Tag Archives: 2007

Redbank The Long Paddock Chardonnay 2007

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I’m not familiar with this label but, according to the winery’s tasting note, grapes were sourced from across Victoria after bushfires affected its traditional regional base of the King and Ovens Valleys. That’s some pretty cool one off-ness for a paltry $9.50. I remember the days (not very long ago) of cheap Chardonnay oaked so heavily one practically got splinters in the mouth. I’m sure they’re still out there, but the vogue for tighter, finer wines seems to to have stimulated a fresh breed of cheapies. Or so I hope.

A high toned, slightly spirity nose that is decidedly vinous without being especially distinctive. A subtle layer of butter and vanilla cream indicates equally subtle malo and oak inputs. This is perhaps a relief, though it also clearly exposes simple fruit flavours of apple and white stonefruit. For all that, quite nice to sniff. Entry has good immediacy of flavour and shows just enough fine acid to retain shapeliness. The mid-palate is of medium body and plentiful flavour, with a clean, round mouthfeel. More white stonefruit, hints of malo and cream vye for attention; it’s all straightforward and very easy to drink. The butter and cream takes over on the after palate, and the finish is of medium length, showcasing the wine’s soft, easy style above all else. There’s also a bit of heat (14% ABV), but it’s not ruinous. 
This wine is terribly easy to drink and strikes me as well made and well judged. Some texture would be a welcome addition, as it would add interest to the wine’s simple, slightly anonymous flavour profile. Good quaffer.
Price: $A9.50
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: August 2008

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

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.

Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay 2007

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Juicy Fruit esters spurt from the glass at first, with white stone fruit and a hint of cream. Squeaky clean, very fresh, floral and powdery in character. With some enthusiastic swirling, astringent herbal aromas also start to emerge, adding complexity and edge. It’s evolving quickly in the glass, which makes for an interesting companion if sipped slowly through the evening. Am I detecting the slightest hint of honey, even? Wishful thinking, perhaps.Flavoursome entry; fruit registers early in the wine’s line. Acidity is prominent and a little rough and ready, adding a rustic sourness to the flavour profile. Fruit continues in a white stone fruit vein, but with the addition of lemon-like citrus flavours that recall young Hunter Semillon. It’s quite intense and extremely lively on the tongue; we’re a long way from flabby New World Chardonnay of years past. Firm, defined thrust through the after palate as the acid carries increasingly citrus-like fruit flavour through to the finish. There’s a little lift, or perhaps even some alcohol heat on the finish, and the wine’s density does fall away somewhat precipitously towards the end of its line. But the finish is long and tasty and only promises good things.Yummy wine. This lacks the extra complexity of a really top Vat 47, but is nonetheless a delicious drink and one with a promising future over the mid-term. I’m betting this will be great with fish and chips. An iconic Aussie Chardonnay for the price of lesser village-level white Burgundy or generic Bourgogne.Tyrrell’sPrice: $A35Closure: StelvinDate tasted: June 2008

Casella Wines [yellow tail] Cabernet Merlot 2007

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It’s tempting to write about this wine in terms of how important it is to Australia’s wine industry, or perhaps to express curiosity regarding what such a cheap wine actually tastes like, as if it were the vinous equivalent of a trip to the red light district (ie something that other people do). In reality, I’m a big fan of cheap wines for purely practical reasons. Firstly, I can’t afford to drink top or even middle tier wines every day. Secondly, there are few things more exciting to a wine lover than finding an excellent cheap wine. Thrift and pleasure, a top combination in my books.A hit of clean, sweet red and blue fruit on the nose. It’s easy, simple and, to me, screams of industrial winemaking. The palate is surprisingly acidic (though balanced) and this helps to pull the sweet, somewhat cloying fruit flavours back into line. There’s a lot of blueberry and a little spice on the palate. Quite flavoursome but not identifiably varietal. I can’t really detect any tannins. Its character pushes the boundaries of what I understand to be wine, and suggests a simpler beverage altogether. Having said that, it’s very well made, and I’ve no doubt it succeeds in being what it’s supposed to be. I can imagine someone who otherwise disliked wine, especially red wine, may find this surprisingly delicious, as it avoids the more challenging aspects of most other styles (savouriness, tannin, etc). It responded neutrally to food, and its sweet flavour profile didn’t seem to either enhance or detract from the roast beef meal with which it was served.For me, though, this wine holds limited interest, even as an everyday quaffer. It doesn’t communicate a sense of region or style, and instead seems intent on suppressing its individuality. Even in a very inexpensive wine, I like to taste where the grapes have come from, and hopefully to feel like the wine is communicating to me as an individual and not as a demographic. Perhaps my notion wine is overly romanticised or naive, but I do know there are cheap wines on the market that, to me, better encapsulate their origins.[yellow tail]Price: $A8Closure: StelvinDate tasted: May 2008

