Glaetzer Bishop Shiraz 2006

I though it wise to check in on how Glaetzer's 2006 Bishop shiraz is ageing.  I am happy to report that this remains an excellent wine: quite a peppery aroma, with plums, and a palate which doesn't overpower - it is almost elegant in its restraint, yet has 20 seconds plus of length.  Still good, still a bargain.  90 points.

Abv: 14.5%

Price: around $30

Website: http://www.glaetzer.com

Sarget de Gruaud Larose 2007

This is the second wine of Gruaud Larose of cru classe fame, so it came with a little expectation.  An aroma of oak and tobacco, was met on the palate by a lighter style of wine, with rather simple fruit and tobacco flavours coming through.  While it did seem true to its St Julien terroir, this is a fairly plain wine; another victim of a mediocre vintage.  81 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Price: $40
Website: http://www.gruaud-larose.com/

Chapoutier Rasteau Cotes du Rhone Villages 2008

Chapoutier's Rasteau Cotes du Rhone Villages 2008 had an aroma of lavender, spices and plums.  The palate had some length and liqueur notes.  It was however perhaps a bit raw with alcohol evident.  Nonetheless, pretty good.  83 to 84 points.

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

Chateau Potensac 2007

This is the fourth 2007 Bordeaux that I've tried now, and so far, I see little need to purchase any more wines from this vintage - the subjects so far have been both too expensive (buying them here in Australia), and below par in terms of quality.  Chateau Potensac is a wine that I've followed for quite a few years, having tried their 1986, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and now their 2007.  Potensac is an excellent wine that is usually well priced too.  In short, I am a fan.  Their 2007 though, while not bad by any means, is the least impressive Potensac vintage I've tasted.  The aroma is of classic blackcurrants, with a peppery note.  The palate though, while pleasant, is short.  82 points.

Price: $48

Penfolds Grange 1976

Well, back online after a wine post, but not wine, free Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I feel extremely fortunate to have tried an Australian wine of this calibre.  According to Langton's guide to Grange, the 1976 is a blend of 89% shiraz, and 11% cabernet sauvignon, with its fruit sourced from the Kalimna Vineyard (Barossa Valley), Barossa Valley and Magill Estate/Modbury Vineyard (Adelaide) .  The colour was still a deep red, that could easily be mistaken for a younger wine were it tasted blind.  (For the record, though I like the discipline of blind tasting normally, I think it would have been a shame to taste an emotive and old wine such as this in clinical blind conditions.)  The 1976 Grange had a superb, outstanding aroma: crushed rocks, plums, Christmas cake, black olives and leather.  I inhaled it softly for at least 5 minutes before drinking.  The palate had length that simply lasted for ages, and a really quite pronounced leathery, earthy taste.  Simply superb, and the wine has a few years left in it yet.  100 points.

Abv: 13.9%
Website: http://www.penfolds.com.au/brand_penfolds/wines/icon-and-luxury-range/grange/index.htm

Chateau Tour du Haut Moulin 2001

This wine is a bargain.  An aroma of ripe black fruits, and a palate with excellent lingering length and black fruits.  A very enjoyable wine.  90 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $39
Source: http://www.bordeauxshippers.com.au

Patrick Estate Shiraz 2005

Wrattonbully just doesn't roll off the tongue does it?  It's very close to Coonawarra, and straddles the South Australian and Victorian border, in that remote part of the world.  I'd be interested to know how it's going as a GI.  Does it sell?  Does it get recognition?  Perhaps the French get this right with their frequent use of hybrid appellation names - something like a "surrounds of Coonawarra" seems somewhat easier for the consumer weighed down with choice.

Anyway, rant aside, what then of Patrick's 2005 shiraz?  It's a wine in two parts - pre and post oxidation.  Pre, the wine had a soft aroma of plums, oaks and spice, and some soft length on the palate, lacking a bit of depth.  Generally ok I thought, but a bit expensive for what you got.  With about an hour in the glass, the wine transformed itself seemingly adding layers of depth to the palate, and presented really quite well.  Definitely a candidate for decanting and not for snap judgement.  83 to 85 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $26
Website: http://www.patrickofcoonawarra.com.au

Craiglee Shiraz 2007

Craiglee is an excellent producer from (just) outside of Melbourne's north-western suburbs.  Their 2007 vintage had a briny, peppery aroma, and a plums and trademark pepper on the palate.  Perhaps not amazing this year, but nonetheless, very enjoyable and drinkable.  84 to 85 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $50
Website: http://www.craiglee.com.au/

