What I drank last weekend...and you?

[Shinboners]

PCL might rejoice at this one, but last night, I enjoyed a pinot noir! It was the 2005 Bress Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley). Okay, my main gripe with pinot noirs is that they taste like cough mixture, and whilst this wine had that taste, it was well in the background. Interestingly, I thought that it was good to have that aspect on the palate, as I got the feeling that if it wasn't there at all, the wine wouldn't have been as interesting or enjoyable.

The other wine we enjoyed was the 2004 Metala Shiraz Cabernet. It only cost me about $15, and I reckon it's a bargain at that price. It's the type of wine I really enjoy - soft, smooth, not too much tannins, and those chocolate/coffee/liquourice flavours. It seems to be a good all rounder as it would go with plenty of different types of food.

[PCL]

You are learning, slowly, but of course, as with any worthwhile endeavour, surely.

I am pleased beyond description.

I admire and love your sense of adventure.

Pinot Noir will not let you down.

Now on to budget buys... the 19th Hole 1999 Chardonnay, ridiculously good value at the stupidly insane price of $7.00. It's mellowed out a bit, oak almost just a hint leftover... and yummy yummy yummy... Get out there in the hole.

[PCL]

Recent drinkings:

Main Ridge Estate, 2004, Full Acre and Half Acre Pinot Noirs.

These are the two releases of Pinot Noir from the Whites at Main Ridge Estate, the first commercial vineyard in the Mornington Peninsula. Nat White makes supremely cool wines in the Burgundian vein of style and character. I've been a big fan for years, working through a case a year. I've banged on about Farr and Kooyong, but for me, this is the shit, the real thing, what does it the most for me. Like, I love Farr's work, and over the weekend, the Kooyong Reserve was tasted next to the Main Ridges, and Nat White always comes up on top for me.

Notes:

The Acre - fresh berries on the nose, straight from the pour, a robust bouquet after a few minutes in the glass. "Silky" on the front palate, rich stewed fruit and just a little earthy, not 'gamey', but earthy, held together by fine yet serious tannins, flowing smoothly to the rear of the mouth, flavours popping and developing during the initial finish. Take a good minute or so before the next sip!!

Half Acre - plums and a hint of gentle oak on the nose, light cooked fruits lifting over the velvet tide of a more pronounced earthiness. a 'bigger' wine than the Acre, but not brash or bold... holds it own on the finish, and reminds me of some fine burgundies while still being itself. Playful and for me, totally tops!! Will go just fine with the mandatory duck, and even a decent ribeye cooked over coals.

SENSATIONAL STUFF.