Fossil fizz
POSTED ON 21/08/2009I recently fossicked out a bottle of the obscure and no longer extant Heidt et Fils Carte Blanche Champagne lurking in an ill-lit corner of the cellar. Being hopeless at cellar records, I had no recollection of how long it had been there, nor whence it had come. It soon became clear from the shrunken shaft of the cork that it was a fizz probably somewhere between 15 and 20 years old. The golden colour, gentle mousse but above all the deliciously evolved nutty flavours and an ever so slightly sherryish whiff, confirmed that it was a wine of venerable age.
Lust for Life
POSTED ON 14/08/2009It was while taking a leak in the rest room of the Blue Frog Cantina in Fairfield, Atlanta, that Bill Leigon spotted the charming Belle Epoque poster of a winged bicycle with a nubile nymph clutching its handlebars. Mr. Leigon, president of California’s Hahn Estates winery in Monterey, took an instant fancy to the late 19th century poster created for the Montmartre-based French bicycle manufacturer, Fernand Clément et Cie, by Frenchman G. Massias. As any astute brand manager might, he turned it into a wine label and called the wine Cycles Gladiator. The brand now sells 200,000 cases.
Think Pink
POSTED ON 07/08/2009‘A glass of rosé, please luv.’ ‘Sure, but hang on a sec while I open two bottles’, replies’ the barmaid without batting a mascara-ed eyelid. Thanks to today’s cornucopia of rosés to choose from, there’s no need to blend a red and a white together any more to obtain the desired pink colour. On the other hand, the very proliferation of rosés makes it less clear just what you’re getting. Yes, it’s pink alright, that much we know, but its very pinkness is a cunning disguise.
The Big Chill
POSTED ON 31/07/2009Big chill: The perfect al fresco bottles for a summery picnic
2008 Pikes The White Mullet, Clare Valley
Moderate in body for an Australian dry white at 12 per cent alcohol, this unholy alliance of riesling, viognier, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc somehow works, combining a floral fragrance with voluptuously textured peach and nectarine fruit flavours, topped off on the finish with the fresh, palate-cleansing citrusy undertones of the riesling. Made for the great outdoors.
