Helen's Hill Estate V Cabernet Blend 2004

I've tried a few of Helen's Hill cabernets (called "V" in this vintage, now seemingly just "Cabernets"), and they are usually solid, pleasant wines.  The 2004 was no exception.  An aroma of blackcurrants was met by a spicy palate, with sweet berry notes, some depth of flavour and length.  84 to 85 points.

Abv: 12.5%

Price: around $30

Website: http://www.helenshill.com.au

Fire Gully Chardonnay 2008

Fire Gully is a Pierro label.  I find that a lot of Australian chardonnays more closely resemble the Chassagne-Montrachet model, whereas I felt that this wine tended to fit more in the spicy Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault end of the spectrum.  It had an aroma of peaches, evident spices, very restrained oak, and some minerality.  The palate had somewhat restrained notes of minerals, spice and length that showed itself with time in the glass.  A pleasant wine.  Completely different to Pierro's premier offering.  84 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $25.90
Source: sample
Website: http://www.firegully.com.au

Majella Wines The Musician 2009

A blend of 57% cabernet and 43% shiraz, this well priced wine had an aroma of oak, mint and chocolate.  The palate had nice length, with good acidity.  I liked this wine.  86 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $17
Website: http://www.majellawines.com.au

Wendouree Cabernet Malbec 2008

I haven't drunk a lot of Wendouree's wines, though the reason for that seems to be omission rather than intent (although that said, they are not exactly easy to find without a website and a hard to get on mailing list).  This wine had a superb aroma of spice, herbs and lavender, and a palate with spices, plums, pepper, tannins and good structure.  A classy wine that I wish was more freely available.  90 points.

Abv: 13.8%
Price: $80
Website: None

Wirra Wirra RSW Shiraz 2001

I've not tried a lot of Wirra Wirra wines before, but this wine was both excellent and well priced.  An aroma of plums, with pepper in the backdrop, was met with a palate with substantial (20 seconds plus) length and pepper and plum notes.  A classy wine.  90 to 91 points.

Abv: 14.9%
Price: $65 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.wirrawirra.com

Fire Gully Shiraz Viognier 2008

Fire Gully wines are produced by the rather famous Pierro team in the Margaret River.  Their 2008 shiraz viognier is a blend of 91% shiraz and 9% viognier.  The aroma is appealing: notes of earth, black cherry, stewed apricots and a touch of licorice.  The palate had shortish length, apricot notes but was a bit bitter/pippy at times for my palate, with a touch of heat.  That said, it's a pleasant enough wine suitable for easy drinking.  82 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $23.90
Source: sample
Website: http://www.firegully.com.au

Zema Estate Family Selection Cabernet 2005

Zema Estate's 2005 Family Selection cabernet is a very good wine and worth seeking out.   An aroma of earth, chocolate, coffee; typical Coonawarra.  The palate had good structure, length and some opulence.  A high score: 89 points.

Greenpoint Pinot Noir Rosé 2007

I like rosé, and though in most cases it isn't perhaps worthy of the consideration given to finer wines; at its best, it is refreshing and easy to drink.  Generally, therefore, I prefer rosé in its youth.  In this spirit, this 2007 rosé had lost a little freshness.  A slightly smokey, twiggy aroma, and a palate with "shake the bottle" levels of spritz that was otherwise pleasant but just a bit plain and flat.  I drank it though, so that perhaps says something about it (or me).  80 points.


Abv: 12%
Website: http://www.domainechandon.com.au/

Blackbilly Sangiovese 2009

While I have had some good Australian sangioveses, I am not yet sold on them.  Perhaps like my experience of their Italian cousins, you must simply go, wine by wine, vintage by vintage, to try to find that superstar wine that inevitably turns up for a bargain price.  That said, I've liked some of the King Valley versions (Pizzini, Sam Miranda), and Neagles Rock in the Clare Valley.  This wine?  It had an aroma of charry, bright cherries.  The palate was a bit uneven and sharp, with some length in the background.  It was not really better on day 2.  79 points.

