When deciding on a wine to pop with roast chicken my thoughts immediately turn to white Burgundy. However, Editor Daniel suggested we try something different so I looked through the wine cupboard and found a bottle of Gruner Veltliner from a really spiffy producer – we expected serious interest value. It has been a while [...]
When I received the list of wines to be shown at the Clark Foyster portfolio tasting I wished I had a hermetically sealed room to hide in to avoid contracting an illness that would spoil my enjoyment. The collection of ultra-hip offerings from Austria, Australia, Burgundy and elsewhere would delight drinkers far more voguish than [...]
Chablis can be such a great wine – when they sing they are expressions of Chardonnay at its purest and most thrilling. 2005 was a great vintage and tonight’s example comes from a great vineyard and is made by one of the hottest producers on the Chablis-porn scene. I expect it to be tumescent with [...]
At the moment no one in Australian is making better Riesling or Pinot Noir than Mac Forbes. A real treat to try these two. Bit of a shame the Lang sweetie was past it. Riesling 2005, Mac Forbes I would be failing you, my dear reader, if I did not admit to there being a [...]
When we were putting together our affordable selection of wines for drinking this stood out as being worth snapping up thanks to recommendations from both Eric Asimov and that top geezer . Elegant and terroir specific, we are told. Blaufrankisch ‘Eisenberg’ 2007, Uwe Schiefer A lovely nose of fresh plum fruit, not in any way [...]
Eric Asimov of the New York Times has a brief but interesting report on some Austrian Blaufrankisch wines. He makes the very good point, which I agree with whole-heartedly, that Blaufrankisch is best when made in a lighter, more elegant style, rather than a super-ripe, super-extracted, ‘international’ style. I don’t drink that much of the [...]
I remember, many years ago, an Austrian wine tasting in which Gruner Veltliner was compared to Chardonnay from other countries. I didn’t think that it was really a reasonable comparison, as I thought GruV had more in common with Riesling. When I try this wine I am not so sure I was right. Gruner Veltliner [...]
I’ve enjoyed the last couple of Prager wines, so when I saw this in Fortnum’s I thought it well worth a try. Riesling Smaragd “Stenriegl” 2006, Prager A highly perfumed nose of wonderful apricot and peach aromas. There is a strong earthiness to this wine, that grounds its more expressive, floral side. This is perfectly [...]
This is clearly a glass of class. Riesling Smaragd “Achleiten” 2005, Weingut Prager A very pure nose of lemon fruit and stony minerality; this smells subtle and beautiful. The fruit is perfectly ripe and just lovely. Serious complexity here. Oddly for an Austrian wine this doesn’t smell of white pepper; I’d be hard pressed to [...]
A few good things yesterday. I am afraid I got rather drunk so notes will be brief. The Clos St. Hune was most disappointing. Grande Annee 1996, Bollinger Perfectly balanced on the edge of maturity and freshness. Really good fruit and acidity with a fine mousse. This was excellent and in top condition. Even though [...]
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