Wine Notes. Z de l'arjolle, Fraser Gallop Cabernet-Merlot, 2009, Margaret River. De Martino Alto de Piedras Isla del Maipo Single Vineyard 2009

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Magnus Patterson
5 years ago
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1 page 1 memberservices@ Z de l'arjolle, 2007 The Languedoc's Domaine de l'arjolle is the first estate in France to experiment with zinfandel. Should the Midi be growing zin? This says that it should. Big and burly, and very full bodied. Product Code FC20111 Dominant Grape Zinfandel Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2010 to 2014 Origin Languedoc - Roussillon Alcohol Level 14.0% Style not applicable Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2007 Price No longer for sale Fraser Gallop Cabernet-Merlot, 2009, Margaret River A new property in Margaret River, just around the corner from Cullen and Moss Wood. The wines are made by ex- Vasse Felix winemaker Clive Otto. This is serious cabernet-merlot with freshness, muscle and density of flavour. Drink this year and next. Product Code AU13921 Dominant Grape Cabernet Merlot Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2011 to 2014 Origin Western Australia Alcohol Level 14.0% Vintage 2009 Price No longer for sale De Martino Alto de Piedras Isla del Maipo Single Vineyard 2009 Ripe, rich and concentrated carmenère from a well-managed vineyard in the Isla de Maipo planted in Aged for 18 months in barrel. Will age well and become quite Bordeaux-like. Product Code CE5751 Dominant Grape Carmenere Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2010 to 2018 Origin Chile Alcohol Level 14.0% Style not applicable Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2009 Price No longer for sale Producer : De Martino Wines - See next page.

2 page 2 memberservices@ Producer : De Martino Wines Pietro De Martino Pascualone founded this estate in 1934, moving to Chile from his native Italy in search of a perfect place to make wine. He found an idyllic spot in the Maipo Valley, around 50km from Santiago, in between the Andes mountains and the Pacific ocean. He settled in a town called Isla de Maipo, so called because it was surrounded by branches of the Maipo river, and although these have since dried up, they have provided excellent soils for the vines which are now planted in their place. Today De Martino is managed by the third and fourth generations of the family. Today De Martino is managed by the third and fourth generations of the family, and has 300 hectares of vines. What sets De Martino apart is the leadership of winemaker Marco Retamal and the increasing influence of the new generation, Marco and Sebastián de Martino, who have been bitten by the wine bug and are set to do interesting things in the future. Marcelo Retamal is a very talented winemaker and viticulturist and has a more challenging vision of how Chilean viticulture should develop than most. Part of his contract is an annual one-month period of study abroad looking at vineyards across the world. His visits have taught him that too many Chilean vineyards have been planted in too safe a climate and that more extreme vineyards are necessary. For example, despite making good Casablanca pinot noir he stopped making it because he wanted to make a much better example. He is convinced that one needs a more continental climate for pinot, with snow in winter. He has recently been inspired by how well some carmenères from the 1980s have matured. These were picked at 13% and he is now picking all wines much earlier even carmenère, one of the latest ripening of all varieties, is picked at 13% instead of 14.5%. This reduces alcohol and introduces a fresher register of flavours. He is also minimising overt oak influence and is maturing the best wines in 5000 litre foudres from Stockinger in Austria. Fresh from a visit to Georgia, where amphoras are still used, he has been using these to ferment cinsault. Marcelo, aided by Eduardo Jordan, has scoured Chile from north to south, seeking out the best and most interesting combinations of climate, soil and grape variety and has used over 350 sites so far. The estate s various wine ranges are a reflection of their discoveries, and the single-vineyard wines (eg. Limávida, planted 1945, Las Cruces, planted 1965, La Aguada 1955, etc) which have resulted from this search are particularly impressive. The Legado range, from which The Society frequently buys, is designed to express the individual characters of Chile s winemaking valleys. The carmenère is especially good, which isn t surprising considering that De Martino was the first estate to export wines made from this grape, and are now seen as pioneers of the variety. The Gallardía del Itata range is sourced from the Itata valley, 400km south of Santiago where viticulture was first practised in Chile as rainfall is 1100mm a year and no irrigation is necessary.

3 page 3 memberservices@ Producer : De Martino Wines - Continued. Gallardía is a Spanish word for bravery, but is also the name of the flower frequently found in Itata vineyards, and the range was created to reflect the wines often floral character.

4 page 4 memberservices@ Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (Victoria Bendigo) Full-bodied and boldly flavoured cabernet with fine cedary fruit and a hint of spice. Balgownie wines evolve beautifully in bottle. Decant an hour before serving. Product Code AU11191 Dominant Grape Cabernet Sauvignon Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2009 to 2018 Origin Victoria Alcohol Level 14.0% Vintage 2005 Price No longer for sale Katnook Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Coonawarra Sophisticated cabernet with toasty, tobacco-infused fruit, classy tannins and modest weight. Decant. Product Code AU13571 Dominant Grape Cabernet Sauvignon Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2010 to 2018 Origin South Australia Alcohol Level 13.5% Vintage 2008 Price No longer for sale Suckfizzle Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, Margaret River Brilliant Western Australia cabernet combining richness with freshness and elegance. Product Code AU12781 Dominant Grape Cabernet Sauvignon Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2010 to 2013 Origin Western Australia Alcohol Level 14.0% Vintage 2007 Price No longer for sale Brazin Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel 2009 Rare single-vineyard zinfandel from very old vines in Sonoma. Huge and dense with a chocolatey palate. Really creamy, powerful and raisiny. Great individuality. Product Code US4951 Dominant Grape Zinfandel Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2012 to 2016 Origin California Alcohol Level 15.0% Style not applicable Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2009 Price No longer for sale Producer : Delicato - See next page.

