Australian Wine Review

Austins Shiraz 2010

2013-06-19T00:58:00.001+10:00

Austins Shiraz 2010 (Geelong, Vic)
13%, Screwcap, $30

Source: Sample
www.austinswines.com.au

It's normally Pinot that takes my fancy in Geelong, though wines like this remind that Geelong can, occasionally, be shit-hot Shiraz country.

Speaking of Geelong, this Shiraz is laden with typical Geelong pepper and spice - as acknowledged twice in one paragraph on the back label. The nose, particularly, is somewhat driven by (partly whole bunch derived) black pepper, clove and a spoonful of bacon bits. Sexy.

It's a bittersweet, savoury sort of Shiraz too, switching between slightly heavy richer mud cake fruit and quite firm, bitter tannins, everytying punctuated by a slick of berry sweetness to finish.

You can really grab onto that stemmy finish actually - no shirking away from structure! I like that chew really, its so utterly winey and dry and grown up. Perhaps a fraction too stemmy for some, but it's not hard or unripe, just long and real.

Yes. A proper cool climate Victorian Shiraz.

Drink: 2013-2020+
Score: 18/20, 93/100
Would I buy it? Yes

Austins Crue Syrah 2012

2013-06-19T00:28:00.004+10:00

Austins 'Crue' Syrah 2012 (Geelong, Vic)
13.5%, Screwcap, $23
Source: Sample
www.austinswines.com.au

Crue = 'raw'.

Low sulphur, wild ferments, no oak and no filtration... nothing but fruit. Think Geelong Shiraz/Syrah done joven style. Apparently this is 'best enjoyed in the months after release', but I reckon it's got enough vivacity to carry on longer than that.

A lovely, bright purple coloured drink it is too, full of that carbonic maceration influenced, squished berry juiciness and just-bottled super freshness.

This is a deliberately light boned wine, with nothing profound but plenty of plum skin, Beaujolais-esque jubey purple fruits, topped off with a hint of Geelong Shiraz ham and white pepper.

The intensity suggests reasonable quality grapes though, so its not a ham-fisted, residual sugar driven, focus group concocted red.

Ultimately I can see a definite place for this in the wine world - you can just imagine drinking this out of highballs, like a grown up sangria (but not made with shit wine and cans of pineapple juice).

Entirely likeable.

Drink: 2013-2014
Score: 16.5/20, 88/100
Would I buy it? Perhaps a little

Yellowglen Exceptional Vintage XV Piccadilly Valley 2002

2013-06-18T23:58:00.000+10:00

Yellowglen Exceptional Vintage XV Piccadilly Valley 2002 (Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, SA)
12%, Cork, $49.99
Source: Sample
www.yellowglen.com

A rather more evolved beast than its younger brother, I applaud the winemaking merit here, though think this might have been a more complete wine 12 months ago.

It's a sparkling driven by both bottle age and long lees ageing (seven years on lees), the wine full and generous through the middle, if just a bit cheesy and even a fraction decayed to finish, the acidity noticeably soft and gentle.

Noble intent, just needing a little more than just mid palate richness to carry the wine. Drink up.

Drink: 2013-2014
Score: 17.5/20, 91/100
Would I buy it? Not quite.

Torzi Matthews 1903 Old Vines Grenache Mataro of Domenico Martino 2012

2013-06-18T00:02:00.001+10:00

Only one guess on the price

Torzi Matthews 1903 Old Vines Grenache Mataro of Domenico Martino 2012 (Barossa Valley, SA)
14.2%, Screwcap, $35
Source: Sample
www.torzimatthews.com.au

A mouthful of a name but I think you get the drift...

This red blend comes from the irrepressible Dom Torzi, utilising fruit from the low yielding old Moppa Hill vineyard of Domenico Martino in the Barossa Valley. Its specifically a blend of 50% Grenache 50% Mataro, the fruit hand picked with both varieties fermented together (30% whole bunch) using natural vineyard yeasts in open top milk vats.

Oh and once fermentation had finished, this was then basket pressed to 3-4yr old oak where it then spends 14 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.

I like that handling. Modern handling, but with a gentle touch.

I like these words on the back label too:

'An ancient single vineyard planted in 1903, it lays upon hard melding shales of ironstone, quartz and white sands. Naturally dry grown with an easterly aspect, among the fruit orchards and wheat fields. A wine of purity, freshness and harmony.'

There is so very much I like much about this wine really. High-five Dom Torzi (again). I had 'purity' written down before even sighting the back label, the wine showcasing the mid-weight, bright and fruity Grenache grapiness apparent from the outset.

There's a hint of carbonic tutti-frutti, and a veneer of vanilla bean oak, but otherwise it's just lovely bright fruit, layers of flavour and fine tannins. It's perhaps a little simple, a little warm but that wonderful pure red fruit is intoxicating (in more ways than one).

Delicious. I went back for more.

Drink: 2013-2020
Score: 18/20, 93/100
Would I buy it? Yes.

Ravens Croft Chardonnay 2011

2013-06-17T16:30:00.000+10:00

Ravens Croft Chardonnay 2011 (Granite Belt, QLD)
13%, Screwcap, $35
Source: Sample
www.ravenscroftwines.com.au

Simple packaging. Unrespected region. Fully priced. From the outset it doesn't quite make a compelling case. Still, it's what inside that counts, which is a wild fermented Chardonnay sourced from a plot at 950m in Stanthorpe. Curiously, this sees both American and French oak, which is a very odd combination (American oak? For a Chardonnay?).

It smells and tastes like a half worked wine too. Half-worked, with that modern, white peach and grapefruit lean edge to the nose before fanning out into a peachy and quite broad (and oaky), mealy palate that just gets fatter to finish (and I'd question whether this should see any MLF - it looks soft enough).

A pleasant enough wine perhaps, but one that throws as much question marks as it does answers...

Drink: 2013-2015
Score: 15.5/20 85/100
Would I buy it? No.

Talking 'interesting' wines on the Food in Focus radio show

2013-06-16T23:30:00.000+10:00

Talking 'interesting wines' on the Food in Focus radio show

It can seem a bit silly sometimes to single-out wines that could be called 'interesting', purely as it's such a subjective notion - that is, what interests me could be obscure/irrelevant/complete shit to somebody else.

Still, there are certain wines/wine styles/varieties etc that have enough of a 'story' to make them interesting, or at least enough to talk about.

Yesterday I was, rather randomly, tasked with finding 3 wines that might be counted as being 'interesting', as I ended up as a guest on the Food in Focus radio show. It was short notice, and the fridge was empty after a housewarming party last weekend (no beer either. I'm slipping), but I ended up with these three (happily) charismatic wines.

