Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Penny Wise But Pound Foolish?
Well, maybe not as far as Hughesy's concerned although some may question the wisdom of buying a second case of wine to avoid the $21.50 freight charge for delivery from Clare to country Queensland. A dozen would have been enough to cover most of the Jim Barry range, but two cases would deliver multiples and, until the end of November the winery was offering free freight on orders of that magnitude. There's also the question of holiday drinking and having a range on hand to offer visitors to the Little House of Concrete. A dozen might have been adequate, but two dozen works better.
The final order that ended up going in skipped the bubbly at the top of the list (we've got enough bottles to fill our medium term needs in that regard) and a case of whites and another of reds was the logical framework to operate in.
If you're talking Clare whites the selection's likely to lean towards Riesling, but I'm partial to Silly Mid On Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, so the mix ended up as four 2009 Watervale Riesling, three each of The 2008 Lodge Hill Riesling and Silly Mid On and singles of The Florita Rieslings from 2005 and 2007. The breakdown for the reds was much the same - four 2005 Three Little Pigs Shiraz Malbec Cabernet, three each of the 2007 The Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon and The Lodge Hill Shiraz with a 2005 The First Eleven Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2005 The McRae Wood Shiraz.
So, out of two dozen twenty for day to day drinking and four for later consumption after a spell in the wine fridge.
Predictably I started at the bottom of the range, though putting the word bottom alongside the 2009 Watervale Riesling doesn't seem quite right On the other hand, since every winery in Clare has something more or less comparable on offer. As a starting point when the only direction is up you might be at the bottom of a hill but the hill is Mount Everest and you're at base camp on the Khumbu Glacier. You’re about to start the climb, but you're already a long way above sea level.
As far as the wine itself is concerned, it's the usual bright straw colour in the glass, and all the regulation citrus notes are present on the nose, and again in the glass. It's a perfectly delicious argument for the style and yet another reminder of the extreme value for money represented by genuine varietal Riesling. It'll probably last a good four to five years, but if you start with a dozen and you've got much left at the end of twelve months I'd be admiring your restraint.
Elsewhere on the site I've had a bit to say about packaging, and the three labels that the winery uses for the Silly Mid On Sauvignon Blanc Semillon might cause some to push the wine to one side on the grounds of gimmickry, but the 2008's good enough to stand on its own two feet.
A blend of Adelaide Hills savvy blanc with Clare Valley semillon it’s a drink now style, spices and grass on the nose, with plenty of fruit on the palate. While it's obvious that you're looking at a Sauvignon Blanc, the Semillon brings other influences to the party for a win that'll go down well on a summer afternoon around the pool or down at the beach.
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