We tasted a bunch of wines over in the west, but not the way we usually taste wine, so we’ve included them in our travelogue part 1 and part 2, Great Southern and Margaret River respectively.
Back home, we found a lot of samples waiting for us, a case of Mojo among them. These wines are made by Rockbare in the McLaren Vale, and it’s clearly a slick operation as the labels show. A few months back, we were impressed with the Mojo Coonawarra Cabernet 2012 which you can still buy for $13 at MyCellars– don’t ask why. Not classic Coonawarra but really good drinking for the money.
The white Mojos were a pretty consistent bunch, with the Mojo Sauvignon Blanc 2013 the least impressive. It’s a commercial style with the mandatory touch of sugar on the mid-palate. Well done but … 87 points. Not Convinced. $14 at Winestar. The Halliday camp’s 94 point score merely adds weight to our suspicions that the GOM of Oz wine has lost control of his helpers.
The Mojo Chardonnay 2012 is more convincing: it’s a round, ripe, easy-drinking commercial style, and the extra year has given it a chance to get its act together. 90 points. BUY. $16 at Boccaccio.
We liked the Mojo Pinot Gris 2012 for its restraint. It’s made from Adelaide Hills fruit, it offers hints of almonds and pears on the nose, and just enough flavour in the same spectrum. The finish is dry and clean, and this might even improve. 90+ points. BUY. $16 at Cracka.
Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2013 – $13 at 1st Choice – getting hard to find now. Yes, we’ve raved about this bargain but we like to check our bearings once in a while, and we were right so grab some as the 2014 is rolling into the shops already.
Claymore Joshua Tree Riesling 2013 – $14 at Kemenys. Another serious bargain Clare Riesling. Fresh limes and lots of finesse, restrained and long, fine acid, will improve for years. 93+ points. Bargain BUY
Thorn Clarke Sandpiper Eden Valley Riesling 2013 – $14 at Kemenys. This is good, steely Eden Valley Riesling, shy and fine-boned right now, give it time to breathe or a few years in the cellar. 93 points. BUY. Be aware that this wine is also sold under a Hidden Label for $11 at Kemenys.
West Cape Howe Styx Gully Chardonnay 2012 – $23 at Winelistaustralia (dozen only) or $30 at the winery. Styx Gully is West Cape Howe’s individual vineyard label, the top of the range. This is one of those gentle wines that sneaks up on you. Elegant, polished and seamless are the words that come to mind, gentle cashews and stone fruit, creamy mouth feel, good line and length, really classy wine. 94 points. BUY.
Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2012 – Sixty Darling Street , 02 9818 3077 sales@wineroom.com.au. This wine is closer to $30 everywhere else, and it’s worth it. Bigger than the WCH, with the oak more dominant, but will be great in a year or two. 94 points. BUY.
West Cape Howe Cape to Cape Chardonnay 2013 – $15 at Dan M’s. Good clean Chardy in the modern, elegant style. Will fill out over the next year or two. 90 points. BUY.
Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – $17 at Dan M’s. Like the 2012 better. The 2013 is a bit on the bland side, lacks bite and attitude. Not up to the usual form. Not Convinced. 88 points.
Hoddles Creek Pinot Gris 2013 – $19 at Boccaccio Cellars. Pears and apples here if you look hard enough, but a bit neutral for our liking, quite subdued. Not sure there’s enough here to love or to live on. Not nearly as convincing as the HC Chardonnay from the same year. 89 points.
St Clair Pinot Gris 2013 – $17 at Dan M’s. More of the same, despite the whole Tasman separating the two. Subdued nose, very restrained, almost neutral flavour, hints of apples and dried herbs. Should fill out a bit but Not really Convinced right now. 89 points.
Castelli Riesling 2013 – $22 at Winestreet. Made by the Diletti family at Mount Barker, this is a typical steely Great Southern Riesling offering citrus fruit and minerals, length and depth and the promise of improvement for some years. 92 points. It’s a qualified BUY because there are better Rieslings around for less money.
Macon-Villages Chameroy 2012 – $19 at Dan M’s. A taste of Burgundy at a modest price. It’s not Meursault, but it’s from a good shipper (Latour). A bit hard to get your teeth into at this stage, with the fruit in hiding. Some nuts and minerals, not unlike like a Petit Chablis with more body, good with food, will get better with a year or two. 90+ points. BUY.
Dopff au Moulin Pinot Blanc 2013 – $12 at Dan M’s. The website says 2011, but the shelves offer 2013. This is another direct Dan M import, and the best of these in years: the variety sits somewhere between an unwooded Chardy and a Pinot Gris in the flavour spectrum, and this one is full of flavour and the zest of youth. What a great drinking wine! 92 points. Bargain BUY.
