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Cats ears
A laundry list of recent bottles. Dreaming of White Burgundy . Giaconda Chardonnay 2023 . Pale. 13.5% Emphatic but fine; power with grace. Almond meal, fabric softener and something struck. Compelling. Terrific poise and grip. No half measures or doubt here. A+ The 2016 tasting note. 2019 Dexter Chardonnay . Mornington. A poised and polished example. Confident, tanned, but perhaps too conformist. Ripe. Flinty and essence like. Globular texture. Bindi Quartz Chardonnay 2021 . A very sharp wine. Maybe the best Bindi I’ve had in recent (5 years) time. It must be near its peak. . . Juicy, bright, cordite and flint, stone fruit. Super tight, lean, long. Sadly my last bottle. . . Before . A+ Houghton EV 37 Old Vine Chenin blanc 2023 . With my blind tasting blinkers on, I feel no shame in calling this a Chardonnay. Whole bunches, wild yeast, old barrel fermentation, battonage. . . An excellent nod and wink to Jack Mann and his 1937 creation - the Houghton
by noreply@blogger.com (Edward)0 views200220092011201720192021 - news
Singapore
A fallen cannonball anemone, a single petal remaining, but heavy with scent and memory. On my infrequent visits to Singapore, I always make a beeline to the Botanic gardens, with its photogenic dragonflies and this curious tree. Faced with the traveller's dilemma. What to see and do? What to drink and taste when there is so little time. . . Should you narrow or widen the aperture? Deep but limited, or shallow and cursory? Around and around in circles . . . Sleeping close to the Singapore river, every morning a slow pre sunrise run along the waters edge. Each day I’d trace the same path, the only variance my starting direction. . . I was surprised by the number of chickens strutting around unencumbered. I discovered retrospectively that they were the prototypal wild jungle fowl, unintentionally reintroduced, slimmed down, muscular and with beautiful tail feathers. First the food arrives and then the hunger . . . I ate as much buah keluak as I possible. One
by noreply@blogger.com (Edward)22 views202195chablischardonnaycontextflowers - news
December notes
A trio of Chardonnay to open. 2017 Flame Tree SRS Chardonnay . Mature and golden. Pineapple crunch, medium, starting to unknot. 2020 Vasse Felix Heytsbury . Tighter and more complex. Longer and quieter (and colder) initially. Essence like. Restraint and serious poise. Excellent . 2018 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay . 13.5%. Viscous and thick, essence like and powerful. Showy and bold. The nose is expressive, all peach and blossom. Even on day two it’s pretty and still well shaped. By a small fraction, I preferred the Heytsbury. A Pinot. Oakridge Aqueduct Block Henk Vineyard Pinot noir 2023. Yarra Valley . Medium red, bright and primary. Cherry and spice, relatively simple and direct, heavy. My rusty palate incorrectly called this a Tasmanian. For the bird fanciers. Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2009 . 13.5%. Pauillac. A suitcase wine, and the fanciest red bottle of the season. Tasted blind the early money consensus call proved mostly correct
by noreply@blogger.com (Edward)22 views199620092017201820202023 - news
Tasting notes
A fortnight of travel related wine consumption. . . I’ve been like this cliff top echidna, enjoying the sights while using my nose to look for treasure. . . Riesling. Light and bright. Parish Vineyard Riesling 2023 (Coal River, Tasmania) - v. sharp wine, with a slightly unexpected fruit profile - tangarine and pink grapefruit in the mouth. Grippy and rewarding. The Kühling-Gillot Qvinterra Troken 2023 (Mosel) also excellent. Tight and sappy, all the usual suspects - slate and mineral in the mouth, a terpene nose, hardness with a trace of sweetness in the mouth . A pair of complex (and costly) chardonnay. As much as I love Chardonnay, budgetary constraints and poor access, have lead to a years (5) long hiatus between sips of Giaconda. Still - the Giaconda Chardonnay 2016 feels like an old friend. Familiar, idiosyncratic, seemingly unchanged. Terrific nose - smouldering and complex, at times a hint of toffee. Amazing acid structure and text
by noreply@blogger.com (Edward)24 views200920142016202020212023