A rose` made from three Italian grape varieties – Sangiovese, Dolcetto and Sagrantino, from this King Valley Victorian producer. Love the glorious fire engine red colour that when swirled spins eloquently round the glass providing a dazzling effect. Full of berries on one level, soft and dry in another dimension, a perfect addition to the end of a hot humid day.
Food Match: Vietnamese
Alc: 13.1%
RRP: $15
Rating: 90/100 – Very Good.
LeridaEstateLake George Pinot Gris 2009
It’s that time if the year where I am happy to make some Wine of the Year type calls. And I reckon the Pinot Gris of the year type contender is one that well and truly deserves that accolade. Anyway I love this Pinot Gris. Why – well a couple of reasons – one it is varietally perfect – which is damn hard for Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio. Two, it is just so hard to make a really top notch Pinot Gris that sticks true to its roots and has popular appeal and that perfect sense of balance. The opulence of this Gris is just so right. Impressive delicious polished and pure, the aromas and flavours are classically so. Think perfumed musk, lychee, pears, light tropical fruit, hints of spice and a delicious array of overall fruit flavours – delicious, balanced, smooth and soft, beautifully poised and balanced to the very end. Big words, big call but as far as I am concerned – totally justified.
Food Match: Grilled pork ribs
Drink Now: to 2012.
About $28
Alc: 12.8%
Rating: 95/100 – Superb.
Willow Creek Vineyard Tulum Pinot Noir 2008
Enjoyed the smooth softness of this MornintonPeninsula pinot noir. Refined tight cherry and strawberry fruit flows through with edges of forest floor, earthiness and light cinnamon spice. The background to the polished fruit is the soft acidity and indiscernable oak. Lively and fresh, the youthfulness is exhuberant but the overall complexity of its character augurs for an interesting future.
Food Match: Duck
Drink: Now
Alc: 14%
RRP: About $40
Rating: 90/100 – Very Good.
Lenton Brae Southside Chardonnay 2008
Ed Tomlinson is the winemaker of this respectable well crafted Margaret River Chardonnay. I love the judicious use of oak, there is new and old in this but it is done so beautifully and the way that the fruit does all the talking yet not so much so that it dominates the conversation, really gets my attention. Light, delicate and fragrant, the aromas are entrancing and charming. Classic nectarine, tangy lemon and melon subsume the senses, with style and grace and deliver onto the palate. Delightful drinking with soft acidity and a light creamy finish that adds to the experience. I think the balance is post on and that’s what really captivates you all the way through. Oh and for around $20, this is value drinking.
Food Match: bruschetta.
Alc: 13.5%.
Drink: Now to 2013.
Rating: 91-92/100 – Excellent.
Willow
CreekVineyardMorningtonPeninsula Chardonnay 2008
A cool climate Chardonnay with a definite wow factor to it. Geraldine McFaul is the new winemaker for the label crafting her impeccable touch to these wines from Willow Creek with Robbie O’Leary in charge of the vineyard. Tight, a touch unyielding and yet overall elegant at opening, you get class and finesse in its overall structure, Chablis style, but then it evolves in complexity over time in the glass, to become an even better belle of the ball. Gorgeous fruit, pure and stylish. What evolves is classic Chardonnay, mineral and flinty in its inherentness, but yet at the same time followed by classic nectarine, almond meal, spicy cashews, melon and light butterscotch. There is also a tempered leesiness that adds beautifully to the wine’s overall complexity. The oak is lightly spicy, there, unapologetic influential but not the over the top by any means. Yes it plays a supporting role, and one that augurs well for the future. The oak is glossy, the fruit is abundant fresh fulsome, the acidity soft and welcoming and yet it is still overall elegant and one classy drop. Excellent imbibing here folks and full marks to the team at Willow creek – I’m on board! Watch this space.
Food Match: Lobster Mornay
Alc: 13.5%
Price: About $40
Drink: Now to 2013
Rating: 95/100 - Superb
WandinValley Estate Single Vineyard Semillon 2009
From the sandy slopes a dry grown mature vineyard in the Lower Hunter at MountView, comes this classic Semillon that reflects regionality as well as varietalness. The polished fruit exhibits very well with persistence and reflecting its purity. Fruit driven in style, the acidity is young refreshing and crisp. A light to medium bodied Semillon that has all the classic features both aromatically and in palate delivery. Cut grass, gooseberry, green apple, lemony citrus and hints of tropical fruits all appear here. Delicious and thirst quenching on the palate.
Food match: Seafood Platter
Drink to 2015.
Price: About $20.
Rating: 91/100 – Excellent.
Anderson
Cellar Block Methode Champenoise Shiraz 2002
Boutique Rutherglen hand picked and basket press award winning Sparkling Shiraz, aged at that – all of which are enough to pique my attention. The ripe rich solid robust fruit just resonates from this sparkling red. Think blackberries, more blackberries then spicy plums. Coming from fruit from dry land vineyards, the richness and flavour is just full on, but in a sparkling wine, just so right. Balanced, seamless, creamy (and a tightness as well inherent in the aromas but as I said creamy on the palate) and evolving, this sparkling just flows and flows on the palate. Intense deep and concentrated, it just drinks so velvety and fulsomely on the palate. Delicious long and lingering on the finish, it goes on forever. The age of the fruit and the character of its overall development just adds layers of complexity such as intricate mocha oak, that make the wine ever so complex and ever so interesting to drink.
Food Match: Roast turkey
Drink: Now to 2017.
Price: About $49.
