Fine Wine Partners tasting
Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:15 am
I was very lucky to be invited to a tasting by Fine Wine partners, a hospitality supplier whom boast a very impressive portfolio. As a generation Y wine drinker I felt immensely privileged to taste wines that I had only read and dreamt of and will probably be a fair while before I can afford!
I tend to spend all my spare time reading and reading about wine, whether it be production, reviews or tasting notes - so it was awesome for me to taste these. The winemakers were very generous with their time in particular the gentleman at Katnook (I'm so sorry I forgot his name), who watched my every reaction to the wine passing my lips and finished with a topped up glass of Odyssey! He smiled genteely when I told him 'Ive read so much about this wine, it's quite amazing to actually drink it myself'.
After my first post I did take away the sound advice to taste as much as possible and i'm glad I paced myself on the producers I really wanted to try (and a lot of spitting which is relatively new for me haha).
Here are my terrible notes...I wish I had taken more! The vintages are a little hard to remember, but pretty much the most reent commercial release with a few exceptions.
So here goes, the notes of an inexperienced taster: (not in chronological order of the day)
Petaluma: I've always wanted to try more Petaluma, as i've had the Hanlin Hill and Chardonnays before and was so very impressed. It was great to go through their whole range.
Piccadilly Chardonnay 07: I've had this wine once before and it blew me away. So wonderfully smooth and rich, strong tropical fruits and to me hints of nuts, cashews and the like.
Tiers 04: An absolute mind bender...so complex, it was hard to imagine the Piccadilly a step better but this was it...every sip was a mouth filling amazing experience. Didn't come across as strongly on my palate as the Piccadilly but expressed itself smoothly over a longer period of time. Mindblowing stuff...
Coonawarra 07: This was a funny one, as it was the 07 and not due for commercial release it was bottled much like a cleanskin haha. Wonderful wine, still a bit green I guess is the way to describe it but a beautiful mix of forest fruits and wonderful length.
Henschke: By the time i'd reached Henschke i'd done most of the whites I wanted and so went straight to their reds...a pity in hindsight as I have heard so much about their whites too. I do recall tasting a chardonnay with a grey label which was wonderful, though for me a little too judicious on the oak.
Henry's 7 06: What a beautiful wine and within my kind of budget. So smooth and well put together, felt like a seamlessly smooth wine perhaps a little too sweet? If that is the right descriptor...seemed to lack a little tannin?
Keyneton 06: I've had this once before too and it did not disappoint. Almost chocolatey I thought it was superbly balacned with the tannin.
Johanns' garden 06: I haven't had much experience with GSM but this was quite an experience to drink...very intense and savoury. Loved it.
Mt. Edelstone 04: Once again a wine I have read and heard so much about, my glass was quivering as I was poured some. Notable that this was the only Henschke on the stand decantered, and I was told it had been decantered for a good 2 hours or so...which probably contributed to why it was SO DAMN GOOD. Beautiful pepperiness and just went on and on. Hooked...
By Farr: I completely did not know what to expect with these wines, but had read excellent things in JH and JO about them. Geelong is about the only thing I knew about the wines...
Chardonnay 06: Such a completely different style...Chablis style I guess? Nice acids, that tropical warmth on first taste balanced with that brisk acidity. I could drink a whole bottle of this...
Pinot Noir 06: Once again a revelation in style. Very dry and dusty with red berry fruits. A bit unlike the Otago Pinot I had before which had a distinct start of sweetness. Once again perhaps a French style? Very enjoyable but I would prefer it a little aged with less tannin...
Sangreal: No idea what blend this was, had such a beautiful nose but. So elegant, could smell it all day and night. Tasted almost Pinot Noir like.
Browns of Padthaway: Only wine tried here was the 'Brigstock' blend...very nice is all I remember!
Tapanappa: Now these were astounding wines...so very different but...I think quite simply they were all too young as new releases. I can't seem to pick wines with cellaring potential but if i'd take a stab at it i'd say these would be it.
Pinot Noir 07: Very dusty and earthy to me, didn't have the bright freshness of the Mt. Difficulty I had earlier. Different style but, very complex!
