Manta Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - Chile

I'm not usually a fan of Cabernet Sauvignon, but this one was a crowd pleaser.

Tasting notes: Good.* For a Cab Sav I guess...



*Disclaimer: This was the second (and third) bottle of wine of the evening

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2004

Otherwise entitled: How to make me homesick

I know this isn't the most amazing bottle of wine Penfolds produces, but back at home this was my reliable-easy-to-find-grab-it-off-the-shelf-on-the-way-out-to-dinner everyone-likes-it favourite bottle of red.

Here, I usually refuse to pay for it in pounds (+taxes and transport), but it was on special at the local supermarket which brought the price down to near what I'd pay for it at home. Also, I was having dinner at a friend's place and like to be a good ambassador for the Aussie wine industry.

The wine: Smooth, far too easy to drink, soft-to-medium tannins, sweet red berries, with hints of chocolate spice.


And all the Brits liked it too !

Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2006 - Central Valley Chile

After seeing the movie Sideways I wondered what all the fuss was about Pinot Noir. I then went to NZ and found out. A divine grape that can produce the most exquisite velvety mysterious wine I've ever tasted. Can being the operative word. I heard on the grapevine (ho ho ho!) that chilean pinot was worth a shot, so I set aside a reasonable looking bottle for a bit of Friday night quaffing.

I opened it up and from the moment it hit the glass I thought "Big. Mistake." The colour was thin, like rasberry cordial, and I could almost see through it - the glass I had it in was a goldfish bowl in a former life. In this way I was reminded of all the reasons why you should NEVER EVER under ANY circumstances by a bottle of wine that contains a play on words in the name. EVER.

The nose didn't give much, perhaps a slight mushroom smokiness. There was a nice plum spice to the taste, but there wasn't much in this baby. It's light and drinkable, possibly best kept for a summer picnic. Perhaps this is the best that chilean pinot can offer in this price range..

Overall: To be fair, this wine is not offensive, and I did finish the bottle. However it's not amazing and if I am craving a lush pinot then I guess I better just save my pennies and lash out on a decent central otago bottle.

Chianti Classico

With a trip to Tuscany planned, I was very excited at the chance to experience new and exciting wine on it's home turf. Chianti! Tuscany is famous for it! I'd never had chianti before, or so I thought, until I did a bit of reading and discovered to my delight that Chianti is made mostly from the Sangiovese grape! Ahhh... the chance to catch up with an old favourite in it's original guise, brilliant! From what I can gather, the percentage of sangiovese in chianti varies, usually from 75% to 90% and occasionally is presented as a single varietal. The differences between regions arise with what else makes up the blend, traditionally it's another italian grape, such as canaiolo, but there have been some interesting wine experiments along the way. "Super Tuscans" have cabernet sauvigon to strengthen the wine and give it a bit of a kick, whilst blending with white grapes lends more aromatic sweetness. Anyway, enough wine education from me, on with the labels.

My Bestest Girl and I managed to work our way through four lovely bottles of chianti over the weekend, consumed in equally delightful settings such as overlooking the river Arno in Florence in the late summer sunshine, and in the shade of the Leaning Tower of Pisa as the sunset. In order of comsumption they were:

Petra Ebo Val di Conia 2003
This one's a "super tuscan" blend with cabernet and merlot.

Borgo Scapeto Chianti Classico 2003
I swear this one smelt like chocolate!

Lamole di Lamade Chianto Classico 2003
We picked this one cause K was going to Lamole.

Castelgreve Chianti Classico 2003
This was the driest of the lot, with high percentage (95%) sangiovese. But i just loved how it smelt.

I haven't really got comprehensive tasting notes for each - I know, I'm bad, but hey, I was on holiday! But here are my overall impressions

Lovely ruby coloured wine, with thick glycerine rolling round the edges of the glass. Beautiful aromatics on the nose with hints of vanilla, chocolate, red berries, especially cherry and strawberry at times. I was practically inhaling the wine, as i loved taking huge big sniffs of the lovely aromas! The wine is dry and almost sour in the mouth, in a sour cherry acidic way, tannins are well structured and with what I'd call fine, light to mild oak. I'm not huge oak fan, so this was great for me. There can be hints of leather and herbs in some wines, but not heavy in the cabernet sauvignon sense.

Hints: The wine did best when it was allowed to breath. One restaurant gave us gigantic brandy-snifter glasses and the wine improved with drinking. Or was that just my perception ;) I think I'll be decanting any I buy in the future, even if I then our it back in the bottle to serve it!

Overall: Chianti is definetly a wine style I get a lot out of. I'll have to be careful of the cheap and nasties, and keep my eye out for the bargains, but if a sales person can recommend a nice drop for a good price, then I'll be stocking up on these babies.