Whites and Rose are in green

Red are in red. To see pictures of these unique labels go to thetravelingmartinis.com and sign up, comes with a whole lot of pictures but if you jump to the May Blog she took some good pictures of the labels.

Consumed March 22^nd.  Drove up to the Pinnacle Desert today and on the way back stopped on the Swan River at Olive Farm wines. Mostly for a break but purchased several bottles of wine and some cheese and crackers to go with it. The Swan River runs into Perth from the north and is dotted with small wineries and vineyards of which this is one. It is supposed to be the oldest wine area in Australia started in 1829. The tasting room was packed and tables outside on a deck were filled with young people enjoying the experience.

We purchased two bottles here one a Verdelho 2020 and the other was G.S.T. “THE TAXMAN” a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Tempranillo 2019.

That night in our room at the Mantra Hotel on Hay St after going out for a fusion dinner, we got down to analyzing the GST. Very well made it was full and rich. The acidity stood up to the tannins with a 14.9 alcohol sweetening the mid-palate. Overall impression was very lively with a gentleness that I’m going to assume was from the Grenache.  The fruit aromas were a great cross blend of all three varietals with the floral Grenache over the darker Shiraz filled in by a little plummy and a little mineral like Tempranillo.

Consumed March 23^rd. Drove to Prevelly, about 3 ½ hours south of Perth, right on the Indian Ocean.  We will be spending the next two months here. Very quiet, the end of a cul-de-sac, 4 bedroom house with two baths and all the comforts of home.  About 10 minutes out of the town Margaret River and close to a large number of fantastic wineries. Seeing how they have run out of toilet paper on the main shelves in the supermarkets they decided to limit wine to three bottles a person a day. I guess they figure that will be one of the next items to sell out or there is some other direct connection I do not understand.  There are three stores in town so between Jacque and I that limits us to 18 bottles a day.

To relax from the drive, we opened the Verdelho from Olive Farm wines.  It was excellent, stainless steel fermented but very rich and absolutely true to varietal.  Really enjoyed this bottle. It was as weighty as a chardonnay but true to the slight Gewurz Traminer nose that was expected and had the acid to finish clean. Yum

That night I BBQed a couple of steaks, Jacque threw a salad together and we shared dinner with a bottle of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 from Arlewood another winner.  Deep black fruit yet a very well-rounded mouth, soft but with plenty of structure.  Easy to drink now but would gamble on another 5 to 10 years of improvement.  Alcohol was 14.5% so it was definitely ripe at picking.  If there was much oak it was well incorporated as nothing hit me over the head.  Some nice white pepper spice in the background as well as some cassis. Medium finish and not at all bitter.

Consumed March 24^th. I believe we opened this wine on the 23^rd and sipped on it over several days.  It was a present from our rental agency and much appreciated.  It was the Voyager Estate 2017 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon from Margaret River. Jacque and I visited here last October when we were here for a few days. I find New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs to be overly aggressive and high acid. This area is just that much warmer that it drives the grassiness down in flavor and then to blend it with Semillon, which many times I get a green fig note, helps to fatten both the nose and the texture up.  This wine was stunning and was in the true style of the Margaret River. Good acidity kept it fresh for several days sitting in the fridge door.

That night we opened a bottle of Gruner Veltliner from Adelaide Hills 2019 from Nepenthe. Though it was a good solid wine they had adjusted the SO2 at bottling too high for the pH which when it sits in the bottle for a few months gives that classic old school aromatic of burnt match. The mouth was fine and the varietal character was true which like a Riesling, apples and pears, but was marred by the nose.

Consumed March 25^th. To support a dinner of Raviolis and salad that Jacque had prepared I opened a Coonawarra 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from Riddoch. My bad.  This was a very big wine. Rich in color, flavor, and texture hence, it buried the raviolis.  Very well-made wine with deep purple colors, chewy tannins and big black fruit, white pepper, a hint of cinnamon and nicely distributed oak tannins in support of all that fruit.  Should have saved this wine for another 15 years.

Consumed March 26^th: Tonight, we ate Buttered chicken on riced cauliflower accompanied by a nowhere California Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir from Geelong in southern Victoria Australia.  We picked it up in a shop in Margaret River because Jacque thought the label was cute. It is called 6Ft6 with the front descriptor of “It’s the length of the finish”. I figured it was just a very tall winemaker because it finished quite short.  A rather flat wine with little charm. It was true to the Pinot Noir varietal character but did not offer anything interesting.  The chicken was great though.

Consumed March 27^th: We started the evening with Impresario from Coward and Black Vineyards on Cullity Rd. A Brut of the 2011 vintage. The mousse was still quite lively while the actual fruit was subdued leaving an aroma profile of grapefruit and almonds. I found the finish to be quite bitter but then I’m overly bitter sensitive.  Finished very much like a grapefruit.

To accompany the quiche we had a 2017 Pinot Noir from Tasmania, Tamar Ridge.  This was an exciting wine with high mineral, high varietal character and was wonderfully spicy. The surprise was when you put it in your mouth the flavors were bigger than the nose. This of course means this wine is a baby and should be given at least several years to open up. Loved it.

So I decided to take a nap in front of the TV and when I awoke at 11:00 p.m. I discovered the Pinot was gone (meaning empty) and I had just gotten my second wind and decided to write some, maybe play a little guitar  I opened a Bettenay’s Rose 2019.  It had one of the prettiest colors I’ve ever seen in a rose.  The nose was tropical in nature like a possible passion fruit and watermelon blend and the mouth was just delicious, full of fruit with sweet midpalate. I didn’t detect any sugar and the alcohol was only 12.5% but it was very full and yummy.  It went well with guitar.

Consumed March 28^th:   There is a venison farm near us and as we were visiting a chocolate factory and several wineries, so we stopped in. We bought a rack of ribs and a couple of filets. So tonight, we had smoked venison sausage and tomato soup.

While cooking we knocked back a bottle of Cullen Dancing in the Moonlight Rose 2019. Light color which was pink not an oxidized salmon color. The flavor was a light raspberry with almost a juicy fruit touch. I’m guessing a .6 to 1 g/100ml sugar but very pleasant.  Easy bottle to finish for two of you before dinner was cooked.

With dinner we had the 2017 Fraser Gallop Estate Cabernet/Melot Margaret River which was excellent. Up front was prickly green peppercorn then a red currant back drop.  A lot of interesting spice with a little caramel raisin quality that reminded me of an Amarone, with a touch of cardamom.

Consumed March 29^th:  Time to pull out the venison rack. I was racking my brain as to what to do with them and decided on a honey, paprika and cumin glaze to BBQ. The rack was delicious. We had it with a salad and Porta Bella mushrooms.

We started with a 2016 Cullen Chenin Blanc that had been oak fermented. We would have been better off buying a cheap Chardonnay. The oak buried any possible fruit and I know the style they were shooting for, but they missed their mark.

The red with dinner was a Fishbone  2018 Margaret River Tempranillo. Very interesting wine.  First sip made you do a double take. Reminded me of some of the Barberas I’ve made in my life.  Very high acid but not thinned out by it but accents the fruit.  That was my hardest part was describing the fruit. Probably a mineral like rhubarb. There was a slight burn to the nose but the alcohol was only 14%.  One thing to note here is that when a wine has this much acid the mouth perceives the tannin levels to be a lot lower than they are. Great food wine, it took the dinner to the next level.

