Shez wrote,

I do believe if looking at Oz PN, then Victoria (and more specifically Yarra Valley) is the region to go for (I believe the same applies for Chardonnay too) Yering Station 2005 has fallen off the Maj radar.
Sadly looks like we have Missed that boat unless we're fortunate enough to stumble across some in store

I'm guessing we're likely to see less of the more notable producers with established vines over here on the shelves and if we do expect to pay a premium for them. In the lower end of the price spectrum there are are the following:

Sainsbury's sell De Bortoli Gulf station (for 9.99 I think) However, I recall reading unimpressive reviews for this.

Shez wrote:
Need to at least step up to De Bortolio's Yarra Valley PN which is sold at Oddbins but think its something like £17.99 (or 14.39 when bought as part of 12)

With your cote du Beaune Would like to see what you think of Tesco's Finest Yarra PN (~£13.50) which I have enjoyed in the past and has tended to get good reviews from most tastings (Think Jancis has rated it well but Mel doesn't rate it as highly).

have read reasonable things too about ** Shelmerdine Vineyards Yarra PN which is available in limited quantities at Waitrose wine online
reviews here: Shelmerdine review
Although a number suggest sooner drinking (for a 2007 vintage ?!)
and for 2 pounds more at waitrose you can get th NZ offering Craggy Range Te Muna road which is meant to be good stuff.

Thanks for the response Shez.

**I have seen Shelmerdine in the Waitrose store - Fine wine area

I'm still on the campaign to narrow down the choices to a Pinot with elegance and finesse. I want to keep mine to mature. So I shall take quite a few.
The Craggy Range wines evolve properly, according to many wine journalists. The MD is a master of wine, name escapes me, and he tells everyone that he will only use tradition methods and french oak. He also gets dirty in the vineyard which I respect. He is a mate of Bob Campbell, they say, (hence high scores)
Shez, because I'm looking for finesse and dimension, not power and over extraction. I almost think I'm fixed on getting the Te Muna.

But of course, Mel's statement about Stockman's Station, being only 50p more than TF's also sways me. Mel's appreciation and the way she writes about Cote d'Or pinot leads to to believe that we look for, and find the beauty of them in exactly the same way.

One wonders if Waitrose will let Te Muna from Martinborough go into the disco game this Spring.

De Bortolio's Yarra Valley traditional PN is also up for consideration.

_________________
Duncan

Nothing between now and the middle of April.

_________________
mel

Thanks Mel - the message is wait and see or find another retailer. I found a tasting note on video for Craggy Range Te Muna pinot noir.

A poem of a wine

Others may have seen this already, sorry to bore you. The chap doing the video seems to be a steady and reliable sort of bloke. The wine has more colour than I thought from other web notes, no bad thing, '07 was ripe in Martinborough.....and it is the vintage of choice for bottle age in the way I want it to develop - I'd guess.

I came back to edit this post:
I've just been checking out a few Jayson Bryant videos - I am concerned by a possible lack of acidity in Martinborough '07's

Interested to note that he says the English 'General Public' palate is not very European, having marked Mount Difficulty at 78 for "pipe clay" and 82 for "something Gulley", Wild Rock at 87 and Lindis River as 92, because it is dimensional and interesting.

Apparently Lion Nathan's heavy marketing boys don't plug burgundian subtlety. Wild Rock in M&S £10 Mount difficulty oaky and boring, with little nose and green £20 everywhere. Lindis River though, a small independant who only has 4.7 hectares and specializes in Pinot Noir on a steep slope in CO, with forest floor and mushroom fungi notes, lighter and less extracted - nowhere to be seen here about £10 also

Go figure ! - Well we know what is going on.

More Research for me.

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Duncan

That's Jamie Goode, the Wine Anorak. I hadn't seen it before. He's believable, normal and not dressed in stupid stripey clothes or from a silly school.

Would it be better if he had breasts and blond hair, and a bit more of a sense of humour do you think?

He does it for me. (purely in wine terms, obv)

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mel

Yes, of the wines I know, the writing in Anorak is pretty much as I recall.

Yep the video is a soft-cell appreciation of the wine, and certainly, Jamie did it for me also (no comments thank you very much) I'm happily married to the fairer sex.

Do we want a busty blonde on video ? No sweat As long as she's got brains, wit, savoir faire, knows what she's doing - We'll have some of that - certainly.

That's where we're going .........

