Saturday Afternoon at Vivo

Alex and I headed down to meet Lawrence at Vivo city and had a few wines over lunch. I was thirsting for a good Burg, and boy, did the Suchots deliver!

• 2006 Two Hands Shiraz Gnarly Dudes 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Pretty good value if you like the typical modern Barossa style. Nose opened with sweet vanilla, cream soda, the ripest berries and smoky roast meat. Lots of juicy acid on the palate - the assertiveness made me wonder whether the wine was acidity. Still though, it was pretty well balanced in spite of a noticeably high alcohol level, with smooth tannins giving a sense of dense plushness. Flavour-wise, I got spicy cola and more berries in the mouth - almost a dried fruit sweetness to it. Finish was decent, but on the shortish side, with a touch of heat, some orange peel and stewed tea notes and more oakey vanilla all washed with a touch of heat. An unpretentious, enjoyable bottle of Aussie Shiraz.

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• 2009 Kaesler Riesling Rizza 87 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

  Apparently a 100% Estate Grown Riesling. I have tried many expressions of the Riesling grape - but this is by far the most unusual. It tasted like a Moscato with liberal dashes of Marlborough Sauvignon blanc added. Nose attacked with a grassy hay element, before showing off a musky, flowery perfume. Much the same on the palate. Sweet, almost Spatlese level, with a nice plush mouthfeel lifted by some acidity. I got more of the perfumey notes, augmented by plenty of ripe fruit in the form of pink guavas and ripe grapefruit moving into a musky, flowery finish. Simple, straightforward wine but pretty yummy - and certainly very unusual. Try throwing this in at a blind tasting and see people get flummoxed. Who else but the Aussies would grow Riesling in Shiraz country?

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• 2007 McHenry Hohnen Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon 89 Points

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Pretty simple, but well-made example. Absolutely beautiful pairing with the food we had. Lots of SB on the nose, with smoky, grassy notes at the forefront - almost like smoking a bale of hay. After that initial whiff, some Semillion notes of sweet, candied lemons and accents of grapefruit came out. Lovely fresh balance on the palate, which had clean, lemony, grassy, grapefruit flavours and a touch more grass on the finish. With the Okonomiyaki and Yaki Soba dishes, the grass died down grass, and a musky, perfumy floral note emerged. Very nice for its price.

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• 1998 Jacques Cacheux & Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru

  Head and shoulders above everything else we had in the day. This was a wonderful wine drinking at near its peak. Beautiful aged Burg notes on the nose. Deep and gorgeous, it was everything a Vosne Romanee should be. Soil, mushrooms, stewed tea, concentrated dark fruits - black cherries, stewed prunes - all oozing natural richness. This was seasoned with tons of wood spices, pepper, and a little savoury meaty note peeking out at the edges, hinting at greater complexity waiting to unfurl. Palate could not quite keep up with the nose, but it was still lovely and true to the terroir. Lots of concentration, light mushrooms, earth, dark fruits, red dates, wolfberries, liberal dashes of wood spice, a touch of toast, good freshness. At the finish, pure dark cherries were sweetly lingering away in the mouth, almost stewed or maraschino-like in their aspect, with other notes of crushed flower petal, candied ginger and orange peel highlights with peppery accents. The wine did not a knock-out punch, and it was maybe lacking in length, but it was ever so charming. I thought it transported me back to Burgundy, walking amongst the vines. True to a 1998, there were some remnants of hard, rooty tannins mixed in there. Overall though, a great wine with lots of life left. When Alex ran upstairs to Dian Xiao Er to take away some Roasted Duck with Angelica root sauce, we almost floated away in rapturous delight - this was as perfect a pairing as one could ever hope to find. Pure Burg magic. 93-94

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We had a Negroamaro Salento from Puglia with Chesse to wrap up as well, but I cannot seem to find any info on the maker anywhere. Will post my tasting note if I eventually do.