Author Archives: Julian Coldrey

Angove's Long Row Shiraz 2006

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I’ve got a head cold, am slightly cranky and, quite frankly, couldn’t take another cheap wine last night. So instead I opened a bottle of Collector Marked Tree Red. Thus sated, I can once again turn my attention to our value priced offerings. Here is a South Australian Shiraz from Angove’s, a Renmark-based winery with a broad portfolio of products. At $A6.60, it’s one of the least expensive wines in the dozen.

An attractive deep ruby colour, not overly dense. The nose speaks of black pepper and spice as much as fruit. Not the high toned floral spice of a cooler climate wine, but deep, rich spice that tends towards the brown, nutty type. Fruit character is subservient, dark and straightforward. The palate has good impact and its upfront acid brings more spice to the fore, at least on entry. Fruit emerges on the mid-palate as dark and slightly jubey in character, simple but certainly clean.

Sirromet Perfect Day Burnbelt 2005

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Sirromet, located about twenty minutes from my house, is a winery I’ve driven past on many occasions but never visited. I thought I’d browse its website as part of writing this note, and in doing so discovered a rather large range of wines. Whilst there is a vineyard at the cellar door facility in Brisbane, I gather its fruit comes primarily from vineyards located in the Granite Belt region, near Stanthorpe. This wine, a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, is part of Sirromet’s entry level “Perfect Day” range, and is made from Granite Belt grapes.

I tasted this over two evenings, which is just as well as the wine improved markedly overnight. At first, I wasn’t terribly inclined to taste in depth; it struck me as all stalk, with very little underlying fruit. The second night brings things somewhat back into balance, although I still think the stalky/vegetal notes are overplayed. Funky, prickly aromas of stalk, with some spice and a hint of red fruit. It’s different, but whether in a good way will depend on your tolerance for greener flavours. The palate is quite bright, with more funk and stalk overlaying subservient yet attractive red and black berry flavours, and powdery vanilla oak. The wine veers from astringent greenery to sweet oak, without the depth of fruit to harness and make sense of this progression. Structure is quite well judged, with balanced acid and just enough dry tannins to round off the unremarkable finish.
I don’t have enough experience with this label or region to know how this wine sits in the overall scheme of things. It’s certainly interesting enough in its way, and I’d prefer to drink this, flaws and all, to a mass-produced wine of technical correctness but absolutely no character.

Arrogant Frog Lily Pad White Viognier 2006

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Full marks for creativity. As a name and label concept, the “Arrogant Frog” range is all very New World, and I’m sure you don’t need me unravel the various ironies here. The angle is “best of both worlds;” New World approachability combined with Old World character. This is so fraught with stereotypes that I won’t even attempt to engage it, but I can certainly taste and write about what’s

Somerton Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2006

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Surely, at $4.25, I’m tempting fate. The bargain dozen has gone quite well so far, with some unexpectedly unusual wines and a bit more character than I dared to hope for. Here, then, is a red blend from that vaguest of “regions”, South Eastern Australia. Having barely escaped a critter wine encounter with my sense of wine still intact, I’m interested, if a little apprehensive, regarding this equally inexpensive label.

A hint of black pepper and spice on the nose, backed up by smooth, rather flat berry fruit and a bit of toasty oak. Bland to be sure, but it smells more or less vinous. The palate reveals the extent to which this wine emphasises round, easy fruit. Relatively sweet, slightly confected berry fruit hits the tongue early and travels easily down the line. Some vanilla jumps on board as the wine chugs steadily towards the finish, and it all sort of disappears before you’ve had an opportunity to think about how you really feel. There’s not much in the way of structure, but neither are there off flavours or anything that makes you stop and think. In other words, it drinks like a good soft drink.
We’ve definitely jumped into “extreme value” territory with this wine, and style has shifted gears accordingly. At $10, it’s possible to get some sense of individuality. At $5 or under, I’ve yet to see it.

Peter Lehmann Chenin Blanc 2007

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Barossa Chenin Blanc. I’m guessing it won’t bump Pinot Gris from fashionably derivative restaurant wine lists any time soon. However, Chenin Blanc interests me as a variety because, as lovely as it can be in the Loire Valley, it seems to leave its personality at home when it travels. And yet, the loveliness of a nice Vouvray keeps me hoping for greater things in our local wines. At under $10, at least this wine makes it inexpensive to test the waters.

Served cold, this wine smells of prickly lemon, green apple, a hint of honey and a slightly waxy note that adds some softness to the aroma profile. Closer to room temperature, the aroma stays remarkably static, gaining in richness but not losing its fundamentally bright, aromatic character. There’s nothing especially wrong with the way this wine smells, but it’s also a bit bland, the way an IKEA bookshelf is bland. You know it will do the job, but you can’t really love it.
The palate seems more strongly influenced by temperature. Initially, this wine displays a tight, almost overwhelmingly lemon-like palate, bright and refreshing in its sharpness and acidity. Mouthfeel is nicely textured, with a blanket of well-judged acidity providing a nice sense of freshness, if not a terribly sophisticated structure. At first, I thought I detected a hint of oxidative flavours, but this seemed to fade through the evening. As it warms, the wine shows notes of honey and round, slightly sweet fruit, all of which provides enjoyment on the mid-palate. Perhaps a hint of minerality too. There’s certainly a good deal of flavour. Acidity carries the wine cleanly through the after palate, where the flavour profile reverts to citrus-driven astringency, clean and satisfactorily long.
A fuller, yet still refreshing Summer white to serve with lunch. I’m not seeing the depth and complexity of a top Chenin Blanc, but on its own terms I think this wine succeeds well, and manages to present a degree of character one might not expect at this price point. It is interesting to note the label encourages bottle age. Excellent value.
Price: $A9.40
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: August 2008

La Cantina Dry Red NV

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This wine stood out on the shelf as an oddity: a non-vintage red table wine made from the pressings of miscellaneous (and unspecified) varieties, proudly advertised as unfiltered and preservative free. All this strangeness for $10.15 — now that’s value. According to its website, La Cantina is a family-run producer in the King Valley of Victoria. Its range includes a number of very reasonably priced labels made from predominantly Italian varietals. This wine is the baby of the range.

A dark, dense colour, apparently garnet/ruby, some flashes of brilliance. The nose is immediately offputting and, initially, I thought the wine was tainted with brett. As I smell it more, though, its savoury funk translates to a slightly vegetal note that, in the end, is moderately attractive in its way. Certainly not a clean style, though. On the palate, more surprises. The nose’s savouriness is

Gunn Estate Pinot Gris 2007

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Time for an experiment. I’m not afraid of wine made for the price conscious consumer, perhaps as much out of necessity as anything else. But I tend to stick with tried and true favourites; those acknowledged bargains that, in terms of quality, consistently sit above their price points. I also tend to shop in the $15-20 price range for my everyday wines. Habit can mask new opportunities, so this evening the other half and I decided to visit our local 1st Murphy and purchase one dozen bottles, the total of which was not to exceed $120.

Offcuts

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I’ve been revisiting a few wines previously examined on Full Pour, with pleasing results. Here are some brief thoughts.

The Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2006, last tasted a few months ago, continues to resolve well. When young, this wine was pretty lumpy, though full of flavour. It is now achieving good harmony across its various elements and, to my taste, is starting to enter into its proper drinking window. Lovely pepper, deep purple fruits, spice and excitement.

Craggy Range Sophia 2005

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Craggy Range has by far the most glamorous tasting facility of all the wineries I visited in Hawkes Bay late last year. Its natural setting is glorious, but the spacious room itself is all glass and shiny surfaces — very upscale indeed. Worth a visit, for sure. There’s also a large range of wines available for tasting, including this, one of Craggy Range’s premium cuvées. It is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and, on tasting at cellar door, was almost impenetrable. I took this as a personal challenge, of course, and purchased a bottle for later tasting.

Dark and dense, with flashes of purple. The nose is initially compact and savoury, with a good dose of iron filings and minerality and not much else. With time and some energetic swirling, a range of other notes emerge to add complexity. There’s a sense of purple flowers, dark berry fruit, perhaps a slight saltiness too. The nature of the wine’s oak gains some clarity too, and it’s quite present, though totally integrated. A hint of volatility rounds things out. The pitch never rises above a bass register, and there’s an ongoing sense of depth and power to this wine’s aroma.
The palate is very much in line with the nose in that it’s both dense and reserved. Flow over the tongue is very tightly controlled, and from entry to mid-palate a slither of iron, complex berry fruit and sappy oak slides confidently along. It’s medium to full bodied and certainly substantial, yet measured and never clumsy. The after palate is marginally more relaxed and slightly sweeter in profile. Flavour is most complex at this point, and the wine’s lift helps each strand of flavour to fully define itself as it lands on the rear of the tongue. Just as it reaches its peak, it starts to fall away to a very long, satisfying finish. Tannins are remarkably fine and approachable, though their abundance suggests the capacity to age well.

Grosset Gaia 2002

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Style is, I think, of the essence when it comes to wine appreciation. Formal qualities such as complexity and structure are all well and good, but it all comes to nought if you don’t like the wine’s character and personality. I remember tasting Pinots in Central Otago a couple of years back, and being struck by how boring some (though certainly not all) the wines were, despite being quite correct and certainly well made.  There was nothing extra, no idea or beauty beyond what was in the glass.
 
Dark, somewhat impenetrable colour with flashes of crystalline ruby.  The nose is heady with cedary spice, brambles, clean fruit and higher toned powdery florals. There are also some light touches of sweet bottle age. In its delicacy, it’s closer to fine fragrance than wine, but none the worse for it. The aroma profile became more integrated and assertive through the evening.
 
The palate disappointed me initially, and here I return to the question of style. For the first hour or so, I found the wine correct, full of quality, but somehow underwhelming and perhaps a little boring. A very clean entry, with cool fruit and savoury leaf winding their way towards a medium bodied mid-palate. Additional notes of vanilla, dust and a bit of eucalyptus add themselves to the mix with time. Excellent delineation of flavour components. Bottle age becomes more evident on the after palate, with a lovely, lingering sweetness sitting alongside loose-knit yet still quite dry tannins. A nice lift through the after palate shows higher toned leafiness plus hints of plush ripe fruit too. The finish is excellent, clean and long, and leads naturally to the next sip.
 
It all sounds quite good. What changed after an hour is critical to the wine’s success but sits outside of a tasting note. The flavours clicked, merged and became utterly persuasive. It’s as if I was able to step back and see the wine as a whole rather than as individual components of flavour and structure. Its style, in other words, transcended the mechanics of its delivery and became the wine’s dominant face. And, happily, I think I got it.
 
GrossetPrice: $A50Closure: StelvinDate tasted: July 2008