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Duncan

Dunc, as a fellow fan of Jason Bryant reviews, here's his video review of Te Muna if you haven't already seen it: wine vault TV


FYI, here's a vintage guide for Victoria & Tasmania Pinot taken from last months decanter mag:

2008: Fine Vintage with good aromas and fruit. Early rain followed by cool conditions and a heat spike in March

2007: Challenging vintage due to heat and drought. Best are from Tasmania, Macedon and Mornington Peninsular

2006: Excellent vinage with density and weight. Many wines still youthful

2005: Varying from good ti excellent with good acidity in most areas

2004: A variable vintage, cool and wet, requiring hard work in the vineyard to avoid dilution and unripeness

2003: Good but hot vintage with the best wines from cooler sites

2002: Variable vintage with a difficult flowering in cooler areas but good in warmer regions


Of their tasting of vic & Tas PN, Shelmerdine 2008 gets top score with 18.4/20
'Lovely nose of crushed forest berries, minerals, herbs and spice. Elegant and very ripe. Classy fruit, with mouthwatering acidity and a complex finish.
fom 2010'


TF yarra PN 2007, yering station 2005, Ten Mins by tractor X series (~£19 Oddbins) & De Bortoli 2008 all scored 15.8

pretty much all tasted had recommended drinking window of 2010/11
one or two with a litle more legs in them but none were expressed as real long termers.

Therefore in your quest for seeing how NW PN develops, low end Victoria PN might not be the best option (but could be good for early drinking examples)

I have a Pinot Noir from the Lankydoc to try.

Crazy French men, growing PN so far south. Whatever next, vineyards in Yorkshire?

GK - ha ! That's magnetic North from here -

The Romans had a go in Harrogate - Oh yes.

Shez, I tried 9th Island Tas - it went dry 1st, then mouldy after 3.5 years - DYA is my extreemly limited exp. with Tas. I had to take it back to Waitress and apologuise for not drinking earlier - I have been dabbling in others to see what is what. But now I have some like-minds to help here - Cheers for that - doffs cap.

Shez, I hadn't seen the JB video for this wine, thanks for this, and......it does now confirm. Next day drinking was very good, no farmyard or fungi, but meadow and earth, must be decent acidity, otherwise JB would have said flaccid So this confirms some tucking away qualities. Slightly odd though, as we never saw the Bannock Burn wine that was hot, both bottles on the table were the same !

Yup '07 it is - I can search for the <£> now

Are you now going to give Shell Mermaid a try ? she sounds enticing - that's a very respectable 92 and mouth watering notes of appreciation for the wine.

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Duncan

If you have't already, you should read this : CO PN aging

Yes, thanks for putting that link up tho. It did remind me again of the wines that could have been stopped with preservatives or sulphites or filtered in high tech ways.

Finally … not all Central Otago Pinots are equal. Some deliciously fruity wines will never be much more than that – deliciously fruity and seem destined to decline in quality (quality = fruit) with bottle age. Others did seem to improve markedly with bottle age (Felton Block 3 & 5 are examples). I wonder whether the increasing use of stems during fermentation, in vintages that allow it, will add an extra dimension of complexity? More work needs to be done and winemakers who wish to build ageing potential into their wines need to keep a close eye on those who are already able to build wines with a future.

Craggy R - Merlot ifrom Gimlett Gravels is actively marketed as one that will develop right bank notes over 10 years: Therefore given CR's ethos for traditional wine building, I'd earmarked Te Muna on the same basis. The wine of course is more expensive - BUT - out performers when re-visited down the road are always a delight and reward, after all that waiting.

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Duncan

Shez, the book at Majestic had a missprint, and had highlighted the the 04 in Yarra valley for pinot noir, when we looked on Saturday. I need to take a Think Pad with me for other parts of the World.

I am glad the forum is back up. I have this evening, again checked what you said, and in Langtons which agrees with Decanter. I phoned Majestic, and will swap as soon as possible.

Thank you Shez and the Forum - I need a constant Aide Memoir.

Mel,
I'm finding the forum link very flaky from here, and for once, Virgin are supplying a constant broadband stream at this moment. Wonders will never cease.

This is odd: White page again, have refreshed:- The webpage "ccgi.quaffersoffers.co.uk" cannot be found
DNS error occurred. Server cannot be found. The link may be broken.

Wait, wait again.

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Duncan

Odd.

Anyone else having problems?

My page is pale pink.

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mel

Aha, it just wavered with me. Was going to put up a load of Tesco notes. Will see how it goes.

I must get a life.

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mel

Dunc,

Opened a bottle of the Drystone last night.
Pretty inoffensive but I understand what you mean by the confectionary element.
Its fairly surprising how after 6yrs it hasn't developed beyond being a fairly typical NW PN

This isn't anything special on day one, like you did, I will see it it goes over the next couple of days and hope that it will express a little more over a couple of days

Will probably hold on to the rest of the bottles partly through laziness (and not retaining the receipt like I know you do), and also as it'll suffice for everyday drinking/entertaining (or a PN tasting if I can get enough guys interested)

Not bad on day 2.
Pretty good acidity and fine tannins
black cherry and some sharp red berry. Not picking up so much of the tunes tonight
Length not too bad either.
will like to see how this goes on later in the year
For a tenner is not too disappointing but the quest for elegance definately goes on