March 2014 ~ The Vinsomniac - Stuart Robinson

An Australian Wine Blog

Monday, 31 March 2014

La Petite Mort Viognier 2012

05:55 Stu.

La Petite Mort is a euphemism for the good old orgasm. It's also the 'experimental' arm of the Granite Belt's Bent Road Winery, the label where they can have play around with techniques or run up small batches of wines. It's also home to quite possibly the most stunning...

2012 / Granite Belt / Viognier

Sunday, 30 March 2014

Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2012

17:14 Stu.

The last of a quartet of viogniers from the varieties saviour in Australia, Yalumba. You can find the Y Series, Organic and Virgilius elsewhere on this site. There's a lime and cream aspect on opening, followed by peach skins, apricot kernel. Somewhat delicate,...

2012 / Eden Valley / Viognier

Kirrihill Clare Valley Sangiovese 2012

17:06 Stu.

Dry red-ish, hints of plum skin. Medium bodied, acid juts out a little here - not unusual in the variety - but not in check against the fruit. Worked better with food - brought out the fruit a little more. Fine grained tannin, aids and abets giving a little length....

2012 / Clare Valley / sangiovese

Saturday, 29 March 2014

Ridgemill Estate Pinot Noir 2013

11:04 Stu.

Pinot Noir as a varietal isn't something you see that much of on the Granite Belt. Of the examples I have tried, they have tended to sit more in the generic 'dry red' camp. This effort from Ridgemill Estate is quite the opposite - and most of all, of its variety. It's...

2013 / Granite Belt / pinot noir

Friday, 28 March 2014

Yelland & Papps Second Take Roussanne 2013

21:21 Stu.

The 2012 was quite possibly one of the best new releases from last year. The eagerly anticipated follow-up... Greeted with the familiar cidery notes, you're also presented with apple, citrus, honeysuckle, frangipani and a little white spice/ ground ginger. Complexity...

2013 / Barossa Valley / Roussanne

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Stefano Lubiana Black Label Riesling 2012

07:08 Stu.

Tasmania, the new frontier in cool climate grape growing and wine production. Or, if you're Steve Lubiana, where you've been growing grapes since 1991. A Cellar Door only release, 100% barrel fermented - an important point in understanding a little about the texture of...

2012 / Derwent Valley / riesling / Tasmania

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Bakkheia United and Undaunted Mourvédre 2011

08:45 Stu.

Borrowed from GrapeObserver.com Deep, dark, black fruits on offer here, a touch of sandy earth, a little citrus. Really expressive on day two with cassis - and suggestive of some whole berry ferment. Entry shows juicy, jubey fruits. It's medium bodied, soft and plush....

#ProjectMataro / 2011 / Geographe / Mataro et al

Monday, 24 March 2014

Chapel Hill Mourvédre 2012

09:34 Stu.

If I could nominate one reason alone for choosing to review a wine over a number of days, this 2012 Mourvédre from the excellent team at Chapel Hill would rank up there as the prime body of evidence submitted. It was good from the off, gamey, small berries and blue fruits...

2012 / Mataro et al / McLaren Vale

Sunday, 23 March 2014

Twisted Gum Shiraz 2011

14:12 Stu.

Twisted Gum is located on the Eukey Road, just to the East of the township of Ballandean toward the Southern end of the Granite Belt region. All fruit is from their own estate - vineyards sitting at around 900m - no fruit is contracted in. Vibrant, vivid purple rim to the wine, good colour and extraction from a vintage that was challenging. Opens with choc-malt, dark black fruits by way of black...

2011 / Granite Belt / Shiraz

Clovely Estate Left Field Sangiovese 2013

09:14 Stu.

Opens with juicy aromatics, cherry and dried herbs. It's medium bodied, juicy and vibrant - and at a year old, you'd expect it to be in that mould. Possesses a good tang with some drying tannin; vibrant acidity - all nicely in check and cuts through a tomato sauce...

2013 / sangiovese / South Burnett

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot 2011

08:01 Stu.

Tapenade, fresh earth, black plum and cassis. Medium bodied, ultra-fine tannin - excellent composure and structure for a wine at its price point. Over the time I had the wine open it seemed to grow in stature, dusty tannin becoming more prominent, a boy growing...

2011 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Margaret River / Merlot

Friday, 21 March 2014

Wirra Wirra Church Block 2012

20:09 Stu.

This release marks the 40th anniversary of the wine bearing the Church Block name. Whilst it may have undergone a few nips and tucks here and there over that period, it delivers against the house blueprint of a wine that: "balances the complexity sought by aficionados,...

