Tag Archives: 2010

Château de Sours Bordeaux Rosé 2010

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I’m trying to do my bit for the rosé cause, but a string of disappointing wines last week left me with little of interest to write up. Thank goodness for this, then.

Made from Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this wine’s aroma is all about freshness, which is a satisfying (if conventional) way to approach the style. The leafy side of these varieties dominates, along with a crisper, edgier dose of red capsicum (from the Franc, perhaps). I think I smell some black pepper too, speaking more to the sharpness of the aroma profile than any pungency or spice. There’s a lack of depth and layering, but it’s so bright and fresh, it’s easy to forgive such simplicity.

At first I thought there too much sugar on the palate; after a few tastes, I’m now finding it quite well balanced. Certainly I’ve tasted much sweeter rosés, and the residual sugar here is more than balanced by firm acid and a flavour profile that, like the aroma, emphasises fresh vegetation more than deep fruit. Sizzling capsicum, unfolding ferns, a hint of tomato bush; underneath it all, just enough light red berries to make me smile. The palate seems more complex than the nose, with an added layer or two, all well integrated and lively.

A delicious, drinkable style of some character. Fully priced, though.

Château de Sours
Price: $A28
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Dessert Semillon 2010

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A cordon cut style, this wine hails from boutique producer Flaxman Wines. It’s shot through with authenticity, at least as far as the back label is concerned: hand pruned, hand picked, old vine, dry grown, low yielding. It’s a veritable checklist of cred. What I like most about the packaging, however, is the exceptionally attractive label design, something it shares with all the Flaxman wines.

To what’s in the glass, an initially funky, almost musty, aroma gives way to unexpectedly savoury notes mixed with tinned peach and pear. The savouriness is, I suspect, somewhat sulfur-driven, so may blow off with some time. I hope it does, because the fruit here is quite lovely, and surprisingly subtle for what can tend to be a straightforward style. The key to its interest is that it’s not overwhelmingly sweet, it holds something in reserve, which makes the whole thing a lot more sniffable.

The palate shows good freshness and balance, thanks to a pleasing interplay between sugar, fruit intensity and acid. Again, the wine surprises with its subtlety, being neither too sweet nor too bracingly acidic. Entry splashes the palate with cool, structural refreshment, taking a while to build a level of fruit intensity that is ultimately satisfying without ever being especially impressive. The middle palate is awash with a range of fruit flavours: fresh citrus, candied peel, ripe stonefruit, some syrup. The after palate becomes more savoury and textural, with perhaps a hint of minerality edging in. A nice, gentle finish brings things to a close.

The back label also says of this wine that it has “no story.” While its provenance and production suggest otherwise, it loses nothing by being judged purely for what’s in the bottle. Nice wine.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A20
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Yelland & Papps Delight Grenache Shiraz 2010

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To my mind, Yelland & Papps is a bit of a Grenache specialist, or at least I consistently like its Grenaches more than any other wines in its range. There’s something about the Yelland & Papps style that lends itself especially well to Grenache’s generosity and sweet fruit character. I’ve enjoyed this label in the past, perhaps more than the straight Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon in the Delight range.

In 2010, though, the Shiraz remains the best release. The nose here is expressive and smells of artificial vanilla essence, a slightly edgy sappiness and gobs of sweet, somewhat stewed fruit. The fruit is red and black, ranging from plums to blackberries, all arguably overripe, showing a jammy rather than fresh fruit vibe. To my palate, more freshness would have led to a better aroma profile, along with more subtlety of oak character and volume.

The palate is again very generous, fruit driving a flavour profile that backs up with abundant, rather edgy oak and some pretty spiky acidity. I like the wine’s consistent volume through its line; there’s certainly plenty of fruit to go around. Again, fruit character has a question mark over it, with an overripe edge contributing hardness and detracting from the suppleness this wine occasionally hints at but never achieves.

A pretty good quaffer, then, but not quite up to the same year’s Shiraz.

Yelland & Papps
Price: $A19.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Yelland & Papps Delight Shiraz 2010

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It’s easy to heap praise on premium wines, for there’s often an outstanding quality to their fruit or winemaking that attracts easy attention. And we expect a lot from expensive wines, so it’s no surprise when they display excellence of style. I often think the task of the quaffing wine is so much more difficult. These are wines that are made to a certain price point, perhaps limiting the winemaker’s options with regard to fruit and oak. It’s the difference between the architect designing a luxury villa versus affordable mass housing. Yet, does the latter demand less intent or attention? I don’t think so. The challenge is simply different, and should be appreciated differently.

I’m thinking these thoughts as I taste this sub-$20 wine from Barossa producer Yelland & Papps, whose house style is firmly oriented towards easy drinkability at all price points in its range. What I’m looking for here is regional character and a total absence of the sort of insultingly simple fruit character that, all too often, gets trotted out at these price points. Happily, this wine delivers.