Chardonnay 07: this was beautiful however, nice acidic tang to it to round out the richness of the fruit. Tasted somewhat like the White Burgundy I got to try in the Chardonnay masterclass I attended.
Katnook: My friend recently tried a bottle of the 05 Cab Sauv and sent me a very long and admirable sms singing it's praises. After reading up on Katnook it was great to finally try the range including the Odyssey and Prodigy.
Prodigy Shiraz 05: Beautiful sip, exploded in my mouth with forest fruits and nice oakiness. Lasted in my mouth for maybe 30s or more, great wine!
Odyssey Cab Sauv 05: What a revelation...beautiful peperry, earthy and meaty all in once. I've tried my hardest to pick 'mint' and 'eucalypt' in cab sauv and this is the first i've ever detected on the nose. Ever so subtle. Wish I could own a few bottles of this!
Mt Difficulty: Tried their 3 levels of Pinot, Roaring Meg, Mt difficulty then the single vineyard (gold label)...each was fantastic. To me, distinct sweetness of strawberries and bright fresh fruit. All were 08s if I recall. Very enjoyable, i'll probably buy a few of the Roaring Meg as the price difference between each to me was too steep considering how good the Roaring Meg was!
St Hallett: Only tried the 'Old Block' Shiraz here which was decanted...rich and leathery. Very enjoyable, I also found their cheaper range quite stunning at the price!
Innocent Bystander/Giant Steps: I tried the 3 single vineyard Chardoonnays and corresponding Pinot Noirs here. All very enjoyable, for me the revelation here was that despite same varietal, same vintage and a distance of only 5km (between 2, I can't recall which), all wines had such different expressions. My pick was the Tarraford Chardonnay which was wonderfully rich and peachy.
Well, anyway I hope you enjoyed my rookie tasting notes and have a few comments for me!
Such a supremely enjoyable experience...got to also do a Chardonnay and Shiraz masterclass on the day with talks by the winemakers and comparisons to a few French wines...enlightening! Love the aussie stuff still but
Only regret is I didn't try the Bannockburn and Devil's Corner stands! Completely missed them. Ah well!
I tend to spend all my spare time reading and reading about wine, whether it be production, reviews or tasting notes - so it was awesome for me to taste these. The winemakers were very generous with their time in particular the gentleman at Katnook (I'm so sorry I forgot his name), who watched my every reaction to the wine passing my lips and finished with a topped up glass of Odyssey! He smiled genteely when I told him 'Ive read so much about this wine, it's quite amazing to actually drink it myself'.
After my first post I did take away the sound advice to taste as much as possible and i'm glad I paced myself on the producers I really wanted to try (and a lot of spitting which is relatively new for me haha).
Here are my terrible notes...I wish I had taken more! The vintages are a little hard to remember, but pretty much the most reent commercial release with a few exceptions.
So here goes, the notes of an inexperienced taster: (not in chronological order of the day)
Petaluma: I've always wanted to try more Petaluma, as i've had the Hanlin Hill and Chardonnays before and was so very impressed. It was great to go through their whole range.
Piccadilly Chardonnay 07: I've had this wine once before and it blew me away. So wonderfully smooth and rich, strong tropical fruits and to me hints of nuts, cashews and the like.
Tiers 04: An absolute mind bender...so complex, it was hard to imagine the Piccadilly a step better but this was it...every sip was a mouth filling amazing experience. Didn't come across as strongly on my palate as the Piccadilly but expressed itself smoothly over a longer period of time. Mindblowing stuff...
Coonawarra 07: This was a funny one, as it was the 07 and not due for commercial release it was bottled much like a cleanskin haha. Wonderful wine, still a bit green I guess is the way to describe it but a beautiful mix of forest fruits and wonderful length.
Henschke: By the time i'd reached Henschke i'd done most of the whites I wanted and so went straight to their reds...a pity in hindsight as I have heard so much about their whites too. I do recall tasting a chardonnay with a grey label which was wonderful, though for me a little too judicious on the oak.
