Odd Bins - What's Hot In The World Of Drinking / Tasting Notes

The Age

Tuesday August 27, 2002

JENI PORT

ODD BINS - WHAT'S HOT IN THE WORLD OF DRINKING

Kiwis cut

Boy, is New Zealand going to be miffed! After

10 years of being included in James Halliday's Wine Companion, it's gone. Not a Marlborough sauvignon blanc in sight in the 537 pages of the new 2003 edition. With the Kiwis out of the game, there's more room for Aussie wines. Instead of the previous two or three wine-tasting notes under each winery listing, there are now six or seven notes. A big producer like Penfolds gets 14! That will keep the punters happy, as will the inclusion of some new players to come along in recent years such as Naked Range, Ten Minutes By Tractor, Nandroya, Terra Nova, Nightingale Wines, Nursery Ridge and No Regrets Vineyard (which gets a five-star rating).

James Halliday Wine Companion 2003 (Harpercollins), $24.95. -- Jeni Port

Take to the hills

It doesn't enjoy the highest of media profiles or a trendy tag but in our hearts, there is always room for a Pyrenees red - Dalwhinnie, Redbank, Taltarni, Mount Avoca, Blue Pyrenees, Summerfield, Warrenmang. Our Pyrenees experience has tended to start and finish with these brands, some dating back to the 1960s, but wine writer and historian David Dunstan looks at the "before" and "after" picture in his new book. "Before" dates right back to the time of Major Thomas Mitchell, of gold rushes and early wine-making pioneers of the 1860s. "After" is illustrated in the stories of newcomers like Kara Kara, Berry's Bridge and Peerick and the tremendous growth in new plantings around the towns of Elmhurst and Landsborough.

Wine From The Hills, Australia's Pyrenees Region by David Dunstan (Arcadia), $39.95

-- Jeni Port

TASTING NOTES

MAXWELL HONEY MEAD

12.5 per cent A/V

Colour: Bright golden-brown

Nose: Clean, faintly floral/perfumed, nutty

Palate: Sweet; hints of marmalade and cream sherry, clean finish

MAXWELL SPICED MEAD

12.5 per cent A/V

Colour: Bright golden-brown

Nose: Cinnamon, cloves, citrus fruit, honey

Palate: Spicey, sweet, limey finish (drunk at room temperature the spice characters are subdued but they dominate the heated version)

MAXWELL LIQUEUR MEAD

22.5 per cent A/V

Colour: Old gold

Nose: Spicey, floral, nutty, sweet, complex

Palate: Spicey, ginger, honeyish, dried orange peel, pronounced sweet/clovey finish

MOUNT VINCENT SWEET NAPUNYA MEAD

12 per cent A/V

Colour: Hazy gold

Nose: Beeswax, perfumed, marmalade, honey, lime

Palate: Medium-sweet, complex with lime/sherry notes; "feral" honey background

© 2002 The Age

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