Home Base Spirits
Joshua Cooper
Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020
Almost a year since my first Joshua Cooper wine and probably at the same restaurant at Burleigh Heads. Unlike last year’s note, the Ray-Monde is made from fruit sourced from Gippsland, not their home base of Macedon Ranges. Mid Ruby in colour with noticeable whole bunch influence - a light peppery note. A stalky bunchy dried cherry perfume. This wine walks the line perfectly between fruit (red and black cherry) and savoury characters. 33 year old Joshua Cooper is almost considered a natural winemaker. The only thing he adds is sulphur dioxide. His wines are now featuring on some of the leading Restaurant Lists in Australia and @Ceccherini Cristiano has posted previously when he was a Sommelier in Melbourne. Worth seeking out but unlikely to be found away from Australia. Winner of the Young Winemaker of the year in 2020 by Gourmet Traveller wine magazine. — 3 years ago
Domaine Jacques Prieur
Bourgogne Chardonnay 2017
🏅 Rating 89/100 (3,9⭐)
White flowers and summer herbs. Oak is gentle and not overwhelming. Creamy milky notes. Citrus finish and good length. Medium body and satisfying concentration puts it above its regional hierarchy.
Stylistically it gravitates more towards Mersault which is home village for Domaine Jacques Prieur. It sets a good base line and high expectations for the rest of Domaine wines in the portfolio.
Drink now - 2025 — 4 years ago
E. Guigal
Gigondas Red Rhone Blend 2020
Elegant, elevated even: deep black fruits, sub base drum notes of wet planting soil, so the earthy thing in a smooth, polished form. Enough juiciness & freshness to bring it home. — 7 months ago
Marchesi Antinori
Tenuta Guado Al Tasso Scalabrone Bolgheri Rosato 2016
[Tasted on July 24, 2022 at Home with Rachel]
Purchased at Tenuta Guado al Tasso tasting at Midtown Wine & Spirits. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Strawberry, black currant and spice with saline notes. — 2 years ago
Alegre Wines & Spirits
California Sparkling Zero Juice
Nice non alcoholic option! Crisp, and semi sweet. Available through WineShop at Home. — 3 years ago
Ca' Lojera
Monte della Guardia Merlot
Ca’ Lojera, pronounced “callow yerra”, means “house of the wolf”, making this a Stark wine for GoT fans. The estate was originally the bishop’s Summer home, so here, the “wolves” refer to smugglers who used the estate as a base during the rest of the year.
Ca’ Lojera is primarily a producer of Lugana whites, but they grow a bit of Cabernet and Merlot for their rosato, and make stainless steel varietal wines of each. The Merlot is surprisingly good, with smooth, clean cherry and blueberry fruits, and just a touch of pepper spice bite to the finish. — a year ago
Alheit Vineyards
Nautical Dawn Chenin Blanc 2018
They have done it again, another home run from Alheit, amped up to eleven but in a fresh casing. A stunning Chenin that is all about texture
Pronoucned intense, somewhat reductive at first, but soon blooms out to expose an amazing array of aromas of fresh but ripe fruit, ripe lemons, bruised apples, honeydew melon, orange blossom followed by beeswax, cashew nuts and a very present savoury complexity with a salty breeze and dusty rock minerality.
Rich palate with a focused and tactile, high acidity that penetrates the medium full body with a pronounced fruit profile of juicy but fresh fruit, lemon juice, melon, honey, expansive complexity with a rocky and salty base note that evolves into a toffee and milky like texture through a long finish. Brilliant
— 4 years ago
ESF
Really solid, deep dark inky dense wafting red/black fruit, so much bramble, peppery, herbaceous - a throwback nose, this made me fall in love w/Sonoma County Zin in the early 90s. Med + body, full rich suave, gobs of brambly fruit - maybe bordering on being too fruit driven, but well structured not flabby or jammy and just balanced & generous. — a month ago