2012 / Cabernet Sauvignon / McLaren Vale / Merlot / Shiraz

Quinta Vallado Douro Tinto 2007

19:54 Stu.

Having spent many a summer there as a child/ teen/ young adult, I've resolved to seek out more Portuguese wines. It is of course most famous in the wine making world for its fortified wines - Port. However, an increasing number of producers are producing table wines, many...

2007 / Douro / Portugal / Souzao / Tinta Roriz / Touriga Franca / Touriga Nacional / Vinhas Velhas

Twisted Gum White Blend 2012

09:13 Stu.

Tim Coelli of Twisted Gum was savvy enough to send a few samples of his wines out for review ahead of Queensland Wine Week (disclosure: I am a part of the organisational team behind QWW). A 'bitsa' blend here - and one that largely works. Opens with citrus, cut grass...

2012 / Chardonnay / Granite Belt / Semillon / Verdelho

Mitchell Harris Fumé Blanc 2013

09:00 Stu.

A touch more forward than the 2012 instance, but you can see the family line inherent within. Opens with citrus, moving to a little lime custard and a suggestion of tropical fruit. Subtlety, terroir and technique here serve to mute the inherently overt nature of the variety....

2013 / Pyrenees / Sauvignon Blanc

Thursday, 20 March 2014

Occhipinti SP68 Bianco 2009

15:56 Stu.

Interesting to taste this so close to having tried the Brash Higgins Zibibbo - although this also contains some Albanello. Arianna Occhipinti is the niece of Giusto Occhipinti, one-third of COS and whose 'Pithos' I wrote up here. It must be stated that Arianna is a grower...

2009 / Albanello / Italy / Sicily / Zibibbo

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Shiraz Cabernet Petit Verdot 2012

14:27 Stu.

Wirra Wirra has launched a promotional campaign to coincide with the release of two wines from its 'Scrubby Rise' range. You can read more about the campaign online, but the basic premise is you take a 'selfie' (yoof speak for: "take a photo of one's self") and in return...

#DonTheBowlerHat / 2012 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Petit Verdot / Shiraz

Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

06:29 Stu.

Big - comes at you from the off. Has a mix of spice, red berries, chargrilled capsicum and a little eucalypt in the mix. Fairly ordinary palate profile - was expecting more given the aromatic intro. Perfectly accceptable to drink, just comes across as a 'medium bodied...

2009 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Coonawarra

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Ravens Croft Pinotage 2011

20:21 Stu.

I think I'd oft considered Pinotage the variety "only a Mother could love". Seemingly grown by and sold to South Africans. I'd heard bad things about the variety: variously gamey or smelling of rotten meat. It's certainly an interesting variety, being a cross between two...

2011 / Granite Belt / Pinotage

Poonawatta The Eden Eden Valley Riesling 2009

16:38 Stu.

Last tasted back in January 2011 - interestingly I gave this a 5 year cellaring window back then. It's just sitting in the transformational zone, taking on the aromas of age: waxy, preserved citrus, showing a little latent white florals. The palate possesses a little...

2009 / Eden Valley / riesling / Single Vineyard

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Damiano Ciolli Silene Cesanese Olevano Romano 2011

15:46 Stu.

Image for 2010 Silene The DOC of Olevano Romano permits wines to be made exclusively from the variety Cesanese, as we have here. Olevano is to the East of Rome, the variety is typically low yielding, but not particularly easy to grow - a late ripener, ripeness can be...

2011 / Cesanese / Italy / Olevano Romano

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Yelland & Papps 'Sete di Vino' 2012

11:54 Stu.

In my opinion, Yelland & Papps are making some of the most interesting wines coming out of the Barossa. Not only with unique blends such as this Sete di Vino (literally 'thirst for wine', an affliction to which many of us can no doubt relate), but also with regards...

2012 / Barbera / Barossa Valley / Dolcetto / Lagrein / Primitivo

Voyager Estate Sauvignon Semillon Blanc 2013

07:16 Stu.

Cracked this with some fish and chips - worked a treat I tell thee. Lemon grass, grassy hints, tropical fruits and suggestions of sea breeze, or where my meal and surroundings had become highly suggestive. Open, fleshy palate - tropical fruit feel and flow to proceedings....

2013 / Margaret River / Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

Woods Crampton Mataro 2012

13:26 Stu.

Buy. I don't recall any other occasion where I've started a tasting note with a recommendation to part with your hard earned, but I feel here it's warranted. A bit of history in regards to fruit source: drawn off of a single vineyard in the Vine Vale sub-region, vines...

