A new wine to try, and blind (yipee). It is overchilled to start with, so the nose is rather reticent, but a touch of sweet vanilla oak comes through, and maybe sizzled butter. Let it warm in my hand and I get apricot or peach, then almond, so I'm starting to wonder if it might be a viognier. But the palate is only slightly oily, and there isn't really any bitter peach-pit. The style is distinctly Australian, but the wine ain't nearly big enough. By now I'm fairly sure of myself. It's a Chilean chardonnay, or just maybe a Pays d'Oc chardonnay.
Ha! Inycon fiano (IGT Sicilia) 02002. It's a distinctly modern style, which doesn't seem, well, Italian to me (says the man who has never tasted fiano before). I wonder, do you think it is reasonable to go from those flavours to chardonnay?
15/20 (just: marked up slightly for being blind, and interesting)
2005-02-12
2005-02-05
A Rosé in Winter
Ack thptt! The poisonous tabloidese continues to infect this blog, but I can't stop. What I can do is grovel, especially if you bring me fine wine to grovel with.
Before the rosé there was Domaines Virginie Marsanne 02003, under cork. A very tasty 14+/20 drop for the price, if lacking the weight that defines good marsanne. Made in the modern fashion to emphasise the fruit, and showing no signs of the oxidation (which I might not necessarily object to) that this variety is supposedly prone to. (Last night Bob and I tried the other good Rhône white grape, but in the form of d'Arenberg Money Spider Rousanne 02003, screwcapped. Now that's the business: oily, aromatic, d'Arenberg bigness - 15/20. Yum)
The pinky drinky was Antipodean Sangiovese 02004, screwcapped (Ha! Random Ozzy grape choice. Again). All very well, dry enough, plenty of strawberries once you get past the bubblegum - even some cherries, but I'm still not a rosé drinker. I know, it's a character flaw. This stuff gets 14/20, which is as high as I've ever rated any rosé.
Before the rosé there was Domaines Virginie Marsanne 02003, under cork. A very tasty 14+/20 drop for the price, if lacking the weight that defines good marsanne. Made in the modern fashion to emphasise the fruit, and showing no signs of the oxidation (which I might not necessarily object to) that this variety is supposedly prone to. (Last night Bob and I tried the other good Rhône white grape, but in the form of d'Arenberg Money Spider Rousanne 02003, screwcapped. Now that's the business: oily, aromatic, d'Arenberg bigness - 15/20. Yum)
The pinky drinky was Antipodean Sangiovese 02004, screwcapped (Ha! Random Ozzy grape choice. Again). All very well, dry enough, plenty of strawberries once you get past the bubblegum - even some cherries, but I'm still not a rosé drinker. I know, it's a character flaw. This stuff gets 14/20, which is as high as I've ever rated any rosé.
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