Groovallegiance

OK, my cards are on the table.

I love the Rhone Valley. The wines, the flavours, the jewel in it's crown; Chateauneuf du Pape. It's been a long time favourite. So it should come to no surprise that I found the Chateau de Valcombe 2007 Shiraz Grenache agreeable. Regardless of it's sub $15 price tag, it was always going to be a winner for me.

2007 Chateau de Valcombe Syrah Grenache, Rhone Valley, France

Allegiances pledged, lets get down to it. It's a lot of wine for a little bit of money. Dark burgundy in the glass with aromas of pepper, forest berries, chocolate and spice. Textbook, and I was in heaven.

Chocolate berry/cherry, earthy, liquorice, good integrated tannins; a few mouthfuls in and I was still on a roll. A lighter style wine, but what it lacks in weight it more than makes up for in complexity & interest. The only low point was it was a little hot on the finish, but with food this wouldn't be noticeable.

The Rhone did it again for me, and you'd see me digging into my pocket to the tune of an extra fiver for this one. Perhaps cheap isn't all that bad.

Fairytale of New York

Merry Christmas.

I could call it a Christmas Hiatus, but I'd be lying. I haven't posted for two weeks and I have no reason. But I've still been drinking, surprise surprise. I have many notes to transform into posts and put a lot more effort into the photos, so hopefully wine and words will come thick and fast over the next few weeks.

Cheers!

I Turn My Camera On

My wife has bought to my attention that the photos I've supplied with the last few posts have been somewhat... uninspired.
And I have to admit, they are. While it's not really essential to describe a wine, I love my photography, and it's disappointing to show you sub-par pics of the product I've been imbibing. So thanks for reminding me Teesha, no more!

Naked in the Rain

Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc is not unusual by any means. So it seems odd to use this angle as a selling point. Oaked Sauvignon Blanc would turn heads more these days in most quarters (Sancerre being the obvious exception). That's what the guys at Naked Grape Wines have done though, with their Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc. And it's an OK drop. I mean, it's a Canadian wine made from local and imported juice, and comes in at $11 a bottle. So it doesn't have the weight of the world's expectations on it's shoulders as, say, a bottle from Martinborough may have.
So how does it shape up?


NV Naked Grape Sauvignon Blanc, Canada.

Pale straw in the glass with upfront grassy characters, so far so good.
A hint of a creamy palate at first, before the acidity regains control and brings it back in line with some melon and citrus flavours.
The after-taste has a slight sulphur taint, which probably means that part of this batch has been around for a while and freshened up a few too many times.
What does all that mean? Well it's a quaffable drop that would slide along nicely with Japanese takeaway, which is exactly what we did.
And as an $11 wine and I'd say that's pretty much on the money.

Can I kick it?

On the back of the last successful Pinot Grigio purchase I thought I'd try my luck again. Kind of like tempting fate I guess, but this time I thought I'd go to the source, or at least close to it; Sicily. That island at the end of Italy that looks like the boot has just kicked a ball.
The Montalto 2007 Pinot Grigio set us back a mere $15, but would it be a set back in my quest for good cheap wine? Let's see...


2007 Montalto Pinot Grigio, Sicily, Italy.

Lovely and light colour with an austere, minerally, steely lemon nose. Right up my alley.
On the first sip I detected a little spritzy tang, but that lemon steelyness was still there along with some lovely earthy mineral tones. Classic.
With a reasonable length this was could become a bit of a favourite. There was a slightly extracted flavour at the end, but if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't taste it, so it wouldn't detract from your enjoyment in any way.
I have to admit that being an Italian Pinot Grigio the bar was set higher than for the cheaper Californian Barefoot that flew in right under the radar, but I think it held it's head high at the price point. While I think it's a good price, I probably wouldn't be too disappointed if I spent another $5 on this.
And bonus points for being in a screwcap bottle as well. I miss the Australian screwcap movement!