A pretty mixed bunch this time, but never a dull moment. Some terrific Rieslings – Sons of Eden Freya Eden Valley 2012, Claymore Joshua Tree 2013 and Frogmore Creek 2013.
Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 was briefly on special at Kemenys for $25. This is one of the purest expressions you’ll find of the Cabernet variety: fragrant bouquet of dark berries with just a touch of pencil shavings oak, layers of ripe dark berries on the palate with depth and length and real finesse on the finish where mature flavours combine with the finest tannins. Medium bodied. 14%.
This wine won the trophy for best mature red at the recent National Show, and Halliday gives it 96 points. We thought it was a touch too pure and would’ve seen a bit more slate and earth complexity, so we give it 95. $30 at Kemenys. Still a bargain.
Annie’s Lane Riesling 2013. Clare Riesling on the generous side, quite forward and full-flavoured, one for enjoying while you wait for the more austere 2013s to open up. 91 points. BUY. Often on special for $10 but not today. $12 at Jim’s Cellars.
The West Cape Howe Savvy 2010 was interesting because it was still quite fresh, if not strong on SB character. It was pretty lean as a young wine, and it will live for another year or two.
Claymore Joshua Tree Riesling 2013 – $16 at Kemeny’s . Classic Clare Riesling with restraint. The lime fruit is subdued and supported by fine minerals, the mid palate will fill out and there’s terrific length. This will get better with a few years rest, and we rate it 94 points. BUY. Not sure where U2 figures in this, but the wine sings.
Frogmore Creek Riesling 2013 – $20 at Kemenys. Another terrific Riesling, a bouquet of spring flours and a body as elegant as fine-boned China. Subdued lime, some talc and minerals, great length and such finesse. Another winner. 94 points. BUY
Seppelt Drumbourg Vineyard Chardonnay 2011 – $40 at WineSellersDirect. The top chardy in Halliday’s 2013 Chardonnay Challenge, scoring 98 points. Gets 95 from the Winefront. There’s lots of interesting flavours here, lots of careful winemaking I suspect. Reg and Andy liked this better than I did. 12.5% is spot on for Riesling but not for Chardonnay.
This one is more Twiggy than Sophia Loren. Yes, I know these lean and mean cool climate chardies are all the rage with the judges and sommeliers, but I want curves and peaches and some generosity in mine. 93 points. At this price, NOT CONVINCED. I’ve been wrong before, but 98 points? Can’t see how.
This shows the pitfalls of tasting wine in line-ups. When we finally got our hands on a bottle of the O’Leary Walker Watervale Riesling 2013 – $17 at Dan M’s – it didn’t grab us. It’s quite lean and restrained with bath powder and mineral notes (hints of Eden Valley, odd that) but lacks the zippy citrus backbone of young Clare Rieslings and the depth and length to go with it. Maybe a bad bottle. 88 points, others give it more. NOT CONVINCED.
The O’Leary Walker Polish Hill 2013 is much better. Also lean and long this year, not as much fruit as usual but herbs and minerals and plenty of fine backbone to build on over time. 93. BUY. $19 at Winestar. Gets 94 from Winefront and 96 from JH.
The Pike’s Traditionale Riesling 2013 – $19 at Kemenys. 11.5% is lean even for a Riesling but this one hides it well with soft, round fruit of Teutonic overtones. Very pleasant drinking already, plenty of soft lime fruit and subdued acid, nice but I thought it lacked some bite.Top Aussie Riesling at the 2013 Canberra Riesling Challenge. 92 points, BUY. Gets 94 from Winefront.
Borsao Selección Grenache Blend 2012. A big soft, sweet, rich red to please the masses around the Barbie or the Christmas dinner table. BUY. 90 points. $11.40 at Dan M’s.
St Hallett Gamekeepers Shiraz Grenache Touriga 2012. We are becoming adventurous with our red blends, aren’t we? This one works too, it’s soft and juicy and just plain enjoyable. Bound to please all your family and friends around the Barbie over Christmas. Very similar to the Borsao above. 91 points. BUY. $11.50 at 1st Choice but sold out, $13.50 at Vintage Cellars. Often on special.
St Hallett Gamekeeper’s Shiraz 2012. We liked this one a lot less, it showed soft, ripe fruit at first but developed a hard edge on the palate over a couple of days. 86 points. NOT CONVINCED. $11.50 at Dan M’s. Please note that we’ve seen enormous bottle variation in St Hallett’s basic reds over the years, so be careful.
St Hallett Faith Shiraz 2012. After the medium-bodied gamekeepers, FAITH hits you between the eyes, puffs out its chest and flexes its biceps. Dark and dense and slow to reveal any charms, this is hairy-chested Barossa Shiraz for hairy-chested true believers. Not our glass of red. 88 points. $15 at Dan M’s.
Wither Hills Pinot Gris 2012 is one of those rich, ripe PGs that go really well with rich pork dishes. Packed with ripe pear and peach and ginger. Great antidote to all those anaemic Kiwi Savvies – enjoy over Christmas, don’t keep it too long. BUY. 91 points. $13 at McGuires Cellars.
