Tag Archives: McLaren Vale

Dowie Doole Scarce Earth Shiraz 2010

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One of the more interesting recent wine initiatives is McLaren Vale’s Scarce Earth project, a region-wide effort to systematically highlight the character of specific plots within the region. It’s also a clever marketing idea, rebranding the Vale in a somewhat Burgundian mould; very much on trend.

This wine, from producer Dowie Doole, is drawn from the 74 Block of the California Road vineyard. Dowie Doole already releases a single vineyard California Road bottling, so this wine reprensents an even more specific look at a certain patch of McLaren Vale dirt. What’s immediately striking about the aroma is its savouriness. This smells of dirt roads, red fruits, vanilla and brown spice. It’s sinewy and adult and, in its refusal to yield to comfort, strikes me as somewhat Italianate. There’s oak here, and it plays an important part in the wine’s aroma, but it never smoothes over the fruit’s natural rusticity, so enhances rather than subverts its savouriness.

The palate is medium bodied and expressive, lobbing acid texture onto the tongue from entry onwards. Fruit swells a little on the middle palate, though the wine’s acid remains firm. There’s a lot of flavours here, from plum skins to spice by way of some leaf and snapped twig. The wine keeps coming back to a light, juicy berry note, which anchors the flavour profile and allows it to explore its earthier inclinations. Dusty tannins dry the finish. There’s something anti-fashion about the way this tastes; it eschews anything remotely slick-tasting and revels in its angles, textures and moderate weight.

An idiosyncratic wine, perhaps inevitably so given its conceptual origins. I think it will benefit from a bit of time in bottle, as it remains edgy, structurally. I love its character, though, and it’s wonderful to find an expression of McLaren Vale Shiraz that is so joyously old-fashioned. This is a fantasy version of your grandfather’s McLaren Vale dry red and, to one of our most historic wine regions, I can’t pay a higher compliment.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A45
Closure: Diam
Source: Sample

Chapel Hill il Vescovo Tempranillo 2011

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From where I sit, Tempranillo is neatly slotting into the role of “alternative red varietal of choice at $25 and under.” Catchy, no?

And as I contemplate an alternate career in marketing, I will note some impressions of this Chapel Hill Tempranillo. It hails from the McLaren Vale, which has churned out a few good examples of this varietal lately. There’s something about the seemingly inevitable generosity of this region’s reds that gives Tempranillo some flesh to hang on its muscle and angles. Is this Tempranillo-lite, in the manner of a lot of early Australian Sangiovese? Perhaps, but this tastes right to me in a way a plump version of Chianti never did.

The aroma is dark and dusty, with the sort of spice profile and sense of snapped twig that I strongly associate with the grape. It’s varietal, then, if cuddly as well. What’s especially nice about the way this smells is that it’s challenging enough to separate it from a vast number of zero friction red wines at this price point. Given the difficulties of the vintage, I’m pretty impressed with how resolved this smells.

The palate also shows an interplay of flesh and fundamentally angular flavour. It’s dark and earthy, with savoury fruit taking a back seat to roasted spice and what I can only describe as tanbark. It’s a very difficult flavour profile to put into words, but what’s more significant to me is how it is such a great food wine. Indeed, I’m tucking into a lamb shank as I type, and the wine’s self-effacing structure and underplayed complexity help it fill the accompanist’s role with aplomb.

How nice to find a wine that isn’t intent on taking centre stage.

Chapel Hill
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc 2012

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Dowie Doole is, somewhat daringly, a Chenin Blanc specialist when it comes to white wines. This isn’t entirely without precedent in the McLaren Vale, but remains unusual by any measure. This label, the standard Chenin, has evolved over the past few vintages to the point where it far outstrips its price tag in quality terms. Each year seems to bring greater nuance, more complexity, tighter stylistic focus; the current release continues this line.

