Appellation Australia

All wines were tasted blind at dinner with some friends from the Winestar Forum with the exception of my bottles which were the Bindi, Sorrenberg and the Elk Cove.

Bollinger R.D 1988 - (Champagne, France): Disgorged May 2000. Tarnished gold in colour. Toast, walnut, yeasty dough, pears and slightly oxidative nose. Palate is intense but still retains balance and structure with a crisp finish. My favourite wine on the night. 93/100

Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2005 - (Clare Valley, South Australia): What a disappointment, this is meant to be one of Australia’s very best (and expensive) Rieslings - all lemon and lime and a watery palate with no backbone, no structure, no length, no intensity. A bit of sweetness on the finish.

Wine critics have been generally extremely positive about this wine, but I have seen reports from others that their bottle was similarly poor. 85/100

Bindi Composition Chardonnay 2004 - (Macedon Ranges, Victoria): The antithesis of what I don’t like about Australian chardonnay. No buttery, over-oaked characters here. Fairly tight nose, some cinnamon and grapefruit. Some flinty minerality, good underlying oak and a bit of acid at this stage. Length is good. I liked it. 89/100

Felton Road Pinot Noir 2003 - (Central Otago, New Zealand): Cherries, tomatoes, some stalks, touch of funk initially that blew off. Thought there was some acid poking out but not nearly as much as some others at the table found. Fell away at the back of the palate. 87/100

Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 - (Eden Valley, South Australia): Savoury nose with elements of earth and blackcurrant at the forefront - lovely tannin structure and great texture/mouthfeel. My second favourite wine on the night. 93/100

Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 1994 - (Eden Valley, South Australia): Powerful nose with spice, pepper, some background oak and a hint of mint and menthol. Once again good structure and length. 90/100

Sorrenberg Gamay 2001 - (Beechworth, Victoria): Spice, earth, smoked smallgoods, some floral notes and a touch of butterscotch(?). Fleshy palate with some sweetness. Something different and definitely needs to be had with food. 88/100

Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2000 - (Oregon, USA): I think probably the first US Pinot I’ve tried and it’s not too bad! Earthy, forest floor, dirty and funky nose with some stalks in the background. Balanced and silky on the palate. Just lacking in some wow factor. A bit of a polarising style as well, with some liking it and some hating the dirt and funk. 89/100

Lindemans St George Cabernet Sauvignon 1991 - (Coonawarra, South Australia): Original release rather than the recent museum release bottling. Pencil shavings, cedar, cassis. Lovely complexity on the palate, great length. Very Bordeaux like. Super stuff. 92/100

Katnook Estate Prodigy Shiraz 1997 - (Coonawarra, South Australia): Tomato leaf, fair amount of vanilla oak. Palate is pretty good but the oak is still too prominent. 89/100

Rockford Grenache 1996 - (Barossa Valley, South Australia): Very ashy on the nose. Components of the palate are well integrated. I don’t know if this was meant to go 10 years but it was holding up fine. Decent enough but probably not a bad move to move the fruit into their GSM blend (Moppa Springs). 87/100

Rosemount Hunter Valley Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling 1982 - (Hunter Valley, New South Wales): A rarity! The story is that during the Fosters/Southcorp merger, inventory of warehouses were being done and 16 cases were found in a corner and nobody knew what they were. It turned out to be lost museum stock of this wine.

Colour was a deep orange brown, almost looked like a fortified wine. Nose was obvious aged Riesling with a bit of botrytis for good measure. Acid was there on the palate and holding the palate together. Very sweet but very nice. Fell apart after about half an hour in the glass, but was wonderful for the time it was alive. 92/100

Sydney experienced a 45° celsius (113° fahrenheit) New Years day this year, so we did what any sensible group of wine lovers would do - go ahead with the dinner anyway and celebrate the New Year with some great wine.

This was my first visit to Elio, an Italian restaurant which is based in Leichhardt and I would certainly go back for an offline in future. The food was excellent, service was very friendly and most importantly they were one of the few places open on New Years Day. Corkage was $5.50 per bottle which is about average for decent Sydney restauarants.

Krug Grande Cuvée MV - (Champagne, France): My first taste of Krug MV (multi-vintage blend) and I’m almost already a convert. Full, powerful nose of almonds, hazelnut, yeast and toast, while at the same time exhibiting fresh citrusy lemon and lime characters. Exceptional length on the palate with waves of flavour. I could easily get used to this! My favourite wine on this evening.. 95/100

Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay 2000 - (Hunter Valley, New South Wales): Citrus, peaches and a touch of butter and oak in the background. Quite a powerful, intense palate. Not showing much development yet but has the structure to hold while secondary characters are taken on. 89/100

Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 1998 - (Margaret River, Western Australia): Herbaceous, grass, tobacco leaf, tinned beans and what I thought was a whiff of disinfectant on the nose. A tangy element to the palate. I didn’t enjoy this but others at the table did. I came back to the wine later in the evening to see if my opinion would be kinder to it after some time had passed, but I still didn’t like it. 84/100

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 1997 - (Margaret River, Western Australia): Oatmeal, citrus, toasty oak and a bit of cheese dominate the aromas. Nice creamy mouth-feel but a touch of acid sticking out disrupts the line and otherwise good length. 89/100

Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir 2000 - (Gippsland, Victoria):This may be the only wine that I come close to picking blind this year at offline and I didn’t get the vintage, but I’ll take what I can get. Would not (and did not) pick this as being as young as 2000.

Stalks, cherries, violets, some confection and a touch of earthiness. Upfront, very smooth and easy to drink but also showing good texture and structure. I really quite liked the wine, but I rather less like the price tag associated. 92/100

Domaine Jean Gros Vosne-Romanee 1989 - (Burgundy, France): Earth, wild mushrooms, sour cherries and some spicy oak aromas form the forward nose of this wine. The palate lets the wine down a little bit, with some acid poking through that I don’t think will be resolved with any further time. 90/100

Chateau Bon Pasteur 1995 - (Bordeaux, France): Freshly shaved sawdust and tobacco on the nose. Tannic and lacking fruit. I didn’t pick any obvious TCA elements but will give the wine the benefit of the doubt as one member of the table had a better bottle previously. Not Rated

Pillitteri Estates Winery Sparkling Icewine Riesling 2002 - (Ontario, Canada): An interesting and unusual experience. Only a very light sparkle to it. Lifted fresh nose of apricots, raisins, lemon, pear and ginger. The palate was very sweet on its own but was toned down slightly when having it with dessert. Acid structure is there in the background but needs to come forward a little to achieve balance.

This is the first vintage of sparkling Riesling Icewine from this winery (and apparently the first sparkling Riesling Icewine from the region) and I’m sure they’ll improve the results with more experience. 89/100

Charles Melton Sparkling Red NV (Disgorged Nov-99) - (Barossa Valley, South Australia):Cherries along with spicy and meaty notes comprise the nose. Palate had just a touch of sweetness about it. Not bad. 87/100

2005 was an interesting year for consumers of premium Australian wine. Amidst the merger of Fosters and Southcorp and the continuing battle of the supermarkets versus the small independant stores, consumers enjoyed an ever expanding selection of great quality wine, both at low and high price points.

Thus as I look back at the year past, some of the choices for the best current release wines that I tried were not easy decisions, but here they are. The wines described are mostly in the higher cost premium category, but I will publish a “value wine of the year” list in the coming weeks.

To be eligible for a place on this list, the wine needed to exhibit class and character that went above and beyond being a technically sound wine, it needed to make a statement about the vintage and region or vineyard that it came from. That the wine may have been a little funky or dirty would not be counted as a negative as long as it added interest rather than be the dominating character of the wine. Finally the wine should have been a current release to consumers during 2005. Some of these wines may still be available in stores (especially overseas).

Best Riesling: 2002 Jacob’s Creek/Orlando “Steingarten” (Eden Valley, South Australia) $20 - One of the last of the Rieslings to be released from the outstanding 2002 vintage in the Eden Valley. The Steingarten vineyard was planted in 1962 and has produced some outstanding Riesling over the years, the 2002 being one of the best that I have tried with intense lime, mineral and chalky characters and an acid backbone that will see the wine age wonderfully well. This was released as Steingarten under both the Orlando and the Jacob’s Creek labels and is the same wine in both cases.
Riesling Runner Up: 2005 Seppelt “Drumborg” (Henty, Victoria) $25

Best Semillon: 1999 Tyrrell’s Vat 1 (Hunter Valley, Australia) $40 - It isn’t easy for wineries to hold back the releases of their flagship wines, especially due to the taxation problems it can cause for them, so that it why it is great to see Vat 1 be released with a minimum of 5 years bottle age. Hunter Valley Semillon is a unique style that people either seem to love or hate. This release of Vat 1 is still youthful and only hinting at secondary characters that it is going to take on as it develops into a superb wine over the next 10 years.
Semillon Runner Up: 1999 Mount Pleasant “Lovedale” (Hunter Valley, Australia) $35

