Domain Day Garganega 2009

First, the meta.  I’ve done a small bit of blogging here and there.  I even had a personal webpage back in 1995 that was fully of pithy stuff that I am glad I can’t remember.  But this blog is a bit different in that it gives me some structure as far as studying for the WSET Diploma Unit 3 exam in just over four weeks.  I drink, I talk about it, I write up some tasting notes, and I put everything here.  I’ve really been enjoying it, and I think I like the fact that other people can read this, but it’s not the point.

So some stats, just for fun.  I have no idea if anyone has read any of this, and a quick look at the logs suggests it really just me and some robots.  There are apparently two people on Facebook who like this, which I think is great.  I was worried when it was just one, in that if he didn’t like something I wrote, no one would like me, but now I have a buffer.  Two is also the number of people in the last 24 hours who have contacted me trying to buy drunk.com, which is also great.  I have no interest in selling, but it’s nice to be asked.  I’m keeping a list of everyone who has ever expressed an interest in buying, and should I ever run out of money for that next case of DRC, I’ll drop them all a note.  Finally, I’ve had 13 spam comments, which is probably what those robots visiting have been up to.  This will make 17 posts, so I’m more prolific than the spam bots, which is saying something.

Quick update – just saw that people are tweeting “drunk.com” which explains why a couple of people recently had the bright idea of trying to buy this domain.  I think I’d be prepared to trade it for another domain if someone could hand me drunk.int, but seeing as they’d need an international treaty, I’m not going to hold my breath.

But hey, there’s blogging about blogging, and then there’s blogging about drinking, and I know which is more interesting (to me).  I know I already wrote today about a wine, but that was lunch, and a by the glass entry at that, so here’s an update from dinner.  We opened up a bottle of Domain Day Garganega 2009 from Mt Crawford.  I continue to be a slave to the novel.

Domain Day is in the Barossa Valley in South Australia, a region famous for the iconic Australian grape, Shiraz (known as Syrah in some other parts of the world).  However, their exact location is described as Mt Crawford, which is 450 metres above sea level, and therefore has a very different weather profile from the rest of Barossa which is typically very warm.  They make use of this somewhat cooler sub-region to grow some grape varieties that are unusual or unexpected, to say the least.

Garganega is actually a very prominent grape variety, being the primary component in Soave, a white wine from the Veneto region in northeast Italy.  However, it’s very much of the Veneto, and it’s difficult (if not impossible) to find outside of Italy.  Domain Day has been making wine from their Garganega plantings for six or so years now, and it’s lovely.  I do not have a wide background in tasting Italian wines, so I can’t compare it to Soave, but it shows what I believe to be typicity with a medium body and something akin to Pinot Grigio meets Chardonnay plus some almonds.

What drives Domain Day to grow Garganega grapes in the Barossa Valley?  Probably the same thing behind their Lagrein and Saperavi, which I’m sure to write about in the future.  Perhaps it’s an interest in less mainstream grape varieties, or the hope that they can corner their local market in a less available exotic wine style.  Whatever it is, I’m so glad they’re doing it because they make very interesting wines and supplementing the diversity of locations into the world wine mix.  And if I’m asked an essay question on wines of the Veneto, I’m absolutely going to find a way to tie in a mention of Garganega grapes being grown in Australia.

Appearance

Clear and bright, medium-minus lemon with a quick film in the glass when swirled.

Nose

Clean, medium intensity, developing with notes of pear, simple citrus, almond, honey and vanilla.  I want to say I can smell American oak, but almost no one in Australia uses American oak (except for Grange), and whenever I try to pretend to be able to tell the difference, I’m invariably wrong.

Palate

Dry, medium acidity, no tannins, medium alcohol, medium-plus body with a bit of oiliness, and medium-plus flavour intensity.  Notes of pear, melon, almond, and honey.  Slightly candied finish.  Medium-minus length.

Conclusions

This is a good quality wine, and certainly a step up from the wine I had at lunch.  The flavours have an intensity to match the body, with slightly less acidity and alcohol.  There wasn’t a huge amount of complexity, with it largely being fruit driven, but some nuttiness and oak influence is enough.  The length could be better, but it hits the nail on the head for typicity (though my knowledge of Garganega is largely from reading, not tasting).  I look forward to seeing what this tastes like as the vines get a bit older and the winery has a few more years of working with the grape under their belt.  I expect the 2009 can improve over the next few years, though there’s no harm in drinking it now.