Words from a Wine Glass

Having recently moved to Queensland, it has certainly been living up to its nickname, the Sunshine State. I was told by a friend that the recent hot weather, a number of days in the 30-degree area, is unseasonal.  When I asked him what the winter was like up here, thinking the winter temperatures may have been unseasonal also, his response was, “There were two days in June I think so, don’t worry mate, you’ve missed them.” Coming from the southernmost state of Australia, this may take some getting used to.

However, there is an upside. Warmer weather usually means drinking wines that like to be chilled. When it comes to white wines, it is not often people reach for a Pinot Gris to sip on. It tends to be the more ‘common’ ones that get the nod. If there was a Warm Weather Wines list compiled, I would not hesitate to say there would be several quality Australian Pinot Gris, just like this one, that deserve to be on it.

Clandestine Vineyards Website

Region: King Valley, Vic     Price: $28    Source: Thanks kindly to Clandestine Vineyards and Savvy Comms

This Pinot Gris greets you with a lovely aromatic intensity in the glass. On the palate there is an intensity too, but it is more measured and elegant in its demeanour. While it has lovely palate weight, texture and mouthfeel, there is a nice touch of acidity adding a crispness to it that takes nothing away from the expected varietal characters expressed by Pinot Gris. Make no mistake, this wine is very easy to drink.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” Thank you, Albert Camus, for that insight.  This had me wondering, who started the ‘natural wine’ thingy and when?  I ask this because, it must have been a winemaker who thought they could do things differently from the ‘unfree’ way of making wine.  I am not saying it was deemed an act of rebellion at the time but I would imagine whoever kick-started this winemaking style decided to ‘break free’ and do ‘their thing’ with a large bunch of grapes.  It has certainly proven to be a winner around many wine drinking circles.  Here a two from Clandestine Wines that will be great for those summer alfresco gatherings.

Clandestine Vineyards Website

Region: Frankland River & Swan Valley, WA     Price: $38 each     Source: Thanks kindly to Clandestine Vineyards and Savvy Comms

2023 Bliss Bomb Pet Nat

As I have mentioned before, Pet Nat wines are not something I normally gravitate toward.  However, this is the second Bliss Bomb from Clandestine Wines I have had the pleasure of trying. 100% made using Chenin Blanc, this is a refreshingly ‘fruit salad’ of a wine with an enjoyable amount of fizz, some acidity and spiciness come to play making this a very easy wine to drink. I would not hesitate to serve this up to Pet Nat sceptics.

2023 Petite Blancs

I really like this wine.  For me, it was the blend of Chardonnay and Gewurtraminer which generated intrigue, attraction, and a sense of eagerness to try this wine (having tried the 2022, my interest was already high). As I poured it, the lovely aromatics were accentuated when I swirled it in the glass. On tasting, there’s a nice bit of funkiness and freshness, a touch of spiciness and acidity, some texture adds good palate appeal on the finish. Drinkability factor is high for this wine.

Let’s be honest, when you check out the fridge in a bottle shop, it’s rare you’ll see a bottle of Grüner Veltliner on one of the shelves.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say, never.  Further to that, I doubt there would be much of this variety sitting on shelves in the store because it’s not a variety that is well known to usual Jo Citizen. And, not to mention, its scarcity on restaurant wine lists too!

I can even say, and this is fair dinkum, that I went into a local bottleshop (not one of the biggies) to buy a bottle and the shop assistant had never heard of the variety.  This is not a criticism of the shop attendant at all, but I think it is a sad reflection on the ‘status’ of Grüner Veltliner in the white wine world, certainly in Australia anyway.

However, this does not mean that this dining table rarity does not deserve its place in the sun…or cold when it comes to the Orange region of New South Wales where these two excellent examples came from.

Stockman’s Ridge Website

Region: Orange Region, NSW     Source: Samples thanks kindly to Stockman’s Ridge and Define Wine

The 2022 Rider Grüner Veltliner is the perfect example of the variety to get people to drink Grüner. It’s a very pretty and complex wine aromatically that leads nicely into the flavoursome palate.  Here, it’s smooth with a gentle intensity, a nice touch of acidity adding freshness on the finish. I reckon this particular Grüner will have fans of the variety drinking more of it…easily!

Moving on to this delightful 2022 Signature Range Grüner Veltliner was a pleasure.  It’s generously flavoured, beautifully textured, rich while maintaining elegance and poise with lovely palate presence, finishing long and lip smackingly good. This Grüner seems to just glide effortlessly across the palate and, dare I say, sharing it was difficult…but I did.