Chateau Le Bourdieu 2005

The great thing about an exceptional vintage in Bordeaux like 2005 is that seemingly no matter where you look, gems are uncovered.  This wine (a blend of 50% cabernet sauvignon and 50% merlot) had an aroma of blackcurrant fruit and a touch of herbs, and a palate notable for its amazing length - more than 20 seconds by my count.  It had also had fleshy fruit on the palate, and what I would describe as a slight green peppercorn note.  A very pleasant wine, drinking well now.  88 to 89 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $33
Source: retail (http://www.bordeauxshippers.com.au)
Website: http://www.lebourdieu.fr/

Australian wine award based on terroir and consistency

I was interested to have pointed out to me (thank you to the relevant person :)) a relatively new wine award entitled the "Gramp, Hardy, Hill Smith Prize for Outstanding Wine of Provenance" that is awarded as part of the Royal Adelaide Wine Show.  I understand that the prize is given for three vintages of one wine which the judges identify as having strong regionality, consistency and a sense of place.  The winner in 2010 is the Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon from Great Southern (though I haven't tried this wine).

Though medals on bottles look good, and I understand are good for sales, I am generally not "pro" wine shows from a consumer perspective, if only because (i) there seem to be too many wine shows, (ii) with too many awards of varying currency (eg silver might be great, but not if first prize is say platinum), (iii) not all wine shows will follow the same approach, (iv) I wouldn't know the relationship between the awarding body and the candidate wineries without having to do research, (v) I wonder whether "big wines" and "safe/technical wines" are inadvertently favoured in wine show style blind line ups, and (vi) I also wonder how good the evaluations are with so many wines to review at once in what appear to be somewhat unnatural conditions compared with tasting, say, at home, in a restaurant or at a winery.  It would certainly be a task beyond me to judge dozens wines in a day and come out with conclusions I'd wish to stand by.

The Gramp, Hardy, Hill Smith Prize for Outstanding Wine of Provenance award, however, seems a step in the right direction, and I really like the idea that consistently high performing terroir wines might be recognised in this wine show going forward.   Hopefully others will follow.  For some further reading, see http://www.adelaideshowground.com.au/showground/news-and-focus-container-page-only/2010-wine-show-winners-announced.jsp and http://www.businessday.com.au/executive-style/top-drop/prize-for-a-test-of-time-20101026-171sh.html.

Hugel Riesling Alsace 2006

Hugel's riesling, usually a reliable pleasant wine, was on this occasion the victim of a faulty bottle.  This bottle of the 2006 vintage had an overwhelming aroma of burnt rubber, and I simply couldn't bring myself to drink it.

Abv: 11.5%
Price: around $30
Website: http://www.hugel.com/

Pirramimma Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2010

This wine had an aroma of almost slightly overripe pears, lychees and an apple like "core" (forgive the pun).  The palate lacks a bit of acidity and finishes a little sweet to my taste, but this simple wine is not unpleasant.  78 points.

Abv: 11%
Price: around $5
Source: sample (http://www.graysonline.com/wine)
Website: http://www.pirramimma.com.au/

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2008

This wine had a lemon like aroma, with a touch of struck match.  The palate showed evident citrus, and pleasant acidity.  83 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Price: $25 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.petaluma.com.au

Dr Loosen Riesling 2008

This wine had an aroma of lemon, citrus and a slight struck match note.  The palate was reminiscent of lemons, with good acidity, a touch of spritz, and also some residual sugar.  Pleasant.  83 points.

