Murray Street 2007 Viognier Marsanne

Murray Street winery was one of our "exciting finds" on our trip to the Barossa last year. We had been to Appellation restaurant the previous night and 2007 Viognier Marsanne was the wine matched up to one of the courses. Chatting to the wait person she told us how to get to the winery and, more importantly, recommended lunch there as they had platters that you could order to have while tasting.

So that is what we did. It was lovely sitting there in the dappled sunlight looked at the vines, eating great food and sipping wonderful wines. In fact we ordered a bottle each of all we tasted to be shipped back home.

The 2007 Viognier Marsanne is so hard to describe - but it was drunk sitting next to a pool, birds chirping, with scallop pate, prawns and fresh crunchy bread to accompany it - nothing could be better. it is rich, perfumed, fruit salad and lingers and lingers.

If you want you can visit the winery

Woop Woop Chardonnay 2007

I am a great lover of Ben Riggs wines - the only wines of his that I haven't liked are the ones he has created for the US market - they must have a different palate to me over there :)

While in South Australia last year we wandered into Penny's Hill winery - simply because we were informed that this was Ben Riggs central. He is their winemaker - but also some of his other creations are sold here. What a wonderful winery. We were so taken with the place we ended up having lunch (their 5 course tasting menu) at their fantastic restaurant and could barely move when we had finished. We had to wander around the property and looked at the sheep to (a) sober up, and (b) walk off the meal.

But I digress, Woop Woop Chardonnay is a very drinkable wine - we actually bought two cases as was a very nice wine and the price was right. It is very hard to find a chardonnay under $20 that is a good 'every day' drink. Yes we have tasted top of the range chardonnay's. But you can't drink them everyday - well at least not on our salary. It is fresh and crisp - with not too much acid. it is an oaked wine - but is a very gentle taste - you don't have to pick the splinters out of this one. A nice Sunday afternoon sipper :)

Fox Creek Wines- Shadow's Run Unwooded Chardonnay -2007

Haven't blogged my wines for a wine - which doesn't mean I haven't been drinking really fine wines - just that I forget.

Shadow's Run is an unwooded Chardonnay and is a very nice wine. A pale gold in the glass, crystal clear with a green tinge - it tastes as good as it smells. I smelt peach, pear with maybe a hint of rock melon. Slightly citrusy on tongue - but not a lot of acid. Is very soft to drink and went perfectly with our goats cheese and biccies. A lovely way to relax after work - pool, wine and cheese.

Fox Creek Wines are in the Mclaren Vale wine region in South Australia, and we spent a very pleasant week there in November last year (2008). Sadly when we got to Fox Creek - we didn't get to meet Shadow who had passed away shortly before our arrival. The winery is very pretty - and we were happy to see we actually cross 'Fox Creek' on the way to the winery itself. Lovely gardens, with statues of strange birds and animals scattered here and there. We joined their club there and then and have just had our first delivery.

Hoddles Creek Estate - Pinot Noir 1996

Finally an Australian pinot that tastes like a New Zealand one!

I have to confess I have a great love of the New Zealand pinots - the taste they have is what I, rightly or wrongly, judge all pinots by.

Here in Darwin we describe the distinctive smell of a good pinot as having a cockroach smell. Far from being insulting this is a high compliment.

The 2006 is a clear red and has an earthy nose with hints of fruit - cherry, plum and maybe a hint of tomato (?) Then in the mouth the promises of the nose follow through with the berry tastes exploding in the mouth - well balanced - not too much acid not too much tannin - the taste has good length - just lingers on the palate.

Another great thing about this wine is that you can get it for less than $20

Hoddles Creek Estate Winery is in the Yarra Valley in Victoria - and looks like there is one winery that can create a good pinot noir and not charge an arm and a leg for the experience.

Yarrabank Late Disgorged 1999

I am not a huge fan of "bubbles" much to my husbands horror. I find that I just don't have the hang of appreciating the stuff.

