Archive for June, 2014

Australia is the principal feature of the June 7th release. I must confess to not buying a lot from down under recently, but there are a couple of tasty treats to be found.

675223 KILIKANOON KILLERMAN’S RUN CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 Clare Valley, South Australia $19.95

A little tight at first, but eventually it releases some dark fruit, cassis and mocha aromas, palate is tight too, but as it opens it leans towards being rather one dimensional focusing on currant and dark fruit. Find this wine

084996 WYNNS COONAWARRA ESTATE BLACK LABEL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010 Coonawarra, South Australia $27.95

Back in the days before the LCBO slapped their ridiculously high “Provincial Liquor fee” tariff on wines brought across the border, I used to buy this wine at Century Liquor in Rochester New York for about six bucks a bottle and I would bring back a case at a time paying a pittance on duties at the border. That was a while ago and the price has obviously increased since then, in fact it is now about $35.00 south of the border, making the asking price in the LCBO a great deal. It is so focused, the solid core of blackcurrant, polished leather, mint, eucalyptus and freshly ground black pepper is amazing. A big lift on the palate, laden with blackcurrant, cedar, chalky tannins, but well balanced, clean acidity and a long fruit focused finish. Find this wine

043224 MITOLO JESTER CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 McLaren Vale, South Australia $22.95

Quite stellar aromas of wet earth, chalk, leather, mineral and layers of dried dark fruits, lovely mix of currant and dark cherry on the palate, mixing nicely with milk chocolate, black raspberry to a finish with good length and structure. Find this wine

327395 DOMAINE TOURNON MATHILDA SHIRAZ 2011 Victoria $19.95

Black toffee, cedar, dried mushroom, tomato, bay leaf and red fruit roll up, a little chunky on the palate, lots of red fruit and a candy like sweetness on the finish. Another 94 point wine from Mr. P, so this will sell quickly. Find this wine

367425 HASELGROVE FIRST CUT SHIRAZ 2010 McLaren Vale, South Australia $18.95

Dusty and earthy, with layers of sweet dark fruit, vanilla, its palate has a sweet syrupy texture, there is plenty of acidity to balance, but it remains little jammy on the finish. Find this wine

236257 GRANT BURGE THE HOLY TRINITY GRENACHE/SHIRAZ/MOURVÈDRE 2010 Barossa, South Australia $29.95

Tree bark, forest floor, pure velvety black fruit lead to a palate that is viscous, has tingly red currant flavours bound with caramel, Asian spice and red licorice. Find this wine

290874 DOMAINE TERLATO & CHAPOUTIER LIEU DIT MALAKOFF SHIRAZ 2011 Pyrenees, Victoria $55.95

Funky and full of such oddities as damp soil, coconut shell, wet fur, shitake mushroom, rosemary, thyme, barnyard straw and mocha and a little dark fruit. Structurally, the palate is lean and surprisingly light, showing cherry and plum that disappears quickly on the finish. Robert P bestowed 95 points to this wine, maybe I am missing something, but I tasted twice with similar notes. Find this wine

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As reported last January, we were quite fond of Bonny Doon’s 2011 ¿Querry? Pear Apple Quince Cider when we tried it, so when we got our hands on their new 2013 version, we were geeked to have a go at that one too. It was produced in a different manner than the previous model, as explained by Randall Grahm: “The production technique has changed slightly since the last (2011) bottling, which derived its carbonation from bottle conditioning. This time we’ve gone with a less labor-intensive methodology, (i.e. bottling @ 30° F. and saturating w/ CO2), enabling us to offer the new vintage at a more accessible price.” The ’11 was produced with secondary fermentation in bottle, à la méthode champenoise. (Click image to enlarge.)

I figured that since the 2011 is still available here in the Detroit area, it might be fun and instructive to try them side-by-side, which, as it turns out, put the ’13 at something of a disadvantage.
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A few months ago, our friends at Napa Valley’s Cornerstone Cellars sent out a three-year vertical of their Sauvignon Blanc to selected critics, reviewers and old folksingers. The idea was to demonstrate just how well these age and develop. We had already reviewed the 2009 back around the time of its release, and had quite liked it then, so, of course, I was very interested to see not only how it had fared in the intervening time, but how it compared to the two succeeding vintages.

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