These comps often throw up surprises, and so it was on this occasion
Do the results mean the judges had a bad day? Or do they prove our premise that there’s no relationship between quality and price in Australian wine?
This year’s outright winner of the 2013 VISY Great Australian Shiraz Challenge is Pepperjack Shiraz 2012, a commercial red made by Saltram (part of TWE) that is on regular discount for less than $20. It’s usually a great big steak and eggs Barossa Shiraz, fairly typical of the obvious reds that tend to win at wine shows because they stand out like dogs’ balls. The 2012 is only 14.5% but this line often runs into 15 or more.
Saltram Pepperjack Shiraz 2012 – $17 at Dan M’s
It opened with a lot of promise, a big plum pudding nose and sweet, spicy, slightly porty, dark chocolate fruit on the palate. Quite attractive in a big and forward kind of way. Later on, it came up a bit inky, but the opulence of the fruit kept it in its place. Made for drinking soon. Best Shiraz in Australia? Not on your life but it will please the crowds. 92 points, and it’s a BUY at this price.
The under $25 category winner of the Great Aussie Shiraz Challenge is the 2012 Ingoldby Shiraz, an even more commercial drop that rarely rises to even modest heights and is often discounted to $10 a bottle. The ultra reliable Campbell Mattinson at the Winefront gives it 88 points.
We’ll give it 89. It opened in typical fashion, with an inky Shiraz nose and a big palate that showed a touch of that McLaren Vale hardness and a hint of sour acid. It improved in the glass during the evening, showing a bit more rich, ripe red fruit, but it never looked like a gold medal candidate, let alone the second best Shiraz in Oz (and the best under $25). It’s another big red with 14.5% alcohol. It’s a BUY if you can get it for $12 – 14. $14 at Dan M’s
The Dopff au Moulin Pinot Blanc is a nice change at a nice $12 from Dan M. It’s full and round and easy on the gums, not unlike a forward Pinot Gris. Good with pork or pasta, but not enough acid here for creamy, rich dishes. Don’t keep, drink soon. 90 points. BUY
De Bortoli is a very large winemaking operation these days, producing wine under a confusing array of labels. The Deen series can offer excellent value for around $10 a bottle, but cuts across the Windy Peak label below (also $10). And why the founder of this empire graces such a cheap label is another question.
Deen De Bortoli Vat 8 Shiraz 2009 – $9 at Kemenys
A blend of fruit from nine regions, including Coonawarra, Mudgee and Heathcote, this is a soft, fruity red that’s easy enough on the gums and the pocket. Good BBQ wine but watch that 14.5%. Drink soon. It has won 3 gold medals, we cannot see how, and gets 92 from Huon Hooke. 89 points. BUY
Deen de Bortoli Vat 1 Durif 2010 – $9 at ALDI
We’re not big fans of this variety which produces blockbuster reds in Ned Kelly country. This is a medium bodied (13.5%) wine, with super-ripe fruit at the stewed prunes end of the spectrum that seems at odds with the tough, matty tannin this variety produces. Didn’t like it at all despite the 3 Trophies, 5 Gold Medals, 4 Silver Medals and 11 Bronze Medals. 87 points. Not Convinced, but we could be biased so please check it out. Ray Jordan gives it 91.
Deen de Bortoli Vat 9 Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $10.50 at Dan M’s
This is the pick of the reds under this label, maybe because it’s so young and fresh and precocious. It’s head and shoulders above its siblings, with cassis fruit that’s not overdone, better balance, line and length. Should improve for a year or two. Gets 92 from the Winefront, 91 from JH and 90 points from us. BUY.
This bottle of de Bortoli’s Windy Peak Chardonnay 2012 was nothing like the first one – disjointed and edgy, like an akward teenager, it refused to improve its behaviour over several days in the open bottle. Was this a bad bottle (Stelvin caps haven’t made those obsolete) or an example of a large commercial blend that shows serious batch variation? We were NOT CONVINCED by this example despite the $10 price tag at Dan M’s. 85 points.
I selected the 2008 Port Philip Estate Chardonnay for a birthday dinner, and it was a winner. The oak is still dominating but it’s so creamy and French that you don’t seem to mind. Hints of peaches and cashews, just the way I like it. Another year or two will see it at its peak. Bought this for less than $30 at 1st Choice some time ago.
The 2008 Teusner Avatar GSM was opened for the same occasion, and it was bigger than I recalled. A lot of interesting fruit here, and all good quality with plenty of rich ripeness but held in good balance so it should improve for a few more years. Lovely mouthful.
Cloudy Bay Pelorus NV added some sparkles to the occasion – I love this wine, but a couple of my mates find its bready, yeasty streak a bit strong. To me, it adds the complexity I look for in good local bubbles (well, across the Tasman is almost local, isn’t it? 94 points. BUY. $26.75 at Kemenys, and $150 for a six-pack at Grand Central in Brisbane.
Leeuwin Estate Prelude Cabernet Merlot 2007 – bought this for $25 at wineonline but they’ve moved onto the 2008 (same money). Winestreet still has some for $27 and 1st Choice is another choice for 50 cents more. This is a classic elegant Margaret River Cabernet Merlot with dusty notes and hints of herbs and olives, a seamless blend at or close to its drinking peak. Thank the winemakers for a gentle, subtle wine that is a great example of the style. 94 points. BUY
Ravenshead Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $13 at Kemenys
Like all the 2012 reds from Margaret River we’ve tasted so far, this is plush as a sofa and ripe as a soft plum. Don’t see a lot of backbone here, but I’m being picky with a big, soft, satisfying $13 red.
The A.C. Byrne Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2011 exhibits some of the style and balance of the 2011 vintage (better than 2010 and 2012 in our view). Big, rich and satisfying, some herbal complexity, good value. $10 at ALDI. 90 points. BUY.
The third wine in this trio from the West is the Omrah Pinot Noir 2012 from Plantagenet. It simply doesn’t deliver much wine for the money. It’s an insipid light red of no depth or appeal. The back label talks about ‘sweet cherry fruit and forest floor complexity, with a touch of cedar oak carried along a seamless silken palate.’ It’s absolute rubbish dreamt up by some PR hack in Perth who’s never been near the wine. 80 points. AVOID. $16 at Graysonline.
We had great expectation of the Knappstein handpicked Riesling 2013 after the great 2012. Sad to say, this wine is not in the same class. The fruit is good, lively and mouth-filling but the lovely long fine line of acid is missing and the wine finishes short. Gets between 92 and 94 from other reviewers but we give it 90 points. NOT CONVINCED. $16 at Dan M’s.
I have to say that some of ALDI’s cheap wines are pretty decent. The South Point Sauvignon Blanc 2013 is $5, and is just as good as the cheap Kiwis stacked up at Dan M’s and Vintage Cellars. Tropical fruit drives the wine but it finishes crisply and is recognisable as a savvy. If you need a cheap drinking white, look no further. 88 points. BUY
The NEVE Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 also offers good value in the $7 basement of savvy drinking. These aren’t great wines but they’re clean and of decent quality, and great value. 87 points. BUY.
The Second Left 2013 savvy from Adelaide Hills has already disappeared from ALDI’s website so we’ll leave it be. They warned us that some of their wines are made in smallish batches. We reviewed the Little Birdwood below in our last batch of reviews, so we’ll leave that one as well.
Madfish Gold Turtle Margaret River Chardonnay 2013 – $14 at Dan M’s.
The 2012 got some pretty good reviews, but we found it lacking in varietal expression. Still, it was a good enough wine for the money. The 2013 is not. Can’t imagine what happened here, but it’s thin and edgy and lacking fruit and charm and depth and length and any appeal really. Another pimply teenager? We can’t see this one coming good at all, it’s so disjointed. 80 points. AVOID.
Yalumba Y-series Viognier 2013 – $10.50 at Dan M’s
This is typical, rich, round, forward Y-serious Viognier. Could do with a bit more acid and a longer finish but this is the style. Drink over Christmas and over this summer. 89 points. BUY.
