Astoria Prosecco Cuvée Tenuta Val de Brun Extra Dry 2010
11,5% abv; 17 g/l RS; 6,5 g/l acidity. Not bad at all. Smells mineral and clean with aromas of white flowers and pear. Crisp despite the sugar - in fact the sugar is perfectly integrated and doesn't stick out at all -, clean and nicely acidic. Good stuff.
&co Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - Hawkes Bay, NZ
I continue to love the wine and its packaging. Crown cap and a wonderfully plain label. It has a slight hint of botrytis (the winemaker, when visiting here, said that she would love to make a dessert SB with botrytis - I can't wait to try that!), but mostly a very pure and mineral but ripe aroma. Quite full body, but with with wonderful liveliness. For me, outstanding (because it is one of the very few SBs that I not only tolerate but also love).
Chateau Musar Rouge 2003
My best bottle of this so far: it doesn't have the greatness of '91 but it has Musar's soul. And the more it ages, the more the soul seems to come forward. Like most Musars at this stage of evolution, it needs a decade+ for the soul to emerge completely.
Abbotts Minervois Cumulo Nimbus 2007
100% Syrah; 18€; quite a let-down; 14% abv; 10 months in French oak of which 70% is new.
And, no surprise, from such a figure, this is very much oak dominated. The liquorous, sweet and over-ripe fruit vies with the oak for dominance. Sweet, concentrated, liquorous, oaky, plump, confected but with good acidity. The Australian owners seem to have recreated a Barossa clone in the Minervois! If S. Austrian fruit bombs are what you like, this is actually great quality for a very fair price. I prefer to drink something else, however. And so did my Musar-loving guests...