#ProjectMataro / 2012 / Barossa Valley / Mataro et al / Single Vineyard / Vine Vale

Monday, 10 March 2014

Kirrihill Mount Lofty Montepulciano 2012

14:39 Stu.

One of a handful of producers that have brought Montepulciano onto the market (you may also want to check out Waywood Wines and By Jingo! if you're particularly fond of the variety). A delightful mix of savour imbued with a little sweet: touches of tobacco, with a little...

2012 / Montepulciano / Mount Lofty

Bibi Graetz Casamatta IGT Rosso

10:41 Stu.

My notes for this wine record it as a Non-vintage 'solera' style wine, where newer wines are added to an average pool - however I now cannot find the original source to back that up. A varietal Sangiovese, it's savoury with meaty aromatics - hints of lamb and mint. Shows...

Italy / NV / sangiovese / Tuscany

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Brash Higgins SM/R Semillon Riesling 2013

11:36 Stu.

There are some wines that just strike a chord, that transport you somewhere else, invoke memories of happy times. As much as I try to look at each wine with fresh eyes, proclivities and experiences all add up to provide frames of reference with which one judges. Smells...

2013 / McLaren Vale / riesling / Semillon

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Brash Higgins 'ZBO' Zibibbo 2013

21:11 Stu.

One day, ZBO may well stand for Zombie Box Office - in my mind a cable channel dedicated to the zombie genre...welcome to my world. For now, it's a contraction of Zibibbo, the name used for the grape variety Muscat of Alexandria in Sicily, the name that Brad Hickey has...

2013 / Riverland / Zibibbo

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Meerea Park The Indie Shiraz Pinot 2011

20:26 Stu.

The second release of the Indie for Meerea Park, the first opportunity I've had to try it. A Shiraz/ Pinot blend (70/30 respectively), a blend with a fair degree of history in the Hunter. I think it fair to say that it's a work in progress for the team before they settle...

2011 / Hunter Valley / pinot noir / Shiraz

Monday, 3 March 2014

Out of Step Wine Co. 'Syme on Yarra' Chardonnay 2013

06:19 Stu.

Tasted in amongst a bracket of other whites. Fairly rapid tasting - tasting note as written. I provided a bit of background to the two gents behind Out of Step on a note of their Sauvignon Blanc, thus I'll refrain from repeating myself too much here. Aromatically...

2013 / Chardonnay / Yarra Valley

Nanny Goat Chardonnay 2012

06:18 Stu.

Tasted in amongst a bracket of other whites. Fairly rapid tasting - tasting note as written. Good aromatic introduction of creamy oak over stonefruit kernels, almond skins flecked with a little citrus. The palate is quite full, textural width gained from time...

2012 / Central Otago / Chardonnay / New Zealand

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Grant Burge Moscato Frizzante 2013

15:02 Stu.

Tasted in amongst a bracket of other whites. Fairly rapid tasting - tasting note as written. Rose water, turkish delight, crushed candies and sweet florals. You know what you're letting yourself in for as you soon as you introduce yourself to it. A light spritz,...

2013 / Frontignac / South Australia

Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Sauvignon Blanc Blend 2013

14:24 Stu.

Tasted in amongst a bracket of other whites. Fairly rapid tasting - tasting note as written. A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Viognier from the 'Adelaide' super-region. Hints of citrus, melon and a flash of tropical fruit. Has an aromatic appeal, the Semillon...

2013 / Adelaide / Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon / Viognier

Alkoomi Sauvignon Blanc 2013

14:13 Stu.

Tasted in amongst a bracket of other whites. Fairly rapid tasting - tasting note as written. Grassy, hints of lemon/ lemon balm with faint tropicals offering support. The sort of Sauvignon Blanc that I find too 'spirited' with the alcohol vapours tickling the tops of my...

2013 / Frankland River / Great Southern / Sauvignon Blanc

Thomson Estate Back Blocks Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

11:49 Stu.

Bottle image for 2008 BackBlocks Cabernet Sauvignon Three years on from what was, for many, a challenging vintage, I feel over the need to talk about the 2011 vintage. Except, when you come across a wine, from a region where it was cool and wet, made from a grape variety...

2011 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Clare Valley

Rocland Estate 10 Years Tawny

07:09 Stu.

It's often handy to have a fortified number to call on to pair with an appropriate dish - me, I love nothing more than a glass with some good quality dark chocolate. Here we have sticky date/ toffee pudding - another great match - walnuts ad fruitcake with hints of spice...

Barossa / NV / Tawny

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