We shared some interesting wines with family and friends over Christmas and New Year.
Brand’s Laira Coonawarra Chardonnay 2012. This tends to be a straight, clean wine with white peach and honeydew melon characters, and a hint of cashews. Unmistakably Chardy, full-bodied but not blousy, nice, smooth and round in the mouth. 92 points. BUY. $14 at Dan M’s.
Evans and Tate Metricup Road Chardonnay 2012 is another brand owned by McWilliams, and just as clean-cut. Like all 2012s we’ve tasted from Margaret River, it is generous, forward and has a lot of fruit. Faint hints of orange here which you sometimes get in Chardonnay, but well balanced with nice line and length. 93 points. BUY. was 2 for $30 at Vintage Cellars briefly but is now $17.60
Franklin Tate Estates Margaret River Chardonnay 2013 – this is the new label of the Tates, one half of the Evans & Tates who sold out to McWilliams. Another good drinking Chardy, soft and smooth and polished, ready to go despite its relative youth. 3 in a row, and no grapefruit! 91 points. BUY. $12.30 at Dan M’s.
The chances of finding 3 good value Chardonnays in one go are pretty remote, but we hit the trifecta with this lot.
SC Pannell Tempranillo Touriga 2012. We were looking forward to trying this blend of Spanish varieties from an admired McLaren Vale maker. The elegance surprised us, a bit like a boxer reciting poetry; the flavours are interesting here,, and the wine is smooth and long, but in the end lacks what we most expect from Spanish things: charm, colour and life. Could be just us, of course – this wine has won 2 trophies. 89 points. NOT CONVINCED- $20 at MyCellars
The Purple Hands Mataro Grenache Shiraz 2012 was a bit of a letdown as well – easy on the gums and true to the varieties in the mix, but we expected more depth of flavour than it delivered. The Kalleske Clarry’s GSM (see below) put in a stronger performance. 90 points. NOT CONVINCED at this price – $23 at MyCellars.
abel’s tempest Tasmania pinot noir 2011 was a nice surprise. A rich, ripe, polished Pinot with all charm of a gigolo, good colour, body and length. Not the most complex Pinot, nor the most Burgundian, but great drinking. 92 points. BUY – $19 at Kemenys.
The Westend Pinot Noir 2012 from Tumbarumba was a pale thing by comparison, not worth wasting time on. This Riverina maker is making interesting wines from diverse places but this isn’t one of them.
We read good things about the Yalumba Old Bush Vine Grenache 2012 The folks at Yalumba talk about their wonderful ‘resource of very old, gnarled bush vines which produce low yields of Grenache.’ More here from Jancis Robinson.
We admire Yalumba and love good Grenache. This was another letdown, sadly, more sweet raspberry juice than wine. We love elegance too, but the wine tastes like a simple 10 dollar Pinot, not like old vine Grenache. Mattinson must’ve had an off day when he gave this 92. 85 points. AVOID. $17 at Winestar.
The Kalleske Clarry’s GSM 2010 is no longer around but served as a wonderful benchmark: here is real flavour, layers of it, complexity, depth and length, and all of it in what is an $18 wine. 94 points.
Kym Teusner’s The Independent 2010 was another benchmark. This 50/50 blend of Shiraz and Mataro offers wonderful sweet, spicy, earthy flavours along with good length and balance. Great drinking now and for the next 2-3 years. The 2012 is $18 at MyCellars
d”Arenberg’s The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne 2012 was another letdown: round, ripe and simple, and you’d never guess the grape varieties it’s made from. Can’t see it improve much either. 88 points, not convinced. $14.25 at Dan M’s.
Montes Classic Series Merlot 2011. What can you say about a red that offers so much smooth drinking for so little money? A red that isn’t simple prune juice but makes you think of Bordeaux? 90 points. BUY. $8.50 at Dan M’s.
The Thorn Clarke Shotfire Quartage 2009 is a wine we bought a lot of for ourselves, at $15 a bottle back when 1st Choice was still competing with Dan M. It struck us as an elegant Bordeaux blend, with ripe fruit in a medium bodied format with a fine acid/tannin backbone for keeping. Six months ago, we had a couple of bottles that showed very ripe fruit and we were worried about making a mistake.