Abv: 11%
Price: around $20
Website: http://www.drloosen.com/

Chateau Lucas 2005

This is the type of wine I like to drink, not on special occasions, but as an everyday good quality wine, showing its terroir without a trip to the bank.  A blend of 80% merlot, and 20% cabernet sauvignon from a region outside of St Emilion, this wine had an aroma of rich ripe fruit and a palate with good length, tannins, a touch of leaf and sufficient fresh acidity.  Perhaps a bit rustic, but this is a lovely wine punching above its weight.  I suspect the ingredients are there for it to age for a few years yet as well.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $27
Source: retail (http://www.bordeauxshippers.com.au)
Website: http://www.chateaulucas.com/

Penfolds Magill Estate 1998, 2000 and 2002

I had the fortune of attending a blind vertical of Penfold's Magill Estate vintages 1998, 2000 and 2002.  Tasting across three different vintages, while there was quite some vintage variation in the wines, the high quality, length and sheer richness of the wines was a constant.

1998
Deeply coloured, with a rich, plummy aroma.  The palate revealed oak and plums and had good length.  Effortless drinking. 89 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $65-$105

2000
The aroma of this wine had a more dark cherry and herb note: the herby note not being particularly varietal; I thought it rather cabernet like (tasted blind).  The palate was rich, with plums and good length evident.  88+ points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $60-$80

2002
This wine had an aroma of dark pepper, with again, rich plums and length evident on the palate.  88 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $60-$90

Website: http://www.penfolds.com.au/brand_penfolds/wines/icon-and-luxury-range/magill-estate/index.htm

Jorgensen Hill Shiraz 2008

I found this wine initially had a rather unusual aroma, which reminded me a little of tinned tomatoes.  With time, it revealed a scent of sucrose like sweet, ripe fruit.  I struggled a bit to put my finger on the palate initially too, but dried fruits with an almost brown sugar like note came to mind.  With time, a rather thin wine was revealed with uneven piquant acidity.  I am afraid this wine is not to my taste.  50 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: around $5
Source: sample (http://www.graysonline.com/wine)
Website: http://www.winevintners.com.au

Clare Valley Estate Defender of the Faith Riesling 2009

This wine was lightly coloured, and had a lemon citrus like aroma which was varietal, and not atypical for a Clare Valley wine.  The palate was a bit plain though with a persistent spritziness, and with time in the glass, showed a rather lemon pith like note, with evident, perhaps a little rough, acidity (particularly as the wine warmed).   This is a very inexpensive wine and best drunk cold, and is probably acceptable for the price.  77 points.


Abv: 12%
Price: around $5
Source: sample (http://www.graysonline.com/wine)
Website: n/a

Alterum Shiraz 2009

This wine had an aroma of pepper, ripe plums and chalk.  The palate had a bit of length, with some plums.  In all, an intermediate type wine: neither great nor bad.  83 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $17.50
Source: retail

Alterum Chardonnay 2009

Alterum appears to be a Vintage Cellars label.  Their 2009 chardonnay initially had that tinny lower priced chardonnay note that I don't like, but then opened out to show restrained lemon and citrus characters.  The palate was a level above the aroma - really quite pleasant: some length, acidity, some oak but not much, white peaches, restrained.  Pretty good.  83 to 84 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $17.50
Source: retail

Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2010

I had to look twice at the menu: was it really a 2010 vintage wine?  In short yes, and a good one at that.  An aroma of lemon and lime, was met with a palate that was too cold at first, acidity then showed itself, then a soft lingering flavour and length with a peachy character.  With time, the length of this wine seemed to grow and grow in the glass.  A very good wine.  88 points.

Abv: 13%

Price: around $35

Source: restaurant

Website: http://www.grosset.com.au/

Chateau Tour St Bonnet 2006

I am always looking for Bordeaux between $20 and $30 that is drinking well.  This wine fit the price range.  The vintage is 2006, that I have personally found a bit hit or miss.  The wine?  An aroma of bruised red fruits, with a pleasant palate, nothing more, nothing less.  This wine rises above the sometimes dire sub $20 Bordeaux bracket, but it is pleasant, rather than good.  81 points.

