Author Archives: Julian Coldrey

Dopff Au Moulin Gewürztraminer 2007

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I’ll be tasting a range of wines under $A20 (retail) in the near future. Yes, the bank balance is looking iffy, so what better excuse to explore the value end of the market. Again.

Thick, syrupy aromas of lychees and white flowers. I struggle a bit with Gewürztraminer in terms of how it’s usually described. Lychee and rose petals I get, but these tend to be so obvious and dominant that I struggle to discern much else. In the case of this wine, there’s perhaps a touch of ginger cake baking in the oven, but more a suggestion than anything else. Distinctive and varietal without much complexity. 

In the mouth, good impact and immediacy thanks in part to a fullness of body that exaggerates the fruit flavours (more lychee and ginger cake). I thought at first this was presenting some residual sugar, but I think it’s just sweetly tropical fruit. There’s more and more flavour as the wine moves through the middle palate, again assisted by a round, pumped up mouthfeel that reminds me of a boob job one might have seen on the cover of People magazine. And then, all of a sudden, it deflates (just like many boob jobs in the 80s), flavour falling away precipitously through the after palate. The wine is quite long, but there’s not much there either, more a persistent echo of flavour than anything with substantial drive, with a bit of alcohol burn to boot.
It’s a wine that might alleviate the facelessness of many a Pinot Gris, if only to replace it with a sense of style akin to gaudy Tokyo street fashion. Your call.

Dopff Au Moulin
Price: $A17
Closure: Stelvin

Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz 1999

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I’ve been really impressed with the various Grampians Shirazes tasted of late – consistency of style, distinctiveness of character, at all price points. No wonder it is such a renowned region for this variety, though arguably lower in profile than it deserves. Swings and roundabouts, though; as attention shifts to cooler climate expressions of Shiraz, the role of regions like the Grampians may end up being disproportionately significant.

There’s more than a hint of Gimblett Gravels Syrah in this wine’s nose, though here the aroma is not so aggressively spiced/floral as some from Hawkes Bay. Still, there’s definitely a shake of potpourri within this complex aroma profile of pepper, blueberries and mushroom. Although it’s almost ten years old, it remains strikingly primary, with only some mushroom or leather notes to betray almost ten years of bottle age. I can only imagine it as a young wine. Overall, very aromatic, rich and exotic. 
In the mouth, an intense punch of fruit flavour. Again surprisingly primary, this wine is resolutely alive on the tongue, an impression to which all its elements contribute. The fruit is dark and concentrated, and frankly inseparable from the array of spice notes also present. The acid is quite firm, though certainly not dominant, ditto the tannins; there’s some of the clean flow of an older red wine, but it’s early days. What I like most here is an easygoing, almost casual, elegance. This isn’t some obsessive study in high style (though it’s extremely stylish). Rather, it drapes effortlessly and hence gives off a vibe of natural vitality. All of which adds up to a wine that is all quality but that is so easy to drink it’s almost quaffable. The finish is especially long and fine, laden with spice and hints of cedar oak. 
A delicious, benchmark Shiraz that is just starting to show some positive signs of age. Along with the 2004 Clayfield, this would be my favourite amongst recently tasted Grampians Shiraz wines.

Mount Langi Ghiran
Price: $A61.75
Closure: Cork

Best's Great Western Bin No 0 Shiraz 2004

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This is building really well in the glass. It started simple and lacking in depth, but a very few minutes’ swirling yields excellent development of the aroma. Juicy yellow plum flesh, vibrant spice and a note that is half way to turned earth; that’s quite a reductive description, though, because it smells very coherent with good complexity, not easily separable into individual notes. It is perhaps brighter than some of the other Grampians Shiraz wines I have been drinking lately. 

