We'll the first meeting of the newly created No BS Wine club had humble beginnings with three great guests coming along to see what I had install. Having always wanted to keep the first meeting pretty simple and with No BS all I wanted to do to start with was introduce two of my favourite wines to everyone. Before we got started on my two wines our fantastic host, Stuart Knox, recommended we start with a rare De Bortoli 2008 Reserve EZ blended white. It was a great choice to start the night with and as Stuart advised it is an Alsatian style blend of Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris & Riesling.
Then as our food started to arrive it was onto my first pick, a Spanish Albariño. I first tried this wine at a restaurant in Perth and have always remembered it with great fondness. Given that I hadn't seen this particular wine on another wine list since my Perth experience in 2008 when I noticed it was on the wine list at Fix St James it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. Known as Palacio de Fefiñanes, this 2005 Albariño is worth trying! I really enjoy it but admit to having seen mixed feelings from friends I have introduced to it. Some love it, others don't see its appeal, and for that reason it is a perfect example of what a good wine is all about... it is what YOU enjoy drinking!
Then onto the red wine that is the reason this blog exists (see my post on the Lunar Shiraz), the 2006 Lunar Shiraz. It still remains one of my all time favourite wines and for $25 it is, for me, as close to a perfect wine as I could ever hope for at that price. Being a small unknown producer in the Barossa Valley I knew there was little chance anyone would have tried it and so I brought along four bottles to share with everyone. Four bottles unfortunately became three after the discovery that the cork in one bottle had failed and ruined a bottle, but three was still more than enough for our intimate group to get there fare share.
While everyone enjoyed the Lunar Shiraz, including the owner/head sommelier of Fix St James it was my last minute splurge on a wine I had been wanting to try for some time that seems to have been the stand out. Given our relatively small numbers we ended the night on a single bottle of 2004 Cullen, Diana Madeline, which is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. I won't waffle on about this one, it was simply a brilliant wine that I think was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
With more than enough wine enjoyed by all it was the end of what turned out to be a great night with great food, great wine but more importantly... great company! Also a big thank you to Stuart Knox and his lovely wine bar/restaurant Fix St James!
Meeting 1, 26th August 2009
Venue - Fix, St James (see www.fixstjames.com.au )
Wines enjoyed include - De Bortoli, 2008 Reserve EZ, Palacio de Fefiñanes, 2005 Albariño, Lunar, 2006 Shiraz, Cullen, 2004 Diana Madeline.
The Fefinanes Albarinho is quite possibly my favourite white wine! Glad you included it in your lineup and introduced "proper" Albarinho to some punters.
Posted by: Tim | August 30, 2009 at 02:43 PM
Looking forward to actually being able to make the next one!
Posted by: Rowena | September 15, 2009 at 11:10 PM