Author Archives: Julian Coldrey

Mike Press Merlot 2009

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After suffering a severe man flu for most of the week, I figured I may as well drown my sorrows on this Friday evening. So I find myself with a glass of Mike Press’s most recent Merlot in front of me. It’s a bit tricky trying to balance tasting, coughing and blowing my nose, but the quality of this wine is proving motivational.

I enjoyed the 2005 of this wine but this seems to me a step up. For a start, the oak seems of a higher quality, and of a character better matched to the fruit’s range of flavours. This is all quite serious, actually. The nose is heady, with dark berries, rich autumn leaves, sap and cedar, with just a hint of the nougat oak that was much more prominent in the earlier vintage wine. There’s something quite sharp about the aroma profile, not altogether attractive in fact, that should calm with some time in bottle, or a good airing in the decanter.

The thing that strikes me most about the palate is its structure. This is quite heavily architected as a wine, with decent acidity but, more notably, a prominent tannin presence. Certainly not one for the “smooth, fruity” Merlot crowd. The effect is both raw and voluptuous, a textural mouthful of a wine with a dry bite through the finish. Fruit is dense and inky, tilting towards savouriness, with a black olive and leaf edge that signals both the variety and a seriousness of intent. I’m sure the oak is contributing to an overall sense of youth and rough vibrancy, all of which should come together with some more time.

This really is an excellent, though very young, wine. At this price, a complete no brainer.

Mike Press Wines
Price: $A12.50
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Gilligan Shiraz Grenache Mourvèdre 2009

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My tasting notes are, at times, elaborate attempts to understand and perhaps even justify a gut reaction. Indeed, I started to write notes in the first place as a way to help work through the why of my likes and dislikes (and to compensate for my shockingly bad memory). I can probably articulate a particular response better now than I could a few years ago, but what I continue to value above all else is the realisation, be it instant or gradual, that you really love a wine.

In a sense, it’s easy to write about my enjoyment of a wine when it has some accepted currency in the dialogue: elegant reds, lean Chardonnays, flinty Rieslings. The conversation is mutually reinforcing of the wine’s quality and my own excellent taste. But wines like this — authentically commercial styles designed for maximum pleasure — can be more difficult to justify. Yet they shouldn’t be. After all, wine is about refreshment and enjoyment above all else, and if a wine provides these things, surely that is its own justification?

This is very pleasurable commercial style. I’ve tasted it over three days and it has held its form and flow well. The nose shows full, ripe plum fruit and a good deal of sexy, malty oak. The impression is cuddly and expressive, like curling up on a comfortable couch with a soft woolen blanket. There’s some gentle spice and detail too, adding nuance to an aroma profile that remains all about generosity.

The palate is more of the same, and this wine’s level of alcohol — 15% abv — expresses itself as a mouthfilling voluptuousness. Despite this, the wine comes across as medium bodied, indeed showing a degree of elegance that is surprising. I think this is mostly due to quite bright acid, which props up the fruit flavours and gives the palate sparkle and flow. The fruit is just so delicious, showing sweet plums, red berries and a hint of more savoury character. There’s perhaps a slightly stressed dimension too, probably reflective of vintage conditions but in no way distracting. A nice long finish that vibrates with oak and juicy plums.

It’s a mistake to undervalue styles like this.

Gilligan
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Angullong Sauvignon Blanc 2010

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If you’re going to drink cheap Sauvignon Blanc, it had better, at the very least, be a fresh release. It had also better be characterful, a bit of a coquette perhaps, not sweet so much as fruitful, bursting with the sort of guileless enthusiasm that’s embarrassing in company but awesome when it’s just you.

Except that, when you realise that you’re kind of digging it, you begin to want to share it with friends, because something this fun seems a shame to keep to yourself. And while you’re contemplating that contradiction, the smell of it yanks you back into the land of simple enjoyment, and makes you forget thoughts of wine as a mark of sophistication, or even as something that should attract your attention for more than a brief moment. And you just sniff it for fun.