Alc: 14.5%
Rating: 93/100 - Excellent
Robert Stein Riesling 2009
This is up there in the top quality Riesling stakes. From the Mudgee region ofNSW, Robert Stein has crafted this beautifully drinking Riesling that is spot on in all of its dimensions. Classic pure lime cordial, aromatically ripe yet with enough soft refreshing crisp acidity to really set it self off and show off all its attributes. A creamy delicious finish just adds to all the good things about this Riesling. The bottle emptied around me in remarkably quick time, which is always a pretty good indicator of quality, and at this price, it won’t break the bank either. Estate grown and produced at the winery at Mudgee.
Food Match: grilled chicken
Drink: Now
Alc: 11.0%
Price: About $25
Rating: 94/100 - Excellent
ShelmerdineYarraValley Pinot Noir 2008.
Intensely fragrant – the purity oozes out of the glass. RealYarraValley classic Pinot Noir here, concentrated yet delivered with refinement and finesse. The aromatics here are just glorious, they subsume the senses and are juts gorgeously Pinot in character. The fruit sourced from the Lusatia Park Vineyard in the UpperValley takes the centre stage well and truly with an authorativeness. Think truffles, forest floor, cherries, cinnamon spice and light spicy plums all make their appearance. Light and delicate on the palate, the purity of the fruit is delivered with restraint and yet with an underlying power. Quite soft and mellow on the palate, it tastes so lovely and smooth and even creamy, with soft smooth acidity. The tannins are ultrafine and integrated. This is a Pinot that holds it own very well. Well done Stephen Shelmerdine.
Food Match: Penne with tomato and black olives
Drink to 2012.
Price: About $34
Closure: Screwcap
Alc: 13.0%
Rating: 92/100 – Excellent
Wandin Valley Rosé 2008
Had this with Thai drunken noodles last night and the flavours really hit it off together. Yer, sure the berry fruits were there but they were more subdued and savoury like rather than in your face in style. The softness of the overall fruit, along with the crisp and dry finish made it a really good foodie wine. I see the 2009 is now out. Good summer drinking from this Hunter winery.
Drink Now.
About $18.
89/100 – Very Good.
Charles Melton The Father In Law Shiraz 2006
The sweet oak shoots out at you in a nice way, married with the red and black berry fruits. Youthful in one sense but quite developed and evolved in another. A meaty juicy deep robust red that has a gaminess and character to it. Velvety smooth tannins coupled with a delicious set of flavours – cherries and spicy plums, then milky chocolate, this boutique red by Charlie Melton hits all the right chords.
Try it with seasoned roast chicken.
Drink to 2012.
About $18.
91/100 – Excellent.
LeridaEstateLake George Pinot Gris 2009
Canberra alive in a glass I say. And red hot Pinot Gris at that as well. This stylish white has what it takes and ticks all the boxes for me as an interesting wine true to its roots and origins that is very moreish and delicious drinking. Good oak treatment as well as lees stirring before bottling really adds to the texture, complexity and overall drinkability of this wine. It has a classy creaminess, not OTT, but just balanced right. It takes you to all places citrus, not with any overwhelming acidity and yet with an overall elegance at that.
Try it with Chinese, say honey prawns.
Drink Now.
About $28.
Alc 13.2%.
93/100 – Excellent.
CardinhamEstateClareValley Riesling 2008
The fruit in this is quite evocative with citrussy lemons and limes and apples all flowing out of the glass, crisply and with purpose. A definitive Clare Riesling, stylish yet clearly also retaining its varietal and regional roots and focus. The nose also delivers light wildflowers, passionfruit and touches of musk that all add to a complex set of aromas. Crisp, long and defined on the palate, this Riesling demands food with it.
Try it with shell pasta with bacon and peas.
Drink to 2015.
Alc 11.7%.
About $20.
91/100 – Excellent.
Marlargo Riverina Petit Verdot 2007
The “gracefully out there” label on the front of this wine really draws you into it. Funky, hip and groovy it is and it has that “I wanna know more about this wine” ness to it as well as finding out who did the artwork (Sharon Wedel). The wine marketing people out there will love me for saying this, but seriously when it sits in the bottle shop with hundreds of others around it, the eye catching label should at least mean that the wine consumer should evoke more than a cursory glance towards it. Attention seeking over, then it is over to the winemaker to complete the deal. Anyway the wine is decent, elegant and not in an your face style, despite its origins of the Riverland. Sure it is fruit driven, gloriously plummy, but there is more to it than this. A lovely restrained spiciness adds to the fruit dimensions. The oak is subdued and subsumed well into the fruit. Plums, blackberries and sour black cherries imparted softly on the palate yet with good cedary oak along with it, leaving well rounded tannins to linger on and on.
Try this with bbq pork ribs.
Drink to 2014.
About $20.
Alc 14.5%.
90/100 – Very Good.
Mistletoe Reserve Shiraz 2006
I love the Hunterness that jumps at me out of the glass. As I stick my nose into the glass, it subsumes my senses – the wine affirming then reaffirming to me, I am Hunter, I am Hunter Shiraz, in chant like fashion. The youthful vibrancy and freshness of this Shiraz by Ken Sloan really makes a statement. I am young Hunter it says unashamedly, with plenty more in store to come, as I age, it says. Spice, leather, light game, a tad of red earth as well. Inherent roasted meats stewing away, waiting to be served, along with roast potatoes. It’s the sort of wine that has glorious aromas which let the mind and imagination wander. Elegant and classy in stature, it’s soft and rounded with fleshy tannins. Drinking beautifully now and certainly a wine worthy of having the words, reserve, placed on it.
Try it with grilled Italian sausages wrapped in prosciutto with potato and borlotti bean puree.
