Jester
Producer:
Mitolo
Vintage:
2004
Country:
Australia
Region:
McLaren Vale
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
14.5% ABV
Grape(s):
Shiraz
This wine is a deep dark purple and is oozing tons of jammy red fruits, vanilla, and watermelon. A fully ripe and smooth wine, this is a wine that makes people go 'wow'! Neal Martin over at wine-journal.com gave this wine 18 points and noted that it had "A very refined, quite toasty nose. The palate is lush and voluptuous with copious layers of blackcurrants, iodine and cassis. Very polished and pure: a fine entry-level Mitolo."


External links

www.corkr.com

Kumeu River Maté's Vineyard
Producer:
The Brajkovich Family
Vintage:
2004
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Kumeu
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
13.5% ABV
Grape(s):
Chardonnay
This is the single vineyard bottling of the wonderful Kumeu River Chardonnay featured last week. As with its sibling this is a wonderful lightly oaked chardonnay with great depth and finesse, however, the Mate's Vineyard Chardonnay has a fine perfumed aroma of citrus and ripe pears - I can see why they felt the need to do a single vineyard bottling. We don't have much of this wine as we ourselves were limited in the quantities we could buy - so get some while you can!
© 2006 Corkr Ltd

External links

www.corkr.com

Saint-Joseph
Producer:
François de Tournon
Vintage:
2003
Country:
France
Region:
Northern Rhone - Saint-Joseph
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
12.5% ABV
Grape(s):
Syrah
When the leaves are starting to fall, the colours are changing and the temperature is falling, you need a wine like this syrah from the Northern Rhone town of Saint-Joseph. With its rich spiced fruit and blackberries, its aroma fills the glass with scents of a homely French kitchen. From the nose you expect a heavy wine - and certainly this is full-bodied - but it has a wonderful lightness, like a mince pie with a rich, buttery, but magnificently light pastry. This is the perfect autumn wine - drinking beautifully now.

External links

www.corkr.com

Allan Scott
Producer:
Allan Scott
Vintage:
2005
Country:
New Zealand
Region:
Marlborough
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
13% ABV
Grape(s):
Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has such a powerful and distinctive style that you can recognise it as soon as you put your nose to the glass. Allan Scott have produced a wine that is positively bursting with the tropical fruit aromas of pineapple, passion fruit, mango and papaya. Crisp acidity makes for an ultra refreshing wine which would make it an ideal companion to fish and seafood.

External links:

www.corkr.com

Jeanneret Riesling
Producer:
Jeanneret
Vintage:
2004
Country:
Australia
Region:
South Australia - Clare Valley
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
13% ABV
Grape(s):
Riesling
Rieslings coming from the new world are dry, clean, refreshing and absolutely wonderful, with the Clare Valley producing some of the best Rieslings in Australia. Today's wine has lashings of tangerine, lime, flower blossoms and the distinctive toast and petrol aroma unique to Riesling. With a refreshing zing and a long finish this is an excellent wine.

External links

www.corkr.com

Saint Clair Pinot Noir

Producer: Saint Clair
Vintage: 2005
Country: New Zealand
Region: Marlborough
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 13.5% ABV
Grape(s): Pinot Noir

Black cherries, raspberries, black pepper, tobacco and leather waft from the glass of this heavily perfumed Pinot from New Zealand. This fruitful nose follows through onto the palate, which experiences the soft spices alongside an almost herb-like infusion. I once had a fantastic beef and papaya salad in New York; I wish I'd had this wine to accompany it. A pan-fried Duck breast with a cherry sauce would make an equally good partner. Notoriously hard to grow, this Pinot Noir was worth the hard graft. Thanks must go to the winemaker Matt Thomson!

External links

www.corkr.com

Les Cras
Producer:
Olivier Merlin
Vintage:
2002
Country:
France
Region:
Burgundy - Mâcon
La Roche Vineuse
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
13.5% ABV
Grape(s):
Chardonnay
This is a beautiful white Burgundy from the 1er Cru Vineyard of Les Cras in the village of La Roche Vineuse in Mâcon. Straw gold in colour, the wine displays vanilla, apple, pear and a slight hint of liquorice. In the mouth this wine impresses with its rich creamy texture and subtle well integrated oak. This is truly a special wine that would be the perfect accompaniment to lobster or roast chicken!

External links

http://www.corkr.com/index.php

Corkr

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Everyday at midnight, Corkr brings you a new wine - complete with tasting notes and lively discussion on our forums.

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www.corkr.com

L'Ecole No 41
Producer:
L'Ecole No 41
Vintage:
2003
Country:
USA
Region:
Washington - Columbia Valley
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
13.9% ABV
Grape(s):
Cabernet Sauvignon
Washington State is starting to make some quite remarkable wines and this wine, from the Columbia Valley is a great example of what Washington has to offer. The cooler climate produces a complex expression of Cabernet Sauvignon that is very different from its contemporaries down in California. A nose of wild blueberries, dark chocolate and white pepper lead to an elegant and well structured wine that will benefit from another few years in bottle. Enjoyable now after a few hours in a decanter - but this is one for the cellar!

External links

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=9

Fleurie "La Roilette"
Producer:
Domaine Métrat et Fils
Vintage:
2005
Country:
France
Region:
Beaujolais - Fleurie
Volume:
750ml
Alcohol:
13% ABV
Grape(s):
Gamay
Beaujolais is incredibly unfashionable in this age of strong blockbuster reds. However, the light juicy fruitiness of the gamay grape should not be dismissed . This wine is from one of the top producers in the 'Cru' of Fleurie, M. Métrat. With a deep scarlet hue, this wine has the aroma of cherries, apples and menthol. A fun wine that is highly pleasurable now and would even benefit from a couple of years of laying down!

External Links

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=8

Belle Epoque
Producer: Perrier Jouët
Vintage: 1998
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 12.5% ABV
Grape(s): 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 5% Pinot Meunier

What a pretty bottle - you should buy this wine for that reason alone! However, aesthetics aside, this is Perrier Jouët's Prestige Cuvée - the very best they have to offer. Bread dough, creamy peach and orange blossoms leap from the glass. This is a rich full-bodied wine with a great depth of flavour and crisp, focused acidity that forces you to stop and think after every single sip. You don't need a reason to celebrate with this wine - just open it and enjoy it!

External Links

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=7

Kumeu River Chardonnay

Producer: The Brajkovich Family
Vintage: 2004
Country: New Zealand
Region: Kumeu
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 13.5% ABV
Grape(s): Chardonnay

Many a new world chardonnay has tried to take on the mighty white Burgundy - with varying degrees of success. However, this Chardonnay from Kumeu - a small town 15 miles north-west of Auckland City - is a serious challenger. The light toasty oak adds a subtle and distinct finesse to the wine, with delicate cinnamon spice and vanilla as a result. The wine is so well balanced - rich and creamy yet ever so light and refreshing, you can't help but have another glass!

External Links

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=6

The Kumeu River Wines website:
http://www.kumeuriver.co.nz/

Anwilka

Producer: Anwilka
Vintage: 2005
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 14% ABV
Grape(s): 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Shiraz

This is the debut vintage of a wine that made Robert Parker the preeminent wine critic proclaim: "Fabulous...this is the finest red wine I have ever had from South Africa...This debut release, the 2005,a blend of 37% syrah and the balance cabernet sauvignon, is world class stuff, exceptional wine....". After tasting this wine I would have to agree that this is really something quite special - rosemary, bacon, and blackberries dominate the nose of this extraordinarily savoury wine whilst the palate follows with crushed black pepper, smoke and spices. Simply a delicious wine!

External Links

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=95616

The Anwilka Website
http://www.anwilka.com/

Chateau Cantemerle

Producer: Chateau Cantemerle
Vintage: 2003
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 12.5% ABV
Grape(s): 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot

This is classic Bordeaux. Elegant, regal and restrained - the aristocracy of the wine world. Chateau Cantemerle is a classed growth and the 2003 vintage is a good example to get you started in the wonderful world of Bordeaux. For such a young wine this is drinking incredibly well now - but it will happily sleep for another decade - if you can wait that long! This full-bodied wine has the tell-tale aroma of cedar cigar boxes and redcurrant combined with tight palate cleansing tannins - making this an excellent wine to drink with dinner.

External Links

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=54184

The Chateau Cantermerle
http://www.cantemerle.com/

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_Wine_Official_Classification_of_1855

Angels Share
Producer: Two Hands
Vintage: 2005
Country: Australia
Region: McLaren Vale
Volume: 750ml
Alcohol: 15% ABV
Grape(s): Shiraz
Winemaker: Matt Wenk
Bottled: January 2006
Titratable Acidity: 7.28
pH: 3.35
Maturation: 10 months in new and old American oak hogsheads

Corkr Tasting Note
This wine can only be described as a blockbuster. One sniff and waves of jammy raspberries, blackberries and chocolate brownies assault your nasal passages in an attempt to shock and awe. When you eventually regain your senses, the underlying hints of soy sauce and spice will tempt you into taking your first mouthful. Your palate will be filled with this absolute monster of a wine - the soft tannins and glycerin taking over and making this wine oh so luscious. Watch out though - at 15% ABV you may quickly fall into total submission.

The following information is from the Two Hands Website:

Winemaking
The grapes were crushed into and fermented in open top potters, with regular pump overs twice daily to extract flavour, colour and tannin. The grapes were then pressed and the wine was transferred to tank and then racked to barrel for oak maturation.


External Links:

http://www.corkr.com/winedetail.php?id=5

Angels Share 2005 on the Two Hands Website
http://www.twohandswines.com/sitePages/winedetail.asp?ItemID=67&WId=3