Consumed March 30^th:  Burger night.  very simple we did burgers and slightly Barbied venison chorizo with lime.

We started by comparing the Cullen 2014 Mangan Vineyard Semillon with the 2017 Cullen Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend Margret River. The Semillon I though was very good. It had a slight bottle bouquet (kind of a dustiness) against the true green fig quality of a Semillon.  I don’t mean an under ripe fig but a white fig.  The 2017 of course didn’t have any bottle bouquet but was more of a Sauvignon blanc without excess grassiness and a higher acid profile then the Semillon.

The red with dinner was the Forester 2017 Lifestyle Cabernet Merlot from Margaret River. I found it thin and had the green qualities of over cropping (meaning the vines were carrying too much fruit to ripen properly). Not recommended.

Later that night I started a Mad Fish, Gold Turtle Margaret River 2018 Shiraz Rose. Beautiful rose like nose, light pink color with no apparent oxidation. The mouth follows in a very pleasing delicate manner.  Nice wine.

Consumed March 31^st: Had some wonderful plum marinated pork chops with a side of green beans, finished the rose from the night before.

Had with dinner 2019 Take it to the Grave South Australian Pinot Noir. Delicious. Lots of spice and had that slight kiwi shoe polish character of an extended maceration wine. Very lively wine that I’m sorry I didn’t have two to age one for a couple of years.

Consumed April 1: Wow a Rocky Road Semillon Sauvignon blanc blend.  Opened it on the beach while watching the sun set. All is fantastic. Finished it off while Jacque cooked dinner of a fresh cabbage and sausage stir fry that Paige taught us and we love.  Had to go back up to the chocolate factory for a resupply and spotted a fresh grow vegie place along the road so we stopped in. Man did it smell good so we bought fresh Basil, Cabbage and they had sausage so we went for it.

Had it with a Running With The Bulls Tempranillo 2018 from Barossa.  This is really a different wine. Smells like black cherry jam and has a sweet mouth maybe even 1g/100ml sugar but it went great with dinner. I’d consider this on a hot afternoon with ice cubes.  Far better than the Apothic and Manage Trois America makes.

Consumed April 2: The aperitif wine was a Rocky Road 2018 Chardonnay Margaret River.  I’m not a huge Chardonnay fan but this was alright.  There was some butter, honey, and golden delicious apple.  It was medium weight and quite pleasant to drink.

Then came dinner with two  two-inch Rib Eyes bone in and smothered in a thick spicy sweet shiraz marinade, charred on the outside and rare on the inside.  BBQed cauliflower and broccoli rabe with a garlic olive oil drizzle and a bottle of Tasmanian 2018 42 Degrees S Pinot Noir.  Had this wine in October in Tasmania and loved it. It didn’t disappoint.  Medium bodied it is full of spice, but the fruit is that classic leaf mulch and pheasant blood earthiness.  The tannins are sort of prickly in the mouth indicating it has some time to go. Classic.

Consumed April 3: One glass left of Rocky Road 2019 Rose Margaret River. Very slight Salmon color but acceptable.  Low fruit profile but a clean floral nose. Aromas are too low to pick out a fruit. Nice acid balance guessing a .6 to 1.0 g/100ml sugar which makes it nice and round without being really sweet.  Quite quaffable.

The next wine was accompanied by store bought raviolis and a store-bought sauce.  I’m sorry but I’m a spoiled Italian but the wine made up for it.  Cape Mentelle 2017 Margaret River Shiraz. Earthy, brambly, spicy nose. Smoke, chocolate, some black pepper and minerality. Full forward tannins that coat your teeth and the front of your mouth but with a long finish and enough bitterness to balance it all out.

My best man when I got married was Pat Heck whose roommate at Fresno State was David Hohnen.  David was from here and when he got out of school came back to the Margaret River and founded Cape Mentelle. In the mid 80s he partnered with Veuve Cliquot.  At that point David went off and started Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.  Right about the time of his partnering I did a Zinfandel crush for David in Napa Valley.  We got it through fermentation off the skins and barreled it up, shipping the barrels to Scharffenberger in Mendocino County California.  This was also owned by Veuve Cliquot and was being run by Tex Sawyer, one of my Davis classmates. Never did find out what happened to that wine but Cape Mentelle is the only winery I know of that produces Zinfandel in the Margaret River, and a very good one.  There are some new ones now most of which David had a hand in. (We have a found a few other producers in our quest)

Totally blowing it I bought a bottle of Oyster Bay (not Cloudy) Pinot Noir Marlborough NZ 2018 thinking it was Cloudy Bay.  To compare with the Cape Mentelle of course. It was disgust at first whiff. Very heavy H2S (hydrogen sulfide the rotten egg smell). Probably malo-lactic in the bottle. Eventually by aerating the wine in the glass the stink spun off leaving not much. A little mineral Pinot noir varietal but nothing exciting. A few prickly tannins in the mouth. OK for quaffing. Now I need to find a Cloudy Bay.

Consumed April 4^th:  I’m sipping a Howling Wolves White Cub Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc non-vintage Margaret River as an aperitif. OMG it’s like having a jalapeno cocktail.  Only ever had one other wine like this which was a Sauvignon Blanc from Santa Maria California back in the 70s. Odd but enjoyable.

To share with a takeout Pizza from one of our small beach café’s, which was excellent, we opened a Madoon 2016 old vine Grenache from the Swan River.  Classic Grenache fruit with a wonderful lighter spice. The mouth was round full and engaging. Excellent.

For a comparative base (lol) we popped a Fifth Leg, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz Merlot blend 2018 from Western Australia  Dark currant, blackberry with a hint of pyrazine that makes it an identifiable cab but not overblown. Great central mouth with low bitterness. Can’t tell you about astringent tannins as I had a piece of chocolate first.

Consumed April 5^th:  Aperitif was a 2019 Margaret River Smoking Gun Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend.  This tended to be a little more Sauvignon Blanc oriented, but not aggressively grassy with follow through flavors and a rich citrus finish.

Rolled a butterflied lamb shoulder around garlic, rosemary, Italian parsley, and coriander.  Tied into a roll and BBQed with Cauliflower and broccoli Rabe, served alongside cold green beans and beets. Now for one of my favorite wines in the world, Clarendon Hills Grenache 2012 Kangarilla. I’ve had this several times before and have always loved it.  It hails from McClaren Vale where these ancient vines grow on their own roots. As I remembered, a perfect medley of black fruit, red fruit, anise, white pepper and a touch of vanilla.  Mouth is very full and rich. Can’t believe I found this in a local store for $50 Australian which is about $30 American.  A steal.

Consumed April 6^th: Our traditional response to too much left-over lamb is turn it into curry.  While slicing and dicing I was enjoying a bottle of Deep Woods Harmony 2019 Rose Margaret River.  Light pink color with no oxidation.  Strawberry fruity nose, delicate well-balanced wine.

With the curry over brown rice, added a smoked chicken breast that really set this curry up to be one of my better ones, we opened a Blue Poles 2012 Teroldego. Glad I didn’t drink this any younger, it had substantial tannins.  I’m a Teroldego novice as I’ve had it in northern Italy that was very sophisticated and excellent, and I’ve made it myself out of Lodi as one of the legs of Apothic after selling to Gallo.  Quite the opposite end of the spectrum as it was used as a bulking agent in a much bigger blend.  Found it in this case to be a bit of a weird wine though not too bad.  This was somewhere in the middle. Red Black fruit with a relatively nondescript character but balanced clean but good.

