Appellation Australia

Today marks the release of the fourth edition of Langton’s Australian Wine Classification, with this being the first update since 2000. One hundred and one Australian wines have been included, an overall increase of twelve wines. Twenty-two wines have been removed and thirty-four wines have been added since the last classification.

The classification is based on auction market performance. Langton’s, being Australia’s largest auction house, has massive amounts of data from thousands of auctions performed over the last 20 years. This list is not based on price alone, but consistency, volume of demand and market presence.

Wines that make the list are divided into four categories. Exceptional, Outstanding, Excellent and Distinguished, in descending order. The only criteria for inclusion on this list, is that the particular wine must have been made for a minimum of ten vintages, and that the wine has a proven track record at auction. This does exclude most fortified wines, which are generally NV blends.

What makes this list important? It is a reflection of the changing market demands among consumers and investors in fine wine. This list is about consistent performance across multiple vintages and not about wines that received a high Robert Parker or other reviewer one vintage, with that vintage suddenly shooting up in value overnight. This classification reflects, at least in part the respect accorded to these wines by the market as a whole.

I do not feel that there is a great deal of controversy to be found with this latest list. There are some wines that were unlucky to miss out, but in general this is a good representation of our best, most consistent wines over the past few decades.

Langton’s have not yet updated their website with the latest classification, but when they do, more information should be available here.

The full classification list follows on the next page… Please feel free to leave a comment regarding your thoughts on this list.

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Another wine dinner with the good people from the Winestar Forum. This time we convened at the Castel Mola Italian Restaurant at Leichhardt.

The Wines:

Once again, most wines were served masked.

Egly-Ouriet Tradition NV - Disgorged Sept 2004 (Champagne, France): A fantastic way to start the evening. Fine and focused with great length. Visibly contains a high Pinot Noir component. Super value for money. 91 Points

Craggy Range ‘Les Beaux Cailloux’ 2001 (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand): Loads of overpowering sweet caramel oak dominating whatever fruit there was to be had. Very much out of balance. It might come together in 2-3 years, but I can’t really be sure. 85 Points

Curlewis Pinot Noir 2002 (Geelong, Victoria): Brown tinged around the edges. Quite savoury. Excellent length. Possibly lacking some complexity. I liked this more than others at the table. 89 Points

Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin Village 1996 (Burgundy, France): Very interesting and complex nose, with plenty of gorgonzola. Great length and a soft finish. This was tasted blind alongside the below wine, and I preferred it for drinking now. 92 Points

Pousse D’Or Volnay 1ere Cru Caillerets 1996 (Burgundy, France): My notes on this wine aren’t extensive, but I do remember getting a fair hit of unbalanced acid. Quite clean for a Burgundy. I wrote down that I thought it was worth 90 Points, mostly because I thought it had quite good structure and may well be better with additional age.

Seppelt St Peters Shiraz 1998 (Grampians, Victoria): As I recall, two of the more experienced tasters at the table picked this as an 2002 vintage wine. Extremely tight and youthful even after having been decanted some time prior in the afternoon. Very good length and intensity. Another 10 or 15 years and it will be brilliant. 93 Points

Chateau La Lagune Grande Cru 1988 (Bordeaux, France): Fantastic, intense nose but was a bit more subdued on the palate. Medium length finish. 90 Points

Chateau d’Angludet 1982 (Bordeaux, France): My equal Wine Of The Night with the St Peters. Deeply coloured and a superb nose. I really enjoyed this, but perhaps just starting on the downward slide after hitting its peak. 93 Points

Charles Melton ‘Sotto di Ferro’ 1999 (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Excellent concentration and complexity. Lots of nutty characters on the nose and palate. I thought it was quite well balanced, not overtly sweet. It was a great experience to get to try this, but I’d struggle to justify the price ($65AU for 375ml). 91 Points

Another excellent evening with some of the ladies and gentlemen of the forum. The food and service at the restaurant were very ordinary, but it was more than made up for by the quality of the company and their generosity with the wines shared.

A group of five ruffians and vagabonds from the Winestar Forum assembled at the Peasant’s Feast in Newtown to enjoy some food and wine.

The Restaurant: Peasant’s Feast is billed as Sydney’s only organic food dinner restaurant.

The food was down to earth, tasty and servings were generous. The staff were friendly, but a little bit slow at times.

Overall, very good value for money, the bill was under $40AU per head for corkage, entree, mains, cheese and coffee.

The Wines:

Most wines were tasted blind -

Mount Pleasant McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon 1996 (Hunter Valley, New South Wales): A very good start to the evening while we waited for the stragglers to arrive. Nice intensity to the nose. Lots of developed toast and honey characters but showed a bit watery/short on the finish. Ready to drink now. 91 Points

Te Kairanga Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (Martinbourough, New Zealand): Initially I thought there was something weird going on with the nose and there was a decidedly green note to the finish, but it seemed to blow after 45-60 minutes. Quite enjoyable and would be better served after spending the next 5 years in a cellar. 89 Points

Noel Verset Cornas 1993 (Cornas, Northern Rhone, France): Brett-tastic! I wasn’t able to get into this, too much animal dominating the nose and palate. Very savoury. I believe this was a poor vintage in the Northern Rhone as well. 84 Points

Chateau Lascombes 1985 (Margaux, Bordeaux, France): I was told beforehand that I would hate this, but I much preferred it over the Rhone wine and would have rated this my second favourite wine of the night. Plenty of pencil shavings and cigar box characteristics. This wine is ready to drink now and is unlikely to get any better with additional age. 92 Points

Grosset Pinot Noir 1999 (Adelaide Hills, South Australia): Well made, with good fruit, but there was quite an obvious stalky character that put me off a bit. There are still only a few PN producers in Australia that compel me to purchase and Grosset isn’t among them yet. 87 Points

Smidge “The Tardy” Zinfandel 2002 (Langhorne Creek, South Australia): Tastes that were described were tomato chutney, green tomatoes, vegemite, ratatouille and more. I had a much better bottle of the 2003 version of this wine last year. This bottle was bordering on undrinkable. 79 Points

Wendouree Shiraz Malbec 2001 (Clare Valley, South Australia): Big, but not as tannic as I would have expected if I’d been told it was a Wendouree beforehand. Very good structure and I believe it’s going to be great if it’s given at least ten years rest before being opened. 91 Points

Rockford Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 (Barossa Valley, South Australia): A very classy wine, and my wine of the night. It was discussed that this was actually quite similar to the Chateau Lascombes tasted earlier in the night. Great structure and balance. 93 Points

All in all, a very enjoyable evening with some good wine, good food and great company.

The Review:

Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 is being hosted by Beau of Basic Juice, the theme this time around being off-dry white wines. Off-dry being described as not sweet, not dry, but in between.

My choice for this event was the Two Hands “Brilliant Disguise” Moscato 2004. Coming in at just 5% alchoholic volume and made from the White Frontignac grape in a Moscato style.

Tasting Note: Lightly bodied, this wine is bursting with pure grapes and tropical fruit on both the nose and palate. Just a small touch of sweetness. A very gentle spritz lends this wine a refreshing finish. Delicious, a wine for summer days in the sun if there ever was one.

Drinking Window: I definitely wouldn’t be hanging about with this wine, best drunk right now, then pickup some of the recently released ‘05 edition.

Verdict: 88 points, with a value rating of Excellent.