TheWineBlog.net

by Martin Field
We had a few birthdays in the family in March – always a good excuse to open some decent bottles of wine. The chosen whistle-whetter was the value for money Pol Gessner NV. There was a brilliant 2001 Penfolds St Henri. The 1997 Penfolds Bin 707 was good and black curranty but showed, I thought, a smidgin of advanced age – no doubt due to our warmish ambient cellar temperature in Noosa.
Surprisingly classy was the McWilliams 1969 “Sauterne”, a blend of Hunter Valley semillon and “white hermitage”. It opened a tiny bit tired then improved as it aired, with a fragrance of new apricots, and Seville marmalade. The palate was not too sweet, showing a hint of citrus blossom honey and just enough acid at the finish. Then, just as the wine started to lift, it started to fade – so we finished the bottle hurriedly.

by Martin Field
Ardbeg Single Malt Scotch Whisky 10 Years Old – seen for $80 and more – *****
Isle of Islay, Scotland. In his book, Whisky, James Ross relates that as an advertising gimmick in the late 19th century, the Pattison Brothers trained “hundreds of parrots…to cry out ‘Drink Pattison’s whisky.’” Apparently with great success. Jump to the early 21st century, where the blurb on the packaging of the Ardbeg, modestly quotes whisky expert Jim Murray: “Unquestionably the greatest distillery to be found on earth…” With a rave like that, you don’t need parrots.
The whisky is pale in colour, intensely smoky and malty on the nose. The palate hits you (to paraphrase a well-used cliché) like a diamond claymore in a silken scabbard. Flavours are peaty, complex, and full, with seaweed, iodine, a smidgin of sweetness, and smoky, mocha-like edges. Alcoholic warmth (46%) is upfront – a splash of water will soften that a little and also bring out phenolic, estery aromatics.
Malamatina Retsina – non-vintage – I paid $12.99 for a two litre bottle – **$
Thessaloniki, Greece. Retsina has had a bit of bad press over the years in Australia. Admittedly, some of the Oz produced versions smelt a tad of the turps bottle, but times have changed. This one is a delightful dry white, displaying a grapey bouquet with the faintest fragrance of Aleppo pine resin. The palate is light, fresh, and nicely balanced, with medium acidity. Drink well chilled with starters. I decant the two-litre bottle into recycled screwtopped bottles. Top value for money – equal to approximately $4.88 the 750ml bottle.
Hungerford Hill Hunter Valley Semillon 2008 – up to $25 – ***
Fruity nose with hints of lemon. The palate is quite dry, fresh, and tangy, with plenty of mouth-watering, food suiting acidity. Will do well as an aperitif.

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by Martin Field
Perhaps the most simple and enjoyable food and wine match is that of wine (red especially) and cheese. French winemakers have it right when they say, ‘Sell with cheese, buy with apples.’
Like many wine and cheese lovers, I’d experienced aspects of the winemaking process but I’d never seen cheese production. Until, that is, friend and cheesemaker, Christian Nobel of Fromart Cheese, invited me to his cheese factory. Or, as we would say in Noosa, his fromagerie.
Before entering said fromagerie, I donned a dinky little white hat, a long white apron, and big white gum boots. I’d also had to walk through an antiseptic pool and had scrubbed my hands and arms to near surgical standards – the first of many scrubbings during the day.
Fifteen hundred litres of fresh creamy milk, from Jersey cows fed on lush verdant Mary Valley pastures, gushed into a stainless steel vat as I arrived. [Ed: enough with the pastoral imagery already.]

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by Martin Field
Veuve Clicquot Rosé Brut NV – seen for $78 – ****
Reims, France. A classic blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay along with a percentage of red wine to give its delicate salmon-flesh colour. The nose shows complex aromas of strawberry shortcake and a hint of Turkish Delight. In the mouth, we find more flavours of strawberry along with fresh brioche and a refreshing touch of acidity at the finish.
Tyrrell’s Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut 2005 – up to $27 – ***
Hunter Valley, New South Wales. This wine had two years on yeast lees before disgorgement. Pale lemon in colour. Nose of sweet biscuit and citrus blossom. The palate is dry and full with a pleasant beady tingle, and a tangy finish reminiscent of a squeeze of lemon over a wedge of Granny Smith apple pie.
Angove Butterfly Ridge Riesling Traminer 2008 – up to $7 – **
Generous tropical fruit aromatics. The palate in this quaffable white is soft, stone-fruity and off dry. Good value for a drink any time style.