Consumed April 7^th:  Jacque got hungry so dinner was at 3:30. She again cooked up her cabbage and sausage dish with the addition of tofu that was peanut encrusted.  Very good.  We started with an Oyster Bay sparkling Cuvee Rose. It was orange in color but the nose had a nice yeastiness and the mouth was fresh.  Not much fruit but refreshing in the middle of the day.

The red that followed was a Barossa Kalleske Fordson Vinyard Zinfandel 2018.  Very identifiable zinfandel nose with a little pluminess ripe nose although alcohol was only 13.5% it finished with a full sweet mouth, but dry.

Consumed April 8^th:  Aperitif – 2018 Snake and Herring, “Tainted Love” Tempranillo Rose. Awesome.  This wine had beautiful color, fabulous passionfruit and berry nose, soft round mouth.  Opened the night before it improved my guitar playing and the next day as I prepared clams for our Chorizo, garlic white wine clam steam it went well with that also. I opened a bottle of 2019 Credaro Margaret River Five Tales Sauvignon Blanc to cook clams with. Of course, Jacque and I had a glass to make sure it wasn’t going to screw up our clams.  Very straight forward SB character, clean and refreshing.  hated to pour the other half bottle into the clam broth. Smelled great while reducing. Clams turned out so-so, but I’ve been spoiled big time by hog Island fresh live clams 15 minutes from my house in California.  The remaining juice wine chorizo combo would have been a great base for a clam chowder, but I didn’t have any more clams nor would I buy those again.

Almost as an afterthought I opened a bottle of Out on a Limb 2018 Pinot Noir from the Great southern. Burgundy Clones 115 and 777 both of which I’m familiar with from my own test gardens in Russian River.  Stunning wine in a very subtle and complex way.  This wine was way Burgundian. Nice Soft round with that citrus come hither quality. Mouth was spicier than the nose which makes me suspect some whole cluster especially in light of extreme structural depth. Not ready to drink will be great in 10 to 15 years.

Consumed April 9^th:  the aperitif was a Hay Shed Hill 2019 Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend the Sauvignon Blanc dominated the aroma profile, but the Semillon came through in its weight and roundness. Fresh and obviously stainless steel fermented. We served a local bottom fish that is a midweight texture, very fresh covered with thin lemon slices and baked. Served with a beet and goat cheese salad with avocado and tomato on a bed of rocket lettuce and baby spinach.  We served that against a 2019 Bettanay Margaret River Merlot 2019. Yum nose. The aroma was very true of linalool and violets, the true definition of Merlot varietal character.  Very round mouth and soft. Worked well with fish.

Consumed April 10^th: Pizza night. Went back to our favorite Pizza take out. Had it against the McHenery Hohnen 2017 Hazel’s Vineyard Syrah Margaret River. Fabulous, big soft and round. A little green Tobacco earthiness with almost red cherry and a side of black fruit on the nose. Mouth was full of tannins and could use another ten years.

Four wines we tasted over three day – they were in the fridge door and some were aperitif wines and some were guitar and writing this blog wines:

Skuttlebutt 2019 shiraz Rose Margaret River. Beautiful Rose. The color was vibrant pink, the nose was watermelon and a light rose fruit  Quite a full mouth, I’m guessing , .6 to 1.0 g/100ml sugar.  Recommended.

Unusual Suspects 2017 a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Vermentino from Western Australia.  A slightly reductive component in the nose but some interesting fruit behind it. Too bad about the reduction because I feel this could have been an interesting wine.

Coward and Black Lady Magoo Rose 2019.It could pass as a white wine the color was so light. The aromas were floral like field wildflowers. There was some juicy fruit in the mouth.  All in all quite another quaffable wine.

Fifth Leg Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend 2019 A definite snow pea nose with a hint of citrus and honey. Nice balance between the two varieties.

Consumed April 11^th:  Left over night, everyone raids the fridge and take what you want. For me I put on a bed of cabbage and sausage (from the 7^th but still very good,) the fish from two nights ago and covered the whole thing with the lamb and smoked chicken curry from the 6^th (also still very good) and microwaved it.  Add a beet and goat cheese salad. Had this with a Joseph River Estate, Margaret River 2013 Semillon. Excellent Semillon nose, slight bottle bouquet that enhanced the overall experience, a pleasant oak from I’m assuming a barrel fermentation because of the roundness of the aromas.  Could be a substitute for a chardonnay.

Millbrook 2019 Grenache, Shiraz and Mouvedre (GSM) from Western Australia blend.  Love the complexity of these blends. Considering I was eating leftovers from three different nights it went perfectly.  Spicy white pepper on red fruit with a well-balanced medium weight tannin and finish.

Consumed April 12^th HAPPY EASTER:  Barbied  marinated lamb rump chops in a plum rosemary sauce and served with Barbied veggies and a salad.  Had as an aperitif the rest of last night’s Joseph River Estate 2013 Margaret River Reserve. Love these old Semillons which have bottle bouquet muddled into the nose. Smells of barrel fermentation with a big dose of white fig varietal character.  Full wine and a great way to start Easter dinner.

The winner of the night was McHenry Hohnen Rolling Stone 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Smells like it too what a medley of fruit black fruit, red fruit, blackberry, and blueberries going on with a lot of other complexities I can’t put my finger on.  The outcome is a very complete wine up next to an M Squared.

Since we ate early we had a lot of wine time left so I popped a bottle of Rocky Road Margaret River Bin 8.

A couple of things you should know is Rocky Road is a second label for McHenry Hohnen.  McHenry and Hohnan are brothers in law though David Hohnen claims it is his brother in law’s winery and David runs a smoke house behind the cellar door. David’s story is above on April 3^rd.

Back to the Bin 8. Smells very Rhone like to me. A lot of red fruit with a slight rhubarb and goji berry. Finishes with a little bitterness after a long even tannin approach.

Well that must have been a good wine because it didn’t take long for us to finish so for guitar time, I had a glass of Bettenay’s Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Margaret River 2019.  The Sauvignon Blanc dominated this wine with its distinctive grassiness with a touch of citrus. The Semillon gives breadth in the mouth and lends just enough aromatic to make this a fresh easy drinking recommended wine.

Consumed April 13^th:  Picked up a nice piece of venison and upon Larkins request made a chili out of it. I do Texas chili with no beans but lots of meat and different types of chili peppers for a complex flavor. Well we went to the store and they were very limited on types of chili.  Bell and jalapeno were about it but we made do and it came out pretty good.  Farm raised venison lacks a bit of gamey character, but it passed, everyone had seconds.  Was sipping on the Bettenay from the night before while cooking.  The red I opened with dinner was a 2018 Nanny Goat Vineyard Central Otago Pinot Noir. Beautiful spice and some measure of the floral whole cluster Beaujolais aroma. Beautiful spice with that Burgundian earthiness, leaf mulch and minerality.  Wine was a big hit with me.

Guitar wine was a Forester 2018 Lifestyle Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc which was very pleasant, easy to drink.  To be fair I was chomping on pieces of the Aussie Rottnest Island Chocolate Easter Bunny.  It is called Chokka Quokka and is a marsupial that is about the size of a rabbit.

