Appellation Australia

While not exactly fitting the theme of this site, I wanted to post some impressions on wines tried when I recently attended a Lanson Champagne dinner put on by a local retailer and the Lanson sales representatives for Australia.

Flight one wines were from 750ml bottles. All wines from flight two onwards were poured from 1500ml bottles that were disgorged late last year.

Flight 1:

Rose NV: Very pale salmon colour. Nose is a little bit shy, some strawberries, earthy notes and a hint of musk. Good enough but lacked excitement. 85/100

Black Label NV: Light straw-yellow. Very fresh, apples dominating the nose with a bit of citrus and a mere touch of yeast in the background. A creamy palate with some hazelnut influences. Easy to drink and good value for money. 86/100

Flight 2:

Gold Label Brut 1976: Light golden colour belies its age. Full nose of burnt toffee and caramel. A little bit of sharpness on the mid-palate. Quite powerful palate and good length. Possibly a bit past the stage where I would personally prefer to be drinking it. Still it was interesting and one of the more distinctive wines of the evening. 86/100

Gold Label Brut 1979: Much better than the ‘76. Lighter on the nose, but surprisingly fresh and crisp. Tight, focused palate, good complexity. Very nice. 89/100

Gold Label Brut 1981: A little bit dirty on the nose and palate initially which produced a scent reminiscent of potatoes. This blew off with time and ended up being quite pleasant. Still showing good acid structure but perhaps a touch short on the finish. Broader on the palate than the 1979. 87/100

Flight 3:

Gold Label Brut 1982: Showing its age a bit with some toasty notes on the nose. A little flat and broad on the palate. 87/100

Gold Label Brut 1983: Mute nose, perhaps a touch of pear but not giving much away. Palate was flat and short. Very boring - lacks complexity and interest. I’ve had a better bottle of this! 84/100

Gold Label Brut 1985: Spices and clove on the nose. Restrained power. Still fresh. Excellent length and balance. 90/100

Flight 4:

Gold Label Brut 1988: Powerful nose. Very good mouthfeel. A long life ahead with excellent structure. 90/100

Gold Label Brut 1990: Weakest wine of this flight. A powerful nose of grilled nuts and with a disjointed palate with overt acid sticking out. 86/100

Gold Label Brut 1996: Shows its youth by being a very pale lemon in colour. Grapefruit, fresh apples and citrus on the nose. Good, balanced acid structure. Will age well. 89/100

Flight 5:

Noble Cuvee 1989: Quite light on the nose and palate. Very fine bead. A bit of nuttiness on the palate, but not a great deal of complexity. Good but not great. 87/100

Noble Cuvee 1997: Very good. Fresh, fruity, floral nose. Very approachable. Fine and focused. Tempted to get a bottle and give it some time to build complexity. 91/100

Summary: My preferred wines from each flight were the Black Label, the 1979, 1985 and 1996 Gold Label and the 1997 Noble Cuvee.

A point of difference between Lanson and the majority of other Champagne houses is that they do not put their wine through maloactic fermentation - which gives them rather distinctive apple and pear fruit purity and freshness.

These wines seem to be quite good value for money, with the NV Black Label around $45AU, the Rose around $55AU and the current release Gold Label around $65AU.

Tasting Note: Cherry, raspberry and herbs on the nose. Palate shows a noticeable hit of vanilla oak. Good fruit in the shadow of the oak and nice textured mouth-feel, but perhaps somewhat simplistic as well as pulling up short on the back-palate.

Some acid structure and may develop some additional complexity with bottle age but is probably best drunk over the next couple of years while the fruit remains fresh.

Verdict: Too much other good Pinot out there at and under this pricepoint. 87 Points - Drink: Now - 2007

Fast Facts: Variety: Shiraz, a bit of Viognier and the slightest dash of Sangiovese. Region: Beechworth Victoria Country: Australia Winemaker: Julian Castagna Closure: Diam Cork

There is no doubt that 2003 was a tough year for winemakers in some parts of Australia. One of the worst affected areas was in northern Victoria in an area called Beechworth. Normally a cool climate region, 2003 brought drought, heatwaves and perhaps worst of all bushfires and the smoke that comes with them.

Many of Beechworth’s producers didn’t release their premium label wines in 2003, this includes the brightest star of the region Giaconda, who only released their Cabernet Sauvignon.

Julian Castagna felt that although his vineyard was only minimally impacted from the smoke, the intense heat meant that the grapes weren’t up to their usual standard and style. Thus, some of the best grapes that normally go into his premium Genesis Shiraz Viognier (approx $70AU) and his highly regarded La Chiave Sangiovese (approx $75AU) would be put into a blend called Sauvage and released for $35AU with the premium labels not being released this vintage.

It was a decision that must have been a difficult one to make, but in the end I think it was the right one. The customers were not made to pay a premium amount for a wine that the winemaker thinks is not up to scratch and this can only be good for customer loyalty in the long run, not to mention attracting new customers at the lower price point and enticing them to try the premium labels next vintage.

Tasting Note: Deep ruby-red in colour. A smoky, meaty nose with a very nice floral lift and a touch of apricot from the Viognier. The palate is savoury and consists of more meaty elements - bacon, salami and pepperoni along with plummy fruit, spices and a flash of pepper. Everything is delivered on the front and mid-palate with the back-palate being a tad thin.

When to Drink: Probably at its best now.

Verdict: I really liked it - complex and full of interest, it is super stuff from a tough vintage for the Beechworth region. 91 points.

