Category Archives: Australia

Salo Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2010

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Made in tiny quantities, lots of whole bunch action, an apparent passion project; this is practically collapsing under the weight of its own cred. What’s gratifying, therefore, is its relative subtlety. The nose, especially, starts almost mute, gradually releasing aromas of flint, oatmeal, linseed oil and, eventually, some white stonefruit. It’s never especially expressive, and I do wish for a bit more volume (in time, I think), but its complexity is undeniable.

The palate is powerful and quite masculine in character, as if a taciturn character gives way to a muscular bulk it just can’t hide. A sharp, clean entry broadens to a middle palate awash with fruit and savouriness. Peaches, herbs, minerals. The standout dimension is texture, and I love the way this wine moves over the tongue with a deliciously tangible, mealy texture. Intensity is impressive, but it seems to trade some definition for all its power and complexity. Everything here points to a focused articulation of flavours, but just before the money shot, it loses concentration and blurs its form. Reasonable people can disagree about whether this is desirable; personally, I yearned for it to go all the way and express each of its components with crystal clarity.

A very interesting wine.

Salo
Price: $A40
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Thomas Kiss Shiraz 2009

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This is the second of Andrew Thomas’s 2009 Shirazes that I’ve tasted. The first impressed me a good deal with its uncompromisingly regional style. This beast is a little different.

A deep, earthy, spiky nose. The words “clean” and “Hunter” haven’t always gone together, but they find compatibility in this wine’s aroma profile. Regional dirt and rustic red berries expressed clearly in a nose that’s both typical and glossily modern. What I like about this expression of Hunter shiraz is that it does not forsake regionally for style; this is a true interpretation of modern Hunter, looking for new ways to say the same old things. It is, however, clearly different from more traditional styles, and may lose as many fans as it gains because of this.

The palate is quite structured, driving a firm line right through to the finish. Lots of bubblegum oak tannins, evenly spread and, for now, contributing an astringent, bouncily sweet influence to the flavour profile. Is the character of the oak here an ideal match to the fruit flavours?  I’m not sure — at times, it feels too sweet — but most of the time it just tastes good, so I’m happy to go with its stylistic flow. Riding atop is a dense whack of regional red fruit squished into the dustiest of dirt roads. There’s an ease to this wine which belies the amount of oak that’s present. The way the palate unfolds is powerful and confident.

Ultimately, the fruit is just so gorgeous here I could drown myself in it with or without the level of oak. I don’t feel there’s a lack of balance; rather, the winemaking choices frame the fruit differently from how it often is and, personal preferences aside, there’s no doubting the coherence of the style.

Thomas Wines
Price: $A60
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Clonakilla O'Riada Shiraz 2010

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You’ve got to love a Shiraz that looks like a Pinot.

And that’s the first impression of this wine; shockingly light in colour, lacking the density that regular drinkers of Australian Shiraz might easily take for granted. The fact that I could see light pass right through it in my glass had a profound effect on me. That a well-known producer might release a wine so flagrantly at odds with conventional expectations of this varietal made me feel all of a sudden that Australian Shiraz has come of age, that there’s legitimacy to the wide range of classic styles we produce, that we are, indeed, the true home of this chameleon-like grape. That’s a lot to pile on a single wine, let alone one that is effectively a second label. But as the shining, ruby-like liquid poured into my glass, I felt lucky to be able to enjoy such confidently different expressions of our great grape.

There’s no disappointment here. A cursory sniff immediately establishes this wine’s cool climate credentials. Red fruits abound, but what strikes first is a cascade of pepper and spice, dried flowers and etched detail. I can understand why cool climate Shiraz challenges some drinkers, but there’s such pleasure in these perfumed aromatics, which seem closer to fine fragrance than to anything agricultural. Especially beguiling is a shake of dried herbs that darts in and out of what is a complex, constantly shifting aroma profile.

The palate is light to medium bodied, as the wine’s appearance and aroma suggest. A spiced attack leads to more expansive flavours on the middle palate, always focused but with greater range and more fully fruited. There’s a nice meatiness to the flavour profile too, and I would love to try this wine with some top quality snags or a juicy rack of lamb. Smoked herbs dominate the after palate before a detailed, savoury finish lingers on. Acid is bright and fine, tannins sandpaperish.

An utterly satisfying wine and one that banishes all thought of cool climate Shiraz sitting anywhere near the stylistic sidelines in Australia.

Clonakilla
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Kingston Estate Petit Verdot 2010

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While I rather enjoyed Kingston Estate’s upper end Petit Verdot, my memory of the prior release of this wine isn’t an especially fond one, so much so that I don’t believe I wrote it up. There’s interest for me in these accessible wines, though, especially those made from alternate varieties. It’s good to have options at the lower end apart from Shiraz and Cabernet (and the occasional Merlot), and I believe any encouragement of variety in drinking ought to be positively noted.

So I wholeheartedly applaud the idea of this wine, which is, needless to say, a different thing from enjoying the wine itself. Again, as with the previous release, this doesn’t entirely satisfy me. There’s the more expensive wine’s purple fruit and plushness of character, but with a coarse edge and sense of less than ideal ripeness. Volume isn’t in question, though. There’s plenty of aroma to go around, and just the slightest hint of confected berries.

The palate flows cleanly, starting with a soft entry that rests almost entirely on ripe red berries. The middle palate shows a touch more acid and, less happily, a distinctly overripe fruit note. Density seems to recede the further the line progresses, with the after palate speaking more of soft structure than fullness of fruit. The finish is lean and mean, lacking the soft landing such a style would really benefit from.

This isn’t without merit, and would go down a treat as a slightly different BBQ red. There’s just a little too much to distract, though, for it to be truly enjoyable in more contemplative circumstances.

Kingston Estate
Price: $A14.99
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc 2011

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Given it is one of the few producers in Australia serious about Chenin Blanc, Dowie Doole’s Chenins always get me extra excited when they arrive in the mail. Straight into the fridge for this and a tasting at the first opportunity.

Riesling is often championed as the most transparent of grapes, clearly showing variations in site and vintage. I’d argue that Chenin shares a good amount of this transparency, and certainly Dowie Doole’s regular label shows interesting variation year-on-year. Having said that, this shares a degree of stylistic DNA with its immediate predecessor, particularly with regard to a sense of tautness and a thread of minerality that runs through the whole.

The nose is cool and steely at first, a nice edge of flint leading to suggestions of fuller, almost tropical fruit. There’s a wild streak of overgrown weeds in the aroma profile, somewhat heady though not nearly as obvious as the grassiness one sometimes sees in Sauvignon Blanc, for example. The palate hasn’t quite come together yet, but it’s on its way. True to the varietal, acid is present in abundant quantities, lending a sandpaper texture as well as a sherbet edge to the lemon and stonefruit characters. There’s good impact and reasonable intensity, the wine’s weight counterbalancing its edgy structure.

I think a few months in bottle will help the individual elements to settle a bit, though for lovers of a more extreme style, the wine in its present state may be preferable. Either way, the flavours are extremely unusual in the Australian context, and I’m quite blown away by how daring this label has become for a mainstream $16 white. A curio for sure, but so much more too. This is one of the better alternative summer whites on the market.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A16
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Spinifex Esprit 2009

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Mataro, Grenache, Shiraz, Carignan, Cinsault; why not?

Some performances consist of one idea. Sometimes this is enough to carry the weight of the show; it all depends on the strength of the idea and how well the audience connects with it. And so it is with this wine. It says one thing clearly and consistently, which may be the most wonderful thing if you like what it has to say.

The nose is dense and savoury, a strongly liquerous character instantly emerging from the glass, speaking of dark berries and darker oak, shadowy corners and even shadowier conversations. I  see dark tones each time I smell this wine; it’s moody if somewhat monochromatic and blunt. The blend seems beautifully executed in terms of coherence.

The palate is of a piece with the nose, stylistically. It strikes a dense, flavoursome note immediately on entry, the extra dimension here being textural, driven mostly by a streak of acid that sits a little uneasily alongside the fruit’s density of flavour. More dark berry liqueur and velvety plushness on the middle palate, though an element of hardness starts to creep in gradually, perhaps related to the character of the oak. Things get progressively more savoury as the line progresses, before an oak-driven finish of vanilla curls and ice cream rounds things off.

There’s a lot in here by way of flavour and interest, but at the same time I am left wishing for some light and shade, a bit of nuance, less emphatic a statement. Sometimes, less certainty can be charming.

Spinifex Wines
Price: $A40
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Second Nature Cabernet Shiraz Merlot 2010

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This, Dowie Doole’s second label red, has been a reliable visitor to my house over the last few years. It’s invariably drinkable and full of flavour, showing the best face of a quaffer with surprisingly few compromises. It’s not a rarified wine in provenance or intent, but it’s usually tasty, which is quite enough to please me, most days.

The 2010 red is an especially good release. It’s so easy, so juicy, so luxurious. The nose is warm and fully fruited, showing red and black fruits embedded in a comfortingly spiced lattice. The vibe is plush and generous, as it always is with this wine, but what lifts this vintage above most is its quiet balance. This is, despite the style, a gentle wine, almost delicate in its placement. Totally unforced, this wine doesn’t so much prompt extended sniffing as it does a taste, and quick.

My lack of patience is repaid with a mouthful of easy flavour. Entry prickles a bit with acid, ushering bright red fruit onto the middle palate, where it is joined by some extra layers of fruit flavour as well as spice and soft oak. Intensity is impressive for a wine at this price point, as is the flavour profile’s avoidance of easy sweetness. There’s sweet fruit, for sure, but overall the profile tilts towards savouriness, without sacrificing drinkability. The after palate is slightly muted, while the finish rises strongly with spice, some edgy oak and more dark fruit.

I have long admired Dowie Doole wines for their ease and lack of pretension. As lovely as the higher priced labels can be, I think this producer’s particular stylistic biases mean its everyday quaffer, this wine, stands above the crowd.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A19
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Stefano Lubiana Collina 2008

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It’s hard not to engage in a conversation about style when tasting Australian Chardonnay, as the varietal is currently convulsing its way through various winemakers’ ideas of what it ought to taste like, not always happily. It’s disappointing to see ongoing comparisons to Old World styles; surely the point is for us to discover, through experimentation, the most appealing expressions of the grape within our various regions. In any case, it’s a process I am watching, and in a small way contributing to, with interest.

This wine struck me as particularly interesting when it arrived in the mail. A cellar door only release, its pricing marks it as determinedly up-market. And, more or less immediately on pouring, it justified its price point. Ultimate quality aside, this wine throws a whole lot at you without so much as a breather. Aromas leap from the glass: gunpowder, oatmeal, cantaloupe, waxed lemon. It seems a heavily worked wine, but one that expresses its complexity with tight, almost brutal, focus. This isn’t a wine to relax into; rather, it’s at the top of its game, demanding that you, too, stay on your toes.

The palate begins on a cool note, sharp lemon pushing through a luxuriously slippery mouthfeel. The middle palate is marginally wider in line, though one could never describe this as loose. Fine, tight acid supports a flavour profile that is one part lemon and three parts savoury complexities. Intensity is very impressive, a sharp lift of citrus fruit through the after palate particularly striking in this regard. Oatmeal, hessian and nuts take over as the palate moves towards its close, the finish itself showing good extension and an even, elegant diminuendo.

An excellent wine, full of quality winemaking and fruit in equal measure. This makes a very convincing argument for a particular view of Tasmanian Chardonnay.

Stefano Lubiana Wines
Price: $A60
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Stefano Lubiana Merlot 2007

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Now and again, I’ll resume my search for Great Australian Merlot. Granted, I could probably be putting my time and effort to better use; weeding my herb garden perhaps, or learning how to make my bed neatly enough so that it actually looks inviting instead of slightly sad. But the ragged way this varietal is often treated at the hands of many Australian vignerons keeps me coming back to the question: who amongst us is doing the grape justice?

Tasmania is an unlikely place to look for answers, perhaps, though the Wine Companion site lists several producers across the state making wines from Bordeaux varieties. This particular wine is a cellar door only offering from high profile producer Stefano Lubiana. Its price of $35 suggests it aspires to be more than just a fast moving quaffer. The nose immediately establishes a seriousness of intent. This is an introspective wine, studiously layering gentle aromas of red fruit, twig and black olive on a base of calm caramel. Ripeness seems ideally achieved here, fruit character showing the fullness one might expect without ever hinting at overripe excess. There’s a bit of funk too, a whiff of undergrowth and rotting leaves, that may be a function of age as much as inherent character.

The palate is medium bodied and structurally centred on acid. A gentle, clean entry shows sweet fruit and some leaf. The middle palate is tightly focused and cleanly articulated, never generous, impressively intense. There’s a ease here that feels breezy and light, and I’d be tempted to characterise this as a bistro wine were it not for a level of complexity and detail that could never sit well in a carafe. There’s no doubt this aims to be the real deal, a Merlot of elegance and complexity that never gives up the grape’s natural, easygoing advantages. Wines like this are apt to be underrated and will certainly never capture the attention of drinkers the way more extroverted styles can. But it’s a lovely drink, put together with care and a respect for the grape.

I’d be happy to drink this while I keep searching for the Great One.

Stefano Lubiana Wines
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Stockman's Ridge Outlaw Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

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I was quite taken with this wine’s Shiraz-based sibling; its styling was distinctive and communicated something new about Shiraz and Orange. But then, I’m forgiving of Shiraz and its stylistic diversity. For some reason, I have firmer views on what Cabernet “should” taste like, preferring more angular, crisper expressions of this grape.

Smelling this wine, my heart leapt and then quickly sank. Ah yes, there’s some leaf, dust, capsicum even, rising out of the aroma profile with exuberance and the same muscularity shown by the Shiraz. But then a thick, dark wave of fruit washes under and over the high toned aromatics, bringing the wine into “big red” territory and, for a moment, robbing me of the sort of Cabernet pleasure I was just getting ready to enjoy. Interestingly, as I’ve continued to smell the wine, I feel more and more it is a legitimate expression of the varietal, different from both our classic cooler and warmer climate styles. Some finessing, though, is required. For starters, the oak intrudes far too prominently for my tastes, pushing a high powered gloss into the wine that feels inappropriate. It’s also hot and less than resolved. However, it has a charisma and an integrity that draws me back.

The palate echoes this story. Quite aggressive on entry and full of flavour, this moves briskly to the middle palate and opens out with dark, very ripe fruit. There’s an edginess to the palate structure that amplifies the character of the oak, creating a focus that may seem at odds with the  fruit. If I’m making it seem all over the place, then perhaps it is a little, and it’s not up to the same standard as the Shiraz. Yet it’s a serious wine, aiming for something particular, if unsure how to quite get there. I think the fruit here would work best in a less blustery style, focusing on the intricacies of the flavours rather than dressing up as a self-consciously “reserve” wine.

Stockman’s Ridge
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample