Full Pour

Braided River Pinot Noir 2008

2010-03-20T11:29:48Z

The companion wine to the Sauvignon Blanc tasted earlier this week. I must be in a better mood tonight because I find myself more forgiving of what are similarly soft stylistic choices with this wine. Part of it is that I like Marlborough Pinot Noir, surely the daggiest red style produced in New Zealand. I enjoy its abundance, silky ease and accessibility; the opposite of brutish Central Otago wines and tiresomely stylish Martinborough ones.

I like the colour; it's quite brilliant, with a low level of density yet showing flashes of precocious purple amongst its garnets and rubies. Those nose was a little harsh at first; with what appeared to be a bit of volatility and some sulfur perhaps; it's mostly blown off now, though. What's left are typically sour tamarillo fruit aromas, piercing and light. There's no depth or complexity at all, but it's pleasingly varietal and nimble.

The palate is similarly dimensioned and shows the same varietal correctness as the nose. Entry is fruit-driven, with some sweet, squishy fruit atop what is an acid-driven structure. It's all a bit edgy and thin perhaps; I want more stuffing, but what's there is pretty and great to quaff. The middle palate shows a tad more generosity, seemingly sugar-derived, before a tart after palate introduces a smattering of grainy tannins. Not a bad finish, with some sappy complexities taking over right at the back of the mouth.

As with the white, this is a well-judged commercial wine that seems to be hitting the spot more effectively for me this evening.

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Braided River
Price: $A24.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Offcuts: dinner and three wines

2010-03-17T08:51:26Z

Chris's partner, Dan, is in town. It's been over a year since I last saw Dan and, aside from a little more grey, he is happily the same as ever. Last night, we decided to have dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant called Libertine. It's in the newish Barracks complex in town; one of those upmarket developments with a cinema, wine shop, gourmet ice creamery and several restaurants. All of life's inner city essentials in one handy location.

The restaurant itself has an attractive ambience, with glowing chandelier-laden décor. Food-wise, it was consistent on the night, a pumpkin curry the unlikely highlight of the meal. The wine list is well-selected and diverse, and we chose three different wines to accompany our leisurely dinner. Prices are from the list via my memory.

Domaine Pichot Coteau de la Biche 2005 ($A62, restaurant list)

A sec Vouvray, this went very well with our entrées of chicken paté, kingfish sashimi and scallops. Quite full aromas of stewed apple and pear, tending towards the odd, sweet prickliness of fairy floss that I seem to find a bit in Vouvray. In the mouth, generous and fresh, with more smashed apples and an edge of pineapple giving way to a lightly textural after palate and soft finish. Great acidity that is the primary contributor to its food-friendliness. This is drinking well but could happily sit in a cellar for years to come.

Eldridge Estate Gamay 2008 ($A50, restaurant list)

This makes a compelling case for Mornington Peninsula Gamay; perhaps fortunate as it may well be the only one made. Simple to start, flavours presenting similarly to the dreaded dry red Pinot style. It really took off about half an hour in, with attractive spiced complexity overlaying detailed, balanced red cherry fruit. Expressive on both nose and palate, there's real vitality to this wine's flavour profile, and it shows sophistication without sacrificing an ounce of deliciousness. Weight and texture are both well-judged; again, a good food style and one that went with both curry and full-flavoured pork belly. A great house red for the well-heeled.

Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling 2009 ($A12/glass, restaurant list)

We were quite lucky on the food and wine matching front; this went well with pear tarte tatin. Pure indulgence; ultra-clean flavours of preserved citrus, ripe tropical fruits and flowers, elegant in the mouth, with brilliantly balanced acidity. It's sweet yet fresh, opulent yet shapely. Finally, a dessert wine with manners -- an exercise in vinous propriety.

Auguste Clape Cornas 2006

2010-03-16T03:00:00Z

Last Saturday afternoon, I found myself in Berkeley, California, home of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. For you Aussie readers, I'll just say that Kermit is no Dan Murphy; he's been in the business for decades and could well be said to have single-handedly revolutionized the import business by traveling to Europe (OK, mostly France) by himself, tasting small, handmade wines from family-owned wineries, and then going to the trouble of importing them in refrigerated containers to preserve the wine's quality. The California wine scene hasn't been the same since Kermit hung out a shingle, and we are very much the richer for it. Where else can you find an artisanal Côtes du Rhône for less than $12 or small production wines from places you've never even heard of?

