So, it’s Australia Day and its been a massively hot day.  I’ve worked hard in the garden, had a swim in the ocean and I’m unwinding by watching the end of the Nadal v Federer match at the Australian Open at Melbourne and have cracked open a very interesting wine

Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet Franc blend from 2006.

So, firstly, this week has been hot in the proper definition of the word.

*melt*

I had to get a load of trees and stuff cleared from the side of the house after the storm flattened all our fences.  Before they can be fixed, it’s all got to go.  So 4 hours of chainsawing and hauling and chipping in approaching 40C heat was great fun as I’m sure you can imagine.

Anyway – it was a good day and there’s a gorgeous breeze coming through now.

Anyway, enough backstory, this isn’t an episode of CSI or Cold Case, you’re here for the wine

So, what can I tell you about this wine – well – Coonawarra about 350km from Adelaide in South Australia and is famous for its Cab Sav’s.  The limestone soil and climate is perfect for the Bordeaux style wine.  Coonawarra also grows a good Cabernet Franc, from which the  Cabernet Sauvignon was created from a cross with Sauvignon Blanc.  Cab Franc is a bit lighter than Cab Sav and actually is used on its own in some of more impressive Bordeaux’s like St-Emilion.

So, this wine is a bit of this and a bit of that.

Presentation Its formal, stylish, understated.  The MC2 logo is cool, perhaps this is aimed at quantum physicists or Einstein wannabes?

Appearance Its got a noticeable plummy colour – almost a layer or orange in there with it compared to the typical purple of the average Cab Sav.  Its not too heavy -  certainly not like an average Merlot.

Aroma its subtle, smooth deep dark fruit overtones – blackberries, quite a lot of raspberries, plum perhaps.  Its not got that big hit fruit burst and there’s no spice or pepper and I’m not detecting any woody or chemical smell at all.  It’s just subtle, deep and smooth – classy.

Taste very much like the aroma – it’s very smooth, velvety and rich with that dry quality from the Cab Franc (that distinctive makes your cheeks pucker slightly effect) – this is going down very nicely indeed.  It warms up slightly in the middle with a hint of pepper and also opens right out, almost expanding after 5 seconds or so – it’s interesting.

Finish this is where the tannins and deep structure of the wine becomes apparent – its quite oaky – maybe from the barrels, I don’t know.  Its also peppery too, not like a shiraz, its as it started – subtle and soft.

Verdict  its good, very very drinkable. Not complex or pretentious, just solid smooth quality.  With some cheese or lamb, this would be perfect.  Not that its not drinkable on its own, I’ll quaff this very happily on Friday night

score – 8/10 – its really rather good

This pic was taken by a local photographer, Grahame Kelaher, about 10km from us to the south, so those lightning strikes were the ones over our head!

We got woken up at 2am by lightning like I’ve never seen before – a strike every second or two and the noise, amplified by the flat surface of the ocean, was unbelievable.

The strikes were getting pretty close, the thunder taking on that tearing splitting quality of a direct hit in the local vicinity.

Then BOOM

One right overhead.  I really thought it hit the house it was so loud – the smell of ozone was overpowering which meant it was only metres away at the most.  I leapt out of bed to check we still had a roof.

Then another one, the same deal, right ontop of us.  Closer if anything and that smell again.  The family surfaced, scared.  I was worried that we’d actually been hit but due to the proximity of the strikes was reluctant to go out to check.  There was no sign of fire, which was encouraging.

Then the rain came down.

And boy, did it come down hard.

I heard that someone recorded 115mm of rain between 2am and 9am. Thats a lot.

Anyway, the lightning started to move away a little, so I recorded a snippet of the rain and the lightning so you could all see.

The next day, it was clear that the house was ok, no leaks, no hits – Jay phoned me to tell me the side fence was down – 25 panels in all had cracked in the wind

Hopefully we’ll not get another storm like that this year.

*post feature image from Perth Now

Anyway, summer.

Its getting pretty warm too, as you’d expect – mid to high 30′s already.  Now last year I had time to go for walks on the beach in the mornings and was working from home a lot and could enjoy it

This year I have a new (and, sorry old company) much more interesting job, but I have to work in the city so don’t get to enjoy the summer as much during the week. I have to endure it during the day and it’s dark when I get home.

More $ but there are always sacrifices.

Well today as I was coming home, I spotted the clouds were just right for a good sunset.

I wasn’t wrong.  After a quick dinner (thanks hun – delish) I grabbed my little LX5 point and shoot and zoomed off to to the beach before the colours really came out and to get some of the sea breeze that had been missing in the city all day.

A load of folks were out with their cameras, all blindly pointing them at the sun on the horizon, flashes on, catching the moment in glorious craptitude – why do people not take just a few minutes to understand what they are looking at and what might actually make a nice photo!  Gah!

Anyway, as I was walking down onto the beach a guy came back from having a dip in the sea (he’s in the first photo up there ^^) and gave me a cheery ‘hello’.  We got talking – he’s over here from Sydney working on a local project for a week – this was his first time over here and he wanted to take his first dip in the Indian Ocean.  He was also a little scared of being chomped by a shark (as it’s dusk – prime shark chomping time) so was only in the water for a few minutes.  He didn’t know about the guy that was taken by a great white off this very beach 2 years ago.  He didn’t go back in the water again!

Was a very ice chilled out chat with a random friendly stranger.  This is something that I really like about Australians.  There’s a lot less of the stiff reserve and only talking to someone if you’ve been introduced or you somehow face great peril together (the Blitz spirit thing) that I’m used to from England.

Was a lovely end to a hot day – I got my snapshots too as you can see

Now I have red wine and some tasting notes for next Wednesdays RWW

I’ve already had at least 3 bottles since the last RWW and have only managed to blog one of them!

You say that like its a bad thing?

*hic*

So, today’s red is a fine Cab Sav – locally (to Perth anyway) made in the Margaret River wine region just a couple of hours drive from where I live.  Only a couple of hours?

Thats commuting distance to Perth, right?

*hic*So, this cheeky red – what’s it all about?

Well, it’s a Cab Sav and regular readers might know that I’m not that fond of cab savs if I had ever bothered to mention this before.

I’m not that fond of Cab Savs, I’m more of a shiraz or pino man.

Now you know.

Anyway, onto the wine!

Margaret River is famous for its Cab Sav – it’s somewhat dry Mediterranean climate with very low mean temperature variation (only 7.6C variation between summer and winter) and predictable summer season offering good conditions for this otherwise finicky grape.

A good Cab Sav is a medium bodied red, not too strong or overpowering, with none of the fruity bang of a Shiraz. Subtle and tannin is the name of the game.

So, whats this one like?

Presentation: I like the label.  It stands out from the crowd, which is cool

Appearance:  A medium dark red, like a rich gothic panne velvet cloak.  Its much lighter in colour than the Shiraz from last week. In strong light you can see the top few mm is translucent.  Its a medium red, so that’s no surprise.

Aroma/Smell/Bouquet:  Tart berries, slightly peppery (which I wasn’t expecting), tannin, oak.  Almost a herby aromatic smell like a woodwork shop – hard to explain – I’m not that keen actually.

Taste: Compared to the rather sharp aroma, the initial taste on the palate is very smooth and subtle, not juicy or acidic, but smooth and rich.  Interesting, inviting.  If you chew the wine (yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but try it, you’ll see) it’s very subtle but has lots of fine layers, some aromatic flavours amongst the rich fruit.  The middle comes through as a bit of a non event (I believe the term is hollow) though – there’s nothing really different, other than a linger of the smooth introduction

Finish: the finish definitely steps up to make itself known – dark, peppery, almost shiraz style but with way less of the spice.  There’s lots of oak and tannin and it’s quite dry, certainly different, bold and holds for some time.

Verdict: I’m not unsold on this – I managed to drink the bottle quite happily over a few days with no lack of enjoyment.  Yeah, sure, its a Cab Sav – for me they are just too AOR, too ‘Journey’ or ‘Asia’ – but this was ok, I’d drink it again for sure.

Score – 7/10 – It’s ok for a midweek drink, probably really good with lamb actually.

Happy drinking, campers.

Ok – here’s the last of the photos from 2011!

The girls wanted to try out their new boogie boards and as the wind was blowing pretty strongly, the ocean was likely to have a few good small children friendly sized waves.

So I packed up my camera and a beach chair and took them down for a few hours.

There were a few people out, but not so many as the wind was really whipping in – perfect for body surfing.

It was a pretty much perfect day for it. The girls grabbed their boards and headed out into the surf. The waves were maybe 3 feet or so, and as the beach is very shallow and I don’t think there are any rips here, it was pretty safe – still, I was keeping a watchful eye!

The girls had a great time – the waves were plenty enough to ride in right up to the beach and the it wasn’t so hot that I couldn’t sit there with them for a few hours.

Pretty much perfect way to end the year really.

So – 2012 – what does it hold?

Well, more film hopefully. I’ve been very slack but I have some ideas I want to try this year.

Also a new camera – my D300 is in need of a service to scrape out all the salt and sand, so I think it’s time for a D700 (or 800 if they ever get released)

And generally a lot more pictures. But then you knew that!

Well, I have time off work what do you expect??!!

We’ve had a pretty chilled out week so far, not trying to catch up with friends too much and mostly catching up on family downtime.  We’ve bummed around the house, scoffed picnic food 3 days on the trot (well, why wouldn’t you? – we are talking about brie on crackers with prosciutto and a side helping of tearing bread and olive oil, capsicum fetta and sun dried tomatoes and to top it all – dolmades)

So, this chilled out week of ours has meant I’ve actually gotten out and about with the camera.

Here’s Gin the cat.

Big ‘un in the garden – we were trying to do some levitation photos like I did in the Summer in England with Ella, but we didn’t get very far – she’s not very good at it, but we did manage to make use of the beautiful light.

An afternoon at the beach (so Jay could have peace and quiet to finish her assignment for her degree) – it was threatening to rain, but it never happened – we just benefited from a big drop in temps from scorching to perfect and some respite from the sun.

And a totally selfish hour spent at Mangles Bay with the golden evening light.  So many people were out tonight with barbecues and fishing gear, families all together having fun in the warm holiday evening.

Perfect.

So there you go – thats my week so far – even though it’s been stinking hot the last few days, we’ve managed to stay mostly chilled and relaxed and I’ve totally forgotten what’s it like to get up at 5:45am.

Can I win the lottery now so I don’t have to get up that early for work again?

Apologies for the lack of RWW posts for the last few weeks, but it’s just been too hectic with work and Christmas and all that.

Well, to make up for it, I am reviewing a Christmas present – 2009 Pepperjack Shiraz from the Barossa Valley

For those of you who don’t know, the Barossa Valley in South Australia, just north or Adelaide, is probably one of Australia’s most famous wine growing regions and one well known for Shiraz.  Interestingly, the Barossa has some of the oldest vines in Australia, many of them being relatively low yield in their dotage, but their deep roots exploring the mineral rich soil and prime growing locations means they also have some of the best and most complex flavours.

Lucky me to have an almost full bottle right in front of me then

So, to start:

Presentation: It came in a box.  That spells class! The label is subtle and there’s no trite clever text of some of the newer wines.  It doesn’t need it.  It simply says ‘I’m from the best wine growing region, I’m expensive, I have nothing to prove’

Appearance:  It’s a deep rich purpley red colour, almost totally opaque like the richest Barollo or a heavy Merlot.  This could be interesting – the other Shirazes I’ve had lately have been quite a bit lighter.

Aroma/Smell/Bouquet:  Oh wow – this is very nice – rich, complex, full of fruit.  There’s a a smooth burst of deep berries and warm plum when the wine is first swirled in the glass, fading to reveal some very different notes – acidic, almost chemical – I can’t quite place it – it’s got a very subtle zest to it – licorice perhaps.

Taste: so soft, smooth and velvety in the mouth to start with – rich and inviting, but subtle.  After a few seconds, it builds and warms with lovely spicy peppery qualities and all kinds of spice and complexity

Finish: A soft berry finish with lingering peppery spice, helped by some great tannin and some slight sweetness – that licorice again.  This is a very nice wine, no doubt.

Verdict: Ok, I really like this one.  It’s a great solid example of what a Barossa Shiraz is all about.  Dark, peppery, rich with some sweetness in it too.  It’s quite subtle – it doesn’t wallop you with a mouthful of fruity burst like some wines can, it’s all velvet smooth and then the pepper kicks in and lingers with a great finish.   It’s a very nice wine and I want to drink this one again.

Score – 9/10 – I’m sold.

So there you have it, wine lovers – this has to be one of the best ones I’ve had in 2011.  A great finish to RWW for this year.  More next year as I explore the best of Australian red wine.