In the mouth, the fruit becomes deeper in profile, with a rich dark plum note the centre around which spice, earth, coffee and other goodies revolve. Good impact on entry, with a strong burst of texture hitting the tongue along with intense fruit flavour that builds nicely. Assertive tannins take over somewhat on the middle palate, and mask to an extent the fruit, which becomes increasingly savoury as the wine sits in the glass. They are the kind of tannins that start off luxuriously chocolatey and rich, before crossing the line to become aggressively dry. Very fine and flavoursome, though. Really good drive through the after palate to a finish that struggles a bit against all the tannins. The whole is medium bodied and, at times, I thought I could detect some alcohol heat, but this was a fleeting rather than consistent impression.
This is flavoursome and impressive, though in the mouth there isn’t elegance so much as the tangle of limbs associated with a fashion model in training. Should fill out, soften and gain ease in time but, as it is, not ready for its close up.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A55.09
Closure: Cork

Best's Great Western Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

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Wines that prompt me to respond on a level other than the blandly objective are what I hope for each time I open a bottle. This anticipation is always heightened when I taste an older wine. After all, we cellar wines in the hope they will improve and reach the point of maximum pleasure. When writing about such wines, and to paraphrase (or perhaps misuse) Edward Said, I think it’s appropriate to communicate a “sense of the pleasure taken in having tried at least to meet the [wine] on some other level than the ruthlessly evaluative or the flatteringly appreciative.”

What of this bottle, then? It’s an old wine in all the best ways, though it does remind me of why they are such an acquired taste. There are very few hooks here, nothing obvious on which to hang one’s discernment. Indeed, the nose is delicate and hushed, lightweight really, smelling as much like an abandoned hope chest as a Cabernet. Everything is hinted at; old cedar wood, a wisp of vanilla, watercolour red fruit and light spice. It’s an aroma that only makes sense when you step back and understand its subtle flirtatiousness. Incredibly elegant, if not massively complex.

The palate does not speak in quite such muted tones. At first, an impression of some youth, mostly due to drying tannins that fade a little as the wine gets some air. What they leave behind is a rather beguiling flavour profile whose delicacy reminds me of a good Pinot Noir. It’s quite seamless: red fruits and vanilla ice cream at first, turning slowly to a more savoury expression reminiscent of orange peel as much as berries, moving then to a cedar-centred finish with just a twinge of “old wine” sweetness right at the back of the mouth. A strange set of descriptors perhaps, but totally convincing to me. There’s still a bit of velvet texture on the after palate, so it’s not yet at the stage where it flows in the crystalline manner of fresh water, but it’s not far off.

There’s nothing outstanding about this wine in conventional terms. It’s not ultra intense, nor dense, nor complex. But it’s absolutely worthwhile as a balanced expression of aged Great Western Cabernet Sauvignon, no more nor less. I’m enjoying it a great deal.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A35.15
Closure: Cork

Lake's Folly Cabernets 2007

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This label continues to fascinate me. Tasted over two evenings.

At first, an austere nose comprising cedar, sap, vanilla, and concentrated dark berry fruit. Quite classical in profile and less immediately giving than some young Follies. Still, such complexity in youth is wonderful to see, and the overall impression is of restrained, coiled power. Later, an aroma with fruit more to the fore, greater complexity and some regional influence. It’s never quite plush, each note instead winding its way sinuously around the others in an elegant dance. I’m not done smelling this wine, but the bottle is almost empty.

The palate shows all the classic markers of quality: intensity, complexity, power and structure. This is a real “line and length” wine, though of course these terms don’t speak to personal preference. Luckily for me, it’s my kind of wine. An éclat of flavour on entry, dark berry fruit building towards an astonishingly dense, powerful middle palate. The wine tastes like a concentrate of sorts, which in the abstract might be awful but here works brilliantly, happening as it does within a decidedly medium bodied context; it’s all form and elegance, and the fruit is expressed on these terms, packed with detail and complexity. Despite the intensity, there’s no shred of overripe or raisined flavour. Just delicious berry fruit, mouthwatering sourness, pencil shavings and a hint of leafiness. The finish is especially long and fine, showcasing some quality oak. Although the acid and tannin are very approachable if given a few hours to breathe, the overall impression is of youthful potential. Clearly, there’s sufficient fruit and structure to carry this wine through what I hope will be a positive ageing process. 
Excuse me, but fuck this is good. Perhaps more austere than some I’ve tried, yet the style retains enormous integrity. 13% abv.