As Randall Grahm once wrote, one should "Go to Berserkeley, get a case of Clape" - so I figured sure, why not. Probably not a case - I mean, a case of this stuff costs more than most studio apartments in Berkeley - but a single bottle? That, I could do, even if I think it's a new record for me (even Ridge Monte Bello costs less as futures here). We stopped next door at Acme Bread for a whole wheat walnut levain and pain de mie, hit the Cheese Board for some delicious cooperatively retailed small production cheese from Marin County, ran by Genova Deli in Oakland for some prosciutto di Parma, and we were good to go.

Back in Oakland - I had come up for the weekend to spend time with an old friend I hadn't seen in years - we got to work. I opened the wine, poured two glasses... and was instantly greatly relieved that it was obviously worth the money. The best wines in the world defy description; the only word that comes to mind in that situation (to me) is ineffable. I experienced a visceral, physical reaction: the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I stopped thinking, and a few moments later I came to again. Thinking that this puppy would need a lot of exposure to air, I headed back to the kitchen and helped prep the food; later, armed with an array of cheese (if you've never had Cowgirl Creamery's Red Hawk, by the way, I can't recommend it highly enough), freshly baked bread, zucchini torta, and a mountain of charcuterie, we got down to drinking.

If memory serves me correctly, the primary aromas of this wine were steely minerality, a fleeting floral note, dark red or black fruits (think cassis, perhaps), wet, stony earth, leather, a little bit of smoke (perhaps from a butcher's), and a trace of bacon fat. In short, this is exactly what you would expect from syrah from the northern Rhône. No matter how many times I returned to the glass, it absolutely refused to settle down into any kind of a predictable pattern. Just as a good perfume is designed to constantly change every time you smell it, this wine was a beautiful, living, breathing thing constantly suggesting new ways of approaching it. Over time - it took a few hours to dust the bottle - it did mellow out somewhat, with the tooth-staining, formidable tannins relaxing somewhat into a sweeter, less aggressive profile - but even then, it threw forth an impenetrable aura of undeniable, reserved elegance very much like traditional luxury goods do: you know it's expensive, you know it's the best - and there's also a certain humorlessness that goes with the terroir, er, territory.

Lest I leave out any part of a standard tasting note, I will here perfunctorily note that the color was an exuberantly youthful purple, noticeably clear at the rim, and very clean. The finish was masculine and tannic, but no match for the initial attack of the wine: the initial sensation of leathery minerals with raspberry darkness was more than you could possibly want.

Thinking about the wine for the next two days, however, I almost found myself longing for something a bit more, well, strange about this wine. In a very real sense, this wine is indeed brilliantly made and an archetype of a style, the obvious bottle that launched a thousand New World imitators. But what if you're a New World kind of guy? To me, this wine was almost more of a learning experience than pure physical pleasure: to drink this wine is to understand where you (and your country's wines, in part) came from. To drink this wine is to be properly schooled in How It Is Done. To drink this wine is to be presented with a tangible challenge: How are we in the New World to respond to this? The country that we have: where is the place that could produce a wine anywhere this elegant, this powerful, this beautiful? Do we even know where it is? And if we did, how would we farm it? Would we succeed?

I believe that I have had the great good fortune to taste several New World wines that approach, equal, or even exceed the greatness that this wine personifies. Christophe Baron and Tim Kirk have both (in my mind) proven that great Syrah can be grown outside of the northern Rhone: a Cayuse or Clonakilla syrah exhibits all of the same characteristics in of course regionally distinct ways... and I have to guiltily admit that I admire their wines the more for it. The Clape family figured it out a long time ago; Baron and Kirk are relatively new at this, and I find their achievements all the more impressive for it. However, parochialism and nationalism aside (on my part), I am ultimately simply grateful that wines like this exist. After all, that moment of pure physical pleasure, of experiencing a beauty outside of time, isn't something that just happens: it takes hard work. Without the dedication and efforts of these men, experiences like this would simply not exist.
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Auguste Clape
Price: $87
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Braided River Wairau Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2009