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

Michael Unwin Umbrella Man Sangiovese 2006

I always want to like wines from smaller producers.  This wine was a bit challenging for me though.  An aroma of  Christmas cake, raisins, and a porty like note.  Unexpected.  The palate had noticeable acidity, and was ok.  80 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $26
Website: http://www.michaelunwinwines.com.au

Chateau Magneau 2006

Another good well, priced Bordeaux (a blend of 50% merlot, 45% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc), this time from the mixed (in my view) 2006 vintage.  This wine had an aroma of black fruits with a touch of tobacco.  Typical Graves.  The palate had nice length and a certain classy depth to it.  I am not sure this wine will age for a long time, but it is excellent drinking now.  88 to 89 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Price: $30
Source: retail (http://bordeauxshippers.com.au)
Website: http://www.chateau-magneau.com

Tamburlaine Chapel Reserve Chardonnay 1999

A search of the cellar revealed this undrunk wine, a relic from earlier times when wine wasn't so much of a focus.  Storage provenance I suspect will have included a couple of summers next to a pile of CDs.  Should I bother?  Why not.  The wine?  Surprisingly, it was not entirely dead.  It was golden in colour, with a light nutty fragrance that was quite pleasant.  The palate though was a bit muted, perhaps a little fat and flat, with alcohol seemingly more there than I'd like despite it having a modest abv by Australian standards.  Past its best.  77 points.

Abv: 12.8%
Price: $29 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.tamburlaine.com.au

Penfolds Grange 2005

I tasted this wine at Langton's Classification V tasting, and for me, out of magnum, it was easily the wine of the night.  An aroma of oak and opulent fruit, was met with a palate that had length, balance and silk.  It stood above an almost incomparable line up of great wines.  All class.  99 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: around $550
Website: http://www.penfolds.com

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Moss Wood, in my humble opinion, produce one of Australia's best cabernets.   The 2007 vintage had an aroma of blackcurrant and oak.  The palate was initially a bit dull, but with time in the glass, revealed some good length and oak evident.  I'd like to taste this again (it may be better than this) but a very respectable 88 to 89 points on this tasting.

Abv: 14.5%

Price: $100

Website: http://www.mosswood.com.au

Eldridge Estate Gamay 2009

There aren't a lot of gamay based wines produced in Australia.  In fact, I struggle to name more than a couple.  The reason for this is not apparent in tasting Eldridge Estate's 2009 food friendly gamay.  An attractive aroma of taught plum skins and spice is met by a deft touch of oak, and a slight twiggy, almost hay like scent.  On the palate, similar flavours are exhibited with quite a bit of spice evident, together with some acidity.  A very enjoyable gamay that is more cru or villages than nouveau.  85 points.

Abv: 13.7%

Price: $35

Source: sample

Website: http://eldridge-estate.com.au

Jim Barry The Armagh Shiraz 2006

Jim Barry's flagship wine, The Armagh, is yet again an amazing wine.  A heady aroma of pepper and crushed spices.  The palate had length of more than 30 seconds, with tannins evident.  My only unease is that the alcohol level is higher than I would like at a bruising 15.6%, though the wine is in balance.  An outstanding wine.  95 points.

Abv: 15.6%
Price: $205

Website: http://www.jimbarry.com/

Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir 2008

At last, I was given the opportunity to taste Bass Phillip's Reserve pinot noir from south Gippsland.  I find Bass Phillip's hierarchy of wines a bit non-intuitive, but for the record, it is pinot noir (around $70), then premium pinot noir (mid $100s), then the reserve pinot noir.

This wine is by far the best pinot noir I've tasted from an Australian producer, but it is also the most expensive.  The 2008 vintage had a sappy aroma, that I can only describe as multi-layered and intriguing.  The palate had good length and depth with silky, cherry notes.  A completly intriguing, interesting and high quality wine that demands to be drunk.  95 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: around $350 (the 2009 is available at http://www.winehouse.com.au/)
Website: http://www.bassphillip.com.au/

Rymill June Traminer 2007

I always seem to come back to Rymill's Traminer dessert wines, made from 100% gewurtztraminer and late harvested in June. Their 2007 vintage had an aroma of apricot and honey dew, and a palate with nice length, some raisined notes, with lovely fresh acidity.  Very enjoyable drinking.  88 points.