Better still, everyone on the show rather enjoyed this trio, which just made the discussion flow that little bit more effortlessly. Of particular note was the positivity towards the Blaufränkisch, which surprised even me at how delicious it was...

Rene Geoffroy Cuvee Empreinte Brut NV (Champagne France) $87.95 - 750ml
This is the last bottle from a case I bought a year ago and it's been an enjoyable ride to see how it has developed. A Pinot dominant style, that was fermented mostly in large oak foudres and looks quite mature and aldehydic as a result (only a light bead too). Still, it is fresh to finish, with that combination of weight and acidity means this works nicely as a richer, 'I'll drink this with dinner' style. I think this particular bottle would have been a better drink 6 months ago (as it's look a bit cheesy and developed), but still attractive and well complex enough. 17/20 90/100

Hahndorf Hill Blueblood Blaufränkisch 2010 (Adelaide Hills, SA) $35
I'm not sure how I missed this when it first turned up (some time ago), however it's still available from the winery and I think well worth a punt. What I really like is how varietal this looked - genuinely, surprisingly varietal. I'd perhaps a little less oak richness. but there is still that combination of blue fruits and notably prominent high acidity, the wine very much driven by its juicy mid palate, yet still an utterly savoury, fruit-and-acid-balanced (with a nice full-stop of dry tannins) wine.

I just liked drinking this, and if it is indicative of the potential quality of Hills Blaufränkisch, then let's get planting. 17.7/20 92/100

X by Xabregas Spencer Vineyard Syrah 2010 (Mt Barket, WA) $50
Conspicuously, this looked the least ready to drink of all the wines on the day, a thoroughly uncompromised, structured and very serious red that had a dryness and un-sweet power so often missing in Australian Shiraz, even those wines with 'Syrah' stylistic leanings. Meaty, cranberry and purple fruits, with more than a little leafiness and loads of black pepper and anise. So much spice! Dry, powdery tannins to finish and, looking at the numbers, topped off with strictly natural acidity.

Initially this seems mid weight and a little lightish to start, but the closer you look the drier those tannins become and the firmer and deeper the wine looks. Further, I think this carries its 'Syrah' tag quite successfully - you can see a little Cornas in there for sure (in the best possible fashion).

Guaranteed to be an impressive wine with bottle ageing, I was really impressed. 18.5/20 94/100

Michael Hall Chardonnay 2011

2013-06-15T02:34:00.000+10:00

Michael Hall Chardonnay 2011 (Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills SA)
12.8%, Screwcap, $40

Source: Sample
www.michaelhallwines.com

After spending much of this week in Coonawarra (and drinking largely Cabernet, with the odd Shiraz or blend for good measure) this was a lovely palate refresher. A wine sorbet, if you like, in the best possible fashion. Grand wine for the vintage too.

This particular wine was sourced from from the Garden Block, located in the beautiful Piccadilly Valley, with a little fruit included from the cool and steep 'Hill Block' (3km up the road) blended in for good measure.

Speaking of the Adelaide Hills, if I was forced to pick any South Australian wine region to make wine, Piccadilly makes a strong case - it's both beautiful, amazingly close to Adelaide and an exciting place to grow grapes (particularly Chardonnay).

As ever with Michael's whites, this 2011 Michael Hall Chardonnay is precisely made: it's whole bunch pressed and fermented wild in barrel, with 40% of the wine going through malo and all of it spending 11 months on gross lees in (10% new) barriques.

There's an unquestioned finesse on the palate too - a cool, sexy classiness with peach juice and cream, solids enriched palate weight, further weighted by banana cream oak/yeast richness. It's a very fine richness though, like carefully whipped cream. A real delicacy to the finish too, with no shortage of fine acidity.

Fresh, very cool and just on the right side of ripe, this is a model of carefully made, refreshing Chardonnay. Perhaps a little lean and grapefruity for such 'work', but the wine ultimately drinks very well.

Delicious.

Drink: 2013 - 2018
Score: 18.5/20 94/100
Would I buy it? You bet.

Clyde Park Pinot Noir releases

2013-06-08T00:30:00.000+10:00

Clyde Park Pinot Noir releases

A pleasure to check in on these Clyde Park Pinots, which I remember once being exciting Geelong vinos. Feels like checking on a long lost friend.

Overall the quality looks much improved in these Clyde Park wines, the flat spot in the noughties now a thing of the past. Still plenty of vintage variation, but certainly getting there. A recent change in ownership, with Terry Jongebloed and Sue Jongebloed-Dixon taking control, has apparently the quality improve greatly, though you still don't see the wines all that often in retail/restaurant land, suggesting that the distribution side has a way to go yet...

Clyde Park Locale Pinot Noir 2010 (Geelong, Vic) $27
Produced from Geelong region, rather than estate, fruit. Still minimal handling ala the more premium wines.

Beautiful bright open fruit here that is utterly varietal, all plum and cranberry red fruits in an expressive, gentle form. It tastes general too, real, soft, red fruited and round through the middle. I love the gentle touch of this, and although its a bit short and ill-defined to finish, the fruit joy is truly lovely. I'd drink a bottle for sure. 17.7/20 92/100

Clyde Park Estate Pinot Noir 2009
The only dark spot in this range. Kept back as it was such a big wine, with an admission that this may well have been left too long on the vine.

Caramel oak, browner colours and a sense of advancement. A heavier, headier wine with a real, gritty punch but otherwise not much joy. Feels a bit bogged down in its ripeness, without the vivacity of the Locale. Not much joy for mine. 15.5/20 86/100

Clyde Park Reserve Pinot Noir 2010
Serious. Red fruit with a suggestion of stems, the nose a little volatile but otherwise condensed, firm and very serious, the acidity seemingly higher, the finish undulating and long. There is pinosity here, it just needs to jump over the structure, with a decent swirl revealing the hint of fruit loveliness. In 3-5 its going to be a star, though nowhere near as drinkable as the Locale today. Score represents a compromise (and the plus signs are very important).
17.8/20 92/100+

Brilliant Priorat: Vall Llach 2006

2013-06-07T00:50:00.003+10:00

Brilliant Priorat: Vall Llach 2006 (Priorat, Spain)
15.85%, Cork, $180
Source: Tasting
www.vallllach.com

It's wines like this that make me wish I was a wealthier man. Wealthy so that I could afford to buy cases of this, rather than just snaffle the odd small glass to taste...

The Vall Llach old plantings. Woah

Simply put, this is a special wine.

It's when you look at pictures of the Vall Llach vineyard (above) that the reason for this 'specialness' becomes apparent. It looks amazing. Wild amazing. Think gnarled, highish altitude, old (100 years+ for the mature plantings) Carinena and Garnacha bush vines, all planted on unforgiving, 25-85%(!) schist slopes, with the ancient vines complemented by more modern Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah planted on special rock terraces.

