Results tagged “Eden Valley”

There's a reason why I've not posted recently, and it's not entirely related to a lack of time. I have indeed tasted several wines this week. And they were all crap. Which does wear one down after a while. The point of my drinking, or so I have convinced myself, is to enjoy moments of abstract sensual pleasure. I drink wine for the same reason I listen to music; to hear, feel, disagree, discover. In other words, I drink to experience beauty. So a series of ugly wines gives me absolutely nothing to write other than tiresomely self-reflective introductions like this.

In response to my write-up of the 2007 Shiraz, Colin Sheppard of Flaxman Wines very kindly sent me a bottle each of the 2005 and 2006 versions so I could compare the site and its wine across vintages. After having tasted all three, and quite apart from notions of quality, one thing I can confirm is this wine's transparency.

Wonderfully refreshing and complex, this is miles away from the screechingly acidic honeysuckle toffee you so often get in viognier at this price point. Glowing golden green in the glass, I suddenly found myself remembering what it was like to lick buttercream frosting off of the metal stand mixer beaters when I was young: there's a brief, sharp flash of alloyed brightness that quickly folds itself into a lusciously textured, lemon-rind and salt water taffy hugeness that is barely contained within a hulkingly big, disproportionately sized wine that thankfully stops just this side of gaucheness. On the nose, the aromatics remind me of Osage orange and bitter white flowers; there's also a subtle hint of freshly churned butter as well as a suggestion of something akin to marjoram.

I'm very impressed with this wine, but I will that it stops just short of greatness: there's some tension in the outsize-osity of the finish that is uncomfortably close to a beer gut spilling over the waist of daggy polyester trousers, I'd say. For all of the wine's charms, it could do with a bit less ripeness, a bit less flab, and a bit more minerality - but still, could you possibly have expected better for the price?

Disgorged in 2009. This is essentially the same wine as the Karra Yerta Sparkling Shiraz previously reviewed on Full Pour, so one might wonder the point of writing it up. Two reasons: firstly, it's an excellent sparkling red worthy of some air time, and secondly, I'm kind of curious of my impressions the second time around.

This one's certainly got me thinking. I was quite partial to Flaxman's 2007 Stranger, largely because of its luxurious flavour profile and mouthfeel. This, by contrast, is an entirely different beast. For starters, it is made from estate grapes hailing from a dry grown vineyard at the top of the Barossa Ranges (so says the back label). Very Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush, not Emily Brontë). More meaningfully, it is quite distinct, stylistically, from its cheaper sibling. 

It's Christmas day and I'm taking time out between preparing lunch and relaxing to note my reaction to this wine, just opened and to be consumed with the main meal (in my case, confit of duck). 

Dusty roasted cocoa nibs come to mind, backed with the residue of children's fruit leather that was forgotten underneath the front seat of a minivan for months: dusty-sweet with faint memories of summertime. The taste, however, seems at odds with the way the wine smells, brightly acidic and with a midpalate reminiscent of a general store pickle barrel, the wine is strangely fascinating, with a spiky, velvety texture that spreads out to a long finish of patent medicines and schmoozingly-textured tannin. This is a real odd duck of a wine: far from elderly, it seems to be holding on just fine eight years after harvest. I'm not sure if I like it, but I respect it: this is a fairly crowded category (South Australian shiraz) and this is one of the most unique bottles I've tasted. It's not jammy raspberry motor oil, it's not archaeo-funky Rockford, and it's not Côte-Rôtie light, but something entirely other. I imagine this would pair very well with Japanese food that features grilled mackerel and other umami-intensive foodstuffs: there's a certain cogency nere with savory, grilled, fishy, salty foods that's intensely appealing once you get over the shock of it not being like something you've had before. Whoever made this wine should be damn proud of what they've achieved here.

