Tag Archives: Barossa Valley

Yelland & Papps Greenock Shiraz 2007

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Some producers, often the more interesting ones, evolve a consistent house style that, presumably, speaks to a certain idea of wine. In the case of Yelland & Papps, there’s an easygoing lack of pretentiousness to its wines that is, frankly, a relief after tasting more ambitious, overwrought styles. On the minus side, it can come across as excessively dilute and unstructured, as I felt was the case with the 2007 Cabernet I tasted (but did not write up) the other day. But when it works, as with this Shiraz, it’s very pleasing indeed.

Once past an initial bit of stink, lots of expressive, soft aromas, with a mixture of milk coffee, sweet juicy berries, crushed leaf and warm brown spice. It just smells good really, the same way coming home to an almost-ready roast dinner smells good, and it’s not hard to forgive a hint of overripe fruit that is also in the mix.
The palate is attractively structured, with the same prominent acidity I noted in this producer’s 2007 Grenache propping up each flavour and tempering the sweeter tendencies of the fruit. The entry is straightforward and quite lively, introducing a core of clean blackberry fruit surrounded by supporting spice and coffee oak. The middle palate is just so easy and clean, it’s hard not to enjoy. Nice movement through the after palate, with lighter red berry flavours coming to the fore. Decent, balanced finish with subtly textured tannins lightly brushing the tongue.
A very down-to-earth wine. Provided you don’t have any issues with acid-driven, relatively fruit sweet red wines, it should go down a treat.

Yelland & Papps
Price: $A30
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Yelland & Papps Old Vine Grenache 2007

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There’s a lot of waffle about wine, to which I’m sure I contribute my fair share. So to read the back label of Yelland & Papps wines is a breath of fresh air: “[Yelland & Papps]’s sole aim is to enjoy all aspects of the process and sharing this with others.” Hard to argue with that.

The nose was initially sweet-fruited, slightly one-dimensional, definitely generous. It’s gained some complexity through the evening, with malty oak and a savoury, stemmy edge that runs alongside the main event: luscious, jammy Grenache fruit. It’s not a facile wine, yet it’s not intellectual either; the priority here is sensual enjoyment, which I respect absolutely as a stylistic goal. The fruit is quite dark in character, like a mixed berry conserve slathered over a fresh scone. 
The palate is very much more of the same, with a nice rush of fruit quite early that accelerates through the middle and after palates. There’s no stopping the fruit, except perhaps a personal aversion to fruit-driven, relatively sweet flavour profiles. Certainly, if one’s bent were strictly towards Bordeaux, this might seem hopelessly naive as a wine style. Yet within its stylistic bracket, this wine delivers a nice hit of clean, varietal fruit without pretense. It’s not flabby either, acid in particular propping up flavours and providing well-defined shape to the palate. The finish is quite long and doesn’t thin out until it’s almost out of steam; the fruit here really does have good thrust and penetration along the entire line.
Perhaps a matter of taste more than many other wines, this is a solid example of fruity, exuberant Barossa Grenache that fans of the genre needn’t hesitate purchasing. Worked rather well indeed with spicy Thai food.

Yelland & Papps
Price: $A30
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Balthazar Shiraz 2005

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2005Shiraz1.jpg

There are few things in art, and indeed life, more tantalising than a mistaken first impression.
The bottle in front of me is festooned with gold stickers (much more so than in the accompanying photograph); so much bling threatens to overwhelm a striking label design. To certain weary enthusiasts (that’s me), it might also signal an unsubtle, “show” style.  So its true character, when revealed, comes as a surprise. Indeed, what is remarkable about this wine is its powerful intimacy. It draws you in quietly, peeling itself back one translucent layer at a time, until you’re lost in its grasp.
I was advised by this wine’s mother to give it a good hour and a half of air before attempting serious evaluation. In fact, I left it overnight to breathe, and feel on day two its expression is close to complete. At first, a nose that is all mocha oak and deep, ripe plums. It’s complex yet utterly restrained from flowing as it ought. A couple of hours later, the aroma profile is wider and more expressive, though still deeply coiled and suggestive of untold generosity. Finally, a day on, there’s some freedom, structured yet moving without restraint, a multi-coloured kimono of aroma. Black fruit, complex spice, hot sun on brambles, some vanilla. It’s all quality, with good integration and poise, yet it’s subdued and subtle, in a positive sense. There’s no yelling, just sweet harmony and rhythm.
The palate is equally seductive, and it’s difficult to tease each element apart.  Flavours are in line with the nose, though a successful balance between sweet and savoury fruit is more evident here. There’s a voluptuous slipperiness to the mouthfeel that is also notable. On entry, inky fruit and coffee grounds create a dark flavour profile that carries through to the middle palate. Here, it lightens a little, red fruit and plums emerging alongside orange juice acidity and brown spice. There’s a lot going on. The after palate is positively fruit driven, and very clean in presentation. It sustains the momentum of the front palate through to a musky, powerfully soft finish of ultra-ripe tannins and sweet fruit.
What a lovely wine. It’s striking and intense and all of those good things, yet somehow manages to communicate with understatement. A most intriguing, satisfying wine.

