MV KRUG GRANDE CUVÉE - DIFFERENT CLASS

Krug is arguably the most celebrated name in the world of Champagne. When it was acquired by Moët Hennessy a decade or so ago, there was some debate as to whether there had been a departure in style. At the time it was argued that the new owners were getting the wine to market more efficiently than had been the case previously, resulting in ‘fresher’ wine for the consumer.

This particular bottle of Grande Cuvée displays the breeding and class one expects of Krug. Like a sleek luxury sports car, it is about sharp lines and power. It is a taut and somewhat linear Champagne, not revealing its full potential at this point in time.

In this imbiber’s view, while there is plenty of class on show, it is a wine that (at this point in time) lacks a touch of personality. Another 2-3 years post-disgorgement ageing would probably see that personality emerge and reveal itself. Unfortunately, the asking price for Krug doesn’t avail one the opportunity to wait for a second bottle to mature.

MV KRUG GRANDE CUVÉE
Producer: Krug
Variety: Champagne
Vintage: Multi-vintage
Region: Champagne, France
Alcohol: 12.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $250.00
Date tasted: 8 June 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright golden yellow in appearance. Focused nose of bruised apple, lemon/grapefruit pit, roasted hazelnuts and brioche. Medium bodied, very dry. Quite restrained – slightly backward. Taut, even slightly backward. The nose flows through to the palate together with a touch of spice. More linear than the Krug of old. Good, but just lacking wow factor - perhaps it will come with further bottle age.
Score: 17+/20

2014 FOSTER e ROCCO ‘NUOVO’ SANGIOVESE - SWEET CHERRY WINE

Sommelier turned winemaker Adam Foster is one of Heathcote’s more interesting producers, fashioning wines that are often more subtle, suave and lower in alcohol than many of his regional peers. He employs a lot of à la mode whole bunch fermentation, particularly with Shiraz and Mataro, a technique which lightens up the wine.

Foster e Rocco Nuovo Sangiovese 2014 is rather more conventional. If it is aiming to be soft, juicy and not particularly intellectual, it does that to a tee. This is easygoing Sangiovese, with sweet up-front fruit, gentle tannins and easy going acidity.

From this particular imbibers perspective, and slightly drier and more savoury palate with a bit of tannic bit wouldn’t be a bad thing, though perhaps one should look to central Italy for those traits. For Australian drinkers new to Sangiovese, this is a very decent introduction to the variety, one that can easily be drunk on its own.

2014 FOSTER e ROCCO ‘NUOVO’ SANGIOVESE
Variety: Sangiovese
Vintage: 2014
Region: Heathcote, Victoria
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $25.00
Date tasted: 29 May 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright cherry red in appearance. Attractive perfumed nose of cherry stone and strawberry, bright florals. Medium bodied, sweet fruited up-front moving to savoury on the mid-palate. Gentle, almost imperceptible tannins. Straightforward cherry fruit. Very easy and accessible, but could do woith a little more attitude and structure.
Score: 15/20

NV VALDESPINO ‘INOCENTE’ FINO - I'M NOT THAT INNOCENT!

Valdespino is one of the great names of Sherry, though it perhaps suffers a touch from being taken for granted in this exciting category. If ‘Inocente’ Fino is anything to go by, Valdespino is very much ‘on form’. This is a benchmark Fino, seemingly from a very fresh and well stored (375ml) bottle.

It delivers everything one could want from a good Fino – lively aromatics, a saline palate that whets the palate. While it may lack the marked intensity and full throttle pungency of wines from the Equipo Navazos stable it more than makes up with sheer drinkability. Delicious! Need one say more?!

NV VALDESPINO ‘INOCENTE’ FINO
Variety: Sherry - Fino
Vintage: Non-vintage
Region: Jerez, Spain
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $24.00
Date tasted: 24 May 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale lemon yellow with a slight haze. Fresh nose of green apple, sea spray and sourdough. Medium bodied, lively and briny. Lovely palate of lemon zest, apple and salty bread. Clean, fresh, vibrant and well balanced. Benchmark example of Fino.
Score: 17.5/20

2013 MAMMOTH PINOT NOIR - WALK THE DINOSAUR....

After a very successful stint as chief winemaker at Geelong’s Bannockburn Vineyards, Michael Glover returned to his native New Zealand to make wine under a new label, Mammoth, in Nelson. The first Pinot Noir release under the Mammoth label shows good promise for the future.

Glover has employed some of the tricks he used at Bannockburn Vineyards in making this wine, particularly the use of whole bunches, 100% in this instance. Yet this is a very different wine to a Bannockburn Vineyards Pinot Noir. While Bannockburn Pinot Noir can be very earthbound and ‘mulchy’, even in its youth, 2013 Mammoth Pinot Noir is exotically perfumed – florals abound – and there is a burst of fruit – plum and cherry to be specific.

No-one would confuse 2013 Mammoth Pinot Noir with red Burgundy, but it is unmistakably Pinot Noir. Those seeking classicism might quibble, but there’s a lot about this wine to admire, not the least the quality of the raw materials, which have lent themselves to Glover’s winemaking philosophy.

2013 MAMMOTH PINOT NOIR
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2013
Region: Nelson, New Zealand
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $70.00
Date tasted: 22 May 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright ruby in appearance. Attractive perfumed nose of saturated black and red fruits, truffle and lifted florals (lilac, rose) – textbook Pinot Noir. Medium bodied, svelte and satin-like – real polish and sheen. The palate follows up the nose. Quite a bit of mass, but not heavy or clunky. Fine powdery tannins suggest potential to develop over the medium term. The only concern is a touch of warming alcohol on the finish. Unmistakably New World, but good quality Pinot Noir.
Score: 17/20