Ornellaia Le Volte Toscana IGT 2007

This wine is a blend of 51% sangiovese, 34% merlot and 15% cabernet sauvignon.  It has a very powerful, overt aroma of ripe liqueur cherries and sweet currants, to the point where it is almost candied.  The palate has good length.  Clearly this is a good wine and tastes good; I just found the aroma a little off-putting.  It may stabilise in time.  84 to 85 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: mid $30s
Would I buy it having tasted it?  Probably not
Website: http://www.ornellaia.com/

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2009

Clonakilla's 2009 Hilltops shiraz is very fruity.  It has an aroma of plum skins, fresh fruit and, almost, apricot kernels.  On the palate, there is very sweet fruit, some length and a touch sultana/raisin like taste on the finish.  The wine is suitable for drinking now.  85 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $30
Would I buy it having tasted it? A bit 50:50.
Website:  http://www.clonakilla.com.au/
Reviews of other vintages: 2005 and 2006

Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey 2004

Having written up the 1983 vintage of this producer the other day, it made sense to have a look at one of their newer releases (2005 is their latest).  The 2004 is very good.  An aroma of toffee apples, white nectarines and hay.  The palate has some length, with some brown sugar flavours.  A lovely wine.  85 points.

Abv: 13.5%

Price: $43

Would I buy it having tasted it? Yes
Website: http://www.lafaurie-peyraguey.com/

Lark Hill Gruner Veltliner 2010

Lark Hill's vineyards are located at a cool 860 metres above sea level in the Canberra district. The vineyards are also managed biodynamically.  They are also one of the few producers of gruner veltliner in Australia, this being only their second vintage of this varietal.

What then of the wine?  I was very impressed.  A noticeable aroma of pepper and citrus.  The palate has very good length and flavours of apples, pears and spices.  Very spicy, actually.  An excellent and interesting wine that is in a league above a recently tasted Domaine Wachau from the Austrian home of this varietal.  88 to 89 points.

Price: $45
Abv: 12.5%
Source: sample
Would I buy it having tasted it? Yes
Website: http://www.larkhillwine.com.au/

Wood Park Rosé 2007

I won't dwell long on this rosé, because it tasted of smoke and ash.  I read that in the King Valley a lot of producers did not harvest the 2007 vintage due to bushfires and smoke taint.  I don't know whether this is the reason this wine tasted smoky, but it's not recommended in any case.  51 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $16 (current vintage)
Would I buy it having tasted it? No
Website: http://www.woodparkwines.com.au

Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey 1983

Chateau Lafaurie Peyraguey is obviously designed to keep away les anglais with its impossible to spell and hard to pronounce name.  It was a pleasure to sit down to the 1983 of this wine, notable for its high alcohol at 15%abv.  The wine was golden in colour, with a rich aroma of marmalade.  The palate reminded me of a creme brulee.  An amazing wine, and pretty well priced at auction considering its quality (although storage and corks, as ever, remain the issue for wines of this age at auction or anywhere else, for that matter).  90 points.

Abv: 15%
Price: $80-$110 (Auction price range on Langtons)
Would I buy it having tasted it? Yes
Website: http://www.lafaurie-peyraguey.com

Chateau Tayac 2004

Chateau Tayac, sourced from the unlikely centre of well priced fine wine  in Melbourne that is Costco, has an aroma of opulent blackfruits and a touch of pencil box.  The palate is a little light for my taste, but it has some length, and is perfectly pleasant.  83 points.

Price: around $30
Would I buy it having tasted it? Probably not
Website: http://www.chateautayac-margaux.com

Rymill Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

I had 2 funny bottles of this in a row.  The first bottle had an aroma of dried herbs, plums, but a touch of cork taint.  Faint, but fatal.  The palate had black fruit flavours, but then like all tainted wines, it was hard to see through the veil of the taint.  On to the second bottle then.  This one was completely different, with an aroma that was unexpected: jammy, pippy and grassy.  It reminded me of tasting soupy newborn wine out of a barrel.  The palate was pleasant, with plum notes.  In all, I'm not sure which bottle is the "real wine", or more probably, neither.  Technical details from the winery can be found at this link.  79 points.

Abv: 13.9%
Price: $71 (in a magnum)
Would I buy it having tasted it? No
Website: http://www.rymill.com.au

Chateau Cantemerle 2004

I have found the 2004 Bordeaux left bank vintage to have been a very even vintage so far.  Similar to the 2002s perhaps.  It is not as good as 2005, 2001 or 2000.  Yet it is more regular than 2003 (though 2003 does hit "higher highs", but there are "lower lows" too) and 2006 (which I have found a bit uneven so far).  And it's certainly better than 2007.

