Jansz LD 2002

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, oh I do like to be beside the sea.....This afternoon I left town in a summer dress on a balmy autumn morning, by the time I got to the seaside it was 15 degrees and lashing it down. The weather is changing and for me that means it's time for the bubbles to get a little older and a little more serious, so when Nat thrust the rest of the LD 2002 at me this afternoon it was very much a moment of serendipity.Time for the summer dresses to be retired and in their place a heavier knit and in my glass a weightier sparkling.

I really should write an actual tasting note here but after writing my note the old fashioned way, in a book with a pen, I am now enjoying a glass and I feel transported elsewhere. I'm feeling reflective and whimsical and if I close my eyes I can visualise myself staring out at the sea on a winters day listening to the crash of the waves and I am sat warm and cosy by a roaring fire with a good book on the go.

Anyway enough of my daydreaming, the LD 2002 is sublime. Good wine is like good art, it communicates in more ways than the medium it is presented on. At ten years old the colour is not especially deep at medium lemon and the liveliness of the bubbles is impressive, their tiny forms racing to the surface in the glass.

Stone fruits, particularly nectarine, hints of spice and nashi pears on the nose with a velvety smooth mousse, soft and rich in the mouth. Fresh with mere hints of maturity, the palate is ripe but has much development still to come and is soft without being flabby. Sometimes the hardest reviews to write are those for cracking wines and there has been a lot of thought put into this wine with its whole bunch pressing of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that has been hand rather than machine picked. Along with seven years ageing in bottle pre-disgorging, this wine is elegant, beautiful and somewhat reminiscent of drinking Pol Roger.

So if anyone has a beach house with spectacular views of the ocean and a real fire, I'll bring the wine if you let me come and visit for a couple of days, I'll even cook...

No:101 Delamere Blanc de Blanc 2006

I have a new addition to the corner of dreams up river in the Pipers Brook area. Joining my happy fizzy trio of Jansz, Bay of Fires and Kreglinger is lovely Delamere. They're not that new, I have only just discovered them which is why they really ought to be on the 100 Australian sparkling wines but foolishly they are not. 

Run by Shane and Fran this traditional method sparkler is made on site in the small but functional space they operate that doubles with their cellar door. 

Pale lemon-green with tiny fast moving bubbles the wine shows toast, honey, apple, lemon, brioche and apricot on the nose. Dry with a crisp, fresh acidity and a creamy mousse. The wine is flavoursome with a lot of elements from the nose coming through to the palate and a wonderful bread and biscuit addition to create a stylish, lean and elegant wine.  

I'm a huge fan of this wine, it is beautifully put together and will carry on maturing over the next few years if you find a suitable place to hide it.

No:4 Jansz NV Methode Tasmanoise

Jansz is probably one of the best known sparkling wines from Tasmania, it has previously appeared on the blog as a bargainous bubbles which is a factual statement. When it comes to bang for your bucks the Jansz NV delivers on every level, incredibly well put together and a real treat to enjoy around the globe so folks in the UK, New Zealand and the States can get involved.

Lemon, crisp green apples and honeysuckle combine with a creamy mousse and fine persistence to produce a truly classy fizz that has consistently impressed me over the years.

Bargainous bubbles of the week Jansz NV

 What's a girl to drink when the funds are limited? Over the Christmas period I pondered this in the sausage analogy blog and I think the answer is always not to compromise on quality and go for the bargains when they are around.

This week is an old favourite of mine Jansz NV on sale for $25 in my local 9/11, £12.99 in your local Oddbins or on the Oddbins website for the UK folks and from a selection of suppliers in the US the wine searcher website should be of some help to find the closest to you.

I am a very lucky girl as this is made up the road from where I am currently staying in Tasmania so I'm keeping up with my New Years resolution to drink local and also not blowing my meagre funds.

Jansz NV is a clean and crisp glass of sparkling wine that would make a fantastic aperitif, crisp apples, fresh lemon and a hints of honeysuckle with a subtle creaminess on the finish. This wine is always a pleasure to drink and is consistently of great quality so a great place to start on my hunt for a sparkling wine that is a good bargain at the moment.

Check out their website and learn a little more about Methode Tasmanoise http://www.jansz.com.au/

2011 New Years Resolutions

I love a New Years resolution. Not the horrible sort that mean no chocolate and no wine, I prefer them to include things like skydiving, learning how to make croissants from scratch and climbing mountains.

I can guarantee you that I will not be doing one of those things this year.

So what will 2011 bring? Not a clue other than things I can do nothing about (the Feds approving my visa so I can go and work at the fantastic Josef Chromy stable) therefore I should probably crack on with creating a few of my own adventures.

1. Drink local.
It would be churlish to live in Tasmania and not actually drink predominantly Tasmanian wine. Or Australian generally at the very least. There is so much  more to Australia than the battery farming for grapes that dominate the market. I shall be metaphorically rolling my sleeves up and getting stuck in to some of these beauties over 2011 Josef Chromy, Pirie, Clover Hill, Bay of Fires, Yarrabank and Jansz These are some of my personal favourites and if you still haven't experienced how good Aussie/Tassie fizz is this is the year to discover it.

2. Hit the road
Last year worked out well for me on the travel front. I managed to sneak in 2 visits to Champagne, trip to Bordeaux, Austria, English fizz country, Napa and obviously Tasmania. I defy any wine folk not to have an exact knowledge of the location of their passport and suitcase at any given time, it is one of the greatest bonuses of the job, seeing the world. 
Being in the locality; Australia and New Zealand is going to be as thoroughly explored as I can physically manage. Beyond that Chile is yet again bewitching me; a truly glorious vinous experience with kick-ass mountains.

3. Cuddle up to Chardonnay
The Chardonnay love-fest needs to step up to a new level in 2011. A trip to Ruinart and Taittinger where I tried some exceptional Blanc de Blancs reminded me how great it is on its own in champagne and sparkling wine. It's a great grape variety whether it's still or sparkling and can be heart stoppingly wonderful when treated with a little TLC.
It's time to put the creosote coloured chardonnay behind us and use the sausage analogy for a reminder of how badly things can go. If more people did this they would be hunting down chardonnay like Hobbits in a jewellery shop.

4. Chart the globe
It's going to take some doing but the sparkling wine map needs to be plotted and then thrown into cyberspace to help people navigate their way around Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, English fizz, Tasmanian sparklers and all the other bubbly beauties to be found in their wine shop. Anything to stop them buying nasty wine, they don't deserve it. Well some do but it's a minefield for the polite and friendly wine buying public if we don't help them.

5. Embrace some artwork
Life can't all be about wine. Just mostly. I'm pretty happy with my obsessive book buying, 50's dress fetish and the chocolate habit so maybe a little ink isn't a bad extra for 2011. Just not like this.

2011 is an unknown quantity at a mere four days old. Have fun over the next 361 days and be sure that at least once a week I shall be enjoying the dual pleasure of a glass of fizz and a good book. It's the little things that make the difference; not a resolution, just a fact.