Consumed April 14^th. Barbied burgers and venison chorizo with lime. Aperitif was a McHenry Hohnen 2018 Sauvignon Blanc. Classic Sauvignon Blanc characters.  Fresh stainless easy on the pallet. Definitely Sauvignon Blanc with a crisp acid and silky mouth. The fun came when we opened a McHenry Hohnen 2017 Zinfandel Margaret River. David made the first Zin in Margaret River in 1974 at Cape Mentelle. This one was spot on his style with dark raspberry and briar. The mouth was integrated perfectly and had a solid long finish. Very enjoyable.

Consumed April 15^th:  Jacque cooked up some Tikka Marsala chicken over cauliflower rice she made and included green beans which was amazing how much they contributed. Had it with the Vasse Felix 2017 FILUS Cabernet Sauvignon. Very interesting wine.  I had a hard time putting my finger on the aromas they were so exotic. Some sort of a spiced tamarind, cranapple goji berry aroma.  Flavors follow perfectly. A little hot but smooth with a solid acid.  In the glass for 15 minutes and a pyrazine nose opens up (that is like a green peppercorn in this case).  The flavors stayed the same though.

Tasted as a side the Amberly South Australia Chenin Blanc 2019, very sweet probably 2% residual.  Not a fan.

Churchview Silverleaf 2018 Chenin Blanc. Very true varietal character.  I can smell the sugar, but the acid was plenty high and it wasn’t cloying.  The residual in this wine is about .8%. I love a delicate dry Chenin Blanc, use to make about 10,000 cases a year. To me the sugar gets in the way of the delicateness.

Consumed April 16^th:  Brought home a beef vindaloo from the Berry Farm Take Out Restaurant with rice and Jacques Brazilian cheese puffs. We explored south of Prevelly Beach today because Jacque had it in her head she wanted to see Firetail (which is a local bird down here) Cellar Door, it was open and the owner was there with his wife but nobody else – we enjoyed social distancing and talking. We bought a half case of their wine. Tonight was a treat.  We had Firetail’s 2013 Semillon that had been fermented in Reymond French oak.  The exact treatment I used on my Semillon from Monte Rosso’s 130-year-old Semillon vines.  The wine was delicious. If I could predict my future here, I might even buy a case I enjoyed it so much.  Strong Semillon varietal character with the well-rounded citrus finish that Troncais oak gives.

After this spectacular wine I tried a Robert Oatley McClaren Vale Shiraz 2017. Nice color but then when you smelled it there was a very strong reductive H2S (the rotten egg smell).  I’m under the impression it is a mass-produced stainless steel wine, maybe even using micro oxidation.  I gave it a chance with a lot of spinning but never got rid of the H2S.

Consumed April 17^th:  Jacque cooked up her cabbage and sausage meal again which was good with a subtle but nice spice to it.  We have all these partial whites in the fridge so played with them and one new contender. When we were at Firetail their neighbor was known as The Berry Farm. We thought why not stop by and get some berries for breakfast.  Berries are out of season, but they had a couple of wines and a takeout café.  Their wine was a 2019 Thornhill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend. Very nice clean wine, refreshing with a slightly grassy bent but very crisp and easy to drink.  The red for the night was called Villagio which was a 100%% Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 from Arlewood Winery. Made in a bit of an old world style with red fruit, cinnamon and white pepper spice it complimented the food very well.  Not overdone with some neat subtleties.

Consumed April 18th:  Pizza night. From the Common Bistro about 5 minutes from the house. Call it in and pick up 20 minutes later. Aperitif was a Firetail Sauvignon Blanc 2018 that was fermented in new center of France oak for a short period to take the edge off the wood for Cabernet Production.  It works, pulls just a hint of the oak into the Sauvignon Blanc, and rounds out the mouth feel.

The red was quite different. It was a La Kooki 2018 (the last k of the kook is upsides down??) Ten Foot Tempranillo (on the label but not explained) from Ferguson Valley.  Never heard of the winery nor the valley (about an hour north of here). The best I could do on the fruit aroma was blueberry gooseberry with lots of fringe aromas I couldn’t identify.  Incredibly soft mouth which was actually both youthful as well as tantalizing.

Consumed April 19^th:  I’m sitting on the back deck Barbing ribs in a marinade, cauliflower and broccoli rabe while sipping a Firetail 2019 Rose. Stunning color and a beautiful passionfruit watermelon nose and a beautiful balance in the mouth. One of my highly recommended. The whole winery is only 1200 cases across seven wines. You can tell the owners are extremely passionate. Most all sales are through direct to consumer so you will probably never see this wine out of the state. Individual shipping rates cost more than the wine.

The real surprise was the red which we bought on a whim because it was Grenache from McLaren Vale called The Little Giant. A stunning wine in a very unpretentious short stubby bottle. It has a pomegranate rhubarb nose with a very red fruit aroma almost detecting a little caramelized sweetness to it. Highly recommended. We will purchase this one again when we find it!

A couple of extras tasted over several days usually opened as guitar wine: McHenry Hohnen 2016 Hazel’s Vineyard Chardonnay. Wow, full blown California style, barrel fermented all or partial malolactic fermentation but still has a very vibrant acid. Good use of creamy oak. Incredibly good guitar wine.

I’m not sure where we had this wine because I switched to dictation on my cell when I drank these wines and it got lost in the transition and translation.  I think it was opened with dinner on the 20^th. Snake & Herring 2017 “Perfect Day” Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. Kind of a négociant type wine. Dominated Semillon with a savory mouth. When I first poured it, it had a certain reduction but not H2S just funky. After two days in the fridge door half full it opened up and isn’t bad.

Consumed April 20^th: A wonderful 2” thick Rib Eye on the bone with BBQed veggies and salad. Excellent cut.  Had with it the 2016 Hay Shed Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. Remarkably interesting wine. Red fruit with black fruit and a ton of spice. It’s like walking into a Moroccan spice shop. Red currant is identifiable. Tannins are balanced with a nice acidity and finishes even. Could use another 3 to 5 years. Would buy again.

Consumed April 21^st. Dinner was a stir fry with tofu, Porta Bella mushrooms, bamboo shoots and broccoli rabe.  Served it with a Dead End 2017 Tempranillo by PC Pannell out of McLaren Vale, a bit like the smells from dinner, some vegetable, earthiness but all a black berry fruit with a hint of candy forefront. Made in a classic new world style. Also had the 2018 Rocky Road Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. Quite grassy and SB like. I prefer the Semillon in a higher %.

Consumed April 22^nd:  A take out called Miki’s. We ate here in October when we visited and were very impressed.  It was excellent. Larkin had the Salmon sushi roll which she really liked. I did the mango encrusted white fish and Jacque had an Asian beef dish and a Ramen soup that was smokey and excellent. This was served with a 2015 Firetail Sparkling Chardonnay. 48 months on the yeast with a very sophisticated mousse and a pleasant yeastiness on the nose.  Fruit was low but the dosage was dry which set up a very delicate mouth. Recommended. Want to take some home!

