Though I love the Small Wonder Rose, the Riesling was not great. Much too sharp perhaps, no depth. Tamar Valley.
locabibere: local drinker & Locavore: local eater
From late 2020, I have been living in Tasmania, central north coast. I lived in Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia, 2008-2020: Zones: Northern Rivers, Norther Slopes, Granite Belt (Qld), + Canberra wines (when I stayed there) + what I bought locally. I lived in Adelaide for over 20 years. I grew up in NSW.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Nocton Estate Chardonnay
Coal River Valley, Southern Tasmania. The Chardy is perhaps too lemony for my taste. But Nocton is the first to make a Chenin Blanc in Tasmania.
Devil's Corner 2022 Riesling
Surprisingly good, given I am used to Clare Valley Riesling., and given that Devil's Corner can be run-of-the-mill.
Strelley Farm Estate NV Rose
A very peachy sparkling in perfume and on the palate and in its colour. Coal River Valley near Cambridge. A blend of selected vintages: hence no year on the bottle. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. https://www.fogarty.wine/products/strelley-farm-nv-sparkling-rose
Friday, September 15, 2023
Meander Valley Wines
Meander
Valley Wines
Driving
into Meander, the township, I understood why the father of proprietor of Cedar
Cottage Meander, Sarah Williams, believed he had discovered paradise in 1976.
The valley is a floor of green fields hugged by the Great Western Tiers
descending like wide, graded steps across the horizon, below a soft mid-blue
sky. Sarah, too, understands that the valley is a beautiful place. She grew up
there, so her roots are in the soil. Meander has a sense of serenity, breathing
space—and magic.
Meander Valley itself is 3,821 sq km in
extent, from urban areas of Launceston to world heritage areas of wilderness. It’s
above the heart of Tasmania, extending into the north where the Meander Valley
LGA ends and Latrobe LGA begins. The Pallittorre and Punnilerpanner peoples are
the Indigenous owners. Within the two LGAs are the ‘short walks capital’ of northern Tasmania, a Tasting
Trail, and, because of its milk- and dark-chocolate soil, the food bowl of
Tasmania: dairy, truffles, land-farmed salmon, molluscs, crustaceans, fish,
beef, lamb, vegetables, fruit—and grape vines. Tasmanian is in the South-Eastern-Australia wine
zone, and, as a whole, is a region, while within it are sub-regions which the
North-West is. Thus says the Meander Valley Wines’ website says: ‘Tasmanian
wines are all about sub-region and micro-climate’.
Meander Valley Wines (Red Hills) is a 16-minute
drive from Meander township. All of its wine bottles have luminescent-yellow tops,
much like the current revival of 1970’s psychedelic fashion. Its distinctive,
minimalist labels, with vertical text, sans image, and empathetic or
affecting colours—musk pink for Sparkling Rose, pale mauve for Pinot Noir and
teal for Pinot Gris—make the wine easy to recognise amid a discordancy of
bottles on crowded bottle-shop and wine-bar shelves. That neon-bright yellow of
the bottle tops is picked up in lettering: the A in Meander and V in Valley and
Vineyard (a smart choice, since the consonant A is among the strong sounds in those
words).
The Sparkling Rosé is a surprising combination of
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Its colour is a tenderly beautiful ballet-slipper
pink, reminding me of my alma mater, the University of Sydney’s Library with
its copper- or bronze-clad wall/s tinged pink from exposure/age.
The Sparkling is very dry, but still has body and
complexity, with a passing whisper of strawberry sweetness as you drink it down.
The aroma is salmon and musk. Recommended for discerning sparkling drinkers: this
is one of Tasmania’s best; it sits in a well-judged balance of elegance and sophisticated
pleasure. I was shifted to the memory of being in my local, childhood grocery
shop with its glass-box lolly counter full of toffee umbrellas, musk sticks and
the pink among liquorice allsorts.
The Pinot Gris is silver-yellow
in colour with a ballet-pink undertone. The perfume is as if you were smelling cool,
flat satin. The palate is reminiscent of a light Semillon, which I always think
of as an adult grape, taking some seniority of experience to understand and appreciate.
Some bitter orange, some passionfruit. Not lush, but neither is it severe. It’s
like playing a game that demands some brain power but also engages, like Monopoly
perhaps.
ThePinot Noir, in colour, is a clear, light ruby-red like a jewel, typical of
Pinot Noir, and one of the most enticing attributes of this grape. Who could
not admire, who would not love this come-hither colour?
On
being opened for some time, the wine develops a pepper in its perfume much like
a Barossa Shiraz. The palate says ‘young’, but there’s something solid about
this Pinot too, like learning your times-tables with a love of symmetry and
pattern. So maybe not luscious, but as with lines, so acceptable. It’s like organic
cotton, or even muslin at a stretch. Ultimately it reminds me of a sandy beach.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
2016 Finca Olivardots Groc d'amfora from Grey and White Grenache and Macaebo
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Bodegas Nodus Blanco Joven Ecologico En La Parra
I bought it from Aldi's Lismore store! (Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia)