The boats are lining up over the next few weeks.
First in to port is the 2007 Unison Syrah from the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke's Bay. I somehow missed the release of this and could only snare 56 cases ... I've got 50 here now, just in time for a 95-point review in Gourmet Traveller Wine by Andrew Caillard MW. Apparently it was one of the highlights of a recent NZ visit. The 06 was very popular and this is by all accounts better. There are just five cases of the 06 left if anyone is keen. $39.95 retail, but you can get it on www.eurocentricwine.com.au for 10% if you read the instructions. Amazing how many people don't!
Next up is the overflow of an ambitious containerload that arrived last December. These three producers had to sit in the coldstore (which was really a warm store at 12C since it was sub-zero outside) until I managed to get space in a new shared-reefer scheme through one of the freight forwarding companies.
So, hopefully by the end of next week I will see the debut of Domaine des Croix (two 06 red Burgundies), Camille Giroud (red Burgundy from 02, 03 and 06, but maximum of five cases of each wine, including the Decanter Trophy-winning 06 Chambertin!), and Domaine des Chenevieres from Chablis (awesome juice!)
"Finally", a container full of 2008 German rieslings ... including, just in time, the full range of Willi Schaefers and Schloss Liesers. Thomas Haag of Schloss Lieser will be in Sydney and Melbourne at the end of Feb/early March, and his wines should go through the roof, they are so good. The Schaefers have been sold out bar one wine, and I expect these to go quickly too. I'll put out a pre-arrival offer on this duo next week (sign up for the newsletter at www.eurocentricwine.com.au to be in the front of the queue).
There are some lovely quirky wines in this shipment, including a gorgeous red called Cuvee X, weissburgunder (pinot blanc), chardonnay, spatburgunder (pinot noir), grauburgunder (pinot gris), sparkling riesling, sparkling pinot-chardonnay, and various expressions of gewurztraminer.
That'll be all for a little while, although the orders are banking up in Europe, if only I could sell some of this to free up some money and space! Spend, my friends, spend up large!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Comings and goings
Happy new year!
There's a lot happening in the first half of this year with Eurocentric Wine Imports and if you love your wine you might like to be involved.
There's an overflow shipment of wine arriving later this month, including the debut of Domaine des Croix and Camille Giroud from Burgundy and Domaine des Chenevieres from Chablis, following by a container of mostly 2008 German rieslings. Actually that shipment includes some quirky obscurity of the kind that top restaurants love.
Take Cuvee X from Schmitges in the Mosel -- it's 10% pinot noir, 90% dornfelder and 100% delicious, like the classic lunchtime claret. Other small parcels include dry and sweet gewurztraminers, pinot blanc (weissburgunder), pinot gris (grauburgunder), pinot noir (spatburgunder), sparkling riesling, methode champenoise, chardonnay and of course rieslings, from dry to TBA goldkapsel!
Three of our winemakers will be in Sydney and/or Melbourne in the next couple of months and are available to meet sommeliers and retailers. The schedule is:
Feb 2-5, Sydney & Melbourne: Unison's Philip Horn, launching the 2007 Syrah (look for a glowing review in Gourmet Traveller Wine in the Feb-March issue).
Feb 6-8, Sydney: Redoubt Hill winemaker Leslie Jackson to promote the 2009 pinot gris and 2009 sauvignon blanc.
Feb 28-Mar 3, Melbourne & Sydney: Schloss Lieser winemaker Thomas Haag, with trade tastings on Feb 28 and March 1 in Melbourne, including a dinner for punters with 15 wines from the 2007 and 08 vintages, and then the same in Sydney, with dinner at Galileo at the Observatory Hotel on March 3.
And the goings?
I'm finally off to Europe to meet potential new producers and to try the 2008 and 2009 vintages in Germany, Alsace, Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Rhone, Chablis and Champagne.
I've had friends come along for all or part of the journey before and I'm open to up to three people coming along this time. It's a fairly hectic schedule at times, but you'd get to taste a huge range of wines at many fantastic domaines. It's a little more relaxed in Germany, where I usually taste at just two houses a day.
Here's the plan:
March 12: Sydney-Paris
March 13: Drive Paris to Wiltingen/Saarburg to taste with Zilliken and Van Volxem.
March 15: Maximin Grunhaus, Schmitges (staying @ Schmitges, in Erden).
March 16: Willi Schaefer, Schloss Lieser
March 17: Reinhold Haart, Knebel (night out in Koblenz)
March 18: Emrich-Schonleber, Schafer-Frohlich
March 19: Rebholz, dinner at a German restaurant with an amazing wine list
March 20: Alsace tastings, dinner at a little restaurant with an amazing wine list (think Faiveley Musigny and Coche Dury Corton Charlemagne)
March 21: Lunch at a cute restaurant with an amazing wine list (it's the toughest three-day stretch!) Then struggle towards Beaune.
March 22: Grands Jours de Bourgogne in and around Beaune. A six-day wine fair at various venues with great regional tastings.
March 27/28: Dinner somewhere fab. Drive south.
March 29: Tastings in the Rhone, inc Domaine des Espiers in Vacqueras.
March 30: Tastings in Beaune, inc JM Burgaud, Roland Pignard, possibly others.
March 31-April 9: Burgundy tastings, including Camille Giroud, Domaine des Croix, David Clark, Drouhin Laroze, Benoit Ente, Jean-Philippe Fichet, Dupont-Tisserandot, Amiot-Servelle, Paul Pernot, Thierry Matrot, Stephane Aladame, Alex Gambal, Aurelien Verdet, Humbert Freres, Auguste et Lucie Lignier, Livera and other rising stars.
April 10: Chablis @ Chenevieres and JC Bessin
April 11: Bertrand Gautherot (Vouette et Sorbee)
April 12-16: Henri Billiot, Rene Geoffroy, Chartogne-Taillet, Ployez-Jacquemart, Ulysse Collin, Georges Laval, David Leclapart and other growers.
April 17: Return to Paris, Eurostar to London for R&R
April 24: Fly to Frankfurt for two-day Weinborse German wine fair in Mainz
April 26: Frankfurt-Sydney
April 28: Arrive home.
If you'd like to join in for part of the trip, drop me a line. I'll try to blog every day or so, otherwise it just doesn't happen!
There's a lot happening in the first half of this year with Eurocentric Wine Imports and if you love your wine you might like to be involved.
There's an overflow shipment of wine arriving later this month, including the debut of Domaine des Croix and Camille Giroud from Burgundy and Domaine des Chenevieres from Chablis, following by a container of mostly 2008 German rieslings. Actually that shipment includes some quirky obscurity of the kind that top restaurants love.
Take Cuvee X from Schmitges in the Mosel -- it's 10% pinot noir, 90% dornfelder and 100% delicious, like the classic lunchtime claret. Other small parcels include dry and sweet gewurztraminers, pinot blanc (weissburgunder), pinot gris (grauburgunder), pinot noir (spatburgunder), sparkling riesling, methode champenoise, chardonnay and of course rieslings, from dry to TBA goldkapsel!
Three of our winemakers will be in Sydney and/or Melbourne in the next couple of months and are available to meet sommeliers and retailers. The schedule is:
Feb 2-5, Sydney & Melbourne: Unison's Philip Horn, launching the 2007 Syrah (look for a glowing review in Gourmet Traveller Wine in the Feb-March issue).
Feb 6-8, Sydney: Redoubt Hill winemaker Leslie Jackson to promote the 2009 pinot gris and 2009 sauvignon blanc.
Feb 28-Mar 3, Melbourne & Sydney: Schloss Lieser winemaker Thomas Haag, with trade tastings on Feb 28 and March 1 in Melbourne, including a dinner for punters with 15 wines from the 2007 and 08 vintages, and then the same in Sydney, with dinner at Galileo at the Observatory Hotel on March 3.
And the goings?
I'm finally off to Europe to meet potential new producers and to try the 2008 and 2009 vintages in Germany, Alsace, Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Rhone, Chablis and Champagne.
I've had friends come along for all or part of the journey before and I'm open to up to three people coming along this time. It's a fairly hectic schedule at times, but you'd get to taste a huge range of wines at many fantastic domaines. It's a little more relaxed in Germany, where I usually taste at just two houses a day.
Here's the plan:
March 12: Sydney-Paris
March 13: Drive Paris to Wiltingen/Saarburg to taste with Zilliken and Van Volxem.
March 15: Maximin Grunhaus, Schmitges (staying @ Schmitges, in Erden).
March 16: Willi Schaefer, Schloss Lieser
March 17: Reinhold Haart, Knebel (night out in Koblenz)
March 18: Emrich-Schonleber, Schafer-Frohlich
March 19: Rebholz, dinner at a German restaurant with an amazing wine list
March 20: Alsace tastings, dinner at a little restaurant with an amazing wine list (think Faiveley Musigny and Coche Dury Corton Charlemagne)
March 21: Lunch at a cute restaurant with an amazing wine list (it's the toughest three-day stretch!) Then struggle towards Beaune.
March 22: Grands Jours de Bourgogne in and around Beaune. A six-day wine fair at various venues with great regional tastings.
March 27/28: Dinner somewhere fab. Drive south.
March 29: Tastings in the Rhone, inc Domaine des Espiers in Vacqueras.
March 30: Tastings in Beaune, inc JM Burgaud, Roland Pignard, possibly others.
March 31-April 9: Burgundy tastings, including Camille Giroud, Domaine des Croix, David Clark, Drouhin Laroze, Benoit Ente, Jean-Philippe Fichet, Dupont-Tisserandot, Amiot-Servelle, Paul Pernot, Thierry Matrot, Stephane Aladame, Alex Gambal, Aurelien Verdet, Humbert Freres, Auguste et Lucie Lignier, Livera and other rising stars.
April 10: Chablis @ Chenevieres and JC Bessin
April 11: Bertrand Gautherot (Vouette et Sorbee)
April 12-16: Henri Billiot, Rene Geoffroy, Chartogne-Taillet, Ployez-Jacquemart, Ulysse Collin, Georges Laval, David Leclapart and other growers.
April 17: Return to Paris, Eurostar to London for R&R
April 24: Fly to Frankfurt for two-day Weinborse German wine fair in Mainz
April 26: Frankfurt-Sydney
April 28: Arrive home.
If you'd like to join in for part of the trip, drop me a line. I'll try to blog every day or so, otherwise it just doesn't happen!
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