THIS WEEKS' FOCUS:
STOP PRESS: SERGE MATHIEU - RATED IN THE TOP 4 GROWER CHAMPAGNES' IN THE WORLD PLUS A NEW WINERY DISCOVERY....
Hi Everyone,
This week offer a real mixed bag of wines showcasing a number of different styles. Firstly, we offer one of the world's best grower Champagnes in Serge Mathieu. The 2008 vintage is being hailed around the world as one of the best in living memory and the vintage in general has the complexity to make the wines enjoyable now, but also fantastic acidity to see it age long term. Only 300 bottles of the Champagne is available in Australia and when you consider that the price is under $60 a bottle ($56.90 in a six pack), it is truly remarkable value. Please note, this wine is available to order now (which is recommended as the last allocation sold out within 2 hours of being offered) with stocks delivered from Friday.
With the cold of winter with us, we have been loving some of the 2013 reds out of South Australia. This week we offer one of the best sub $20 McLaren Vale Shiraz that we have tried in a long time. Flagrancy and perfume is not something we associate with McLaren Vale but this has it in spades. Throw in loads of dark red fruits and you have unique wine for under $20 a bottle.
We also offer this week our first 2015 Riesling from small producer Cooter and Cooter. This wine has the structure and acidity that reminds me of the great 2002 vintage rieslings' and this is a wine that for under $20, will cellar for a decade and more but is also drinking wonderfully well at the moment.
JULY IS FRENCH WINE & FOOD MONTH AT BOCCACCIO
With the Tour de France in full swing for most of the month of July we thought we would spend the month solely focused on France. All our weekend wine and cheese tastings will revolve around French cheeses and wines depending on the region we are focusing on for that weekend.
For our customers that live locally, we will be putting together take away packs of small servings of different cheeses that are all made in or near the stage of the tour.
For example from July 13th-17th the tour will be based in the Pyrenees. So we will be offering a selection of Gabietou, Ossau Iraty, Chèvre d'Aquitaine, Blue de Pyrenees, Saint Sauveur, Tomme mi Chèvre and Bethmale Cheeses. Watch the tour, drink french wine and eat french cheese. The perfect way to watch le tour!!
All the best,
by Anthony D'Anna
FREE SUNDAY TASTINGS…..
We kicked off French wine and food month in style with a fantastic Champagne tasting on Saturday and very informative tasting with French winemaker Bernard Schurr with releases from the Rhone and Southern France.
This week on both Saturday 2-4pm and Sunday 11am-1pm we embrace the tour and we look at wine and cheese that fits in with Normandy. In 2015, the Tour de France will be travelling through Normandy with over 120 km of the 191 km stage along the Côte d'Albâtre (Alabaster Coast) to the Unesco port city of Le Havre, stage town on 9th July. Then on 10th July, the cyclists will set off from Livarot, in the heart of the Pays d’Auge which produces its famous namesake AOC cheese.
It should be fantastic tasting and we look forward to seeing you there.
Cheers
Anthony D'Anna
JUNE FREE WINE (+ CHEESE) TASTING SCHEDULE - EVERY SATURDAY 2PM-4PM & SUNDAY FROM 11AM-1PM
AT THE NEW BOCCACCIO CELLARS 1046-1050 BURKE ROAD, BALWYN, VICTORIA 3103
With Boccaccio now having two of our own cheesemongers, in Bernard and Gery, all wine tasting will run alongside a special cheese tasting with cheeses selected and matched to the wine on tasting. All cheese on tasting will be available to buy at special prices on the day.
JULY IS FRENCH WINE MONTH -
FRENCH WINE AND CHEESE + THE TOUR DE FRANCE
SATURDAY 11TH OF JULY: 2-4PM & SUNDAY 12TH OF JULY 11AM-1PM: A STAGE TOUR DE FRANCE. WE MATCH FOOD AND WINE FROM THE REGION OF NORMANDY … THE TOUR DE FRANCE WITH WINE AND CHEESE …. A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN!!
