Wine without BS

Mandoletto 2011 Catarratto

(Picture shown not correct vintage)

Catarratto is an Italian white grape variety native to Sicily where it is the most widely planted variety. Outside of Sicily it is still one of the most widely planted grape varieties and often used as a component of marsala wine. This dry white wine version under the Mandoletto label of Fazio Winery and distributed in Australia by Fourth Wave Wines is a rather rare find and inexpensive to try at least once.

It is light yellow and slightly gold in colour and has a rather light aroma with nothing in particular worth sticking your nose in the glass to experience. It has a nice flavour with elements of pear, green apple and stone fruits. It is not as acidic as many Italian white wines often are so it can be enjoyed on its own as much as it would be a great accompaniment to things like seafood, light pasta or salads. 

Interestingly, I read some other reviews of other Catarratto wines and words such as 'unusual' and 'different 'seemed to be rather common. I like the wine myself but I can tell that this will be a wine with a divided opinion. 

Mandoletto 2011 Catarratto
Price - $9.99 from WineStar
Region - Sicily, Italy
Final Sip -  At $9.99 you don't have much to loose by giving it a try. I also find imported wines like this that punch well above their price point great gifts as people will think you spent far more just because it's 'imported'.

Olivers Taranga 2012 Fiano

I've had the pleasure of trying at least two previous vintages of the Olivers Taranga Fiano and I cannot recall disliking any of them. Fiano is an Italian white grape variety that originates from the Campania region in Southern Italy. A few producers in Australia make wine with Fiano but the Olivers Taranga's drop is the best I've had to date.

It has a light, pale gold like colour in the glass with an aroma and flavour that I really do struggle to reduce to other common elements. It is when writing reviews for wines like these that I wonder where the obsession lies with the majority of wine writers who stop at nothing to break down a wine into as many other elements as possible. Don't get me wrong, 9 times out of 10 you can smell and taste a wine and be reminded of another smell or taste, however every so often a wine comes along that, put simply, is unique enough to say it has a taste and aroma all of its own. 

Maybe one day I'll be eating or drinking something and think 'Hey, that reminds me of Fiano!', which brings me to yet another point to ponder. If the first time you experience a particular aroma or taste should whatever you experience first become the reference point? Let's say you've never eaten a Gooseberry, then you try a wine that you're told has a taste very reminiscent of Gooseberries... you cannot be expected to pick this up if you've never had a Gooseberry! I often read wine reviews and think how wine writers seem to be the most undiscriminating eaters as some of the things they've clearly had to have smelled or eaten before goes way beyond the average man or woman's experience!

Anyway, enough of that and if I REALLY had to list some elements of this wine that you may or may not discover yourselves it was a faint almond, possibly marzipan-like aroma, and some citrus notes on the palate. Apart from that it was all pure Fiano, and a bloody good one at that!

Olivers Taranga 2012 Fiano
Price - $24 from Olivers Taranga 
Region - Mclaren Vale, South Australia
Final Sip -  Simply a great white wine that has impressed pretty much everyone I've introduced it to and one that I intend of having around my place regularly.

Tertini Wines 2010 Arneis

This Italian grape variety, grown in the Southern Highlands of NSW and made by Tertini wines, is a great example of how tasting something at a cellar door doesn't always translate as the winery would hope. I tried this wine at their cellar door back in 2010 and thought it was good, but nothing beyond good. It was then recently and generously donated for an event I held that focused on alternative wine varieties. Having the chance then to enjoy the wine in the usual way with normal wine glasses and a normal serving I absolutely loved it! I'm not the only one either. This wine was picked by two serious winos at the event as their favourite white wine. Furthermore, one of the least wine knowledgeable mates of mine tried it recently and said it was one of the better white wines he'd ever tried!

It has a colour of light gold and pale lemon yellow accompanied by an aroma of apple and pear-like fruits. I also get a faint whif of honey as well. It is very enjoyable to drink and as you'd expect the flavours flow on from the aroma with apple and pear with some citrus fruits also noticeable. However, I find with so many Italian white varieties and even blends  that it can be rather hard to describe, and define them into singular components for use in tasting notes. I think that may be part of why I enjoy them so much! 

 

Tertini 2010 Arneis
Price - $35 from Tertini Wines
Region - Southern Highlands, NSW
Final Sip -  I've had the pleasure of enjoying this wine quite a few times now and with a diverse group of people and as yet I have not come across one single person who didn't enjoy it! 

PS - The variety is pronounced 'Ar-Nay' 

Bridlewood Estate Winery

While currently living in Los Angeles, I was lucky enough recently to be invited to a VIP/Press only day at Bridlewood Estate Winery, located in the Santa Ynez Valley, 30 miles north of Santa Barbara which is approx a two and half hour drive from Los Angeles. This event was to show-off the new Bridlewood Gallery, which is a collaboration between nine California Central Coast artists and the winery, which brings different styles and types of local art and puts them on display for visitors to Bridlewood Estate.

Art lovers should definitely check it out as it gives you the chance to see an interesting variety of art by local artists based in the Californian Central Coast, all in the one place that just happens to be a winery to boot! However, art is not my forte and I will move straight onto what brought me to Bridlewood... the wine!

