I’ve been following Clonakilla’s Riesling for a number of years with considerable pleasure.
Clonakilla Riesling 2008
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Tag Archives: 2008
Thomas Braemore Semillon 2008
There have been some exciting write-ups of this wine in the blogosphere and, because I require only the slightest excuse to invest in Hunter Semillon, I ordered a few right away. This is my first bottle. The aroma shows citrus blossom, hay, wax and soap. It combines delicacy and a sense of considerable weight. There’s an underlying complexity of flavour that is unusual in young Hunter Semillon in the austere mode and, though it merely lurks in the background, this detail makes it a challenging wine to untangle. In the mouth, an explosion of acidity backed by considerable palate weight. It’s all very dry — in a chalky, minerally sort of way — creating an impression of high toned, detailed fruit flavours. There’s really good thrust through the palate, the wine almost leaping onto the middle of the tongue. With young Hunter Semillon, it can be revealing to taste one slowly, straight from the fridge through to room temperature. This one, for example, avoids becoming fat or flabby, and retains its essential character as it warms, but adds an extra dimension of power and nuance, even a little fruit sweetness, and a slippery edge to the mouthfeel. The whole remains firm and shapely, though. Impressively, persistently long.To my taste, this is definitely one for the long haul, and I’m glad I have a few stashed away. I’ll be trying this again in about five years’ time. If you’re drinking it now, do as I did and try it with something moderately greasy like a potato, bacon and onion tart.Update: on day two, all the elements are amplified, with very intense citrus flavours, a greater sense of weight and finer acidity. This is pure quality. I suspect its mouthfeel in particular will develop beautifully with time.Thomas Wines
Price: A$25
Closure: Stelvin
Chard Farm Swiftburn Sauvignon Blanc 2008
There seems to be two types of Sauvignon Blanc made by Central Otago producers: those using local grapes and those made from Marlborough fruit. This wine is the only regional blend I’ve tasted. I must admit, I wasn’t especially taken with this at cellar door, but the other half requested we purchase a bottle, and I’m nothing if not obliging when it comes to purchasing wine. Much to my wallet’s chagrin.
Interesting nose that shows some Marlborough influence in a whiff of capsicum, but this is predominantly a round, fruity aroma profile that is reminiscent of straight Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc. There are some smokey, mineral complexities too. Very pleasant. On the palate, acidity is present but relatively soft, avoiding the harshness that can sometimes mar this variety. Fruit flavours are as per the nose, with some green notes adding an edge to rounder tropical fruit (paw paw, passionfruit, etc). There’s an interesting transition on the after palate to phenolic textures and a herbal tang that remind me a little of some dry Rieslings. Pretty good finish. One might want a bit more intensity of fruit, but what’s there is balanced and tasty.
I’m glad I listened to my better half, as this is actually really quaffable. The regional blend works well and serves to add some verve to a fruit-driven Central Otago flavour profile. Nice wine, nice price.
Chard Farm
Price: $NZ21
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: January 2009
Te Mata Estate Woodthorpe Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008
I’ve occasionally written up Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blanc wines on this site and have expressed some reservations about the style in light of its more famous cousin to the South. I’ve been waiting for a wine to change my mind and I may have found it in this Te Mata number.
Prickly, rich aromas of passionfruit with a bit of herbal astrigency. On its own terms, this is a very sniffable aroma, quite different from the Marlborough wines but no lesser for it. It’s a bright wine, but less aggressive in comparison and consequently more approachable. On entry, good impact both via structure and flavour intensity. There’s no shortage of fruit here, passionfruit jumping onto the tongue along with a nice line of fine acid and some other complexing flavours. Quite impressive. It reminds me a bit of Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc in its clean, bright and fruit-driven flavour profile. Not as rich as some Hawkes Bay Sauvignon Blancs I’ve had, and I like this leaner profile, as it successfully avoids the laziness observed in some other wines. Not especially long.
Nice wine and, for me, a viable alternative to Marlborough.