Balthazar of the Barossa
Price: $A50
Closure: Procork

Yelland & Papps Delight Grenache Rosé 2009

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Sometimes, I wonder why I ever moved to Brisbane. Sure, it’s beautiful today, and I’m sure it will be perfect tomorrow, but I’m a Canberra boy at heart. I like cold, mercilessly windy Winters and hot, dry Summers, not least because they tend to be framed by idyllic Springs and Autumns. Brisbane, on the other hand, goes from warm to ridiculous, with days (like today) that feel hot well in excess of the measured temperature. Natives say it’s the humidity, and assure me I’ll get used to it, but like many acquired tastes I’m not sure whether it’s worth the effort.

In any case, I needed some refreshment this afternoon and reached for this Grenache-based rosé from Yelland & Papps, a small producer in the Barossa Valley. A lurid strawberry colour, not overly dense but certainly pretty in its neon way. A party colour. The nose is exuberant, with boiled lollies and a counterpoint of savoury, medicinal notes. Simple, fun and certainly generous. It might present too much confectionary for those who prefer a more savoury rosé style; it’s all about context I guess. 
The palate is quite full, with a round mouthfeel and surprisingly intense flavour. The entry is soft and a little underwhelming. The middle palate, by contrast, is full of bright flavours that echo the sweet/savoury profile of the aroma. Things get even more interesting through the after palate, where the acidity contributes a strong, sour thread that accentuates the savoury aspects of the flavour profile. There seems to be a bit of heat on the finish (13% abv). 
An honest, flavoursome wine that would suit casual Summer quaffing for those not averse to the sweeter (and more alcoholic) side of Grenache.

Yelland & Papps
Price: $A17
Closure: Stelvin

Ishtar Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2006

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I don’t envy wine show judges. Quite apart from the difficulty of appearing dignified with purple teeth, there’s the challenge of judging a wine based on a quick tasting, in a lineup of fourty, perhaps even fifty like wines, after what may have been several flights earlier in the day. Even if I had the tasting perspective, I’d no doubt make a hash of the process, simply because I feel terribly disappointed when I derive no enjoyment from wine, and therefore tend to give most wines a chance to show a positive side.

And that can take time, sometimes days. Or, in the case of this wine, about half an hour. Still, I was ready to write it off at first. My initial sip was as follows: bright red, aggressively confected aroma preceding a sweet, medium bodied palate of considerable simplicity. Next!
But oh, how it’s evolved in the glass. After a little time and air, the nose is quite transformed. While it remains within an easy drinking idiom, there’s plenty of interest to the aroma profile, with meaty Mourvèdre and spicy Shiraz framing fruit that, though confectionary in nature, is well balanced against the savoury elements, and has evolved both sour and sweet faces. 
Similarly, the palate is a long way from its initial presentation and shows surprising sophistication in terms of its movement through the mouth. It’s medium bodied at most, with subtle tannins and enough acidity to stay fresh. Well-judged for frictionless consumption, then; this extends to intensity and density of flavour, neither of which call too much attention to themselves. In fact, it threatens to become a bit weedy, but is saved somewhat by a nice surge of sweet fruit as the middle palate transitions to the after palate. A meaty savouriness leads into the finish, which shows cough-syrup flavours and goes on for a decent amount of time.
There’s cheeky intent behind this wine, or at least a reluctance to forego interest for drinkability. Smart quaffing.

