26 October 2009
Another Mixed Batch
It’s usually past closing time at the Post Office when we arrive back in downtown Bowen after a trip away, but Madam had been expecting a comfort parcel from Japan before we headed off to catch Elvis Costello in concert in mid-October 2009 so, despite the fact that we wouldn’t be able to collect anything too big to fit into the PO Box we checked it out before we got home.
Among the assorted bills, financial statements, junk mail and other correspondence there were, predictably, a couple of parcel waiting to collect cards, two for regular parcels and three bearing the ominous OBNRD code that indicated that the relevant item is at the back of the building near the roller door since it’s relatively large and heavy.
In other words, three boxes of wine...
We were back there early in the morning, coincidentally about an hour too early for Madam’s parcel) and once the package notices had been handed over I took delivery of a Michael Dibdin Aurelio Zen novel along with a Wine Society Best Value Selection, a Wine Club pack from Pfeiffers and a dozen Paulett Riesling which, at $15 a bottle freight free had been an offer that was too good to refuse.
I took my time before sampling the Wine Society box, since they’d need a day or two to get over transit trauma. In the interim I tried the 2005 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Red, a Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Shiraz blend drawn from McLaren Vale, Beechworth and the Hunter Valley.
It’s a middleweight drink now style that was nicely balanced with pleasant fruit flavours and a rounded mouth feel. Pretty good buying at the price we paid, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to track down another bottle.
The first wine I tried from the TWS box was the Kettle Lane 2009 Tasmanian Sauvignon Blanc. There’s also a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with the same label, Kettle Lane being a Wine Society label aimed at restaurants as well as Society members.
As far as the wine is concerned, it’d be interesting to try it alongside its Kiwi cousin, since there’s an abundance of the same characters that we associate with the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs that are currently flooding the market.
With a RRP of $15 and a reorder price of $13.59 it’s reasonable value for money in terms of quality, but I’m not that big a fan of the passionfruit gooseberry cat’s pee style, so if I was looking in that direction I’d probably be grabbing a cleanskin or something that’s similarly discounted....
That flood of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc is attracting plenty of comment, of course, and there’s more than a few local critics who are scratching their heads as quality Australian Riesling continues to fly well below the commercial radar.
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