But then you notice some subtle cut grass on the nose, and a refreshingly bitter phenolic twist through the after palate. And you start to think this wine’s kind of punching above its weight, that there might be something more to it than you first thought. Come on, though, it’s a $17 Sauvignon Blanc, and it’s not even from New Zealand! Surely it can’t hope to present a coherent alternative to the instantly recognisable Marlborough style without resorting to residual sugar, hideously vulgar fruit character, or both.

You keep sniffing, and tasting, and it all goes down terribly well, especially with some mid-week fish and chips. You begin to realise this is, in some ways, the perfect quaffing wine, the success of which isn’t about avoiding angularity so much as having just enough sharpness to challenge your palate and prime your senses for enjoyment of the fruit-driven flavour profile. If you’re a complete wine tragic, you might even blog about the experience of drinking it. Then, fish and chips eaten, wine consumed, the memory of it disappears in a puff of smoke, and your overriding impression is simply of an evening enjoyed, relaxation, pleasure.

Angullong
Price: $A17
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Offcuts: miscellaneous French wines

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On Thursday evening, I tasted a range of French wines imported by Black Pearl Epicure. Most haven’t been seen in Australia before. Interestingly, the tasting was arranged for Brisbane’s wine bloggers and tweeters. So, as you might imagine, there was some furious mobile phone action as we tasted.

While I feel the wines showed unevenly, they are consistently well-priced and interesting in provenance. These were my favourites on the night.

Domaine Vincent Paris Saint Joseph 2008 ($40)

A huge black pepper nose with underlying red fruit and meat. Just so typical and vibrant, and perhaps difficult to unpack for those with a firm preference towards warmer climate expressions of Shiraz. This, though, is right up my alley. The palate is quite tannic for now, light to medium bodied with a juicy and bright entry. Red fruits are joined by brambles and mulberries through the middle palate. I like the structure here; it’s robust without feeling forced or heavy. Just a great drinking wine with heaps of character. Good value too.

Domaine Les Aphillanthes Cuvée des Galets Côtes du Rhône 2007 ($33)

Lincoln Scott, of GrapeScott fame, was also in attendance and rightly pointed out this wine’s rather prune-ish flavour profile. Normally I would find such fruit character questionable, but in this wine I read it as a positive, cranberry-ish note that meshes well with the dried herbs and musk also on offer. Overall, a very savoury experience. The palate shows dried red fruits, heavily smoked bacon and nice tannins in a mid-weight package. A nice, characterful wine that should provide a point of difference for most local drinkers.

Domaine Grand Veneur Lirac 2007 ($35)

A bruiser of a wine in some respects, clocking in at 15% abv. But it works for me. An aroma profile that is wild in the most positive sense, with clean fruit, brambles and other complexities, all wonderfully expressive. The medium bodied palate is perhaps less outré than the nose leads one to expect, but is nonetheless clean, dark and full of tasty plum fruit. Good thrust through the finish, with nice herbal tannins.

Gevrey-Chambertin par Mark Haisma 2007 ($65)

I struggled to taste anything of this wine on the night, owing to its unfortunate position as the wine tasted just after two Champagnes. I could tell its mouthfeel was particularly supple, but that’s about it. So I took the remains of the bottle home with me to retaste.

As one might expect from a Village-level wine, this isn’t great Burgundy, but there’s a lot to enjoy here. It’s funky for starters, something I often enjoy with Pinot but which seems to appear less and less, in local wines at least. There are minerals, light red fruits and savoury complexities on the nose and, although it lacks some depth, it’s all very fun to smell.

The palate is incredibly soft and supple, emphasising the sensual side of Pinot. The wine’s density of flavour, though light, is consistent along the line, and within this rather feathery experience there’s enough complexity to keep things interesting. Perhaps the wine lacks some vitality, the sort of lively punch that doesn’t imply brutality so much as enthusiasm. Nice loose-knit tannins through the finish.

Best's Great Western Bin 1 Shiraz 2009

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Shiraz is undoubtedly Great Western’s raison d’être. Bin 1 is the baby brother to the mighty Bin 0 and Thomson Family wines (of which the superb 2006 was previously reviewed) but in its more modest way still offers a nice view into this classic regional Shiraz style. In some ways, this makes it the most important wine in the portfolio, in that it’s an affordable entry point into something quite distinctive. A gateway drug, if you will, into the region’s wines.