Balthazar of the Barossa
Price: $A19.50
Closure: Stelvin

Mountadam Barossa Shiraz 2007

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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. 

You know you’re in good hands when you smell this little number, as assertive black pepper rides racily atop juicy blackberry and plum fruit. It’s delicious to smell, in the way a fruit-based dessert smells delicious as it approaches readiness in the oven. No great complexity as such, but it almost says “who cares?” as it caresses one’s nostrils with generous flavour. The palate is in no way a let-down after this tease, as it reveals a generous gush of ripe fruit early on entry. Medium bodied, there’s a spicy lilt to the middle palate that is a refreshing foil to the generous, eager blackberry fruit running underneath. Oak is a mere support act, and I appreciate the unforced, casual character here. This wine knows it is destined for barbeques and weekday evenings across the country, and never undersells these occasions. Delicious plum fruit rides the after palate through to a spicy, surprisingly long finish. 
I purchased this wine for under $A15 and, at the price, it is a bloody bargain. 

Mountadam
Price: $14.25
Closure: Stelvin

Irvine Springhill Merlot 2006

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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.

Nice nose, a little muted perhaps, showing a mix of bouncy dark berry fruit and leaner, more vegetal notes that strike me as varietal rather than unripe. It’s not quite in the olive spectrum as I have found some Merlot to be, but is definitely on the funkier side, all of which is a relief because one sometimes dreads the simplicity of this grape, in particular at the “value” end of the price scale. As it is, good to smell — not enough volume though — with a subtle thread of bubble-gum oak.
In the mouth, surprisingly well structured, with spiky acidity and loose-knit tannins very much at the fore. In fact, the fruit never quite attains sufficient intensity to match the firm structure, such that there’s an element of imbalance; it’s like a fantastically detailed underground cave which should house a raging river but which is instead graced with a lazy stream. Still, one can’t have it all, and the flavours on offer are most attractive, despite their reticence. Ripe plum and blackberry, some powdery vanilla, and a hint of the vegetal note observed on the nose. It’s not complex, but neither is it facile. 
I’m wishing for more oomph but each sip brings good enjoyment nonetheless. Good food wine.

Irvine Wines
Price: $A17.09
Closure: Stelvin

Teusner The Riebke Northern Barossa Shiraz 2008

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The nose is a riot of licorice allsorts, intense fresh plums, baking spices and marzipan. There’s a vibrancy to the fruit character that is startling in its clarity and directness. It’s the kind of aroma that playfully invades your nostrils before you’ve made a concerted effort to inhale. Quite voluminous, primary and delicious.

B3 Barossa Semillon 2006

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This is the latest wine to take part in what I fondly refer to as my ongoing “neighbourhood Chinese takeaway wine matching” experiment. One of life’s little pleasures.

Really typical Barossa Semillon aroma, showing quite fleshy fruit notes of citrus and perhaps pear, plus some composting hay and a hint of honeyed age. The aroma profile is relatively thick and even, if not hugely expressive. In the mouth, a lot more forward, thanks partly to an acid structure especially well balanced for approachability. The acid is very fine and even, delivering good impact without being forbidding. A big wash of flavour starts right at the tip of the tongue and widens out towards the middle palate. This is a relatively weighty wine, and its structure, whilst present, is counterbalanced by a juicy mouthfeel that’s all about flavoursome drinking. There are definite indications of bottle age, and these nascent flavours add some complexity to primary flavours of citrus, sweet hay and soap. The overall effect is vividly autumnal and recalls slowly decomposing leaves. It’s also a bit rustic and unrefined, in the best possible way.

Barossa Semillon is quite a different beast from Hunter, and I often choose the former for more immediate gratification and a less intellectual drinking experience. This wine isn’t as full-on as some Barossas can be, with no discernable oak influence and little in the way of winemaking artifact. It’s also fresh-tasting within the context of the style, neatly avoiding vinous obesity. It could probably be a bit tighter but I kind of like its easygoing nature. A delicious and straightforward wine that would go well as a picnic quaffer. Not bad with the Chinese either.