Price: around $28

Source: retail

Website: http://tour.saint.bonnet.free.fr/

Araldica Flori Barolo 2005

I almost fell over when I saw the price of this Barolo: nearing $23.  Was it missing a zero?  I brazenly hoped that this was an example of catastrophic mis-pricing.  The retailer didn't seem to mind selling it to me ...  What then of the wine?  It's not bad: an aroma of earth, initial varnishy notes, dried herbs - quite aromatic really.  The palate though was a bit plain with acidity quite evident.  It did drink quite pleasantly on day 2 though.  80 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: about $23
Source: retail

Birds of a Feather Flamin Galah Shiraz 2005

Do I write up this wine?  A marriage of Hunter Valley and Langhorne Creek fruit, where both the bride and groom may be perhaps surprised to have met?  It's not meant to be fine wine at $80 for a dozen, but people buy it, so I think it's still worthwhile saying something about it.  This wine not unpleasant - a simple quaffing wine, with ripe fresh fruit flavours on the nose, and a simple easy to drink palate.  77 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $80 for 12
Website: http://www.boafwines.com.au

Hurley Garamond Pinot Noir 2004

This pinot noir had a stunning fragrance of cherries and earth.  The palate though, while it had some length, seemed a bit lacking in its depth of flavour.  Overall, pleasant and interesting, but I was hoping for a little more.  84 to 85 points.

Abv: 13.6%
Price: $55 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.hurleyvineyard.com.au/

Moss Wood Amy's Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Moss Wood have hit some form for me of late.  The 2007 Amy's is a blend of 68% cabernet sauvignon, 18% petit verdot and 14% malbec. It is very good, with an aroma of opulent black fruit, and a palate with notes of oak, butter, not bad length, tannins and a slight leafy note.  This wine will likely age for a few years.  86 to 87 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: around $30
Website: http://www.mosswood.com.au

Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico 2008

Good colour, with a plummy aroma, and a dash of sweet fragrant fruit.  A touch of merlot perhaps?  The palate had a bit of length, young tannins evident and rather opulent fruit.  Perhaps not outstanding, but certainly very easy and pleasant to drink.  85 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $40
Source: retail (Prince Wine Store)
Website: http://www.ricasoli.it/

Mazzei Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2006

I tasted this wine after it had been decanted for some time, and it was quite outstanding.  An aroma of smoky oak and plums.  A palate with good length and depth of fruit.  The price is perhaps its only problem.  90 points.

Abv: 14%
Source: retail (Prince Wine Store)
Price: $116
Website: http://www.mazzei.it/eng_143/

Grampians Estate Mafeking Shiraz 2004

I've been very happy with the batch of Grampians shiraz I purchased a couple of years ago during my last visit to the region.  On day 2, this wine had some good depth of flavour and an evident black pepper aroma, with a touch of anise and a slight baked character.  On day 1, though, it was less interesting - pepper and spice, and some length but not a lot.  The wine clearly benefited from a little oxidation.  84 points.

Abv: 14.7%

Price: about $24

Source: retail (cellar door)

Website: www.grampiansestate.com.au

Brown Brothers Tempranillo 2008

An aroma of remarkably fresh grapey fruit, with firm acidity on the palate and a touch of spritz.  Pleasant, but I think I preferred the 2004 in its youth.  82 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: around $17
Website: http://www.brownbrothers.com.au/

Local food, check. Where's the local wine?

A couple of wineries on twitter recently observed that while there is a trend towards locally sourced food, there does not seem to have been a corresponding trend torwards local wine; in fact, quite the opposite.  This observation rang rather true for me.  For example, fresh fish at a Sorrento restaurant recently was unaccompanied by a single wine offering from the Mornington Peninsula.  It seemed wrong; ill thought out.  Conversely, it seems stunningly easy now to try any number of imported wines by the glass, yet truly interesting or obscure local wines seem passed over.  This "grass is greener" method of wine offering is unlikely to be (and frankly unwanted to be - who wants to drink Australian wine in say Saumur?) reciprocated in the old world reference points.  Are we more mature for experimenting with the offer of imported and non-local wines or is this a calling card of immaturity and deference to old world dogma?  Perhaps it is simply that the local wine is not that good?  My thought is that local wines around Melbourne at least are generally that good or better, and it's mainly just not put on show.

