11.5%, Screwcap, $25
Source: Sample
www.timsmithwines.com.au
If this was any more backwards it would be grapes. I kept that in mind when tasting, yet still it was a hard slog to coax out the goodies.
A very withdrawn sort of wine this one with some nice bath salts, grapefruit and green melon florals, over a very lean, grapefruit dominated palate. It is a very pretty sort of wine, but feels only just ripe and quite short. This will get much better with bottle age, no doubt, but for now just looks underpowered. Pleasant though.
Drink: 2013+
Score: 16.8/20 89/100+
Would I buy it? No.
2009/10 WCA Wine Journalism 'Young Gun; Wine Judge; Gourmet Traveller WINE and Breathe Hunter Valley magazine contributor; LattéLife & The Retiree columnist; National Liquor News tasting panellist and Chablis lover who fell into the liquor industry chiefly to buy cheap beer.
I've not tried the 2012, but your note reminds me of the 2011, which I rated reasonably highly (only 11% mind you). It's a kind of blink and you'll miss it style at present, but I think you'd be pleasantly surprised by what the future might bring. I'm of a mind to cellar a couple to see if I'm right.
ReplyDeleteThe most bath salty of wines was the 2011!!
Love your opening line too.
MichaelC
I think cellaring this for the benefit of experimentation is noble work.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually in cellar sell-off mode at the moment as I find myself bored with what is in the cellar.
The fun thing is that cellar garage sales mean post Xmas buying sprees :)
Yes, I've found I've moved on from a lot of the middling Bdx I cellared in an earlier life and the hordes of $20-$25 Australian Cabernet and Shiraz. Don't think I'll sell anything though. I want more balance between red and white. The older I get, the more I want to drink copious amounts of well-cellared Riesling and Chardonnay with a few years on them. And then there's Hunter Semillon. I just find that white wine is more versatile, or in tune with our lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteMichaelC
Chablis (and decent Chardonnay) is one of my drinks of choice. Ditto aged Hunter Semillon (not super old, 5-8 years is about perfect for most) and Riesling. The odd textured white - Alsace Pinot Blanc, Soave etc - fills in a few more gaps. As for red, Pinot, Nebbiolo and Cabernet/blends are my picks.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I mainly drink white. And beer :)