It’s not a wine of refinement or delicacy, nor does it need to be. The nose, in fact, is quite blunt, with highly regional ripe plum fruit character bursting from the glass, tangles of spice swirling around its core. That’s it, more or less, with little in the way of nuance or layers, but its total honesty carries it through and gives it attractive appeal.

The palate is of moderate weight and intensity, carrying a consistent line from the aroma through to entry and middle palate. There’s a simple rusticity to the flavour profile; red fruit and brown spice sharing equal billing; that makes this an easy, generous experience, despite its modest dimensions. Is the oak a little obvious (even synthetic) in character? Perhaps, but that only slightly detracts from the straightforwardness of the experience.

This seems really well-judged, as much for its lack of pretension as anything else. Drink, enjoy.

Yelland & Papps
Price: $A19.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Dowie Doole Cane Cut Viognier 2010

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For some reason, I don’t often reach for a sticky, even though I have thoroughly enjoyed many bottles over the years. I suppose it’s the, perhaps unfair, anticipation of flabby, sweet vulgarity that keeps me away; to my palate, there are few things as undrinkable as a low acid, high sugar, sweet white dessert wine. So, despite almost tasting this on several occasions, I’ve restricted myself to admiring its spectacularly pretty packaging and thinking about the various ways in which a cane cut Viognier might go off the rails. Not known for its subtlety, my greatest fear was too overt an expression of Viognier varietal character; I imagined great gobs of apricot flopping over yet more gobs of apricot, cloying its way along my palate, making me wish I’d stuck to admiring how well-judged the slightly blingy label is against the lovely hue of the wine.

The reality of this wine is diametrically opposed to my fears for it, and in fact shows an exceptionally well-judged sense of style in its making. It’s a light sticky, fleet in the mouth, with just enough fruit flavour to fill out its delicate vibe. In fact, the nose could be that of a rich dry table wine, showing apricot kernels, firm stonefruit flesh, light vanilla and heady florals. There’s an almost savoury tone to it that is a lovely counterpoint to the relative richness of the fruit character; certainly, everything seems in balance. Mostly, this aroma speaks simply of fresh fruit, picked and eaten at the point of early ripeness.

The palate shows great continuity of style, echoing the nose’s nimble aroma profile with a palate structure that is gentle but shapely, well matched to the wine’s moderate weight and body. It’s here the wine’s sugar content has an impact, creating good intensity of fruit flavour from entry onwards, and rounding out the mouthfeel. There could probably be a touch more acid, as the fruit just starts to cloy through the after palate. The whole is so light, though, that this isn’t a serious flaw.

Mostly, this is fun, delicious, and just sophisticated enough.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Mike Press Shiraz 2010

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The story of Mike Press Wines is atypical in many respects. After bursting onto the scene a few years ago with some great show results and a price point totally at odds with the quality of its wines, Mike Press has done what few wines lovers, in our collective cynicism, probably didn’t expect: he improved things even further. In my view, the last five years has seen a consistent refinement of the reds in particular, honing oak character while retaining excellent expression of fruit. Denoting a wine as “single vineyard” may seem pretentious at this price point, but it’s entirely justified, and one approaches these wines best by being thankful for their affordability and then forgetting cost altogether.

This wine has a balance of fruit and oak that wasn’t quite achieved a few years ago, but which now prompts a dense, concentrated aroma of brambles, brown spice, subtle vegetal notes and squished berries to waft from the glass. Inevitably in such a young wine, a couple of the elements aren’t fully integrated, but it’s impressively coherent nonetheless, especially in terms of the way the oak’s influence weaves into the fabric of the fruit, supporting and spicing it well.

The palate comes across as rich and full, quite fruit driven, but with a decent structural framework and a consequent sense of orderliness underlying the whole. Quite plush on entry, a tumble of very ripe plums and blackberries moves through to the middle palate. I like how clean the fruit is here, without being simple or in any way confected. On the after palate, well balanced acid and velvety tannins start to take over, adding texture to the mouthfeel and some welcome nerviness to the vibe. A decent finish, full of sweet tannins and vanilla oak flavours.

A really nice release of this wine, showing a fullness of fruit in particular that should be utterly crowd pleasing.

Mike Press
Price: $13-14
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Mitchell Harris Sangiovese 2010

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Sangiovese is an interesting varietal in the Australian context. Early attempts tended towards Shirazification in style; whether this is a good or a bad thing probably depends on whether you feel adherence to Old World stylistic models represents the path to quality. As I back away from that particular can of worms, I will note that I have enjoyed the robust tannin structure and bright fruit character of many a Chianti, and wouldn’t say no to a few Australian Sangioveses that had these elements alongside whatever our local conditions might add.

Happily, this wine fits broadly within these ideas of style. The nose shows very bright red fruit, somewhat confected perhaps, but clean and varietal. There are some lightly reductive notes around the edges that, in my view, contribute positive complexity to the aroma profile, which would be otherwise a little simple. Oak, old-smelling and nougat-like in character, flits around the edges without ever intruding on a core of cherry fruit notes.

