If you ever see an Alexander Valley Robert Young vineyard Chardonnay, grab it with both hands and feet. Brilliant variety. We sought them out on last trip to Sonoma. The variety is actually Robert Young clone which was named after the winery and orig wine maker. Chateau St Jean also gets grapes from them but it's nowhere near the quality of the RYV wines. Luscious.
. It also seemed appropriate given that the Freycinet was 2009 as well and that is regarded as a very good year in E Tas.
The S&S Chard is quite a big/malo ferment number that may attack the senses in it's youth, particularly for the uninitiated. Early "show" chards had a tendency to be over oaked and "in ya face". Modern Aus chards are a lot more restained. They need time for the oak to integrate. Give them a few years and they will reward. I appreciate most forms of Aus riesling and much prefer them to NZ Savvies. MrsSed
likes 'em young. I like them a little more developed.
in recent years - and that's living on the doorstep of one of the world's great Chardonnay regions in Margaret River).
. At the recent Howard Park Riesling tasting we had in PER, all the wines were sensational, but in the end, as I said to the group: with a plate of fresh oysters, give me the 2014! I sat and struggled to think what I would eat and truly enjoy with those more aged.
:mrgreen:.
My attitude is that, these days, it's pretty hard to technically fault most wines (if they are technically bad, the winery will go out of business fast). Always in the back of my mind is: "Now, what would I eat with this to really make everything come together and really shine?"
Aaahh - the trials and tribulations of being a contrarian...
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Yes, would be interesting but most before 1980 would probably be undrinkabe to a modern palette.Interesting snippet: The Antinori family in Tuscany has been producing wine since 1385. Now, that would be a nice vertical tasting :!:. Line 'em up Daver6
Doesn't mean it was as palatable as we would like. (Some historical sources suggest that the wine was low in alcohol but that's proven to be incorrect since the natural ferments achieve 11-13%.) It's fair to say that during the Rinascimento most were 'sozzled' for a large part of the time.
Yes, would be interesting but most before 1980 would probably be undrinkabe to a modern palette.
During the Rinascimento the average wine consumption was some 3-7 litres a day, hence the artistic explosion.
Most Italian wines before the '60s were for local consumption, for drinking in a few months after vendemmia and not for storage. The real changes came in the '70s and '80s with pioneers such as the Barolo Boys etc.
But I agree with JohnM, line 'em Daver6 and we will come!
Certainly - and I imagine the old image of 'plonk' in Australia must have derived largely from the Italian immigrants with their drink within the year before next harvest (mi scusi - vendemmia) wines .
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Probably the maturation in 50% Slavonian oak Botti (s) that did it! Excellent! Most interesting wine. Hope you weren't too off-piste after this one. 14% ( from the net) on the label but chissà ( who knows).Ah ha - I knew I would flush out our resident Italian wineophile yet again with more absolutely fascinating information!
Continuing on the Italian theme, I went a little off-piste tonight with half of this with slow-cooked lamb shanks:
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Nero d'Avola is the main red variety of Sicily.
Typical of most European wines, it is must-have-food-with-it. The astringency was there, but in no way confronting, but was sufficient with the flat flavour profile (compared with 'sunshine in a bottle' Australian wines) that food is really needed with every mouthful - but that's what really brings it into its own.
Worked an absolute treat with lamb shanks a la JohnM
