2007 Barrel Fermented Semillon ($18) had picked up buttery characteristics along the way, which was all right with me, while the 2007 Second Fiddle Rose ($18) was full-bodied, balanced, and an excellent summer wine, as was the 2006 Prodigal Grenache, another one in the contemporary softer style.
2005 Medley Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre was the kind of style that’d be the perfect match for Italian meat or pasta dishes and is the sort of wine that creeps up on you. Maybe it should carry a label advising caution when approaching the bottle.
2006 Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon ($29) wasn’t quite my cup of tea, though when she tried a sip Madam disagreed, and the 2005 Covenant Shiraz ($38) had a lovely long finish though it took quite a bit of swirling in the glass to bring it out.
Small wineries don’t come much more interesting than Olssens of Watervale, located at the end of a dirt track that might encourage the less fanatical among us to turn back.
My iPod note reads unusual varieties such as Carmenere and Primitivo di Gioia so turning back wasn’t an option unless the road started degenerating into impassability.
Even if it had, I think I might have been tempted to get out and walk.
Again, this was a no notes taken episode. While I liked the whole range, for me the standouts were the ones I came for, the 2006 BHV Primitivo ($35), the 2006 BHV Carmenere ($35), the 2005 BHV MMS ($25) and 2005 The Olssen Six, a blend of all six classic Bordeaux varieties.
That’s something that doesn’t happen in Bordeaux any more since they stopped growing Carmenere after the phylloxera plague.