Grand Cru (Perth) Alternative Reds Tasting 31 August 2016

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

The Grand Cru tasting this month was ‘Alternative Reds’. It was pretty simple – nothing containing Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. We got a fascinating set of wines, and (by accident) all varietals.

As usual, this is a collection of opinions expressed by the group (my disclaimer)

The first two wines were from 2014.

Purple in colour. Barnyard, meaty, gamey characters initially , leading to Christmas cake, oregano and green notes. The palate shows raspberry, fine modest tannins, high acid, and a medium/long finish. It was a Torrette from Grosjean (Val D’Aosta)

The second was a bigger wine. Deep purple, leading to big rich and sweet blueberry. There’s a bit of menthol, and the fruit is slightly confectioned. The nose also shows big oak and vanillan characters, with some cinnamon and nutmeg. The palate is big, minty,tobacco, licorice / aniseed, also showing high alcohol and acid, but moderate tannins. This turned out to be a WA wine – a Mandalay Road Durif.

One wine from 2013 was shown next. Again, deep purple in colour. The nose shows soft juicy red and blue fruits, pencil shavings, and little VA lift. There’s modest oak, some toffee and cola. The palate shows Christmas cake, spices, imperceptible tannins, caramel, high acid – all leading to a medium finish. This was the Faber Petit Verdot.

A pair of 2011s followed:

The first showed a slightly burnt nose, with some bacon and medicinal notes, bright red fruits, and savoury notes. The palate tarry, with firm but fine grained tannins. Acid is prominent, leading to a medium/long finish. This is the Kanonkop Pinotage (South Africa)

The second wine shows ripe red and blue fruits, some rhubarb. The fruit is soft and rich, with some sour cherry. There’s a hint of stalkiness possibly deriving from stem inclusion. The palate continues the rhubarb theme, with softness of fruit washing over the palate, moderate and fine tannins and supporting acidity. This is an elegant wine, rather than a powerhouse. This was the Framingham (NZ) Montepulciano.

We finished with a 2008. This has a deep purple / black colour. The nose is big, earthy, barnyard, bacon, medicinal, savoury, with bright red fruits. There seems to be prominent alcohol. The tannins are big and grippy. The palate drew out some contradictory comments: green (unripe), astringency, raspberry and red fruits, leather, alcohol heat – but having said all of these things, there’s a bit of a light touch on such a big wine. It’s a Touriga Nacionale from Quinta Do Vallado.

The wine of the night was the Faber Petit Verdot, with half the votes.

This tasting was fascinating (and done blind). Each wine provoked considerable conversation and guesswork around grape variety, and origin (you will notice that the 6 wines were from 4 continents)

Cheers
Allan

[paulf]

We don't get it here, but Quinta do Vallado also do a straight Sousao, which wouldn't have made the guessing games any easier! This would have been a fun tasting!

[rooman]

The first showed a slightly burnt nose, with some bacon and medicinal notes, bright red fruits, and savoury notes. The palate tarry, with firm but fine grained tannins. Acid is prominent, leading to a medium/long finish. This is the Kanonkop Pinotage (South Africa)

Cheers
Allan

Of all the South African pinotages I have tried, and sadly I have far more time in the country than I wished for, the Kanonkop version does appear to be the best example. Kanonkop also do an excellent blend (the name of which escapes me at present) that ages really well. The biggest problem with SA wines is the country has a massive brett problem in their wineries. Some of the newer wineries such as Sadie and Dombeya Wines are ok but many of the older establishments produce wines that are just off the richter scale.

Mark