The palate is where this wine comes alive, quickly showcasing a tannin-driven structure that is pleasingly firm. Fruit first, though, which lands fast on entry and moves quickly through to the middle palate, all brightness and crunch. Structurally, this is where acid has a primary role, and it’s certainly bright, though not so much as to compete with tannin later in the line. Again, the fruit is a bit confected, creating a sense of simplicity of flavour. Body is light to medium, movement brisk, all befitting a wine that should be drunk with food rather than on its own.

I can imagine this going down a treat at lunchtime on the weekend, it’s that sort of casual, “throw it back” style. If some work were done to the fruit character of this wine to tame its brighter, simpler side, this would be even better.

Mitchell Harris
Price: $A24.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Lake's Folly Chardonnay 2010

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I’m a huge fan of Hunter Chardonnay, enjoying the warm climate vibe the style brings while perversely getting off on how old fashioned they often are. Lake’s Folly Chardonnay must surely represent, along with Tyrrell’s Vat 47, the pinnacle of the style, so it’s with great anticipation that I approach the nouveau Lake’s Folly each year. Today’s the day for this one. Onwards with the tasting.

White and yellow peaches on the nose, returning to fuller form after the lean profile of the 2009. Some struck match around the edges, some minerality, all of which frames a buxom core of stonefruit flavour. What’s interesting is that, despite the fruit’s profile, there’s nothing excessive about the wine’s aroma. Rather, the impression is of power and substance, and moreover of sophistication. It’s complex, this one, a range of nutty, savoury aromas swarming around all that fruit. This is a Chardonnay that is stylistically sure of itself, and which seeks to maximise the potential of the style rather than give up to its more obvious side.

In the mouth, the style of it is fully justified by a cascade of fruit, power and complexity, with as many savoury dimensions as there are sweet. Weight is the first thing to register, a pleasing mouthful of taut, quite muscular flavour moving into the mouth on entry and opening the middle palate right up. Structure is firm and fine, already well integrated and matched to the wine’s weighty dimensions. An intense hit of brown spice lands on the after palate, before a strikingly clean, fruit-driven finish brings lengthy satisfaction.

I love the style of this wine, and this is an especially fine example in the fuller mode.

Lake’s Folly
Price: $A55
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Angullong Bull's Roar Tempranillo 2010

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Tempranillo is new enough to Australia that trying a new one is still a lottery; in terms of quality, in terms of style. I admit to never having tasted one from the Orange/Central Ranges areas, so was curious to see what Angullong, a maker of solid, cleanly commercial wines, might do with the variety.

At first, the nose presents a hit of the sort of confected, carbonic maceration derived fruit character that, I regret to say, is a big turnoff for me. While it calms with time, the essential character of this wine stays true to that first impression: this is Tempranillo made for mass appeal. For a varietal that can, at times, be quite meaty and challenging, the aroma profile here is remarkably accessible, a hint of cola the only suggestion of savouriness. There’s also some cuddly vanilla, signalling a friendly approach to oak treatment.

The palate is rather acid-driven in structure, bringing additional sunlight to what is an already bright fruit profile. Red boiled lollies and tart berry skins are first to appear, followed by a welcome dose of twiggy, vegetal sappiness and a smattering of prickly tannins. It’s not an especially distinctive or complex flavour profile, but it’s different enough from a typical Shiraz or Cabernet to provide some interest. It’s an open question for me whether Tempranillo is best served by this style; I’d like to see less bright fruit, less oak, and a bit more difference. However, someone looking for an easygoing yet “different” wine may find a lot to like here.

Angullong
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Mud House The Woolshed Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2010

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A single vineyard wine and, at $A29, occupying the upper end of the price range for this style. As single vineyard and smaller production Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs become more visible, it interests me to see what makers consider to be worth highlighting in terms of varietal character. Here, Mud House has gone for a fairly extreme end of the style, full of spiky passionfruit, nettles and aggression.

It’s not all harshness, though; far from it. The fruit character here is actually quite complex (once you get past the overt aromatics), with some nectarine flesh and citrus in amongst the more tropical notes. The edginess, too, is detailed and relatively complex, though one might argue these qualities don’t make up for what is a slightly unbalanced overall profile. There’s no mistaking this for any other style.

In the mouth, one’s first impression is of chalky, textured acid, rather breathtaking really, followed by a cascade of bright fruit notes and an edge of leaf. Interestingly, it’s not thin-tasting; there’s a bit of flesh to the flavours, round enough to combat the wine’s structural tendencies. Typically, it dies a bit on the after palate and finish. For my taste, this is de trop, pushing the harsher side of the style too far to the fore. Having said that, those looking for a vibrant, somewhat explosive wine will find it here in spades.

Mud House
Price: $A29
Closure: Cork
Source: Sample