As usual, an eclectic collection of fascinating wines
Wither Hills Pinot Gris 2013
Big and round and full of flavour – pears and peaches and more, a good wine with rich pork and Asian dishes. A touch more acid and length would’ve made it perfect. 91 points. BUY. $15 at Kemenys.
Wynns Coonawarra Estate Chardonnay 2013
Not a bad wine but not an exciting one. They’ve eased off the oak a bit, so it no longer dominates, but there’s still not a lot of Chardonnay flavour here. That said, the wine is pleasant enough, has polish and length and balance and was going to make a BUY at the $13 we bought for. For $17, we’re NOT CONVINCED. 89 points. $17 at Dan M’s.
Taster’s Choice Botrytis Semillon 2010
We’re always on the lookout for good value stickies, since we figure you must get tired of our longstanding recommendations for The de Bortoli Botrytis Semillon 2008 0r 2009. Sadly, this is not in the same class. It’s a simple, soft sweet wine with no obvious botrytis character or complexity. Not Convinced. 87 points. $8.50 at Dan M’s.
Wynns The Siding Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
The Winefront’s Campbell Mattinson gave this 93+ and that surprised me since he’s almost always spot on. When I opened this wine, I thought: I can see why he likes it – it’s an elegant Cabernet, a rarity from Coonawarra these days – but it seemed to lack substance and length.
For various reasons, I didn’t get back to this wine for 3 days, and the change was hard to believe. Cassis and vanilla filled the nostrils, and a rush of seductive fruit flooded the palate. The peacock had unfolded its tail and shown its full colours. The wine was still a bit short, with the fine acid backbone dropping off too early. Not perfect but perfectly enjoyable. Your friends will love this at the next barbie – just give it time to unfold. 92 points. BUY. $15 at Dan M’s.
Vinatero Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2012.
Perfect Margaret River Cabernet from a hot year – ripe, luscious fruit and hints of olive and herbs . Mouthfilling flavour with depth and length, not complex but smooth and enjoyable. Drinkability +. 92 points. BUY. $15 at ALDI.
Illuminati Ilico 2011
This is the big brother of the great little Riparosso. I expected a bit more bite and a few more herbs, and a stronger Italian accent. Not so. There’s no more complexity here, and a slightly short finish. 89 points. Not quite convinced. Go for the Rippa instead. $12.50 at Dan M’s.
Devils Ridge Block 9 Sauvignon Blanc
A decent Sauvignon Blanc form Margaret River for a decent price. Nice alternative to the cheap savvies from the shaky isles. 89 points. BUY. $10 at Kemenys.
Illuminati Riparosso 2011
Farmer Bros first discovered this little gem in the eighties, and Dan M has picked it up. It’s a perfect little pasta and pizza wine with an Italian accent, not complex but really enjoyable. From Montepulciano di Abruzzo. Enjoyable. 90 points. BUY. $9.50 at Dan M’s.
D’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original Shiraz Grenache 2010
The bedrock wine of this winery, this has been made for longer than I can remember. We’re thinking: something to look forward to, and a bargain at 2 for $30, but the wine was a letdown. The wine didn’t ‘sing’ – this is an old-fashioned term but it describes exactly what is wrong with the wine. It was blunt and subdued instead of jumping up with excitement as a McLaren Vale Shiraz Grenache form a great year should. Maybe Chester Osborne is making too many fancy wines these days? We’ve been disappointed with recent Olive Grove Chardonnays and Marsanne/Rousannes as well. 87 points. Not convinced. 2 for $30 at Vintage Cellars.
Dandelion Eden Valley Riesling 2013
Signals class and purity of style from the moment you stick your nose into the glass. Fine citrus mix with talc and minerals for great effect, and all of it happens with such finesse. Lovely line and length here, benchmark E.V. Riesling. 94+ points.
Leconfield Riesling 2013
Coonawarra Riesling doesn’t tend to show strong varietal flavours, not in the way we see it in the Clare or Eden vallies or the Barossa. That said, this is a lovely Riesling in a restrained style, dry like an aperitif right now but likely to fill out nicely over the years ahead. The wine sort of creeps up on you. 92 points. BUY. $16 at Winedirect.
Hidden Label Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2013
This is Nepenthe 2013 Sauvignon Blanc under a Hidden label, and it’s a decent enough savvy but as usual for Adelaide Hills not big on varietal character. Won a gold and scored 4/5 from Tony Love. 89 points. BUY. $12 at Kemenys.
Hidden Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
I suspect this is Leconfield Cabernet, and it fairly leaps out the glass with the rich, ripe fruit that is so typical of the 2012 vintage in South Australia. There’s a good acid backbone but it’s a bit of a head-and-shoulders wine right now, and that may not change over time. However, it’s early days – the wine needs a few years to settle down. 91 points. BUY with reservations. $18 at Kemenys.
Paracombe Holland Creek Adelaide Hills Riesling 2013
Lovely Riesling nose suggesting Eden Valley, terrific concentration of citrus fruit on the middle palate, but it lacks the line and length of the best Rieslings. Has a gold medal to its credit and scores 94 points in the 2013 Good Wine Guide, is one such Sexy Beast. 91 points. NOT QUITE CONVINCED. $20 at Winedirect.
Amberley Secret Lane Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2012
Not quite in the same class as the great 2010 but still a decent Cab Merlot. There’s the usual fruit set off by a touch of slate which comes across a touch hard at this stage. It may just need a year or two to settle down. 4 golds. 90 points. BUY. $12 at OurCellars.
Mountadam High Eden Chardonnay 2012
We had high expectations after the 2010 and 2011, and this one may be even better. Lovely flavours in the stone fruit spectrum, well-integrated French oak with that hint of apricot you sometimes see in great white Burgundies. Round and smooth, a fraction short perhaps but I’m being picky. You’d have to pay a lot more to get a better class of Chardy. 96 points. BUY. $27 at Wineonline.
Taylors Riesling 2013
The 2012 was impressive but this vintage is hollow and sharp and lacking fruit and cohesion. 83 points. AVOID. $13 at Dan M’s.
Taylors Chardonnay 2013
Clare Valley Chardonnay doesn’t show much varietal character, and this one is no exception. The oak does most of the work here, but it’s good work. It’s well done and well integrated. The result is a nutty kind of Chardonnay but an elegant one. BUY. 90 points. $13 at Dan M’s.
Taylors Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
The row of bling stuck to the label catches your eye. Even this eye trained for years to ignore such deceptive accoutrements cannot deny that the bling still registers in some way (and it was on special at $13). Sadly, the training was correct, and this turns out to be an enormous fruit bomb. It will no doubt please people who grew up on Ribena but it doesn’t do anything for us. 86 points. Give it a miss. $13 at Dan M’s.
Hidden Label McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012
This is Gemtree Shiraz. Gemtree is a biodynamic vineyard with a great reputation, but the wine was a monster, from the impenetrable colour to the huge nose to the sledgehammer palate. Not a lot of softness here, let alone subtlety or finesse. Not our kind of wine. 88 points. Avoid unless you like your reds huge. $13 at Kemenys.
Pertaringa Bonfire Block Semillon 2009
I used to love the old Quelltaler Semillons, and I was hoping for something special. It was in a way I hadn’t expected: this wine showed all the signs of a ;lot of work, from the perfjumed oak to the aged on lees complexity. Not recognisable as a Semillon up front, it would’ve been better with more simple treatment. Didn’t work for us. 87.