Tried the Prevelly Pinot Noir 2013 Margaret River. Wine by our local general store which includes a deli and wine tasting bar. The wine was pretty simple and straight forward.  Some of the earthy mineral pinot qualities but not pronounced and little spice. Nice wine but not exciting. The white was a Cape Mentelle, Sauvignon Blanc/ Semillon 2019. Very pretty Semillon nose, very Sancere like with a beautiful mouth. Highly recommended.

Consumed April 23:  A take out night from Morries, Cocktails as well as food. Jacque had a Trophy wife and an Indian summer.  Don’t know what they were but they were bitter, and I didn’t like either.  I had a fabulous octopus salad followed by kangaroo over what they call Poke which was a rice dish something more like a bento box. My concept of Poke is small chunk raw fish like you get in Hawaii. Anyway, it was all good.  Jacque had the pork belly and Larkin the smoked salmon each over “poke” but each a different flavor profile.  I had a gin Martini since Jacque was drinking her cocktails and Larkin had finished two Baileys Irish cream with cream.  So, I looked in the refrigerator door for something to write about and found a full bottle, with five partials from past dinners I’ve already written about.  The wine was the Cullen Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2018 Mangan Vineyard. Nice balance in the nose between Semillon and SB. tart and very dry. My guess after having experienced some old Australian Semillons is this simply needs time.  It might become spectacular in 5 to 10 years.

Consumed April 24: This was a tasting day.  I started at 8:00 a.m., Friday morning in zoom happy hour BYOB with my Golden Gate Wine Society.  It was 5:00 p.m. Thursday their time..  I was having a 2010 Firebird Margaret River Merlot.  It was excellent with a wide open violet nose, broad tannins that weren’t too aggressive.  It does not go with coffee however before breakfast.

6:00 p.m.  We did a three bottle blind tasting with Settlers Liquor Store in Margaret River on Instagram, the tasting was a lot of fun.  The first was a 2018 Hees Troken Riesling from Nahe, Germany.  Made in an old world style with plenty of identity.  A bit heavier in the mouth.

The second wine was a Marchand & Burch 2017 French Gamay from Morgan Beaujolais.  Quite delicate and very spicy.  Lighter texture in the mouth.  I almost took it for a Gamay Beaujolais Nouveau except it was the wrong time of year and not quite flowery enough.  Fun wine just to drink.

The third wine was a JS Swinney Vineyards 2019 Bush Vine Mataro from Franklin River.  Really liked this wine.  I’m not very familiar with this grape until they explained it was another name for Mouvedre.  In Italy the red stem version is known as Refosco.  A deeper red with lots of spice.  I had no idea in the blind tasting what it was but it was fun and good.

Dinner was a peanut satay of beef.  Meat was a little chewy, but the flavors were good. Finished off the tasting wines.

Consumed April 25^th.  Pizza night. Little Giant Barossa Shiraz 2017 Alc 14.2%   A little reduced to begin with it opens up to a black round fruit with a light earth blackberry dustiness to it.  Mouth has plenty of tannin to go awhile but quite well balanced.  Still working on the Riesling from last night.

Consumed April 26^th: Homemade burgers with Australian bacon (way different then American) and cheese.  Had it with The Vagabond Old Vine Grenache from Blewitt Springs McLaren Vale 2016.  A wow wine.  Beautiful deep black fruit nose.  I can’t compare this to a different fruit because it is the essential definition of Grenache the Vagabond itself.  Wonderfully round it excites every aroma sensor and texture sensor I’ve got. Huge fan.

Deep Woods Margaret River Harmony Rose 2019 Very pretty light pink but fresh pink color.  Fresh red fruit like raspberry strawberry and floral. Easy dry mouth don’t really detect sugar above .3g/100ml.  Recommended.

Consumed April 27^th: The very first day we got here for some reason we went to Coles for basic supplies, and I bought a whole smoked chicken that was vacuum sealed.  That was March 23^rd.  I read the label and it said best used by April 27^th.  This entire time it sat in our fridge and I looked right at it thinking “that’s a long time for a chicken to be hanging around but then it is smoked.”  Today it came out of its wrapper got pulled off the bone and ended up in a stir fry Jacque did with lots of other stuff.  It was delicious.  We’ve been shopping at Wooleys (Woolworth) since the people and the selection and the atmosphere is much better, but I think I may have to go back to Coles for another smoked chicken.  I can see a sandwich with tomato and lettuce maybe a little cheese.

Was working on The Sundowner (Gordy’s) Chardonnay Margaret River 2017.  Jacque picked this up at the Farmers Market Saturday.  A very nice wine extremely well balanced for a Chardonnay.  A little apple like and honey Chard character but also some butter and vanilla.  The mouth was very smooth. Quite a pleasant wine.  I felt we needed something a little more powerful and structured then the Chard so pulled out a Bay of Fires Pinot Noir from Tasmania 2017.  Perfect nose of earth, red fruit and lots of spice.

Consumed April 28^th:  Store bought beef curry microwave and two cabs not worth mentioning so I’m taking the night off.  Going to drink gin.

Consumed April 29^th: Lamb rump steak chops in a plum sauce BBQed.  Served with a salad of baby greens with carrot and beet root slivers which I like a lot.  Served with a Dune the Empty Quarter Blewitt Springs Vineyard Mouvedre, Shiraz Grenache and a little Montepulciano.  Sort of a négociant wine.  Not as good as the grenache we’ve had from the area but a multi-level deep fruit wine. Deep black fruit and a little citrus.  Gentle enough tannins but complete.  My feeling is it is a little commercial but good.

Consumed April 30^th: Had Bryani rice, an Indian packaged meal that we picked up at one of our Cellar Door (Aussie for tasting room) stops plus tofu we picked up at the store.  Bland lump of starch with little if any flavor.  It took Jacque two bottles of wine to watch the rice cook, not really.  The first was left over from yesterday and at fish and chips for lunch.  It was a Millbrook 2017 Viognier Perth Hills Western Australia.  Nice wine.  Classic slight Gewurz like nose and some wood.  Claims a 13% alcohol and I’m guessing a .4g/100ml RS because it has a very full mouth and a nice acid that keeps it all in check.

Followed by a Tread Softly Australian Prosecco.  Pleasant little wine slight mousse with a delicate fruit, yeastiness and a hint of nuttiness.  I wouldn’t buy a second bottle unless the price was low and I was going to open it on the beach.

Tried to save the night with a Grenache Shiraz 2018 from Other Side of The Moon from Wilyabrup Margaret River.  Light spice red black fruit, a balanced wine that doesn’t take to much thought but is enjoyable.

Consumed May 1: Pizza Night.  Switched from the all meat and BBQ sauce to a Philly Cheese steak Pizza.  Liked it but not quite as much as before.  Aperitif was Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2016 from the Hunter Valley. Crisp and young at 4 years old this wine is a classic just way too young.  Has all the making of being great in another 6 years.  Rich full mouth.  I visited Mount Pleasant in 2007 and they were picking Semillon.  I asked Scott McWillams, the winemaker, why they were picking when the grapes were only about 18% sugar.  He said it was because it wasn’t raining.  Hunter is semi tropical and it rains all through harvest and Semillon is thin skinned.  Thus this wine is only 10% alcohol with a high acid.  That is why it needs some more time but totally true to type.  Love its potential and not bad now.

The red for the night was Burnside Organic Farm 2017 Zinfandel Margaret River.  Great color and the true Black raspberry briar nose.  Had all the parts but was a little disjointed.  Maybe a couple of years will help it marry.

