Tasmania wine night!

Join Karen and myself for (Mostly) Tasmania wine night dinner at Nice Matin.

Tasmania is one of Australia’s coolest and most distinctive wine regions, with a maritime climate and long growing season particularly well suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Production is small, and many of the island’s best wines are made in limited quantities, making Tasmanian wines surprisingly difficult to find in the U.S.
We’ll start with a Derwent Valley Chardonnay from Lowestoft, followed by two Tasmanian Pinot Noirs: Sailor Seeks Horse from the far-southern Huon Valley and Glaetzer-Dixon’s Rêveur. We’ll then move to our one non-Tasmanian wine, a red Sciacarello from Corsica.
We’ll finish back in Tasmania with Stefano Lubiana’s Derwent Valley Syrah. While most Australians call the grape Shiraz, Tasmanian producers often use Syrah, reflecting the cooler-climate, more restrained and savory style of the wines they make.

Nice Matin is located on the corner of W. 79th and Amsterdam Ave.

Here is a link to their menu:
Nice Matin Dinner Menu

** The cost of this event is $39 and is for the cost of the wines.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.

Just a reminder of our usual rules:

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). You will be expected to order at least 2 dishes (an appetizer and a main, or main and dessert) to help support the restaurant.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
Lowestoft 2024 Chardonnay, Tasmania, Derwent Valley ($46) - WA 94 points, "The 2024 Estate Chardonnay leads with cashews and brine, with yellow peach and
green olive tapenade to close. This is tight and textural, and despite the warmth of the
season, this is very much driven by saline acidity. The phenolics are sleek and structural
and course through the fruit, focusing the flow of flavor to close. It's very good. The fruit
for this wine is sourced from Gillingbrook and Belbrook (East Coast), Coal Valley and
Norfolk Bay. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. (Drink 2026- 2036)"

Sailor Seeks Horse 2023 Pinot Noir Dijon Clones, Tasmania, Huon Valley ($64) - Halliday Wine Companion 96 Points,
"As their tiny Huon Valley vineyard matures, Paul and Gilli Lipscombe are diving deeper
into what makes each corner of the site unique. This limited-release clonal selection
focuses on the bright, fragrant, and finely structured side of Sailor Seeks Horse Pinot
Noir. While the Huon always brings muscle, the Dijon clones (777, 114) lean towards
elegance and perfume - and that’s exactly what you get here. Lifted rose petal, wild
strawberries, and red cherry lead the way, underpinned by subtle savoury spice and
fine, filigree tannins. There’s intensity and length, but it’s wrapped in an almost
weightless texture, with a clarity that sets it apart from the broader estate Pinot."
96 points: "Wild ferment, clones 114, 777, 115, destemmed, 12 months in barrel (11%
new). Finely honed redcurrant and raspberry aromas here with a wash of cranberry for
high tones. It smells delicate and filigreed with hints of Medina spice, sous bois, fennel
gratin, cherry clafoutis, drying meadow flowers, poached rhubarb and earth. More of the
same on the palate, savoury and spacious with fine detail to its form and a lovely briny
cadence that pushes the wine forward. Jeez, Drink 2024-2034."

2022 Glaetzer-Dixon Pinot Noir Reveur ($44) - CT 90.5, JR 17+, 55% whole-bunch fermented. Aged 22 months in French oak (20% new).
Nick Glaetzer is a fifth-generation winemaker from South Australia's Barossa Valley who
moved to Tasmania in 2005. He established Glaetzer-Dixon Family Winemakers in an
old ice factory in Hobart, creating one of the region's pioneering urban wineries. He has
earned accolades including the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy and
Gourmet Traveller's Winemaker of the Year.
It has a fresh, sappy herbal nose, meaty character and beetroot too. It captures the
earthbound side of Pinot, rather than the fruit purity that is more typical for Tassie Pinot
Noir. On the palate there is floral fragrance, sweet fruit and a decent amount of chew,
too. (RH for JR)

2020 Domaine de Vaccelli Ajaccio ($40) - Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the grape, "Sciacarello (or Sciaccarello, Sciaccarellu) is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in Corsica. It is most noted for the wines that come from Ajaccio which tend to be highly perfumed. "

From the importer, "This can be thought of as his villages level bottling, and delivers big time on quality price. if you can imagine Grenache and Pinot Noir had a child, and raised it among the wild maquis of Corsica, that is what you get here. These are gorgeous and singular wines that regularly blow people away for their combination of power and finesse....

2023 Stefano Lubiana Estate Syrah, ($50) - Tasmania, Derwent Valley, JS 95 points, "From biodynamic vines on the Derwent River in southern Tasmania is a vibrant,
northernRhôneinspired red that celebrates coolclimate spice over sheer power. It’s an
elegant, finely tuned style that still has plenty of drinkability for a midweek roast.
In the glass, expect lifted aromas of blackberry, blueberry and dark cherry, woven with
white pepper, warm spice, olives and a savoury, earthy twist. The palate is
mediumbodied and beautifully balanced, showing bright dark fruits, subtle tapenade,
chalky tannins and a long, savoury, peppery finish that feels distinctly Tasmanian Syrah."