It's an incredibly unique environment that sits at the very edge of achievable viticulture (with not a tractor in site. Hand-everything required here) and delivers sublime wines to match.

This wine, the flagship, is a blend of 65% Carinena (Carignan), 15% Syrah, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Merlot, the wine fermented long, slow and coolish with maximum pre and post-ferment maceration in French oak barriques and hogsheads for 12 months.

What's most remarkable about this red blend is that - despite the hostile rocky soils and slopes, roasting climate and the obvious ripeness of the style - this retains minerality and freshness. It's hugely rich and massively concentrated, all braised meat and dried black fruit, the flavours ultra compact and firm, yet also with a sparkling minerally finish. The ultra firm, multi-layered palate has a chewiness to it and also a sense of liveliness, the sign of vines in balance.

Simply put, I was compelled. Seems more like 14.5% alcohol rather than 15.8%. Further, I struggle to describe the perfect shape of those tannins. They're refreshing tannins actually, dry and firm yet lively. Come-back-for-more tannins that are too wide and broad to be Bordeaux and probably closer to Amarone tannins if anything. But brilliant.

Obviously this is not a wine for the faint hearted, yet it also feels rather perfect in its expression of sandy, rocky soils, ridiculous slopes and altitude, ultimately making for a bloody delicious and wonderfully intriguing wine. I'd love some of this in my cellar so very very much.

Drink: 2013-2025
Score: 18.7/20 95/100
Would I buy it? I'm thinking about buying some in the UK as it is that much cheaper over there..

BEER: Endeavour Pale Ale 2012

2013-06-06T23:52:00.000+10:00

BEER: Endeavour Reserve Pale Ale 2012

5% alc, 32 IBU

Each year the Endeavour Pale Ale gets better, and this 2012 iteration is probably the best yet. I liked drinking more than the 2012 Amber Ale too In fact, I'm switching sides and calling myself a Pale Ale Man instead of an Amber Ale man as of now. Drastic steps...

Much of the appeal here is the balance of hop aromatics and bitterness vs malty richness. As the boys from Endeavour explained to me recently, hops need to be used like oak i.e. judiciously.

As ever with the Endeabour beers this is a vintage ale, so its age-worthy, though why wouldn't you drink this now? Certainly refreshing, the malt a little more dominant this year, the hops evident yet not sappy.

I likey. Would happily make a daily drink. 4/5

Taltarni T Series Victoria Shiraz 2009

2013-06-06T23:48:00.001+10:00

Taltarni T Series Victoria Shiraz 2009 (Victoria)
14%, Screwcap, $17
Source: Sample
www.taltarni.com.au

A blend of Shiraz with a little Mourvedre and Viognier, the fruit sourced from Pyrenees and Heathcote. The clever use of a little extra residual sugar (just 4g/L which is barely perceptible)
only helps the drink now appeal of this Shiraz, and given that it is available from Taltarni for under $13, seriously good value drinking too.

It smells ripe and juicy, with red fruit and mocha fruit, obviously ripe and generous. There is a bit more of the traditional Taltarni dry tannins and 'French' structure but otherwise it looks utterly modern.

Plump but not excessively, confected with a very solid, meaty black fruit heart, this is exactly what you want in a $15 Shiraz. really. 2010 should be a step up again.

Drink: 2013-2017
Score: 16.5/20 88/100
Would I buy it? Not personally, but I'd recommend it with gusto.

Vigna Cantina Negro Amaro 2012

2013-06-06T23:32:00.001+10:00

Vigna Cantina Negro Amaro 2012 (Barossa Valley, SA)
13.9%, Screwcap, $22
Source: Sample
www.torzimatthews.com.au

Sourced from the Koonunga dunes, this is a variety that many predict could have a future in South Australia. This particular wine isn't there yet, the cinnamon spice and raspberry flavours light, confected and a little shapeless, the diffuse palate largely a sign of young vines rather than anything else.

Simple fruits, but not enough convincing varietal characters as yet to really impress. Fell apart in the glass too, another indicator of some young vine fruit.

Drink: 2013-2014
Score: 15/20 84/100
Would I buy it? No.

Taltarni Three Monks Fumé Blanc 2011

2013-06-06T23:00:00.000+10:00

Taltarni Three Monks Fumé Blanc 2011 (Victoria and Tasmania)
12.5%, Screwcap, $25
Source: Sample
www.taltarni.com.au

An awful lot of winemaking goes into this Taltarni Sauvignon Blanc, especially given the price, with half wild fermented in tank, the rest in barrel (where it was stirred weekly and matured for eight months).

It looks well made too, the vanilla bean oak a little obvious on the nose, though not enough to be offensive, the palate rather natural and pure, the oak and lees an adornment rather than the dominant character. Maybe a little unclean through the finish (hint of diseased fruit), but the acidity is still naturally clean. Rather satisfying Aussie fume really, clean and well made and aas taut as you'd want to keep that winemaking in check.

Nice.

Drink: 2013- 2016
Score: 17.5/20 91/100
Would I buy it? On the list, at a sufficient price, this would be a pretty easily attractive drink.

Taltarni T Series Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011

2013-06-06T19:00:00.000+10:00

Taltarni T Series Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011 (Pyrenees, Vic)
12.5%, Screwcap, $17
Source: Sample
www.taltarni.com.au

A quick internet search reveals that the Taltarni 'club price' for this wine is just $12.75. Smart drinking for that price.

Light lemon butter and parsley nose, with a palate fattened by lees ageing before what is a dry and minerally finish. Great acidity. Fresh, simple, lightly textural and with enough of that fennel and cream lees/fruit action to make it sort of like a good AC Bordeaux Blanc (which is clearly the intention). Good.

Drink: 2013-2014
Score: 16.5/20 88/100
Would I buy it? No, but I'd recommend it for $12.75/bottle.

Bollinger La Grande Année 2004

2013-06-06T00:52:00.000+10:00

Bollinger La Grand Année 2004 (Champagne, France)
12%, Cork, $300
Source: Sample
www.champagne-bollinger.com

Oh yes, this is seriously fine fizz. Easily on a par with the sublime 02 and needing only bottle age to really come together and count amongst the absolute best Champagnes on the planet.

The 2004 La Grande Annee is a blend of 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay, sourced from 16 crus (88% Grand Cru, 12% Premiers cru), and aged entirely in barrel. This particular bottle was disgorged in July 2012, which means is spent about 7 years on lees.

With a typically fine bead, this certainly looks the part too, with vanilla bean oak evident on the full and quite overt nose. Plenty of autolysis richness, but not quite the brioche laden, heavy (and more complex) autolysis nose you see in Bollinger RD. Shows the Flor-like barrel influenced softness through the mid palate, finishing with the sort of taut and forceful acidity that marks this as a wine in progress.

