Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2008

Given the profile of Coldstream Hills, and particularly its history of having been established (but subsequently sold to Fosters) by Australia's leading wine writer, James Halliday, it seems an omission on my part not to have previously tried these wines.  In this case, I was quite impressed with their 2008 pinot noir, finding it to have a cherry and earth aroma, with a bit of length and a supple mouthfeel.  85 points.

Price: $28.99
Abv: 14%
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.coldstreamhills.com.au/

Arras Grand Vintage Sparkling 2003

I've always felt that Australia can produce wines that are capable of being competitive (in a blind tasting) with some of the varietal blends produced in the world's classic regions, and in the case of shiraz, semillon and riesling Australian regions produce classic styles in their own right.  The apparent exception to me has always been Champagne - I have almost always found that Australian sparklings are, at their best, pleasant but fall short or have non-classic flavours such as pronounced honeyed or herbal notes.  Excitingly (for me), Arras's sparkling wine does not fit that pattern, and is a singularly impressive wine, with a complex toast and citrus aroma, and a clean palate.  An interesting, well made wine that could be mistaken for a Champagne, and shows what Australian sparkling wines can achieve.  88 points.

Price: $56.99
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.houseofarras.com.au/ (but has no content at the moment)

Garden Gully Shiraz 2005

This wine had been sitting in the cellar for a couple of years, and I couldn't remember whether to be excited about it or not.  It was exciting: an aroma of pepper, eucalyptus and red fruit, was met by a palate with really very good length/persistence.  An excellent wine - bravo.  89 points.

Price: <$30 (from memory)
Abv: 14%
Source: cellar door
Website: http://www.grampianswinemakers.com.au/garden_gully.html

Sutherland Estate Daniel's Hill Vineyard Tempranillo 2004

A meaty aroma of dark cherries, plums, oak, with a touch of anise.  The palate was chalky, resolving to cherries.  84 to 85 points.

Price: $30
Abv: 14%
Source: cellar door
Website: http://www.sutherlandestate.com.au/

Tyrrell's Moore's Creek Pinot Noir 2008

I couldn't quite work out from the label where the grapes in this wine were sourced from.  This early drinking wine had an aroma of soft cherries - not bad, but the palate had a spritzy element, and was rather dilute, flabby and non-descript.  78 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.tyrrells.com.au/

Mandala Shiraz 2006

I tasted Mandala's 2006 shiraz over 2 days.  Day 1: aroma of good quality spiced oak, with a palate of plums that fell a bit short.  83 points.  Day 2: aroma of oak, and palate that was almost too oaky to enjoy.  79 points.

Price: $22.50 (current vintage)
Abv: 13.5%
Source: cellar door
Website: http://mandalawines.com.au/

Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay 2005

I've said a few times now that the Yarra Valley tends to produce, with disarming consistency, very good chardonnay.  This wine was a bit different from the average Yarra Valley chardonnay, with an aroma of oak, stewed apples and minerals.  The length and minerality of the wine made me think, tasted blind, that I was in fact drinking white Burgundy.  A very good and interesting wine.  88 points.

Price: $35 (current vintage)
Abv: 14%
Website: http://www.innocentbystander.com.au/

Wine fraud

As a wine enthusiast, it rather saddened me reading an article by Jeni Port in today's "Epicure" section in The Age on the discovery of counterfeited Australian wines in China.  The full article doesn't seem to be online, but here is a shortened version of it: http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/top-drop/chinese-fake-it-with-counterfeits-of-australian-wines-20100823-13im7.html.  The full article also referred to counterfeit Yarra Valley wine, and the discovery in a Chinese wine retailer of "row upon row" of pristine Bordeaux from all of the great names, with uniform bottles, perfect labels and fill levels, from all of the great years (1982, 1989 etc). 

While a wine labelled as "Benfolds" would make it a fairly easy, and possibly humorous exercise, to spot the fake, I have the sinking feeling that many copies would be very hard to detect indeed and probably impossible if those responsible applied their minds to it.  And given the amounts of money involved, a lot probably have.  No doubt someone very clever will come up with a technological solution.  But in the interim, it would seem that vigilance and dealing only with trusted suppliers are the most practicable precautionary measures.

Gitton Pere et Fils Les Herses Sancerre 2005

This Sancerre wine, tasted blind, had a sweet botrytis like aroma of apricots.  The palate appeared to have some residual sugar left, with evident acidity and good length.  A most ususual sauvignon blanc from a vineyard apparently affected by botrytis.

Abv: 14.2%
Website: http://www.gitton.fr/

Peos Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Tasted blind, this wine from easy to pronounce Manjimup had an aroma of black cherries, horse, game and socks.  The palate had evident acidity, and some length.  Ok.  83 points.

