Nice wines I have drunk recently - Red or White

[TomVexille]

The Tamar Ridge is a good drop

And a nice place to visit when you're in the area.

I was there last week...great view whilst tasting

Hmmm, might have to give it a shot

 

[QF WP]

Drank these with munitalP and his wife last night over dinner in Adelaide



And then this one tonight with friends on the Gold Coast (thanks to shintaro10x's recommendation):

 

[AdMEL]

Drank these with munitalP and his wife last night over dinner in Adelaide

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And then this one tonight with friends on the Gold Coast (thanks to shintaro10x's recommendation):

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How was the Grant Burge? Dan's are currently advertising it for $26.

 

[QF WP]

A beautiful fruity bouquet on the nose and we aerated it into the glass. We both picked blackberries on the palate - drank the bottle between us so it mustn't have been too bad. $45 from Icons in Adelaide Airport.

It was good, but not spectacular like the Yalumba FDR 1A last night. I am going to buy 6 or 12 of them. I was fortunate to pick it up from a friend who works for Yalumba at cost + 10%, so $25 per bottle. Smooth on the palate for a Shiraz and sooo easy to drink

 

[blackcat20]

Enjoyed this lovely Californian Pinot Noir last night in honour of July 4. Picked it up from the winery when I was there in May. Heavier than the usual Pinots but really easy drinking.

 

[TomVexille]

Enjoyed this lovely Californian Pinot Noir last night in honour of July 4. Picked it up from the winery when I was there in May. Heavier than the usual Pinots but really easy drinking.

It was nice

 

[Daver6]

How was the Grant Burge? Dan's are currently advertising it for $26.

Why waste your money on the 2011 vintage though? Get the 2010 or wait for the 2012.

 

[AdMEL]

Why waste your money on the 2011 vintage though? Get the 2010 or wait for the 2012.

Was 2011 Barossa vintage really that bad?

How about a 2008 for $40?

 

[QF WP]

Well this is what we are considering drinking tonight.



Dinner tonight is going to be a simple pan seared lamb rump with a red wine & rosemary jus, oven baked new potatoes with herbs & garlic and a green salad with home made vinaigrette. We are fortunate that my friend was a chef back in the UK.

Dessert will be apple & raspberry homemade wholemeal crumble

 

[QF WP]

Given The Wine Guys suggestion from his post, we thought we would decant the 1966 Bin 60 for a couple of hours. Andrew successfully took the cork out and it looked okay but soft.



Pouring into the decanter, we could immediately see the problem - the wine was cloudy brown and separated in the decanter.



One smell of the cork and bottle brought out a Madeira/vinegar smell ... the wine had turned.

So we tried to double decant it and to pass it through muslin. This brought out some of the fine sedimentation but wasn't going to save the wine - it was past saving



C'est la vie, it happens. As my uncle bought me the wine 7 years ago, it cost me nothing.

Onto the Champagne pre-dinner then

 

[QF WP]

Thankfully the Bin 389 compensated in spades - whilst the nose was young, the taste was strong as one would expect from a Shiraz but smooth and definitely warrants cellaring. Black currants and chocolate abound. No trouble in polishing off the bottle with a minor tasting glass for my wife. Went brilliantly with the lamb.

Then we turned to dessert and getting the kids to bed. Beautiful texture and flavour which combined with the dessert wine - a pity there was some corkage, surprising but considering a 1998 vintage, we hurriedly decanted it and corkage at a minimum in glass. Fruity and long on the palate, we spent a long time solving the worlds problems and drinking some water to reduce the affects on our bodies tomorrow. Delightful evening

 

[drross]

had a lovely 2004 Bin 407 last night.. good cork, very smooth, tiny bit of sediment in the decanter

 

[Daver6]

Was 2011 Barossa vintage really that bad?

How about a 2008 for $40?

It was a difficult year. Of course there will be some stunning wines from 2011, but I just don't see the point in taking a risk with it. If you know the wine and have tried it and its good, then of course buy it. But if you haven't tried it, why take the risk? Given there really isn't much price differential between vintages for Australian wine (other than the general upwards trend, unlike France where a poorer vintage an easily be 30% less than a good vintage), why bother?

