There is a new pop up Italian restaurant in the Exchange Hotel here in Balmain
I know the Italian brothers that have it and last evening my brother and I had a rather lovely Scilian white
Fondo Antico Grillo Parlante - it was rather good I have no idea of the grape varieties and didn’t bother to ask
$65 a bottle but retail in bottle shop around $32
@IDAK - any idea on grape varieties on this one I suspect a blend maybe ?
It’s great when you find something new
@Bevo it looks like it’s the Grillo grape that tastes fresh and lively with ripe white fruit and the delicacy of flowers. Sounds brilliant. I really must move to Sydney or Melbourne as Lower Hutt simply doesn’t have those wonderful restaurants you have.
Stay where you are IDAK - you live in a great part of the world
Everywhere has its upsides and downsides 
@bevo yes, we have a good Teppanyaki restaurant and some good Chinese joints. Pubs here tend to be a bit basic, no gentrification here! However mustn’t grumble as Wellington 12 km up the road has great restaurants.
Indeed Wellington does IDAK , rather fond of Wellington I must say - on a good day !!!
Well the winemaker is Kevin Judd, the original Cloudy Bay winemaker. Not my style at all, if I was to drink a NZ savvy b, it would probably be the Dog Point 1694, which is barrel fermented.
I might have of got Cloudy Bay and Oyster Bay mixed up (probably cause I avoid it) but I have tried both Aussie and Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc’s that I like just don’t like stuff that just tastes like passion pop.
It can reasonably be claimed that Kevin created the style completely.
So, Pete, it does taste like Cloudy Bay. Just Cloudy Bay of old…
Cheers.
Me too. Or Jane Hunter’s excellent wine.
Or Clos Henri, which is Sancerre producer Henri Bourgeois’ operation in Marlborough, and shows a fusion of the mineral Loire style and the fruit of the high-UV sunnier and more windswept New Zealand climate.
That jamon iberico is looking good
The Clos Henri is rather good yes Rod
That’s what we’ve been doing, IDAK, with our whites (Tho, I’ve bought a few cases of reds as well lately).
We found a California Chardonnay that we really like and we’ve bought a second case. Its so good for the price.
Its weird, because we don’t like SoCal Chadonnays as a rule, as they are too woody, vanillan, and they usually have a strong sour taste. But not this one. I think the vineyard is Canyon Road.
We do like Kiwi whites, but they tend to be pricey in the colonies here.
I really like the Chalk Hill Chardonnay from Sonoma. It’s $US 18, but by the time it’s gets to NZ it’s $NZ45. A real pity.
How was the AVA Peter?
It was very good, but I wished we had it with the meal (steak with Caesar salad) instead of opening it after we had finished eating. It is a pretty concentrated, full on, Syrah. I had forgotten this (been about a year since I last opened an Ava). Julia Harding gave it an 18/20.
I think I may have tried AVA syrah at the last New Wave tasting in London and was really tight and unapproachable in youth - not sure which vintage. Definitely a food wine a bit like many other syrahs from the Swartland such as the Mullineux. I have a 17 AVA chenin that I might need to dig out. We tried the latest releases and some really enjoyable wines. He has done lots of work for Boutinot I think - very flexible and a lovely guy.