Consumed May 2^nd: Went to the farmers market this morning and picked up some fresh fish.  Had it in a paprika ginger cumin chili rub fried with a salad.  Had some Mt Pleasant left over and started a taste of Happs 2018 Margaret River Semillon.  Nice wine, crisp and true to Semillon.  Picked a little riper then last nights Semillon, has an alcohol of 13% meaning riper and a lower acid.  Quite drinkable but fresher and though it could use some time is really refreshing right now with a good chill on it.

Opened a second bottle of Little Giant Grenache from the Mclaren Vale 2018.  We brought another one we liked the first so much.  Same recommendation.  April19th review.

As a special treat today David Hohnen came over for a drink and a catch up around noon.  I had a bottle on board I brought from my cellar at home to share with special friends that were to get on in Rome and travel to Miami with us.  Obviously, that didn’t happen.  We packed it up to ship home and came down to Prevelly.  The shipping company told us they couldn’t ship liquids so we diverted the case of wine to Prevelly.  So I was looking for someone with a certain amount of expertise to share it with. Enter David.  Tasted at noon with cheese puffs Jacque made, 1904 Madeira Grande Capela, Extra Dry 19% alcohol.  The color is the required brown but it was crystal clear and the cork came out whole.  Smells like a chocolate brownie with a bit of caramel on it and of course some raisin. Obviously by definition quite sweet and high alcohol.  Two of the  pillars of aging wines.  Not hot to the nose but the acid is amazingly present.  Of course, totally smooth with a twinge of heat in the finish.  Wow who would of known that a 116 year old wine could survive.

Consumed May 3^rd: Jacque made a delicious Cauliflower salad on a bed of baby greens with shaved beet root and carrot and a wonderful hard goat cheese I picked up at the farmers market. She had added pumpkin seed and cashews. I pickled some broccoli, carrots, shallots, garlic with a jalapeno pepper and a little bell pepper. It was delicious on top of the salad.

Jacque had started before, like several days ago, a 2018 Riesling from the {SUM} produced in Western Australia by Castelli Estate in Denmark Australia. One of our south Australia stops. This wine was fabulous.  It had that soft flowery nose you only get in Germany in kabinetts.  Absolutely perfect nose, was one of the best Rieslings I’ve ever had. The flavors followed and were round and soft and classic.  Highly recommended.

We had also been working on a McLaren Vale 2019 Vermentino by Juguete Wines of South Australia.  A full bodied pleasant wine with a great art deco aboriginal art label. It was very tasty.

The last wine we had with dinner was a great blend of Nero d’Avola and Montepulciano produced by Wild and Wilder Wines Cloud Cuckoo Land in South Australia.  Another winner.  Who would of thought because Nero d’Avola comes from Sicily and Montepulciano comes from Tuscany.  It would take somebody a half a world away to not get buried in the legacy of these growing areas and simply say wow these wines fit together nicely. Wonderful wine. Medium bodied, red fruit driven with a balanced tannin and long finish.

Consumed May 4^th: Tonight was back to the 2” Rib Eye on the bone drenched in the shiraz reduction and smokey spice rub.  On the Barbie with vegies.  While cooking partook in a local Prevelly rose that wet your whistle but that was about it.  Light orange in color with little flavor. To accompany the steak was a Firetail Margaret River 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Lots of red currant here, I’m assuming picked in the under 24 brix range because the tannins are more delicate and the alcohol is only 13%.  A very pretty wine with just enough French oak to add to the structure without subtracting from the fruit. Liked this wine but wasn’t a knock your socks off, just very nice.

Consumed May 5^th: Jacque is becoming an expert at the cabbage and sausage dish.  Used a spicy sausage this time and not that the last one wasn’t good but this one was better.  Worth two helpings.  That and a brutal storm outside with 80 mph winds made the warm spice welcome.  One of the first big storms in the area for the upcoming winter. Rain in the form of heavy showers. We can clearly see the ocean and waves from our dining room and these are some of the biggest in Australia emanating from South Africa and running deep until it hits the reef.  Normally 16 to 25 feet but the wind is so strong it holds them down and makes the ocean look angry.

Of course this was Cinco de Mayo which everyone around here looked at you cross eyed over but were happy to sell us Tequila and Cointreau with our lemon tree out back we were good.

Aperitif (after margaritas) was a Millbrook Vermentino 2018.  Lower alcohol 11.0% wine that seemed to have a German style to it.  Delicate nose of stone fruit and slate, more peaches then other fruits. A pleasant wine with a good acid recommended with food or a summer back porch.

The red was a Down The Lane Shiraz Tempranillo blend 2018 produced by Bortolli Wines.  A very pretty wine for a red.  Almost a red licorice raspberry nose that smelt somewhat candied but bone dry to the mouth except for the mid pallet sweetness of a 14% alcohol but not hot. Soft tannin finish but not short.

Consumed May 6^th: Made a venison chili up tonight.  Last time we had problems with the pepper supply but this time it took three stores but fixed the problem.  One of the better ones I’ve made and with very stormy weather went well.

Was drinking our Prevelli local Sauvignon Blanc 2017 Wild thing.  It was very pleasant, I’m guessing a .6g/100ml sugar which really rounded out the mouth.  A little non descript in character, a good wine to not have to think about but just enjoy.

The red wine tonight was one of those surprise wake up wines. Cofield Rutherglen Durif 2015, Victoria.  I believe the Rutherglen is the name of the owner or the vineyard.  Durif, of course, is Petit Sirah.  What grabs you about this wine is the extremely high acid like the Fishbone Tempranillo.  It was really good.  Quite a bit of spice to the chili and the acid settled it nicely.  Classic black fruit nose though I generally use blackberry with this variety I can’t quite place this one.  Very good food wine and should age for many years.

Consumed May 7^th:  Great plum marinated pork rump chops off the Barbie with a great crisp salad.  Served with a Driftwood 2016 Artifacts Meritage. Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Petit Verdot and Malbec which makes a round mulberry fruit flavor Very even tannin, nice balance all the way around.

Started by finishing off a Basalt Great Ocean Road Riesling 2018 that we started two days ago.  When the ship stopped in Portland SA we took an hour and a half bus ride to this winery, liked the wine and bought a bottle.  None of the terpenes you get in California Rieslings.  Soft mouth a little low on acid but totally a wonderful wine.

Started a Ashbrook Estate 2019 Semillon.  All of what I would expect of a Semillon this young.  Needs time.  Very true to type but unmarried.  Should be great in about 5 years.

Consumed May 8^th:This was our Mother’s day dinner even though it is two days early. Jacque wanted Miki’s Open Kitchen take out Chefs menu. Saturday and Sunday were already booked.  Five courses 15 dishes and a saki tasting.  I’ll give it my best shot:

Amuse;

Nannup persimmon, wasabi yogurt – nori tempura, mentaiko – sheep’s milk halloumi, sesame romesco served with a Toketsuru Junmai Nigori from Hiroshima.  Milky white smells like sticky rice, semi sweet with a somewhat viscous mouth a touch hot.  I have no idea how to judge saki so I will just include my descriptors.

Cold Entree;

Umami cured Mexican cucumber, shira ae – Burnside Organic kinpira jalapeno – karashi beef rillettes, daikon oroshi – Tamanian salmon sashimi zuki with the above saki.

