BK Wines - Hand Made

UK Wine Scribe Jamie Goode penned this paragraph in a post on his site Wine Anorak:

"Fine wine isn’t about the rather depressing trading-room scenario of en primeur classed growth Claret. It’s about talented people making great wine from great terroirs. There are lots of them, these days, all around the world. I just want them to get the credit they deserve."

The last two sentences resonated with me whilst I was thinking about the wines I had tasted at The Wine Emporium in Brisbane.  It's fair to say they struck a chord.  These wines are all the more impressive for their volumes - 1,000 cases total production - and the fact that each wine is a single vineyard wine.  All the more surprising then that they come in at no more than a shade over $30.   

Rose Collage 2010 - 40 Cases - 12.8% - $21

Saignee from the Pinot Noir, a clear wine with some Pinot added back for colour - and its unmistakably in that pale, dry European image .  Fermented in barrel with wild yeast, unequivocally Pinot Noir.  Strawberry aromas abound.  Crisp, clean and light on the palate - more strawberry - bone dry finish.  One for the revolutionaries. 

Rosetta Pinot Gris 2010 - 180 Cases - 13.5% - $25

Twelve months in oak, 9 months of battonage to develop complexity.  Picked off the same vineyard that BK makes a Pinot Grigio from, but 3 weeks later.  Aroma yields texture and minerality.  The palate shows the texture that was being sought with the wine layered across the tongue.  Through the finish, minerality, completely dry; pretty good finish and length.

Ma Fleur Chardonnay Picadilly Valley 2010 - 180 Cases - 14% - $33

9 months battonage, 50% new oak with the wine at the top of the tank going into the older oak, the wine at the bottom - with solids - going into the newer oak to clean up the sulphur.  Topped up regularly, every 1-2 weeks.  Aroma shows pretty florals, touch of that new oak and some varietal citrus.  The palate: layered with some background toasty almond presenting itself.  The finish: driving minerality, a fair explosion of flavour, with length, persistent length.

Jean Bernard Syrah 2009 - 180 Cases - 13.5% - $33

On twitter today, Mike Bennie was lamenting inappropriate use of the label Syrah.  When I first saw Mike's tweets I immediately thought of this wine, and how it more than doffs its cap toward the Northern Rhone.  For a start look at the alcohol.  Yet, more than that: aromas of earth, leather; the smooth, medium-full bodied palate provides further stylistic sign-posting   BK did allude to trying to make a wine in the Cote-Rotie style (minus the Viognier allowable in that appellation).  Love and care go into this wine: hand harvested, de-stemmed without breaking the fruit.  The intent is to seek finesse, lower alcohol and a wine that is soft and long.  As BK puts it: "approachable from the first to the last glass"

You can see BK talking about this wine and his other Syrah, Cult, over at my good friend The Wine Punter's site.  

Summary

Excellent quality, excellent price point.  Just revisit those two sentences referred to earlier on to capture the essence of BK Wines.

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