Tuesday, 31 March 2009
December 2008 Tasting Pack
With some reluctance I placed the contents of the first Brook Eden early release pack in the wine rack because, not to put too fine a point on it, I wasn't inclined to wait. Advice from somewhere or other indicates, however, that it's advisable to give wines a couple of days' rest after a lengthy spell in transit to allow them to settle down.
Fine, I thought. In any case we're not talking about your average quaffer here, so we'd better play it safe. I managed to leave them alone for a whole weekend before I weakened.
Left-over Beef Stroganoff probably isn't the ideal food match for the 2008 Water’s Edge Pinot Noir (13.5% alc/vol). At the same time it didn't do anything to detract from a very nicely balanced little drop, brightly purple violet in the glass with a smooth luscious mouth-feel. Definitely a wine to enjoy now, and I doubt that I'd be able to resist temptation long enough to investigate the cellaring potential.
Once dinner was out of the way and I'd provided Madam with a suitably generous sample I sat back to enjoy the rest of the bottle, taking my time and swirling each mouthful round the palate to extract the maximum enjoyment out of the silky tannins.
I like Riesling with a Thai curry - the citrus characters you tend to find in the wine goes with the lime elements that form an integral part of Thai cooking, along with the spicy, sour, sweet, and salty tastes. There was nothing particularly flash about the green chicken curry that provided the excuse to try the 2008 Riesling (12.1% alc/vol), but the same could not be said of the contents of the bottle that I was still savouring long after the curry bowl had been consigned to the washing up.
Unlike certain other white varietals, with Riesling what comes off the vine is more or less what you get, and this one is right in the middle of the style that I really like - clear pale straw colour, wonderful nose and plenty of fruit on a very nicely balanced palate.
Fantastic drinking, and while the winery claims it will cellar for another nine or ten years it'll take much more restraint than certain inhabitants of the Little House of Concrete can usually muster.
A couple of days later, a visit from a former colleague who's known to be partial to a Rose on a hot summer afternoon provided the ideal excuse to open a bottle of the 2008 Pinot Rose (13.5% alc/vol)). Again, the contents did not disappoint. Not that you'd expect to be disappointed by a wine that collected a gold medal at the 2008 Royal Hobart International Tasmania Wine show, of course.
The conversation roamed over a variety of topics as I took my time over the wine, with the late afternoon sunshine outside providing a background for the vibrant transparent cherry red in the glass. Once I'd progressed beyond the visual, the nose gave promise of good things to come, and from the first sip the palate offered plenty of fruit, a pleasant acidity and another lingering finish.
Three wines, in other words, to be savoured over a leisurely afternoon or evening with good friends, pleasant conversation and something tasty on the table.