Warm Entree;

Abrolhos Island Scallop, ajishio – Farmhouse pork nori roll tempura, ume – Albany celeriac, yuzu kosho mayo Served with a Umetsu Junmai, Kimoto Furei, from Tottori A slightly paper like earthy tone, clear very slight caramel character.  The aromatics are much bigger than the first one.  It has about the same flavor intensity and heat in the finish.

Main course; there were three choices so since we were three, we got one of each.

Carnavon Goldband snapper, surinagashi, snake beans – soy braised pork croquette, daikon tsukemono, jus – amiyaki Harvey Beef rib. Miso celeriac puree, vanilla cured shallot.  Served with the above saki.

Dessert;

Yuzu rice pudding, umeshi plum compote, white chocolate crunch. Served with Plum umeshu from Wukayama. A very sweet plum nose.  Golden color. Quite sweet same rice aromatic background as the dessert itself.

While writing this blog I opened a Cullen Wilybrup Mangan Vineyard Malbec 2017.  I was afraid of too much tannin but in fact it is very soft and drinkable which is good as I’m not eating with it.  Very slightly reduced but hardly noticeable.  I can picture this wine going with a lot of food.  Nice reminds me of some of the Argentinian Malbecs I’ve had.

Consumed May 8^th:This was our Mother’s day dinner even though it is two days early. Jacque wanted Miki’s Open Kitchen take out Chefs menu. Saturday and Sunday were already booked.  Five courses 15 dishes and a saki tasting.  I’ll give it my best shot:

Amuse;

Nannup persimmon, wasabi yogurt – nori tempura, mentaiko – sheep’s milk halloumi, sesame romesco served with a Toketsuru Junmai Nigori from Hiroshima.  Milky white smells like sticky rice, semi sweet with a somewhat viscous mouth a touch hot.  I have no idea how to judge saki so I will just include my descriptors.

Cold Entree;

Umami cured Mexican cucumber, shira ae – Burnside Organic kinpira jalapeno – karashi beef rillettes, daikon oroshi – Tamanian salmon sashimi zuki with the above saki.

Warm Entree;

Abrolhos Island Scallop, ajishio – Farmhouse pork nori roll tempura, ume – Albany celeriac, yuzu kosho mayo Served with a Umetsu Junmai, Kimoto Furei, from Tottori A slightly paper like earthy tone, clear very slight caramel character.  The aromatics are much bigger than the first one.  It has about the same flavor intensity and heat in the finish.

Main course; there were three choices so since we were three, we got one of each.

Carnavon Goldband snapper, surinagashi, snake beans – soy braised pork croquette, daikon tsukemono, jus – amiyaki Harvey Beef rib. Miso celeriac puree, vanilla cured shallot.  Served with the above saki.

Dessert;

Yuzu rice pudding, umeshi plum compote, white chocolate crunch. Served with Plum umeshu from Wukayama. A very sweet plum nose.  Golden color. Quite sweet same rice aromatic background as the dessert itself.

While writing this blog I opened a Cullen Wilybrup Mangan Vineyard Malbec 2017.  I was afraid of too much tannin but in fact it is very soft and drinkable which is good as I’m not eating with it.  Very slightly reduced but hardly noticeable.  I can picture this wine going with a lot of food.  Nice reminds me of some of the Argentinian Malbecs I’ve had.

Consumed May 9^th: Jacque made up three sauces in the color of the Italian flag a white carbonara, a green pesto and a red tomatoe basil and we put them like the flag over a plate of spinach and ricotta raviolis. As an aperitif we opened a New Zealand Clearview Endeavour 2015 Chardonnay from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand.  One of the richest creamiest chardonnays and it was natural honey melon with a little oak.  I believe the age helped the richness.  Closest California comes is some of the Monterey fruit like Morgan produces.  We actually had lunch with our friends the Reeves here while in Hawks bay in February and purchased two bottles to take home.  One might make it.  With the raviolis we had a bottle of 2001 Prevelly Margaret River Merlot from our little local deli.  For a 19 year old wine it was youthful without even a hint of bottle bouquet, all components were well married.  Dark fruit with an array of spices in the background.  Intriguing texture in the mouth finishing round and soft.

Consumed May 10^th: SIPs are starting to be lifted and we are allowed to collect in groups of up to ten.  Jacque and Larkin had met a couple stranded here like us who are staying just down the beach, normally from Lake Tahoe.  We all did a pizza night with four different pizzas.  Dave and I did a gin martini as well as a taste of the Chardonnay from the night before.  We opened two different blends with the pizza. One was the Cloud Cuckoo Land Nero d’Avola, Montepuciano blend from Wild and Wilder I wrote about on May 3^rd.  the other wine was a McHenry Hohnen 2018 Hazel’s Vineyard Grenache Syrah Mataro blend (if you remember from the Instagram tasting we did on April 24^th Mataro is Mouvedre). This wine was as good as the other but with a different fruit profile.  A little more angular and several different berry aromas.  A dark wine with a solid but not overly high acid it went well with the different pizza flavors.

Consumed May11th:  We had fatty BBQed ribs with a salad.  I’m not sure what I had bought but will check it out and not do that again. These had great flavors but were 2/3 fat.  Good salad with it.  Jacque had a prosecco aperitif I had a gin Martini followed by a glass of Thompson Estate Four Chamber Margaret River Pinot Noir Rose 2019.  Delightful color and wonderful strawberry rose nose with a just slight sweet, probably .8 g/100ml sugar, for a round mouth and refreshing finish.  The red for the night is a Blockhead Barossa Shiraz 2018  from St Hallett.  Deep deep color ripe black berry fruit.  Full mouth evenly balanced and finishes long in front and in the back of the mouth.  Nice nice wine.

Consumed May 12^th:  Talk about weird burgers!!  Jacque had purchased a pound of Italian sausage.  I doctored the way I usually do as a burger and grilled them.  Not so good.  Larkin offered me hers but I couldn’t go there.  Oh well lesson learned.  Aperitif was the rose left over from last night.  Red wine with dinner Smallwater Estate 2016 Zinfandel western Australia.  Very nice wine with the classic black raspberry and briar nose.  Long back of the mouth finish.  Classic zinfandel. Good buy.

Consumed May 13^th: Tonight I had purchased a couple of rolled chicken breast around a smoked sausage, sun dried tomatoes and a little garlic. Had it with cauliflower rabe I baked with paprika and cumin drizzled in olive oil.

Aperitif was an Evans and Tate Perfect Pick Sauvignon Blanc 2019.  A very dry abruptly Sauvignon Blanc with a dry tannic Finnish.  Should be good in a couple of years.  With the chicken, which was too smokey, and buried all the other flavors was a FILIUS Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend.  Great color with a spicy green peppercorn and violets nose, nice red black fruit ratio with a touch of white pepper, almost makes me sneeze.  Very smooth and even mouth texture with a medium long finish.

Cunsumed May 14^th:  Local Fish and Chips.  Had whiting and a machi fish plus baby squid.  They did an excellent job by Squid Lip in Margaret River.  There is also a truck that sets up at sun set at surfers point where the entire town rolls in to see the sunset and surfers surfing 25 foot waves.  Had a gin Martini with my fish and chips.  Tasted like gin – surprise.  After I opened a bottle of Cullen Mangan East Block 2018 from Wilybrup 54% Malbec 46% Petit Verdot.  Very nice wine.  Red currant jam and sandlewood and a bit of chocolate in the back ground.  Round juicy mouth sort of rhone like but with a lower acid so it finishes quite soft.