2010-03-15T09:20:53Z

I've had some interesting conversations over the last couple of weeks on the merits (or otherwise) of writing up straightforward, commercial wines. There's no arguing the relevance; this wine is available pretty much everywhere, and as a consumer I'm just as interested as the next snob in reading a bit about what I might buy. But as a writer, my issue is that, more often than not, they provoke no reaction. They are exactly what I think they will be, and where's the fun in that?

Absolutely regional aroma, showing typical passionfruit and light cut grass. Say what you will about Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc; there's no denying it stands out like dog's balls in a line up, and I'd argue this demonstrates inherent merit in the style, taste notwithstanding. This one is quite soft, though, some Vaseline on the lens obscuring the harsh angularity that can be an issue in some examples.

The palate is correct, but is marred for my taste by an excess of apparent sweetness. No doubt I'm in the minority here; this is exceptionally well-judged in its attempt to alienate no-one, and on one view there are few higher compliments one could pay a commercial style. In the mouth, soft and almost cuddly, with accessible citrus and passionfruit flavours expressed with watercolour imprecision. No great length, no great surprises.

What you see is what you get.

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Braided River
Price: $A18.99
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Sparkling Shiraz NV

2010-03-14T09:32:28Z

Disgorged in 2009. This is essentially the same wine as the Karra Yerta Sparkling Shiraz previously reviewed on Full Pour, so one might wonder the point of writing it up. Two reasons: firstly, it's an excellent sparkling red worthy of some air time, and secondly, I'm kind of curious of my impressions the second time around.

That fabulous purple mousse that makes me want to squeal with delight (in a manly way). Liqueurous nose showing ripe cherries, spiced oak, chocolate and some lees influences. Subtle and complex, it gives more as one puts more into it. It's an earthy aroma profile that seems, somehow, artisanal in that it's not squeakily, soullessly clean.

The palate shows a similar complexity of flavour profile, though this bottle is less lively than the Karra Yerta I looked at in December, and consequently lacks a little pizzaz in the mouth. No matter, lots going on for sure; dark berry fruit flavours, savouriness, oak, tannin; this is a mile from the simple, sweet sparkling red some might be familiar with. Medium bodied, emphasising elegance and shape rather than outright power. Beautiful, cotton-wool finish of great finesse and delicacy.

Quality red bubbles. Fans of the style would do well to seek it out.

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Flaxman Wines
Price: $A35
Closure: Crown seal
Source: Sample

Reinhold Haart Piesport Goldtröpfchen Kabinett 2007

2010-03-14T08:51:24Z

I've been a bit slow in tasting my stash of 2007 German Rieslings so, this evening, as I enjoy the company of a great friend, I have opened this Kabinett-level wine from the Mosel.

Opulent richness on the nose, beyond what one might expect for this ripeness level, along with some prickly sulfur and a hint of minerality. Fruit aromas are in the apricot spectrum and lack the vibrant freshness of brand new Riesling; to be expected, perhaps, given the age of the wine. I'm swirling this wine vigorously as I feel it will benefit from some air; a decant wouldn't be out of the question. There's an intriguing savouriness to the aroma profile that is becoming more prominent as the wine sits in glass; it's somewhere between pebbles and the smell of juicy, smashed weeds.

In the mouth, full-flavoured without being overly intense. The entry sneaks up on you, building towards a rather bling middle palate full of slightly simple apricot and rich lemons. There's a broadness to the flavours and structure that isn't entirely attractive, though there's plenty of flavour, so one always has a lot to latch on to. Minerality takes over through the after palate, and the flavour profile becomes a lot dryer towards the nicely textured finish. Unremarkable length.

I wish this wine were more focused and that flavours showed greater detail; as it is, a very pleasant off-dry white.