Lake’s Folly
Price: $A50
Closure: Cork

Navarro López Tierracalar Tempranillo 2006

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It seems to me the turf war at the lower end of the wine market is, in a lot of ways, more interesting than any perceived battle of the premiums. Burgundy is no substitute for Central Otago Pinot; I’ll take both, thanks very much. If I take a more functional view of wine, though, one wine becomes more or less interchangeable with others of a similar style and price. Hence the availability of large numbers of inexpensive red and white wines the variety and region of which is of less import than, say, price point or style. On this view, I might easily substitute a local flavoursome red for a similarly priced import, so long as it meets my broad requirements of a tasty red wine.

This Spanish Tempranillo has me questioning what it might take for local red wine drinkers to switch en masse to an imported product. Certainly, the horse has bolted when it comes to white wine, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc having captured the palate (and wallet) of many an Australian consumer. This wine (and others like it) is in some ways a parallel case study — it’s just different enough, just cheap enough and just bland enough to represent an attractive alternative to a lot of local wines. 
None of which is meant as a compliment in particular. In fact, I wasn’t going to write this up as I am finding it quite uninspiring. But then, so are many wines at the $A15-20 mark, so it’s no failure of this wine in particular. The nose is moderately aromatic, showing woody spices alongside red dried fruits and a hint of cured meats. Quite easygoing, with just enough of a twist to raise an eyebrow and differentiate itself from the mainstream of mid-priced fruit bombs. The palate is very much more of the same, and to its credit is quite perfectly balanced for immediate consumption. Tasty sour red fruits and rough vanilla oak run the length of the tongue. And, well, not much else, really. A bit of meaty complexity, perhaps, and a pleasingly textured mouthfeel that is the highlight of the wine for me. Reasonable finish. Again, it’s only one step away from the generic mainstream of value-oriented industrial red wine, but that discernible step means a lot in this context.
Whether I’d personally choose this over a local wine of similar price is a moot point; the fact is, this is a real alternative and one I cannot fault as an everyday drinking wine. At $A12 or so, it would fly off the shelves.

Navarro López
Price: $A16.15
Closure: Cork

Best's Great Western Riesling 2007

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A nose that shows some development, with typically honeyed, toasty, almost kerosene-like aromas. There’s also a thrust of powdery minerality, savoury and strident, perhaps slightly sulphurous, pushing up from below. What little citrus fruit there is sits delicately within this mix, more floral than fleshy in character. As an overall aroma profile, I found it initially cumbersome and loud, but have warmed considerably to its charms through the evening.

The palate is totally consistent with the nose, with some bottle age sitting alongside assertive bath salt-like flavours. On entry, rough acidity makes a rambunctious first impression, before fruit and mineral flavours take over. The fruit is quite full, edging towards an interesting rockmelon note, all the while maintaining satisfying generosity and good focus. I thought at first there was some residual sugar here, but it seems dry, just ripe and buxom. The aged flavours are, to me, most interesting. Sweet honey is slinking its way across the palate in a subtle, elegant way, and there’s enough softening of acidity on the after palate to suggest a happy transformation may well be in store.
Funny wine, this one. It presents a noisy flavour profile, full of elements that are close to clashing with each other, yet the whole comes together and is deliciously drinkable. I know that’s a highly subjective judgement, and I should note the other half did not like this at all. But it ticks a lot of boxes for me: distinctiveness, magnetism, food-friendliness (it stood up to roast pork quite well). To be sure, it’s not an elegant wine, but it’s very fun and, noting the manner in which it is developing now, I suspect it will be quite sensational in five years’ time.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A20.89
Closure: Stelvin

Tulloch Verdelho 2008

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I opened this wine tonight because I was looking forward to drinking a 1997 Château de Besseuil. Clearly, Hunter Valley Verdelho isn’t white Burgundy; the Tulloch is also different in that it’s not corked to a nostril-shocking degree. After smelling the tell-tale wet cardboard on my Besseuil, I reached for the wine in my immediate vicinity least likely to be faulty. And here we are.

