More on alternative styles
Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:24 pm
For some time I have been interested in many of the alternative wine styles and I would be interested to hear what others have to say on this subject. Let me be a bit more specific.
For the purposes of this post, allow me to categorize Australian wines into three tiers, whilst it’s not very scientific, it enables me to describe what I am on about. Tier 1 includes the more common styles of cabernet, shiraz, merlot, reisling, chardonnay [etc], whilst tier 3 covers those almost experimental styles covered by Gustav in his ‘AFWAC Tasting’ post on the 6th April, which I found very interesting. Living in Mildura I am aware of the Murray Darling Collection [MDC] project and have had the opportunity to taste many of the wines they are promoting. Just last Saturday evening I had the opportunity to taste a really interesting wine that fits into this tier 3 group, although it is not part of the MDC project. It was a 2005 Trentham Estate Lambrusco Maestri, but don’t be fooled by the word Lambrusco. This was a big, bold red with deep colour, excellent fruit flavours, firm tannins with a great finish. This wine is an example of Trentham Estate’s commitment to alternative wine styles and could hold its own in any company.
But it’s what I call the tier 2 wines like Petit Verdot, Malbec, Viognier, Durif, Pinot Grigio and Grenache that I would really like to see some discussion on. Over recent years I have tried examples of all these varieties and have several of them in my cellar and have become a real fan of particularly Petit Verdot and Durif wines. I continue to experiment with these wines in an attempt to find the ones that I prefer, which in itself is an interesting exercise.
What do others think about these styles? What should those interested in these wines be looking for? What are your favourite labels in these alternative styles?
Cheers,
MilduraBob
For the purposes of this post, allow me to categorize Australian wines into three tiers, whilst it’s not very scientific, it enables me to describe what I am on about. Tier 1 includes the more common styles of cabernet, shiraz, merlot, reisling, chardonnay [etc], whilst tier 3 covers those almost experimental styles covered by Gustav in his ‘AFWAC Tasting’ post on the 6th April, which I found very interesting. Living in Mildura I am aware of the Murray Darling Collection [MDC] project and have had the opportunity to taste many of the wines they are promoting. Just last Saturday evening I had the opportunity to taste a really interesting wine that fits into this tier 3 group, although it is not part of the MDC project. It was a 2005 Trentham Estate Lambrusco Maestri, but don’t be fooled by the word Lambrusco. This was a big, bold red with deep colour, excellent fruit flavours, firm tannins with a great finish. This wine is an example of Trentham Estate’s commitment to alternative wine styles and could hold its own in any company.
But it’s what I call the tier 2 wines like Petit Verdot, Malbec, Viognier, Durif, Pinot Grigio and Grenache that I would really like to see some discussion on. Over recent years I have tried examples of all these varieties and have several of them in my cellar and have become a real fan of particularly Petit Verdot and Durif wines. I continue to experiment with these wines in an attempt to find the ones that I prefer, which in itself is an interesting exercise.
What do others think about these styles? What should those interested in these wines be looking for? What are your favourite labels in these alternative styles?
Cheers,
MilduraBob
don't consider my durifs fruit bombs at all.
)concerning a Wrattonbully Sangiovese from a Coonawarra producer.