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March 31, 2007
Spitbucket drinking
by Martin Field
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Vineyard Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc 2006 – seen for $19 - \_/\_/\_/
Fuller bodied white shows spiciness, lemongrassiness and dried apples. Quite delicious.
Plantagenet Riesling 2006 - $19 \_/\_/\_/
Aromatic with white flowers and lemons. Dry zippy white shows a lovely lemony tang in the mouth and finishes with lively acidity. Works well on its own or try with an entrée of saganaki.
Sticks Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - $18 - \_/\_/
Yarra Valley. Victoria. Fresh lively style bursting with passionfruit and lychees on both nose and palate. Serve as an aperitif.
Tarrawarra Pinot Noir Rosé 2006 - $17 - \_/\_/
Pale pink with a hue of onion skin. A light soft wine showing a melange of raspberry/strawberry fruit, mildly acidic at the finish. Serve well-chilled as an aperitif.
Nanny Goat Pinot Noir 2005 - up to $32 - \_/\_/\_/
Central Otago. New Zealand. Maraschino cherry nose with underlying savoury notes. A pinot noir of substance showing plenty of black cherry fruit and integrated tannins on the palate. In a word: tasty.
Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2006 – up to $29 - \_/\_/\_/\_/
Assertive and complex pinot style showing blackcurrant, cherries, faint herbal notes and upfront, sweet toasted French oak. The finish is long and firm. A pinot noir for full-bodied red fans.
Nepenthe Tryst Cabernet Sauvignon/Tempranillo/Zinfandel 2005 - $16 - \_/\_/ $
What an odd blend – but it works. The nose is sweet with a hint of cabernet capsicum. Medium-weighted ripe red fruit flavours extend along the palate and finish nicely with softish tannins.
Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2005 – up to $27 - \_/\_/\_/\_/
Generous tightly structured red with an assertive, very dry, youthfully tannic palate. The palate shows notes of blackberry supported by understated oak. Not a ‘fruit bomb’, merely a fine example of classy winemaking. Excellent as a food accompaniment and will drink well to 2014 - and longer.
Spitbucket rating system
Five gold spitbuckets \_/\_/\_/\_/\_/ - brilliant
\_/\_/\_/\_/ - classy
\_/\_/\_/ - first-rate
\_/\_/ - good stuff
\_/ - spit it!
An added $ or two denotes excellent value for money.
Technorati search tags: Wine , Wine tasting
Posted by Martin Field on Saturday 31 March 2007 at 22:47
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Comments
Excellent wine blog - I love the spitbuckets! Charming!
Kathleen
Albany, NY
Wine and Stories from the Vineyard Blog -
http://www.myspace.com/gamay
Posted by Kathleen on June 19, 2007 01:31 AM
Hi Kathleen - glad you like the spitbuckets. They make a refreshing change from stars and number ratings don't you think?
Have just moved house to another state - Queensland. When settled in the new home more spitbuckets will be posted.
Cheers!
Martin
Posted by Martin on June 19, 2007 02:16 AM
Hi Martin, I recently drank a bottle of Shiraz from Heritage Vale (2004). I enjoyed the wine but when I googled "Heritage Vale", I cannot find any information on this vineyard. Have you drink wine from this vineyard before? By the way, I love Shiraz and which recent years in your opinion, produce good shiraz wine? thanks.
Posted by BP on July 15, 2007 11:40 AM
Hi BP - Don't know the label. It's probably not a winery, rather a label specifically designed for the export market.
Australia has a particularly good climate for growing wine grapes so vintage charts and years, while still significant, are not as important as those in say, Bordeaux. But for a start you could check out the chart at www.erobertparker.com/info/vintagechart1.asp
Cheers!
Martin
Posted by Martin on July 15, 2007 11:15 PM