2013 Guigal Côtes du Rhône – Viognier, Roussane, Marsanne blend. Fun every day drinker with plenty of personality. Bargain for under $20 a tube.
2013 La Font du Vent Côtes du Rhône Viognier. Some succulent acid & spice with an edge of that oily texture typical of Viognier and resting beautifully in this wine. Lots of intrigue. Again great value at less than $20 a tube.
Overall lots of yumminess and plenty of bang for your buck!
Next up 3 x sub $20 Côte du Rhône Reds!
2011 Guigal Blend of 60% Syrah, 35% Grenache & 5% Mouvèrdre. Year in year out this is a great value wine, particularly given the volume they make. Insane that they manage to age it for 18 months in foundres (massive old oak barrels) and have an average vine age of 35years!
Mont-Redon 2012 Grenache, Syrah fun booze intriguing, layered, yummy!
Château Pégau 2012 Grenache, Syrah, Mouvèrdre Stepped it up with greater depth & a real lift. Bags of personality and a refined texture! Wine of the bracket.
Overall great value, complexity, yumminess. Get one of each and go back for the one you like.
Last up 2 x 2012 Châteauneuf du Papes!
Mont-Redon Little hit of new oak. Almost only density. Solid booze. Needs some time to settle into it’s skin and reveal full potential $65.
Pégau had an edge of the pox (brettanomyces, a spoilage yeast) it was at a level that you could say added to complexity. The challenge being that it could dominate more over time. Some great fruit and texture behind it. $120.
Keep on the Rhône theme with a Rhône inspired red.
Yarra Yering Dry Red No2 a Shiraz Viognier Marsanne plus secret ingredients blend. A cheeky Dolcetto on the side.
YY Beautiful core of juicy fruit. A rawness that comes from not getting enough air time during oak ageing. May have been a result of the first time the winery has bottled under screw cap.
Benevelli Dolcetto an animal, well developed, a bit of animal. Serious structure that just asks for a bit of cow on your plate! Bargain at $25.
The French use this term with reference to both wine and children! It translates to “A good upbringing” or “Being well raised”.
For kids this covers life before adult hood begins. For wine the period of time following the initial alcoholic fermentation right up until the point of bottling.
Every week I taste the Filthy Good Vino Bathtub Cabernet, just like every day I read my daughter, Genevieve, stories. I listen to the wine to see if it needs something from me. Sure I’ll look to see if there are problems, has it contracted Wine Flu AKA Brettanomyces or did the Flu Shot I gave it early in life help. Is it reduced, smelling of rotten egg gas? Is it oxidised, needing a sulphur addition?
More importantly I focus on the little things that I can do to help it grow up into a well rounded kid. After the last taste, I thought:
It needs to get out! It needed a little oxygen!
Why? To help the aromas and flavours develop, shift them away from primary fruity characters to more intriguing complex characters and allow the tannins to see a little air soften and lengthen.
So, it’s racking time …
Doing QC before racking the #FilthyGoodVino Bathtub Cabernet!
You can see a layer of pink lease at the bottom of the glass container at front.
Racking will take the clear wine from the top and we’ll get rid of tge sediment. It will introduce oxygen to help the wine develop & blend the new oak, old oak & glass stored components together.
Here’s the lees from racking a glass storage vessel.
It’s mostly dead yeast & bacteria coloured by the wine. Depending on what wine you’re making you can choose to keep the lees with the wine to get flavour and texture fromthe autolysis, break down of the cells. Lees is “reductive” it chews up oxygen too and can help keep the wine fresh. One the best examples of the potential impact of lees is in the production of Champagne. After the second fermentation in bottle the wine is left in contact with the yeast lees. Over time as they break down the impart patisserie characteristics & a creamy mouthfeel. Same principles apply to white wines in barrel.
The #FilthyGoodVino Bathtub Cabernet is looking good and I perceive that it won’t benefit from further lees contact. Admittedly the wine has already been racked so most of the lees have already been removed.