SATURDAY 18TH OF JULY: 2-4PM & SUNDAY 19TH OF JULY 11AM-1PM: A LOOK AT SOUTHERN RHONE: COTES DU RHONE AND CHATEANEUF DU PAPE
SATURDAY 25TH OF JULY: 2-4PM & SUNDAY 26TH OF JULY 11AM-1PM: A LOOK AT NORTHERN RHONE: CROZES HERMITAGE AND HERMITAGE
SATURDAY 1ST OF AUGUST: 2-4PM - NEW RELEASE MAJELLA TASTING WITH THE PROFESSOR LYNN - THINK NEW RELEASE CABERNET, SHIRAZ AND
SUNDAY 2ND OF AUGUST: 11AM-1PM - HUNTER VALLEY YOUNG GUNS - THOMAS NEW RELEASE REDS WITH ANDREW THOMAS AND TYRRELLS VAT TASTING WITH WINEMAKER CHRIS TYRRELL - WE WILL SHOWCASE ANDREW THOMAS NEW RELEASE REDS ALL THE CURRENT VINTAGE VAT RANGE PLUS TASTE MULTIPLE BACK VINTAGES. BOTH ANDREW AND CHRIS WILL HOST THE TASTING.
SATURDAY 8TH OF AUGUST: 2-4PM & SUNDAY 9TH OF AUGUST 11-1PM - THE NEW RELEASE WINES OF ARTISIAN BARBARARESCO PRODUCER TRAVERSA - NEW VINTAGE ARNIES, LANGHE ROSSO, LANGHE NEBBIOLO, BARBERA AND BARBARESCO'S
SATURDAY 15TH OF AUGUST: 2-4PM & SUNDAY 16TH OF AUGUST: 11AM-1PM - THE NEW RELEASE WINES FROM CULT SICILIAN PRODUCER LAMORESCA - THINK BIANCO AND NEROCAPITANO...
2008 SERGE MATHIEU VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE
Reviews:
"As is typical for the Aube, these wines are largely based on Pinot Noir, showing a round, ripe, and aromatic fruitiness. They're appealing for their fresh, lively balance and their polished refinement, and they represent good value for the money. Peter Liem, champagneguide.net
"Serge Mathieu, the Billecart-Salmon of grower Champagnes. There are 11 hectares of picture-perfect vines and a superbly equipped winery. Malolactic is carried out with great delicacy, endowing these supremely elegant Champagnes with a creamy richness. Tom Stevenson, Decanter
Long, tight and complex: the 2008 Serge Mathieu Vintage Champagne fits the mould for a great example why the 2008 vintage in Champagne is being lauded as one of the best in recent times. This is a Champagne that can be enjoyed now but with a back bone of fantastic acidity, it will also benefit with a few years in the cellar. 95+ points Anthony D'Anna
Notes:
The Mathieu family has grown grapes in what is now the Aube region of Champagne since the 1700s. In the 19th century their tiny village of Avirey-Lingey boasted 80 inhabitants and 400 hectares of vineyard. The commune was one of many in Champagne that suffered a great deal of damage in World War I. One hundred years later the village’s population has increased to 180 but vineyard acreage is down to 120 hectares.
Over the decades the Mathieus amassed parcels of vineyards that today total 11 hectares. Serge Mathieu first started working with his father France in 1958. Up until 1970, like other growers in the area, they sold all their grapes, mainly to Marne Valley producers, since it was costly and difficult to build cellars in the area. In 1970, however, they produced their first 5,000 bottles of Champagne.
Serge’s daughter Isabelle, who had studied languages in school, joined the operation in 1987. She focused on finding export markets for the wines, which up until then were virtually all sold within France. Within a dozen years, the family was exporting 60% of their production.
In 1996, Isabelle married Michel Jacob, a grower from a neighboring village. By 1999, he was farming the estate’s vineyards, while Serge trained him on cellar work. Ultimately Serge also passed on winemaking responsibilities to Michel, who has proven to be not only a thoughtful farmer but also a winemaker with a wonderfully light touch. The result is some of the most ethereal, artful and delicious Champagne.
The Serge Mathieu vineyards are planted 80% to Pinot Noir and 20% to Chardonnay. The Pinot Noir averages 50 years old, with the oldest vines having 57 years. The Kimmeridgian limestone soil here is very rocky, with an abundance of limestone rocks lying on the surface.
Michel is quite modest about his efforts in the vineyard. When Serge asked him to take over the estate, Michel told him he was going to use his own methods, like ploughing the rows again with horses to reduce soil compaction. He now practices what he calls “environmentally friendly viticulture.” He told us that, based on his experience of farming here for 17 years, he notices when things are “not quite right.” Nonetheless, he claims, “The more I go forward the less I know. I could open a museum of bad idea.