The next two wines came about through a few missed beats. A tweet from Gary Walsh at the Winefront said how lucky we were to be able to buy not one but 2 trophy winners for less than $20. Detailed info on these wines was hard to come by, and somehow we ended up with the wrong wines: a really ordinary already browning and tired-tasting Cow Bombie 2011 Cabernet Merlot 2011 and an awful autoplonk Jacobs Creek 2013 Riesling. Please avoid both of these.
The wines Gary was talking about were
Cow Bombie Shiraz 2012 – trophy best Shiraz at the Margaret River Show. $11 at Dan’s
Eventually we got ourselves organised.
Cow Bombie Margaret River Shiraz 2012 – $11 at Dan’s. Another trophy falls off the mantelpiece, despite the cute label. Cow Bombie is the name given to one of the biggest breaks off the Margaret River coast line so perhaps it’s fitting that his is one of those big, chunky, four-square Shiraz reds that lack refinement of any kind, along with charm, interest and enjoyment. 85 points. AVOID.
The back label got me intrigued, since the address given was Cow Bombie, Siegersdorf Road, Tanunda. A quick check revealed that this is a Woolworths one label, and the wine probably made at their Dorrein winery at Tanunda. This is a useful check list: http://whomakesmywine.com.au/thelist.html
Jacob’s Creek Riesling 2012 – 2 trophies and 4 golds. $8.50 at Kemenys. As it happens, we checked this wine out a year ago and found an artful concoction, one of the finest expressions of industrial autoplonk we’ve seen. Fine enough to fool the judges, clearly, and it proves that our way of assessing wines is more reliable. More on the latest trophy: Australia’s most popular Riesling
Tatachilla Partners Cabernet Shiraz 2011 – $9.50 at Dan’s. This is vin ordinaire, I remember these wines being at least drinkable. Not this one. AVOID.
Hidden Label Central Victoria Shiraz Mourvedre 2012 – $14 at Kemenys. This is Basilisk Shiraz Mourvedre under a hidden label. Alister Purbrick of Tahbilk had a hand in this wine made by the McPherson family near Nagambie in Central Victoria. It’s a lovely soft and appealing red, ready to drink over the next year or two. 91 points. BUY
Devil’s Lair Chardonnay 2013 – $18 at Kemenys. Full nose suggesting melon and grapefruit. Still young and a touch raw on the palate, but there’s depth and length and no reason to think it won’t settle down over the next 12 months. Medium bodied. 90 points from us, 91 from the Winefront, 92 from JH. Often on discount for $15.
Petit Chablis 2011 – $16 at Dan M’s. Decent bargain if you like really delicate whites. Wet pebbles and a bit of chalk. Not a lot of depth and length here, but nice summer luncheon white with delicate seafood. 89 points from us, 89-91 from the 3 musketeers at the Winefront. Good value.
We’ve yet to be impressed by a toi toi wine despite the applealing label. This was more of the same but it was drinkable. $16 at Dan’s.
The Eagle Vale Shiraz 2007 is no longer on the shelves, and it didn’t grab us anyway. It’s a slightly spotty wine, uneven is what we mean, lots of flavour but lacking balance and cohesion.
Mountadam High Eden Chardonnay 2011 – $26 at Winestar. Not as big as the 2010 but it offers subtle hints of white peaches and cashews, and seamless integration with classy oak. Polished. 94 points from us, 96 from Halliday.
Tatachilla Pinot Grigio 2013 – $10 at Graysonline. The fruit for this wine comes from the Mornington Peninsula and the Adelaide Hills. Sadly, there isn’t much fruit since the dry PG effect has been created primarily through early picking. Not convinced. 88 points.
The Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc 2012 is still around. It’s a fresh, grassy, clean style. 90 points. $17 at Dan M’s. Not exactly a bargain.
d’Arenberg The Olive Grove Chardonnay 2012 – this looked like a good proposition for $14 at Dan M’s, but it’s all over the shop – not recognisable as Chardonnay, it comes a cross like a badly put together fruit salad. 82 points. AVOID.
The Sons of Eden Freya Eden Valley Riesling 2012 is one of the best Rieslings we’ve seen of this terrific vintage. Everything you could ask for here, in spades: wonderful ripe citrus fruit perfectly balanced by enormous energy and tensile strength. Depth and length aplenty. Almost perfect, well worth the asking price, made by Corey Ryan who did a lot to improve the wines at McWilliams in recent years. 96 points. $20 at Kemenys.
Lock & Key Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – $17 at Kemenys. Smooth Cabernet from the Hilltops region in NSW that could easily be mistaken for a Margaret River Cabernet – seductive cassis fruit, velvet smoothness and length. 91 points from us since it’s a pretty simple drink-now style but quite attractive at the price. Tyson Stelzer gives it 95, and judges gave it 2 trophies, so there you go.
Kim