Pfeiffer 2011 Carlyle Chardonnay Marsanne

It's interesting how rapidly some experiments become part of the mainstream. Take, for instance, Jen Pfeiffer's decision to blend a bit of Marsanne into a batch of unwooded Chardonnay that seemed to be missing something on the way to a clean, fresh, fruit driven wine.

That was in 2008, and there's been a repeat of the blend in each of the subsequent years, because (as I remarked at the time) it works rather well. Clean pale colour, aromatic nose (and you can definitely pick the Marsanne) and a refreshing wine that's easy drinking.

On that basis I'd reordered the '08 and while the '09 was quite acceptable, I thought it didn't work quite as well, and I suspected  that while the '08 was an attempt to tackle a problem, the successor was a case of matching the formula that worked last time rather than approaching a particular issue with a particular batch from a particular vintage. It was still a reasonably attractive unoaked white but it didn't make me sit up and take notice the same way the '08 did.

It seems the 2010 sneaked past through the mid-year C3 pack that I opted not to sign up for (it doesn't seem to have been included in the C2 selections that landed here, and there's nothing in the fairly extensive electronic documentation hereabouts to suggest it was,)so I'd guess that it walked out the door fairly rapidly (otherwise I'd have guessed it would have turned up in the October 2010 box).

And the 2011 suggests that may well have been the case, because both bottles of this crisp, fresh, unwooded style disappeared with extreme rapidity.

Pfeiffer 2011 Carlyle Chardonnay Marsanne (4* $16.50) The Marsanne comes pushing its way through the nose with definite elements of honeysuckle alongside melons and peaches. Pleasantly aromatic, and that impression follows through across the palate with citrusy young Chardonnay characters to produce a refreshing style for summer drinking. Summer in these parts tends to be the time for Rose and Riesling, but there may well be three or four of these lining up in the box with Mr Gamay.

Tahbilk 2009 Marsanne

I know it was supposed to be Cabernet Day, but the ongoing issues with the continuing cherry tomato glut meant we were down for spaghetti with tuna, cherry tomatoes, olives and capers, which isn't Cabernet-friendly territory.

I'd previously tried the 2009 Tahbilk Marsanne in November '09, noting the change from the darker green bottle to a clear one so right from the start you can see the pale straw colour that you'd usually only get a good look at once it's in the glass and suggesting that while most of the usual suspects were present on the palate, the honeysuckle notes weren't quite as pronounced as I'd expected, though if you were to leave it for twelve months, I was confident Mr Honeysuckle would be making his presence felt.

Presumably it'll continue to figure in the odd vertical tasting half dozen (which is where I found it, a steal at $75) so I won't be buying a box, but will definitely be looking out for more.

Tahbilk 2009 Marsanne (4.5* $13 Web Special) Pale straw, in transition from the previously noted citrus aromas as the honeysuckle increasingly comes to the fore through the nose and across the palate. More, please...

Tahbilk 2001 Marsanne

As I remarked the following morning it's good to have an excuse to crack a bottle that's a little above the ordinary.

We knew Adelaide Baker Girl had an affinity for decent wine, and discussions over a welcome to the LHoc glass of Alicante Bouchet revealed she was unfamiliar with both Tahbilk and Marsanne, though when I took a glance at the options in the bar fridge I'd somehow neglected to stow anything from the recent vertical six-pack (remarkable value at $75 freight free, with bottles running back to 2006) so if we were going to do the introduction it was going to be this cork closed bottle of the 2001.

We followed it with the Fermoy 2008 Merlot, a De Bortoli Noble One of uncertain vintage and unrecorded provenance that had been lurking in the back of the bar fridge and a sample of Pfeiffer Topaque in a lengthy sniff, swirl sip, sample and graze session that lasted well past the regular bedtime.

That made a rather impressive little lineup, but there's no doubt that the star of the evening was a ten-year-old wine that probably delivered change out of $12 when we bought it as a current release back before Hughesy was keeping track of the what and how much of the wine purchases.

Tahbilk 2001 Marsanne (4.5* $n/a) It'll be a while before we get another chance to try another bottle along the lines of this ten-year-old number. Given revealed form lines it probably started as a pale almost clear straw, but time has delivered a richer golden depth in the glass, subtle aromatics on the nose and the expected toasty honeysuckle across the palate. A timely reminder that Tahbilk Marsanne's one to lay down for an extended spellbut the problem is keeping your hands off those bottles you've stashed away. Halliday had this as a drink by 2010, but the vintage guide on the back of a recent Wine Club newsletter has it as Improving, with another 7-10 years ahead of it. Pity there's no more on hand...,

Pfeiffer 2009 Marsanne

While there are plenty of cases where a winery is widely associated with a particular varietal or blend I can't think of too many examples where the reverse is true.

One case where it is, of course, is Marsanne, the Rhone varietal that has become almost synonymous with Tahbilk, which continues to set the benchmark for the variety in terms of both quality and price. there's no one else (at least no one I've managed to track down) who does it as well, and as consistently, and at $13 for the current release there aren't too many places that can compete on price either. There's also a vertical six pack with two bottles of the 2010, and singles of the four preceding years for a rather remarkable $75 freight free.

Which possibly explains why, much as I liked this take on the variety from Pfeiffers, it's not likely to be featuring in a reorder.

Pfeiffer 2009 Marsanne (4.5* $18.50) Pale straw green in the glass, stone fruits and citrus on the nose and a strong presence of honeysuckle across the palate and a crisp finish, this is a rather classy full bodied well weighted take on the variety and would probably handle a couple of years bottle age. Label me impressed, but there's the Tahbilk factor, so I'll probably be looking at the other Pfeiffer lines when it comes to filling a reorder.

Pfeiffer 1999 Reserve Marsanne

I've frequently bemoaned the tendency to stow the odd bottle away in the bar fridge, waiting for the appropriate occasion to open the little devil, and here's a perfect case in point. It arrived as part of the C2 shipment just on three years ago, found its way into the fridge, gravitated to the bottom of the rack and would probably have sat undisturbed for a bit longer if I hadn't been looking for something with a bit of bottle age to go with some pork steaks with tomato and mustard sauce.

Pfeiffer 1999 Reserve Marsanne (3* $n/a) While it was pleasant enough drinking, with touches of honeysuckle and a rounded mouthfeel and I could be charitable and suggest we might have left it a tad too long, this did nothing to dispel my view that Tahbilk is the automatic go to when you're looking for Marsanne, particularly when you're after something with a bit of bottle age.

Tahbilk 2000 1927 Vines Marsanne (Relocated)

Back in November 2009 Tahbilk was offering a Marsanne Trophy Six Pack for $115, three wines, two bottles each and remarkable value with two $45 bottles included. The day after the order arrived, this one appeared in Halliday's Hundred, which may explain why it took me so long to get to it...

Tahbilk 2000 1927 Vines Marsanne (5* 20 points $45) Almost transparent pale straw colour, but there's nothing pale or insipid about the nose or the flavour of this one. Complex notes of honeysuckle and citrus up front and a long finish mean that in Marsanne terms this is probably about as good as it gets. Still another bottle to go, probably somewhere around 2015....