Chateau Beau-Site 2007

Always a solid to good producer, Chateau Beau-Site's 2007 cabernet blend had an aroma of taught oak and blackcurrants, with a pleasant palate with a touch of herbs and cedar.  Easy drinking, but a little expensive for this vintage.  84 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $40
Website: http://www.borie-manoux.com

Lake George Chardonnay 2008

This chardonnay, my first chardonnay from the Canberra region, had an aroma of citrus and spice, but a touch of shrillness.  The palate was citrus dominated, but a little dilute and lacking in flavour.  77 points.

Price: $27
Website: http://www.lakegeorgewinery.com.au

Chateau Citran 2007

2007 is generally regarded as a tough vintage in Bordeaux, that was over-priced on release.  Prices have since corrected overseas, but in Australia, we seem (as usual?) to have missed this correction judging by my own ad hoc look at retail prices for these new releases.  Chateau Citran, always a good solid producer, in 2007 is a blend of 50% cabernet and 50% merlot.  It had a quite pleasant aroma of blackcurrants, with some woody/cedar notes too.  The palate was similar, with some tannins and not a lot of length, though the wine overall was pleasant and easy to drink.  Would have been great were it $10 cheaper.  83 to 84 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $35
Website: http://www.citran.com

Jim Barry Three Little Pigs Shiraz Cabernet Malbec 2004

As well as a great label, this wine is great value.  An aroma of ripe plums, spice and anise.  There's some depth, some length and richness on the palate, with plums and spices dominating.  Really quite good for the price.  86 points.

Price: around $19
Abv: 14.5%
Website: http://www.jimbarry.com

Bellvale Pinot Noir 2007

Bellvale's 2007 Gippsland pinot noir had an aroma of quite pungent cherries, which was initially very attractive, but with time in the glass revealed a baked character.  The palate had some plum notes, but also a burnt/smoky flavour that I struggled with.  James Halliday appears to have given it a 94.  78 points.

Abv: 12.5%

Price: $35

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

Port Phillip Estate Quartier Arneis 2010

You don't see a lot of arneis in Australia.  On my first tasting, I was not particularly pleased with it, and described it as follows:

this wine's aroma was marred by a quite strong, unattractive sulphury, struck-match aroma.  The palate was fairly bland - I can only call it as a fairly neutral white wine type of flavour - perhaps pear like is a fair call.  It could have been an off bottle, but reading the winery's own tasting notes, they refer to struck match too, so maybe not.  78 points.

My second tasting of the wine showed my first tasting to have been of an off bottle.  This wine had medium intensity aroma of lemon pith, struck match and a minerality to it.  On the palate, the wine showed lemon pith, lemony length and was quite lively, with a pang of flavour that is not dissimilar to that which I sometimes taste in biodynamic wines.  85 points.


Price: $26
Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.portphillipestate.com.au
Tasted: December 2010, January 2012

Rymill mc2 2006 Coonawarra Wine Review

Rymill's mc2 is a Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.  The 2006 vintage had an aroma of spices, oak, chocolate and earth.  The palate was balanced in an easy drinking style with some firm acidity.  A good value drop.  83 to 84 points.

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

Domaine Bizot Les Jachees Vosne-Romanee 2006

This pinot noir, tasted in a line up of Burgundies, had a brilliant aroma of cherries, and a palate with great fruit, evident cherries, spices and length.  It was the clear stand-out of an otherwise very impressive bracket.  Of course, being Burgundy, I'm not sure exactly where it can be found or what price it reasonably should be, but it is one of the better Vosne Romanee's that I have tried to date and definitely worth seeking out: it is not a Burgundy that will disappoint.  90 points.