Interestingly Gaia Gaja mentioned that they keep their lees and use them to top their barrels.
Syphoning off lees from our Demijon – Clear hose makes it easy to see if you’re sucking up the lees!
The first and only press for Vintage 2015 is done and dusted! The Filthy Good Vino Bathtub Winemaking Cabernet was squished a few weeks ago, after 24 days on skins. The perfume and earthiness I was looking for have arrived. The texture has lengthened, developed beautifully and is looking good.
It’s been 10 years between Vintages. Winemaking again has brought delight and pleasure, not just for me, for everyone involved in the project. The garage has been lit up with smiles, laughter, shared magnums of Filth, just a whole lot of fun!
By the time this post is published the wine will be resting safely in barrel, to begin it’s long journey to the bottle.
The Filthy Good Vino Bathtub Winemaking Project will return in 2016!
We’ve had so much fun playing with grapes and friends that we could resist doing it all again. If you’re interested in joining us, hit me up via the Contact Page and I’ll get in touch when we start preparing for more action in the garage!
Check out the smiles, laughs and all the action from our day pressing! Read on to find out more about pressing.
Pressing is another chance to guide a wine.
How fast do you press?
How much pressure to you apply?
What machine do you use?
All of these factors can impact the extraction of particularly tannins from the skins and dramatically impact the texture of the final wine. Press too fast, too hard and you risk extracting bitter, hard tannins.
Taste is critical!
Wines separated into two basic components:
Free Run: The liquid you can drain out of the vat full of skins and seeds without doing any squashing.
Pressings: The liquid extracted by applying pressure to the grape skins using a press. Sometimes these are separated further into first and second pressings.
Throughout the pressing process we constantly taste the wine coming from the press. In the Yarra Valley the tannins tend to be pretty supple, particularly using a basket press. In general the pressings are mixed straight back into the free run. Ours went straight back in adding to the structure and texture of the wine & it’s overall yumminess!
In some regions tannins from pressings can be hard, sappy and bitter and need to be kept separate from the free run. Think McLaren Vale.
Vintage Lunch Went Back to Basics!
Fuel for the pressing of the Filthy Good Vino Bathtub Cabernet. Fish, chips, a dimmi & bottle of Chardonnay. Good Friday lunch break.
Another Ghetto Winemaking solution! Cable ties & duct tape are a winemaker’s best friends!
When G heard us saying the Cake looked amazing she assumed we meant birthday cake, not, cake from pressing the Filthy Good Vino Bathtub Winemaking Projects Cabernet. So we put a candle in it & sang happy birthday …. 4 times!
At 49 years old this baby, 1966 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Claret, was looking tired! So I decanted it onto 30ppm of Sulphur & left it 2 days. Result was impressive!
The samples I tried on the day, both sulphured & un-sulphured were dramatically different. The unsulphured sample was hard with an aldehyde finish. The sulphured sample fresher, but, closed. Aldehyde had been mopped up by the sulphur.
2 days later the sulphured sample has freshened and opened up beautifully. For around $20 you can get the equipment & sulphur needed to treat more tired old bottles than you’ll drink in a life time. If you have a lot of old wine in the cellar & want to know how to do, this hit me up via the Contact Page or leave your email address in a comment below.
1988, 1989 & 1990 are referred to by many as the years that made Barolo, starting it’s astronomic rise to celebrity status amongst the greatest wines of the world. Once again Anthony D’Anna has scoured the cellars of Barolo to source 14 of the most celebrated Crus from these three vintages. Rare does not even begin to describe “drinkings” like these. You don’t taste these wines, you devour them, they are meant to be enjoyed with delicious food and good friends. When I first found out that I had a ticket to this event I had goosebumps and the very thought of the pleasure that awaited me!
