Tag Archives: Eden Valley

Dandelion Vineyards Wonderland of the Eden Valley Riesling 2012

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Ancient vines, single vineyard, etc. Boxes ticked, for what that’s worth. But oh, this is an interesting wine. It’s very Eden Valley in a lot of ways but is anything but middle-of-the-road, stylistically.

First of all, there are all sorts of textures going on — chalky, tingly, delightful textures that pass over the tongue in waves from quite early in the wine’s line. Working back from here, a taut flavour profile sits atop this catalogue of mouthfeels, very delicate in nature with as much minerality as fruit. It’s like a talcum powder softly fragranced with green apple, pretty but fundamentally dry and savoury. I feel a tension at play, partly a texture-flavour one, but equally between flavours, and I wonder if there’s some marginal ripeness here. Certainly, some tastes strike me as edgy and green, though this never overwhelms the experience of the wine. Acid is fine and firm, and surely contributes to the wine’s impressive length.

This certainly isn’t going to convert anyone to our dry Rieslings, but it’s a really characterful example of the intellectual end of the genre.

Dandelion Vineyards
Price: $A27.50
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

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

Irvine Grand Merlot 1996

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This smells nothing like a fifteen year old Eden Valley Merlot. The absurdity of that statement will, of course, be evident to those with a knowledge of this wine’s place in the Australian wine canon – it’s probably the only Eden Valley Merlot you’d think about cellaring for anywhere near this long, so it in fact tastes exactly like what it is – an exceptionally good fifteen year old Eden Valley Merlot. And, on the basis of this tasting, it’s a shame there are so few such wines.

When there’s a level of quality present, as there is with this wine, one’s experience of drinking it is as much a matter of timing as anything else. So the question becomes: are the elements ideally balanced right now? There’s a gorgeous smack of sweet primary fruit of a red berry character, a firm overlay of tertiary aromas and a dark framework of firm, coffee-tinged oak. So far, so good.

The palate makes my own answer to the question clear; this is surely drinking at its peak. As fascinating and beautiful as fully resolved old red wines can be, I usually prefer them in a state of maximum complexity, displaying a mixture of old and young wine characters. This retains an abundance of primary fruit, sweet and luscious, alongside the old leather and mushroom notes that accumulate only through an extended afternoon nap in bottle. Though, structurally, this has enough grunt to go even further, I like that its tannins remain slightly aggressive and primary, because they provide a link to its origins, allowing me to experience several moments in time all at once. The wine is simultaneously young, middle aged and old, jumping between all of its dimensions with elegance and poise, accumulating pleasures with each leap.

Ultimately, what is most astonishing about this wine is its freshness, and how that freshness is utterly transportive. I see in this wine its formative moments — vigorous green vines collecting energy to fill the beautiful berries that in turn filled this bottle — and through it my own life and the sense of discovery that characterises adolescence but which fades into rarity as one grows older. Thank goodness for those things that help me to remember.

Irvine
Price: $NA
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Karra Yerta Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

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One of the benefits of writing a not-for-profit wine blog is that I can skew my tasting towards wines and producers in which I have a particular interest. So, when this wine arrived today, it shot straight to the top of the sample pile and indeed was quickly opened when I sat down to taste. I’ve enjoyed all the Karra Yerta wines I’ve tasted, to varying degrees of course, and I believe this is the first straight Cabernet I’ve tried from this producer. Grapes are sourced from High Eden, thirty two cases produced.

I was half expecting the down-home, earthy style I’ve enjoyed so much in Karra Yerta’s Shiraz and Shiraz Cabernet wines, but this is a different beast, stylistically. The nose is positively squeaky with bright fruit and high toned aromas. I don’t look to Barossa Cabernet for (what I consider) varietal character, and I’m not getting a lot of the cooler climate leaf and cassis typical of, say, Coonawarra Cabernet. In its place, a simpler and more accessible aroma profile, with edges of well-judged nougat oak.