A couple of bottles opened over Christmas were more as we expected: good drinking now, with some restraint around the fruit and some improvement left. The 2010 is not quite as complete (91-92 points), and not as cheap either – $20 at Kemenys.
The Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2013 is back on form after a very ordinary 2012. Not quite in the same class as the 2011, it’s fresh and herbaceous and full of zest. 90 points. BUY. $13 at Dan M’s.
Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2007. No idea why this is still around but grab some while you can if you like aged Rieslings. Not the most complex wine but bloody good drinking for $17 at Dan’s. 93 points. BUY. Online only.
The Arras Grand Vintage 2004 is a $60 wine a friend gave to us, and I have to say it was a disappointment. I expected more complexity, more depth and length, more interest than we found here. We preferred our benchmark, the Cloudy Bay Pelorus NV.
The 2010 Mountadam Chardonnay was everything we expected, but it’s not a showy, obvious wine. It’s one to savour, and in that sense resembles a fine white Burgundy. It’s a stylish wine that will get better for several years, and it will give much pleasure. 95 points. BUY. $29 at MyCellars
The Tyrrells Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2009 was among the samples Kemenys sent across just before Christmas, and it’s an agreeable bubbly that leans more to the fruit side of the spectrum than the bread and biscuits. Not complex but easy to enjoy. Kemenys have sold out, but there’s some left at Cellarmasters at $20.50 in a 6-pack. 90 points. NOT CONVINCED but not our style, really.
The Yealands Land Made Sauvignon Blanc 2013 is another winner, if not quite in the class of the 2012. It’s in the same style, lean and herbaceous, and it’s won several golds already. $15 at Kemenys. 91 points. BUY.
The Turkey Flat was the 2009 Grenache, and it was interesting to see how rapidly a red that was impenetrable a couple of years ago has softened to the point where it needs to be drunk. It was pleasant but not all that complex. Current vintage (2011) is $22 at Dan M’s. Haven’t tried it.
2 Rieslings of very different styles. The Dopff is austere, showing very little fruit. It’s all minerals and wet stones and acid, and will take years to fill out. 89 points. BUY if you like the lean style.
Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2012 was a terrific match with some roast chicken we had, and it proved once again the outstanding quality of our Clare Rieslings and the terrific value the Jim Barry Rieslings represent – we bought this for around $13, from memory. The 2013 is just as good (93 points) and just $14.75 at Kemenys.
By contrast, the Knappstein Hand Picked Riesling 2013 didn’t sing this year. Usually a good performer, it seemed a bit flat and dull – lacking the zip of a good Riesling. Bad bottle? Not likely, since a previous bottle was just the same. 89 points. NOT CONVINCED. $17 at Kemenys. Gary at the Winefront gives it 94, so maybe we’re missing something.
The Hidden Label Yarra Valley Pinot Gris 2013 is a de Bortoli La Boheme Act Three Pinot Gris & Friends 2013, and it’s fairly restrained for a PG. There’s good length though and potential for unfolding. The friends are small amounts of Traminer, Pinot Blanc and Riesling, so give it 6 – 12 months and have another look. 91+ points. BUY. $14 at Kemenys.
Red Claw Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2012 – Halliday talks about the seamless fusion of varietal fruit and oak here, but we thought it needed more time to fuse. He also calls it a a high quality chardonnay at a giveaway price, but we found it a little disjointed. All the ingredients are there – the stone fruit, the dry biscuits and the cashew oak – they just need a bit of time to get to know each other better. 90+ points, BUY but try first. $19 at Kemenys.
The Joseph Chromy PEPIK Chardonnay 2012 resembles the Red Claw in that it needs more time for the ingredients to work together. Still no grapefruit, but cool stone fruit here. 90+ points, BUY, $16 at McGuires (with 2 stemless Spiegelau glasses for every 3 bottles bought).
Montes Chardonnay 2012 – an Argentine direct import from Dan M’s, the 2012 also needs more time for the spicy oak to settle down and integrate better with the fruit here. Other than that, nothing to complain about for $8.50. 88 points. BUY
Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 – it’s a while since we tried this now, and it’s a really pure expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, with seductive cassis fruit and fine tannins, and great line and length. Perhaps a touch too perfect and lacking a little complexity, but we’re being picky. 95 points, BUY, $30 at Winestar.