Chateau Cantemerle's 2004 is a very good wine.  I did actually prefer their 2003 in this case, but nonetheless, this wine has a great aroma of black fruit and cigar box.  The palate has length, with perhaps a touch of austerness on the tail.  Drink over the next couple of years.  86 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $39
Would I buy it having tasted it? Yes
Website: http://www.cantemerle.com/

Hanging Rock Winery Brut Cuvee XII NV

Hanging Rock produce a pretty good sparkling wine.  The wine has an aroma of herbs, citrus and a touch of toast.  The palate shows a nice mousse and citrus notes.  It's certainly better than most Australian sparkling wines and it shows its Macedon origins well - there is a particular herby, danky aroma that I always get with sparkling wines from this region.  83 to 84 points.

Price: $49
Would I buy it having tasted it? Probably not
Website: http://www.hangingrock.com.au/

Mount Pleasant Maurice O'Shea Shiraz 2007

I don't get to try a lot of Hunter Valley shiraz, which is a pity because I like them.  Not many seem to make it to Melbourne, apparently.  This wine is very good.  It has an aroma of leather, plums and pepper.  Typical Hunter Valley.  The palate is similar (minus the leather), with good length.  89 points.

Abv: 14.8%
Price: $60
Would I buy it having tasted it? Yes
Website: http://www.mountpleasantwines.com.au

Majella Wines The Melleea Cabernet Shiraz 2008

There is something non sequitur about Australian cabernet shiraz blends.  Something in them pulls at me - I don't want to like them.  Maybe it's because I like Bordeaux so much, it seems an "improper" mix.  It is completely illogical though.   Yet I almost always like these blends, because they just taste so darn good - in particular this wine.  An aroma of spices, herbs and Christmas cake.  The palate has acidity, plums and that depth of flavour that just makes you want to drink more.  Buy this.  89 to 90 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $75
Would I buy it having tasted it? Yes
Website: http://www.majellawines.com.au

Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo 2004

I thought this Barolo was quite good.  An aroma of bright cherry fruit.  On the palate it shows some length, although it also has somewhat strident acidity (less elegantly, I wrote down "wow").  86 to 87 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $170
Would I buy it having tasted it? No
Website: http://www.poderialdoconterno.com/getcontent.aspx?nID=11&l=en

Majella Wines Shiraz 2008

It always surprises me how good Coonawarra shiraz can be.  This wine is no exception.  An aroma of soft spices and oak.  On the palate, there is acidity, plums and a jammy note.  85 points.

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

Chateau Leoville Barton 1996

I tasted this wine blind in a set with the Baron 1996, and the Cos D'Estournel 1996.  It's pretty good and reminded me of a Coonawarra cabernet, but it did not set the world on fire.  The wine has an aroma of herbs, mint, black fruits, cigars and raisins.  The palate has notes of tobacco and some length.  85 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Price: $150-$190 (Langtons auction price range)
Website: http://www.leoville-barton.com/

Chateau Cos d'Estournel 1996

There's no doubt this is a good wine.  I tasted it blind next to the 1996 Baron, and it performed well, though the 1996 Baron is better.  Given the high price of this wine, I tend not to buy it, and I have not yet been blown away by it yet either.  An aroma of tobacco and mint.  The palate is grippy, with notes of mint, chocolate and some acidity too.  87 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $230-$280 (Langtons auction price range)
Website: http://www.estournel.com/

Chateau Pichon Longueville Baron 1996

Pichon Longueville "Baron" remains one of my favourite Bordeaux.  I tasted this wine blind, and its quality shone through.  It was unquestionably a Bordeaux, and a good one at that.  An aroma of blackcurrants and cigar box.  The palate was similar, with trademark amazing length.  91 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $180-$220 (auction price range on Langtons)
Website: http://www.pichonlongueville.com/

Majella Wines Merlot 2008

Merlot is a variety that Australia struggles with, and I am fussy with. I've had a few good, even outstanding, Australian examples (and from Coonawarra), but consistency seems rare. I've tried this wine twice now. The first time the wine wasn't that good. It had an aroma of tomato stalks and a touch of "green". The palate did have some length on it, but at the time, not enough to redeem its aroma. The second bottle however was excellent, tried almost a year later and purchased retail in the tropics in far north Queensland. Perhaps it opened up the wine. This time the wine had an aroma of redcurrants, spices, oak, blueberry and herbs. Unattractive tomato stalks were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps swimming. On the palate, good to very good length, mint, medium acidity and medium tannins. 83 points for the first bottle, 89 points for the second. Abv: 14% Price: $28 Website: www.majellawines.com.au

Zema Estate Family Selection Shiraz 2005

From the strong 2005 Coonawarra vintage, this wine presented very well.  It has an aroma of pepper, plums and is somewhat "grassy".  The palate is plummy and pleasant.  It tips the scales at 15.5% abv, but did not appear out of balance.  Drink now.