Best Chardonnay: 1999 Bannockburn “S.R.H.” (Geelong, Victoria) $120 - From a single vineyard planted in 1977. A stunning wine - powerful and concentrated while avoiding being too broad, secondary bottle age characters are only just starting to come through and it will develop and live for many years to come. There has been a change in the winemaker at Bannockburn last year, and it will be interesting to see what direction he takes with the wines.
Chardonnay Runner Up: 2002 Leeuwin Estate Art Series (Margaret River, Western Australia) $65

Best Pinot Noir: 2003 Paringa Estate “Reserve” (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria) $70 - There were some strong contenders for this position but the Paringa Reserve won through in the end after some deliberation. 2003 was an excellent vintage for Pinot Noir on the Mornington Peninsula. This wine is all class, silky smooth and balanced with a finish that leaves you satisfied. Super drinking now, or in five years time.
Pinot Noir Runner Up: 2001 Bannockburn “Serre” (Geelong, Victoria) $120

Best Shiraz: 2003 Seppelt “St Peters” (Grampians, Victoria) $40 - A close call between this and the 2002 St Peters for Shiraz of the year, with the 2003 just coming ahead because it is slightly more approachable and drinkable at this stage of its life. St Peters, Seppelt’s flagship wine, is quite unlike the jammy massive Shiraz from South Australia, while still powerful they have a savoury, spicy, floral, velvety element to them. Outstanding length and structure and I don’t doubt that they will be even better with about 10 years behind them in bottle.
Shiraz Runner Up: 2004 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier (Canberra, ACT) $70

Best Cabernet Sauvignon: 2001 Balnaves The Tally Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra, South Australia) $80 - With all the talk of Margaret River being the future of Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia and Coonawarra being a spent force, I found it interesting that my favourite wine from this variety was still from the traditional Cabernet home of Australia. Intense and powerful, but still balanced, with the tannin structure to be amazing if given time to mature.
Cabernet Sauvignon Runner Up: 2003 Cullen Diana Madeline (Margaret River, Western Australia) $90

Best Merlot: 2001 Henschke “Abbott’s Prayer” (Eden Valley, South Australia) $70 - Some genuine “Merlo-sity” here, exhibiting great varietal character, with just a touch of Cabernet to keep the mid-palate strong. I tried this three times during the year, twice blind and I loved it every time.
Merlot Runner Up: 2003 Smidge “Le Grenouille” (Adelaide Hills, South Australia) $25

Best Fortified Wine: 1905 Seppelt 100 Year Old Para Liqueur Vintage Tawny (Barossa Valley, South Australia) $550 (375ml) - I have written about this wine at length previously here and not much more needs to be said. Most fortified wines in Australia are a blend of previous vintages, but this is entirely from 1905 grapes and is the most wonderful experience.

Best Sparkling Wine: 2001 Domaine Chandon Brut (Yarra Valley, Victoria) $25 - The Australian arm of French Champagne house Domaine Chandon. This wine is yeasty and has some of that elusive complexity that Australian sparkling wine sometimes can’t find - it lacks a little of that Champagne magic, but it could pass as an entry level Champagne.
Sparkling Wine Runner Up: 2001 Petaluma Croser $35

Best Dessert Wine: 2000 Petaluma Sémillon “Botrytis Essence” (Coonawarra, South Australia) $30 (375ml) - Just 100 cases of half bottles made in 2000 of this wine, which isn’t made every vintage due to the unpredictability of the Botrytis infection in a region like Coonawarra. That said, it is well worth the effort of seeking some out. As much as I like sweet wines, balance is still essential - this wine has some superb acid in the background to balance out the sweetness. The concentration and length are superb.
Dessert Wine Runner Up: 2002 Brown Brothers Riesling Patricia Noble (Milawa, Victoria) $25 (375ml)

For those readers in Sydney, it’s almost time for the annual Victorian Winemakers Exhibition at The Menzies Hotel. This year the event will be held on January 30 & 31 with the public tastings between 4pm - 8pm.

I went last year and may I suggest arriving as close to 4pm as possible to taste around some pre-selected wineries and then doing a tutorial session from 6pm to 7pm when the crowds really start to ramp up.

There is more information at http://www.vicwineweek.com regarding entry cost, wineries on show and the tutored tastings that are being offered.

I have some observations on trends encountered at last years show here and a roundup on wines tasted here. This year I plan on getting along to the trade tastings and having more time to speak to the winemakers along with tasting some new releases.