Tannic Teeth

Sporting 4 Gold medals in various classes from wine shows from Hobart to Griffith, Yarra Burn 2003 Shiraz Viognier is one very well balanced drop. Apparently it’s the signature of Yarra Burn, and situated in the atypically cool Yarra Valley it also produces excellent sparklings; the Shiraz Viognier is no exception.

Yarra Burn Shiraz Viognier 2003 [Yarra Valley] Victoria 13.5%

‘From it’s Rhône Valley inspired roots, the Shiraz Viognier is undeniably French in style but with the squeaky clean feel that we know of ‘down under’ wines. Characters of just ripe plum, and slight mineral pepperyness, this wine is larger on the palate, helped along quite nicely with the Viognier lushness, there is a little sweetness. It’s not out of line however, as the grippy tannins keep the profile in check, applicably texturous, well rounded off on the finish of chocolaty Shiraz goodness. Overall impressions are well balanced, generous and very approachable. ‘

Not far off the beaten track in the Perth lies a bar with awesome coffee in a Bohemianesque atmosphere. Traversing down the little alleyway, tables are haphazardly strewn along the old brick walkway, moss encrusts most parts except where the inquisitive feet of others had tread before. The place is called Tiger, Tiger.

It has decor with real character: loungey like chairs that look more comfortable than they actually are, rustic pine tables and chairs and potted plants of various flora. Briskly walking down the allway one would possibly miss the little shop front, perhaps maybe if it wasn’t for the gloirous aroma of coffee wafting it’s way out.

The coffee standard is want I would expect from a place like this, superb. I know this all possibly sounds too wanky for most, but seriously the atmosphere rocks and the coffee is good, generally a hard find in Perth at the moment, except for those willing to walk off the beaten track.

To cut a long story short; Prestigious Champagne House ‘Louis Roederer’ of Reimes eyes off north-east corner of Tasmania as perfect climate/soil for the first Australian Sparkling. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are planted in roughly the same proportions in Champagne, vines reach maturity, sparkling wine is made. And it becomes one of Australia’s finest. The name JANSZ has become synonymous with Tasmanian Sparkling.

With a tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign as Méthode Tasmanoise, JANSZ is one of the few Tasmanian producers specialising only in the bubbly stuff. Vintage Cuvée, Late Disgorged Vintage Cuvée and Non-Vintage Cuvée comprise of mostly Chardonnay dominant strain of sparklings where as the Non-Vintage Rosé and Vintage Rosé are Pinot dominant. Needless to say the technical brilliance of the wines shine forth, I was taken back by the immensity of the structure this wine had to offer; Vintage Cuvée 2002 is outstanding. Poise and finesse are impressive, value for money-wise cannot be beat when comparing to the real French bubbly.

Jansz Vintage Cuvée 2002 [Tasmania] 13%

‘A whole punnet tray of ripe granny smith apples, nice and tart with lip smacking zest. Good wafts of shimmering baked goods glazed in the much sought after honeyed character (not too dissimilar to Baklava). Autyolysis character (akin to agar plate) present in the middle palate, and the fine mousse lifted and finished everything off in balance. Poise that would ruffle a few feathers in the Champagne houses back home; and a certain heaviness experienced with other Australian sparklings was mostly absent. Supple, fresh and lingering.  In a seemless package which will seriously give the French ivory towers’ something to think about over a glass or two.’

As much as there is a massive power imbalance in the world, it is the tropical zones that are bolstering the round the clock function of the developed world. Our much beloved drug, caffeine, diligently serves society as an alertness crutch from students on late night literary rampages to pilots berthing a 370 ton highly explosive aluminum tube with wings. Without caffeine most of the developed world and fast ‘developing’ nations would swagger in pace. Caffeine the principle psychoactive compound in coffee (also guarana and tea), needless to say you are well acquainted with; is responsible for temporarily staving off drowsiness and increasing alertness.

Coffee the world’s beverage of choice for administering it, is almost exclusively grown in tropical and sub-tropical zones mostly in countries still developing. Coffee is second only to oil in the world’s most traded commodity, but most coffee growers receive about 1 cent per cup (when sold though multinational coffee brands). For a farm product that is very labour intensive to grow and harvest, coffee farmers are kept under poverty line by financially punitive conditions offered from their crop. Many less scrupulous multi-national companies pay in advance for growers’ crop, under the guise of what appears a modest sum. Growers are only to be trapped into a cycle debt year in year out, heaven forbid their crop doesn’t fail- such is the nature of agriculture.

Fair tradecoffee instigated by Oxfam serves to repay a ‘fair’ sum for coffee grown by producers. Hence when it came time for the annual Fair trade fortnight (and fair trade art exhibition) I was compelled to make make coffee cups bearing the 1 cent piece embedded in it, as a visual reminder to coffee drinkers just how much is handed back. Most of them sold, save 4, which still reside at the Oxfam shop on Hay St, Perth. They are on sale now and are half the price they were during the exhibition (half proceeds of the sale go to Fair Trade Collective), and the other half, covers the cost of production.