However, there are a few I love - and this is one of them. Made to the "Methode Traditionelle" it spent seven years on lees.

A straw colour - there is a yeasty sweet nose of apple bun - but it is not a sweet wine to taste. There is little acid so it slips down just fine - crisp and creamy with out the overpowering yeasty taste that many sparkling wines have. There are lots of tiny little bubbles that just seem to keep on going - too me half and hour to sip and appreciate my glass and those bubbles just kept on going on :) The winery it comes from is Yearing Station in the Yarra Valley of Victoria.

Wine Tasting Tips

1. Start with a clear wine glass. The rim of the glass should bend inwards to help funnel aromas to the nose, and allow you to swirl without spilling.
   
   
2. Now pour a little wine into your glass. An inch or less is best. If you are tasting several wines, begin with the lightest (sparkling wines, roses, then light whites followed by full-bodied whites) and progress to the heaviest (light reds to more full-bodied reds followed by dessert wines). This will help keep your taste buds more sensitive so you can better appreciate each wine in the series. A sip of water between wines can also help preserve your palate.
   
   
3. Notice the color of the wine. It often helps to hold the glass up to light or hold it against a white background, like a white napkin. Color can give you a clue as to the age of the wine. White wines generally gain color as they age. Red wines lose color. That is, young red wines are more red or burgundy while older wines tend to show a hint of tawny brown around the rim.Regardless of age, the colors of wine are just fun to see, ranging from pale yellow-green to ruby red to brick red-brown.
   
   
4. Swirl the wine a couple of times by moving the glass in a circular motion. Holding the glass by its stem, instead of the bowl, makes this easier. Hold it in your hand or keep it on a surface, whichever is easier.Swirling is done to aerate the wine and release vapors, evaporating from the sides of the glass for you to smell.
   
   
5. Then put your nose right over the rim of the wine glass and breathe in. Since most of a wine's charm is actually in its smell, rather than its taste, this is important.Most wines have characteristic aromas of the grapes they are made from, i.e. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, etc. The more experience you gain with different wine varietals, the easier it will be to detect and identify characteristic wine aromas and bouquet.For starters, your nose will tell you if the wine is pleasing to you and you may sense hints of vanilla, berries, peaches, or even grassy or smokey aromas. Every wine is different and this is all part of the fun of wine appreciation.
   
   
6. Now it's time to take a sip. Not a gulp, just a sip that fills your mouth maybe halfway. Before you swallow, let the wine slide across your tongue from front to back and side to side. Notice as many sensations as you can.You'll notice many things about the wine. How sweet is it? How acidic is it? If it is a red wine, do you notice the tannins? Is it a light, medium or full-bodied wine? How strong is the alchohol? How fruity is it and do you notice other varietal characteristics? How silky or rough does the wine feel? Finally, does the wine feel "balanced" or does one element overpower the others? See more tips below on evaluating wine "taste".
   
   
7. Swallow a small amount if you wish to note any lingering "finish". But if you are tasting a number of wines -- in a winery tasting room, for example -- your host will usually provide a vessel for you to spit out the wine instead of swallowing. (It is not rude.)

The bottom line is that a good wine should always give pleasure. It should smell good, taste even better, and be smooth and satisfying by itself or with whatever you're eating.

Wine tasting is harder to describe than it is to do. We suggest just tasting as many different wines as possible. Taste, experience, remember, and above all, enjoy!

(obtained from http://www.wines.com/winetasting.html)

Wolf Blass - Bilyara Shiraz - 2005

Our son-in-law was given a complementary bottle of this wine recently - he passed it on to us.

I am very impressed. usually when a hotel gives a complimentary wine as part of a package - it can be less then good. But this was superb.

My first mouthful was just an explosion of fruit - soft berry flavours, I could have drank this all night - such an easy to drink wine - not pretentious - good quaffer.

I can't find the wine listed on the Wolf Blass site, but a Google search said it is a restaurant release only - guess that means I won't get to enjoy this one again in the near future.