Te Mata Estate
Price: $NZ20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008
Mission Estate Gewürztraminer 2008
Hawkes Bay Gewürztraminer from a label that appears to have a considerable presence at the lower end of the market here in New Zealand. Varietal lychee on the nose is quite promising. Beyond this, however, the aroma profile becomes dull, lacking the character and assertiveness one might wish for in this variety. There’s some floral influence but otherwise it’s all a bit simple and blunt.
Things don’t get a lot better in the mouth, unfortunately. It’s thick and a bit flabby, owing to an acid structure that is overwhelmed by the wine’s viscosity and what appears to be some alcohol heat too. There doesn’t seem to be much intensity of flavour either, with wisps of lychee and spice disappearing into a vortex of blandness.
Disappointing, and overpriced too.
Mission Estate
Price: $NZ20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008
Stoneleigh Rapura Series Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Interesting wine, this one. To pontificate for a moment, the potential for obviousness with this style tends to produce a couple of extremes: wines that capitalise on the most outre aspects of the typical flavour profile, and wines that play down the astrigency and aromatic dimension to the point where they become almost apologetic for what they are. Of course, in most cases one seeks a happy medium, and I was happy to discover this wine falls at neither end of the spectrum.
A soft aroma profile that nonetheless shows a range of typical notes: grass, passionfruit and other slightly tropical delights. As a style, it definitely tends towards subtlety, perhaps even dilution, but compensation comes in the form of considerable complexity and delicacy. It’s a nice wine to smell. On the palate, if its tendency towards dilution is confirmed, so too is its complexity, impressive in the context of this style. Entry is driven more by structure than flavour, but this trend is reversed as the wine gains pace. More aromatic and slightly astringent tropical fruits cascade over the middle palate, generating some satisfaction. The after palate and finish gently stroke the palate, fairly subued.
I wonder if the lack of flavour intensity is a result of the vintage? In any case, a very drinkable wine that shows good complexity and well judged balance.
Stoneleigh
Price: $NZ24
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008
Vidal Sauvignon Blanc 2008
It’s fashionable to bash Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, but I confess I’m a fan. At their best, they represent the sort of flamboyant vulgarity that is its own reward. I think their style misleads some into thinking all examples are equivalent, but I’d suggest their outré character makes things like balance and scale more important than many other, perhaps more forgiving, wine styles. When Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc goes off the rails, it really shows.
All of which is a less than promising introduction to this wine, made by a Hawkes Bay winery from Marlborough fruit. From what I understand, 2008 wasn’t a spectacular year, many wines showing the challenges of the vintage. This is the first I’ve tried, and it’s not a disaster by any means, but it is firmly tilted towards the sort of herbal grassiness I associate more with Margaret River than Marlborough, and which I have trouble with in excessive quantities.
On the nose, typically forthright yet showing a strident grassiness that sits atop the aroma profile, dominating other notes of crisp passionfruit and gooseberry. This somehow makes it more astringent yet duller at the same time; not a great outcome. It says something for the resilience of this style that, despite the odd balance, this wine is still quite clearly a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. The palate shows a softer wine that, whist remaining shackled to grassy notes, also remains quite drinkable through clever winemaking. By tempering any excess of acidity, the winemakers have softened this wine’s inherently astringent flavour profile to the point where it goes down quite easily. It continues to lack substance in terms of fruit notes, but it’s crisp and clean and refreshing. One could do a lot worse.
As an aside, I must come up with some form of shorthand for “Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc,” as it’s quite cumbersome to type over and over again. Any suggestions?
Vidal Estate
Price: $NZ20
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: December 2008
Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2008
This, along with its Springvale sibling, is a lesson in terroir, Australian-style. There’s never any mistaking one wine for the other, with the Polish Hill often considered a more appropriate ageing style (and, perhaps by implication, the “better” wine).
Very pretty talc-like aromas that circle atop layers of minerality and lemongrass. Unlike the Springvale, this isn’t a full-on lime juice style. Instead, the emphasis is on high toned complexity. Having said that, it’s not as shy as some young Polish Hills I’ve tried, so there’s no struggle to extract aroma here. But it’s intellectual, this one, less easily read.