Abv: 15.5%
Price: $40
Website: http://www.zema.com.au

Rymill Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Rymill's 2004 cabernet sauvignon is good, rather than very good.  An aroma of dried herbs, tomato stalks, earth and chocolate.  I'm not sure what causes tomato stalk like aromas in some Australian cabernets, but I generally don't like it.  The palate had some length, acidity, and tannins evident.  84 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: $35
Website: http://www.rymill.com.au

Paringa Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2007

Paringa Estate is a near universally well regarded and decorated producer from the Mornington Peninsula.  Their reserve pinot noir is not cheap.  The 2007 vintage has a sappy aroma, with cherries and length evident on the palate.  A very good pinot noir.  Some production information about the wine is available via this link.  87 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $125
Website: http://www.paringaestate.com.au

Domaine Wachau Terrassen Federspiel Gruner Veltliner 2009

On opening, the wine basically just tasted like "white wine".  That is, any old white wine with no real distinguishing features.  With time, the wine shows a floral aroma, with soft spices.  The palate has citrus and white peach flavours.  A fairly standard sort of wine.  83 points.

Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.domaene-wachau.at/Start.48.0.html?&L=2

Domaine Chapuis 1996 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru Wine Review

Outstanding stuff.  This chardonnay has an oily aroma of stone fruits and sweet and sour apples.  The palate has a pleasing nutty length to it.  For the price, a bargain.  92 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $70-$86 (Langtons auction price range)
Website: http://www.domainechapuis.com/

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

The fruit for the 2007 vintage of this Penfolds "icon and luxury range" wine (their words, not mine) is sourced from Padthaway, the Barossa Valley and Coonawarra.  The wine has an aroma of dried herbs, dark fruits and coconut, the latter from its ageing in American oak.  The palate has good length and tannins.  Despite the clumsy marketing, this is frankly an excellent wine.  91 points.

Abv: 14.4%
Price: $190
Website: http://www.penfolds.com.au

Little Yering Chardonnay 2009

From the disastrous and tragic 2009 vintage from the Yarra Valley, this wine made by Yering Station hit the spot.  An aroma of citrus, with a bit of length and oak on the palate.  Pleasant café drinking.  Wildly detailed technical details about the wine are available via this link from Yering Station.  83 to 84 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: around $7 or $8 by the glass at a restaurant
Website: http://www.yering.com

Jacobs Creek St Hugo 2007

I've previously reviewed the 1998, 2003 and 2005 vintages of this wine.  The 2007 vintage has a typical Coonawarra aroma of chocolate and spice, and a drying oaky smell.  The palate has a bit of length (it's not bad), with drying tannins, some evident acidity.  Overall, this wine is a bit tough.  It may open up.  84 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: around $40
Website: http://www.jacobscreek.com

Tenuta San Guido 2007

Ok, so this wine taught me a few things.  First, that "Bolgheri Sassicaia" is, as well as being hard to spell and pronounce, an appellation in the province of Livorno in Tuscany.  Second, the appellation permits 85% cabernet sauvignon and 15% cabernet franc - so it's basically a Bordeaux blend, rather than a sangiovese.  Third, this wine is very good.  Fourth, I hadn't realised, when I tasted this wine at an Italian wine tasting where I was given free range to try as much as I wanted to (thank you to the Australian Wine Review for putting me on to that event), and loved this wine in particular, that it is seriously expensive.  Anyway, my tasting note is a short one.  It had both a plummy aroma and palate, but its lingering length was its distinguishing feature.  A very good wine.  89+ points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $275
Website: http://www.sassicaia.com/

Balnaves Cabernet Merlot 2008

I've struggled a little bit with the cabernet merlot blend produced by Balnaves.  The 2007 release I gave 78 points.  The 2008 is better: an aroma of earth, spice, chocolate - typical Coonawarra.  But the palate shows its acidity and there isn't a lot of depth of flavour.  Pleasant, but average.  82 points.

Price: $24
Website: http://www.balnaves.com.au

Chateau Beau-Site 2006

This is a pretty handy wine.  An aroma of pencil box, with blackcurrants and pleasant length on the palate.  Ready to drink now.  85 points.