Kiora Bay Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2013 (Marlborough) – $10 at ALDI (not on the website yet but probably in stores). This has good varietal expression in the drier, grass and herbs style but the finish is a bit hard and suspect. We liked the 2012 better, from memory. 86 points. Not Convinced.
Mojo Fizz Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cuvee – $16 at Winelistaustralia. These Rockbare guys are good at branding and packaging, and at picking the popular styles. This is mouth-filling rather than mouth-puckering, some richness and a hint of sweetness helping it go down easily. 89 points. It’s OK but there are much better bubbles around for a couple of dollars more.
Yalumba Y series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $10 at Dan M’s. Matthew Jukes put this in his top 100 Aussie wines, gave it 18.5 out of 20 and wondered if Yalumba had mixed its labels up on the production line. Can’t add much to that except that you won’t find a better $10 BBQ red. Rich, ripe and 9 out of 10 for drinkability. 91 points. Bargain BUY.
Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $17 at Winesellersdirect. Rich, ripe Clare Valley Cabernet with tons of ready appeal. A little more elegant than the popular Shiraz, this is a class act. Double trophy at the Clare Valley Show, and a trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards. 93 points. Bargain BUY.
Mitchell Sevenhill Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 – $25 at the winery or Dan M’s. Sevenhill is a sub-region of the Calre Valley, not a suburb of Sydney. Andrew Mitchell has been quietly making this stylish Cabernet for decades, and it’s never had the recognition it deserves. Mitchell is not one of the trendy wineries with wine writers or big city sommeliers, but Andrew and Jane just keep on making great value wines. Andrew holds these Cabernets back for 6-7 years. Both of our sources are still showing the 2006, a big, (14.5%) rich, developed red with leathery and tarry overtones, almost a Clare Valley version of a Gaja red form Northern Italy. Great food wine. The 2007 is back to the more elegant style Andrew favours, polished and restrained with cassis fruit held in tight check by fine tannins. Classy red. 94 points. BUY. If you like ‘em bigger, buy the 2006.
Thorn Clarke Sandpiper Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $14 at Dan M’s. A smooth, cool, easy-drinking Cabernet. Drinking well already but will improve for a few years. 90 points. BUY.
Thorn Clarke Sandpiper Merlot 2012 – $14 at Dan M’s. Not a great Merlot, this. Some ripe plums and mulberries but lacks varietal character, structure and finesse. 87 points. Not Convinced.
Thorn Clarke Sandpiper Shiraz 2012 – $14 at Dan M’s. A fruit bomb like so many of the 2012 Shiraz reds from the Barossa– ripe, bordering on jammy, not our style but will appeal to some. 87 points. Not Convinced.
Richard Hamilton Lot 148 Merlot 2012 – $15 at Winedirect. Much finer style than the Sandpiper, lots going on but much less obvious. The 2011 probably has the edge, despite the crook vintage. Goes to show, doesn’t it? 90 points. BUY.
Shingleback The Davey Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 – $23 at the winery. McLaren Vale.Probably because of the vintage, the wine is pretty forward. It shows some mellow fruit on the mid palate but the finish is a bit sharp. 89 points. Not Convinced.
Red Knot by Shingleback Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 – $12.50 at the winery. We didn’t like this nearly as much as the Shiraz under this label. Less generosity and fruit, touch lean and mean on the finish. 87 points. Not Convinced.
Shingleback The Davey Estate Shiraz 2011 – $23.50 at Dan M (website shows 2010 which should be better). Lots of heady aromas and flavour here, and dark fruit bordering on jammy, not the smoothest wine and the acid on the finish is at odds with the rest. 87 points Not Convinced.
Shingleback Davey Borthers Shiraz 2012 – $16 at Dan M’s. Big, ripe Shiraz with that hard, slightly bitter edge you often find in McLaren Vale, the tannins could have done with a bit more polish too. 86 points. Not Convinced.
Shingleback Haycutters Shiraz 2012 – $15 at the winery. Shingleback makes a lot of reds under different labels, and it seems the cheaper reds come out better here. This is a winner with lots of ripe fruit but held in good balance this time, and with more polish. Hard to work out but we’ll give 91 points. BUY.
I put these wines last for a reason: de Bortoli seems to be going through a bad patch. They used to deliver a lot of value in our price range but not lately. The 2013 Windy Peak Shiraz was the best of these 3 but it wasn’t as good as the 2012. More of everything here except finesse. 87 points. $10 at ALDI. Dan M still has the 2012 for $11, that‘s a better deal. The other two aren’t worth worrying about. Kim.