Interestingly, the palate reflects this evasiveness in its flow and structure. Not that there’s a lack of flavour; quite the opposite, in fact, the wine showing good intensity of flavour. Rather, the combination of detailed flavour profile and firm structure translates to a challenging experience in the mouth. Acid tingles the tongue immediately on entry, and carries a crescendo of flavour to the middle palate. Notes here echo the aroma, with lemongrass, passionfruit pith and a generally delicious sourness all socialising well. Great balance and complexity, especially for a young Riesling. Some may find the acid a little firm, but it’s a very fine acidity and personally I love its crisp line. There’s a little dip in intensity on the after palate, but the wine surges again through the long finish.
Fabulous Riesling, then, and one that would seem to have its best years ahead of it. Whether it’s a better wine than the Springvale is very much a matter of taste (and perhaps mood). It shows greater complexity and is a more angular wine, and I suspect may never be a completely sensuous style even with the luxury of bottle age. A wine to make you think.
Update: on the second night, complexity has notched up even further, with a range of musk and Turkish Delight flavours joining in the fun. There’s just so much going on here for a young Riesling. Extremely impressive.
Grosset
Price: $A38
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2008
Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2008
There’s a good vibe around 2008 Clare Rieslings. Indeed, the Grosset newsletter suggests this is the best Watervale since 2002, which is music to my ears.
An aroma that initially reminded me of Sauvignon Blanc not so much for its profile as its impact and immediacy. A punch of lime and leafiness hits you each time you sniff this wine, and it’s a great antidote to an army of insipid “classic dry whites” and Pinot Grigios invading our bistros. I can’t imagine anyone not having a strong reaction to this based purely on the nose. More importantly, this is a really positive wine, one that wears its flamboyance on its sleeve. It’s the Versace of Australian wine — flashy, but immaculately tailored.
The palate’s greatest feature is its intensity of flavour, which is frankly remarkable. It strikes early and builds almost instantly to a climax of lime juice and sherbet-like notes that wash through the mid-palate. There’s so much impact that it takes a moment to realise the wine’s structure is really quite restrained in the context of the style. There’s acid, no doubt, but it’s fine and supports the wine rather than overwhelming it. The flavour profile becomes more complex on the after palate, with some herbal notes introducing themselves. A gently tapered finish with just the slightest hint of fruit sweetness closes the wine well.
I’m a huge fan of our dry Riesling styles and this wine both justifies my taste and provides great sensual pleasure. It’s a win-win. Brilliant value.
Grosset
Price: $A31
Closure: Stelvin
Date tasted: November 2008
Bannockburn Shiraz 1998
This wine’s legend precedes it. For those not aware, the back label summarises its story: after hail destroyed Bannockburn’s 1998 estate Shiraz crop, a whole range of other wineries sent in their Shiraz grapes for inclusion in this wine. Hence the South Eastern Australia appelation. A real one-off cuvée and the sort of vinous curiosity that’s arguably more interesting to think about than taste.
The nose shows a flamboyant aroma profile of equal parts soil and aged leather, with some stale spice thrown in. To be honest, it comes across as a little funky and not especially clean, but to my taste these aren’t issues per se. Whatever your tolerance for wilder aromas, there’s no arguing this wine makes an immediate statement.
Good weight on entry, with slightly DMS-like blackcurrant fruit and good presence overall. Some stalky overtones establish the character and style of the wine. It seems full bodied at this stage. The mid-palate feels lush and resolved, but just as one relaxes into things, the after palate introduces quite drying tannins. These attenuate the wine’s nascent expansiveness and pinch its sense of scale. So its line is akin to a wedge, narrowing as it approaches the finish, and hollowing out somewhat in terms of fruit weight too. The finish feels a little “inside out,” as it’s dry with a notable absence of fruit weight.
Not an especially elegant wine, and perhaps past its best. I’m glad I tasted it, though. Wines like these add a welcome note of quirkiness to the local wine scene.
Bannockburn
Price: $NA
Closure: Cork
Date tasted: September 2008