Cat's pee

New Zealand's Sauvignon blanc is one of the best in the world. It is distinguished by a good balance, fruity nose, nice, refreshing citrus, and just the right amount of tartiness to give it a lift. To put it simply, it tastes refreshing and good. That apparently was not enticing enough. A 6 year long study, that cost $12,000,000 attempted to find the exact reason why New Zealand's sauvignon is so much appreciated. The verdict? Cat's pee and passionfruit. Coopers Creek wanted in on the fun and named their sauvignon blanc "Cat's pee on the Gooseberry Bush". Others hope that people will just appreciate the taste and not pay attention to the experts. I just wonder how does the expert know what the cat's pee taste like?

Stepping Stone 2006 Caberet

A very dry, yet soundly structured, with a pleasant red current fruit. Nice finish, with no bitter after taste. Strong, ripe tannins. This wine is a true bargain selling for under $15, but would not be out of place in $30 line ups.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Heavy metal ... wine?

A recently published study of levels of heavy metal ions in wines delivered some unexpected and unpleasant news. Declan P Naughton and Andrea Petroczi tested wines from 15 countries (unfortunately, wines from the USA, Australia or New Zealand were not included). However, among the wines they tested they found that only wines form Argentina, Brazil and Italy did not have significant levels of heavy metal ions. They calculated a Target Hazard Quotient (THQ). A THQ below 1.0 is considered non-hazardous. In typical red wines potential maximum THQ values ranged from 50 to 200, with Hungarian and Slovakian wines reaching 300. Naughton explained the significance of the unpleasantly high THQ:

"Excess intake of metal ions is credited with pathological events such as Parkinson's disease. In addition to neurological problems, these ions are also believed to enhance oxidative damage, a key component of chronic inflammatory disease which is a suggested initiator of cancer."

Thus it seems that drinking wines from Hungary, Slovakia, and even Spain, Portugal, or France, rather than being healthy, can have the opposite effect. Wine Spectator (no surprise here) published, however, a retort. They noted that

"[...] a typical 18-year-old would have to drink 8.5 ounces (one to two glasses) of the tested wines for more than 17,000 days before reaching a level of concern."

Also George Soleas, a vice president of quality assurance on LCBO, notes that the levels found in wines can often be found in regular drinking water. Not that this makes it less unhealthy.

Bleasdale Mulberry Tree Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Bleasdale Mulberry Tree Cabernet Sauvignon is the second wine we had from Bleasdale winery, first being Frank Potts. This wine is very focused, with clean mouth, dominated by a single fruit. There seems to be little oak, which adds to the feeling of intensity and cleanliness. It has a nice finish, without bitter fault often encountered in Cabernet at this price point. Tanins in this wine are solid but not overpowering, with smooth edges characteristic, as extolled by James Halliday, to the Langhorne region.

Rating: 7 out of 10

4 weeks 4 wines

I have neglected my wine blogging duties. Therefore, this time I am going to post a quick recap of 4 weeks worth of wines. The first wine is Ra Nui Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough region. It is another classic, grapefruit flavor Sauvignon that I like so much. This one was slightly more subtle with less citrus. Still a very enjoyable wine.

Rating: 6 out of 10

On the following week we had another sushi dinner. However, this time it was accompanied by a Japanese Plum Wine. Unlike subtle flavors of traditional wines, plum wine delivers plums in bucket loads. Plum wine is made by steeping green plums (ume) in shochu. Shōchū is an alcoholic beverage most commonly distilled from barley, sweet potato or rice. Plum wine is quite sweet, with a nice fruity, slightly acidic finish. The particular brand we drank was Choya Plum, made and bottled in Osaka, Japan. Lacking experience with plum wines, I am going to use a less traditional rating:

Rating: very tasty

The next wine was brought by a friend of mine to our ski trip. This was one of the giants of Australian wine, a 1998 Moss Wood Cabernet. There is nothing subtle about this wine. It brings everything to the table, from dark licorice, through plum and blackcurrant. As I was taking a sip after a sip I was convinced that this wine must fail in the balance equation and yet never encountered this expected flaw. In a sense, this wine is just the opposite of Te Kairanga we had a few months back. It is another way of making a very good wine by piling all flavors and somehow making them work. Te Kairanga was achieving the same balance by being subtle. Still Moss Wood was an experience that I cherish. Thanks Andrew!

Rating: 8 out of 10

The final wine was another example of the fine wine from the Longhorne region, Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. This wine is a find. It has a very nice, refined taste, with bold yet balanced tannins and a silky finish. James Halliday gave it 96 points. While not as enthusiastic, I found this wine to be very well balanced, with some earthy and smoky flavors and nice fruit.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Cabernet Merlot 2005

Moss Wood is recognized by wine connoisseurs and snobs for their Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, awarded 95 points by James Halliday. In 2000 Moss Wood acquired Ribbon Vale Estate and begun offering a Cabernet that people with less exorbitant incomes could afford. The wine retails for about $40. It would be interesting to compare Ribbon Vale effort against the flagship Cabernet, though my budget could not afford me this pleasure. Still, if Ribbon Vale Cabernet Merlot is a little brother, it sets the bar high for its big brother. It is a solid effort, with nice blackcurrent nose and dark color. Solid tannins give this wine a bold, dry taste. A wine has a good, solid finish and no bitter aftertaste that some Cabernets suffer from. The fruit is muted, giving this wine more old word qualities.

Rating: 7 ouf of 10

Coates Consonance Syrah 2006

Consonance Syrah introduces this wine by quoting a dictionary definition of the word consonance:

1. Accord or agreement
2. Simultaneous combination of tones conventionally accepted as being in a state of repose.

The wine itself has a very pleasant nose, with dark and sweet undertones. The taste is dark, very licorice, bitter chocolate and feels rather heavy. After a few sips I was overwhelmed and yearned for some fruit. It seems that the combined, although balanced, assault of oak and tannins attack successfully breached defenses put up by my taste buds and held them captive.

Rating: 5 out of 10