We had a mostly Mediterranean Evening with, of course, some Southern Hemisphere wines to compare and contrast; it threw out some very pleasant surprises……………
1.Sliding Hill, (Chardonnay), Kesbury Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2010, MYR66
A pale lemon wine with citrus (lemon) & herbaceous aromas, floral notes too and maybe a little vanilla in the background. Dry, medium-high acidity levels, medium-bodied and a slightly less complex palate of lemon, nectarine and honey, however it is very flavoursome and finishes with good length.
Price Category: II Rating: Very Good
This is a delightful unoaked Chardonnay with a great structure. It proved very food-friendly with the Italian fayre on offer tonight. Very good value for such quality.
2.Sixty Drops, (Sauvignon Blanc), 2010, Guest White Wine, Marlborough, New Zealand
Pale-medium lemon in colour. Aromas of rose petals & honeysuckle, peach, and hints of minerality – reasonably complex in fact. The wine is dry with high acidity and is light-medium bodied. The palate of acacia honey and tropical fruit salad flavours, kiwi & lychee in particular is very untypical of NZ Sauvignon Blanc but no less pleasant as a result. It has a medium length finish.
Price Category: II Rating: Good
3.Le Bruniche, (Chardonnay), Folonari Family, IGT, Tuscany, Italy, 2009, MYR75
A pale gold wine with vegetal aromas, reminiscent of hay, apples & spicey pear are in there too. Dry with medium acidity, medium bodied and a palate of honey, butter, creamy, apple & pears again, bananas too and almonds in the background. A medium-long finish.
Price Category: II Rating: Good
This is a reasonably rich Chardonnay and very much a food wine. There wine rested on the lees (yeast cells) for a short amount of time and this has really added to the creaminess and smooth structure. Really suited the rich & creamy flavoursome dishes on offer tonight.
4.Sassetto, ( Sangiovese), Villa Bagnolo, di Romano DOC Superiore, Italy, 2009, MYR60
A medium-ruby coloured wine. Aromas of red cherry, tobacco, and meaty notes. Dry with high acidity and medium tannin levels. Medium-bodied and a palate of cherries, liquorice, cloves and cinnamon spiciness – yummy – short to medium finish.
Price Category: II Rating: Good – better with food
A very typical Italian “food-friendly” wine. Good levels of acidity providing the perfect match to pasta and/or tomato dishes. Indeed we enjoyed it very much more as an accompaniment to food. It is clearly a very well made wine and at this price deserves a place on anyone’s dinner table.
5.Chenas, (Gamay), Dominique Piron, Beaujolais, France, 2009, MYR77
A pale ruby wine, aromas of cherry, cigarette ash and petrol? (not looking good so far…) Dry, medium-high acidity, low tannin levels and light-medium bodied. Wow – a complex palate of cherry, strawberry, blackcurrant – summer fruit pudding in a glass in fact. There is also a background roast vegetal smokiness along with spicey notes, finishing med-long in length. A really very pleasant palate despite the bouquet!
Price Category: II Rating: V Good
A very elegant wine – quite rightly so – this is one of the top ten“Cru” village names in Beaujolais from a quality producer.
6. Pigreco, (Merlot/Sangiovese), Robert Cipresso, IGT, Tuscany, Italy, 2008, MYR86
A medium-purple colour wine. Fabulous aromas of red & black cherry, plum, cloves & cinnamon – xmas cake anyone? – smokey background. A dry wine with medium acidity levels and medium but approachable tannins. They cherry and plum followed through to the palate and even more intense xmas cake flavours; very rich yummy flavours indeed. Finishes in a medium-long length. Wow a great wine to finish the evening.
Price Category: III Rating: Very Good
This wine is only just into Price Category III although some of our panel members would not have been surprised to find it even higher. Cipresso’s Sicilian blend of Bordeaux grape varieties was quite rightly a huge hit.
Food and Wine Matching:
Moutabal – (Aubergine Puree)
Spaghetti Tetrazzini
Tiramisu