Price: around $22 (for current vintage)
Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.peosestate.com.au/

Fraser Gallop Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Tasted blind, this wine had an aroma of refined oak, black fruits and a touch of mint.  It had good length, with a tinned fruit note.  Very good and recommended.   88 points.

Price: around $32
Abv: 14%
Website: http://www.frasergallopestate.com.au/

Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

This wine had a rather tinny aroma of plums and caramel, with the caramel dominating.  Oak and acidity evident on the palate.  Ok.  I know that Wynns has a very good reputation, but to be honest, so far I'm yet to see a magical release from this label.  84 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.wynns.com.au

Chateau Grand Puy Ducasse 1994

This wine was tasted blind, and there was some bottle variation.  It had an aroma of soft black fruits, twigs and a cork taint note in one of the bottles.  The palate had good length and acidity.  85 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.grandpuyducasse.fr/

Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

Tasted blind, this wine had an aroma of overt oak and boot polish.  The palate had very racy acidity, with oak evident too.  Pleasant mouth filling blackfruits sat behind.  85? points.

Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.wynns.com.au/

Fraser Gallop Estate Chardonnay 2005

This wine had a fragrance of refined oak, citrus and ripe fruits.  The palate had good length, that simply went for ages.  Quite simply a very good wine. Tasted blind, it had a more than passing resemblance to a Leeuwin Estate chardonnay.  At $30, it's a steal.  89 points.

Price: around $30 (for current vintage)
Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.frasergallopestate.com.au

Boat O'Craigo Blanc de Blanc 2006

I tasted this wine blind, and it had an aroma predominantly of apples.  The palate had a honeyed note, and a rather extravagantly good mousse, which unfortunately then disappeared after 30 seconds or so in the glass.  Quite a good effort, but not quite champagne.  84 points.

Price: $32
Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.boatocraigo.com.au

Chateau Fayau 2005

An aroma of apricots and similar palate.  This is a pleasant and good value wine from a satellite outside of Sauternes.  84 points.

Price: $16.99
Source: Nicks Wine Merchant
Abv: 14%

Grant Burge Hillcot Merlot 2008

An aroma of open knit plums, with a similar palate, but with very evident vanilla oak and sweet fruit.  Very similar to when I last tasted this wine.  84 points.

Price: $18.95
Abv: 14.5%
Website: http://www.grantburgewines.com.au/

Bannockburn Cabernet Sauvignon 1988

This is the second time I've tried this rather ancient wine in the last year from Bannockburn (one of my favourite estates, usually for their pinot noir).  It had an aroma of leaves, horse, and a sweet and sour style edge.  With time, alas, it revealed itself to be slightly corked too.  The palate, until the cork taint came to dominate, was pleasant with a bit of length remaining.  Drink up.

Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.bannockburnvineyards.com/

Chateau de Fieuzal 1989

The wine, from a good value producer in my humble opinion (Chateau de Fieuzal), had an aroma of anise, spice, dust and cork (not cork taint, but cork literally).  The palate was similar, with some quite noticeable length.  A bit past its best, but still interesting.  88 to 89 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.fieuzal.com/

Thorn Clark Sandpiper Shiraz 2008

This well priced wine had a plummy aroma that was rather "Rhone like", with a similar fruit driven (but not dense) palate, with nice length and balance.  84 points.

Abv: 15%
Price: $15
Website: http://www.thornclarkewines.com/

Vinturi Wine Aerator

In terms of susceptibility to wine accessories, I rate myself a "medium": owner of various decanters (some good, some expensive yet uncleanable), cork screws of varying abilities and a few Riedel glasses, but that's about it.  In this case, the test subject was Vinturi's "wine aerator", which is targetted as a more efficient version of a decanter. 

So did it work?  The test subject was a young Barossa shiraz (Thorn Clark Sandpiper 2008 Shiraz).  I really rather doubted there'd be any discernable difference.  The result though was pretty obvious and largely the opposite.  The "aerated" wine had a more pronounced aroma (twiggy notes seemingly removed), and the palate appeared more fruit forward and interesting.  Colour me surprised.  A second test on a youngish but structured Yarra Valley cabernet (Seville Hill 2004) yielded a similar result, though less pronounced on the palate .  Over time the differences between the aerated and non-aerated glasses did converge (as might be expected with exposure to oxygen), and I don't generally decant older wines so didn't test it on one, but this device would appear to do very quickly what it is designed to do.

