These are mostly reviews of sample sent to us by Kemenys, which coincide with a new release of its Wine Dominion Catalog. As we flagged a couple of weeks ago, the cost of buying our own samples has become an issue since Clive Palmer is not one of our sponsors. However, we tasted these wines the same way as we always do: over several days, with and without food.
The Tim Adams Riesling 2012 has much less fruit than most Clare Rieslings from that vintage (it’s less ripe at 11.5%), finer and more elegant than most. Pristine flavours of lime juice and apples on a fine acid backbone. One for Riesling lovers. 94 points. BUY. $18.50
We looked forward to trying the Roaring Meg Sauvignon Blanc 2012 from Mount Difficulty in Central Otago, but it was underwhelming. Very simple wine with mostly tropical fruit flavours, nowhere near enough on offer here for the $20 price tag. 89 points. NOT CONVINCED.
Seppelt’s Jaluka Chardonnay 2012 comes from its vineyards at Henty in southern Victoria, 300km west of Melbourne and 500km south east of Adelaide. The nearest towns are Portland and Hamilton. With bracing weather a frequent event, this is sheep country, and the sheep here are said to produce the finest wool in Australia. The wine is not in the same class, sadly. It’s not recognisable as a Chardonnay for one thing, with fruit on the grapefruit end of the spectrum and not much else to balance it. Not unlike a Semillon, really. 12% is lean for a Chardy. 88 points. NOT CONVINCED. $20
The photographer seems to have missed the Bellarmine Pemberton Chardonnay 2012 we tasted. We wouldn’t have picked this as a Chardonnay either, which is not a good omen, and the wine confirmed our initial impressions. It’s a neutral kind of wine, fresh enough and well-made enough, but essentially devoid of character and flavour. That’s a shame because we’re big fans of this small winery near Pemberton in southern Western Australia. 88 points. $18. NOT CONVINCED.
The Annie’s Lane Quelltaler Watervale Shiraz Cabernet 2010 won the Trophy for Best Red Overall in the 2011 Great Australian Red competition (run by Tyson Stelzer and Mathew Jukes every year). Showed better this time, but needed a day to really show its charms. Lots of spice here and some developed flavours already, nice balance, feels medium-bodied and hides its 14.5% well. Good with tasty food. Has won a bunch of trophies and golds as well. 93 points. BUY – $20.
The Devil’s Lair Hidden Cave 2011 is much more full-on, fruit-driven wine and enjoyable for its vibrant energy if not its finesse. Fruit is ripe and plummy with some cassis and a hint of Margaret River Olives. Big softie but will benefit from another year or two. 90 points. Borderline BUY – $17
De Bortoli Windy Peak Shiraz 2012 – this is another wine we bought, and we think it’s a pretty drinkable, forward, soft and fruity red for ten bucks. It’s won several golds but we think it’s more of a BBQ red that won’t offend anyone. That’s what this label is really about. 89 points. BUY
Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2010 – we’ve been looking forward to tasting this wine as well, given that Jeremy Oliver rates it at 96 points and the price is $18. Sadly, it’s not THAT good, but it is a lovely Shiraz in a line of good reds from this stable in recent years. Medium bodied and well-balanced, with spice and soft red fruits and enough backbone to improve for a few years. 92+ points. BUY.
The Victorians Shiraz 2012 is Chalambar’s little brother , and it’s a pretty nice wine for the money. More fruit-driven as you’d expect, medium-bodied and balanced, a lot of instant appeal here. This is a really nice drinking red for the next year or two. 90 points. $12. BUY.
Running With Bulls Tempranillo 2012 – with a cute name like that, this is bound to be a hit at inner city bistros and bottle shops. There seem to be 2 versions of this, one from Wrattonbully; this one is from the Barossa. Tempranillo is not our favourite variety, to be frank, and we’ve yet to find an Aussie version that really excites us. Tempranillo is known for its shy nose, and this one has another problem in its abrupt finish. The bit that’s left in the middle is attractive but of no great impact, and that makes it very poor value for $17. 86 points, almost an AVOID rating.
The Wolf Blass red label Shiraz Grenache 2012 is groundhog day. It’s a very similar wine to the 2010 we tried a while back, which had also won some surprising bling. Don’t know how the judges missed the whiff of chemicals and the hints of metal, the hallmarks of industrial autoplonk. As we said elsewhere, if the winemakers and marketers at TWE thought this was a good drop, they wouldn’t have put it out under their cheapest label. AVOID, even at the $8 asking price.
