Category Archives: Red

Tyrrell's Vat 9 Shiraz 2002

Posted on by
2
Do we overrate the importance of vintage when assessing wine? Vintage conditions have an effect, at times profound, on the character of wine, but I wonder how productive is an absolute view of quality? Does our obsession with a “best” vintage enhance our ability to enjoy the drink? Or do we, in fact, neglect wines that have something interesting to say in favour of the latest “vintage of the century?”
More and more, I find myself happy, indeed quite interested, to taste wine from supposedly inferior vintages.

Mitchell Sevenhill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

Posted on by
1

How things change. I tasted this a couple of years ago and found it lean, mean and a little green. It’s still the same wine, of course, but time has been kind.
A heady nose of powdery, dusty cabernet fruit, tobacco, eucalyptus leaves on a hot day, perhaps a hint of oak. There’s some bottle aged complexity in an edge of leather, but the wine is surprisingly youthful in its aroma profile. Quite complex, but certainly not one for those with an aversion to eucalyptus/vegetal aromas.
Good presence on entry, with an attractively clean run over the tongue. Cool cabernet fruit and dusty eucalyptus beat a path to the mid-palate. Texture begins to roughen up at this point, and some additional flavour elements introduce themselves. There’s some varnishy oak, a bit of dusty library, some bramble. In short, it gets a whole lot more interesting. Medium bodied at most, and with still-prominent acid, there’s a rough and ready character to the mouthfeel and structure of this wine that suggests additional bottle age will be of benefit. Overall, the flavour profile is quite savoury, with cabernet fruit distinctly sweet but largely subservient to the other elements. Fine, powdery yet slightly raw tannins are a dominant element on the after palate, and the wine does hollow out a bit at this point. The reasonably long finish is consequently quite dry, with little fruit weight to counterbalance the tannins. A lovely counterpoint of bottle aged sweetness emerges at the back of the mouth.
An angular style, then, and not the most elegant. But not at all bad and worth a try if your tastes lead to the more intellectual face of Cabernet. I have one more bottle and will let it sit for year or two before retasting.
MitchellPrice: $A30Closure: CorkDate tasted: August 2008

d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2006

Posted on by
2

And so we come to the end of our bargain dozen. I’ve enjoyed the tasting and, for the most part, have been pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety available at around the $10 mark. I came across remarkably few corporate lolly-water type wines, and it’s nice to know one can buy a dozen wines at this price point whose flavours are willfully different from one another. To finish, I’m tasting a well-known quaffer, The Stump Jump, d’Arenberg’s entry-level blend of McLaren Vale fruit. 

Nose is slightly hot, with some green funkiness alongside savoury red fruit and sweet spice. It’s got personality. On entry, it’s surprisingly acidic, with a fresh and quite textured mouthfeel establishing early and carrying right through the line. Riding this acid wave is bright red fruit, some round spice and an astringent, sappy edge. Light to medium bodied, this wine has an almost Pinot-like flavour profile in some respects, initially savoury but gathering fruit sweetness as it moves through the after palate. There’s nothing outrageously complex here, and the acid is, to my taste, somewhat too aggressive, but it’s good drinking. The finish is perfectly acceptable, with subtle, plush tannins blanketing the tongue. 
A good wine to finish with, then. Rustic, unsophisticated, real. 
Price: $A10.45
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: August 2008

Deen De Bortoli Vat 1 Durif 2006

Posted on by
2

Durif isn’t a variety you see too much of, especially outside the Rutherglen and surrounds. This wine, made from Riverina grapes, is part of De Bortoli’s value-priced “Deen” range. De Bortoli does better than most with its wines at the lower end of the market, so I’ve been looking forward to tasting this curiosity.

An attractive nose, with plum, some spice and a darker, slightly vegetal oak character that adds depth without any hint of unripeness. A bit of lift too. The fruit character is ever so slightly confected, but because the aroma profile is dark and dense, it’s not unduly distracting. The palate shows an interesting array of flavours. There’s a rich, very ripe plum note, teetering on overripe, held in check by a range of savoury influences (including quite prominent oak) that, together, create a flavour profile miles away from the sweetness of many cheaper red wines. Definition isn’t all that great, but it’s a very generous wine, with heaps of flavour and good presence in the mouth. Mouthfeel is interesting, being a little rough and almost spritzy, whilst also showing ripe, slightly chunky tannins. Intensity of flavour tapers off through the after palate and the finish isn’t all that long.

Angove's Long Row Shiraz 2006

Posted on by
1

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

Posted on by
6

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.

Somerton Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2006

Posted on by
2

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.

La Cantina Dry Red NV

Posted on by
Reply

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

Offcuts

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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.