Tasting Note No.7
I tasted several premium sparkling wines together this time, I expected the Deutz to be an average wine from MONTANA but it was not to be. It stole the limelight from the rest.
Colour bright hay, lovely and creamy bubbles. Excellent balance and fat, slightly sweet middle palate. Lots of toasty champagne character. The finish is long and flavoursome. Beautifully made, I've really enjoyed it. Winemaker Andy Frost obviously knows his craft. Made from hand picked fruit, the care shows. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, at least four separate base wines made this blend. It spent more than 2 years on lees. It has excellent depth and layers of flavour, definitely worth the AU $20, in fact it's a bargain. I've been watching this wine since it won the International Sparkling Wine award in London, back in 1998. There were times over the years when it wasn't particulary exciting but now it's back to top form. Delicious.
also tasted:
NINTH ISLAND NV
Released early October, it's a spin off the Pirie by Pipers Brook from Tasmania. A blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and meuiner, it is very dry with unripe characters and a high acid finish. It would go with fresh oysters well but not much else. Coarse bubbles, no Champagne characters. Cost AU $24 for those interested.
SEPPELTS Salinger 2000
Deeper, golden colour. Similar to earlier releases, deliberately 'non-Champagne' in style, bubbles fairly coarse and the wine is unpolished. Needs 3 more years to show better. The finish impressed me, it is quite suprising, very long, complex and flavoursome. Cost AU $25.
VASSE FELIX Extra Brut NV
Very deep, onion skin, almost rosé colour. Tremendous, Champagne like nose, very promising. Unfortunately the middle palate is lacking fruit and the wine finishes VERY SHORT. It's no bargain at AU $28.
DOMAINE CHANDON Vintage 1999
Colour hay. Biscuity nose. I don't know if I should be impressed...it's a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and meuiner, it was blended from 52 separate base wines and spent 3 years on yeast but nothing will change the fact that it is a very dry and charmless wine with high tannins. I doubt that it will develop into something very good. A very simple and straightforward sparkling. Not something I'd be excited about at AU $28.
Tasted:October 2003.