Price: $65
Source: sample
Website: http://www.australiavinturi.com.au/

Prophets Pledge Cabernet Shiraz 2008

Served at a "set menu" function at a plush hotel, this simple wine had an aroma of fresh fruit and herbs, and a palate with simple fruit flavours.  Nothing technically wrong with the wine, but just not a style I particularly enjoy, and I was kind of hoping in its context for something a bit more interesting or at least local ...  78 points.

Price: I am guessing, but suspect around $15
Website: http://www.wisdomcreekwines.com.au/

Silverwood Estate Chardonnay 2007

I tasted this wine "by the glass" at a local cafe, where I was both impressed by the regionality of the wines offered by the glass, yet at the same time concerned that I spied in the distance bottles of Baron Pichon Longueville and Clerc Milon, some of my favourite wines, alarmingly stored upright in a heated and light filled room.  Aargh.

This wine was really quite good, with a classic chardonnay aroma of lemons and white peaches, and a palate with light oak and some length.  At $18, this is an absolute bargain.  85 points.

Abv: tbc
Price: $18
Source: cafe
Website: http://www.silverwoodwines.com.au/

Seville Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

I purchased this wine a year or so ago from the cellar door, where I had the opportunity to try a few merlot grapes as they came in from harvest.  Wow, they were good - sweet, yet not cloying.  This review though is of their 2004 cabernet sauvignon.  The aroma of the wine had a certain porty richness to it, with background notes of eucalyptus, taught oak and mint (but only a touch).  The palate was similar, with some length.  I probably opened this wine a bit early.  Tasted the next day, the wine was very good, in balance, and the length seemed to have increased.  85 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $25
Source: cellar door
Website: http://www.sevillehill.com.au/

Capel Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Capel Vale's 2000 cabernet had a rather austere nose of restrained oak and black fruits.  The palate was similar, with some acidity present.  Not bad, but perhaps a bit tough going.  82 points.

Price: around $25
Abv: 14%
Website: http://www.capelvale.com/

Murdock Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 Take 2

I have a few bottles of this wine left and showered it with praise in January.  My fear was that my judgement may have been influenced by its context: a rambling barbeque with friends, many wines, the height of summer ...  But no, tasting it again this week in the depths of a rainy winter (will the dams ever be full?), my comment was "still great" and still 97 points.

Price: $35 to $55
Source: cellar door
Abv: 13.5%
Website: didn't seem to work

Jim Barry Clare Red Shiraz Cabernet 2006

Near black in colour, this wine had an aroma of baked fruit, and anise, with a wiff of alcohol.  On the palate, acidity burst out of the glass, perhaps a bit too strongly.  It then settled down to reveal some pleasant fruit and some length.  I really like Jim Barry's wines, finding them well made, and even better, well priced.  I particularly enjoyed the fact that in the previous summer, Jim Barry's premier label, "The Armagh", was available for tasting at their cellar door, without fanfare and to all comers.  This wine though, I felt, didn't meet my high expectations of this producer.  80 points.

Price: around $20
Abv: 14.5%
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.jimbarry.com

Chateau Haut-Madrac 2006

Oak on the nose.  The palate showed rather powdery tannins, an obvious vanilla oak flavour, and tended towards bitterness.  The wine was however better on the second day, presenting rather more roundly.  79 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $24
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)

Scotchmans Hill Pinot Noir 2008

A deeply coloured pinot noir, with an aroma of cherries and dried herbs.  The palate had some flavour, with notes of cherries, some tannins, and rolling acidity.  84+ points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $24.90
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.scotchmanshill.com.au

Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2004

The 2004 "museum release" of this well known label revealed an aroma of oak and plums, and a plummy palate with good length.  Frankly, it's a very good wine, and cheap for the price.  It is made in a "Penfolds style". 86 to 87 points.

Price: $19.90
Abv: 13%
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.greatwestern.com.au/

Oakridge Over the Shoulder Pinot Noir 2009

From the extremely difficult and tragic 2009 Yarra Valley vintage, this pinot noir had an aroma of sweet cherries and oak.  I also wrote down "botrytis?".  The palate was very plain, with a slight herbal note and a viscous texture.  78 points.

Abv: 12%
Price: $14.90
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.oakridgewines.com.au/

Stonier Pinot Noir 2008

An attractive aroma of cherries, crushed rocks and graphite.  A palate with nice balance, but I noted a slight bitterness and a slightly plain flavour.  82 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $20.95
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.stoniers.com.au/

Mount Langi Ghiran Billi Billi Shiraz 2007

Another enjoyable, well priced Billi Billi shiraz.  The 2007 had an aroma of light pepper and eucalyptus, and the palate was similar, with a bit of length.  An early and easy drinking bargain at around $13.  84 to 85 points.

Price: $12.90
Abv: 14.5%
Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)
Website: http://www.langi.com.au/