Abv: 13%
Price: $40
Website: http://www.borie-manoux.com

Exclusive/small production winery mailing lists

There are a few wineries in Australia that have "to die for" mailing lists, giving their subscribers access to the finest wines in the country at better than retail prices.  Forgive this slightly rambling piece, but here are a few mailing lists that come to mind:

1. Rockford, Barossa Valley.  Rockford's mailing list appears to be divided neatly into two - "stonewallers" and "the rest".  As far as I can tell, if you are a "stonewaller", you can buy an allocation of Rockford's Basket Press shiraz and black shiraz at heavily discounted prices, earn the praise of many and dine at the winery from time to time.  If you are among "the rest", you have access to Rockford's lesser wines.  It is not really advertised how precisely you can upgrade, though purchases of their wine no doubt help.  Pity I haven't been bowled over to date by their lesser wines ... 

2. Mount Mary, Yarra Valley.  It is relatively easy to join Mount Mary's mailing list (ie send them an email).  As a mailing list member, you immediately have access to all of their wines, at perhaps a slight discount to retail.  Mount Mary's newsletter is a very interesting read: a combination of science, history and story telling.

3. Clonakilla, Canberra.  Clonakilla's mailing list is able to be joined via their website.  As a mailing list member, you have immediate access to all of Clonakilla's wines (including their shiraz viognier) and updates.  The wines however are similarly priced to retail.  Clonakilla also are not shy about including gushing accolades in newsletter after newsletter.  I have heard that Clonakilla more recently had been considering restricting access to their shiraz viognier, a la Rockford, but I am not aware of whether that has come to fruition.

4. Wendouree, Clare Valley.  Wendouree remains a bit of a mystery to me - an insider's wine if there ever was one.  I have tried only a couple of their wines, and they have all been outstanding.  However, with no website or cellar door, things are a little, shall we say, opaque.  Quaintly, I have heard that if you write a letter to them, you may be able to join their mailing list in due course.  What that means precisely I hope to know one day.

5. Bass Phillip, Gippsland.  I met Phillip Jones holding court at the Langtons Classification tasting in 2010 in Melbourne.  His pinot noir is the best in Australia in my humble view.  Bass Phillip look like they are in the process of establishing a website, which might help access to their wines.

6. Wantirna Estate, Yarra Valley.  Wantirna Estate is located in the suburbs of Melbourne, and produce tiny quantities of wine.  Joining their mailing list is easy though.  That said, tiny production quantities mean that access to their wines (particularly the hard to find "Hannah" cabernet franc merlot (a rare St Emilion blend in Australia) - only one barrel is made) is a challenge.

Other interesting mailing lists include Giaconda, Bindi, Chris Ringland and Henschke.  I would very much appreciate any comments.

Turkey Flat Rosé 2008

Maybe it's the day.  Maybe it's the wine.  After stifling un-Melbourne like humidity and continuous rain for seemingly days on end, we are now blessed with 28c, sunny and clear skies in Melbourne.  Summer.  Perfect for rosé over lunch.  Turkey Flat, no less.  I keep forgetting it's only $18.  If not Australia's best rosé, it is close to it.  The 2008 is a blend of grenache, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and dolcetto.  It has an aroma of stone fruits, and a viscous flavoursome texture on the palate.  Delicious stuff.  No point scoring a wine like this.  Just buy it and drink it.

Abv: 13%
Price: $18 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.turkeyflat.com.au

Domaine Coursodon Silice St Joseph 2007

I wasn't a huge fan of this wine.  It had a peppery and stalky aroma.  On the palate, there was pepper, high acidity, some length but some almost chili like bite.  And then there's the high price.  79 to 80 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: $65

Rockford Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

I'll say it at the outset: this is a nice wine, it's just not a style of cabernet that I normally drink/like (ie warm climate, Barossa Valley).  Tough Barossa Valley vintage too in 2008.  The wine has an aroma of oak, capsicum, black olives and dusty fruit.  The palate had some lean "mouth dripping" acidity, tannins, leather and a certain richness.  Oh, and a little length too.  Interesting? Yes.  A good wine?  Mostly.  It may evolve.  Would I buy more?  Maybe not. 85? points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $35
Website: http://www.rockfordwines.com.au

Bethany Old Vine Grenache 2006

Bethany's 2006 Old Vine Grenache is sourced from low yielding bush vines of 50 to 120 years of age.  In short, this wine is pleasant rather than spectacular. A pleasant leathery and fruity aroma, was met with a lightish fruity palate.  83 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $20
Website: http://www.bethany.com.au

Best's Bin O Shiraz 2008

This wine was pretty good, with an aroma of pepper and plums, and a palate with ripe fruit, but a bit, well simple, particularly for its decent price.  I like Best's too.  Maybe a bad day for me or the wine.  84 points.

