Grape Observer

There is a word to be coined to describe the combination of despair, resignation and exasperation that is the discovery that a German wine that you thought would be dry, is in fact is off dry or defiantly  sweeter than that.  Let's run with trockened.  The fear of trockening (sorry, I did say I would run with it), itself can cause its own issues - a syndrome of sorts.  For example, a pleasant conversation with a retailer might quickly take on tinges of the unreasonable.  Just how "trocken" is this particular "trocken"?  Have you tasted the wine?  This particular vintage?  When?  Questions of the actual quantum of residual sugar and total acidity might suddenly seem a sensible thing to be discussed.  The abv might be mentioned too.  7.5%?  No chance.  12.5%?  Surely we are getting near the potential abv for riesling near its northern limit?

Now back to actually writing about this wine.  It's from the Pfalz - a sunny and dry German region that I think of as a northern extension of Alsace - and is a good one.  Your dentist won't recommend it, but your enamel should recover.  Eventually.  Its aromatics remind of stones and minerals.  The palate is resoundingly dry, has bracing acidity and is medium bodied with notes of underripe grapefruit and lemon.  I'd buy this again.  (Alc: 12.5%, Region: Pfalz, Germany, Rating: Good, Drink: now to 2026)

Read more:
www.von-buhl.de/en.html

The 10X Tractor team perform a wine community service by providing a lot of useful vintage information about the Mornington Peninsula wine region. The 2015 MP vintage is reported as having outstanding growing conditions, while 2014 saw lower yields and concentrated fruit.  This is borne out in my tasting of these excellent new release chardonnays.

Part of studying for the MW means tasting random wines from time to time, and then realising that entire industries are built around what ostensibly appeared an excursion along a less well trodden path.  Even this German pinot noir from Baden - and normal people have tuned out long before the subregion of Baden is mentioned - proved to be a wine I'd tasted an earlier vintage of (here is my rather glowing review).  Oh well.  The 2013 vintage tasted here is very good though and is worthy of your attention.  It has aromatics that remind of roses, potpourri and sour cherry.  The palate has distinctive acidity, but holds its balance with lovely flavour and some tannic grip.  A great buy.  (Alc: 13%, Region: Baden, Germany, Rating: Good to Very Good, Drink: now to 2020) 

Read more:
www.weingut-huber.com

The d'Arenberg winery; courtesy darenberg.com.au

The 2013 vintage in McLaren Vale appears a good one - a dry spring and summer, with intense ripe grapes.  Here are my notes on d'Arenberg's icon releases from this very good vintage.  This is an impressive set.

d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2013
The real treasure of d'Arenberg is its grenache wines, which compare well to the finest grenache blends I have tried from anywhere.  The 2013 Ironstone Pressings is grenache dominant, with 67% grenache, 28% shiraz and 5% mourvèdre in the blend.  Its aromatics remind of graphite, earth and deli meats and the wine also has a floral perfume.  The palate has redcurrant and cherry characters, with its acidity and youthful tannins in balance.  The finish is long, and this wine should improve over a decade.  (Alc: 14.3%, Region: McLaren Vale, Rating: Very Good, Drink: now to 2026+)

d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 2013
This is the best Dead Arm I've tasted in years.  Deeply coloured and prodigiously so, it has aromatics of spice, mocha and dark fruits.  The palate has tannic grip and strength, and many years before it.  Long length, typicity and balance on the finish confirms that this is an outstanding release.  (Alc: 14.6%, Region: McLaren Vale, Rating: Outstanding, Drink: will benefit from a further 3-5 years in the cellar, and then drink to 2026+)

d'Arenberg The Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
McLaren Vale produces a very ripe expression of cabernet sauvignon, where the trail of varietal character morphs into a certain hint of leafiness.  The nose reminds of leather, prunes, dark plums and black olives.  The palate is leafy, with huge tannins and extract and a full bodied expression.  I would decant this if approached now; otherwise, this wine should cellar for a very long time.  (Alc: 14.4%, Rating: Very Good, Drink: now (with decanting) to 2026+)

Read more:
darenberg.com.au

Source: samples

This is a very good Barolo from Massolino in the Barolo subregion of Serralunga d'Alba.  There's a bit more about Massolino in this interesting article from Stephen Brook in Decanter on some of the top Barolo and Barbaresco producers (see the link here).