Themes have started to come together over the last few “Il Vino da Tavola” dinners. Bottle condition, corks, old world vs new, oak, acid, restraint, oppulence, the hand of the maker, drinking windows.
What’s the difference between Great wine & Mind-Blowing wine, wines that scream DRINK ME?
Perhaps the most important question to answer from the night. I sought to assess these wines at the extreme level of excellence and differentiate between stunning and mind blowing. There were a couple of wines that I’d happily devour every night of the week and twice on Sunday, yet, amongst this company they were lost.
So what, was the difference between those wines that shone and those that whilst excellent didn’t make the cut on the night? I was looking for an edge more, that extra layer of complexity, harmony, seamlessness, wines that screamed DRINK ME! That rare ability to caress your tongue with a divine texture. The wine version of the renaissance man! I saw it in the Cicala, Mofortino, Voerzio’s and Grasso, hidden under some Brett in the Gigi Rosso. So very close to being there in the Vietti’s. I’ve seen it in the past in the wines of Bartolo Mascarello. A core of incredible fruit wrapped in so many layers of yumminess and intrigue, that you can’t help but go back for more!
At a purist level, I just wanted the extra nuances that take it to the ultimate level. It felt like the wines that didn’t quite get there had seen some overt intervention, holding them back from being a true expression of site.
To address the elephant in the room … Where does the line between being too technical in your assessment of wine and just calling a spade a spade rest?
If it’s bretty enough to detract from the aroma and give the wine a hard finish it’s bretty. If the fruit has been dulled through oxidation, well, you guessed it, it’s oxidized! I’ll call the spade a spade. If a fault stops a site expressing it’s true personality then it hasn’t enhanced the wine, it’s detracted from it.
Tonight, there we wines that had faults that detracted from their expression. It’s a shame that wines of such great quality haven’t reach their potential. They weren’t terminal, but, they weren’t the best examples.
How old is too old?
The ultimate rule for wine applies here … call the wine, not the maker, not the region, not the vintage. The Gaja’s had years left in them, as did the Voerzio. The Vietti’s, Monfortino, Grasso, Gigi, Aldo Contertno’s good to go now. Fantana, Borgogno over the hill. As a generalisation, increasingly I’m getting the sense that 15-20 years is a good window with the caveat that you still need to play the wine, try a bottle after 5 years and give yourself a feel for when to try it next. This leads to the next question …
How much difference does provenance make?
Provenance is the cellaring history of the wine. Has it been stored under optimal conditions or not? The sense around the table was that a few of the wines hadn’t been stored well. The Monfortino and the Grasso were the two wines that stood out as perhaps not showing as well as they might have, potentially due to storage. The Monfortino, at close to $1,000 a bottle looked like it had seen some heat, now that hurts! Finding these wines, putting a collection like this together alone is a challenge guaranteeing provenance without source direct from the winery is near impossible.
Rusty tap water! Does colour really matter?
Simply stated … NO! As far as I’m concerned blind fold me. I just don’t care! Give me bags of aroma, flavour, texture and personality and I’m a happy fella! The Nerello Mascalese from Etna and the Barbaresco and Barolo from Piedmont are often pale, they can look insipid, at the same time they are some of the most intriguing wines with incredible personalities.
Incredibly rich, ripe, complex wine with layers of flavour and bags of aroma. A little VA lift, great savouriness. Soft and supple. This bottle wasn’t in the greatest condition, appeared a little heat affected. Will have to try another to confirm!
Loved the acid drive of Cicala, beautifully structured with fine tannin. A stunning perfume, incredibly elegant feminine Barolo, layered with savoury goodness.
ANGELO GAJA -Barbaresco- Sperss 1989 Barolo
The Sperss showed the balance of oak and oak tannin, fruit and acid that I was looking for in the younger of the 5 Decades of Gaja Barbaresco we drank a month ago, but, did not find until we reached 2011. Incredible perfume, core of fruit. The Gaja’s were some of the most youthful wines on the night. Great, clarity, freshness and a colour that suggest a little more than Nebbiolo was in the mix. I’d have loved just an extra bit of restraint in the oak handling to allow the site to shine a little more, rather than the hand of the maker. Now classified as a Langhe, not a Barolo, due to incorporation of around 3% of Barbera.
