It was a good week for bargains, red and white
BUY
I’m using 100 point scores for a change, see how you like it.
Thorn-Clarke Shotfire 2010 Barossa Cabernet Sauvigon 56% Shiraz 44% – $20 at Kemenys
What a label! Germans will love the precision here. The wine is a big, rich Barossa red that serves up ripe dark berries on a bed of polished French and American oak, all held in check with tight acid and fine tannins. Lots of complexity, depth of flavour, and good length. $14.5. 94 points.
At the Great Australian Red Competition 2012, this wine was the overall winner, beating a fancied field of reds many times its price.
· Trophy – 2012 Great Australian Red – Overall winner
· Trophy – 2012 Great Australian Red – Best Wine $20-$50
· Gold at 2012 Concours Mondial
· Gold at 2012 Shanghai International Wine Challenge
· Gold at Barossa Wine Show 2011
Amberley Secret Lane Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2011 – $13 at Kemenys
Not quite the same bargain as the 2010, but still an attractive, soft, medium-bodied, Margaret River Cabernet Merlot. Very easy on the gums, and on the pocket. 14%. 92 points.
Evans and Tate Metricup Road Margaret River Chardonnay 2010 – $15 at Dan M’s
Old-fashioned Chardy with ripe fruit in the apricot spectrum (you see this in white Burgundies occasionally) and spicy oak. Not the smoothest of performers, but good with food, and good value if you like the style. $13%. 91 points.
O’Leary Walker Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 – $20 at 1st Choice
This is a Clare Cabernet with everything going for it: layers of cassis and dark berries and pencil shavings wrapped in a big but tight structure. It has depth and length and years ahead of it. Great now with steak, hard to put down even on its own. It’s also becoming hard to get hold of so grab some while you can. I like this even better than the Shotfire. $14.5%, 95 points.
Pewsey Vale Museum Release The Contours Riesling 2007 – $23 at Dan M’s
Made from a special patch of the oldest vines on the 50-year old vineyard, this is worth checking out. There’s an extra depth of flavour compared to the excellent standard 2007 PV, but it’s hardly showing any hints of its age. Clearly has a long way to go. I like it a lot but I prefer the standard 2006 which Dan M’s sold last year for $20. I should’ve taken my own advice and backed up the ute. 12.5%. 95 points.
Xanadu Chardonnay 2009, Margaret River – $22 at 1st Choice
This is put together like a more expensive wine, with barrel ferment and complex yeast characters. Interesting layers of flavour but not big and buttery, more savoury, great with food. 13.2%. 93 points.
Diamond Valley Blue Label Chardonnay 2010 – $18 at Dan M’s
Not as complex as the Xanadu or as robust as the Evans and Tate. Finer, smoother and rounder, it slips down the hatch with great ease. Well integrated, polished, with neither fruit nor oak dominating the partnership. 13%. 92 points.
Plantagenet Riesling 2012, Mount Barker – $19 at MyCellars, $20 at 1st Choice
This is a change from the South Australian Rieslings we’re so fond of. More apples and green pears than limes, more minerals than bath powder. A hint of sweet fruit on the mid palate, followed by minerals and slate, all held together by a long, steely acid backbone. Wound tight like a new rope but should soften with a few years in bottle. 12.5%. 94 points.
Hidden Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 – $18 at Kemenys
This is Leconfield under a hidden label, and almost $10 cheaper incognito. I was a little less taken with this than I was 6 months ago. There’s lovely fruit and fine oak, elegance and length here despite the 14.5%, but a little less depth and density than the Shotfire and O’Leary Walker offer. Still a good BUY at $18, don’t get me wrong. 93 points.
Brookland Valley Estate Verse 1 Cabernet Merlot 2011 – was $9 at Dan M’s
Elegant, classy, fruit-driven, medium bodied, long and clean line. Phenomenal value, perfect BBQ, pasta or pizza red. Margaret River at a Riverine price. I had this open for almost a week, and it was still drinking well – either it’s a synthetic wine or it’s bloody well made. 92 points
Maverick Twins Cabernet Bordeaux Bland 2008
Maverick is a small winery in the Barossa that ‘handcrafts’ small quantities of red and white wine. Ron Brown, Jeremy Vogler and Adrian Bell own four vineyards in the Eden Valley and Barossa Valleys, with vines that are 40 to 140 years old.
This wine is a classic blend of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. There are blackberry and plum fruits here, supported by fine oak in the background. It’s a polished act with a lot of flavour and depth, but uncommon finesse for wines from this region. Terrific poise. 14%. $25 at Mosman Cellars, more at Winemakers Choice which stocks the full range. 95 points
It’s called Twins, and there is another wine in the range: a Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2009. This has a different flavour spectrum as you’d expect, and I find the polish doesn’t sit quite as well here. I prefer a bit more mongrel in my GSMs but this wine will appeal to those who prefer a medium bodied, refined kind of style. $23 at Dan M’s. 92 points
Not Convinced
A small group this week. The Shotfire’s little brother, the $15 Thorn Clarke Terra Barossa Shiraz Cabernet 2010 , won the under $20 group at the Great Aussie red comp, producing a rare double win by a single winery. There’s a family resemblance here but I found the little guy a bit clumsy and rough around the edges compared to big brother, so I’d suggest forking out the extra 5 bucks. 90 points
Chateau Tanunda Chorus Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2011– $13 at Dan M’s
This winery is a pillar of the Barossa Valley’s history, which fell out of various corporate raids and has now been restored by the Geber family. Wines are made along traditional and natural lines, and the Chorus range is the bottom end so to speak. I have to say it didn’t really sing for me – it’s fairly typical big-flavoured GSM but leaning a bit toward the hot pepper and spice side for my liking. Still, not bad value. $14. 89 points
The Fire Block Watervale Dry Riesling 2008 is a wine I picked up from Mosman Cellars for $15, apparently a one-off due to a cancelled export order. It started with a promising aged Riesling nose which carried on to the palate, but the finish is a fairly abrupt muddle. 12%, 89 points.
No wines to AVOID this week, a first