Appellation Australia

This Shiraz/Viognier blend from Petaluma is not as well known as their Riesling, Merlot or their Cabernet blend - but has still received some excellent reviews from Australian wine critics.

Tasting Note: Youthful colour and a not-at-all shy nose - blackcurrants, ripe cherry, clove and other assorted spices along with a fair amount of oak and a subtle floral lift from the small Viognier component. I didn’t mind the oak treatment too much, however the wine would be better if it were slightly more restrained. Give it some time and it may integrate better. For a first vintage - a very good effort. 90 Points Drink: 2008 - 2012

I was pleased to share some excellent wine over a couple of nights recently with some friends who enjoy drinking it, but perhaps aren’t quite as obsessed with it as I am.

From left to right:

Bannockburn Shiraz 2002 - ($50 - Geelong, Victoria): Earthy and stalky with spice and pepper, well balanced oak lending structure. Super complexity on the palate to keep things interesting. There was a touch of unbalanced acid on the finish but a very good wine regardless. Needs food to really show its best. 92 Points

Star Lane Merlot 2002 - ($35 - Beechworth, Victoria): Contract made by Keppell Smith from the cult winery Savaterre. Medium weighted, great line and length, not lacking anything in the mid-palate. Showed some cool-climate spicy characteristics on the nose and palate. Well balanced with a smooth finish. Among the top Australian Merlot predominate wines that I have tasted this year. 93 Points

Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru N.V - Disgorged Sept 2004 - ($75 - Champagne, France): Lovely golden colour with a glimmer of pink, fine bead and mousse. Pinot dominated nose. Yeasty and apple characters on the nose, but neither were overpowering. Delicious and excellent value compared to the big Champagne houses. 89 Points

Henschke Abbotts Prayer Merlot 2001 - ($65 - Adelaide Hills, South Australia): I’ve talked about this wine a couple of times before (here and here) and each time it has been excellent, this time was no exception. Impeccable structure and length. Velvety all the way across the palate. The kind of wine that you look up to find that the bottle is empty in no time since it is so drinkable. One of the few producers doing something special with this variety in Australia. 93 Points

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz Viognier 2004 - ($30 - Young, New South Wales): From the winery that made the Shiraz Viognier blend famous in Australia comes this version priced at about half the cost of the flagship wine. Previous vintages of this wine were without a Viognier influence but this vintage has been fermented on Viognier skins and looks all the better for it. Crimson tinged with a superb, enticing floral nose with hints of apricot. Excellent mouthfeel. Strongly fruit driven at this stage of its life, but has a backing of restrained oak and the tannin structure to develop for 4 to 5 years. Perhaps a little bit angular, which should resolve itself over time, but this is such delicious drinking now that I don’t know if many will be able to keep their hands off it for that long. 92 Points

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.

On Saturday the 7th of May, I attended a tasting at First Estate Wine Merchants in Lane Cove, with a focus on the Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills - both in South Australia.

The Event itself: Extremely crowded and cramped. The tasting was conducted amongst the aisles of a regular wine store and so it became quite difficult to manoeuvre around the venue with the tables jammed into corners where they could be found. A number of people seemed to have wandered into the store with a deliberate intent to loiter in front of the infrequent spittoons, try politely getting someone to move with a mouthful of wine! I did appreciate the printed list of the 35 or so wines on offer along with a price guide, a little more space with room for notes would have been good though.

The Wines:

Standouts of the show were;

Henschke Lenswood Abbots Prayer Merlot 2001 - A blend of 86% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Wonderfully structured and a long, smooth, satisfying length through to the finish. Set to develop very nicely over the next 4-5 years. Rating: 94 - RRP: $60AU

Saltram No. 1 Shiraz 2001 - Assisted by a higher than usual percentage of Eden Valley grapes to rise above a generally underperforming ‘01 vintage in the Barossa. Quite soft and smooth, with well integrated tannin structure. It delivers good length and a balance that allows this to be approachable at an early stage of development. Rating: 93 - RRP: $50AU

Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling 2004 - Since focusing on getting back to their roots as a Riesling only producer, Leo Buring has gone from strength to strength. This wine is immaculately sculpted and exhibits lemon and lime characteristics over a well formed mineral backing. This is only going to get better over the next 10 years. Can be had for under $15, making it exceptional value. Rating: 93 - RRP: $18AU

Barossa Valley Estate E&E Black Pepper Shiraz 2001 - I was surprised to find this here, since they wouldn’t let me try it at the cellar door last year. Obvious American oak treatment, but not overpowering. Quite a strong, complex aroma and palate of cassis and berries, with a hint of smoky pepper. Doesn’t disappoint on the finish with a persistent length. Rating: 93 - RRP: $65AU

Peter Lehmann Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 -Very good balance between fruit and oak. A wine that will pair well with food. Excellent value for money. The complexity will benefit from a couple of years in the cellar. Rating: 92 - RRP: $13.99 AU

Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 2002 - A well balanced, early drinking style Shiraz. More elegant than your average stereo-typical Barossan Shiraz. Rides on the back of the superb ‘02 vintage in the Barossa. Consequently, it delivers some excellent value for money. Rating: 92 - RRP: $25AU

St Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2002 - A fine example of what Barossa Shiraz is renowned for. Concentrated, powerful fruit with a backing of chocolate oak. Fantastic drinking now. Rating: 92 - RRP: $30AU

Shaw and Smith M3 Vineyard Chardonnay 2003 - From the Adelaide Hills. Shows apples and pear with a hint of toasty butter, presumably from some malolactic fermentation. Give it a couple of years in the cellar to really show what it can do. Rating: 90 - RRP: $32AU

Fast Facts: Country: Australia Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Winemaker: Matt Wenk Variety: 100% Merlot Closure: Cork RRP: $22.50 AU

Matt Wenk has proven himself to be an astute winemaker at the export focused Barossa Valley winery “Two Hands”. Smidge is his personal label consisting of a recently released Adelaide Hill Viognier and the reviewed Adelaide Hills Merlot. He also produces a Langhorne Creek Zinfandel and a soon to be released Barossa Valley Zinfandel. Alongside Cape Mentelle who have been making Zinfandel since the 1980’s, Smidge would have to be my favourite producer of Zinfandel in this country.

So it was with high hopes that I opened their 2003 Merlot, but also a certain amount of trepidation, for I am frequently disappointed by Australian Merlot with the green, herby characters that a large number of our Merlot seems to exhibit, along with a distinct lack of varietal character.

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Fast Facts: Country: Australia Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Winemaker: Brian Croser Variety: 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay Closure: Cork RRP: $40 AU

A little bit about the winery: Brian Croser is one of Australia’s great winemakers. He has been a driving force behind innovation in style and technique in the Australian winemaking industry since he first opened Petaluma in 1976.

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