By: AJ McClellan
Last night was another classic night at Graileys. Chris Ringland, famed Australian wine maker, came in to try us on his line of Chateau Chateau wines. At first glance the line up seams rather confusing with 12 labels (8 of which we tried last night) but I assure you that each wine is as unique as the custom picture that graces the label of the bottle.
With everything from Skulls to Greek Columns Chris Ringlands Chateau Chateau wines are as imaginative as they come. Some may ask why there are so many different wines from such a small are of land… The answer is simple – Grenache does an exceptional job of expressing the history of the land making each vineyard unique. Chris has done a wonderful job of capturing this terrior and bottling it under separate labels, making sure that each wine has something unique to offer.
Above is Chris Ringland telling us about the unique Chateau Chateau labels…
We started with the 2007 Chateau Chateau Skulls which is a blend of 60% Mataro (Mourvedre) and 40% Grenache. This is a great everyday drinker with a light easy fruitiness combined with soft tannins and a chewy finish. After everyone arrived we all sat down and got down to the business at hand… Next was the 2008 Chris Ringland CR Shiraz. Another everyday drinker but not for the faint of heart, this wine was a blockbuster with black currants, juicy blueberries, and rich currants lucking in the glass waiting for you to take a sip so they could explode on your palate. Third wine in the first flight was the 2007 Chateau Chateau Leaf Turner (60% Grenache / 40% Mataro). This wine was my favorite of the first flight with bright red fruits dancing on the palate accompanied by a crisp minerality and very expressive earthy tannins. The last wine of the flight was the 2007 Chateau Chateau Ebenezer Grenache with an almost Bordeaux like funk this was a real treat to finish off the flight with.
The second flight was even more intense than the first beginning with the 2007 Chateau Chateau Triumphal Arch that had a deceivingly light color, like that of a properly made cosmo, disguising a massive grip and solid wall white pepper. Second in the lineup was the 2007 Chateau Chateau Greek Columns Grenache with an intense minerality of limestone and clay covered with jammy red fruit and a medley of spices that made me think of the aftermath of a spice closet after an earthquake. Next to the plate was the 2007 Chateau Chateau Pergola Grenache. Complex and intriguing, this was my favorite wine of the flight, a mystery blend of black and red fruits combined with a rocky minerality and crisp acidity to create a fun fruity fusion of flavor. Last wine in the lineup was the 2007 Chateau Chateau Chateau Grenache. A fun play on words describing the frustration Chris felt when people would shy away from Australian Grenache only because of the grape varietal while they would flock to Chateauneuf du Pape even though it is mainly made up the same grape… The Chateau Grenache is a fun cap to the flight with bold tannins and a rich texture of melted chocolate.
After the main event Chris blew us out of the water with a surprise bottle of his famed personal label – Chris Ringland Shiraz. With this label Chris has earned more 100 point scores than any other producer out of Australia and after tasting it you can tell why. We had the current release, 2003, and after several hours of decanting it was ready to go. Supple dark chocolate with a landslide of minerality that crashed into a sea of rich ripe fruit sending waves of excitement through the body. This was a truly fantastic wine with tannins of pure silk and a perfectly harmonious balance of alcohol and acidity.
There are limited quantities of the wines mentioned above available for sale. If you are interested in purchasing some vino feel free to click here.