The InvivoSauvignon Blanc 2012 is yet another Kiwi Savvy from this vintage that lacks complexity. Almost all the 2012s do, and the result is a clean, balanced and pleasant enough white with attractive tropical fruit. Not a lot of Savvy character here, let alone gooseberry or lantana. 89 points. $13. It’s a BUY only if you like the fresh and simple style of Savvy.We’d go for the Essenze 2012 at Kemenys, for the same price.
The Tyrrells Stevens Hunter Semillon 2008 is a wonderful wine for those of us who don’t like the usual acid trip of green apples and unripe lemons. This wine has more fruit and body than usual, and already shows the softness that precedes the honey and toast phase. There’s plenty of acid to hold it together for a few years, but it’s not the intrusive acid that tears strips off your tongue. Love this wine, which will fill out more over the next 5-6 years. 95 points. BUY. $21.50 and 13 to the dozen, making it $20/ Absolute bargain.
The Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2006 is a wine we’ve tasted several times over the last year, and never liked. Again, bear in mind we’re not fond of the austere style of Hunter Semillon. This one is 7 years old yet the colour is still light brass (undeveloped). The nose suggests wet straw and wet dogs; the palate offers more straw, dry and aged this time. The wine finishes abruptly. 85 points. $17. An acquired taste perhaps but not one we’re keen to acquire. AVOID unless you like this style.
Please note that our friend Huon Hooke has asked us to stop reviewing Hunter Semillons – since we clearly don’t understand the style – but we won’t do that. We’re here to call it as we see it, and some of you wine buffs out there who weren’t raised on this Len Evans and James Halliday inspired mother’s milk may support us. That said, this wine has won a fair bit of bling, and gets 94 from JH and Tyson Stelzer, so please try it for yourselves and let us know what you think – Kemenys sell this as a Hidden Label Hunter Valley Semillon 2006 for $13, which is a bit weird but helpful.
Brokenwood Hunter Valley Semillon 2012. It’s more of the same without the wet dog and straw. There’s no fruit here to speak of (10.5%). Very clean and long and well-made but as austere as a medieval monastery. Give it 15 – 20 years before you go near it, and it may well reward your patience. Right now, we’d give it 88. $19.
What is curious is that that Huon’s score is the same as ours. Here’s what he says: Pale colour; fresh and backward. Very grassy on the nose. Crushed green leaves and green herbs. Cracked pea pods. The taste is very light, delicate and crisp with good intensity and drive, and a ramrod core of acidity. Good, albeit very much at the herbaceous end of Hunter semillon style. Alcohol: 10.5%. 88/100.
Teusner The Riebke Shiraz 2012. Third time we’ve tasted this wine over a 9-month period and we’re still not convinced. It’s a big lush red with a serious side to it, but it lacks the finesse Kym Teusner is so good at cultivating in his Barossa Shiraz. There’s a hard/rough spot on the mid-to-back palate too, which is at odds with the plush Dolly Parton side of the wine. It’s not in perfect balance and is a bit short too. 91points. That still makes it a BUY given the modest $18 price tag, but try it first.
The Deen de Bortoli 2009 Shiraz is another value label from this vast stable. We can’t improve on Campbell M’s description at Winefront: ‘Not sure how they do it, but … Flavour. Interest. Enough length. Really quite remarkable given the price. Mulberry and crushed dry spices, smoky/reductive edges, an itch of tannin and a warm, almost minerally finish.’ CM gives it 89, and we go along with that, which makes it a BUY at the asking price of $9.
Gemtree has been one of the up-and-coming wineries in McLaren Vale. The Buttery family started as grapegrowers in the eighties and began making wine in the late nineties. An injection of Chinese capital has helped things, and has allowed the family to acquire Kangarilla Road earlier this year. Gemtree is certified organic. The Uncut Shiraz 2010 is a typical sweet fruit and spice McLaren Vale Shiraz with generous flavour, 14.5% alcohol but pretty tidy manners all the same. Gets 95 from JH and 94 from HH, but just 92 points from us because it’s a pretty straightforward red of no great complexity. $18. BUY.
That’s it for this round
Kim