It can be hard to know what to expect from Chenin, so divergent are the styles that can be crafted from this fickle, homesick grape. Dowie Doole takes its inspiration from Loire models, emphasising the varietal’s tension between apple fruit and nervy, mineral acid. Hence, although the nose promises some lusciousness of character, there’s an underlying savouriness, quite prickly and vivacious, that, for me, is the true feature of this wine. The aroma profile moves between apple flesh, the barest hint of tropical fruit, and the smell of rain on hot rocks. Unsettling and beautiful.

The palate delivers what the aroma suggests; a deceptively fruit-forward entry gives way to a much more complex, sweet-savoury middle palate, supported by deliciously vibrant acidity. I’d love to think Sauvignon Blanc is a gateway drug to this sort of wine, something equally refreshing but with an altogether more unusual flavour profile. The after palate sings with savouriness and apple skins, before a clean, fresh finish enlivens the mouth.

I can’t quite believe this is only $16 retail. It would be value at twice the price and strikes me as the best Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc (excluding the fascinating Tintookie wines) I’ve yet tasted.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A16
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Dowie Doole Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

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I have it in my mind that I’m not very fond of Cabernet Sauvignon from places like the Barossa Valley and the McLaren Vale, a notion that seems of late to be in regular friction with the truth. Indeed, I keep coming across rather tasty examples of these styles.

It’s rather a pleasant task to change one’s mind when faced with a wine like this. I’ve been loving many 2010 McLaren Vale reds that have crossed my path, and this is no exception. Yet this is more surprising than most, because it sits at a price point that is one step above an inexpensive quaffer, a position that can yield disappointingly populist styles.

There’s a striking degree of elegance to the aroma: bright fruit, angular red capsicum, varietal dust. Not at all the simple drinker I thought it might be, but never losing the ease that is a hallmark of this maker’s wines. There’s not a lick of industrial winemaking in the way this smells. I feel a direct connection to the vineyard that’s rare at any price point, let alone in a red costing $25.

The palate is beautifully weighted – not too heavy, not insubstantial, acid-driven yet with a smattering of drying tannins. The flavour profile is clear and fresh, vibrant red fruit winding around more savoury varietal notes and light touch oak. Intensity is moderate, as is density of fruit. It’s not often Cabernet tastes casual, but this does. Its trick, though, is in being all these things — drinkable, approachable, inviting — without ever being dumb. Everything in moderation seems here to add up to a most attractive wine, and I sense straightforwardness and honesty in every drop.

This isn’t a $60 wine masquerading as something cheaper, but it never uses its affordability as an excuse either. Very much a Dowie Doole wine.

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

Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

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I’m loving the 2010 McLaren Vale reds that have passed through the tasting room of late. Tonight I have a Cabernet in front of me from noted producer Chapel Hill.

Cabernet is an interesting beast, and I feel the degree to which it changes by region is underplayed compared to, say, Shiraz. This varietal has a range of expressions in Australia, and this wine is a case in point. Stylistically, it is a long way from something like Coonawarra Cabernet. It lacks the edge, the muscularity and the intense dusty leaf that are beloved by many Cabernet enthusiasts but which may, indeed, be offputting to others. Here, the McLaren Vale has turned out a soft, almost cuddly version of Cabernet that owes as much to its region as its variety.

The aroma is rich and expressive, showing a good deal of dark berry fruit, hints of crushed leaf and lashings of oak. It is well integrated and retains just enough of Cabernet’s stand-offishness to set itself apart from the region’s other red varietals. As it gains air and time, oak steps forward and contributes even more vanilla and custard to the aroma. The palate shows good density right down the line, with nary a dip at any stage. In many ways, this is a straightforward, honest wine, putting what it has out there for our enjoyment, not playing games nor hiding its character. Its structure is a little raw at this stage, tannins in particular feeling quite astringent and aggressive. There’s plenty of fruit, though, to keep things drinkable, and some overtones of red berry flash in and out of a primarily dark flavour profile. As with the aroma, oak is a significant influence in the mouth. The finish is notable for its length and elegance.

Nice wine.