Abv: 12%
Price: $18
Website: http://www.rymill.com.au

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2009

I've now been lucky enough to try several vintages of Clonakilla's shiraz viognier, and there is a certain consistency of high performance that I am noting.  To date, I am yet to try one of their wines with aged characters, but the underlying quality of the wine is high, so I see no reason why it shouldn't age, rather than just survive.  A recently tasted Vidal-Fleury 2000 Cote Rotie has left me quite excited by what the shiraz viognier blend is capable of doing with age.  But, I'll have to wait and see.

Clonakilla's 2009 vintage of their shiraz viognier had an aroma of apricots and good plummy, spiced fruit.  The palate was also plummy, with good length.  An excellent wine.  90+ points.

Abv: 14%
Price: about $100
Website: http://www.clonakilla.com.au/

Torbreck RunRig 2006

Torbreck's RunRig shiraz is not a shy wine.  The 2006 vintage, which is a blend of 97% shiraz and 3% viognier, had an aroma of raisins and good fruit.  The palate had great length, with notes of raisins and pepper, and simply lingered in the mouth for ages.  A high score since it is undeniably a good wine, but such is its richness and power, it was a bit overwhelming.  90 points.

Abv: 15%
Price: $225 (http://www.nicks.com.au)
Website: http://www.torbreck.com

Patrick T Home Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This wine had a typical Coonawarra fragrance of earth and chocolate and also some oak.  The palate was similar with good length and acidity there too.  On day 2, this wine improved considerably, exhibiting an opulence and length on the palate.  A very good wine, which I would suggest decanting for some time before drinking in view of its substantial improvement with some oxidation.  89 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $34
Website: http://www.patricktwines.com.au

Koonara Ambriel's Gift Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

I liked Koonara's 2000 vintage of this wine and so was interested to try the 2004 vintage of it.  This wine had an aroma with a touch of tomato stalk, oak and dried herbs.  The palate was great with very good length and good fruit, that I just felt like drinking.  A very good wine.  86 to 87 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $30
Website: http://www.koonara.com

Watershed Shades Merlot 2008

This wine had an aroma of ripe fruit, plum jam and dried herbs.  The palate was softly flavoured, with a bit of length.  A pleasant wine.  84 points.

Price: $16.95
Source: restaurant
Website: http://watershedwines.com.au

Yeringberg Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Yeringberg is my second favourite producer from the Yarra Valley at the moment, after Yarra Yering.  Their 2008 cabernet had an aroma of extremely bright fruit.  The palate was a little flatter, with good length, and some herbal notes.  Looking back at my notes, I preferred the 2006 giving it a very high 89 points, but this wine is still very good.  85 points.

Price: around $75
Website: http://www.yeringberg.com/

Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 1 2008

Yarra Yering continues to be my pick of producers from the Yarra Valley.  Their 2008 cabernet had an aroma of taught oak, with a touch of capsicum, reminding me initially ever so slightly of a Leeuwin Estate: a cabernet I have generally struggled with.  However, the palate shone, with layered opulence and length.  An excellent wine that I look forward to tasting again.  90 points.

Price: $75
Website: http://www.yarrayering.com

Best's Thomson Family Shiraz 2008

Best's, in my humble experience, tend to produce well priced, good wines that I feel like drinking.  This wine, their top label, is not cheap, but it is very good.  An aroma of soft herbs and plums.  The palate had notes of pepper, plums and great length.  89 points.

