Château Villerambert Julien Rosé 2006

The latest vintage of this rose from Minervois, of which I have tried the 2004 vintage some time ago. Still under cork, the wine opened to quite a fresh bouquet of Strawberries, cherry, jube fruits, a little spice and cream. On the palate it was quite chewey, with crisp acidity and quite a dry finish, almost Spanish in style, but not as confident. Overall still quite an enjoyable rose, more of a crossover perhaps between a Bordeaux and a Provencal style, but still quite nice.
50+4+12+17+7 = 90/100

Sauvignon Blanc Tasting Results

Well another tasting done and dusted, although this time quite a small gathering as circumstances conspired to reduce the numbers significantly. But apart from that quite a fun and relaxed tasting.

A bit of a binary line up of wines this time, with a Malborough-Sancerre-Malborough-Sancerre sequence, so unfortunately no Australian representation this time.

My dearest thanks to Lia and Greg for coming and Deborah for all her food preparation.

So participants were;

Lia
Deborah
Greg
Brett

So after our lovely rose and Champagne it was down to business.

1. Culley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007

The first wine in the line up showed the most generous bouquet of all the wines, with big passionfruit, gooseberry, some grass and sherbert aromas. On the palate it was quite fine, with tangy acidity, good length and dry finish. There did seem a little residual sugar on the palate, but quite a nice and friendly wine straight out of the bottle. 0 votes.

2. Domaine Raimbault AOC Sancerre 2005

Onto something a little different, this Sancerre from Verdigny opened to a rather tight bouquet of soft lemon peel, slate, mineral, stone and a bit of honey lurking somewhere. On the palate it was relatively austere, with fruits fading into a slatey stoney background. Some preserved lemon flavours were evident, and finish was quite taught and dry. Quite a fine yet austere example of Sancerre. 1 vote

3. Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - WINNER

Another wine from Marlborough, this SB opened to a relatively muted bouqet of sweet lemons, gooseberries, dried herbs and some grass. On the palate it was quite fine and well balanced with fine acidity, crisp fruits and some nice minerality. The wine showed good length and a very nice savoury finish. A very well made NZ SB and quite popular with all of us. 2 votes.

4. Pascal Cotat Les Monts Damnés AOC Sancerre 2005

And to finish, another Sancerre, this time from "The Damned Mountains", a steep single vinyard in Chavignol. The bouquet was elusive at first, but did slowly reaveal itself with aromas of melons, fleshy ripe pear, honey, stones, smokey oak and some minerals. On the palate this wine had an extraordinary texture (for me at least), with almost a thick and fat, but highly toned fruit profile somehow curbed by a slatey mineral core. Flavours did slowly emerge and develop, but for me the structure and texture of this wine was superb, and really made it quite a unique Sancerre. Would certainly develop with some cellaring. Remarkable. 1 vote.

Château de Sours Bordeaux Rosé 2006

To start the SB tasting off (see above), I served this rose from Bordeaux as an aperitif, made almost entirely from Merlot, and I think a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon. On the bouquet it was quite aromatic, with a nice mix of berry fruits, hints of mint and cabernet leaf, white pepper and a touch of cream. On the palate it was quite juicy, with clean fruits and balanced acidity. Quite a soft finish made this rose quite enjoyable drinking. One of the more finer roses from Bordeaux I have come across.
50+4+13+16+7 = 90/100

Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Another vintage of this wine, of which I think I have tried the 2004 and 2005 vintages. Opened well to a nicely balanced bouquet of gooseberries, citrus, some musk and a little capsicum. On the palate it was again well balanced, crisp, soft minerals and decent taught finish. Not too dissimilar to the 2005. Lacks a little dimension but really quite good value at $11.
50+4+12+16+7 = 89/100

