Alma Valley Pinot Noir 2014, Crimea

Finally! Pinot from Crimea! Took a couple of years … well, at least in non-bubbling-condition. Thanks to a good friend - Большое спасибо Лена – this wine sopped challenge has finally been accomplished. Unfortunately, this time I won't be able to provide you guys with equally trottering and cheesy reminicent anecdotes like from Australia the other day. Simply because I've never really been to the very East of Europe. Something I desperately have to fetch up with, I suppose. Back to matter on tongue! Alma Estate was founded the first decade of this very century. The actual privatization of agricultural land in Crimea took a bit longer than in other regions of Eastern Europe. The winery is situated in Bakhchisarai area on the western foothills of Crimea a bit north-east of Sevastopol. The climate of this area can be characterized as mild mediterranean, with moderate influence of the Black Sea and good ventilation by sea breezes. Summers can be quite hot. However winters can be strikingly cold which can be a rather tricky from time to time. The soils range from brown loam in the elevated areas to the limestone and marlstone vineyards of the riverlands. This particular soil is know to the locals as "white-eyed clay". With help from Swiss and German experts the actual professional wineproduction started from 2005 to 2008. So, it is a quite new project. Today, Alma cultivates a very wide range of well know European varieties on round about 160 hectares. My Pinot Noir from 2014 was fermented at controlled temperature in both stainless steel and oak tanks and was partially aged in oak barrels. Enough of my dry blather! Now it's time for some serious drinking ...

Ocean Eight Pinot Noir 2010, Mornington Peninsula

It's been quite a drought around here, right?! What an outrageously lazy period without Pinots from distant places or other mildly extraordinary wines from regions somewhere around the globe. More than a months?! Really!? I hardly can look in the mirror! For the future I do vow not to give in such to sluggishness again … I hope ...
To make up for this ignominy I'd like to send my tongue all the way down to Australia onto the beautifully scenic Mornington Peninsula south east of Melbourne. Well, at least I think it was scenic. I've only been there once. Then, well intoxicated with a horrific hangover induced by cheap Shiraz based fizz and shaken by a bumpy and awkwardly chatty minibus ride down a coastal road. Both of which might have blured my memory a bit. In short, I wasn't well … at all. Not to mention the subsequent ferry ride across the bay ... Anyway, I digress! As always! The frequent reader probably got used to my constantly deviating thought processes. Back to the matter on tongue! Today's Pinot from the vintage 2010 was produced by Michael Aylward from Ocean Eight vineyard & winery in Shorehame on the south-east coast of the peninsula. Michael started his winery in 2004 were he and his team cultivate varieties such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and even some Pinot Gris. Mornington Peninsula. The vines for today's Pinot were palanted in 1999 and standing on up to 65 meter high sandy loam vineyards facing north-west. The grapes were picked by hand and underwent fermentaion froid for a respectable long period of four to six weeks. Useing natural yeasts ... of course. After that it was aged for about 12 months in 15% new barriques and three to four year old 500 litre barrels. So let's give it a go ...