What Were They Thinking!?!?

A few months ago was the Royal Adelaide Wine Show and as a self confessed wine nerd I found myself eagerly awaiting the results to be published. I did have an opportunity to go to the tasting but unfortunately my paying day job once again got in the way! A mate of mine did attend however and brought back with him a book of results. Browsing through the results for each class showed some interesting outcomes to say the least.

Jacobs Creek 2012 & 2013 Classic Riesling

One that peaked my interest in particular was Section 1 (Still Wine), Class 5 (2013 Riesling) and 6 (2012 Riesling). Where the 2012 Jacobs Creek Classic Riesling had taken a gold medal in class 6 and the 2013 picked up a silver medal in class 5. In fact the 2012 Riesling was the highest point scoring Riesling in its class!  Now as it often does, curiosity had got the better of me and I decided to take a look at these two wines.

2012 Jacobs Creek Classic Riesling

The Jacobs Creek Classic Range retails for around $11ish and is the entry level wine range for the Jacobs Creek label. They are a regional blend and the fruit parcels come from all over South Eastern Australia. The Classic range Riesling's are a dry style Riesling.

The 2012 scored a whopping 18.7pts out of a maximum 20 and was the highest point scoring Riesling in its class. These are my notes on the wine.

Pale straw in color. lemon rind on the nose little bit of minerality behind that. Right up front you get a tart zingy granny smith green apple acid hit, that fades away to reveal ripe lemon juice.
No great length and finishes with minerals and lime rind. 86pts

2013 Jacobs Creek Classic Riesling

The 2013 scored a respectable 17.7 points out of 20 and was only 1.1pts away form the top score. The crazies at the Royal Melbourne Show awarded it a "Best Riesling on Show' Trophy!! These are my notes.

Pale straw in color, mineral nose revealing some slight floral notes. On the palate you first get Intense crisp acid followed by lime flavors. Very short finish disappearing with lemon hints. lacks depth and structure 85pts




So are these wines worthy of their point scores, medals and tropthys???

Quite simply NO! These wines lack the depth, structure and complexity to be show medal winning wines! They are simple and lack balance. There were far more "worthy" wines in the same classes I'd grab off the shelf before these.

Does this mean they are bad wines? By all means no, they are great wines to drink on a Tuesday that you don't have to think about and are not going to break the bank. They are user friendly, easy to drink and un-offensive.

Unfortunately these were not the only results I failed to understand from the Royal Adelaide Wine Show. Which really left me thinking, what were the judges looking for? What were they thinking!?!?

For now Ciao,

B

So What Does a Wine Nerd Drink?

Hey All, It's your boy B!

It's been a long time between blog post / drinks. In this time I have been really exploring my inner wine nerd. Yes that's right I'll admit it, I'm a full on wine nerd and proud! lately I've been drinking some of the wines that I LOVE to drink. These wines aren't particularly easy to talk about, hence the activity of the blog dropping off. 

My Work Jacket, Wine Nerd and Proud

One of the most common questions people ask me when they find out I'm into wine is "what's your favorite wine?". Well that's not a particularly easy question to answer. It's like being asked "Which one of your children is your favorite?". I don't have one particular favorite wine, but I'm going to share some of the wines with you that I enjoy the most.






"We all know, All Roads Lead To Burgundy!"

That's a direct quote from a winemaker, when discussing favorite wines and region. It's true though the more you find yourself getting into wine, the more fascinating Burgundy becomes as a region. Now I can already hear everyone going WTF is Burgundy!?!? Burgundy is a Appellation (region) in Eastern France, like the Barossa or Margaret River.

Burgundy is known for two things Pinot Noir (Red Burgundy) and Chardonnay (White Burgundy). It's also home to some of the worlds most expensive wines. A bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti (AKA DRC), La Tache is going to run you around $4,500! But boy is it BLOODY good though!

The first of my many favorites

2011, Leflaive, Macon-Verze

Domaine Laflaive, Macon-Verze. This is my go to white Burgundy and a great place to start. You can pick this star up for a humble $40ish. This is highly regarded as the best Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) Burgundy on the market. I've taken notes on this wine twice for the 2011 vintage, completely forgetting about taking the first set of notes. This is what I had to say.

Pale yellow straw in color. Citrus zest and some minerals with great acid structure through the middle. Quite a simple wine and a little young but great value for money. 89pts

This is probably one of the best value white burgundy's going. Pale straw color, lemon rind bit of lime zestiness and some minerality coming through. It is a simple wine but just great for the money. Only thing wrong with this is, it's still a little young. 89pts

An outsider looking in

Timo Mayer "The Doktor" Riesling 2010

I LOVE German Riesling! No wait that didn't come off right, lets try that again. I LOVE German Riesling, not sure how I can portray how much I love it in text..... In fact I beg you to try a German Riesling before the years out. This one is from wine maker Timo Mayer out of the Yarra Vally in Victoria. Timo has sourced the fruit from Remstal, near Stuttgart in the southern Germany. Again you can pick this up for around the $40 mark. This is a dry style Riesling and perfect for the upcoming summer.

These are my notes.

This is a "Big Riesling", great acid structure. I get lemon curd, lime cordial and hints of granny smith green apples on the palate. Good structure and mouth feel with a long finish. 92pts

 See it all leads back to Burgundy

2007 Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits St. Georges,
1er Cru Clos des Porrets St. Georges

This is where I always end up and where most of my money ends up too I must confess. One of my favorite Sub Appellation's is Nutis St George in Northern Burgundy. This is also one of my favorite producers, Domaine Henri Gouges. 

This wine is 2007 Domaine Henri Gouges, Nuits St. Georges, 1er Cru Clos des Porrets - St. Georges. This one is going to set you back about $125ish.

Okay I'm going to break this down for you because that will confuse the best of us. First "Domaine Henri Gouges" is simply the producer. Next "Nuits St. Georges" this is the sub region of burgundy of which the wine comes from. Lastly "1er Cru, Clos des Porrets - St. Georges". The "1er Cru" designates its a "Premier Cru" wine which is a vineyard quality classification system. The "Clos des Porrets - St. Georges" tells you what Premier Cru Vineyard the wine comes from. I'll cover and explain the Appellation and Cru systems in more depth in a upcoming blog post.

Enough with that jargon B, So what does it taste like? I hear you say, these are my notes.

In the glass the color is more Maroon and lightens towards the edge. This was quite aromatic and the nose had a "old word" and barn yard about it, quite floral I got rose, cherry and a little bit of oak behind it. Medium weight on the palate, tart cherry with quite a big but smooth acid structure straight through the middle. It wasn't overly long but the length was acceptable. This Pinot is drinking super well at the moment and I'm totally digging Henri's vibe and style. 92pts
  
Well that covers a few of my favorites and you get a little idea on what us wine nerds drink.

For Now Ciao,

B