Where parents frantically try to get what their kids want without going overboard
Where husbands and wives think frantically what their spouses would like this year
Where inlaws buy socks
Where children make handcrafted trinkets with love for their parents
Where vouchers are the ultimate safe haven when you just can’t work out that perfect gift
Actually, the ultimate safe haven are pamper packs of bath salts and smellies.

But not this year..

This year was full of surprises and different presents, of big cheesy grins and ‘oh wow’s

I got some very cool presents, including a new aftershave (which I adore) and a remote control helicopter (cos I’m really a 12 year old boy)

Little ‘un saved up all her birthday money from earlier in the year and what with cash gifts, managed enough to afford a laptop.

Which, unbeknownst to her, we had already bought

Big ‘un got a camera and some Justin Bieber stuff

I got Jay a tea set and some loose tea for her to try and also a pair of funky shoes

Anyway, once presents were done, Pete (the girls’ father) cooked an awesome breakfast on the barbie and Jay made gluten free vegan pancakes.  With blueberries too.  *drool* best breakfast ever

We had champagne (quite a lot actually) and got thouroughly spoiled, Aussie style.

Top job Pete and Jay

We took ourselves off home at lunchtime and then caught up with my kids in the afternoobn

We got them clothes, lego, some funky Smiggle stationery and a Harumika set (clothes designing model thing)

Sadly, I didn’t take photos myself as they are on the other side of the world.  I do have a truck load of memories from an hour spent on Skype whilst they opened them and another load from a session today when they showed me what they had done so far

Here’s some pics I got sent from their mum   So cool!!

So an awesome day – Jay and I just chilled out for the rest of the day (including a traditional nana nap on the sofa) and went to bed very happy that we’d all had a good day.

Marry Christmas everyone and hope you all have a Happy New Year.

Well, last night I thought it was going to do the same, so I stayed in and pottered about a bit.

I kinda got it wrong.

The sunset was spectactular.

I first saw that the light in the hallway had gone a weird pinky colour, so I popped out the front for a look see.

Then I rushed back in to grab the camera.

Cursing that I didn’t speculatively go to the beach – I could have got some amazing shots of the bay.  Ah well, I have plenty of those anyway.

So there you go, a firey end to the day.

Today has been a different kettle of monkeys altogether.

Dark, stormy, the whole day thunder rolling around over the city and now tonight it’s crashing around over the ocean.  The sky has been lit up like a Christmas tree with lighting all day.

Earlier on when I drove back from the station, the sky was black like night with almost malevolent swirls of cloud, horror film style.  The rain was clearly not far away (the radar images from the Bureau or Meteorology were kinda impressive – and still are) but it was actually dry out.

So I grabbed the camera, took a shot from the front door to show contrast from yesterday and hooted it down to the beach to see if I could get some pictures of the lightning.

Then it became too difficult to shoot in the rapidly falling light.

They call it Stormy Monday, but lets hope that Tuesday’s not as bad.

I had some time yesterday whilst Jay was doing some study for her degree so I popped down camera in hand to see who was about

On the face of it, it looked good, there were lots of kites in the air and the wind was pretty strong but I’d left it a bit late and most folks were actually packing up

Anyway, as I was there already I waded around the lagoon to the far side where the kite surfers hang out and where I had got some cracking photos before. I got chatting to a couple of other guys with cameras – one English bloke with 2 Nikons and expensive lenses and another tall chap who goes to the photography club I used to go to.  They had obviously been there for a while and already had their fill of shots for the day.  Was pleased to hear that the Nikon guy liked to get into the water with fisheye lenses – thats the spirit!

There were a couple of guys coming in close, so I made the most of it.  Trouble is, my camera would not focus no matter what I did.  90% of the shots I was going for ended up blurry and miles out of focus.  I’m not sure why – this needs investigating.  I’m sure its because Nikon are just about to release a D800

So that was that – not quite what I wanted because of the focussing issues, but still, I had a good hour and got to go for a little paddle in the warm Indian Ocean

As it so happens, it was a lunar eclipse on the same day, so after the sun was down and the moon hauled itself over the trees, we could begin to see the earth’s shadow eating into the full moon, leaving only a blood red globe hanging in the sky for half an hour before it all unwound again.

It was actually pretty cool – I couldn’t get the setting right at first, but then I managed to get a couple of decent shots of it as the eclipse progressed.  I was going to take a montage from start to finish, but frankly, I couldn’t be bothered

Hope you enjoyed my piccies and are all having a good weekend