Abv: 14.6%
Price: $65
Website: http://www.bestswines.com

Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

An aroma of oak, dark fruits, really almost jammy fresh fruit, spice and chocolate.  The palate had good length and structure, but the oak was really evident at the moment of tasting.  Seems like a good wine that needs a bit of time.  87+ points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: $35
Website: http://www.balnaves.com.au/

Allinda Double Picked Riesling 2005

So, double picked, I guess means you pick the grapes, and then, um ...  Allinda's winemaker, Al Fencaros describes it more clearly on Allinda's website:

"It was decided to use these grapes to make a fortified “White Port” style of wine with dessert levels of alcohol, but with the freshness and fruit intensity only offered by the Riesling grape variety.  A mechanical harvester was set to pick the non-shrivelled berries first for our ... dry Riesling. The machine was then reset to pick the remaining shrivelled berries for this wine.  After a very short fermentation on the shrivelled skins overnight, the still very sweet juice was pressed and fortified with brandy spirit. It was then matured for one year in old oak barrels to allow the fruit and spirit flavours to integrate."

And a white port is indeed what this unusual wine resembles.  It would be very difficult to pick it as a riesling tasted blind.  It had a porty aroma supplemented with whiffs of hay, and a lean finish on the palate with a brown sugar note.  Not bad.  84 points.

Abv: 15%

Price: $21.50

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

Freycinet Radenti Sparkling 1999

Though I don't think it's as good as the Arras I've tried to date, this wine is in a league above most Australian sparklings.  An aroma of citrus with a touch of yeast, and the palate was very citrus like with good mousse.  85 points.

Abv: 12%
Price: $50 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.freycinetvineyard.com.au

Amulet Nebbiolo 2002

Amulet's 2002 Nebbiolo had an aroma of cherries, licorice and autumn leaves.  The palate had some length, and a taste reminiscent of plum skins.  84 points.

Abv: 14.2%
Price: $40
Website: http://www.amuletwines.com.au

Hardy's HRB D637 Shiraz 2006

Catchy name, huh?  The wine though is pretty good.  An aroma of licorice and liqueur plums.  A palate with some good length and plums.  Very drinkable, but perhaps for drinking in the next couple of years rather than keeping.  88 points.

Abv: 14%
Price: about $40
Website: http://www.hardys.com.au

Moss Wood Pinot Noir 2008

I still seems funny to me to say Moss Wood and pinot noir in the same sentence.  This wine is from Moss Wood's Mornington Peninsula outpost.  I'm afraid their 2008 vintage is a very "standard" Mornington Peninsula/Yarra Valley style pinot noir: a cherry like aroma, and a little length on the palate, but nothing exciting.  For the price, pass.  83 points.

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

Giaconda Chardonnay 1999

Giaconda for me produce wines that are both flavoursome and almost archetypal.  Their 1999 chardonnay, tasted blind, had an aroma of oak, citrus, and a toasty element.  The palate had good length and stone fruit flavours.  88 points.

Abv: 13.5%
Price: mid $100s
Website: http://www.giaconda.com.au/

Yering Station Chardonnay 2007

There's a lot to like about a winery that releases this level of technical information about their wine. I offer the following humble subjective comments on Yering Station's 2007 chardonnay: an aroma of citrus, fine oak and taught peaches.  The palate was similar, with rather racy acidity; too racy for me - indeed, a bit austere.  81 to 82 points.

Price: $26
Abv: 12.5%
Website: http://www.yering.com/

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2006

Bottle variation appears to be an issue with this wine.  In my most recent tasting of it (July 2011) it showed extremely well.  So well, in fact, that I would gladly buy more of it.  An aroma of pepper and spices, was met on the palate with notes of plums, pepper and quite long persistence in the mouth.  Yet, earlier tastings were not so promising, with its great aroma somewhat disappointingly let down by a short palate.  Anywhere between 82 and 89 points.  This wine traverses the range from only "good", to being just shy of a wine that is quite special.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: mid to high $20s
Website: http://www.clonakilla.com.au/

Rymill The Yearling Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

So, what can you buy for $13 these days? Something surprisingly not bad. Rymill's yearling cabernet had a dusty aroma of chocolate, herbs, spice and a slight mintiness. It had a similar palate with a touch of length and acidity there too.  83 points.

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

Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Vasse Felix continues to be one of my picks for well priced cabernet that ages well. I'm really not sure why I don't buy more of this label. Their 2001 vintage had an aroma of black currants and chocolate, and a palate with good length. Excellent drinking in its prime now.  88 points.

Abv: 14.5%
Price: around $30 (current vintage)
Website: http://www.vassefelix.com.au/