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Reinhold Haart
Price: $A46.95
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Ramblings: tasting Rutherglen

2010-03-07T10:21:13Z

A weekend of tasting events, the most physically challenging of which was a tour of the Rutherglen region on Saturday. Conveniently (or not, depending on one's point of view), our visit coincided with the Tastes of Rutherglen festival. This had three implications:

Tasting required the purchase of a rather oddly shaped glass for $10;
Cellar doors featured a range of live music and, in the case of the wonderfully daggy Chambers Rosewood Winery, what appeared to be a kind of blue light disco; and
We often had to negotiate throngs three or four people deep to be served (though cellar door staff were invariably patient and informative).

All of which is great for the region's producers, and there were certainly good crowds having a great time at each winery. Warrabilla in particular seemed to show a lively atmosphere, which is somehow fitting given the robustness of its wine styles. But I am getting ahead of myself. Here's a brief summary of the highlights as I saw them.

Stanton and Killeen

Tasting selectively is a must, it seems, at Rutherglen cellar doors, simply because they more often than not have a startlingly large range. The region also seems to be the spiritual home of some unusual varieties in the local context, including Durif and Blue Imperial (Cinsault). Here, some solid, fully flavoured Durif and Shiraz Durif table wines gave way to the main event, which was a vertical of this producer's VPs.

We tasted the 2004, 2002, 2000,1998, and 1983. The 2004, almost entirely made from the traditional Portuguese varieties, is an elegant, coherent style, with good fruit freshness and balance. The 2002 is similar, but with some distinct aged notes on the aroma in particular. The 2000 stands out a little for its volatility and larger scale, whereas the 1998 is back to a more elegant, shapely expression. The oldest wine is quite different, mostly Shiraz, and very much the Australian VP style, with a more sweetly fruited palate and quite a different tannin profile. A nice example of VP in this idiom.

Interestingly, the Muscat and Tokay are made in a lighter style than most, the classic Tokay especially. For my taste, these wines lack some intensity and definition, but might please someone whose preference runs to a less powerful expression of these regional specialties.

Campbells Winery

At Campbells, we indulged in the $10 premium tasting, which meant a lot of back vintage table wines and the grand and rare fortifieds.

I found the back vintage reds variable, at times lacking fruit presence to balance out what are quite fierce tannin structures. The Muscat and Tokay wines are another matter entirely, with plenty of everything. The classics are satisfyingly rich and varietal. The rare Tokay was a particular highlight for me, with incredible length and drive right down the line, and the most outrageously delicious aftertaste that reminded me of barbeque chips.

Warrabilla

After a nice burger with the lot in Rutherglen township, we hit Warrabilla for some more palate punishment. This house has a very idiosyncratic style, centred on "big red wines" that take scale and alcohol to their logical regional conclusion. Taste aside, one has to admire such clear intent, followed through so completely.

To my taste, Durif responds best to the style being sought, resulting in wines with a flavour profile that strikes me as quite achieved. The Cabernet Sauvignons are a surprise, recognisably varietal and almost elegant, within context. An oddity is the Zinfandel, made in a light red style with plenty of ease and fun. Overall, definitely worth a visit to see how one's taste interacts with the style.

Chambers Rosewood

A time capsule. This utterly old school producer has a massive range of table wines, including what is surely the most unusual wine we encountered all day: a Blue Imperial rosé. Basically a large shed, the cellar door is mostly self-service and shows all the trappings of the Australian wine industry of yesteryear, including an alarmingly large number of wines available by the flagon.

As expected, the highlights here were again the Tokays and Muscats, made in a finer, more varietal and apparently drier style than in some other houses. The classic Muscat sings with pure, grapey Frontignac goodness, and would be great as a picnic wine, lightly chilled perhaps. The grand Tokay is magnificent, beautifully defined, unfolding in the mouth both gently and with precise articulation. No rares were on tasting, so I can only imagine what they are like.

I absolutely loved this visit.

Morris Wines

This producer showed the table wines I enjoyed the most all day. Solid across the board, though I felt the Blue Imperial to be a particularly interesting, food-friendly dry red, if slightly anonymous in flavour. The Shiraz Durif sparkling wine is also excellent and mercifully dry.

What's striking about this producer's fortifieds is the extreme opulence of the style at all levels, classic through rare. On the day, I liked the grand level wines the least, as they seemed to fall in a vague middle ground between classics that are light enough to show some youthful definition, and rares that are simply knock-your-socks-off wines of sensational drive and opulence. In any case, these are all benchmarks at the rich end of the stylistic scale, and I feel they are well priced for the quality.

Dribs and drabs

2010-03-01T20:20:43Z

I (Julian) am currently in the enormous Goulburn Valley region -- Dookie to be exact -- kicking off what I hope will be an interesting part-time course of study (wine-related, of course). Forgive me if posts are few and far between these couple of weeks. On the plus side, some interesting wines are being tasted, including a most unexpected Semillon, made from fruit grown at the Dookie campus vineyard, twenty three years old and still singing.

More soon.

Sorrenberg Chardonnay 2008

2010-02-27T05:04:36Z

Dinner with family in Melbourne on Friday evening was enhanced by the provision of this bottle. Thanks to my cousin Travis -- who continues the Coldrey line as far as an obsession with wine is concerned -- for his generosity in supplying all the evening's drinks. My first Sorrenberg Chardonnay and I'm favourably impressed.

A powerful, worked style that, in the first instance, is most notable for the richness of its fruit flavours. Nectarine, fig and some grapefruit all intermingle within an aroma that also throws a range of caramel and oatmeal notes. There's significant complexity and scale, but the confident, seductive aromas themselves are what draw me to this wine.

The palate follows through on all aspects of the nose, showing a forthright, complex range of flavours. Good presence and consistency along the entire line. A couple of points, then. Firstly, this isn't a wine for those fixated on the current vogue for lean Chardonnay styles. The lushness and luxe inherent to the fruit and style are quite contrary to a more minerally, austere expression of Chardonnay. And that's OK. Secondly, this is a wine to sip and savour, not necessarily to drink in large volumes. Certainly, I helped my dinner companions to finish our bottle with ease. But as I drank more, a cracked toffee note through the back palate became slightly dominant, pushing fruit and savoury characters out of the way to the detriment of the wine's overall balance. Still, a minor quibble over what is an impressive wine of some beauty.

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Sorrenberg
Price: $NA
Closure: Cork
Source: Gift

Offcuts

2010-02-26T00:35:17Z

A few more random tastings, on the whole very pleasant indeed. The first two were consumed at Brisbane's 5th Element wine bar, which is not a bad place to soak up both the afternoon breeze and a few nice wines. Prices are as per the venue's list - do the usual adjustment to determine approximate retail.

Flaxman Riesling 2008 ($A44, restaurant list)

Showing some nascent signs of bottle age (a bit of toast, mostly), this is a wonderfully gentle drink. Unlike the driven, juicy 2009, this wine is a laid back expression of Eden Valley Riesling, with pastel fruit colours and a precise presence in the mouth. This wine reminded me of feathers and clouds and everything that suggests delicate beauty. Will no doubt continue to age, but I'm glad I caught it as a relative youngster.

By Farr Saignee 2008 ($A44, restaurant list)

How interesting. In terms of how this wine drinks, as opposed to what it tastes like, it reminds me most strongly of Chardonnay. Like a worked Chardonnay style, this wine is all about texture, mouthfeel and presence. On the nose, creamy notes alongside fresh berries. There's nothing overty fruity about this wine, though; rather, the berry notes present as evasive, almost hidden. The palate is full of winemaking in the most positive sense; it's quite unexpected, blending a creamy, mealy mouthfeel and flavour with fresh fruit; all totally dry and well balanced. A really exciting style.

Kreglinger Vintage Brut 2003 ($A40, retail)

Had trouble with this one. I found this a heavy style, with a lumpen presence in the mouth and little of the fleet delicacy I enjoy with sparkling wine. It's undeniably flavoursome, and the dosage seems more or less well-judged (perhaps a bit high for me). But it never takes flight through the middle palate, and seems to get stuck half way, the fruit being too broad to maintain movement and flow.