Henry's 7 06: What a beautiful wine and within my kind of budget. So smooth and well put together, felt like a seamlessly smooth wine perhaps a little too sweet? If that is the right descriptor...seemed to lack a little tannin?
Keyneton 06: I've had this once before too and it did not disappoint. Almost chocolatey I thought it was superbly balacned with the tannin.
Johanns' garden 06: I haven't had much experience with GSM but this was quite an experience to drink...very intense and savoury. Loved it.
Mt. Edelstone 04: Once again a wine I have read and heard so much about, my glass was quivering as I was poured some. Notable that this was the only Henschke on the stand decantered, and I was told it had been decantered for a good 2 hours or so...which probably contributed to why it was SO DAMN GOOD. Beautiful pepperiness and just went on and on. Hooked...
By Farr: I completely did not know what to expect with these wines, but had read excellent things in JH and JO about them. Geelong is about the only thing I knew about the wines...
Chardonnay 06: Such a completely different style...Chablis style I guess? Nice acids, that tropical warmth on first taste balanced with that brisk acidity. I could drink a whole bottle of this...
Pinot Noir 06: Once again a revelation in style. Very dry and dusty with red berry fruits. A bit unlike the Otago Pinot I had before which had a distinct start of sweetness. Once again perhaps a French style? Very enjoyable but I would prefer it a little aged with less tannin...
Sangreal: No idea what blend this was, had such a beautiful nose but. So elegant, could smell it all day and night. Tasted almost Pinot Noir like.
Browns of Padthaway: Only wine tried here was the 'Brigstock' blend...very nice is all I remember!
Tapanappa: Now these were astounding wines...so very different but...I think quite simply they were all too young as new releases. I can't seem to pick wines with cellaring potential but if i'd take a stab at it i'd say these would be it.
Pinot Noir 07: Very dusty and earthy to me, didn't have the bright freshness of the Mt. Difficulty I had earlier. Different style but, very complex!
Chardonnay 07: this was beautiful however, nice acidic tang to it to round out the richness of the fruit. Tasted somewhat like the White Burgundy I got to try in the Chardonnay masterclass I attended.
Katnook: My friend recently tried a bottle of the 05 Cab Sauv and sent me a very long and admirable sms singing it's praises. After reading up on Katnook it was great to finally try the range including the Odyssey and Prodigy.
Prodigy Shiraz 05: Beautiful sip, exploded in my mouth with forest fruits and nice oakiness. Lasted in my mouth for maybe 30s or more, great wine!
Odyssey Cab Sauv 05: What a revelation...beautiful peperry, earthy and meaty all in once. I've tried my hardest to pick 'mint' and 'eucalypt' in cab sauv and this is the first i've ever detected on the nose. Ever so subtle. Wish I could own a few bottles of this!
Mt Difficulty: Tried their 3 levels of Pinot, Roaring Meg, Mt difficulty then the single vineyard (gold label)...each was fantastic. To me, distinct sweetness of strawberries and bright fresh fruit. All were 08s if I recall. Very enjoyable, i'll probably buy a few of the Roaring Meg as the price difference between each to me was too steep considering how good the Roaring Meg was!
St Hallett: Only tried the 'Old Block' Shiraz here which was decanted...rich and leathery. Very enjoyable, I also found their cheaper range quite stunning at the price!
Innocent Bystander/Giant Steps: I tried the 3 single vineyard Chardoonnays and corresponding Pinot Noirs here. All very enjoyable, for me the revelation here was that despite same varietal, same vintage and a distance of only 5km (between 2, I can't recall which), all wines had such different expressions. My pick was the Tarraford Chardonnay which was wonderfully rich and peachy.
Well, anyway I hope you enjoyed my rookie tasting notes and have a few comments for me!
Such a supremely enjoyable experience...got to also do a Chardonnay and Shiraz masterclass on the day with talks by the winemakers and comparisons to a few French wines...enlightening! Love the aussie stuff still but
Only regret is I didn't try the Bannockburn and Devil's Corner stands! Completely missed them. Ah well!