I was lucky enough to spend time with Bridlewood's wine maker, David Hopkins, who really enjoys working within a region as large and diverse as the Californian Central Coast. The region known as California's Central Coast is rather unique given its sheer size of around 100,000 square acres, stretching 250 miles (402 Kilometres) from Santa Barbara up to the San Francisco Bay area, where the sub-regions offer vineyard blocks of varied weather conditions. This allows David to make great Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Viognier in cooler places, while using areas of greater warmth to make great Syrah, Grenache and Zinfandel.

During my visit I worked my way through the full range of wines on offer by Bridlewood and even enjoyed barrel samples of upcoming Pinot Noir and Syrah that were not far off being bottled. All of the wines were high quality and enjoyable wines, however I am picking out two of my favourites, the 2010 Reserve Viognier and the 2007 Reserve Syrah.

The 2010 Viognier was a classic light lemon/pale straw like colour and had a nice aroma of banana and subtle vanilla. Flavours included pear, green apple and subtle banana. The aroma and subtle taste of banana made this Viognier rather unique as I cannot recall coming across a Viognier quite like it and I highly recommend it.

(The spanish style building at Bridlewood Estate pays homage to California's historic missions)

The 2007 Syrah was the biggest surprise to me as, having now been in the USA for two months with plenty of time in wine country, I hadn't until now come across a pure Syrah/Shiraz that really impressed me. I mean I have had some good Syrah's here, but the better ones were often blended with Petite Syrah.

It is a dark cherry red colour with a unique and very pleasant aroma of dark berries, spices and an ever so slight note of a jube lolly. The flavour is full of juicy fruit combined with well integrated hints of spice and oak. This is easily the best 100% Syrah/Shiraz I have had from any wine region within the United States.

Both wines sell for $25 a bottle and are available from Bridlewood's Online Wine Shop.

Wine lovers in and around Los Angeles should definitely take a weekend trip up to Santa Barbara and include a visit to this beautiful winery that was once an Arabian horse farm and an equestrian rehabilitation center. Visitors to Californian Wine country need to ensure the Central Coast is included alongside the more famous regions of Napa Valley and Sonoma in their travel plans and that, despite the dominance of Chardonnay and Cabernet in California, that it be known that many other varieties are not only worth trying but really shine alongside the two superstar varieties in this great state of California!

(A section of California's Central Coast. Picture taken from Hearst Castle)

Ashbrook 2010 Verdelho

 

Growing up there was always Verdelho in the fridge as my parents have always loved it. Only as I have started to immerse myself in the wine industry have I come to see that it is a rather niche variety that, like many odd things out, has it's cult following while the mainstream stick with their Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. A while back I asked my local Dan Murphy's fine wine manager about Verdelho. He did not hesitate in recommending a bottle by Margaret River producer, Ashbrook. He even went as far as suggesting this was as close to the best Australian example of the variety that he knew!

With fairly classic white wine colour often referred to as 'pale straw'  thearoma of this wine is rather strong and dominated by tropical fruits, including passionfruit. A noticeably fruit flavour carries on from the aroma but in no way can this wine be considered sweet. Overall I found this to be a very pleasant and easy drinking wine.

Ashbrook 2010 Verdelho
Price - $20 from Ashbrook Wines
Region - Margaret River, Western Australia
Final Sip - This wine definitely seems to be an excellent example of the variety and I dare say, even a total novice would notice its differences over the more common varieties. Whether your a Verdelho fan, or haven't tried one yet and would like to try a good example the Ashbrook 2010 is as good as any I've had.

d'Arednberg - 2008 'The Money Spider' Roussanne

  
 

On a recent visit to McLaren Vale I dropped by the d'Arenberg cellar door and tasted my way through their extensive range of wines. I was instantly won over with just a few sips of this french grape varietal that is far from being a commonly made single varietal in Australia. Even in its country of origin, France, it is more comonly seen in blended wines than as a single varietal wine.

The story behind the name 'The Money Spider' comes from the discovery of this actual species of spider being found all over the grapes from the 2000 vintage. This led to that vintage being scrapped but the spiders soon moved on and the wine has been named after their fleeting visit to the vineyard a decade ago.

This wine has a lovely light golden colour and a rather unique aroma that includes pleasant hints of honey and fruit, but bang in the middle is this rather funky smell that I hope doesn't put people off. Once tasted I am sure many consumers will get over the aroma as it is just such a lovely wine to drink. It has flavours of honey and citrus fruit which balance nicely.

d'Arenberg - 2008 The Money Spider Roussanne
Price - $20 rrp available from selected retailers
Region - McLaren Vale, South Australia
Final sip - I thoroughly enjoyed this unique wine and found it a refreshing change from the commercially popular white wines. d'Arenberg themselves have actually sold out of the 2008 vintage and the 2009 vintage only recently became available. The 2009 vintage is pretty similar, yet d'Arenberg say the 09 is 'better than the 08', then again, they would say that wouldn't they! I'll just say that If you see either vintages on the shelves of your favourite retailer I strongly recommend you pick one up and give it a try!