In some ways a more delicate wine than the 02, yet also backwards too. Initially I thought it a bit too acidic and twangy, but the closer I looked, the more I loved the sublime length, the linear nature of that acidity and the almost grapey Pinot elements.

Ultimately, the superb length marks this as a wine of brilliance, though I'd be waiting for the wine to catch up with the length myself. Buy it, cellar it for a few years, whatever - it's shit-hot booze regardless.

Drink: 2014-2040
Score: 18.7/20 95/100
Would I buy it? Want!

Raidis Mama Goat Merlot 2010

2013-06-05T23:30:00.000+10:00

Raidis Mama Goat Merlot 2010 (Coonawarra, SA)
14%, Screwcap, $25
Source: Sample
www.raidis.com.au

There isn't enough focus on Merlot in Coonawarra. There should be. Better clones, tighter canopy management, more focus. Pity no-one wants to pay for premium Merlot (and it isn't as reliable as Cabernet or Shiraz) so very few producers are pushing the variety. Still, I hold out hope..

This is a pretty attractive rendition of the grape actually. A genuine Merlot from the ever genuine Steven Raidis (who I'm incidentally visiting in Coonawarra next week. I'll question him about why Merlot isn't more popular and report back). It spends 18 months in barrel, though never looks oaky, instead spicy and lightly volatile, with blood plum aromatics and a fleck of mint. Much the same on the palate, which is open and generous, if a little warm, with wonderful Coonawarra red dirt and cedar plus even, medium weight dry tannins.

Why aren't there more tasty, just-minty-enough-to-be-interesting Coonawarra Merlots like this? Thumbs up here. More thumbs up expected with further bottle.

Drink: 2013-2020+
Score: 17.5/20 91/100+
Would I buy it? A glass or so would hit the spot. Probably not a bottle buy as yet.

Raidis The Kelpie Sauvignon Blanc 2012

2013-06-05T23:00:00.000+10:00

Raidis The Kelpie Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Coonawarra, SA)
12.7%, Screwcap, $19
Source: Sample
www.raidis.com.au

I've never understood the rationale behind growing Sauvignon Blanc in Coonawarra and then make it into unwooded, herbaceous, one dimensional wines. No appeal there. Probably sells well, but where is the interest?

Sour, lemon grass nose, open and quite short palate, finishing a little sour. Simple and a teensy bit dull to finish. Varietal but not quite defined enough, if clearly crisp and well made. Still not convinced.

Drink: 2013
Score: 15.8/20 86/100
Would I buy it? I don't think I'd buy any Coonawarra Sauvignon Blanc that I've ever tasted.

Barossa Mataro. No apologies... Soul Growers Defiant Mataro 2009

2013-06-05T01:00:00.000+10:00

Soul Growers Defiant Mataro 2009 (Barossa Valley, SA)
15%, Cork, $50
Source: Sample
www.soulgrowers.com

Heavy bottle, serious price-tag, wonderfully dense and unapologetic Mataro. That's the drift here.

Drawn from ancient old vines, the style savoury, warm, alcoholic, typically Mataro reductive, a little leathery, perhaps a little dried at the edges, hearty, warm and utterly satisfying. A cool night and lamb shanks wine, of blackness and roaring fires and dark chocolate. A wine derived from rough hands, open fermenters and tiny, intense, black grapes on twisted old vines.

I drank this (drank, not tasted) out of a thermos at the AFL on a rainy night last weekend and then brought the remnants home to look at again over the next few days. It didn't budge much. Still uncompromising in its Mataro gruffness, still dry, still a little boozy, still wonderfully effortless in its Barossa-ness and its Barossa Mataro-ness.

Yes please. More. Could it get better? Perhaps a little less warm, but otherwise, don't fuck with it.

Drink: 2013-2023+
Score: 18.5/20 94/100
Would I buy it? Yes. The 2010 is current release and may be even better again.

Raidis The Kid Riesling 2012

2013-06-05T00:30:00.000+10:00

Raidis The Kid Riesling 2012 (Coonawarra, SA)
12.6%, Screwcap, $19
Source: Sample
www.raidis.com.au

This Riesling is named after the kid Boer goats that can be found playing alongside the Raidis vineyard and are known to provide a little entertainment. It's pruning season in Coonawarra now, so any entertainment that doesn't involve pruning snips is a good thing...

Open, limey, generous, easy and languid. There, my job is done. Languid is a good word actually, for Coonawarra Riesling is typically such a beast - the flavours soft (and particularly soft given just how 'cool' Coonawarra is) the palate open-knit and often developing toasty bottle age richness quite early.

What marks this as a better example of Coonawarra Rizza is the lemon squash freshness through the finish, which stops the toast getting beyond the mid palate stage.

Hardly a profound wine this one, but heartfelt and actually much better structured than it may look. Likeable.

Drink: 2013-2018
Score: 16.8/20 89/100
Would I buy it? Probably not. Would drink a glass if handed to me though.

Church Road Chardonnay 2010

2013-06-04T23:29:00.000+10:00

Church Road Chardonnay 2010 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
13.5%, Screwcap, $25.99
Source: Sample
www.churchroad.co.nz

Lovers of old school, 'buttery' Chardonnays rejoice, for the Kiwis still make a wine just for you.

This Church Road Chardonnay is picked ripe, barrel fermented and matured on full lees for 10 months, the style unashamedly biased towards low acidity and full rich flavours.

In the modern Chardonnay context this looks to be a very dated style, the colour rather gold already, the wine showing plenty of oak, plenty of rich fruit and plenty of lees weight. I found it a bit too broad, heavy and wobby to really enjoy, but I can fully appreciate that there is a market for this sort of wine. Reasonable fruit length too.

Fashions be damned, this is a wine of weight and richness. Personally, I couldn't drink much of it, but that's just me.

Drink: 2013-2015
Score: 16/20 87/100
Would I buy it? No.

Parish Lane Merlot 2010

2013-06-04T23:19:00.000+10:00

Parish Lane Merlot 2010 (Great Southern, WA)
14%, Screwcap, $18 (for 2007 vintage)
Source: Sample
www.parishlanewines.com

Parish Lane has a good looking website, but the latest release of this Merlot listed is a 2007, an all too common situation for wineries (and not just locally either). Frustrating...

Anyways, this is a varietal Merlot (if nothing else), the nose and palate showing leafy, plum and kalamata olive Merlot characters (which is quite positive). Pity there is a distinctively unripe edge to the tannins, the light finish and taut acidity suggesting that the fruit didn't quite get there (and the high alcohol/unripe flavours indicating either an unsuitable site or unsuitable viticulture).

Passable, perhaps, but not quite convincing enough in its fruit penetration to be anything more than an 'also' wine.