The 2012 vintage has aromatics of herbs, roses and bright cherry.  The fruit tastes delicious, the tannins are built to last and the length really quite long.  Classic Barolo in a firm Serralunga style.  One to buy.  (Alc: not recorded, Region: Barolo, Rating: Very Good, Drink: now (with decanting) and well into the future)

Read more:
www.massolino.it

I read with interest a recent review by Jancis Robinson MW of a tasting of Australian collectible wine.  It is subscriber only unfortunately, so there is little point posting the link.  It's a frank assessment of the wines tasted and that's a good thing - critics should be open and honest.  But the views expressed can be tested too.  Few locally for example I expect would describe a Phillip Jones' Bass Philip wine as "Not like Burgundy at all! ... Not really very sophisticated"  (Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir 2012).  The word "sweet" receives 33 "matches" in 59 wine descriptions when describing (mostly) South Australian shiraz.  A Noon grenache is described as having "massive sweetness and alcohol on the palate.  Most unusual nowadays!" which more or less captures the zeitgeist in some quarters as regards Australian warm climate wine styles from Barossa/McLaren Vale, I think.

A Clonakilla shiraz viognier is conversely noted as being "bony and very different from the Australian Shiraz norm".  This had me thinking too.  Is there such a norm?  Perhaps in offshore markets where the depth of offering is not there.  But in Australia in 2016?  At least in my view, there's considerable variation in style moving north to south (think Glaetzer-Dixon in Tasmania), east to west.

Here two interests - lesser known grape varieties and wine styles - unexpectedly meet with a sparkling red blend of 63% chambourcin, 20% shiraz and 17% graciano.  Chambourcin is a hybrid grape variety (so not a vitis vinifera) that tolerates wet weather well and is winter hardy, characters that admittedly do not appear ostensibly useful in McLaren Vale.  Graciano is a minor component in red Rioja blends, but is well regarded for its contribution - adding character, extract and acidity.  Shiraz is of course exactly that - Australian for red wine.

I wasn't sure how this would come together, but the result here is quite lively.  There's mint, eucalyptus and mint patties on the nose.  The palate is towards off dry in impression (there's 10g/l of residual sugar but balanced by acidity) with refreshing bubbles, supplemented by notes of plums and game together with a skinsy texture.   (Alc: 12.8%, Region: McLaren Vale, Rating: Good, Drink: now)

Read more:
darenberg.com.au

Source: sample

I don't drink too many Valpolicellas.  While Italian grapes such as nebbiolo and sangiovese are firmly now part of the Australian lingua franca, I suspect that the Valpolicella varieties of corvina, molinara and rondinella enjoy little recognition whatsoever outside of speciality circles in Australia.  Corvina is the most well regarded of these grape varieties, producing a fruity red.  Molinera is noted as being high in acidity and light in colour, while rondinella's principle feature seems to be that it is very high yielding, seldom a good sign.  A cursory online search reveals that both corvina and rondinella are in fact also planted in Australia.  At Freeman Vineyards in Hilltops in New South Wales for example.  Perhaps there are others too?


Speri La Roverina Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2014
A distinctive wine, Speri's 2014 Valpolicella Classico has aromas of bright cherries, herbs and peppermint.  The palate is dry, youthful and fruity.  Pleasant and I'd drink this.

Speri Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2011
Speri's Amerone from the 2011 vintage has aromatics of fruit cake and dried currants and a subtle bearing.  The palate is full bodied, with raisin and currants to the fore, and is quite balanced in expression.  A coiled expression of Amarone.

Read more:
www.speri.com/vini_eng.php