Primo Estate - 2010 Joseph Pinot Grigio d'Elena

 

Still very much on the trail of great wines for summer I recently commented that Pinot Gris is considered an 'In fashion' wine this summer. What I forgot to mention is that Pinot Grigio is exactly the same grape variety and hence has to be just as fashionable with Gris being the French term and Grigio the Italian name. No surprises then that Primo Estate founders, the Grilli family, migrated from Italy and their wines often incorporate Italian wine making techniques learnt and passed down by founder, Primo Grilli, to his son and now head winemaker/owner, Joseph.

Named after Joseph's daughter, whose birth in 1998 coincided with the planting of the vineyard used for growing Pinot Grigio, this wine has a classic pale straw like colour and an intriguing aroma. On the palate the wine sits somewhere between savoury and fruity and  just so full of flavour it is one of the few Pinot Grigio's I find tasty enough on its own, while always remaining a style made to enjoy with food. 

Primo Estate - 2010 Joseph Pinot Grigio d'Elena
Price - $28 from www.primoestate.com.au
Region - McLaren Vale (plus a small portion of fruit from Adelaide Hills), South Australia
Final Sip - I adore this wine and so does pretty much everyone I've introduced it to. Easily one of the better Pinot Grigio's I've had to date and even more impressively earns a spot on my all time favourite white wines list!

Prentice Wine - 2009 Pinot Ramato

  

There is a lot of talk amongst people within the wine industry about what wine will be in fashion this  summer. Many say rosé wines will be all the rage, while others suggest it will be Pinot Gris. However, what if you could have a wine that borrows from both rosé and Pino Gris? Well you can... sort of. Winemaker, Neil Prentice, has made a rather rare and unique wine known as Pinot Ramato which is 100% Pinot Gris. Due to the inner grape flesh being left in contact with their darker coloured skins for a short period before being pressed into juice, the wine gets a lovely, light, salmon pink colour to it.

An Italian word, 'Ramato', actually translates to 'coppery' in colour. I assume that centuries ago Italian  examples of such a wine, made  before modern wine making techniques and equipment existed, that a 'coppery' colour was the end result rather than pink. To drink this wine has flavours of subtle fruit, lime and a slightly sour note that is in no way unpleasant. Think of sour apple or sour cherry as an example.

Prentice Wine - 2009 Pinot Ramato
Price - $17 but sold by the case only for $200 at www.prenticewine.com.au
Region - Whitlands, Victoria
Final Sip - I enjoyed this wine more and more with each sip and it s definitely one of the more interesting wines I've enjoyed this year. I also took the winemakers suggestion of pairing it with Sushi and can report that pairing is close to perfection!

 

Molly Morgan - 2010 Semillon

 

Semillon from the Hunter Valley region in NSW is a quintessential Australian wine so it was no surprise to see it account for 100% of the wines I received recently to take part in a nationwide Semillon tasting. Wine journalists, bloggers and enthusiasts with a healthy following on Twitter were sent no less than eight Semillons from varied producers in the region and asked to taste and post their thoughts on each wine during a two and a half hour window on the social media website.

One of the better of those wines was the Molly Morgan 2010 Semillon. It was almost perfectly clear in the glass and had a light aroma of citrus fruit. Very pleasant to drink, this wine has the classic, crisp citrus flavours that are a hallmark flavour within young Semillon, but in this case they did not come across as over powering or overly sharp as other examples I've had.

Molly Morgan - 2010 Semillon
Price - $25 from www.MollyMorgan.com.au
Region - Hunter Valley, NSW
Final Sip - Molly Morgan seem to have a knack for making really easy drinking white wines and their 2010 Semillon is no exception. The perfect accompaniment for fresh seafood dishe's, it's ready and waiting for you this summer!

 

 

 

Eden Road Wines - 2009 'The Long Road" RHE

 

Anyone keeping track of my reviews over the past few months may notice that this week's wine is the third to come from the Canberra District region. I can also tell you there are more on the way as the Canberra District wineries are cleaning up at wine competitions throughout Australia at the moment and even at the recent Tri-Nations competition where we competed against South Africa and New Zealand wines. While it is the red wines from the region getting most of the attention one white wine, recently voted amongst the best white wines in the region is the Eden Road Wines RHE. Inspired by the classic white wines from the Rhone Valley in France, this particular vintage of RHE is made from 100%, Single Vineyard, Viognier.

In the glass this wine is almost crystal clear with just a very faint hint of colour showing through. The aroma is rather light but shows hints of citrus and floral like notes. On the palate it has a strong citrus flavour and the first few sips create a tingling sensation on the end of your tongue that fades after half a glass or more. There is also a pleasant after taste of tropical fruit flavours that linger around and create a nice finish.

Eden Road Wines - 2009 'The Long Road' RHE
Price - $21 from www.Edenroadwines.com.au  Also available at selected retailers where the price may vary.
Region - Canberra District
Final Sip - A pleasant drinking wine that will be even better with an appropriate food pairing. The winery suggests spicy Asian dishes and especially duck as a way to bring out its best.