Consumed May 15^th:  Butterflied marinated lamb shoulder with BBQed cauliflower.  Had with it another Cullen Cabernet blend 2018 with 62 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.  The wine was red currant with a slightly green character to it, lighter mouth feel.

Consumed May 16^th:  Pizza night.  Opened a Xanadu Fusion 2017 Cabernet Margret River.  Great color with a spicy mulberry like nose and a dark fruit jamminess.  The mouth is bright and balanced and finishes medium long.  Quite liked this one.

Consumed May 17^th:  I made a curry out of the left over lamb.  Shared it with Tanta Rouge, a Shiraz, Tempranillo and Grenache blend out of the Swan Valley.  The nose is unique and smells like chocolate caramel with a red/black berry character and a hint of white pepper.  The mouth is a middle weight and finishes a bit hot at 14.5%.

The aperitif white was a Lenton Brae Margaret River 2018 Pinot Blanc.  Fresh grape aroma and flavor with that slight leatheriness I like about Pinot Blancs. Nice round full mouth.

Consumed May 18^th:  Jacque did a stir fry tonight which was one of her better ones.  Shared it with  a Juniper 2019 Fiano.  Not familiar with this grape but it makes a delicate stone fruit, peaches and apricots light bodied white wine but somewhat viscous and dry.

Shared a bottle of Cabernet with my computer so you won’t be hearing from me for a few days.

Consumed May 30^th. Pizza night.  No we don’t eat Pizza everynight.  If you notice this is the 30^th. Next day got the computer into the shop and they took a couple of days to analyze the situation and then a storm hit and knocked all, of our power out for 24 hours.  So I took a vacation from writing wine notes.  Bought a new computer and my hard drive was alright so it took another couple of days to transfer everything over with of course hassles with Microsoft who couldn’t find my account.  Back up and running.

Had with the pizza Abacus 2018 fume blanc from Kerridale.  It was a very nice wine.  Not at all grassy and in fact pretty classy.  Dry medium viscosity I think it may have been partial barrel fermentation, enough to give it some roundness but no noticeable oak in the nose so might have been older wood.  The red wine was NINTH9ISLAND 2018 Pinot Noir from Tasmania.  Excellent wine with a medium body.  Spicy nose, classic Pinot color and the mouth is still young and not totally married but it was big enough to stand up to my meat pizza with anchovies.

Consumed May 31^st:  Marinated pork steaks BBQed with a salad.  Enjoying  a Flowstone Margaret River 2018 Moonmilk which is a Shiraz Grenache  blend.  Nose is an interesting herbal juicy fruit character with a little orange zest and a little chocolate on the side.  Has significant acid, high but not too much, finishes clean.  The aperitif tonight was a Flinders Bay Margaret River 2019 Verdelho mineral like flinty nose with a full viscous mouth and enough acid to make it crisp but not acidic.  Nice wine recommended.

June 1st.  Took the night off.

Consumed June 2^nd:  Jacque had picked up 6 little lamb chops which I marinaded and BBQed.  Served with green beans. Had a Puppet Master Pinot Noir 2018 from the great southern.  The dark color indicates there might be some other varietal blended in but was very nice.  Very true to Pinot nose though I think I detect a hint of Shiraz.  Actually reminded me of a South African Pinotage, a good one of course.  Nice wine.

White wine aperitif is a 2018 Gewurz Traminer Dead Man’s Hill Vineyard Ros Richie Wines Mansfield Victoria.  Lovely wine with a very classic leachy nut nose and a pretty dry mouth, maybe .5g/100ml sugar.  Very pretty wine, love it.

June + : The world has opened up down here.  We are still tasting wines from as many different Australian sources as we can find.  We are here for another 40 days with tickets home on the 15^th of July.  It changes my perspective on what is important and writing about food isn’t one of them as most of it was home cooked.  My food curiosity is exploring other chefs creations and the regional differences of the world.

Over my career I filled drawers with wine notes from tastings I’ve done.  I’ve never looked at most of them again.  I discovered you remember the really good ones, as a wine maker some of the bad ones, and mediocrity who cares.  Thus from here out I won’t post every night but only the really good wines I’ve enjoyed or interesting and worth checking out.

We’ve had some great Cabs and Semillons but the wines that have been the most interesting and fun to drink are the red blends and Roses.  Going forward I will call it as I see it.

Empirica by CASTELLI “UVAGGIO” 2016 Grenache Mataro Syrah Red fruit wine with a touch of brown sugar.  Very lively in aroma.  The mouth feel is more of fuit then tannin.  Only means to me it could use a couple of years to open up.  Yummy and interesting.  I can see this wine going with a lot of different foods.

Happs Three Hills 2011 Nebbiolo Margaret River.  A wow wine. A slightly waxy fatty nose up front and then current comes through with a broad spiciness I can’t put a finger on but is quite pleasant.  What really gets you with this wine is the excellent mouth texture.  Even and round, savory and lasting for a long finish. 

2018 Prevelly Malbec  No label 100% Malbec  Owner gave me a bottle to try out and it blew my socks off.  Huge juicy, medium tannic, mouth with tons of flavor. Only 100% Malbec he has ever made.

2017 Windows Estate Malbec  This is a little tiny place that you can only buy at the Cellar Door.  Bottle 298 of 1200 bottles.  The entire experience was delightful.  The wine was medium dark fruit but very smooth mostly because of the higher acid level.  A briary raspberry aroma and the mouth was clean and low tannin.  More as a perception because of the acid.  Should age nicely for 5 to 10 years.

Coriole McLaren Vale Nero 2017 (Nero d’Avola)  Supercharged blueberry wine.  Makes me think I’m eating a blueberry muffin it smells so strong.  The mouth is savory with a good acid.  Makes one salivate with yumminess.  Lingering mid palette finish.

Kay Brothers 2015 McLaren Vale Amery Vineyard Basket Pressed Mataro.  Bright wine with red fruit and a slight cardamom pod aroma.  Mouth is relatively high acid which throws the tannins into mid palette with a relatively long finish.  Appears simple but I think with time might gain complexity.

Red Gate 2018 Cabernet Franc Margaret River Slightly smokey green olive with a red currant background.  Interesting mouth which is medium weight but quite tantalizing with full tannins that will become round but are just all over the mouth right now not quite integrated.  Nice wine.

Driftwood Margaret River Artifact 2017 Petit Verdot Interesting chocolate mint very black fruit background.  The nose has a sort of fattiness about it that rounds it out and makes it complete.  Quite a rich wine with I think has a lot of potential.

Hamelin Bay Margaret River 2017 traditional Brut Very delicate Chardonnay aroma of green apple and a light – balanced _ yeastiness.  Mouth follows with a delicate Mousse and a slight fruit flavor.  Very nice and refreshing.

Moss Wood 2017 Pinot Noir Margaret River A wow wine.  I’m guessing there was some whole cluster from the spiciness.  Lighter delicate wine with a little lighter color but delicate and very pretty.  Mouth is fully engaging with an even long finish.