5 page 5 memberservices@ Producer : Delicato Founded in 1924, Delicato Family Vineyards have a proud heritage in the Californian wine business. Three generations of the family have overseen vineyard operations and winemaking at their various estates in California, maintaining the high standards for which Delicato are known. Delicato have been named U.S Wine Producer of the Year an unprecedented three times at the International Wine and Spirits Competition. Their philosophy throughout their many vineyards is one of sustainability and respect for the land. Delicato produce a portfolio of quality yet affordable wines, each from a selection of their very desirable vineyard areas in Lodi, Monterey and Napa. The Society s California Old-Vine Zinfandel is sourced by Delicato, primarily from the excellent, cool-coastal vineyards of Monterey.

6 page 6 memberservices@ Santa Rita Casa Real Maipo 2007 One of Chile's finest cabernets, whose concentration comes from the vineyard, not the winery. Matured in French oak barrels for 14 months, until the tannins are silky. Product Code CE6201 Dominant Grape Cabernet Sauvignon Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2011 to 2020 Origin Chile Alcohol Level 14.0% Style Full-bodied Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2007 Price No longer for sale Night Harvest John George' Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 This expresses the wonderful perfume and elegance that Margaret River cabernet is all about. There is some serious winemaking here and perfect handling of new oak, to enhance rather than dominate. Product Code AU15201 Dominant Grape Cabernet Sauvignon Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2012 to 2017 Origin Western Australia Alcohol Level 13.2% Vintage 2010 Price No longer for sale Ridge Lytton Springs, 2010 Ridge made 50% less wine in 2010 due to a heatwave during the summer. These lower yields resulted in a wine with incredible depth and richness. Product Code US5151 Dominant Grape Zinfandel Product Type Red Wine Drink Dates 2012 to 2020 Origin California Alcohol Level 14.5% Style not applicable Closure type Cork, natural Vintage 2010 Price No longer for sale Producer : Ridge Vineyards - See next page.

7 page 7 memberservices@ Producer : Ridge Vineyards Ridge is one of California s greatest wineries. Situated 2,300 feet up in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Monte Bello Ridge overlooking San Francisco s Silicon Valley, it is, literally, a summit of Californian excellence. The first vines were planted in the 1880s and in 1892, the first Monte Bello wines were produced, only to clash with Prohibition. Winemaking was abandoned here until the mid-sixties, when Ridge was bought by a group of academics from Stanford University Research Institute, who were passionate about wine. They were joined in 1969 by philosophy graduate and self-taught winemaker Paul Draper, who grew up on a farm outside Chicago, and honed his craft while on government service in Italy, and in Chile. He now heads a winemaking team of three. In 1986, the by now highly successful enterprise, whose Monte Bello cabernet had outperformed a number of Bordelais aristocrats in Stephen Spurrier s famous Paris tasting ten years previously, was purchased by Otsuka, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. The new owners had the good sense to invest generously and to let the brilliant Draper get on with it. Sure enough, in 2006, Monte Bello cabernet took first prize in the thirtieth anniversary reprise of that Judgement of Paris tasting, The redwood winery and office buildings are reminiscent of a rural American idyll with a front porch and, a curlytailed Samoyed on hand to greet visitors. Along with zinfandel and Amerian oak barrels, they are a passion of Draper s. His success is built on a natural approach to his craft, never applying a set formula and instead altering his techniques in the winery to best express the character of the vineyard. Low yields of concentrated grapes are produced from the cool mountain climate they are picked block by block to ensure maximum ripeness and high quality, The emphasis here is on pure California flavours, with a more European-inspired emphasis on balance rather than power. Ridge have vineyards in two regions in California: the Santa Cruz Mountains, home to the Monte Bello vineyard and richly flavoured chardonnay and stylish Bordeaux blends; and Sonoma, where the Lytton Springs and Geyserville vineyards show the real calibre of zinfandel field blends. Monte Bello cabernet now has cult status, not perhaps Draper s most original contribution to the California wine scene is to have taken the zinfandel to a level far above the jug wine territory the grape had traditionally occupied.

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Wine Notes. Half bottle of Tabalí Late Harvest Pink Limarí Muscat These wine notes were created on 25-Jul-2018.

Wine Notes. Half bottle of Tabalí Late Harvest Pink Limarí Muscat These wine notes were created on 25-Jul-2018. page 1 memberservices@ Half bottle of Tabalí Late Harvest Pink Limarí Muscat 2011 Made from about 40% botrytised fruit, this has wonderfully grapy, musky aromas, and a sweet palate underpinned by lovely