The small Flaxman estate vineyard is located in the Barossa ranges, in the same area as various renowned vineyards like Heggies, Karra Yerta and Pewsey Vale. In amongst mature Semillon and Shiraz are the forty five year old Riesling vines from which this wine is made. You'd expect, with this pedigree, definitive Eden Riesling. And so it is.

The Karra Yerta vineyard has a flavour that is partly Eden Valley but otherwise all its own. This is the third vintage I've tasted and there's a striking family resemblance between the wines. The 2008 was full and soft, communicating a luxuriant plushness while remaining in the mainstream of Eden style. The 2005 was austere and acidic, clearly built for the long haul, and what one might consider a more typical wine of the region. This most recent edition is different again, yet its core of pastel, shimmering fruit is all Karra Yerta, clearly showing the terroir of this special vineyard.

A blend of Eden and Barossa Valley fruit, this wine makes a great case for itself through a combination of peppery, cooler climate characters and that luscious fruit for which Barossa Shiraz is renowned. 

This wine (and winery) defines boutique in many respects. A limited run production of 170 cases, made by James Linke from Eden Valley and Barossa fruit, then blended by Pete Schell to create this quite outstanding little number. When I asked the engaging Marie Linke the intent behind this wine, her answer was "a good home brew, for ourselves, but plans change." And how.

From one of the few makers in Australia focusing on Merlot as its signature red grape comes this affordable wine made from a blend of Eden and Barossa fruit. I've enjoyed previous vintages of this label very much.

I have absolutely no idea how this bottle found its way into my cellar, but I suppose it was bought in Australia as there doesn't seem to be anywhere in the USA where I can buy another bottle of this, which is a shame.

Wonderfully honeyed gold in the glass, there's a squant of orange tint here as well; it's clear that this wine is old, beautifully so. The perfume is subtle and hints at dessert wines; it's eerily, subtly orange and vaguely reminds me of liqueur muscat, but of course it's terrifically dry. Surprisingly young in terms of taste, the aged kero characteristic are upstaged by what I suppose are textural quirks; this wine has a novel mouth feel, strangely full, offset by a sort of white-flower effect that is reminiscent of a previous generation's floral perfume.

The line here is also somewhat odd; relatively straightforward, the wine eventually peters out into a subtly spicy finish which largely hides the acidity here, which briefly makes an appearance well after the wine has been drunk. In terms of flavor profile, it's really much more like a delicate Belgian lager than anything else, with hints of orange blossom and spice. Probably not drunk best on its own, this seems to be crying out for spicy stir fry which is sadly lacking in my house at the moment.

Incredible value for money, it seems to me that this wine still has a long life ahead of it. If you've got it, drink it, but it likely wouldn't hurt to hang on for a few years yet.

Lately, I've been thinking about wine styles and how some come to be defined as classics over time. In a way, it's more complex than the literary canon, for example, in which a single, unchanging artifact is evaluated and re-evaluated over time. With wine, a particular combination of variety and region remains static but a whole set of variables -- everything from particular vintage conditions to winemaking to long term climatic variations -- ensures a constant evolution. So, how to pin down the essentials?

Travel for reasons other than leisure is surely one of the loneliest pastimes. I'm currently away from home and, to relieve the tedium yesterday evening, wandered about looking for something moderately interesting to eat and drink. The idea of dining alone in a restaurant didn't hold much appeal, so I rocked up to a local wine and cheese shop hoping for a solution. Half bottles are ideal in such situations and, fortunately, a small range was on offer, including this wine. A few minutes after spotting it, I was on my way back to the hotel, also equipt with  a chunk of Ossau-Iraty and some rye bread.

The nose here presents some contradictions: full in aroma profile but reticent in expression, piercingly aromatic in a menthol-like fashion but mostly redolent of deep berry fruits, framed with savoury oak but fruit-sweet in a slightly jammy way. It's a bit all over the place. Not that I mind; in fact, it's all quite attractive, even if it never comes together as a whole, integrated thing.

