France, Fat Bastard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007

Name: Fat bastard, Thierry & Guy
Country: French Wine
Notes: Thierry Boudinaud is a French winemaker who believes that "the average consumer hated the traditional intimidation heaped upon them by most of the wine industry." He partnered with British winemaker Guy Anderson to produce and distribute FAT bastard wine, which is labeled by the variety of grape from which it is made.
FAT bastard is a French wine produced and distributed by a British and French partnership. A 2005 survey found that 72% of the adult French population finds it difficult to understand French wine labels, and the problem is not unique to that country. Research found many consumers, disliked wine labels that picture chateaux, that appear elitist, and that are difficult to understand. FAT bastard appears to solve that marketing problem. The label reflects the fact that most New World (and many Old World) consumers prefer to buy "brand name" wines that are labeled by the variety of grape from which they are made. (source: Wikipedia.org)
Grape(s): Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2007
Colour: Deep ruby
Smell: Its has very much a black berry, cherry flavour. – There was a kind of vegetal taste as well but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Taste: : This was as the label said a rich, round full body wine. Lots of tannin and very much on the dry side of taste. It did have good length to it too. Again the flavours were fruity based.
Conclusion: This was a acceptable wine.
WINEDEX: 6 out of 10
Final comments: I bought this because I had never seen a bottle called “Fat Bastard” before and I really wanted to know what this tasted like. I am also have fan of Caberne Sauvignon. This was a young Cabernet Sauvignon and too be honest this bottle may have been smoother had it been a bit more mature. The youngness of the drink (2007) could have meant that the full body flavour wasn’t as smooth as it could be or even as I would have liked. It was on more on the rough side. I would definitely buy this bottle again but leave it a few years to see if letting it sit for a few years helps this flavour. Anyway it will be cool to have a bottle sat there called Fat Bastard…people will remember it!! Good marketing ploy!!

France, Rhone Valley, Grand Reserve Cairanne, 2005,

Name: Grande Reserve Cairanne, A.O.C Côtes du Rhône" denomination
Country: France
Region: Rhone Valley
Grape(s): Grenache white, Clairette white, Marsanne white, Roussanne white, Bourboulenc white, Viognier white, other white grape varieties tolerated 20% maximum.
Vintage: 2005
Notes: Remember that French Wine go by region so Cairanne is a region of the Rhony Valley
Colour: Gold
Smell: Lots of citrus based flavours. I could smell, green apples, gooseberries with hints of grapefruit and a wiff of pineapple just underneath. This was a very light scent and not very pronounced.
Taste: Off dry heading down the road to medium, low acidity. Unexpected different taste to the scent was more floral in nature. Wasn’t a very exciting blend it felt kind of flat in the mouth and didn’t have many high or low notes which would interest me.
Food ate with wine: WE had chicken with a slight Bbq flavour, I added sprinkles of Tabasco sauce to the chicken to give it a kick and that really went well this is wine. My other suggestion for food would have been a nice light flavoured white fish. Hammour I think would work well here with a lemon based sauce.
Conclusion: An acceptable wine.
WINEDEX: 5 out of 10
Final comments: It’s a blend – I am not familiar with all these different grapes apart from the Grenache so I am not in a position say if this is a good blend of these grapes or not. However, I can comment on taste which is probably more important. Personally I thought this was ok…but it didn’t really inspire me. Dad, on the other hand thought this was an excellent wine and commented that this would be a nice drink to have on its own while watching the footy. I thought the wine was bland on its own however with the combination of BBQ chicken and Tabasco it did lift up a bit more.

France - Piper Heidsieck Champagne

We went to the JW Marriott all you can eat champagne brunch. Ken had his best friend out Des and his wife Mary and Tracey, mark, Charlotte, B and I all joined them. It was an excellent afternoon full of eating, drinking, dancing on the stage, just plain sillyness. At the end of the evening having ate tonnes and drunk tonnes we finally found out that between 8 of us we had consumed 10 bottles of champagne. Well......what's new....really!!

The champagne on today's menu was a Piper Heidsieck. Its not one that I would buy regularly I have only drunk it at the JW Marriott. Its a beautiful sight a glass of champagne - everyone smells and yells when the bottle pops...its always synonymous with some kind of momentus celebration. OK we were at brunch - nothing major to celebrate but the thought of great company, good food and you know a great afternoon is ahead.

So what was this champagne like you ask......??

Appearance.
Really pretty light golden colour - filled with bubbles just rising to the surface. To watch the bubbles in motion can be some what hypnotic....you are waiting in readiness for the toast so you can taste this pretty drink...

The bubbles did last a good while another indication of a good champagne.

Nose
I always find it difficult to smell a champagne. The bubbles get in the way and interfere with the smelling. It has rather light smell...but enough to ensure its present was known.

Taste
IT WAD YUMMY!!As the first drink of the day i did find it a tad strong. it kind of kicked up a bit as if to wake up your taste buds and lift them from their hibernating state.
It was definitely on the dry side of life.....but champagne that is dry is always good....its kind of my preference.
No tannin going on....
It held a very grapefruity position..that was what I picked up first...citrus was definitely the flavour of the day. Possibly some hints of green apples and gooseberries too.
It held its own and fairly medium bodied to me..and had a sort of medium length....

Conclusion
I ate primarily fish with this champagne and I have to say it did go very well. I would say this a good quality champagne. Well its history proves it, its been around since 1785. It was great and was also nice as a buck fizz as well. check out the website..the music alone is great and the content is interesting...

WINDEX:8 out of 10

My only complaint and this is purely me...i am still not in love with French wine and champagne. I am definitely a new world wine and sparkling wine drinker....I will continue to tackle the french wine and champagne...I have got to get over this ....xx