The palate was initially both disjointed and confected, and for a moment I thought this might be the first Karra Yerta wine that disagreed with me. But just a few minutes of air has seen this really come together with dramatically increased complexity and a satisfying, acid-driven structure. It’s a fundamentally bright, crowd-pleasing wine in style, though, and may not be everyone’s idea of Cabernet. No matter – entry shows a gentle attack that builds quickly to a red fruited middle palate, all riding nicely textural acidity. Oak is a discernible yet subtle influence throughout, contributing vanilla and nougat in turn. The after palate gently darkens in profile before a soft, lightly tannic finish rounds things off.

Karra Yerta Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Eden Valley Shiraz 2008

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To the many ways one might measure value for money in wine, I vote for the addition of a “cred” scale. If such a measure existed, this wine would score very highly indeed. For a mere $A25 $A45 (see below), the buyer can enjoy an Eden Valley Shiraz (ding!), made by an utterly boutique producer (ding!) from Estate fruit (ding!) grown on old vines… well, you get the idea. My pocket authenticiometre really does register off the scale here.

None of which guarantees any measure of enjoyment. But it’s a conceptual start, and if one believes wine is, ideally, more than simply what’s in the glass, such things can matter. For instance, it may raise certain expectations of style and even quality: one might look to wines like this for fashionably traditional winemaking, or a clearer view into vintage conditions, and so on.

First impressions are solid; the aroma expresses a thick, ripe plum note that seems half way between the Barossa Valley and the Grampians, in that it combines the lusciousness of the Valley’s styles with a hint of the angularity one sees in cooler climate wines. I do such a classic style a disservice by comparing it to other wines, though; this is Eden Shiraz, if a ripe, relatively forward expression of the style. There are other aroma nuances too – a hint of pepper, some twig and dust.

This fullness of expression carries through to the palate, and here the wine is likely to polarise drinkers. This is a full-throttle wine whose density of flavour alone is impressive. Right from the entry, there’s chewy plum fruit, ripe brambles (the fruit and the wood) and nervous oak. The trade-off for all this flavour is a certain brutality to the flavour profile and in the way it registers on the tongue. It slams rather than floats down, creating a vivid sense of impact but lacking some finesse. Tannins are thick and chewy, contributing to a notably dry after palate and finish.

You could never mistake this wine for the product of large-scale winemaking; it wears its imperfections too flagrantly for that. Something to be thankful for.

Update: price on the sample bottle was wrong. This wine in fact retails for $45.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A45
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Shhh Cabernet 2008

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I was home late this evening, a consequence of having too much to do and not enough time in which to do it. Being generally indecisive when faced with too much choice, I was amused to observe an instinctive lunge towards a box of Flaxman samples as I was pondering what to drink. My experience of this producer’s red wines is one of generous deliciousness, perhaps going the extra mile in ripeness and oak to achieve more giving wines. Just the ticket.

Interestingly, although this shows no shortage of flavour, there’s an essential elegance to this wine that remains true to its variety. The nose is a nice blend of Eden earthiness and Cabernet purity, the former adding edge and texture to red fruit character that would otherwise tend towards confectionary. Hints of twig, crushed leaf and tart skins add complexity. There’s some oak in there for sure, and it tends to sit in the background, contributing some subtle spice and nougat aromas.

The palate is medium bodied and acid driven, surprisingly so in a way, and what I am enjoying most about this wine is the clean way it moves through the mouth, leaving trails of intense fruit flavour behind, but never cloying or appearing heavy. Entry is lively and immediate, building quickly to a middle palate that is both textural (mostly acid) and powerfully flavoured. If you can accept the fruit flavour profile on its own terms (and it’s very different from cooler climate Cabernets), this will be a pleasure. If not, you may wish for a less exuberant, more subtle wine. It’s all a matter of taste and occasion, I suppose; this is a wine that gives plenty without asking for much in return. And, as attractive as a bit of mystery can be, there’s a place for easy charms, even when it comes to Cabernet. A bit dippy through the after palate and finish, with a light dusting of charmingly coarse tannins.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Riesling 2010

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There’s a collection of quality-focused producers, rather micro in scale, in and around the Flaxman Valley who are together creating a real stir amongst the cognoscenti. Flaxman is one such producer, and I’m pleased tonight to be tasting the latest estate Riesling, sourced from vines considerably older than myself.

