Christopher Pratt (cpratt) wrote,
Christopher Pratt
cpratt

I guess this is terroir?

I've just had a relatively unusual experience. Against my better judgement*, I popped open a bottle of $17 1999 Clonakilla shiraz from the Langhorne Creek district (I guess that's in South Australia). It was... well, distinctly unlike anything else I've ever tasted. It had a completely eccentric taste; the first thing that came to mind was the still fermenting Korean sake I had in Koreatown in Tokyo last year (thanks Hiro!). It was similar in that it had a very strong flavor that seemed hell-bent on being unlike anyone else's wine, and a flavor that might not be very pleasing to most people - it was almost sour, but not unpleasantly so, and smelled/tasted nothing like any other shiraz I've ever drunk. Not only was it beautiful, it was beautiful in a way which was all the more striking due to its solipsism.

In a word, wow. I'll try to take some of this home with me next year, and be sure to drink it out of better glasses than the cheap crappy ones at this hotel - I have to admit, it does help to have a ridiculously big glass that allows you to smell it without running the risk of spilling it on the davenport.

I've also gone completely over the top and picked up a bottle of the $48 2000 Shiraz Viognier, but I don't dare open that just yet. I'm thinking New Caledonia, or, barring that, I'll be sharing it with friends in Sydney, possibly comparing it with the 1996 Cigare from Santa Cruz.

* Dan had bought a bottle of $12 NV Jacob's Creek sparkling wine, which wasn't particularly wonderful, and after that bottle, I thought it would be a bad idea to drink anything else, but now I'm very glad I went against my better judgement.
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