Abv: 12.5%

Chateau Latour 1997

Life definitely could be worse than sitting down to any bottle of Chateau Latour.  Upon sniffing the long cork, it was immediately apparent that this wine would be brilliant.  The 1997 had an aroma of blackcurrants and spices which settled down to an amazing pencil box fragrance, that simply wafted across the glass.  The palate had length, length and more length - the type that fills the entire mouth, yet doesn't overpower it.  Just right.  Tannins were still evident, showing this wine has many years left in it.  The delicious blackcurrants on the palate also seemed to melt in the mouth - almost in a Belgian chocolate kind of way, which is not a quality I've encountered in a wine before.  So everything was just right, seemingly somehow designed with my personal preferences in mind.  I'd give it an even higher score if I wasn't aware that there are many more fabled vintages than the modest 1997.  My theory of stick to good wine producers in average vintages in Bordeaux certainly holds true for this wine.  100 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: around $300
Website: http://www.chateau-latour.com

Mount Mary Chardonnay 1999

I tasted this wine blind, and it had a pungent sweetness, with notes of white peaches, almonds, talc and minerals. On the palate, there was a lingering buttery length.  87 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $100
Website: http://www.mountmary.com.au/

Glaetzer Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz 2008

Glaetzer, like Teusner, largely don't seem to produce a bad wine.  The 2008 Directors' Cut is another success: an aroma of pepper, plums and chocolate, with trademark intensity.  The palate was very rich, powerful (I wrote "full on") and curranty.  89 to 90 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: around $30
Website: http://www.heartlandwines.com.au

Clover Hill Sparkling 2006

Clover Hill's 2006 sparkling had a pleasant aroma of citrus and minerals.  The palate revealed citrusy fruit with a touch of honey, and a pleasant mousse.  It was generally ok, but a little bit too sweet and fruity for my palate giving itself away immediately as a non-Champagne (not that it has to be Champagne like - it's just that I happen to like Champagne styles).  82 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: around $40
Website: http://www.taltarni.com.au

Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay 2008

Leeuwin Estate produces ones of Australia's finest chardonnays at the moment, at least in my humble opinion.  The "prelude vineyards" chardonnay is their second wine, and as might be hoped, was also very good.  It had a somewhat ostentatious aroma of peaches and tropical fruit.  Oak was there too.   The wine had similar flavours on the palate, with good length.  87 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $29.50
Website: http://www.leeuwinestate.com.au

Chateau Cantemerle 2003

The very hot 2003 Bordeaux vintage has led to some disappointments, but this wine is not one of them.  The wine had an attractive aroma of ripe, almost jammy, fruit, and a cigar box fragrance.  The palate had good length and structure with perhaps a touch of dried tea leaves.  Very enjoyable.  89 points.

Abv: 12.5%

Website: http://www.cantemerle.com/

Katnook Prodigy Shiraz 2006

Katnook's flagship "Prodigy" shiraz 2006 vintage was simply great.  Pepper and plums on the nose, with good length.  A classy effort.  93+ points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: around $100
Website: http://www.katnookestate.com.au

Syrah v Shiraz and other thoughts

There was an interesting post the other day on twitter by Dan Buckle, the winemaker at Mount Langi Ghiran discussing the shiraz's grapes origins in Australia.  Here's a link to the Dan Buckle article.  I found his final three paragraphs raised some particularly challenging issues.  Here's an extract:

"Alongside this we have seen the emergence of use of the word Syrah on labels and by winemakers. I understand that this attempts to differentiate these wines from the rest of Australian Shiraz. I find this both insulting and puerile, not only out of patriotism but because it goes so far as to suggest consumers are stupid and cannot taste, which is evidently far from the truth. Moreover, it sees things as black and white where clearly the spectrum of Shiraz style, flavour and origin in Australia is much more broad and colourful than that. Embracing diversity and subtlety is a great joy in wine drinking.

Using the word Syrah does not make your wine taste more French. Nor is being more French necessarily a good thing. Stand proud and be Australian. Being Australian does not have to necessarily link your wines with the yobbo cultural icons like Shane Warne. Its is possible to be sophisticated, erudite and intelligent and Australian, in wine as with other elements of our culture. We must remind ourselves this. Efforts from Steve Pannell in recent weeks travel along these lines (www.allforonewine.com).

More importantly, it is ignorant and rude to deny the near 150 years of history in making cool‐climate Shiraz in Australia, just as it is facile marketing to suggest that a punted burgundy bottle will make your Syrah taste more Rhone‐like, whatever that really means. It is time for the real Australian to stand up, and stop cringing. We have a marvelous wine culture to be proud of, and the days of larrikins in moleskins are now gone. Quality, diversity, passion and interest can all be found on these shores."

