a girl and a glass

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 ove...

To kick of the month of Cab Sauv I thought I'd start with something close to home - from the Hunter Valley - de iuliis Winery .  This is a winery I'd never been too before last year, but I really enjoyed my visit and have enjoyed all the wines I've tasted there.  We only tasted 3 or 4 wines on our visit but we came home with the Cab Sauv and the Chardonnay. The Cab Sauv is a beautiful cherry colour in the glass.  It's smells like black currents and red berries but isn't overwhelming with fruit.  The taste was smooth - but I'd like to try it again in a few years and see how it goes after laying it down for a little longer.  Right now it's drinking well - plenty of red berry flavours that you would expect from both the smell and colour, and lots of tanins.  It's got a long smooth finish which is enjoyable.  At only $18 a bottle it's a pretty good deal and I'd be happy coming home to a glass of it any night this winter.  In fact I might po...

I first tried David Hook wines on my last trip to the Hunter Valley early in 2012.  We'd just bought a brand new car an thought it would be a great opportunity to break it in with a trip up to the Hunter for the day.  I think our stop at David Hook was about the third for the day.  We went there on a recommendation from a friend who spends a lot of time up in the Hunter and thought I might like their wines.  As you can see from the photo of the magnum of Chardonnay sitting on top of my wine rack - clearly I did. The chardonnay is a pale yellow colour with tinges of green that seems to be characteristic of most modern Chardonnay's.  The nose is quite fruity - but more citrus focused with a touch of stone fruit.  The tast is clean and crisp, but not overly light.  It's refreshing with quite a bit of acidity but with no bite.  After the first sip you'll notice a bit of oak and some nuttiness but this just makes it feel very well balanced an ...

After a long day on the road I'm about to open a bottle of De Iuliis 2010 Show Reserve Chardonnay.   "Subtle aromas of vanillin oak and melon, with a hint of green pear" - hear I come..... I'd like to write more and tell you an awesome story about this wine but I think I need to drink some of it first.  It was one of the wines we picked up in January on our day trip to the Hunter .  It was just a little bit successful.... More about that in another post :-) Cheers Sally