The Flaxman Riesling style is typically a fuller, richer interpretation of the grape, and this is no exception. Where the Karra Yerta wines from the same area, for example, play with delicacy and pastel hues, this is a full throttle streak of sunlight, yet still identifiably Eden Valley, preferring floral and talc notes to the Clare’s juicy flavours. The nose first, which is full of bath salts, powder, puffs of citrus oil and spongey pith. It isn’t out-and-out powerful so much as firm and persistent, carving a clear line into one’s senses and never letting up until it’s time to sniff again.

The palate is an icepick of a thing, so cleanly articulated are the flavours and sharp the impact. But it’s not clumsy; indeed, there’s masses of detail as the wine unfolds from entry, notes of slate, talc and citrus rind each dovetailing neatly, culminating in a cool, crystalline climax on the middle palate. From here the wine softens marginally, some tropical flavours like pineapple adding a rich opulence to the flavour profile. Nice dry texture kicks in as the finish takes over, ending things on a flinty flourish of Riesling goodness.

You won’t go wrong with this.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Karra Yerta Riesling 2010

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This is a wine I look forward to each year.

Youthful spritz in the glass and swirling, estery fragrances on the nose. This is many things at once: the Karra Yerta vineyard with the vivid, neon-pastel tones characteristic of this site, an Eden wine full of bath salts and minerals, and a product of its vintage, showing a richness I’ve not seen from this label before. Realistically, this needs a few more months to blow off some residual sulfur and show its pristine self, but already there’s much complexity and detail, which is impressive in any wine, let alone a wine made so simply and available at such a reasonable price. No wonder Australian Riesling is so revered.

The palate is powerful and full, again showing a relatively rich, fleshy fruit flavour profile. In addition to the expected lime rind and lemon juice, there’s a hint of papaya alongside crystalline minerals and rather breathtaking acid. Good intensity. The texture here is wonderful; chalky, dry, etched. It’s a refreshing foil to the fruit flavours and ensures this wine leaves the palate clean and refreshed and, most importantly, eager for another sip.

Another cracker from this vineyard.

Karra Yerta Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Karra Yerta Bullfrog Flat Eden Valley Shiraz 2005

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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.

Anyway, it’s Saturday night and I’m worth a good wine. So out popped this sample from my tasting pile, a wine that has been waiting a few months to be experienced. I tasted the companion Barossa Shiraz a few weeks ago and found it intensely pleasurable. So it was with pleasure that my first smells and tastes of this wine revealed a similarly characterful, regionally-driven wine. Which you prefer may simply come down to your passion for one region’s flavour profile over another. 
Fabulous aromas of dirt roads and crushed stone, along with warm blackberries and well-judged, nutty oak. This is one to smell through the course of an entire evening, and to watch duck and weave through its full range of expressions, including the merest hint of aged leather. To be sure, there’s a lot in here, yet it’s not a self-consciously difficult wine. It just is, with a sense of easy, natural vibrancy that speaks both of its origins and its intent. 
Entry brings dense, liqueur-like fruit into focus at the temporary expense of some minerality, but the latter is flung back into the picture on the mid-palate, which is the wine’s high point of complexity. The structure is notable at this point, with firm underlying acidity and plush tannins keeping things in shape without ever seeming like the main event. A bit of vanillan oak pokes out its head through the after palate, but this wine is and remains all about spectacular fruit character; squashed blackberries and stones and dusty summers. 
What a treat. This is easily a $40 wine.

Karra Yerta Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Shiraz 2005

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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.

This one, from 2005, is my firm favourite. The nose is slightly muted but terribly rewarding once you find your way in; there are aromas of fresh, damp earth, plum skins, crushed granite and ripened twigs. In short, it’s complex, dark, etched and very adult, but with a core of plum fruit that issues a seductive call to taste. There are oak flavours in there too, in a gently nutty, nougat mode, very much secondary and well-integrated. I’m not getting a lot of age on the nose, though admittedly I never tasted this on release.
The palate is quite full in presence and volume, though this strikes me above all else as an elegant wine, despite its dimensions (and 15% abv). This is mostly due to a flavour profile that is precise and delicate, with a firm streak of minerality that cuts through juicy plums and tart skins. The whole is linear and direct in terms of how it moves through the mouth, with steadily increasing complexity and less fruit influence through the back palate and finish. 
If you have some of this in your cellar, consider yourself lucky.

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