We had a lot of wines to review, with the help of some generous wine friends. Among them were a bunch of Dan Murphy’s direct imports, generously supplied by the big chain to BWU$20.
The first one of these, the Domaine des Amoureux Muscadet 2012, is a different wine in every way from the whites we make here, flowery and perfumed, tasty but short on the finish. This style from the lower Loire is said to be drunk with seafood, hard to see why though. 88 points. BUY out of curiosity – $9.50 at Dan M’s.
Bourillon-Dorléans La Bourdonnerie Vouvray 2012. A much more approachable Vouvray than the Marc Bredif style that takes years to show its charms, with a mouthful of sweet, ripe fruit but plenty of the customary acid to keep it in check. 92 points. BUY. $21 at Dan M’s.
La Boheme Act One Yarra Valley Riesling 2013. The most colourful label in the de Bortoli stable, and the wine was an interesting foil to the Leo Buring. The Yarra Valley is not known for its Rieslings, and I can’t remember the last time I tasted one. A surprising amount of rich fruit here (pears and ginge), perhaps from small additions of Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. Almost sweet but held in check by a clean and tight finish. Pretty much ready to enjoy. 90 points. Not Convinced since there are better Rieslings to be had for less money – $20 at the winery.
Leo Buring Clare Valley Riesling DRY 2013. We’ve reviewed this before, and our view hasn’t changed. It’s classic Clare limes and talc, Leo Buring back on form but with more fruit than the older styles. You almost think it’s ready to drink until that acid comes in from the mid palate to the finish. Drink any time over the next 10 years. 95 points. BUY – $15 at Dan M’s, $14 at 60 Darling Street.
Abbazia Monte Oliveto Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2011. Vernaccia is the name of the grape variety, and the wine comes from the town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. The region’s reds are famous, but these whites were the first Italian wines to be awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status in 1966, and this was upgraded to Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status in 1993.
So what about the vino? I thought it was the best Pinot Gris I’ve tasted from Italy, in the drier style: all apples and pears, a fresh face and lively acid. The classic Italian white that cuts through the rich food. One of our number took it home and wrote back: ‘did the food & wine test with a simple pasta with tomato & eggplant sauce made with good olive oil. Really makes a difference and the wine works so well with it that the rating of the wine leaps several notches.’ We rate it 90 points and a BUY – $14 at Dan M’s.
Côté Mas Blanc Méditerrané 2012 . From the smart Paul Mas stable comes this fruit salad mix of Chardonnay, Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc and Grenache Blanc. Best described as a South of France spring day in a bottle. Vivacious, full of life, mouth-filling and utterly drinkable. Short on the finish but who cares? 88 points. BUY. $9.50 at Dan M’s.
Pazo Barrantes Albariño 2011. Serious white, this, made from . Fragrant with lots of herbs. Interesting layers of flavour, with some medicinal notes on the finish. Great food wine, I suspect. The website talks about an ‘enchanting white wine, serious and voluptuous, with an extraordinary bottle ageing potential.’ Fascinating. Worth trying. 90 points. $22 at Dan M’s.
Marqués de Riscal Rueda Blanco 2013. Delicate and smooth white, Verdelho without the coarseness we often see with this variety down under. High on drinkability. 90 points. BUY. $14 at Dan M’s.
Richard Hamilton Almond Grove Chardonnay 2013. A pretty big wine, with stone fruit at the core but with the oak dominant at the moment. Needs time to settle down and integrate and soften. Has the potential. 89 points. BUY. $13 at the Tasmanian Wine Centre.
Backvintage Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2012. These guys blend wines, or rather have them blended by Mike Farmilo the ex-Penfolds winemaker now on his own at Five Geese in McLaren Vale. This is a very well-made wine, finely honed and restrained. Not too fruity, not too acid. Few PGs have line and length and structure like this. 91 points. BUY – $13 at Backvintage.
