Littorai Mays Canyon 2009
Russian River, California, USA. Pinot noir. 13.7%. Cork. Approx $A90.The Anderson Valley sister is hard and knotted, perhaps time will improve and soften the edges. I'm less certain about this, it's sweet, plump and moves with heavy steps. The claim is...
Bio-Dynamic in Burgundy, Part II: Domaine Emmanuel Giboulet
Sometimes we can learn a lot about wine from small producers who keep ambition, not to mention grandiose schemes, in check and focus on doing an excellent job on a small but impeccable scale. Such a producer is Domaine Emmanuel Giboulot, from whose 10 hectares of vines — a bit more than 25 acres —...
Mountain View Monterey County Pinot Noir 2009
This Pinot Noir was a lovely colour, bright, light red. It could be mistaken for one of Spain's more assertive pink wines. It smelled fresh and fruity, and that carried through to the taste, there were fresh squashed cherries and maybe some...
Friday Wine Sips: Eight Rosés
I love rosés. There, I said it and I’m not sorry. Once the temperature goes above 70, I’m ready to be charmed and delighted by these pale, dry, stony evocations of sun and wind and dusty herb gardens and hot stones and bowls of dried or fresh and spiced fruit. Today we look at a...
Catherine et Claude Maréchal Auxey-Duresses 2009
It's becoming clear that one path to (relative) sobriety is the acquisition of a demanding pet. The owner of the white fluffy pom pom tail wants to be walked three and four times a day. . . For the first time in years a run of days where I have f...
Littorai Savoy Vineyard Pinot noir 2009
I don't think I've seen a bottle with this pattern on the punt before. Most of my bottles have a circle of notches and ridges, where this has two unbroken chains. Which of course has very little to do with the liquid within.I've opened this too soon, t...
Colorade Wine – Made from grapes with altitude and attitude
That's the slogan for the Canyon Wind Cellars 47-TEN series which, after spending four days in the Centennial state for the 2012 DrinkLocalWine.com Conference, we learned is applicable to the entire Colorado industry. Not only was I fortunate to attend...
Muddy Waters
*Disclaimer: I receive this wine as a sample from the PR firm associated with the brand. I’ve been in a Pinot Noir mood lately. So I chose the 2008 Muddy Water Pinot Noir from the basement the other night. I’ve been interested in the Pinot Noirs coming out of New Zealand, and this wine proved...
Domaine de Suremain Monthelie 1er Cru ‘Sur La Velle’ 2008
Each morning I'm woken by the shrill tweet of the neighbourhood birds. 28 (ring neck) parrots, red tailed black cockatoo and something much smaller which I'm yet to identify. The plastic bird whistle ($3) is almost totally ineffectual, but still aesthe...
Bio-Dynamic in Burgundy, Part I: Domaine Michel Lafarge
Domaine Michel Lafarge is one of the great producers of the wines of Burgundy’s Volnay appellation. The domaine is small, owning just under 25 acres of vines, and producing only about 4,000 cases annually, but the wines are models of their genres. The family has been cultivating grapes in Volnay since the early 19th Century...
Hudelot Noellat Bourgogne 2009
The greatest pleasure is at the start. Fresh, bright and blemish free; phloem bundles, ginger spice and cherries. It smells and feels slippery and light. Red satin. A hint of metal, meat and boiled sweets with a sappy and stalk like finish. Convincing ...
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Dujac, Morey-saint-Denis, 2006
If you are ever in Manchester and fancy a decent glass of wine, Hanging Ditch is my recommendation. The only negative is that, even in this alco-city, where poor restaurants barely survive next to pubs, bars, lounges and drinking dens, Hanging Ditch has the temerity to close at 8pm, even on big nights. On the...
