Category: France

I don’t think I will ever meet as generous a group of people as those that I have met through my brief love of wine. This was the third and last of these dinners (first, second) for 2006 where each person brings something special to the best of their ability. Some amazing wines were brought […]

Poor attendance at the Sydney Good Living Wine Show late last month meant that the master classes that were going to cost from $25 to $75 were opened to those who did attend, at no charge. I went to this Champagne tasting, the Shiraz class led by Huon Hooke and a tasting by Buller of […]

Giaconda is one of the biggest names in boutique Australian wineries, especially for their Chardonnay. While they were not the first wine producer in Beechworth in Victoria, winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner has certainly put it on the wine lovers map as an area with massive potential. With this in mind, some friends and I set out […]

Becks & Posh is the host for Wine Blogging Wednesday #25 with the theme of Champagne, with an emphasis on some of the smaller producers in the region as well as a suggestion to attempt to pair the selected Champagne with food. For those readers who aren’t familiar with Wine Blogging Wednesday, it is a […]

Paul Bara Brut Reserve Grand Cru NV – (Champagne, France): Medium bead with a very light mousse. Smoke, rose petal, lime and a light overlay of roasted nuts form the nose. The palate has a nice intensity of flavour as well as racy, well focussed acid and a slight citrus tang. Champagne of this quality […]

A recent dinner with the theme for the start of the evening being “Grand Marque Champagne”. All wines were tasted blind by me except for the Savaterre and the Carpineto. Comte Audoin de Dampierre Family Reserve Grand cru Blanc de Blancs Champagne 1996 A hyperactive bead with the most mousse of any of the Champagne […]

A fun offline in Sydney focusing on “Cult” wines – generally defined as small production (and often hard to obtain) wines that receive large scores from prominent overseas wine critics. All wines except for the two sparkling wines were tasted blind. The identities of the wines were known (except for the mystery wine) but not […]

A 375ml bottle opened for my birthday recently. Disgorged in July/August 2004. Displays a very fine bead with a small but persistent mousse. The nose is fresh and at the same time complex – mushroom, lemon zest, pear and peach, fresh wholemeal bread and marzipan. The palate has a lively, refreshing and creamy mouthfeel with […]

What a great night and opportunity this was to taste wines from the two leading big name Cabernet producers in Margaret River from some generally good to great vintages. These wines were all from the same cellar and only the Mount Langi ring-in was tasted blind. Lanson Black Label NV The nose is fresh and […]

I started this event by looking at some varied set of six Pinot Noir with wine writer Peter Bourne and the winemakers from Willow Creek and Ten Minutes by Tractor on the opening Friday night. Willow Creek “Tulum” Pinot Noir 2004 – (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria): Ah, I’ve wandered into the Shiraz tutorial by mistake. No? […]