Gulf Station Yarra Valley Pinot Grigio 2012. Yet another label in the de Bortoli stable, and an interesting foil to the previous wine. Once the strange perfume wears off after opening, it’s another well-structured, restrained kind of PG. Could do with a touch more flavour despite whole bunch pressing and some oak maturation. 89 points. Not quite convinced – $18 at the winery.
Hidden Label Special Reserve McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012. Huge red, a 15% heavyweight. Colour of ink, dense nose full of brooding promise, jam-packed with flavour but not jammy. All kinds of dark fruits here, with nuts and chocolate and plum pudding. Remarkably well-balanced, and will need years to show its full potential. Cant work out the maker on this one – 92 points (and not my style) BUY if you like ‘em big. $19 at Kemenys.
Shanahan’s Old Dog Shiraz 2012. Shows how much flavour you can get out of Shiraz without going over 14%. Dark fruits, lots of flavour but smooth, big but polished. Handmade by John Harris at Mitchell Harris in Ballarat from Barossa fruit. 93 points. BUY. $16 at Dan M’s. It flies off the shelves but they keep finding more of it.
Teusner Avatar 2012. We’ve been huge fans of Kym Teusner’s wines, despite their high alcohol levels (14.5%). The 2008s, 2009s and 2010s were great reds, but the 2011s reflected the tough vintage. The 2012s we’ve tried are fruit bombs – with the exception of The Gentleman Cabernet – and sadly the Avatar follows that trend. In a nutshell, it’s too simple and too obvious for a $30 wine. That was the consensus around the table.
It also developed a strange character on the second night, similar to the one that put me off the Independent Shiraz Mataro Blend. Maybe the Mataro got too ripe? 89 points. Not worth the money, even the $25 at Winestar. I should add that other reviewers gave this 95 points.
When we visited Kym’s Barossa winery last year, we felt that he’d taken on too much – too many lines and labels, many more than bear his name in fact. He told us he was even making a red for ALDI, and I asked him why. Kym just shrugged and smiled. My advice to Kym is: less is more.
Longhop Old Vine Grenache 2012. Made from fruit grown on ‘50 year old vines at Hillier along the banks of the Gawler River sited in Alluvium soils. Heading east to the foothills … our vineyard clings to thin topsoils on limestone, quartrz and occasional ironstone outcrops.’ Big, rich, heady cocktail of sweet fruit, soft as velvet in the mouth, like a plush lounge suite that you sink into. 15%. I find Grenache a bit simple on its own but many will like this. Give it time to breathe. 90 points. BUY. $17 at MyCellars. Again, the scores of other reviewers vary. Winefront – 94, JPringle – 87.
Partisan McLaren Vale Shiraz 2011 white label – This was on special at Dan M’s for $12 and curiosity got the better of me. This was a surprise from the McWilliams/Echelon camp, a medium-bodied sweet-fruited and spicy Shiraz that’s showing some developed flavours. Good food wine. High on drinkability, great with food. 91 points. BUY.
The Pepperjack Shiraz 2012 was the favourite red in our group tasting. We’ve called it poor man’s Grange before, and it showed well here with typical Barossa warmth and generosity of flavour. It’s enjoyable now but has enough grunt to improve for a few years, and it’s big and rich and affordable. In short, it will please crowds. 14.5%. 92 points. BUY – $17 at WSD.
Sadly, the Winedirect has run out of the Chalk Hill Luna Shiraz 2012 we got hold of a while back. It’s a huge McLaren Vale red (15%), full of dark fruits and pepper and spice and liquorish and allsorts and chocolate cake. Big red lovers can get the 2013 from the winery for $173 a dozen. It’s a bit ‘lighter’ than the 2012 at 14.5%.
The Sparkling Shiraz below is made by Richard Hamilton. It’s a strong, young, deep purple thing full of froth and vigour. Very enjoyable but will be better still with a bit of time in a cool, dark place. 91 points. BUY. $15 at Cracka.
Kim
