Subscriber John S. sends me reviews from time to time, mostly of imported wines or wines made from exotic varieties. I appreciate his contributions and like his plain, succinct way with words, so I thought I’d share some of his observations with you.
First Foot Forward PN 2015 – $20 at Cloudwine. Bought a six pack. Good value for $20. Odd stalky texture. Mattinson’s implication that it would pass for a $50 job is nonsense. Probably he means $50 jobs are just overpriced $20 jobs. Or maybe he has caught Halliday’s virus: lie, divide by two, add the square root of 625 and lie again.
Others:
Wairarapa Pinot Noir 2015 ex Kemenys. Astonishing value [$14]. Enjoying it. (Kemenys still have some of this bargain Pinot).
Devil’s Ridge Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend 2016 – $9 at Kemenys. Best value white I’ve had for years. Better than smelly jobs at twice the price. Very pristine.
Corker’s Crossing Shiraz 2014. (I think we mean Chalkers). Bought a six pack. Every time I open a fresh bottle I don’t like it. Better on the third day. Jesus wine (on the cross, he refused the first cup but drank the second?).
Yeah, ok. Also tried your Woodlands Chardonnay, your wedding wine. Hard to come by, like weddings these days. Everyone shacks up instead. Good wine of course but I had a French Chardonnay from Cloudwine a few years back that was better for the price. By that criterion I would have married a French woman from Languedoc. As it is I married a Suisse-Romande from Auvernier which does a nice PN Rose.
Dalla Mia Finestra 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Yarra Valley – Muted nose, no obvious expression of the variety. Palate was acidic, lean, mean and steely. I’ve had cheap Cabernet from Entre-Deux-Mer, Languedoc and Chile that was superior to this. Gary Welch walshed on his duty to be objective and announced that this folly reminds him of Cabernet Franc. Well, he should be dunked head First in a vat of Airlie Bank Cabernet Franc fruit bomb to teach him what that variety tastes like. We hoisted the bottle after two glasses. That’s $23.00 wasted.
Finished off the Boccaluppo Sangiovese 2015 – $22 at Cloudwine. Leather notes coming to the fore. Palate more complex than I thought. This is good wine. You should try a bottle. I liked the 2014 a lot and still have some. The 2015 is medium red with cherry, hints of maraschino flavours. The nose was mute on opening but could open up later. It’s a lovely medium to light very clean wine that’s a pleasure to drink. You can drink it now as a slightly simple fruit bomb or let it age. Only $22.00 from Cloudwine, a fair price to pay.
Moppity Reserve Tempranillo 2014 $20 at Cloudwine.
Dense red colour, muted nose, soft, plummy, rounded palate with neatly judged tannins and acidity. Rather moreish. Better on the second day when fruit qualities start to emerge. Quite good wine but not as interesting as the Spanish jobs. Won a couple of trophies. I don’t own judges’ stilts so I say a silver medal to the winemaker for being a very good boy.
La Prova Rosso 2014 from A Different Drop. A delectable blend of Lagrein, Sangiovese and Nero D’Avola. Ridiculous value at only $20. They’re selling the 2015 now, still for $20.
Hot weather is bad for shipping wine. Different Drop thoughtfully had my carton shipped overnight by Fastway to beat the coming heat wave. That’s good customer relations. The carrier to avoid is Australia Post. They take a week and think nothing of putting the carton over the engine under the floor of the van. I received wine from them at 35 degrees, hotter than the ambient temperature on the patio. Delicate PN Rose in the carton suffered.
via Kim