Drink: 2013-2016
Score: 15.5/20 85/100
Would I buy it? No.

Orange - Part 2: The tasting notes

2013-06-04T02:30:00.000+10:00

Orange - Part 2: The tasting notes

For context, it's best you start here.

The Swinging Bridge Cellar Door

If I have to pick but one variety that most impressed me on last week's little sojourn to the NSW wine region of Orange, it was Pinot Noir - a grape which, as I mentioned on Saturday, carries boatloads of welcome potential in a state crying out for more pinosity.

Beyond Pinot, it was unsurprising to see the continuing fine form of Orange Chardonnay, again reminding that this is one of Australia's Chardy super hotspots. I like the regional style too - worked, but with great natural acidity, making for refreshing wines of some complexity. If I wasn't a freeloading, blood sucking media-type, it would be Chardonnays that would follow me home for sure.

On another note, what was also interesting was how many winemakers were actually hanging around cellar doors, even on the weekend. Admittedly I focused on the smaller estates, but even Philip Shaw was wandering around in the cellar door garden on a Sunday. Clearly no rest for wicked winemakers...

Now, a quick admission - in this post I'm only covering 5 Orange producers, so I'd hardly call this a lifestyle mag-esque, '10 cellar doors to visit in Orange' guide. More of a quick look at a few notable local makers.

Ross Hill

Curiously, I've had the Ross Hill Cabernet Franc numerous times over the last 12 months, yet always seem to skip the most recent releases from the rest of the range. Glad to have rectified that situation.

Ross Hill makes two two different ranges at their converted apple packing shed (a common theme in Orange apple growing country. Those old apple sheds are well insulated and comparatively well priced for anyone looking for a well suited winery building), with the Family Series the $20ish, approachable line and the Pinnacle Range the wild fermented (even the Sauv is wild fermented, which is unique for the region), premium wines. It is the Pinnacle Range where the interest lies here, although the Family Series Shiraz at $22 looked very handy indeed.

On the day I visited James Robson, son of founders Peter and Terri Robson, was hobbling around to show us the immaculate winery (complete with centrifuge and cross-flow. All the toys), his hobble caused by a morning of cycling and running. All those wonderful hills, you see, mean that everyone rides in Orange.

Of the wines, I thought the hand picked, whole bunch pressed (into barrel) and wild fermented, 2012 Pinnacle Series Chardonnay ($32) to be the standout, its balance of winemaking derived complexity contrasting nicely with the pristine natural acidity.

The 2011 Pinnacle Series Shiraz ($40), which was again handpicked, wild fermented and had 40% whole bunches, looked also very fine, the white pepper Rotundone hit a nice counterpoint to what is a pinot-esque, red cherry palate. Lovely fine tannins punctuated this red, the mid-weight style a very clever iteration of modern cool climate Shiraz.

Interestingly, the 2011 Pinnacle Series Pinot Noir ($36) didn't carry that same composure, the wine carrying the slightly heavy, bacony, dry reddish style that some of the Orange Pinots can show. Interestingly, this wine (as with much of the Pinnacle Series wines) drawn from the cool Gilbert rd vineyard (down the road from Bloodwood), which sits at 750-850m altitude and was described to me by another winemaker as a 'minty site' (make of that what you may) and not really suited to Pinot.

It is the 2010 Pinnacle Series Cabernet Franc ($36) which is perhaps the most widely talked about wine in this range, often considered amongst the best Francs in the country. I can certainly see why - it's an impressively varietal Cabernet Franc in a nation not known for varietal Cabernet Franc. Personally, I was a little torn by it, as I do really like the redcurrant and hedgerow nose (no cinnamon this vintage though. Just in the 2009) and that sense of freshness to the palate. What I'm not as convinced by is the minty, slightly underripe tannins, which, ultimately, make for a somewhat awkward finish to what is otherwise a wonderfully distinctive wine.

Amongst the other Ross Hill wines, I thought the 2009 Pinnacle Series Vintage Brut ($36) was a bit broad, the 2012 Pinnacle Series Sauvignon Blanc ($27) nicely textural and defined, and the 2011 Pinnacle Series Botrytis Riesling ($22) a little simple and heavily botrytised but certainly packed some some intensity.

With more fruit coming on from the high (1050m) winery vineyard soon - and the promise of new super cool some promising wines to come with it - you can just feel that this is a winery on the up. Oh, and they also grow cherries, just in case you're about in cherry season.

De Salis

I ended up at De Salis on the back of a few recommendations really, as they have almost no presence in the retail/on premise market bar a few notable Sydney restaurants (Stu at Fix St James, Emma and crew at Rockpool on George amongst them), with over 90% of sales direct through the cellar door (or mailing list).

Much of what makes this estate so successful (from both a wine quality and sales perspective), is the fervour of the people behind it. More correctly, it is the fervour of former Sydney scientific researcher Charlie Svenson, who drives the business, along with wife Loretta. It is Charlie who carries the unquenchable enthusiasm of someone with a restless scientists love of wine's permutations, with also wine-smitten Loretta also clearly helping to keep Charlie in line.

Charlie, like so many Orange vignerons, gave up on a Sydney life after catching the winemaking disease back in the 90s, with the end result of many years making wine in Sydney garages and the like, ultimately leading to the purchase of the (ideally situated) Lofty vineyard. It was not without trying to find this perfect site, with Charlie also coming close on several sites in Orange, particularly the neighbouring Forest Edge vineyard that supplies fruit to Brokenwood (although Charlie lost out there).

What excited him with the Lofty vineyard was the near perfect geography of the site - north facing, gently sloping and situated at 1050m on the northern side of Mt Canobolas, the vines planted in a basalt over limestone soil in 1993 by noted local plant man David Gartrell. While the vineyard's initial (and indeed ongoing) focus was on Cabernet Franc and Merlot, it is Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and sparkling wines that Charlie throws his soul into, a situation that leaves the vineyard's large, arguably unsuitable (in my opinion), Merlot plantings in danger of grafting in the years to come.

Following in that sentiment, it surprised me little that the best wines here were from Pinot Noir. His 2011 Lofty Pinot Noir ($65) I will officially declare to be among the finest Pinot Noir based I have ever had from NSW, the wine carrying that unmistakable lip smacking, almost fizzy acidity that Pinot Noir planted in cool sites over limestone seems to show. It's an acidity that I've only really seen in Waipara/Canterbury in New Zealand and, indeed, is also rare in Burgundy. Magical acidity that.

Beyond just acid, the reason why this wine works is all about the tinkering scientist growing the grapes and making the wine. A tinkering scientist who can't help but experiment..

That 2011 Lofy Pinot Noir is thus produced from four different clones, the grapes picked over a 3 week period with varying levels of whole bunches in the ferment, the wine treated to very long maceration times and no temperature control. The end result is a stunning, full, powerful and structured Pinot Noir that is unquestionably ripe (that altitude also tends to increase ultra-violet light exposure, helping push along ripeness) but retains delicacy. Brilliant stuff and well deserving of its multiple trophies.

Standing in the shadow of this wine is its brother, the 2011 Pinot Noir ($45) which, curiously, looked riper, heavier and a little less defined. In the context of the region its still a very good Pinot Noir but lacks the x factor structure and length of the top wine. A hard act to follow.

When I was there, Charlie spent several hours jumping over barrels in his busy apple shed winery, dragging barrel samples of all sorts of different wines, yet it was the components of his unreleased, still on lees, sparkling wine that made the most impact. A single barrel of Pinot Meunier, for example, was so arrestingly delicious that I started chiding him into releasing a single Pinot Meunier wine (bubbles or not). Given that there was a tank of fortified Orange Shiraz in the winery (which was picked at 15% potential alcohol), I wouldn't be surprised anything come out of the De Salis winery.

While they didn't quite have the same impact, the other wines in the range did showcase the site nicely (even if I remain unconvinced about the varietal suitability) with the 2011 St Em F ($42) and the 2011 St Em M ($38) (a Cab Franc and Merlot blend Bordeaux blend) both carrying some wonderful spice and beautiful tannins, even if they felt a little pointed and minty at times, the Cab Franc blend easily my pick of the two.

The only wine I really didn't fall for, in context, was the 2011 Chardonnay ($35), which looked backward and a little too lean. Chablis-esque for sure, but it did taste an awful lot more like the aforementioned sparkling base than anything else (which is always a problem when you're in a sparkling mindset)

Rounding out the range is the 2011 Fume Blanc (now sold out), a wine that is more fume than Sauvignon, built more the modern Kiwi 'hold the herbs' style than many other Orange Sauvs. Lovely texture too. I can see why it is so popular at the cellar door.

Speaking of cellar doors, I'd easily rate De Salis as the most welcoming cellar door of any that I visited, no doubt pulled along by the infectious, fanatical enthusiasm of Charlie and the welcoming nature of Loretta. Obviously I received the 'media' treatment, but even the casual visitors that turned up as we chatted (for hours. Charlie can talk. I can listen. I ask lots of questions. Charlie liked answering them) were given a personal experience.

Well worth a visit.

Swinging Bridge

The caveat for this entry is that Swinging Bridge's winemaker, Tom Ward, is a friend, so naturally I was here more to chat with him than really to be digging through the Swinging Bridge range. Indeed, I'm not even the biggest fan of some of the standard Swinging Bridge wines, with the sub $20 whites just a little one-dimensional for me to really love.

It is with the Reserve range, however, that things really start to get interesting, the 2010 Reserve Shiraz ($45) - produced from Canowindra fruit, which makes it a 'Central Ranges' Shiraz - is a welcomingly dense and firm red in a region that isn't always known for wines of generosity. It feels long, dark and concentrated without losing spice. Imagine Mudgee-like levels of extract, yet without the Mudgee mud.

Speaking of Canowindra, it is this little town, some 60km outside of Orange, where Tom calls home, with his wines sourced from his own local vineyard, as well as those of growers in Orange.

Unlike (somewhat) flashy Orange, Canowindra feels more like a sleepy country town, with a reputation more for hot air balloons than anything else (it bills itself as something of a ballooning capital). With generations of family history locally, Tom is particularly focused on making this little sleepy town a little less sleepy, with his cellar door based in a wonderful old historical general store that was setup by in the 1870s by Tom's great-great grandfather.

As for the rest of the Swinging Bridge wines, it is indeed another red that really stands out as a highlight, with Tom's unreleased 2012 Reserve Orange Pinot Noir (sourced from the Rowlee vineyard on the road back into Orange) carrying a nice balance of authentic Pinosity and flavour richness while still retaining delicacy. Tom opened this Pinot up without telling me what it was, putting it alongside a (plain awful) Tumbarumba Pinot Noir from Moppiy that looked so very bad next to this wine that it was amazing. He's (obviously) a clever man is Tom, opening up an inferior wine to compare with his. Even he didn't expect the Moppity to be that ordinary though...

With any mate you always want to give tan honest appraisal, good or bad, and I can definitely see that his reserve wines in particular are evolving nicely. Just don't tell him that (tell him I hated the wines. All of them).

Bloodwood

I'm really glad that I managed to pop into Bloodwood, as this estate is the pioneering winery in Orange, with Rhonda and Stephen Doyle so intrinsically intertwined with Orange's wine history that not talking about them is like going to the Hunter and not talking about the Tyrrell's family.

You can have a read of the Bloodwod history here, so I won't delve too much into that here. Instead, I want to talk about the Bloodwood proprietors Rhonda and Stephen Doyle themselves, for they are quite intriguing personalities (and they set the context for the wines).

On the one hand you have Rhonda, who loves textures, tastes and food, her predilection towards what to eat with the Bloodwood wines rather than any technicalities about their production, her manner genial and her imagination vivid.

In direct contrast, Stephen is gruff, grumpy and laconic, his sense of humour bone day and his wit wippet-quick. From first impressions, he seems perturbed by people, tired of the annoyances that goes with running a vineyard and winery largely on your own. Yet dig a little deeper and you can see that the dry humour reveals a similarly imaginative persona, his mannerisms seemingly bussling and angry, but belying a giving, if straight talking, personality underneath.

Indeed Stephen is something of a local mentor, having helped out half of the Orange wine industry over the years, including a stint as a local wine lecturer. He famously helped Philip Shaw to locate the right spot for his initial plantings in Orange, and even now lends advice to a range of different vignerons locally, in Mudgee and further afield. A true wine icon, if a somewhat reluctant one at that.

Ultimately, Stephen strikes me as a 'call a spade a spade and an asshole an asshole' kind of guy, a personality type that I think I can understand (as it seems very Australian). He's funny too, deadpan funny. Not all can handle this sort of humour though, with Andrew Jefford, for one, apparently unsure of how to comprehend it when he stopped by on his recent terroir study tour, leaving Rhonda to field technical questions...

On my visit I rather tested the boundaries of Stephen's personality too, as I (mistakenly. Stupid media-types!) spat out a sample of the brilliant, unbottled 2013 Bloodwood Riesling onto Stephen's freshly acid-washed, drier-than-the-Sahara, about-to-be-painted winery floor. He yelled 'you idiot, I'll be down with a hair drier all afternoon now' and looked at me with frustration. Yet, importantly, no malice, He is well used to people spitting in the wrong spot I'm guessing...

As for the wines, well, the Riesling really is one of the stars here, proclaimed - quite rightly - by Stephen as the sweetest dry Riesling around. It looks wonderfully sweet-but-dry too, a genuinely generous, yet sufficiently acidic, wine of thrust and softness. A multi-faceted wine from a multi-faceted winemaker.

Also in the whites, the 2009 Schubert Chardonnay ($32) is also an utterly delicious wine, the acidity so initially blinding and firm that it looked a little awkward until I gave it a nice big swirl. Real acidity that, the wine crafted with no malolactic fermentation and plenty of 'work' in the winery, a style that Stephen believes pre-dates the current fashion towards lean-but-worked Chardonnays. Could this be the sort of a wine that was once held up as the future of Australian Chardonnay? Stephen thinks so.

Beyond Riesling and Chardonnay, the focus here is still on the Bordeaux reds (plus the odd Pinot Noir and Shiraz), though my favourite of the reds remains a blended wine. The 2008 Maurice ($35) is something of a 'best barrels blend' containing an unspecified (Stephen was vague about proportions) blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the resultant blend much more together, mid weight and lengthy than its disparate components might suggest (though Hermitage always made its way into Bordeaux eh?).

Other than the blended wine, I did struggle somewhat with many of the other reds, the linear 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon looking a little incomplete, the straight Merlot also looking like half a wine. It wasn't until I hit the 2008 Malbec ($30) that things started to make more sense. This more generous, more mid palate driven variety looked approachable in a line of somewhat stubborn wines, it's lighter tannins helping to make it all the more drinkable. Nicely varietal it was too.

Overall it was an intriguing stop at Bloodwood, made ever more intriguing by the people themselves. Again, if you really love you're wines (and if you've made it this far down the page, I'm guessing that's an emphatic yes), then this - and De Salis - should be your two must-do stops. They're worth the appointments if you're looking for character.

Philip Shaw

The flashest cellar door, the most cleverly packaged wines, the biggest vineyard. You'd be forgiven for expecting quite generic wines at Philip Shaw, yet this stop was still entirely valid, if just to walk through the wines after so many more-boutique products. They stack up too, for a variety of reasons.

Most importantly perhaps, it is Philip Shaw were I found the best value wines on this little trip: The 2012 No. 19 Sauvignon Blanc ($25) is a very good example of the snappy, crisp, varietal, lets-beat-the-Kiwis-at-their-own-game style. The 2012 Architect Chardonnay ($20) is simply superb drinking, matching length and fruit weight with acidity, making for what I would call amongst the best sub $20 Chardonnays around (it's that good). Similarly, the 2011 Idiot Shiraz ($20) was a startlingly good, finely spiced, cool climate Shiraz and the 2012 Wire Walker Pinot Noir ($20) a perfectly executed, Pinot fruit-sweet Pinot Noir that actually tasted of Pinot.

Much of the corresponding wines in the 'Number Series' (I'm calling them that) range look at least solid too. I thought the 2012 No. 11 Chardonnay ($35) looked a bit gangly but certainly shows much future potential, with the 2011 No. 89 Shiraz ($35) looking tight, but well composed, with spicy whole bunch wildness and a certain richness to match up with it.

The only wobble with this winery? Philip's absolute belief in Bordeaux varieties. The 2010 No.5 Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) is just a one dimensional beast, its linearity not really delivering much else besides tannins and cedary varietal characters. Obviously it's billed as a long term prospect, yet I can't shake the slight astringency of the tannins and the lack of real fruit ripeness. The general sensation of 'this isn't the best variety for the site'. I wasn't enthused by the 2011 No.17 Merlot Cabernet Franc Cabernet ($25) for that matter either, it's mid-weight style just a fraction too angular and awkward looking, despite the mid palate generosity of the Merlot hit, to be really satisfying.

To be honest I'm probably nitpicking, as the quality of this range is really very high. Yet it did irk to see Merlot and Cabernet again put on a pedestal, when, as I babbled on at length about here, it just doesn't feel right (or suit climatically).

Overall verdict on Philip Shaw? A worthy stop if you want consistency. A good yang to the ying of De Salis or Bloodwood and polished wines for sure.

Orange: Time to rethink its hero red wine?

2013-06-01T03:58:00.000+10:00

Orange: Time to rethink its hero red wine?

'The region is planted to 60% red wine varieties and 40% white wine varieties - which says something about the region but also about what the national palate is drinking in the 21st century.' Orange Vignerons Association

The first part of that statement completely floored me. I'd always assumed, given my own perception of the region, that Orange was principally a white wine region, with reds a distant second.

Taken from 1050m on the side of Mt Canobolas

Instead, Orange is largely planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz (in reds), and Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in whites. Following that, it is Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc which make up the bulk of the remaining red plantings, with Riesling, Pinot Gris and an assortment of other varieties rounding out the whites.

Now, on first glance, doesn't that look like a reasonable blend of cool climate grapes, representing a typical modern Australian wine region?

Yet, after spending several days last weeks ensconced in all things Orange wine, I'm not actually convinced that the above varietal mix - and particularly the 60:40 red to white split - is truly the ideal one for Orange.

Further, I think the issue starts with that opening statement.

By stats alone, the 60/40 split of red to white wine doesn't actually represent what the 'national palate is drinking in the 21st century' at all. In fact, according, to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, Australians drink 40% white wine and 32% red wine/rose in 2012 (figures here). If you count in sparklings (given that we drink predominantly white sparklings locally), the white skew creeps up to 46% of wines consumed.

Let's call that a potential imbalance from the start.

In response to this perceived imbalance, you could argue that, climatically, Orange can support a rather wide spread of varieties, red or white, simply by the huge variations within the region itself. Orange can thus follow trends with whatever variety is fashionable.

Crucially, helping this thought along, one of the most unique features of Orange is that the regions boundaries are delimited by more than just lines on a map - it is believed to be one of the only regions in the world to be defined by altitude, with only fruit picked from vines above 600m above sea level (and located within the physical boundaries) may be considered to be from Orange (beyond that it is classed as the much less sexy 'Central Ranges').

What's more, vines are planted at anywhere between 600m and right up to almost 1100m, a spread of altitudes that offers a correspondingly broad range of different climatic conditions.

At 600m, for example, the MJT (Mean January Temperature. A well known indice used to compare wine region climates) is close to 21.5C, a figure which is comparable to the Clare Valley. At 950m in altitude, however, the MJT is more like 18.5C, which is closer to the chilly, sparkling wine and Pinot Noir country of the Macedon Ranges (I'm using figures pulled from the Belgravia website).

The variation doesn't stop with altitude either, as the Orange region also has a wide range of different soil types. Many of those soil types have been derived, in some way from the activities and erosion of Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano that the centrepiece for the region (and a tourist attraction itself).

