WTN: Taltarni Brut Taché 2005

A blend of Chardonnay (49 per cent), Pinot Noir (45) and Pinot Muneur (6). Grapes were sourced from Taltarni vineyards in Victoria (70 per cent) and Tasmania.

The wine has an amazing color to it. Everything I have read refers to it as a salmon color, but it appeared to me to be bright, almost electric, copper. This is achieved, I am told, by adding a dash of red wine liqueur to the finished tirage wine at disgorgement. Thus, taché is a French word meaning ‘stained’.

Good mousse.

Strawberry fruit, plummy, refreshing acidity, good weight, well balanced. A delicious wine that went well with snacks on the backyard deck on a warm summer afternoon.

Purchased at $22.95 (Canadian).

[Jenise]

Bruce, I used to love the Taché (I'm a fan of Taltarni in general), but a year or two ago the wine really surprised me by picking up color and losing it's dryness, like they're trying to compete with Cerdon de Bugey. Don't remember what the last vintage I had was, but I wondered if it was a one-off thing. Presuming you just had a more recent version, sounds like this style is here to stay.