September 2012 ~ The Vinsomniac - Stuart Robinson

An Australian Wine Blog

Sunday, 30 September 2012

Thymiopoulos Vineyards Young Vines Xinomavro 2011

11:00 Stu.

Xinomavro – fancy playing that on a triple word score in Scrabble. Hailing from Macedonia on Greece’s north, its name means ‘acidic and black’ and by jove it is. Has a lovely radiance in the glass, and seemingly aids in the delivery of forward, upfront fruit character...

#Gram7 / 2011 / Greece / Naoussa / Xinomavro

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Golden Grove Vermentino 2012

10:30 Stu.

Vermentino in Australia has been largely typecast as a clean, refreshing style, suited to warmer climes and perfectly matched with seafood. That’s largely how it is. Then something like this comes along where the winemakers have sought to play with the variety...

#Gram7 / 2012 / Granite Belt / Vermentino

Friday, 28 September 2012

Down to Earth Wrattonbully Sauvignon Blanc 2012

21:00 Stu.

Down to Earth represents a more modern style of Sauvignon Blanc for the Terre à Terre team and the resultant wine shows typically Sauvignon Blanc aromatics with fresh tropical, bright, fruit coupled with notes of citrus and zest. More than just...

#Gram7 / 2012 / Sauvignon Blanc / Wrattonbully

Thursday, 27 September 2012

Mandoleto Catarratto Sicilia 2011

10:30 Stu.

Lovely pale yellow colour, indicative of lemon scent within, further augmented by hints of tropical fruit, green pear and shell-accented mineral notes. Touch of weight on the front palate, lemon and hints of cheese sit afront clean and crisp acids - touch of mineral...

2011 / Catarratto / Sicily

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz 2008

16:32 Stu.

Impenetrably black wine with a vibrant purple rim. Big on flavour, it smells expensive with lashings of oak, bound up with rich, sweet black fruit and twists of licorice. Vanillin - fruit - hints of darker spice edged-aromatics conclude matters. Gently spiced...

208 / McLaren Vale / Shiraz

Monday, 24 September 2012

Thorn-Clarke Sandpiper Eden Valley Riesling 2011

12:06 Stu.

Trust in Riesling to shake me from a little wine malaise. Lemon, lemon sherbet, higher notes of citrus blossom with a loose framework of stony mineral. Some underlying tropical notes complete the aromatic picture. Juicy, fresh, hints of apple. Feels a little...

2011 / Barossa / Eden Valley / riesling

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

Hugh Hamilton Black Blood II Shiraz 2010

21:55 Stu.

Tasted at Swirl, Sniff, Spit's Scarce Earth tasting and again a day and two days later. From a vineyard planted in 1993, off of the Mcmurtrie road and on sandy loam over alluvial river flat soils. Dark, dense, tarry, chocolate notes against hints of plum and mulberry. Tasted alongside the Brash Higgins SHZ 09, this came across as a sullen bruiser in comparison to the light perfume of...

#ScarceEarth / 2010 / McLaren Vale / Shiraz

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Brash Higgins SHZ Shiraz 2009

15:57 Stu.

I've seen some interesting literary references applied to reviews of Brash Higgins wines this week. If I were to extend the theme here, I'd be thinking Suskind's Perfume, not for any link to morality, more the reference to smell and its relationship to emotion,...

#ScarceEarth / 2009 / McLaren Vale / Shiraz

Thursday, 6 September 2012

A.Retief Botrytis Grenache 2010

22:27 Stu.

Triumph over tragedy, delight over despair. However you want to frame it, Alex Retief has fashioned a curio, a wine to have the boffs guessing. But more than that, a downright interesting drink and a rather good pairing on a Sunday night with some 85% cocoa...

2010 / Botrytis / grenache / Hilltops

Crittenden Los Hermanos Saludo Txakoli

21:58 Stu.

Txakoli (chack-oli) is the Basque name for Petit Manseng, a grape that seems to have a slightly different interpretation depending on which side of the Pyrenees it's made. Here we have a golden wine, hints of straw, lemon and zest; sea spray/ briny: a 'fresh' aromatic...

2011 / King Valley / Petit Manseng

Mandoleto Nero d'Avola 2011

21:37 Stu.

Initially quite elegantly perfumed: lavender and blueberry, before savoury charm takes over - hints of leather, bitumen and tobacco. Savoury tannin, graphite-mineral character and black fruits completing the equation. A good peak peak of lively acidity shows how...

2011 / Italy / Nero d'Avola / Sicily

Bungawarra Gewürztraminer 2011

21:15 Stu.

Like myself, this wine is a happy accident. Made by analysis on numbers, the resultant wine had a little additional RS compared to the normal house style. It works. A perfect foil for a little heat and spice of a good Thai. Poached pear, delicate florals,...

2011 / Gewürztraminer / Granite Belt

Flaxman Wines Eden Valley Riesling 2011

20:50 Stu.

I wonder at what point I'll have to stop mentioning that, yes, whilst 2011 was a challenging year across much of Australia, there are some stellar wines out there. Very much a producer driven vintage. This example shows bruised apple, apple blossom, hints of lime...

2011 / Eden Valley / riesling

TeAro Estate Sweet Petite 2011

20:21 Stu.

A gentle spritz clearly evident, delivering hints of pear, under-ripe apple - further supplemented by a little apricot. Spritzy, fresh and youthful. Tropical fruit in the mouth - a little cloying for me personally. See it for what it is though: good,...

2011 / Barossa Valley / riesling / Viognier

Taylors Winemaker’s Project Botrytis Riesling 2011

18:10 Stu.

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#Gram6 / 2011 / Botrytis / Clare Valley / riesling

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

BK Wines Gower Pinot Noir 2011

06:39 Stu.

From the Gower Vineyard in Lenswood, planted in 1990. A site that winemaker Brendon Keys had his eye on for some time, attempts to secure the fruit proved, well, fruitless. That was until the challenging 2011 vintage when the approach was reversed,...

#Gram6 / 2011 / Adelaide Hills / pinot noir

Monday, 3 September 2012

Yelland & Papps Devote Roussanne 2011

07:01 Stu.

The trick here - as with many white wines - is to not serve too cold, it masks the beautiful aroma. In Roussanne this can show like "a refreshing herbal tea" and here it manifests itself as delicate florals, honeysuckle, honey coated flakes and gentle grassy/ straw...

#Gram6 / 2011 / Barossa Valley / Roussanne

Saturday, 1 September 2012

Tscharke 'Barossa Grounds' Marananga Grenache 2010

16:59 Stu.

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#Gram6 / 2010 / Barossa Valley / grenache / Single Vineyard

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