Another way of looking at it is this; You want to spend roughly $30 on a Barossa Shiraz that's available now. If you are buying a wine and vintage you haven't tried, may as well play the odds and go for the better vintage, right?

$40 for the 2008 seems about the going rate. Personally, I've got a bottle in the cellar of it. I can't see myself opening for at least another 4 years (but that's personal preference as I enjoy the aged characteristics on wines).

 

[boomy]

Tonight's dessert wine is Milton Iced Riesling 2009. I bought it at their winery in Tasmania 4 years ago and kept it for too long

All of a sudden feels like winter in Canada

 

[RooFlyer]

At the risk of emphasizing the ‘W’ in ‘WP’, I’d like to share a fantastic wine experience I and some friends had in Romania recently. In Brasov, Transylvania to be exact.

Brasov is a city of about 350,000 people and will be described further in my Trip Report - when I catch up in a few days. It has a great Old Town, very much pedestrianized and on our first night’s rambles we came across ‘Terroirs’ and decided to come back the next evening.

What a treat. It’s a compact wine bar, no smoking inside (rare in Romania), but you can have a drag outside (and many did ) We were greeted by a very enthusiastic young server and then by the owner – the guy in the orange T shirt (if you are the owner, why not?), who was there with his wife and another friend.

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Identifying ourselves as wine lovers from Australia seemed to instantly strike a chord. We chatted for a while and then the first glass was presented to us, gratis (otherwise 20 ROM Lei/glass, about $6.50). a Cramposie Selectionata from Prince Stirbey winery, Prince Stirbey |, This grape is Romanian variety that pre-dates the Romans. Not being an ‘expert’, I would have identified it as a Sav Blanc, with some extra acidity. Delicious start. (I'm sorry I can't be more technical in my descriptions - but I can't use the 'experts' descriptions, so will save you the pain of my making it up).

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We asked to try some Transylvanian whites, as Transylvania specializes in them, and out came the Fetească Regală 2013 from Liliac Winery Liliac | The Wine of Transylvania Another native Romanian variety, but from the 20th Century this time. Perfectly crisp and fruity; I could drink it all summer long. I bought a bottle for 46 Romanian Lei, about $15.

Next on was Bacanta Sav Blanc from Crama Gerboiu winery Sauvignon Blanc | Crama Girboiu A bit more nutty than I am used to.

At this point we realized that we had failed miserably to prepare. Romania is a very large wine producer, with many regions and sub regions and we were not really having a well structured tasting. Never mind, it’s all good.

Then to the reds. We asked for Shiraz types, not the girly pinots or roses.

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There were Shirazes on offer, but others were strongly recommended to us. So out came Minima Moralia 2009 'Respect' from Domeniul Coroanei winery Minima Moralia | Domeniul Coroanei Segarcea , a Cabernet Sauvignon and Marselan blend. Strewth, I wish I could take home a case of this, and not just because it’s a multiple prize winner in Europe and USA. And isn't it a great name? Minima Moralia - perhaps referring to after a night of it.

Lastly, a 2010 "Iacob" Fetească neagră from Davino winery HOME | DAVINO, with the label pun of 'Jacob's ladder' . Apparently there’s some branding issue, as it doesn’t appear on the winery’s web site. But the grape is another old Romanian variety; cab sav in nature you can bet it’s going to do better with a few more years in the bottle. I chose this as the one Romanian red I’d take home.

As the sun went down, the place emptied and there was an obvious change in crowd between pre and post dinner imbibers. As we were the former, we set off too.

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And to fill up the space, some of the wines on the shelves, and prices. 3 Romanian leis to the A$. If you ever get the chance to try some Romanian wines, jump at the chance!

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[Buzzard]

What a great report RooFlyer, more like a mini trip report. Appreciate the effort you put in.

 

[penegal]

Great post RooFlyer.

Less 'W' in Wanker

More 'J' in Jealous I think

 

[boomy]

Thanks for the report RooFlyer!
I think Romania is a top 10 wine producer in the world, it has great tradition.
I will make sure to sample some local verities when I visit later this year

 

[JohnM]

Great wine/TR RooFlyer. A bit OT - are you travelling independently in Romania? If so, any tips about rental cars/driving there?

 

[RooFlyer]

Hi JohnM

Will answer in the TR referenced above.