There seem to be 5 types of wine lists in local restaurants here in Melbourne and its surrounds:

1. The "bland corporate" wine list.  This list contains largely no wines that are referable to the local area and consists of a selection of "safe" (ie generally ok, but unexciting) wines from afar: usually, from somewhere in South Australia, with perhaps a token unmemorable Rhone Valley or red Burgundy wine with a memorable mark up.

2. A "wow" list with representatives drawn from the four corners of the planet, with mark ups commensurate with perceived rather than perhaps actual quality or storage provenance in our challenging climate. 

3. A truly local list, with only local wines on offering.  This is a rare find, and for me almost daunting when confronted, due to the revelation of comparative ignorance.

4. A largely local list with wines included from the key reference points of wine of France, Germany and Italy for the curious.  A "smart" list.

5. A completely imported list, such as at The European in Melbourne.

My own preference is for a restaurant list is usually somewhere in between 3 and 4, unless I am say at a French or Italian restaurant and option 5 makes sentimental sense.  I admit I was recently a bit confronted by a truly local list put on by Gills Diner in Melbourne, where notwithstanding I know about 5% of things I need to know about wine, I was operating unsustainably at around the 1% level.

One of the highlights for me in travelling has been to try local wines, to see whether the local air, soil and joie de vivre is captured in the bottle.  It would be great if we and our restaurants could adopt some of the same approach, if only to give a chance to the many small and independent wineries possibly producing very good wines, unnoticed.

Woodstock Shiraz 2007

A typical McLaren Vale shiraz, with an aroma of pepper and spices, and a plummy palate.  Very pleasant.  86 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $22
Website: http://www.woodstockwine.com.au/

Teusner The Riebke 2009

The number of favourable reviews I have read of Teusner's wines (with a particular mention to Wine Will Eat Itself) meant that I approached my first wine of this producer with some excitement.  This entry level priced wine had an aroma of plums and herbs, with noticeable length and depth on the palate.  A very good wine.  87 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $17.10
Website: http://www.teusner.com.au/

Willow Bridge Estate Reserve Tempranillo 2004

This is one of the best tempranillos that I've tried.  A classy fragrance of black fruits is met by depth and length of fruit.  A very good wine.  It would be extremely difficult to pick this wine blind, which I mean as a compliment.  89 points.

Abv: 14%
Website: http://www.willowbridge.com.au/

Bernard Buadry Les Granges Chinon 2007

I am very partial to the wines of Chinon.  This one presented though a bit unexpectedly with an overt "barnyard" fragrance, with just a slight touch of dank that asserted itself with each glass.  Corked?  I think so, unfortunately.

Price: $30

Source: retail (Dan Murphy's)

Chateau Cotes de Gros Caillou 1998

This pleasant wine had an aroma of bramble fruit, spices and fruit, with a touch of fruit cake.  The palate was restrained but pleasant and interesting.  Drink up.  85 points.

Abv: 12.5%

Chateau de Fieuzal 1986

The 1986 of Chateau de Fieuzal was still fresh for its 24 years of age and outstanding.  An aroma of lingering blackcurrants, was strongly supported by velvety, meandering length.  Superb.  95 points.

Abv: 12%
Website: http://www.fieuzal.com/

Clonakilla Riesling 2006

I was impressed a few years ago by the ageing capacity of Clonakilla's riesling in a vertical tasting, and so have a few bottles hidden away.  I recently pulled out the 2006, and it has started to develop an attractive toasty aroma to go with its lemon/lime scent.  The palate though wasn't as interesting: quite spritzy, and it took a while for some length to show itself (partly my fault, because I like riesling slightly cooler).  Possibly this wine "is what it is", but I am hoping it just needs some more time.  84 to 85 points.

Abv: 12%

Price: around $25

Source: retail (Randalls)

Website: http://www.clonakilla.com.au/