Chapel Hill
Price: $A30
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Gilligan Shiraz Grenache Mourvèdre 2010

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It’s sometimes said that first impressions are the truest, and I think that is often the case in wine as in life. But wine can be a funny thing, moving around under your nose, proving you right and wrong in equal measure. It’s one of the fun things about the drink, that it can be hard to pin down, and often those wines that defy you are the most alluring.

I note these thoughts because this wine, clothed in typically handsome Gilligan packaging, showed an initial face that didn’t have me swooning. The most striking aspect of the aroma profile was a stinky sulfur reductiveness, and the palate seemed dominated by an acid line that was both unbalanced and disjointed.

An hour in glass has seen a fascinating transformation, though. The aroma has lost its feral edge, though not so much as to deny the funky presence of Mourvèdre. It is angular and in two halves, bright red fruit colliding with darker, slightly vegetal notes that are as unsettling as the red fruits are cuddly. This is not an easy wine, but I will never begrudge a wine that asks the drinker to meet it half way. I keep smelling it, never quite capturing all its components in a way that makes easy sense.

While this is a brisk, bright style in terms of structure, the initially overwhelming acid has definitely folded back into the rest of the wine. There is a lovely texture that runs the length of this, acid and tannin weaving around one another in a lively dance. Above floats the sort of slightly challenging flavour profile suggested by the aroma. It is simultaneously dark, fruity, angular and oak-influenced, not pandering but at the same time showing a crisp deliciousness that encourages further tastes. The finish is particularly it notable for its harmonious mix of dried fruits and chocolate.

This certainly isn’t the sort of slutty blend some drinkers might expect, but it’s a compelling wine and one that is worth trying, especially at the price. It will benefit from a good deal of air this early in its life, and perhaps some bottle age if you have the patience. I retasted this two days after opening and it was even more cohesive, darkening a touch in flavour profile and thickening in texture.

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

Dowie Doole Garnacha & Tempranillo 2011

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This has become one of my favourite smart quaffers over the past little while. As with all Dowie Doole wines, it’s made with an emphasis on drinkability, though this more than most. It has taken an increasingly savoury path since its initial release in 2009, and I’m happy to see this vintage continue the trend.

The nose is rich and dark, almost liqueurous in character, with dried dark berries oozing past spice and some woody, pleasantly vegetal notes. Without being especially serious or forbidding, the aroma profile seems deep to me, with a sense of plushness without simplicity that is very attractive. The palate is supple and just structured enough. The fruit is quite intense in an easygoing way, perhaps because its character is full and generous. Although there’s a decent amount of savouriness to the flavour profile, this wine has an almost total lack of angles, and that makes it outrageously easy to drink. Yes, drink. Tasting this wine as I am doing now entirely misses its point, as it practically begs a generous pour in a large glass with a hearty lamb pie.

Which is exactly what I’m about to do with it.

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

Dowie Doole Reserve Shiraz 2010

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And now for the big guns. I’ve deliberately tasted the 2010 Dowie Doole Shirazes in ascending order of price, as I find it endlessly fascinating how producers differentiate wines at various price points within their range. If the standard wine is all about drinkability, and the Cali Road character, the Reserve is concerned with packing as much in as possible.

Without wanting to suggest its proportions are ridiculous (far from it), this wine is by far the most dense, firmly flavoured of the three. Oak is present, but I’m pleased the nose throws primarily fruit-driven aromas, really liquerous and rich, very much in the plum spectrum. These flavours aren’t challenging; in fact, the aroma seems simply a much bigger, denser version of the entry level wine, more of everything in every way but never losing the rich ease of the region’s Shiraz, which I adore.

The palate, while fully flavoured, is most striking for its ease and flow. This is such a mellifluous wine, moving gently through the entry and middle palate, pushing intense plum fruit out from its brisk line to cover the tongue with flavour. There are prickles of acid at the edges, nicely fresh but mostly undisturbed by the thickness of the wine’s flavour and its generous body. It’s probably full bodied, but comes across more medium, because it’s fundamentally a relaxed wine, keen to be drunk rather than dissected.  I like the bright red swell through the after palate, and the silty tannins that settle on the finish are delicious.

