surprisingly) favourite wines from the Piedmont Dinner I hosted in May http://winedep.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/piedmont-dinner-and-masterclass-at.html Patrizi Moscato d’Asti Moscato is the traditional way to cleanse the palate after a meal before getting stuck into the Grappa (which is what we did). I was a hint sceptical at … Read more
After a few false starts Dave’s group finally managed to convene to taste some awesome wines at one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at in Melbourne Sosta Cucina. A late withdrawal meant that we had to sacrifice a bottle of Cignale from Tuscany (one of my favourite Italian wines). But just as well, because … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEK:Thomas Sweetwater Shiraz 09 – One of the best producers in the Hunter Valley, in fact some of the best wines in NSW overall. Andrew Thomas cut his teeth at Tyrrell’s before setting up his own winery with the aim to specialise in great Semillon and Shiraz from single vineyards. One of my … Read more
It is with a lot of pride I can write about the inaugural Wine Depository dinner which took place on Tuesday 15th May 2012. The private room at Scopri. An ideal setting. The goal was to have a casual and informative night on one of the worlds great regions: Piedmont. In many ways it is the Italian equivalent … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEK: Reilly’s Shiraz 2008 – Awesome Clare Valley producer who has been making some great value wines for well over a decade. The first wine I had of theirs was the Dry Land Shiraz 2001 way back in 03/04. It was love from then on in. The key to Reilly’s success is they have … Read more
Having missed one month due to work pressures, the Mezzo crowd were all pretty keen to catch up and taste some seriously good wine. And we were far from disappointed despite cork playing a starring role in two of the wines. CURSE YOU VILE THINGS! This month the theme was 2004 Burgundy, a vintage that … Read more
Tempranillo is a Spanish variety, perhaps the Spanish variety. It is grown all over Spain and Portugal (under various and confusing local names) and produces wines from light and fresh Roses, tart and fruity unoaked reds to dense, complex and structured reds that sit somewhere between and rival Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone or Piedmont. I was recently able … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEK:JL Chave Selection Offerus Saint-Joseph 2008 – Chave is one of the top producers in the Northern Rhone Valley, world famous from their exemplary Hermitage (see my previous Chave encounter here).The Selecion label is the Chave negociant arm which that allows them to buy fruit from outside vineyards to make more wine at a more affordable price. … Read more
Today is my 30th Birthday. What better way to celebrate then tasting some of my favourite Australian wines? That’s right, on my birthday I was willing to brave inclement weather and bad Melbourne traffic to taste wines – so they would have be special. And I wasn’t disappointed. These wines are for sale and wines I … Read more
There has been some seriously good wine consumed at the Red House (TWD HQ) and at events. At home we’ve had some awesome Italian wines. All red and a lot of them have been because customers have tipped me off. If you want more information or would like to order any of them (or all … Read more
WINE OF THE WEEK: Three Wishes Chardonnay 2008 – From the beautiful Batman Peninsula in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley. Three Wishes is a small, family run vineyard that makes some lovely wines. This is one of my favourite producers in the whole world and Pete the owner very generously sponsored TWD Sentinels in last years Wine … Read more
A memorable night for two reasons – some truly amazing wines, and the fact that two people pulled out last minute so there was a lot more wine than we needed. The plus side was there was no real disappointments, the downside was it was hard to decide what not to drink. We started of course with … Read more