Posted in Wine on August 24, 2010 by Administrator
We should report some more success from the limited entries made to wine judging 3 wines entered for Boutique wine awards of Australasia and 3 awards received including Silver and best rated Victorian Cabernet Merlot 2008 together with bronze for the Pinot Noir 2008 and Chardonnay 2007 (sadly just missed a Silver in this widely entered class)
Winestate Magazine new release tasting - Pinot Gris 2010 equal top in class. The Pinot Noir 2008 and Chardonnay were also well regarded with 3 stars each.
These blind tasting judging results are pleasing and affirm our decision to now only submit wines to judging/review where we are satisfied that the brand is not known to the judges at time of judging.
Our favoured local restaurant Mount Rael is due to reopen this coming weekend after renovations/extensions.
Went to see the fantastic West Side Story Musical at the Regent last week. Only draw back was the De Bortoli wine at interval - rather than ours - anyway good luck to them for sponsoring local theatre. Dinner afterwards at the new (and worth a visit) Centro restaurant in South Melbourne (at York and Cecil Sts Corner)
Posted in Wine on July 04, 2010 by Peter Snow
With building works commencing shortly on the Pavilion conversion, we have decided to close the cellar door to the public.
We are still committed to presenting our wine range to cottage guests and groups by appointment. These private and exclusive tastings are conducted by the owners in the warm surroundings of the wine room area. Outllok Hill will be showing its wines, with an emphasis on Pinot Noir, at the annual Duck Crawl Convention to be held at Chateau Yering on 21st August.
Finally a note that our terrific Pinot Gris 2010 is now available for sale via email/phone order ($235 a case delivered Melbourne) This wine has wonderful ripe pear character on the nose and pallet together with rich mouthfeel and long finish. Shortly I will get back to dining in the Yarra Valley with a chance to share some experiences - good and bad.
Posted in Wine on June 14, 2010 by Peter Snow
Welcome to my opening blog message that today will be looking at Chardonnay. Most winelovers would have had the good and the ugly with their Chardonnay experiences. Perhaps it is diversity of style that prompts some unhappy opinions for the variety. We have not heard "too oaky, too fat, too rich or lacking acid" .... or "too much acid, too lean, no fruit" in regards to our vintages. Our highly acclaimed 2006 is more towards the leaner Chablis style, while the 2007 is a richer, rounded wine with a little more fruitiness. A matter of personal preference and worth exploring. We have had an excellent run of Chardonnay vintages and feel proud that these received industry awards. For us it remains the great white wine of the world, being the most multi-faceted of whites, the best for length, food accompaniment etc. And although our Chardonnay's remain popular, it is the Pinot Gris that walks out the door.
