Townshend ESB
I was given a cask of Townshend ESB for my 30th Birthday. The bottled version is not quite as good as the cask conditioned version but it still makes for a pretty tasty pint. We enjoyed it with a goat vindaloo, Shek kebabs, palak paneer stuffed peppers and a nice spicy dhal. But it also makes a great accompaniment to strong English style cheeses and pickled foods. Kieran's archive
Mt Edward Pinot Blanc 2008
This is a nice little aperitif style wine. It is light in body that has a level of elegance about it. The wine comes through in floral and aromatic spice characters with a creaminess about it, although no barrel influence. It’s a very well structured wine with good sugar levels balanced by the acidity, leaving a clean mouth feel. If you get a chance grab a bottle before they are gone. There’s only few cases left!!!! Stephen's archive
Legado Muñoz Garnacha 2006
70km’s South West of Madrid lies a beautiful walled city called Toledo. This was once a capital of the Spanish Empire and has been lived in for over 1200 years. I was lucky enough to visit the city a couple of years ago, so when I discovered a wine from the region of Toledo I had to give it a try. My hopes were low as I hadn’t seen a lot of wine from this region before, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the Legado Muñoz not only drinkable, but also enjoyable. The Legado is a Garnacha, so I went in expecting lite, raspberry and spicy flavours. Be warned, this is a grunty Grenache. The white pepper spice is replaced with a liquorice spice and this wine has a very solid backbone. With the weather getting colder this wine is really starting to come into it own. At $14.80 it finds it way to my table regularly as a good hearty wine for everyday drinking.
Duncan's archive
I was recently invited to a luncheon with James Healy and Ivan Sutherland at the Boulcott
Street Bistro. The combination of one of
the best Marlborough
wine labels and outstanding food was one not to miss. A lot of effort had been made to match the
wines and food as close to perfection as possible and it showed.
The
Dogpoint Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
‘Section 94’ 2008 was served with fresh oysters in their shells, prawns and
peas. The wine was aged in oak barrels
for 18 months and it had beautiful citrus and grapefruit flavours. It had a lovely floral aspect and textural
complexity with good minerality.
Next came the Dogpoint Vineyard Chardonnay
2008 with the fresh tuatua and Nelson scallops.
Aged in 15% new oak, the wine is more European in style with a lovely
nutty element, citrus and subtle stonefruit flavours and good acidity.
The Dogpoint Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008 was
perfect with the main course of lamb rack with porcini and pumpkin mash. The 17 year old vines are on clay soils.
Every wine made by James and Ivan is made
with passion. The fruit is low cropped
and hand-harvested. The old adage “Let
the fruit do the talking” applies here. David's archive
Henry Lyons
This year Henry is writing the 'Wine' column for Victoria University's
Salient Magazine. Every second week Henry lets his fellow students know the best wine buys up to around $20 dollars. Henry was born and raised amongst the vines in the mighty Hawke's Bay so it is no surprise that he has vino in his veins. He is extremely keen to share his years of knowledge and get people drinking great wine that is affordable. Click on the link above and check out Henry's latest articles. For May, he's covered
Spy Valley Marlborough Gewurztraminer 2009 and
Mt Edward Central Otago Pinot Blanc 2009.
d’Arenberg ‘d’Arry’s Original’
Shiraz/Grenache 2006
This is a bit of a
‘warts and all’ type of wine. It’s got a
few ugly things about it, but it’s worth getting past the detail on first
impressions. Okay, it’s a bit reductive
– that’s sulphide compounds – showing as inky-stinky. But behind it is something warm, solid, gutsy
and a decent Aussie, drinking red wine.
It’s 50/50 Shiraz
and Grenache from the McLaren Vale and given a bit of time in oak to help it
meld together. Big black fruit flavours
spiced with pepper and with a good backbone behind it all. It’ll handle big meaty dishes now, but I know
it’ll keep well for a decade and a half, becoming more at peace with itself on
the way, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out quite a classy number at
the end of it all. The Osborn family
bottled it as a special to commemorate d’Arry’s 80 years in the McLaren
Vale. They wouldn’t dare make it a bad
one…
Raymond's Archive
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Anto's Archive