$59.99 per bottle $56.90 per bottle when you purchase 6 or more
2013 COOTER & COOTER MCLAREN VALE SHIRAZ
Reviews:
A couple of weeks ago, a sample of this 2013 Shiraz landed on our tasting table and it impressed everyone who tried it. If you had to ask me what it is like stylistically, it reminds of what Bin 28 would have tasted like 20 years ago if it was made using McLaren Vale Shiraz.
Think big and rich but with great balance. This wine also has flagrancy to it which I don't normally associate with McLaren Vale Shiraz. The depth on the palate should enable it to cellar for a good 10 years. Drink 2018-2028 93 points Anthony D'Anna
Notes:
The Shiraz is Estate grown on the Cooter & Cooter Whites Valley vineyard. This wine and has been matured in 4 year old French oak hogsheads, letting the bright and juicy fruit from our vineyard shine. It displays cocoa and black cherries with fine tannins finishing long.
Cooter & Cooter is a family business. Our logo reflects the connection between the generations of winemaker. The cursive script having been used by various Cooter businesses since 1847. James Cooter was born to be a winemaker, coming from a family with a modern history of more than 20 years in the Australian wine industry. He is the son of Colin Cooter from Lengs & Cooter wines.Kimberly Cooter is also a hands-on winemaker, having learned the early years of her craft in the hands of her father, Walter Clappis, a veteran McLaren Vale winemaker, best known for his much celebrated time running Ingoldby Wines, and more recently, The Hedonist Wines.
In 2005 Kimberly and James packed their bags and headed to the United States, working in California’s Sonoma Valley. Invigorated by their year in the US, they returned to Australia, back to hands-on winemaking with Walter Clappis at The Hedonist.
Now with over 20 vintages between them, and having purchased their own plot of paradise in 2012, Kimberly and James created Cooter & Cooter. The vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of Whites Valley, McLaren Vale with views to the coast. It is comprised of Shiraz and Cabernet planted in 1996 and old vine Grenache planted in the 1950’s.
Whites Valley is a sub region of McLaren Vale, close to Willunga, and just minutes from the coast.
$19.99 per bottle $18.90 per bottle when you purchase 6 or more
2015 COOTER & COOTER WATERVALE RIESLING
Reviews:
This is the first 2015 Riesling that we have tried and it should be a good indication that the 2015 vintage will produce some very good Rieslings'
It is full of lime and talc, with lot's of lively acidity thrown into the mix. It is classic Watervale through and through and the acidity reminds me of those great 2002 Rieslings. Drink 2018-2030 95 points Anthony D'Anna
Notes:
This classic Clare Riesling was dry grown in the heart of Watervale on red “terra rossa” soil over limestone. It has all the classic characters typical of fine Riesling from Watervale. Elegant with hints of lime and a crunchy acid finish.
pH – 3.01
ALC – 11.57%
Residual Sugar – Dry 1.47g/l
Cooter & Cooter is a family business. Our logo reflects the connection between the generations of winemaker. The cursive script having been used by various Cooter businesses since 1847. James Cooter was born to be a winemaker, coming from a family with a modern history of more than 20 years in the Australian wine industry. He is the son of Colin Cooter from Lengs & Cooter wines.Kimberly Cooter is also a hands-on winemaker, having learned the early years of her craft in the hands of her father, Walter Clappis, a veteran McLaren Vale winemaker, best known for his much celebrated time running Ingoldby Wines, and more recently, The Hedonist Wines.
In 2005 Kimberly and James packed their bags and headed to the United States, working in California’s Sonoma Valley. Invigorated by their year in the US, they returned to Australia, back to hands-on winemaking with Walter Clappis at The Hedonist.
Now with over 20 vintages between them, and having purchased their own plot of paradise in 2012, Kimberly and James created Cooter & Cooter. The vineyard is situated on the southern slopes of Whites Valley, McLaren Vale with views to the coast. It is comprised of Shiraz and Cabernet planted in 1996 and old vine Grenache planted in the 1950’s.
Whites Valley is a sub region of McLaren Vale, close to Willunga, and just minutes from the coast.
$19.99 per bottle $18.90 per bottle when you purchase 6 or more
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