Discovering Jenke

As I mentioned in my first post, this is a blog about wines I try and the story of their discovery - not a blog about tasting notes. As we're making our way through one of our wine racks at the home I'm finding that each bottle we open has great memories attached to it. Memories that are about more that the wine. Memories that involve people and experiences that I've enjoyed, and in some cases cherished. My discovery of this Jenke Chardonnay is one of those stories, and it wasn't really my discovery at all.

We'd headed down for a long weekend in the Barossa Valley and were taking some friends of ours along for their first time. We spent our first day at a long lunch at one of my favourite wineries in the world (Rockford Wines), followed by a slow and lazy dinner at our cottage (with more wine of course!). The next day after visiting the Barossa Farmer's Markets for coffee and pastries we set off to visit our usual destinations - Charles Melton, Turkey Flat, Henschke, the Barossa Valley Cheese Factory. As hubby was the designated driver, I took it upon myself to encourage our friends to join me in being the designated tasters. And taste we did. (More on that in future posts!)

On our way back to our accommodation we mentioned to our friends that we always try and find somewhere new to visit each trip. We quickly realised that we hadn't achieved that yet this trip and were rapidly running out of tasting hours to do so. It was right about that time that passenger #2 spied the sign for Jenke and yelled out 'quick turn here'. After following the long driveway we found ourselves outside a cute little stone cottage (see below). Realising that we probably only had about 20 minutes before they would close we quickly rushed in to see what they had to taste. I can't even remember everything we tasted, but I found 2 bottles of this chardonnay on my wine rack the other day - so I must have liked it.

So how was it when I drank it at home? Pretty damn good. I'm fussy with Chardonnay's I don't like big buttery, oaky, overpowering ones. However I don't like them wimpy either. This went down great with our spicy dinner. In fact it went down so easily I think we drank the whole bottle that night - whoops!?!

I've not had the chance of going back to Jenke since this vist. However I love the fact that finding a wine on my rack like this reminds me of the importance to try something different and embrace the opportunity before me. You never know what you'll find and what will end up on you wine rack.

Cheers!

Sally

Comments

#winewednesday - d'Arenberg High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon

I've reviewed wines from d'Arenberg or Darries before . They are a bit of a go to staple in our house hold at times. Easy drink, accessible, good prices, and consistent in taste. What's not to love. Today I'm drinking The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon . Darries has several ranges of wine - The Stump Jump at the value end (under $15 a bottle and a great drink) all the way through to the premium single vineyard drops at around $100 a bottle. If you can't find a wine to suit both your taste and budget you may as will stop drinking wine. I've actually tried a lot of their wine and really value both the premium wines and the value wines. It's rare for me to feel that way about a winery, but I don't think they've compromised on quality with any thing they are producing - which is great. The High Trellis Cab Sauv is a good drop. The nose is quite fruity with lots of blackberry. The colour is rich cherry with lots of purple hu

#winewednesday - Ridgeview Cabernet Sauvignon

Today I'm talking about another local Cab Sauv.... well local to me that is. RidgeView is in the Hunter Valley just a little over 1.5 hours north of Sydney. I've got to admit I don't get up there very often, but it's always fun to get to visit somewhere new when you do. I've written about my visit to RidgeView before . One of the things I enjoyed about our visit was how relaxed and casual the staff were. They were friendly and relaxed - which is not something you always get at every Hunter Valley cellar door. They also don't take themselves too seriously as you can see by the way they've brought humour to their day to day & their labels. (Love that "Effen Hill") So on to the wine.... Well as the label says above the colour is a very deep purple red. There is definitely lots of berry fruit reflected in both the colour and the nose. Taste wise its a good robust wine. Berries as you would expect, but not too over powering.

#winewednesday - David Hook de novo bianco

I don't get up to the Hunter Valley very often but when I do I take it as an opportunity to try some different cellar doors and wines that I usually drink. Last year I made it to David Hook Wines cellar door in Pokolbin. We tried a few wines and brought a few more back. One of those is the de novo bianco 2011 which we just cracked open tonight to eat with our grilled barramundi. The de novo biano is a blend of 4 grapes - Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. The nose is very delicate - at least is was for me tonight - with just a few hints of orange blossom. The palate is light but more robust and rich than a Sauvignon Blanc. The taste is smooth, maybe a hint of apricot or similar stone fruit. A hint of spice, but nothing overwhelming and nothing too strong to overpower any food you're eating. All in all a good choice for our fish tonight. At around $30 a bottle it might not be you're every day quaffer but it's something to bring around

a girl and a glass

Search This Blog