Bloodwood Chardonnay 2009

2010-02-21T08:45:20Z

Not a lot of tasting (as opposed to drinking) these last few days. Tonight, while dinner is cooking, I thought I'd give this wine a go. It arrived during the week from the indefatigable David Cumming, who does PR for many Central Ranges wineries. My experience of recent wines from this zone has been variable, but this bottle is getting more and more interesting as I swirl.

A strong element of minerality, aided perhaps by some sulfur, dominates the nose, followed closely by flowers and quite complex fruit notes. The fruit edges towards stonefruit, with some pithy grapefruit too. It's quite a savoury aroma profile, challenging even, and evolves to show a hint of baked goods. The elements show a discordant relationship, never resolving cleanly, but constantly exchanging meaningful glances.

The palate, initially, seemed simple and slippery, with straightforward white peach fruit. It has quickly become complex and savoury, though, and to me a lot more interesting. The entry is quite flavoursome yet gentle too; fruit flavours seem to glide towards the middle palate on satin sheets. And if that sounds a bit tacky, it is, or at least threatens to be, until one realises on the middle palate there is a range of quite adult flavours on offer, and the mouthfeel has become more textured too. Rocks get thrown together as the wine edges towards the back palate, where a floral lift takes flavours towards a subtle, glowing finish of good length. Oak seems subliminal, winemaking equally simple. I feel like I'm tasting the fruit, and I like it.

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Bloodwood Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Offcuts: cheap reds

2010-02-18T10:23:10Z

I've been slowly accumulating cheap red wines -- mostly samples -- so thought I'd sit down to a few this evening. In a sense, I enjoy the challenge of tasting inexpensive wines, as they prompt an adjustment not only of one's expectations, but one's understanding of the role of wine. I like to think the intent behind such wines is to add a bit of luxury to a weeknight meal, something that is too often a purely functional ritual of nourishment.

What annoys me, though, are wines that seem cynically made, either to a price point or a certain stylistic formula (generically sweet fruit, obvious oak, confected flavours) that shows an intolerable degree of contempt for the consumer's tastes. Luckily, I found a couple of good'uns this time around.

Kirrihill Clare Valley Shiraz 2008 ($A14.99, sample)

A pretty good effort. At first, quite reticent, with little expressiveness on either nose or palate. It ends up being quite flavoursome, though, with a fair dose of regionality to boot. The nose shows sweet and savoury berries, some pepper and rather lumpy, coffeed oak. There's a nice vegetal lift too, which seems to me quite regional. The palate shows robust, unrefined flavours and just a touch of generically sweet fruit, along with rough, toasty oak. Quite outrageously tannic and textured for a wine at this price point. The whole is pretty rough and ready, but undeniably generous. It doesn't fall headlong into an incredibly depressing confectionary fruit flavour, nor into or a dumbing down of the wine's regional character. Honest and fun.

Mike Press Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2008 ($A10, gift)

A very generous aroma, with plenty of blackberry fruit and lashings of vanillan oak; just what the doctor ordered, really. There's a slight lift to the aroma too, perhaps from the oak character and a little volatility? In any case, it works well. There's a nice brambly edge to the fruit too, which adds some welcome complexity and character. The palate is easygoing, and very much in line with the nose. There's plenty of berries and plums, a hint of pepper, and an oak volume that seems better judged than in previous vintages. The whole seems a bit formless, but I'm not going to complain too much at this price point. Good fruit and exceptionally well-judged styling.

Santa Carolina Carignan 2008

2010-02-18T03:15:00Z

Um, wow. Garishly purple in a peculiarly children's-television kind of way, I can easily imagine Nomi Malone shoplifting some of this at a Sephora in Las Vegas. However, the way the wine smells is a hundred and eighty degrees away from its look: strangely dark, slightly peppery, with a nearly pickled, shoe-polished, venison meat pie edge to it, it's a wonderfully seductive, complex wine of the sort you generally don't associate with carignane.

Delightfully immature, the wine doesn't seem like it's time to integrate itself just yet: there's an initial impression of candied red fruits that quickly swaps itself out to reveal dusty wood shop shelves, somewhat clunky acidity (that thankfully keeps it all in check), and a thick, fat outro that slides by on groovy, tannic rails towards a long, gentle finish redolent of unfashionable hard candies and earthy, loamy sweetness with suggestions of forest flowers - it almost reminds me of the taste of oxalis that grows near California redwoods, with an almost citric tang combined with that rich, dark, earthy fruit.

