Subsequent Wine Tasting Sessions

Wine Tasting Session 2

Last week, we went throw 10 different wines and without much in our stomachs, the whole class was pretty chirpy by 9pm. We seriously went overtime last week. Anyways, here are the top picks of the night:

1. Houghton Riesling 2002 – Straw in colour. On the nose, mushroom, honey and gooseberry. On the palate, toasty, woody, herbaecious with a caramel toffee after taste.
   Vasse Felix (Partly Oaked) Semillion 2005 – Straw in colour. On the nose, pine nuts, lemon, passionfruit and spices. On the palate, woody, nutty, acidic and lemony. Simple little wine.
2. Jim Barry Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – Dark red / purple in colour with full rim and core. On the nose, herbaceous, earthy, spicy and plumy. On the palate, plums, fruity, a bit of tannin, delicate with a long finish.
3. Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz 2005 – Dark red core and rim. Vanilla, plums, black pepper and herbs on the nose. Tasty chocolate, plums and tannins.
4. Red Edge Shiraz 2005 – Dark red core, with lighter rim. Berries, zucchini, oregano and nuts on the nose. Granny-smith apples, spicy nutmeg with a long finish.

For dinner, we went to Torimatsu for a quick and simple Japanese.

Wine Tasting Session 3

Most of the wines at yesterday’s session I loved… and lucky for us, we tried various wines from Australia and Europe – 12 in all. Here are the ones I loved:

1. Bollini Pinot Grigio 2005 – Straw in colour, tropical pineapple and citric on the nose with spells of unriped pears. A little sweet on the palate with a hint of honey, under-riped fruits, mango lemon tannins and a good length.
2. Scorpo Pinot Gris 2006 – Pale straw with a pink tinge in colour, citric with a hint of honey and tobacco on the nose. On the palate, tastes of seaweed and moss, with apricot acidity. Soft and sweet, rounded with a good length.
3. Hugel Gewurztraminer 2004 – Deep straw in colour. On the nose, honey, tropical fruits, floral, lycee and rose water. On the palate, notes follow through with tannin and nutty.
4. Redbank The Widow Jones Viognier 2006 – Deep straw. On the nose, citrus, nutmeg, apricot kernel, moss and capsicum,. On the palate, dried apricots, a hint of spices, dry with a good dose of tannic acids.
5. Turkey Flat Rose 2006 – Light ruby red in colour. On the nose, apple, vanilla, honey, fruity, nutmeg, of the forest smells. On the palate, a little sweet, earthy, with swirls of cherry, strawberries. Lolly lolly lolly.
6. Pizzini Sangiovese 2005 – Browny red with deep core. On the nose, spicy, peppery, leather with notes of plums and clay. On the palate, spicy, acidic, dry. Need food with it.
7. Telmo Rodriguez Tempranillo Rioja 2005 – Ruby red with deep core. On the nose, petrol, fungus and rare salmon skin. On the palate, dried orange skin, woody, with a candy floss after taste.
8. Fire Block Old Vine Grenache 2002 – Red with even core and rim. On the nose, spicy and peppery, with a hint of cooked tomatoes. On the palate, a little sweet, spicy, swirls of dried prunes and burnt taste.
9. Stanton & Killeen Rutherglen Durif 2002 – Browny-red with deeper core. On the nose, chocolate, mushroom, hazelnut, meeting with a hint of spice. On the palate, a little sweet with cherry taste, dark chocolate, sultanas and a little spicy.
   

• Interesting information:
  - Out of the white wines, Marsanne, Semillion and Riesling can be cellared while the rest should be drunk young.
  - Sometimes when the wine is sweet on the palate, it means that the grapes have been left longer on the vine.
  - Durif is often known as Petit Shiraz because of it’s spicy notes.

Afterwards, we went to Grill’d in Windsor and ordered my usual Simply Grill’d with Cheese on a Multi-Grain Bun and Herb Chips.

* The world is in mourning for Virginia Tech – How could they have let this happen….”