Perhaps not a very generous way to introduce this wine; the reality is, this label has been most consistent over the past few years, and the Hunter Valley does a solid line in Verdelho more generally. So there’s some pedigree at work here. 
The nose is really friendly and almost joyously perfumed, with bubblegum fruitiness alongside floral notes that remind me of my favourite outmoded “French whorehouse” fragrances. It’s also very, very clean. It’s a very commercial style, but in a way its flavoursome anonymity is refreshing in a sea of Sauvignon Blanc on the one hand, and Pinot Gris on the other. 
The palate seems to be a step up from previous vintages, with a sense of calm sophistication that I wasn’t expecting. Mostly this is due to a full, slippery mouthfeel that carries a whole fruit salad of flavour over the tongue. The acidity is notable, as it’s both lively and very fine at the same time. In character, this wine is fruity with a high toned powderiness that recalls perfume and a persistent sense of levity that is, finally, quite convincing. It’s not complex, intense or long, but who cares? 
A really fun wine that would be perfect Summer afternoon drinking. 

Tulloch
Price: $A13.30
Closure: Stelvin

Vina Ginesa Reservas Granrojo Rojo Garnacha 2006

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I went from a Great Western Shiraz to this in the space of a few sips and, if nothing else, the exercise served to reinforce how instructive comparative tasting can be. I thought this wine quite horrid at first; Eurotrash to the Great Western’s laconic charm. Improved through the evening, though.

I should note the comically short cork keeping the wine inside, as I don’t believe I’ve seen one so small before. A robust aroma consisting of dried flowers, bright spices and aggressively sour-edged red fruit. There are also funkier smells that remind me of cured pork sausages. In the mouth, bright and brash with coarsely textured acid and brisk, raspy tannins. There are flashes of intensely sweet, confected fruit in amongst all the butchers’ shop smells. Pepper, spice and rusticity add interest. The whole is light to medium bodied and sufficiently cleansing, though I could never describe a wine like this as easy drinking (in the “brain off” sense) because it’s just so angular. 

I kept wanting chewy bread and tangy cheese while drinking this wine, and suspect it would go down a treat at a picnic or other casual dining circumstance. 

Vina Ginesa Reservas
Price: $A18.95
Closure: Cork

Best's Great Western Bin No 1 Shiraz 2006

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Jeremy over at Wine Will Eat Itself recently blogged about terroir and (amongst other things) its relationship to quality. I’m inclined to think that a sense of place contributes interest quite apart from objective notions of quality and that, indeed, the two can be quite separate. This wine is a real live example, albeit on a regional scale. 

Utterly regional on the nose, with exotic spices overlaying darkly-fruited aromas and some vanilla oak. It’s quite straightforward and lacks the complexity that might elevate it beyond simply being correct. However, if you like Great Western Shiraz, it will be like coming home.
Very much more of the same in the mouth. Lots of flavour from the word go, with ripe plums and blackberries the key fruit characters, along with tantalising spice and balanced oak. Medium bodied, the middle palate is especially luscious, showing the greatest level of flavour density and a velvet texture. The acid and tannin seem very well balanced and provide a nice framework within which flavours can move over the tongue. For all that, there’s a blocky or blurry character  that prevents it from feeling truly sophisticated. And, despite the rich flavour profile, it’s not the last word in intensity, which leaves me wanting more.
Impressive typicité, then, without rising to an exalted level of quality.

Best’s Wines
Price: $A22.80
Closure: Stelvin