Further contradiction on the palate, which is both more satisfying and frustrating than the aroma. It's fuller and more generous, for sure. In fact, there are a lot of red and black fruits immediately on entry. Structurally, tannins are grainy and pleasingly textured, while acidity is quite firm and well balanced. The wine strikes me as medium to full bodied, and moves from being fruity on the middle palate to fairly oak-driven towards the back of the mouth. The oak here is malty and a bit obvious and, although there's a lot of flavour overall, it's this obviousness of flavour that frustrates me. The fruit, too, never rises above a relatively simple expression of berry fruits with a confectionary edge. At this price point, I would expect just that bit extra.

I did a pretty poor job of matching my food and wine. The cheese's tangy, complex flavour exaggerated the wine's sweet profile, making it seem unsophisticated by comparison. Perhaps this helped colour my view of the wine.

An instantly aromatic wine -- one of those that fills its immediate vicinity with smells a few seconds after being poured. There are flowers and citrus zest and all manner of high toned things. Once this aspect of the wine settles, though, nascent bottle aged characters emerge and it is these that form the backbone of the wine's aroma. Although just beginning its journey, this wine seems to be approaching maturity with determined elegance. There's no disjointedness to the aroma. Rather, a layer of intense citrus fruit dovetails neatly into hints of toast and beeswax. It's all quite seamless, surprisingly so for a wine that isn't yet released to the market. I hesitate a little here because there's also a slightly blunt character to the aroma profile, a lack of light and shade that, I hope, will appear with more time in bottle.

At 4.2 g/l residual sugar, I think this wine is technically off-dry. It is made from bought grapes by a small, family-run producer in the Southern Flinders Ranges, North of the Clare Valley. 

When cold, a restrained aroma that is part delicate flowers and part stone. There is a hint of sweet, slightly tropical fruit running underneath all the high toned goodness, though it seems to duck for cover whenever it is in danger of being fully recognised. Some vigorous swirling rebalances the wine, the aeration and higher temperature bringing the fruit forward considerably, such that it ends up being a softer, more luscious expression of Riesling (within the context of the style).

A little late to the party with this one, I know. 2008 Rieslings have hit the shelves in a big way by now, but 2007 editions are still widely available. 

Of all the Rieslings made from grapes of the celebrated 2002 vintage in the Clare and Eden Valleys, this wine holds a special place in my heart. For a start, it was one of the most impressive of these wines on release. Secondly, it provided considerable enjoyment to Chris and I while dining at a (long gone) Indonesian restaurant in Glebe. I've had a six pack sitting in the cellar since 2002, and have managed to avoid drinking any until now. Great expectations, indeed.

The colour shows signs of development, with richer golden hues intruding into a pale, straw-like tint. Nose is funky. It's funky in a roast nuts and honey sort of way, perhaps with some vanilla-like notes, even a hint of petrol. It's a generous, almost slightly fat aroma profile, and most attractive too, although hardly an "ultra clean" aged style. Think toasted muesli and yoghurt and you'll get an idea of this wine as it stands right now.

Entry is deceptively smooth, as it takes a moment for acid to register on the tongue. Once it does, we see an attractive fullness of body (for Riesling, anyway) with dry, slightly chalky acidity. The acid feels slightly harsh, as if it doesn't quite belong alongside this wine's nascent richness. There's more honey, some toasted oats, a little vanilla and spice.  There's also more than a hint of dry lime, a hangover from this wine's fresher days. Flavour drives through the after palate with admirable definition, and the wine's length is beyond reproach.

As much as i'm enjoying this, it's a striptease performance that never quite reveals what you'd like to see.  Unlike those Rieslings where aged and fresh notes intertwine in scintillating conversation, I suspect this wine needs a more complete expression of age to display satisfying coherence and true character. Having said that, all the ingredients are here -- intensity, complexity, structure. It's a wine of quality for sure. I'll be eagerly cracking another bottle open in, say, two years' time.

Mesh
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: June 2008