I’m pleased to note the nose offers an immediate hit of typically Great Western plum and spice. It’s heady and rich within the parameters of the style, showing softness and a halo of vanilla oak that is quite attractive. There’s some good detail to the aroma profile too, perhaps unexpected in this level of wine, that keeps me sniffing.

The palate is styled for generosity and pleasure above all else. Its most outstanding feature, for me, is a rush of plum juice that kicks in soon after entry and whooshes right down through the after palate. Delicious. There’s also plenty of spice and the sort of soft nougat oak character that can clash with some wine styles but which here seems completely right. A nice lift of lighter fruit carries the after palate to a fresh finish that is tinged with softly sweet flavours.

My favourite of the new Best’s Great Western releases.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Best's Great Western Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

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I’ve tasted this wine twice now and both times have come away impressed with its drinkability. It’s not an especially sophisticated wine; in fact, there’s a rusticity to the flavour profile that suggests generosity and ease rather than intellect. But that’s not a bad thing in my book.

The aroma shows good varietal character, a nice hit of dusty leaf overlaying squashed dark berries and spiced oak. It’s all a bit blurry perhaps, and those looking for a chiselled expression of Cabernet may not find their ideal wine in this. For me, though, its value lies in savouriness and a meaty, chunky vibe.

The palate shows an interesting interplay between clean dark berry fruit and a range of brambly, dusty characters. Entry is savoury and bright, introducing a line of acid that is quite firm and supports the wine along its line. The middle palate is really flavoursome, again showing clean, vibrant dark fruits in an earthy, oak-influenced cage that really grounds the wine and gives it plenty of vitality. Fine, rather astringent tannins on the after palate introduce a long finish that treads into red fruit territory, along with just the right amount of oak.

This is a really genuine, regional wine that places enjoyment above perfection.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Best's Great Western Riesling 2010

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Riesling is one of those varieties we do especially well in Australia, and what’s exciting for me is that, in addition to the beautiful, unique Rieslings from the Clare and Eden Valleys, there are a range of other authentic styles that are either emerging (as in those from the Canberra District) or long term classics that fly under the radar. Rieslings from Western Victoria fall into the latter category for me, so it’s with some anticipation that I tasted this new release from Best’s. 

The 2009 was, from memory, a rather searing experience, but this wine is somewhat different. It’s more elaborately perfumed for starters, all florals and talc with hints of fuller, cumquat-like fruit. One could never describe the aroma as rich, but there’s a softness here that is nicely approachable. There’s a streak of minerality too that runs beneath the higher toned aromas. I can see some spritzig in the glass, which isn’t surprising for such a young wine. 
The palate shows a similar range of flavours as the nose but, given the slightly fuller notes, is surprisingly tight, and very much in the regional mode. Entry is driven by minerality before lime blossom and citrus rind thicken the middle palate. Acidity is full-on to say the least, aided by some light spritz and a flavour profile that remains angular along the line, but offset by a nicely rounded mouthfeel on the after palate. I don’t think the palate structure is hanging together quite yet and feel some time in the bottle will help things to cohere. The finish is delicate, mostly minerals and flowers. 
Nice wine. Give this a few months then tuck in! 

Best’s Wines
Price: $A22
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Ramblings: wines for sad times

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We drink wine for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, we drink to celebrate life. Champagne, usually. Other times, we share a special wine — perhaps a Cabernet that has been patiently cellared — to mark the reunion of great friends. A rarity, ideally unpronounceable, would nicely convene a gathering of wine wankers eager for novelty and each other’s fevered impressions. Indeed, I can think of a wine for most occasions, which is part of the drink’s pleasure.

Wines to accompany sadness, though, are in short supply. In such times, one might hit the bottle for its function rather than aesthetic. And fair enough; we’ve all done it. Haul out a fortified, then, for its unctuous caress and spirited comfort. Or swig an obscenely overripe red whose stressed flavours echo the self-destructive desperation with which one, in more private moments, might reach for a corkscrew.