I’ve felt that some previous Reserve wines have been a bit oak-dominant and showy, but this is all high class deliciousness; sexy, sensuous and worth the money.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A60
Closure: Diam
Source: Sample

Chapel Hill Chardonnay 2011

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To be cruel for a moment, this is most unpromising on paper. Mixing Chardonnay, affordability and more than one region doesn’t usually get the wine lover’s heart racing, with some justification, at least historically. And before you get excited, this isn’t Giaconda Chardonnay hiding out in the McLaren Vale. However, it’s a good example of the sensitivity with which this sort of mainstream wine ought to be made, and makes a case for the relevance of cheap Australian Chardonnay in a world where such wines are the very definition of undesirable.

Its trick is to combine relative restraint with a certain flow and softness. This is a watercolour wine, one whose definition is hazy but whose colours are quite charming in a lazy, easy way. On the nose, some fresh citrus alongside soft peach and rockmelon. There’s a bit of nougat oak too, and perhaps some caramel. Complexity isn’t a word that springs to mind; there are several flavours but to see the wine on these terms is to miss its point.

The palate has such a relaxed flow over the tongue. It’s quite voluptuous and mouthfilling in a breast implant sort of way: fleshy but also a tad hollow. The fruit lacks sufficient intensity to fill out the wine’s ambitious dimensions, and one is left tasting flavour at the edges and a slight absence of such in the middle. The flavours that are here, though, are balanced and easy, with more white peach and nougat, and just a hint of butterscotch. It’s far from the perfect wine and undoubtedly made to a price point. There’s a sophistication of approach underlying this wine, though, which is easy to miss. How many cheap Chardonnays show vulgar dimensions, a lack of freshness, easy oak, or a reliance on malolactic fermentation? This wine avoids all these pitfalls and, in so doing, manages to be a very pleasant, pretty wine.

Not bad at all.

Chapel Hill
Price: $A16
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Dowie Doole Cali Road Shiraz 2010

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When a wine is identified as coming from a single vineyard, it creates an expectation of distinctiveness, of an identifiable character that goes beyond simple varietal or regional correctness. In a way, the question of what a single vineyard bottling brings (if anything) over and above a well executed blend goes to the heart of what we value in wine. It’s a big topic that I won’t try to do justice to with this note, but I will say that the last bottling of this wine, the 2008, was by far my favourite Dowie Doole Shiraz from that vintage precisely because it tasted different, perhaps less glossy than the Reserve, but to me more attractive for its kinks.

I’ve not yet tasted the 2010 Reserve, but the single vineyard bottling, rechristened Cali Road, recalls the most pleasing aspects of the previous release. Immediately, the aroma is unvarnished, showing lovely regional earth and cocoa alongside typically plump McLaren Vale plum fruit. Oak plays a prominent role too, and I might object to its volume if it weren’t so typical of old school red wine from this region, and hence almost an expected element of the style. Its character is also well matched to the fruit aromas.

The palate is superbly drinkable. It enters with grace and subtlety, building to a middle palate that maxes out at medium bodied and is awash with down home red and black fruits, regional earth and salty texture. Structure begins with firm, well integrated acid and transitions to grainy, loose knit tannins through the after palate; its almost 15% alcohol is nowhere to be seen. Oak is, again, a feature of the wine, albeit one that is integrated and quite delicious. What I like most about this wine is its understatement. It’s just so unforced and, at the same time, shows real personality. This is the quiet guest at a dinner party who, half way through the evening, becomes the centre of attention without once calling attention to himself.

I feel like this is McLaren Vale Shiraz stripped of modernity, where the winemaking is traditional and the resulting wine intimate and real. Absolutely my sort of wine, and very much worth the price premium over the standard Shiraz in the range.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A35
Closure: Diam
Source: Sample