G'day Monkeys and Monkeyettes.

First off I got to say big love to Marc for the wine for Haiti gig. I am doing my little bit by hounding reps, but as we are all aware getting free booze from reps is like trying to pry a half eaten furry animal from the jaws of a salivating rottweiler. But we can live in hope.

I hope every one has been cruising along nicely and enjoying a casual drink or two. Me, well I have been drinking an increasing amount of rum old-fashions of late in an attempt to cut back on my beer consumption. As per usual my logic in this area is infallible.

On the other side of things I am getting back in to the swing of tasting after the festive seasons binge drinking extravaganza. So I thought it was about time to knock off a couple of notes here and highlight a wine I really am enjoying at the moment.

2005, Mt Langi, Cliff Edge Shiraz:

Sourced from the cooler climate of the Grampians region here in Victoria, this is a wine that has surprising fruit depth and concentration without being overdone. There is some classy oak evident on the nose but it is well handled and should pull back into the wine over the next few years. Somewhat grainy, ripe tannins provide the frame work for the rich berry fruit and the wine finishes reasonably long and juicy. At the price this is a standout.

Now, I happened to polish this wine off last night with my superior half, but I did so after a nice big glass of a 1997 Domaine Leroy, Nuits St Georges, Aux  Boudots which put the Cliff Edge in an awkward position, one it stood up to admirably I think.

1997 Domaine Leroy, Nuits St Georges, Aux Boudots:

Quite a wild nose, strong fungal characters, cured meats and more raw meat aromas too, moist loamy and mulchy undertones and still a good presence of some very ripe berry fruits and a hint of what smelled to me like sassafras bark. Massive concentration and a very masculin presence of broodingly ripe fruit is interwoven with a network of sinewy ripe tannins. Intense and expansive on the finish with just a slightly bitter mineral snap.

Now, to be honest its not like I have had a shit load of these wines over the years. In fact I have had less than a handful of her wines. To me this was a bit of a big beast and while it was thoroughly enjoyable and hedonistic I struggled to see where the nearly $700 price tag came from. I am sure I will cop some flack for that comment from some of my nerd mates, but I have had many great Burgs at this kind of price point that appealed to me more. Maybe it was the style or maybe I missed something?

Either way I was very happy to glug the stuff back after work and waffle on with a mate while he guzzled back his share. Cheers Myles et al.

Any way, I am off Monkeys. Things to do and stuff to drink.