This is frankly insanely delicious - I wish I had some Parmesan cheese to eat with it, but alas, I don't. If more wineries made carignane like this, I suspect more people would drink it. Then again, outside of California and Chile, I'm not sure there are a lot of winegrowers who take the trouble to grow it well.
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Santa Carolina
Price: CLP 6900
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Printhie Mount Canobolas Collection Shiraz Viognier 2008

2010-02-16T09:21:59Z

Ever since Shiraz Viognier blends became popular in Australia, a very few years ago really, it seems to me producers have been struggling with how (perhaps even why) to tackle this style. The biggest problem, for me at any rate, is too evident a Viognier influence, turning what would ideally be a feminine, elegant wine into something caricatured, almost cartoonish, with overt apricot flavours and an unattractively pumped up mouthfeel. I'm making all sorts of problematic assumptions about style, of course, but that has been my honest reaction over a few years of tasting local Shiraz Viogniers. So I tend to approach them with some trepidation.

This wine let me down at first. Apricot aromas dominate slightly reticent spicy Shiraz and create a sweet, exaggerated aroma profile akin to a forced smile. The apricot never entirely settles into the fabric of the wine, but it does recede sufficiently with some swirling to allow meaty, white peppery berries to step forward and share the spotlight. There's also some well judged ice cream oak to add complexity.

The palate is replay of the nose's evolution over the short term. Starting too sweet and slippery, it becomes much more savoury after an hour of air. Entry is cheeky, with a thread of red fruit sliding along the tongue towards a middle palate that remains tight, but adds an array of peppery, savoury flavours. Weight is light to medium bodied, with a focused architecture and brisk movement along the line. Intensity is only moderate, and the overall impression is one of lithe elegance rather than power. A textured, slightly raspy after palate that emphasises pricklier aspects of the flavour profile, with just a bit of fruit sweetness to keep things friendly. Good length.

Not entirely resolved as a wine, but there's plenty to enjoy, and it's nice to taste a premium label that takes a measured, subtle approach to style. Elegant packaging.

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Printhie
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Offcuts

2010-02-15T10:49:56Z

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($A16.99, sample)

Notable for pushing sub-regionality in a region and variety renowned for its distinctiveness (and, hence, tendency to homogeneity), I found this wine an extreme expression of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I'm an occasional fan of this style, especially when in the mood for something outrageously vulgar (more often than I care to admit). But the austerity of this wine pushes the boundaries of drinkability for me. Sweaty, herbaceous aromas cut through with hints of passionfruit and gooseberry. The palate is ultra-dry and searingly acidic. Ultra-varietal, to be sure, but challenging in its purity.

Lightband Brightwater Pinot Noir 2007 ($A25, sample)

Another Kiwi wine, this time from Nelson at the top of the South island. Slightly dull colour here, ruby red with orange at the rim. Certainly not a show pony, visually. The nose is very promising, with expressive spiced cherries against light caramel. Not complex but very characterful. The palate seems a bit light on, with streaks of acidity creating a slight impression of harshness. Starts off well, with quite fleshy fruit, but slims through the mid palate as it heads towards coarse grained tannins and a bit of alcohol heat. The flavour, while distinctive, lacks depth, though I wonder if it needs a few months in the bottle to fill out further?

Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz 2008 ($A30, sample)

Seriously regional aromas of earth, boysenberry, flint and cocoa powder. It's deep and powerful, mostly savoury and very attractive. It's a very masculine aroma, like stubble on a cheek, wild and strong. The palate is, as hoped, equally dense with powerful fruit, seeming to stain the insides of the mouth (or so I like to imagine). More sweet boysenberries and tasty oak, plus a bunch of savoury complexities. Architecturally, it's a bit formless and seems to bellyflop onto the tongue rather than place its feet with any sort of precision. Still, it's hard to argue with so much great flavour, so best to approach this wine wearing a hedonist's, not an intellectual's, cap.