Kindly given as a gift for my *gulps* quarter of a century birthday celebration by ‘Some Loser on the Internet’, The Ancestor’s Tale is a fascinating regressive view back towards the origin of life. The author Richard Dawkins, well known for The God Delusion, The Selfish Gene plus many more popular science books eloquently takes the reader back via certain ‘rendevous’ points in history, tracing that holy grail of explanations: the ancestor of life as we know it. Darwinian from start to finish (sorry creationists!)  it’s a in depth view of evolution spelled out via whispers left in geological sediments. Quite scientific from start to finish, there were times I did have to Wiki some terms, but over all if you paid attention during high school biology, chemistry and geology you shouldn’t go astray. My only gripe with this book is it’s is a bit too long for the average scientific reader. The story starts to become protracted towards the end, and like the impending flu season immunisation- you just want it over and done with. Considering I started it with such gusto, it was a bit of an effort to finish it and many thanks to ‘Some Loser on the Internet’ for it as a prezzie. 4 stars

One of the many jewels illustriously studded into the LVMH crown, Cape Mentelle enjoys the cooperate success of being part of something bigger. LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy) is the world’s largest luxury brand conglomerate owning the likes of the aforementioned also Gucci, Fendi, Tag Heuer, Château d’Yquem, Cloudy Bay and KRUG plus about 51 more iconic brands. This enables a lower revenue enterprise like vineyards and wineries to be propped up by the revenue from an overly priced pair of jeans. No wonder their wines dazzle with technical brilliance from a no expense spared environment.

Cape Mentelle Sangiovese 2006 [Margaret River] Western Australia 13.5%

‘Sangiovese quickly becoming a mainstream wine in Australia, is more approachable than Cabernet at the same age. Generous dark cherry and coffee notes waft from the surface of this wine, at times requiring some coaxing. There is also anise and spice evident on the nose, towards the palate it’s quite full bodied with plenty of guts, making up for perhaps where the nose lacked. Not at all lacking was the tannins, in abundance, but more velvety and of different texture than say Shiraz and Cab. The subtle influence of [stated] French oak edges this wine into chewy territory, the finish being of reasonable length and persistence. Top notch and highly recommended, but overall nothing out of the ordinary here – this is what you would expect when your siblings are d’Yquem and Cloudy Bay.’

Cashing in the Eurasian craze and always up for trying something new, I had a few left over scraps from lunches past. Namely ’Yum Cha’ Squid tentecles (Yau yu sou) and Spanish Chorizo. I had also had some dried pasta which I had brainstruck with the idea of a squid tentecle and chorizo pasta dish, hence I was away mixing east and west flavours to create something of silkroad satisfacation. One clove of garlic and one [Nana's] chilli fried in the pan with chorizo pan drippings (obviously same pan where I fried the sausage), coupled with refried Yau yu sou, and spring onion and extra virgin olive oil.

The taste?

If I was more cautious in my approach to Nana’s chilli I would have perhaps enjoyed the dish a little more than the bright white of mouth searing pain. Yet again I have underestimated my family’s matriarch ‘asbestos’ palate. Nevertheless it tasted more East than West and my sinuses thanked me for a good purge.

Following the Small Bars in Perth story covered previously, juicy new developments have taken place at my favourite little small bar ‘Alda’s’. It’s quickly becoming a hot spot for savvy city goers after a hectic week, but now, trading the coveted Saturday night enables them to skirt into territory the small bars of Subi and West Perth have had a monopoly on.

Annexing the bordering SAB fashion store, Alda’s has expanded their floor space making way for what I imagine would be a swish cocktail bar complete upstairs loft. Can’t wait till that’s all complete, till then an quirky beer and wine list on Saturday nights shall suffice.

In a momentary flux of caffeinated inspiration [from the previous coffee posting] I thought I should get another wine review out of the way, albeit a small dent in the backlog of those pending. Upon tasting this wine back in early 2007 it has changed a fair bit from first mental impression; having tasted it again it has softened, but those who enjoy the pungency of youthful Langhorne Creek Shiraz move on to 2006. Still a great wine and will drink well into early 2010’s.

Bremerton ‘Selkirk’ Shiraz 2005 [Langhorne Creek] South Australia 14.5%

Bearing the hallmarks of proudly made by women, ‘Selkirk’ delivers well above value for money in the ‘dollar for drop’ ratio. Whilst loosing it’s young purpley vividness of what I remembered, it’s still got a few good whacks of fruit splattering amongst the predominantly leather-earthiness grain. Restrained dark berries falling in the blackberry spectrum, interplay with the textural mouth-feel – delivering fruit derived richness all the way to the end of the squeaky clean palate. Oak stands out shoulder height (compared to berry richness) with a smokey hint and timberyness starting to shift ground to the back- to be expected as it ages. All in all this wine is balanced, slightly jammy slightly earthy with good texture and length. Value for money wise it’s a winner.

At the risk of sounding like a troglodyte or social misfit with a strange phobia for bars and open places for not discovering it earlier, but Little Creatures Freo is one very decent place for a good pint and feed. And to be totally honest with you, this was only my second time there. I admit it, in times when petrol prices were reasonable and politicians truthful, I never felt the need to venture so far south for a beer, pizza and drunken social interaction; good thing I was finally dragged along by happen chance for Nachos and 3 pints before having my mid-afternoon bliss called short by the prospect of serving equally drunk customers myself.

Obviously brewery fresh would be facetiously suggesting otherwise here; you can see, hear and smell the beer being brewed, reminiscing times back in the winery; Nothing quite like the look of a 318 stainless steel vat in full ferment glinting in the morning sun. Food and Beer is tops, as would many staunch advocates of the place attest with their returning patronage. The Bright Ale tasted was live with fruity, floral characters, balanced well with malty roundness and not-so-bitter hopped finish. The Pizza (hot sausage, olive and roasted capsicum) was of fresh ingredients not overly topped or scantly sewn- the base was perfect and not oily-and much better than many so called ‘Italian’ restaurants of Perth. The staff are quintessential Freoians through and through, hippyesque, chatty, veritably high on life (or other substances for that matter) give service in genuinity of good vibes. It gives the place it’s unique spell that once cast over you, you’ll probably return.