Mount Riley Savée 2007

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I don’t recall having tasted a sparkling wine made from Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc grapes before, so it was with particular interest that I sampled this number.
A fresh, lively nose that strikes me as pretty but perhaps less explosive than many still wines made from the same grape. What’s interesting about the palate is that it shows very evident Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc character in the context of a highly atypical wine style. There’s the trademark grassy, passionfruity, capsicummy flavour profile, surrounded at entry and after palate by lively fizz. It’s an odd, unexpected combination that nevertheless shows great freshness and is certainly fun.
Whether it’s a style I prefer over the still version remains questionable. The winemaking does blunt the typical flavour profile a bit, which may please some people but, for me, may not satisfy the craving for utter vulgarity that usually strikes before I reach for a Marlborough Savvy. I think this would be a great wine to serve as an aperitif if you’re looking for a variation on the usual sparkling theme.
Mount RileyPrice: $A25Closure: CorkDate tasted: March 2008

Vasse Felix Classic Dry White 2007

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You see this everywhere. It’s easy to find in pretty much any bottle shop fridge and turns up with alarming regularity at BBQs, Summer lunches, etc. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s good or bad — it does, though, mean you’re probably going to have a glass or two of it sometime soon…
More than those from some other regions, Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blends from the Margaret River can tread a fine line between fresh astringency and overbearing grassiness. They don’t usually suffer, though, from a personality deficit. So smelling and tasting this wine came as somewhat of a surprise. It’s pretty on the nose — ultra clean, a bit tropical, a bit herbal. But lacking in intensity and character.
The palate is all quite correct, with relatively soft acidity (for the style) that enters freshly and pushes lightly tropical fruit along with zip. There’s not much grass or herb here; it’s definitely an easygoing, unchallenging flavour profile. The biggest surprise for me is the lack of intensity of flavour. It tastes almost watery on the mid-palate, and this, combined with its flavour profile, turns the wine into a bit of a non-event. It’s just not especially interesting. For the price, I would expect more.
Vasse FelixPrice: A$18Closure: StelvinDate tasted: March 2008

Tyrrell's Vat 1 2007

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Having tasted a couple of other current vintage Private Bin whites in previous weeks, I was interested to see how the flagship Vat 1 fared in 2007. The Belford and Stevens wines seemed broader and more approachable than usual. Very pale with excellent clarity. The nose is an interesting mixture of high toned, almost powdery citrus fruit with waxed pears and more generous tropical notes. Good complexity. It’s quite expressive and certainly attractive; whether it’s especially “typical” is another question. The entry is gentle and builds, both structurally and in terms of intensity, towards the mid-palate. Here we have a forward mix of lemon/lime notes with hints of the tropical fruit shown on the nose. Acidity is certainly lively and it provides really good flow through the palate, but stops short of the sort of searingly intense structure seen in Hunter Semillons of a more classical bent. Flavour extends well into the after palate, and the wine’s length is extremely impressive.Rather than criticise this wine for what it isn’t, I’ll celebrate its pleasures: here we have an approachable, sophisticated young wine of good structure and length. As it sat in the glass, I could detect hints of the honeyed pleasure to come, but I’d say this is a medium term cellaring proposition at most — nothing should stop you enjoying this wine now.Tyrrell’sPrice: $A35Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008

Krinklewood Verdelho 2007

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I seem to end up drinking more Hunter Verdelho than I intend to, partly because they are often keenly priced and, well, there. This one is no exception, and has the added advantage of originating from a biodynamic vineyard. Straightforward, juicy fruit salad aromas with the faintest hint of herbal astringency on the nose. There’s no significant complexity but there’s sufficient volume, which is the point with a wine like this. The entry is immediately flavoursome, with more Verdelho fruit salad riding a slightly slippery, glycerol influenced mouthfeel through to a generous, flavoursome middle palate. Acidity is gentle but present enough to add some firmness to the wine’s otherwise easygoing palate. Unlike many Verdelhos, this wine shows well controlled phenolic bitterness — enough to cleanse the palate without disrupting the sweeter fruit notes. A nice lift of slightly medicinal flavour characterises the finish, and the wine has decent length, tapering slowly to a close.This is the nicest Verdelho I’ve had in a while. Its combination of mouthfilling flavour and perfectly balanced bitterness is delicious and fun. Drinks well and is great value.KrinklewoodPrice: $A16Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008

Giesen Sauvignon Blanc 2007

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I remember when I first tasted this wine, in the late 90s. I came a bit late to Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, you see, but the Giesen gave me an inexpensive taste of what it was about. It continues to be my favourite “reliable” example of the genre, and as 2007 has been talked up in the Marlborough, I was interested to taste this wine over the weekend.
As is typical with this wine, somewhat explosive aromas of cut grass, passionfruit and other astringent fruits leap from the glass. This is a wine that bursts into the room with all guns blazing. It’s piercing and characterful and gloriously vulgar. It’s also, within the context of the style, balanced and attractive.
The entry shows tingly acid and a sourness that carries through to the mid-palate. Within this light bodied wine, there are intense flavours that mirror the nose, along with a somewhat scouring mouthfeel. There’s a deceleration towards the after palate, and the finish is an echo rather than a substantial continuation of the wine’s flavour, but by that time, you’re ready for another sip anyway.
No great complexity of flavour, then, but it’s a hugely enjoyable wine that exists at the more outré end of the stylistic spectrum for “budget” Sauvignon Blancs. Personally, I don’t see the point to the softer, more rounded wines that are crafted for maximum acceptability but, to me, represent a denial of terroir and style.
GiesenPrice: $A15Closure: StelvinDate tasted: February 2008