Text 9098, 148 rader
Skriven 2006-12-21 08:03:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Clare 715
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We took off pretty early for Clare, haven been woken by
Chookie the chicken rattling the back door begging for
breakfast. The Clare Valley is a ways north of the Barossa,
through some arid and unpromising-looking country, so not
an insignificant jaunt.

Our first stop was Auburn and its old winery Sevenhill,
which made (continues to make, as well) sacramental wine.
This is where Kevin had his apprenticeship, so we got a
commemorative bottle of sherry to take back to him. We
were greeted by a large and friendly cat - the first of
several winery beasts (I suppose it makes sense: the French
used to eat the rats who lived in the aging cellars;
perhaps the Clare Valley people get someone else to do the
dirty work) - and a cheery attendant who led us through the
rather gigantic list. We tried few of the stickies and none
of the sacramentals. Most of the wines we found well made
but not special. We were the only tasters while we were
there, but a few people straggled in as we left.

St. Aloysius Riesling 05 - very fruity, spicy, big, pretty
impressive, but not for $29 a bottle

Riesling 06 - sweet nose but very dry and acid on the palate
- notes of orange and tropical fruit, giving over to the
more cloying Juicy Fruit

Semillon 05 - tropical fruit and cat pee, very much like a
Sauvignon Blanc; acid subsided in the glass, and it finished
well, but I still didn't care for it

Chardonnay 05 - heavy oak, out of balance, blackberry
flavors, shortish vanilla finish

Gewurztraminer 05 - lychee and lime, medium sweet, apple-
pineapple finish, pretty decent

Shiraz 04 - a little muted and milky at first, going to a
spicy black pepper attractiveness; a bit too much wood made
it a little bitter

College Red 04 (Cab F mix) - quite green, aroma of old
shoes, didn't care for it despite a long luxurious berry
finish

Dry sherry - a horrid chemically nose that blew off to
show bright citrus, mushroom on the palate, slightly
sweet, long pleasant finish. Took some home

Rose - floral, fruit, tongue-coating, didn't like

Liqueur Tokay - raisins mixed with varnish - didn't like

Liqueur Verdelho - your standard cheap sweet wine, more
of that strange spoiled milk taste, but ok

Fine old tawny - too sweet and obvious; weird flavors
dominated by acidy coffee; long finish.

After a chat with the attendant and making our purchases,
we went on to Stringy Brae, with its two dogs, one large
and black, the other not. It was relatively hopping here,
despite its slightly out of the way setting. I think this
winery has recently won a bunch of awards or something.

Riesling 05 - muted nose, attractive citrus and tropical
fruit came out, I liked it for its restraint

Riesling 06 - orange blossom and lime, honey came out on
the palate, resolved again to the dread bubble gum

Cabernet/Shiraz 04 - lot of alcohol, way too young; pleasant
brambliness, good oak not yet incorporated (has 5% Malbec)

Cabernet 02 - a little green, dumb; couldn't evaluate;
didn't seem up to the level of the other offerings, but
I think it'll come out into its own at some point soon

Shiraz 02 - aroma strangely reminiscent of the Chinese
dish lion's head - pork with Chinese cabbage; couldn't
figure that one out, especially as the palate had honey
and lemon drops, with blackberries coming in - quite
interesting, took some home along with the

Shiraz 00, which wasn't available for tasting on premises,
so we took a bottle with us - when we drank it, if I hadn't
known what it was I would have guessed this as a decent
Tuscan, lots of tannin and old shoes, quite acid; incredibly
absolutely no Shiraz character. Tasted pretty good in the
glass, though with less fruit than I'd like; more meat and
mushroom flavors, quite odd, but went famously with braised
lamb shanks.

Along the way, Carol noticed a sign for a soap store, and we
promised to let her take a look on the way back.

Into town to Knappstein, one of the grand old names and a
favorite of Kevin, who apparently had studied under Mick
Knappstein.

Sparkling Riesling NV - not enough fruit; a good balance
though, with just the right amount of residual sugar; a
slight sulfuriness

Ackland Vineyard Riesling 06 - lots of acid, good fruit,
both citrus and tropical, nice texture

Hand Picked Riesling 06 - funny chemically smell, not
enough fruit, do yourself a favor and spend a couple
more bucks on the Ackland

Chardonnay 05 - melon, pineapple, not too much oak,
rather pleasant

Sparkling Shiraz NV - nice ruby, cherry nose, black cherry
on the palate, good acid and tannin, low residual sugar,
very much more attractive than the same wine I had many
years ago; the pretty but standoffish pourer warmed up just
slightly when I mentioned the differences between this wine
and the one I'd tasted some years before - and how much I
preferred this new leaner style; she offered some details
about the differences

Shiraz 03 - Carol found burnt sugar, I found chocolate and
vanilla; eucalyptus and tannin, quite nice

Yertabuli Shiraz 04 - this is their reserve brand, named
after the Aboriginal word for "windy place" - a complex
wine, plummy nose, mint, coffee, chocolate, plum-apricot,
huge tannin, not ready for some years to come. Long rather
strange (indescribable; I wouldn't go out of my way for it)
finish

Fortified Shiraz 01 - alcohol and plums, way too much
tannin for this type of wine, so a medium very puckery
finish.

Glen bought a bottle of one of the fizzes, and Carol got
me a copy of a book called something like Good Wine and
Bad Language - which turned out to be a nice but tame
set of interviews with some of the major Australian
winemakers. I could write such a book about Kevin and Ray,
and it would be a more interesting but scandalous book.
I'd call it Strange Brews and Bad Characters.

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