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by Martin Field
I read Jeni Port’s story – that nearly a million bucks has been spent to come up with a couple of replacement names for Oz “sherry” and Oz “tokay” styles. The new approved names are respectively, “apera” and topaque”! How sophisticated.
A million bucks! I nearly choked as I poured a glass of dry apera down my aperture.

by Martin Field
Perfumes: The Guide – * * * * * acid spicy $45
Wine guides there are in plenty but apparently this is the first critical guide for perfume. Perfumes: The Guide lists some 1500 fragrances and rates them with a five star system. (See (pdf) examples here.)
I used to work in the perfume biz and early on realised that perfume shares many elements with wine and its evaluation. Wine lovers will recognise many of the terms used in this book’s fragrance descriptions. You’ll find volatility, fruits and spices, citrus, lactones and aldehydes, acetones and vanillins and all.
You can almost smell the scents of expensive fashion houses wafting off the pages. Well in my copy you can. I went to a perfume store and asked for a few perfumed cards, which I took home and sniffed as I read the relevant descriptions and then used them as bookmarks. If ever a book needed a scratch and sniff capsule on every page this is it.
Co-authors Turin (AKA the Emperor of Scent) and Sanchez write beautifully. Their expert critiques are at times incisive, hilarious, lavish and scathing. Brilliant!
Tania Sanchez and Luca Turin. Hardback. Published by Profile Books. Distributed in Australia by Allen and Unwin

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by Martin Field
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008 – $18 and around $35 on premise ****
From the Barossa Valley comes this pale-hued wine showing greenish edges. The nose is fragrant with distinct lemon zestiness. Tangy lemon flavours continue in the mouth along with a hint of rose water. Will serve very well with entrée courses.
Tahbilk Marsanne 2008 – $17 ***
Nagambie Lakes, Victoria. The invitingly perfumed nose reminded me somehow of apricot Danish with a touch of clotted cream on the side. The palate, in contrast, is elegant and dry with a touch of honey and a finish of lemon zest. These Tahbilk whites cellar very well – worth putting some aside to try in a few years time.

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by Martin Field
Da Nang is sited on the Han River and the riverside is lined with flashy modern buildings. Behind the esplanade you’ll find bustling markets and narrow shopfronts. On sale at the Han Market are dried fish, prawns, and squid in abundance, which produce a smell so eye-wateringly pungent that I imagine it could cure chronic asthma. One exotic delicacy on the shelves is a local firewater – each bottle containing a small cobra with a scorpion in its mouth. Don’t ask.
If you like an adventurous treat visit the vegetarian Thanh Tam restaurant in Ngô Gia Tự Street. We went in despite its rather seedy aspect and lack of menu. Nobody spoke English but sign language worked and they served up two plates heaped with spring rolls, tasty mixed vegetables, and rice. On the side were two bowls of a clear broth tasting unusually of herbs and citrus. The meal was washed down with two bottles of Coke (this was poured on to ice and I broke my own rules by drinking it – no after-effects though). The total bill for the two of us was $1.50.

by Martin Field
Piquant Szechuan brekkie
In 1994 we were cruising down the Yangtze River through Szechuan Province. Breakfast was fried (hot) green chilis, two kinds of sautéed green beans, fried cashew nuts, ancient (preserved) eggs, whiffy fermented bean curd, steamed bread rolls filled with sweet red bean paste, wok-fried cabbage seasoned with flecks of fresh red chili, a huge bowl of congee (a bland rice porridge) and Chinese tea.

by Martin Field
Lunch was at Bilson’s in Sydney. Foster’s Group winemakers were hosting a roadshow for winewriters from all over.
I’d asked for the vegetarian option at lunch and was dreading a glutinous risotto or an over-oreganoed, limp-wristed pasta. Should have trusted Bilson’s reputation, the chef presented as a main, one of their entrée items: Fricassee of Wild Mushrooms with Truffle and Poached Egg.
Picture: a beautiful platescape of a perfectly poached egg surrounded by sautéed Shimeji mushrooms, King Brown mushrooms, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms, fresh black truffles. Anointing the egg is a ‘salt’ of marinated chanterelles, thinly sliced King Brown, black truffle slices and cepes. The accompanying sauce contains cepes, chanterelles and King Browns. Crowning the dish is a tiara of latte-hued foam made with madeira and mushroom cream.
Not as complicated as it sounds but as delicious a course as ever I’ve been served. Went down very well with a goblet of Castello di Gabbiano Chianti Classico 2006.