When it comes down to tin tacks, most of us who drink would have to admit that we do so, at least partially, for the effect. True, there are any number of other considerations that impinge on the matter, including what some might consider minor details like taste and food matching, but when you scrutinise the matter with an intense and totally honest scrute, the desired effect is always lurking in the background.
Reflecting on what we'd sampled when Warbo and the Dragon Lady landed on the Friday night pizza doorstep here at The Little House of Concrete had me casting the mind back to a chance liquor barn encounter with an ex-student who rejoiced in the nickname of Jimbob.
At the I was browsing through the quality end of the operation rather than the cask and el cheapo section and a glance at the pricing had Jimbob suggesting that the price point was a matter of wankery since it was all about getting you off.
That was close to twenty years ago, but the encounter still sticks in my mind for some reason.
Yes, effect is a significant part of the picture, but it's not the only part. Suffice it to say, what we're looking at here aren't aimed at the Jimbob fraternity.
AS far as I'm concerned, however, I want something interesting to drink, and I want variety, which is why we've got a swag of boxes on the floor of the office to go with the contents of the wine rack, the stash in the wine fridge and the selection in chilled storage in the bar fridge.
And if you're after something interesting to sample, you're probably after some details, which explains the statistical and other information cribbed from Mr Halliday and the winery website, since I'm interested in, for example, what makes this one different from the almost identical blend produced by the same producer from the Cullen Vineyard.
Cullen 2010 Mangan Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (5* $35) 62% Sauvignon Blanc and 38% Semillon from the gravelly (c.f. the loamy Cullen) Mangan vineyard with some French oak (13%) on the SB side. Clear pale straw, with a subtlety through the nose that needed a little time to open up, revealing understated grass and citrus notes and a blend of citrus and minerality on the palate that was poised, balanced and textured to run out to a rounded finish. Subtle and quite superb…
Love this wine too Hughesy, although lazy me hasn't got round to sampling Vanya's 2010s yet...
ReplyDeleteI do love though, how, since the inception of the Mangan white a few years ago, it's automatically looked different to the Cullen Vineyard wine. On one hand, the Mangan more refined, mineral and understated (as you mention here) and possibly in need of more time (rare for an Aussie SBS - yes?), while the more heavily oaked Cullen Vineyard seems more sumptuous, complex, characterful and hard to ignore - in a 'drop your expensive chardonnay and drink this' kind of way.
Either way, I love 'em both, and wish more elitists would drop their pre-conceptions of anything Australian with sauvignon blanc on the label and just grab a Cullen.
Cheers,
Chris P