Perhaps the most notable of these volcanic soils is the rich red, basalt origin clay loams - a particularly fertile soil type traditionally revered for orchards. Beyond this richer soil we also see more marine derived limestone, along with relatively infertile, free draining, sand, gravel and silt, with all of these soils found at varying depths throughout the region.

Further, when you also include the influence of slope and aspect, you could probably argue that just about anything could grown in Orange.

The problem with growing 'anything' in Orange, however, is that it's still a proper, occasionally marginal, cool climate region. They get snow as late as November, as just one example of how marginal Orange can be. Those fabulous red soils can be vigorous too, and the extra vigour, when coupled with consistent rainfall and humidity throughout much of the growing season, make for the perfect conditions for diseases like downy mildew and botrytis .

To combat this, Orange growers have to be particularly careful about site selection, they spray often and do things like leaf pluck and shoot thin, all in an effort to ripen grapes and keep them disease free.

Regardless, given such slightly challenging conditions, the dominance of late ripening Cabernet Sauvignon and pals as the key varieties in the region really does seem slightly perplexing, particularly given that such late season grapes are always going to be a challenge to get ripe in a cool region anyway. It's like the Orange vignerons are trying to make things hard for themselves.

You can see the challenges writ large on the wines too.

After having tasted plenty of Orange Cabernet last weekend it became incredibly obvious that all but the most vigilant vignerons had problems with ripeness levels. Green, astringent tannins and minty fruit was in abundance. More than that, too many wines traded off actual physiological ripeness for tannins and linearity, resulting in one dimensional - if finely tannic - and quite hollow wines.

Conversely, the ripe wines of the same varieties often looked light and lacked any body either, making them just as unsatisfying.

An important thing to note, however, is that I'm not condemning all Orange Cabernet/Merlot/Franc, as there are some excellent examples out there. In fact, I'll be putting up some tasting notes tomorrow of several genuinely high quality wines, all of which just reinforced the notion that Orange Cabernet and Bordeaux reds, from the right spots, can be really good.

Rather, what I'm saying is that the dominance of Cabernet et al as the hero variety(ies) of the region is just not right. It doesn't quite fit.

Shiraz, however, in the warm spots? Much more broadly appealing. Again it has to be the right spots, as there are few worse things than unripe Shiraz,yet this mid-season ripener is certainly much better suited to a cool moist climate than Cabernet. Lovely spicy wines too.

Beyond Shiraz and we end up at Pinot Noir. I must confess to never 'falling' for any Orange Pinot Noirs. Ever. I've had plenty, but never really loved any of them. Until last weekend.

Suffice to say that the best Orange Pinot Noir, from the best 'higher slopes' vineyards, are easily NSW's finest, with the top wines carrying a Pinosity only shown in 'premier' Pinot regions like Mornington or the Yarra. Mark my words, there is some good Pinot here (more to come in the tasting notes tomorrow) and they're much more palatable beasts than the equivalent Cabernet Sauvignons.

Pinot is definitely not the answer to all of the regional questions, especially given that it looks rather dry-reddish in the warmer lower vineyards. It's a string to the Orange bow.

Finally then, we end up with the true star of Orange - Chardonnay. Forget herbal Cabernet Franc or aneamic Merlot, it is Orange Chardonnay, with its blinding - but not aggressive - natural acidity that is the most distinctive and appropriate variety in the region. Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc give it a popularity nudge too, with Pinot Gris looking notably well suited.

What was most interesting to notice last weekend was the vintages available at cellar doors. In many cases the Chardonnays - regardless of price - were 2012s and had only recently been bottled (and rushed to market in many cases). Sauvignon Blancs were 2012 as well (or sold out at a few places). In direct contrast, the Bordeaux reds were typically 2010 vintage or older, often with younger Shiraz that had been pushed out earlier alongside it.

Obviously there are several of these reds that are deliberately kept back - such as Philip Shaw's No.5 Cabernet, yet still the impression was that the white wines (Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) were selling, the full bodied reds were not.

The national palate in action...

(Tune in tomorrow for a few Orange tasting notes).

Pinot-esque Grenache: Head Old Vine Grenache 2012

2013-05-30T00:09:00.005+10:00

Head Old Vine Grenache 2012 (Barossa Valley, SA)
14.5%, Screwcap, $40
Source: Sample
www.headwines.com.au

The notion that Grenache is the Pinot Noir of the Barossa continues to (re)gain steam.

I was chatting only yesterday with Marco Cirillo (of Cirillo Estate, who helped Alex Head make the earlier vintages of this very wine) about the idea that Barossa Grenache is often best expressed as a silky, mid-weight wine. Marco's old-oak matured, old-vine sourced 'Vincent' Grenache is a very apt example of the style, his 1850 Grenache in a similar vein just with more intensity.

This 2012 Head Grenache is probably the lightest, most delicate - and perhaps the most easily drinkable - Grenache to come from Alex Head yet the style (to paraphrase Alex himself) something of a tribute to the wonderfully fruit-driven, gentle Barossan Grenache of yore.

Sourced from a single vineyard in Krondorf, this was fermented with partial whole bunches (which is going to promote some carbonic maceration and give juiciness) in old oak before bottling with minimal sulphur and no fining or filtration.

It looks pure and unadulterated too, with open, mulberry fruit juiciness on nose and palate that stops before tipping into obvious sweetness. There is a sandy, candied openness to that nose which can be nothing but Grenache (in the best possible way), with the palate driven by an initial front palate hit of polished fruit, the middle silky, the finish light but fine.

Very fine actually, the palate long, effortlessly grapey and only slightly warm. It's perhaps a bit tightly wound to really show it's best, but certainly a palate of energy and drive already.

Delicate, unforced and pure - this ticks every box for good, Pinot-esque Grenache. I think I'd like just a little more weight, but the prettiness and liveliness makes this quite wonderful.

Drink: 2013-2020
Score: 18/20 93/100
Would I buy it? Yes.

Cooks Lot Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

2013-05-29T23:27:00.003+10:00

Cooks Lot Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (Orange, NSW)
13.5%., Screwcap, $19.99
Source: Sample
www.cookslot.com.au

What an atypical wine this is. Atypically generous that is, the style very fruit forward given the Orange norm. Particularly so considering that 2011 is considered to be a very cool and late vintage...

You can see that ripeness from the colour alone - it's a very bright purple. It smells slightly confected and licoricey, all bright purple berry fruits and a lavish oak edge. The sweet fruited, barely tannic, easy drinking palate is smooth, affable and gentle, finishing slightly short and pressed-off-early light.

An atypical wine - and perhaps not all that Orange like - but certainly approachable. Still missing any real regional/terroir joy though.

Drink: 2013-2018
Score: 16/20 87/100
Would I buy it? Not really.