Price: $150
Abv: 14.4%
Website: http://www.bestswines.com

Domaine A Cabernet 2001

At last, I got to taste a wine from Domaine A in Tasmania.  This surprisingly darkly coloured wine had an aroma of dark fruits with a touch of "barnyard" and mint.  The palate had nice length, with good structure, tannins and acidity.  This is a very good wine, and really surprised me with its high quality, given the coldish climate (in a cabernet sauvignon ripening sense) that it originates from.  An excellent wine.  90 points.

Price: $95
Abv: 14.5%
Website: http://www.domaine-a.com.au/

JJ Hahn Reginald Shiraz Cabernet 2004

Perhaps not the coolest of names, but this was wine very pleasant.  An aroma of pepper and baked fruit, and a palate with nice length and notes of baked plums.  85 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Website: http://www.rolfbinder.com

Chateau La Tour de Mons 2005

Another wine from the 2005 vintage, this wine had an aroma of black fruits, and a palate with pleasant fruit and lovely length.  Very drinkable, and I personally really enjoyed this wine.  86 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: around $35

Chateau Les Clauzots 2005

This wine from the excellent 2005 vintage had a blackcurrant like aroma, with length and green peppercorns on the palate.  A very pleasant wine.  My only additional observation was that it had a rather odd, almost ornamental, seemingly plastic encased cork.  86+ points.

Price: $40
Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.chateaulesclauzots.com/

Notes from Coonawarra

Coonawarra cabernet is like pizza.  Even when it is bad, it is still pretty good.

For some reason this phrase has stuck in my head having just returned from a trip to Coonawarra.  This trip was something of a revelation, in that, while I have been there before, it is the first time I have started to "get" Coonawarra for what it is - a unique terroir producing mostly high quality cabernets with a distinctive earth, chocolate, coffee aroma and taste.  To date, I've tended to judge its cabernet wines through a Bordeaux lens - if it tastes like Bordeaux, good; if it doesn't, not so good.  Happily, I have moved on and become more open minded, evolved perhaps.

Some quick observations: 

1. Why, oh why, is there a 110km/h road through the heart of a wine region.  In Victoria, that same road would probably be 50km/h, so perhaps a sensible speed limit is 80km/h.  The trucks were fierce.

2. It was a bit unclear to me what the current Penola bypass plans were.  Surely the only logical solution would be to go as far around the famous "terra rossa" soils as possible.

3. It's a comforting region to taste in, because largely all of the producers and labels are familiar.

4. The air is intoxicatingly clean and thick. 

5. I don't think I tasted a bad cabernet, the shiraz is pretty good too and some of the top end cabernets are extremely good.

6. The cabernet merlot blends never seemed to work quite as well as the cabernet "straight" wines, though I'm not sure why that should be the case.  

7. Over the years I've had some fantastic merlot wines from Coonawarra, but it seems not to be stunningly reliable.

8. A cycling path might be an idea to humanise access to the vineyards a little (ie the nice meandering off the road, painted lines, type of bike path), but see item#1 first.

Write ups of various wines tasted to follow over the next few weeks.  My tasting notes backlog is now getting so large it risks becoming sentient.

Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet 2008

Generally, I avoid posting tasting notes where I have tasted only a smallish sample of the wine, such as what typically seems to happen at cellar doors or wine tasting events.  Conversely, I find that if I have access to the full bottle, with relatively free reign to try as much or as little as I like, then I'm usually pretty happy with the accuracy, and have fewer "what the hell was I thinking" moments when I try the wine several years later.  With that in mind, I managed to find myself at the recent Langtons Classification V tasting, with access to largely unlimited amounts of Australia's finest wines, and also managed to stay sober enough to take some notes.

The first wine tasted was Cullen's Diana Madeline 2008, a blend of 86% cabernet sauvignon and 14% merlot.  This is going to be heretical, but I shall say it.  As a drinker of a lot of Bordeaux and cabernet based wines more generally, I find Cullen good, but a bit overrated.  This wine while pleasant (an aroma of capsicum and black fruits was met with a palate with pleasant enough length), fell short of what I was hoping for given its price and reputation.  Perhaps it just needs some time.  86 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Price: $105
Website: http://www.cullenwines.com.au