In substance, there seem to be two points here.  First, we should support Australian wine and be happy in our own skin.  This is hard to disagree with.  I am a huge fan of Australian wine, and in particular, am excited by what the increased focus on Australian wine regionality and terroir will bring - industrial wine is boring.  However, I think that an "All For One Wine" style campaign goes a bit too far (ie the proposal that we drink only Australian wine from 1 January 2011 to 26 January 2011).  Why?  My problem is that while I strongly support Australian wine, I also happen to like foreign wines too (including French wine), and think that their better producers should be supported too, if only on the grounds of merit, and failing that, because I like them.  And I honestly think that tasting a lot of different wines from different producers, countries and regions makes for a circumspect and open minded way of approaching wine.  That said, it frustrates me how few restaurants in Australia stock no or a practically no wines sourced from their local area (branded mega labels from South Australia don't count writing here in Melbourne), so there is a point here that I think is very valid.  One idea maybe is for participating restaurants to stock a percentage of local wines.

The second point is that there is an objection to the creeping use of the term "syrah" instead of shiraz.  Used on an Australian wine bottle, as mentioned, the description of syrah may be intended as a stylistic indication, a doffing to a perceived French paradigm or opportunistic marketing aimed at exploiting the linguistic tendency to prefer words that are perceived as having prestige over their more mundane alternatives.  But personally for me, syrah is a synonym for shiraz, no more, no less.  It's a bit like reading the word "premium" on a label.  I don't think I've ever read those words and thought "now, this wine is not premium at all".  I suspect it comes pre-filled in on the label.  My point is what's in the bottle counts.  I also can't help thinking that there's a lost in translation irony here: the term syrah wouldn't ordinarily appear on many French wine labels with the exception of the cheap vin de pays stuff from the wine lake in the south of France which the French can't sell.  Maybe they should put shiraz on their labels.

Marchese Antinori Riserva Chianti Classico 2005

Antinori's Marchese 2005 chianti classico had an aroma of briny dark cherries, and a palate with good fruit, good length, rawish tannins and notable acidity.  84 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Website: http://www.antinori.it/

Teusner "Dog Strangler" Mourvedre (aka Mataro) 2009

This wine is both fantastic, and a bargain.  An aroma of licorice, black jammy fruit and leather.  The palate had very good length and a rich, fruit driven style.  My only complaint is its name, which is, well ... a bit ugly.  90 points.

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

Lake's Folly Cabernet Blend 2001

Lake's Folly is relatively famous for being one of the first boutique wineries established in Australia that preceded the Australian wine boom in the second half of the twentieth century.  They also only produce two wines: a cabernet and a chardonnay, both from the Hunter Valley.  What is perhaps most unusual is that the sub-tropical steamy Hunter Valley seems so unsuited to cabernet.  Their 2001 cabernets vintage is however very good.  It had a barny, leathery and peppery aroma, and a palate with soft, opulent length, that perhaps lacked a little depth, but was very pleasant to drink.  87 points.

Abv: 12.7%

Price: around $100

Website: http://www.lakesfolly.com.au

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2004

I've had some good Rockford wines, including their outstanding 1998 Basket Press, which is one of the better wines I have tasted, period.  Their 2004 vintage though troubled me.  It had a very "barny/animal" like aroma, with some peppery notes  The palate had pleasant length, but was rather closed.  In all, it was still pretty good, but perhaps a bit of a let down given its price and prestige.  Possibly though, I had a bad bottle.  85 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: about $135
Website: http://www.rockfordwines.com.au

Coriole Vineyards Nebbiolo 2008

Coriole's 2008 nebbiolo had an aroma of cherries, and a palate with pleasant balance and nice lingering length.  85 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $35
Website: http://www.coriole.com

Gaja Sito Moresco Langhe 2007

In short, I find most Gaja wines to be very good.  This wine is a blend of 35% nebbiolo, 35% merlot and 30% cabernet sauvignon.  A somewhat beguiling aroma of cherries, was met with a palate that had depth, good fruit, tannins and acidity.  A very enjoyable wine.  89+ points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: around $85

Balnaves The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Balnaves seems to be a producer where their top wine truly is a top wine, but then trails off a bit after that.  The Tally is a top, serious wine.  An opulent aroma of good dark fruits, and a palate with a similar opulent mouthfeel, very good length and some tannins too.  An excellent wine, with its high alcohol in balance.  It is as good as when I tried it in June last year, and gave it the same score (which I reached having forgotten about the previous review, which is always nice).  90 points.

Price: $90
Abv: 15%
Website: http://www.balnaves.com.au