I’ve written previously about a very special wine which was the Seppelt 1905 Para Liqueur Vintage Tawny and so I was obviously interested to try some of the other wines in the Seppelt fortified wine range, including the 1880 version of the same wine.

The notes from the event follow …

First Flight -

DP 117 Barossa Valley Fino NV - A pale straw yellow in colour. A bit watery on the front palate. Similar in strength to a dry table wine rather than the intensity you would normally encounter with a fortified wine. Apple cider is a apt description of the nose and palate. 87/100

DP 116 Barossa Valley Amontillado NV - Much darker in colour than the DP 117 with a deep gold hue. Honeyed, very nutty nose with the nuttiness following through on the palate. Exceptional length of 30+ seconds. Very good. 93/100

DP 38 Barossa Valley Oloroso NV - Deep brown in colour. Roasted nuts on the nose, and a very sweet honeyed palate. Excellent length but a touch of spirity harshness on the back palate spoils the balance. 89/100

Second Flight -

Show Vintage Touriga 1987 - Liquorice and spirity aromas on the nose. Good balance on the palate, the body is of medium intensity. 89/100

Vintage Shiraz/Touriga 2001 - Quite fresh but a whole lot of varnish on the nose and not much complexity on the palate yet. Needs time. 86/100

DP 90 Rare Barossa Valley Tawny - Rancio, toffee, butterscotch and an oxidised character on the nose. The body is fuller and more concentrated than the nose and is a pleasure to drink. Long finish of 10+ seconds. 92/100

21 Year Old Para Liqueur Barossa Valley Tawny 1984 - Some rancio on the nose. Medium body and intensity on the rich palate. Nice mouth-feel and a good finish. 90/100

Third Flight -

DP 57 Grand Rutherglen Tokay NV - Enticing nose of caramel, toffee and a bit of rancio. The palate tastes of rich caramel. The finish lingers with you for 15+ seconds. 92/100

GR 113 Rare Rutherglen Muscat NV - Intense, powerful, complex nose with caramel and fruitcake dominant. The palate is a treat - the same power and complexity, along with fruit vibrancy that leads up to a long, long finish of 60+ seconds that completes the excellent experience. 94/100

100 Year Old Para Liqueur Vintage Tawny 1880 - Impenetrable, dense brown in colour. So viscous that it felt as though efforts to swirl the wine in the glass were being resisted by the wine. A nose of amazingly complexity - caramel, toffee, tobacco, raisins and burnt oak. The length of the wine is measured in minutes, not seconds. If I could say one thing against the wine, it doesn’t have the same freshness and vibrancy on the palate as the 1905 vintage of this wine that I tasted earlier, which really took the wine to the ultimate level, but this is still something very special. 98/100

James Halliday, Australia’s most prolific wine writer and reviewer has released his annual top 100 current release list, this year including 101 wines. The list is divided into six categories by price and type and makes for some interesting reading.

One inclusion sure to provoke some discussion is the inclusion of 2000 Grange with 97 points. 2000 was a very difficult vintage in some of the regions where Grange grapes are sourced and the majority of Australian write reviewers have been very critical of it, with Jeremy Oliver stating that it should never have been released and rating it in the high 80s.

Otherwise the list looks good, with a number of Halliday’s inclusions also set to be included in my top 25 list that I’ll be publishing in December.

You can have a look at the list here.

Bass Phillip, run by Phillip Jones, is one of Australia’s most well known and respected producers of Pinot Noir. This “Village” wine is the entry level Pinot in the Bass Phillip range, but is still not cheap at $40AU. Then there are three more Pinot Noir wines with the Estate, Premium and then at the very top, the Reserve ($200AU+).

Tasting Note: Lovely nose, bursting forward with cherries, earth and undergrowth with a deft touch of oak. This is pretty good stuff I’m thinking to myself as I take my first sip, but then … the wine has pulled a Houdini and almost completely disappeared on the mid and back of my palate. I take another sip just to be sure and it has happened again, a burst of flavour on the front and then … nothing. Sadly, the same story takes place on night number two.

Like seeing an excellent movie trailer with one of your favourite actors and then when you are watching the movie, finding out they showed the only good parts in the trailer. You already knew it wasn’t the best script, but you expected more for the price of admission. 80/100 Drink: Now

From the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia - Almost no sediment. Browning only a slight amount around the edges of the otherwise deep red colour. Intoxicating nose - Savoury, earthy, briary with a touch of leather and a small hint of menthol. A fully mature, complex palate. Excellent length and balance. At its peak and showing no signs of fading. It’s super wines like this that remind me of why I’m so fascinated by this subject. 95/100 Drink: Now - 2007

From Geelong in Victoria, Australia - Nutty, toasty, slightly funky, complex nose. Restrained power on the palate, very nicely integrated oak. Balanced and stylish. Very good length. Loved it. Will develop additional complexity over the next few years. 93/100 Drink: Now - 2008

From Vouvray in the Loire Valley, France - Golden-yellow in colour with no signs of brown. Very slightly cloudy. Apples, pears, lemon, honey and a bit of varnish and a spirity character on the nose. Intense on the front of the palate but backs away and trails off short towards the end. More mineraly than sweet as well as being a touch tart. Good, not great, but enough to perk my interest in the Vouvray region wines. 88/100 Drink: Now

A nose of fresh apples, citrus and just a slight hint of yeast. Palate also shows fresh fruit and a little kick of refreshing acidity. Simple but somewhat calming for the price (Around $17AU). 85/100 Drink: Now