Ah yes, now we’re getting somewhere! Dulling the senses, however, seems to me a missed opportunity. Surely my intrepid journey into the aesthetics of wine would be incomplete without at least trying to find a true depression wine match, ideally as satisfying in its own way as manzanilla sherry with sardines, or Cabernet with rump steak.

So last night, finding myself in a suitable mood for such exploration, I cast my eye around the study in a frantic yet stylish search for candidates. A young, unoaked Cabernet briefly looked promising, more as a competitor to my sadness than as a true companion. In a similar vein, my fucked-up student wine called out, and for a moment I wondered if its myriad technical faults have reached the point where they are now cancelling each other out.

Everywhere I looked, wines leapt forward only to quickly fall back into the reject pile. Giaconda Ergo Sum Shiraz? Tempting, but I couldn’t possibly have done it justice and, as a gift from Chris, I’d have felt worse the morning after for wasting it on my own self-indulgence. A sharp, sculpted Riesling usually hits the spot and seemed the responsible choice. After all, no-one actually gets hammered on Riesling. There’s something about such precision, though, that can steamroll we of a more obviously flawed humanity. Next! Bottle after bottle, I went through everything in my makeshift cellar and found nothing I could bear to open. I would have ruined the good wines, and the bad wines would have ruined me.

So I went to bed without so much as a sip of anything, and woke up the next day — today — with a clear head. Perhaps I found a suitable match after all.

Mount Langi Ghiran Nowhere Creek Vineyard Shiraz 2005

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This producer seems to take a view of Grampians Shiraz that is, stylistically, larger in scale than most, much to the consternation of some of my wine writing colleagues (who shall remain nameless :)). I’ve tasted some delicious Langi wines that have aged a treat, and others that have fallen apart and lost their fruit after a relatively short time. Hard to generalise, then, about the effect of this stylistic intent. What’s certain is these wines can have great impact.

This wine is a good case in point. It’s a luscious, ripened style that is highly satisfying in its way. As I sip, though, I wonder whether there’s a suppression of regional character at play. I’m not familiar with this site’s wines, so it may well be a terroir thing as much as anything else. The nose is more cherry liqueur than fine plum, and there’s a hint of the alcoholic headiness that goes along with my liquerous descriptor. A hint of bottle age completes the dense, slightly blunt aroma profile.

The palate is where this wine’s compromises, as well as its strengths, play out most obviously. There’s no questioning the amount of flavour here; this is the sort of soft, generous red wine, full of chewy fruit and rich oak, that causes some drinkers to slump with pleasure. The middle palate is especially full, as the structure is relaxed enough to encourage spillage of the wine’s fruit across the tongue. There’s some bitterness on the after palate, though, and some heat intruding on the finish too. There’s also a stressed dimension to the minor spice notes in the flavour profile. It’s almost the flip side of all that richness, as if the fruit couldn’t quite be coaxed into such a full expression without rebelling in some way and losing the sense of elegance for which this region’s Shiraz is famed.

Not a bad wine by any means, but a polarising style for lovers of Western Victorian Shiraz.

Mount Langi Ghiran
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Scarborough Blue Label Chardonnay 2009

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Though just as generously flavoursome as its Yellow Label sibling, this wine is made in quite a different style, more aligned to the contemporary idiom. There’s no new oak, its fruit is crisp and fresh, its complexity apparently lees-derived with only partial malolactic fermentation.

The nose is crisp, flinty aromas overlaying white nectarine and some funk, possibly sulfurous in nature. Its impact is savoury and rather chiselled; this doesn’t present as an especially buxom style. But there’s a nice depth to the aroma that prevents it from being an exclusively high toned aroma profile.

The palate shows some richer fruit alongside a continuation of the nose’s savouriness. Entry is very flavoursome, an initially crisp mouthfeel becoming glossier and fuller towards the middle palate. A nice array of fruit flavours fans out here; there’s citrus and peach in equal measure, with just a hint of butterscotch. Mouthfeel is especially interesting, showing good texture and detail in a contradictorily soft package. A fresh herbal twang asserts through the after palate. The finish is sharp and lengthy.

An attractive style, well executed and priced.

Scarborough
Price: $A19
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample