G’day Monkeys and Monkeyettes.

I know it has been a fair while since I managed to put together anything for the site, it is just a product of the industry and general madness of the festive/insanity season. But with that all behind me it is time to get back to sharing the love and drinking a little less, just a little less not too little.

During the last month I have consumed an insane amount of spectacular wines and tasted many, many more. I do not however have notes for most of them because I have either not had the time or have been consuming them at social events where pulling out the pen and pad just didn’t seem right…….. damn you Christmas.

I will give a list of some of the highlights though, before I tell you about a ripper Rizza I drank on NYE.

For my B’day:

• 2007, Magnum of Pieropan’s Calvarino
• 2001, Voerzio, Barolo, La Serra
• 1998, Lakes Folly, Cabernet
• 2005, Egon Muller, Scharzhofberger, Spatlese
• 2006, Henri Boillot, Chassagne-Montrachet
• Morris, Old Premium, Liquor Tokay

And many, many more. I will also mention, purely because I was staggered at the generosity of my friend, that I was given a 1979, Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Grands Echezeaux as a gift. Cheers Richard my man.

For Xmas:

• A Magnum of the late, great, Didier Dagueneau’s Pur Sang 2005
• NV, Turkey Flat Sparkling Shiraz
• 2004, Argiano, Brunello di Montalcino
• 2001, Cavallotto, Barolo (it was a single vineyard, but much to my disgust I can’t remember which)
• A swag of incredible Belgium and American beers
• Morris, Old Premium, Liquor Muscat

And many more as well as an incredible feed whipped up by my friends Chris and Beck, both of whom are top rate Chefs, but Beck is much easier on the eyes than Chris.

Now, as for New Years Eve this year. For me it was my first NYE in a city, instead of out bush somewhere, in a long time and I really didn’t feel up to socializing with a bunch of people I didn’t know and spending my night offering up social platitudes and pleasantries. So instead I hooked up with my mate Matt, got hammered and made arses of ourselves.

The night consisted of a string of rum old fashioned, dark and stormies, a swag of decent beer and a few cold coopers. Then to top it off we got stuck into a little 1969 Delamain Cognac, a seriously stunning bottle of booze.

But the idea behind this post, other than a brief catch up on what I have been drinking, was to highlight the St Hallett’s 2005 Riesling I had last night. Man what a little ripper of a wine. I have always thought of these guys as producers of good, solid, if a little old fashioned Barossa reds. But this Rizza put a new spin on things for me.

2005, St Hallett, Riesling: This is a re-release of the wine and offers a good value look at a ageing Aussie Riesling that is well made.

The wine still seems a little gangly and awkward to me, but every time I took another look I could see something else appealing and once it began to settle in the glass it offered a fragrant array of citrus blossoms, lemon grass and a little mint leaf. In the mouth the wine was still as youthful as the nose suggested but the perhaps the lime like notes I remember from when the wine was first released have now began to broaden a little and some more mandarin and other citrus characters were beginning to express themselves. After a little while longer I found hints of minerality and more pronounced florals and thankfully not even a hint of kero. Finishes long and with a bit of snap. All in all I would say this little ripper will hit its strides in another handful of years and at the price it is well worth a crack.

Well that’s it from me today Monkeys. Eat drink and be merry.