Frescobaldi Castello di Pomino Bianco DOC 2005

Finally Friday, and for our aperitif we grabbed this wine, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco from Tuscany, Italy. On the boquet aromas of flowers, herbs, melon, citrus, white pepper and wet stones. The palate was light, with refreshing citrus, minerals and a nice crisp and dry finish. It did seem that the Pinot Bianco eventually dominated the Chardonnay component, which made the wine more appropriately a table or food wine, especially seafood. Overall quite an interesting Italian white wine.
50+4+13+16+7 = 90/100

Marquis de Goulaine Sancerre 2004

As I will be missing the lastest woine toime, I thought I would celebrate with a little Sancerre (plus it was half price at Selgros), Opened to a light lemon bouquet with a smooth creamy texture. On first opening it was a little austere so letting it sit, the muskiness in the bouquet filled out to reveal a much more interesting and complex wine.

93/100

Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay 2006

After our $20 soda water, we did crave a wine with some flavour and bouquet. And we were fortunate to have a bottle of this Chardonnay, of which I have had a few times in the past (see 2004 review) and have been consistently impressed with. On the bouquet were lovely aromas of spicy pear, melon, fig, cream, nuts and a waft of oak. The palate was very well integrated with fruit and oak tightly wound together. Lovely clean mouthfeel and finished long and dry. Again I am impressed with the quality of this chardonnay, and too with its consistency. Still good value at around $30.
50+4+13+17+8 = 92/100

Seppelt Fleur de Lys 2004

Being my birthday, Deb and I had a quiet dinner at home and started off with a bottle of this Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier from Seppelt. Opened to a rather austere and subdued bouquet of citrus, hay, strawberries and a touch of yeast. On the palate again it was quite austere, almost aneamic, with decent beading and a little runaway acidity. At times it was possible to believe one was drinking soda water, as any flavour was almost imperceptable. I must say this was quite a lack luster wine, and certainly the NV Fleur de Lys had more flavour. A $20 bottle of soda water.
50+4+11+14+6 = 85/100

d’Arenberg ‘The High Trellis’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

On the recommendation of my freind Mark, who was impressed by the 2004 vintage of this McLaren Vale Cab Sav, I managed to procure a 2005 vintage of this wine. Opened to quite a big and hot bouquet of blackcurrant, blackberry, plum, raspberry, dusty leaf, some herb notes and spice. On the palate again it was pretty big, with a little alcohol heat, with rich fruit, robust acid and tannins, and quite a nice savoury and drying finish. Overall this cab sav was pretty big for its price of $19, and definitely could take some cellaring. Good idea to give it a good decant.
50+4+13+17+7 = 91/100

Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Again another NZ wine on special, again from Vavasour Wines, and again from the Malborough region. Opened to a reasonably classic NZ style of gooseberries, passionfruit, citrus and a hint of grass. On the palate it was quite juicy, crisp and fresh with decent body and length. A slight grainy acidity was a nice touch, but overall this SB didn't really grab me. It was well made and typical of the region, but just lacked character and was frankly rather boring. Still not bad value at $13.
50+4+12+16+6 = 88/100

Dashwood Pinot Noir 2006

Being on special, I grabbed this wine from Marlborough, but later did worry as it was made by Vavasour Wines, who's Pinot Noir I had tried fairly recently was not quite to my tastes, so to be sure gave this one a bit of a decant. Initially big bouquet of sour cherry fruits, which did abate to show some sap, mulch, earth and some burnt sugar notes. On the palate it wasn't as big as I thought it would be, thankfully, with a medium and balanced body, nice sour cherry fruits, some caramel and earth, and a good length and a soft but assertive finish. Overall this was quite pleasant drinking, and more typical of NZ pinot which I do love.
50+4+13+16+7 = 90/100

Banrock Station White Shiraz 2L Cask

Its been some time since I have reviewed a cask wine, but I was fairly impressed with this rose style white shiraz from Banrock. An attractive mid-pink in colour, the bouquet shows some nice strawberry, cherries, musk, and a little spice and cream. On the palate it is quite fresh, with a crunchy acidity, decent body and depth, and a fairly grippy, but not aggressive finish. Overall a pretty good value rose for a cask, and a good treatment of the variety.
50+4+12+16+7 = 89/100