ROBERTO VOERZIO -La Morra- La Serra 1989 Barolo
Voerzio’s La Serra was one of the wines of the night. Complete, full and round, harmony, complexity balance. An expression of a special site.
ANGELO GAJA -Barbaresco- Sperss 1990 Barolo
Just like the ’89, incredibly youthful. True to the Sperss style of the ’89 with that slightly overt oak. It was pulling short initially, openned to show a lovely perfume.
ETTORE FONTANA Castiglione F. Barolo 1990
Dried out and thin. Well past it’s prime. The colour of this wine was like a pale Rosé.
This could have been wine of the night bar the Brettanomyces! Incredible core of fruit, masked, by a little to much Brett. You could see what was underneath it. So much potential lost!
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ROBERTO VOERZIO -La Morra- La serra 1990 Barolo
As with the ’89, this was look fresh, opulent, refined and elegant. Oak structure was there, yet, not over the top. Like the Conterno’s it had a great acid drive and a beautifully even structure. There was incredible pleasure to be derived from this wine.
ELIO GRASSO -Monforte- Ginestra Casa Mate’ 1990 Barolo
Brooding, opened up beautifully. Would have loved an edge more acid, a personal thing really. Rich wine with incredible complexity. The 2004 was my Wine of Night at a Monforte dinner a year ago. Stunning wine. Would have loved to see it 5 years ago.
PODERI ALDO CONTERNO Monforte Bussia 1990 Barolo
An edge corked, looking flatter and less vibrant than expected. Would still drink it every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Again and again Aldo Conterno comes up with the goods! His wines are refined, sophisticated creatures, with so many layers of yumminess.
PIO CESARE -Alba- Ornato 1990 Barolo
Massive oak, with huge mid-palate structure and fruit with a silvery line of bitterness that worked well with food. Drunk by itself I’d probably have rated this wine higher. In comparison with the better wines on the night it lacked the layers and complexity.
GIACOMO BORGOGNO E F. -Barolo- Barolo 1990
Wild wine! Out of control, oxidised and hard. True to the Borgogno style it was an animal, savoury and rough around the edges, blood like saltiness, almost vegemite.
VIETTI -Castiglione F.- Lazzarito 1990 Barolo
Finishing with two Vietti’s was a conflicting moment for me. I visited the winery back in 2005 and have a soft spot for the people and their wines. The following comments need to be put in context. Both wines were sensational examples of Baroli. On this night I sought to assess wines at the extreme level of excellence and differentiate between stunning and mind blowing. If I’d happily rave about the Pio Cesare Ornato on it’s own, I’d by rolling around the floor drink these bad boys. Vietti have exceptional sites and great fruit. I was looking for an edge more, that extra layer of complexity I saw in the Cicala, Mofortino and Voerzio. I felt that these wines had seen some intervention, holding them back from being a true expression of site. The Lazzarito appeared rounder, slightly broader. I feel like a bit of a hard ass. This was a great wine, again at a purist level, I just wanted the extra nuances that take it to the ultimate level.
VIETTI -Castiglione F.- Rocche 1990 Barolo
The Rocche stepped it up, the structure, acid and refinement, gave it a level of finesse that appeals. The restraint it showed was impressive, with such a core of fruit. Again I’d happily drink both wines every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I’d like to see them both as wines direct from the cellar. Perhaps they would have showed better a few years ago. That said as with many of the great wines of the world, I feel that they would have only declined slightly after their peak and would continuing drinking well for some time. I need to look at more young Vietti to see the direction Luca is heading in … Technical vs Expression of Site vs Restraint!
