One of my best wine buddies is, in fact, a person I have never met. You see, Edward finds as much joy in the exploration of wine as he does in the tasting, and when you combine that with a love of back yard wine bottle photography, well, that's kinship. Unfortunately, Ed lives approx. 18,000 kilometres from Montreal, which makes a vinous "get together" nearly impossible. Recognizing that North America, the Pacific and the Australian continent separate our respective cellars, we agreed to the next best thing - a "synchronized tasting", opening one of Australia's finer bottles of precious liquid. Well, neither distance nor a 12-hour time zone difference could stand in the way of this e-meeting of great palates...This evening Ed unscrewed the cap and I popped the cork on a bottle of the 2006 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier (Canberra District). With the eyes of the world watching, I decided to record my notes in the order that they arrived on paper...
t=0: The cork had a clean, clearly delineated purpley ring and smelled of cloves, some floral notes as well - beguiling...
t=1 min: As I poured this wine into the decanter I buried my nose in there (do not try this at home), smelling brie cheese, ivy and garden herbs (basil, oregano) - intriguing...
t=30 min: Light ruby red in the glass. Still cool from the cellar toasty new oak dominates on the nose, continued brie cheese. I couldn't wait any longer so I just dove in for a taste...I love the texture of a wine, and the first sensation was just how very smooth this wine was...medium-bodied, crisp and spicy, not showing the heat that some Barossas give off as they push 15% alcohol. I see an hommage a Cote-Rotie...
t=60 min: With the rising temperature and a dash of oxygen the nose explodes in aroma: liquorice, wet coffee grounds, white flowers, black cherry, truffles...
Overall impression: Incredibly soft, polished and balanced with silky tannins, fine acidity and a joyous nose. Don't let that softness fool you - rolling this juice across the palate reveals an edge that tells me more time in the cellar will be rewarding. Easy to love, probably the nicest Shiraz/Viognier I can recall (and that includes the Cote-Roties I have had).
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: C$72 (SAQ)
A couple of things: (1) I did not see Ed's score before I recorded mine (Ed kindly switched back to the 20-point system for me), and (2) The screwcap! Now why the heck do the Aussies ship it locally under screw top and overseas under cork? Surely the shipping hazzards are greater for thirsty Northern Hemisphere types? Perhaps it is hard to convince a Canuck to part with $70 if there is a screw cap involved...(guilty)
PS - Some would call it suicide to go mano-a-mano with Ed's pen and camera, so I gave him a head start, ensuring that I would finish last and thus (hopefully) avoid the inevitable head-to-head comparisons...
Cheers Ed!
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6 comments:
Joe,
Thanks for the kind words and sharing the bottle and your thoughts. We must do this again. . .
I like the image, I think I see the faint outline of the photographer propped on a chair, and the tasting format and note is excellent, as is the impressive rate of consumption (60 minutes) :)
Hi Ed, thanks for your comments (and the idea). I am game for another - I will email you a list of some wines that I think you have (or will be easy to get) and we can schedule for November. As for the image, it is faint and deceptive - I was not propped up by a chair. Sixty minutes was where my notes ended, not the wine, although my in-laws helped make sure it wasn't much longer...so, what is with the "cork for export"?
I'll have to check my mailer when I get home, there was a time when it was all cork sealed (around 02 and 03, possibly 04), then screwcap was offered as well (as a choice, along with cork). I thought most recently it was all screwcap. . .
Maybe they do a cork run just for overseas markets? Was it DIAM?
Funny you should mention, I think it was DIAM. I just put DIAM and cork in the same category, but I guess I shouldn't. Anyway, they are NOT all screwcap.
I just had the 2004 last night... profound. This is special stuff. I liked your write-up and thought it was spot-on, although I got serious violets on the nose and palate. I found it super expressive and wonder if the extra couple years of bottle age make a difference.
I had a lot of floral notes, but in this 2006 vintage they just didn't jump out as violets - not what I expected, as the Shiraz usually gives off a ton of violet - maybe the 06 was heavier on the Viognier?
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