I was pleasantly suprised to satisfy both quests when I came across Mount Langi Ghiran 2004 riesling ($Can19, 13Euros, $AUS22, 9UKP). This wine from the Grampians in Victoria, Australia perhaps lacks some of the layered complexity of the Alsace or Mosel-Saar-Ruwer rieslings but it is very drinkable and it is dry. The unusual name is aboriginal for 'home of the yellow-tailed black cockatoo'.
The label describes strong lemon and lime flavours and although I usually suspect the marketing spin on labels this one has got it right. This citrus quality lends it the dry acidic character I was looking for but there is also a hint of sweetness, perhaps peach. Additionally it has a mineral quality, a slight stony flavour but certainly not the flinty character of chablis.
This is so nice I bought a second bottle which I will polish off tonight! It should be available in Australia so I would be interested to hear what the antipodeans have to say about it. Enjoy!
For more information ...
mount langi ghiran (a good wine, a poor site)
yellow tailed black cockatoo
5 comments:
if you could try some new wines what would the be?
Anything from the first or second growth (part of the 1855 classification). Something smooth and subtle rather than overly robust. Another idea would be a Pommerol, which is Bordeaux Merlot essentially.
Here are the names to look for on lables. Don't spend too much $75 tops!
FIRST GROWTHS (PREMIERS CRUS) COMMUNE
* Château Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
* Château Margaux (Margaux)
* Château Latour (Pauillac)
* Château Haut-Brion Pessac (Graves)
* Château Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)
SECOND GROWTHS (DEUXIEMES CRUS) COMMUNE
* Château Rausan-Ségla (Margaux)
* Château Rauzan-Gassies (Margaux)
* Château Léoville-Las Cases (Saint-Julien)
* Château Léoville-Poyferré (Saint-Julien)
* Château Léoville-Barton (Saint-Julien)
* Château Durfort-Vivens (Margaux)
* Château Gruaud-Larose (Saint-Julien)
* Château Lascombes (Margaux)
* Château Brane-Cantenac Cantenac (Margaux)
* Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron (Pauillac)
* Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)
* Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (Saint-Julien)
* Château Cos d'Estournel (Saint-EstEphe)
* Château Montrose (Saint-EstEphe)
Not many of these will be $75 or less but some should be, I think.
First Growths?
In 1855 Napoleon ordered a classfication of Bordeaux for the the Paris exhibition. In essense the wines of some Bordeaux areas were ranked into 5 groupings, First Growths to Fifth Growths.
bordeaux classification
I would say that I probably know more than your average wine drinker but I know little compared to you average wine enthusiast. I have a subscription to a wine magazine and a few reference books I look at regularly. I also keep a wine diary because this is the only way I can remember what I have drank. Hic!
Not likely to be vineyard owner at any point, this is a rich man's game, a very rich man. Although with global warming perhaps you could create St.Bridget's Crescent Primer Cru!
decanter
I am not familiar with the wine but will seek it out on your recommendation.
Australia has a very commmon white sulphur crested cockatoo, though I regularly spot the yellow tailed black one en route to sydney. It is usual to see them just before it rains (honest) The less common (to me, at least) is a red tailed black cockatoo. I saw one once only, in the Northern Territory though like the other black cockatoo it is not uncommon inland
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