Tag Archives: New South Wales

Printhie Mount Canobolas Collection Shiraz Viognier 2008

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Ever since Shiraz Viognier blends became popular in Australia, a very few years ago really, it seems to me producers have been struggling with how (perhaps even why) to tackle this style. The biggest problem, for me at any rate, is too evident a Viognier influence, turning what would ideally be a feminine, elegant wine into something caricatured, almost cartoonish, with overt apricot flavours and an unattractively pumped up mouthfeel. I’m making all sorts of problematic assumptions about style, of course, but that has been my honest reaction over a few years of tasting local Shiraz Viogniers. So I tend to approach them with some trepidation.

This wine let me down at first. Apricot aromas dominate slightly reticent spicy Shiraz and create a sweet, exaggerated aroma profile akin to a forced smile. The apricot never entirely settles into the fabric of the wine, but it does recede sufficiently with some swirling to allow meaty, white peppery berries to step forward and share the spotlight. There’s also some well judged ice cream oak to add complexity. 
The palate is replay of the nose’s evolution over the short term. Starting too sweet and slippery, it becomes much more savoury after an hour of air. Entry is cheeky, with a thread of red fruit sliding along the tongue towards a middle palate that remains tight, but adds an array of peppery, savoury flavours. Weight is light to medium bodied, with a focused architecture and brisk movement along the line. Intensity is only moderate, and the overall impression is one of lithe elegance rather than power. A textured, slightly raspy after palate that emphasises pricklier aspects of the flavour profile, with just a bit of fruit sweetness to keep things friendly. Good length.
Not entirely resolved as a wine, but there’s plenty to enjoy, and it’s nice to taste a premium label that takes a measured, subtle approach to style. Elegant packaging.

Printhie
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2008

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Seems I had a similar reaction to last year’s model. I thought it terribly spicy, perhaps more so than usual, yet here I am with the 2008, inhaling a veritable pepper grinder of aroma. Perhaps it’s a function of youth; I confess to having drunk more of this wine with a few years’ age on it than at release. Whatever, it’s nice to be surprised year after year. 

The aroma is quite wild, with pepper and spice and a herbal character akin to fragrant aniseed; think Thai basil. It’s also a bit meaty, and I can imagine some people reacting really negatively towards this wine for its forthright, savoury character. I’ve always enjoyed the Hilltops label, though, and this is certainly feeding that enjoyment. As it gets some air, the purple berry fruit aromas are peeking out a bit more, though it remains a spice-dominant aroma profile.
The palate is really well-weighted. On entry, more black pepper and herbs, before some berries start to bubble up through the middle palate. I like the Hilltops Shiraz character; I always think of purple fruit when I taste it, though I’m not sure that’s terribly helpful to anyone but my nagging inner voice. There’s a simplicity to the fruit character, though, that — when combined with moderate intensity of flavour — is a little disappointing. Structurally the wine comes across as almost easygoing, at least until ripe, abundant tannins start to caress the tongue through the after palate. A clean, acceptably long finish.
Delicious wine if you like the style. I just wish it sustained its complexity better through the entire line.

Clonakilla
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Climbing Sauvignon Blanc 2009

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Curious wine, this one. Without quite knowing why, I was anticipating a boring, commercial style and, insofar as this wine avoids insulting levels of residual sugar, I was pleasantly surprised.  But I’m still scratching my head in terms of what this wine is. 

What’s here is indeed dry — almost austere — in its flinty restraint. The nose shows wispy varietal character, far from the scream of Marlborough sauvignon blanc, just hinting at some grass and passionfruit. There’s a nice basil note too. Volume is turned way down, though. The palate is more textural than flavoursome, with a chiselled form that is two parts acidity and one part flavour profile. The latter shows similar restraint to the nose, with more grass and light passionfruit, plus a streak of flint that reminds me of some dry rieslings. It lacks outré impact, though there’s a nice intensity of flavour through the after palate, and the acid certainly creates an impression in the mouth. Unremarkable finish.
Neither here nor there, perhaps, but ironically may appeal to those who dislike Sauvignon Blanc. For me, I’m looking for something more to latch on to here, and I would be curious to see how far this style could move in a minerally direction. The flavour profile also suggests a bit of lees or barrel work might yield interesting results. Again, curious wine.

Cumulus Wines
Price: $A21.99
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Tyrrell's Johnno's Semillon 2009

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Tyrrell’s has long made a habit of highlighting single vineyards in its Semillon porfolio, and this label continues the tradition. Small batch (250 dozen), old vines (1908), sandy soils; it oozes cred simply for what it is. Tyrrell’s has gone a step further here and vinified the grapes in a deliberately old fashioned manner, sending things off the authenticity scale entirely. Indeed, it’s the kind of wine that is so tantalising on paper, one half suspects it will be a disappointment in the mouth.

In fact, it has quite exceeded my expectations. I’ve drunk this over two evenings and it has hardly moved, perhaps softening slightly on day two. The nose shows typically straightforward young Semillon citrus, in this case surrounded by a range of other flavours, from chalk to cheese, that add complexity. It’s still austere and quite etched, just with a wider range of aromas than usual. It’s also quite expressive, something one can’t take for granted with young Hunter Semillon.
The palate is a wonderfully textural experience. The entry is immediate and flavoursome, tight acidity helping pure citrus flavour to burst onto the tongue. Before long, a mouthfeel that is part chalk and part sandpaper begins to register, along with increasing complexity of flavour. The wine remains very focused and intense, as befits its status as a quality Semillon, but the textural influences create a feeling of generosity, if not downright drinkability, that makes the wine quite accessible as a youngster. The finish is extremely long and fine, with great delicacy to its gradual taper.
 
I’m quite excited about how this wine will age. I hope Tyrrell’s persists with the style.

Tyrrell’s
Price: $A33.33
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Angullong A Sauvignon Blanc 2009

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I gather the previous vintage was well rewarded at wine shows. Presuming the 09 is made in a similar style, I can see why. This is a generously flavoured wine, quite different in style from, say, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, despite a similarly vivid outlook. 

The nose is as cuddly as Sauvignon Blanc gets, with pungent yet soft aromas of unripe passionfruit, crushed leaf and gin. Somehow, it puts in me in mind of Smith’s Salt and Vinegar Chips, undoubtedly the best salt and vinegar crisp on the market. It’s not a seawater thing; rather it suggests the morish deliciousness of salt combined with the raw astringency of vinegar and the addictive sweetness of potato. 
The palate is quite gentle in the context of the style, though it takes until the middle palate for this to register. The attack is actually quite tight and crisp, acidity creating the greatest impression. Things broaden as the wine progresses, mouthfeel becoming thicker and flavour becoming sweeter. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a hint of well-judged residual sugar, though it could just be the fruit. The acid rises again through the after palate, bringing back some zing and whisking the wine away to a clean finish. No great length, but that’s not a surprise considering the variety. 
A really crowd-pleasing style at a good price. Not my style, mind, but that’s neither here nor there.

Angullong
Price: $A15
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Angullong A Cabernet Merlot 2008

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There are many different interpretations of a “drink now” red wine, ranging from exuberantly fruity wines like Teusner’s Riebke through to this. I’d describe this as light, somewhat Italianate in style, except it lacks the requisite rusticity of mouthfeel to fully qualify. Nonetheless, it seems a valid enough answer to the stylistic question.

On the nose, quite expressive with a dash of caramel oak, some high toned fruit in dried peel mode and a general impression of levity. This isn’t a bruiser at all, nor is it especially refined or complex, but it’s quite a penetrative aroma profile nonetheless. The palate shows more liquidity than suggested on the nose, and I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing. With the fruit sitting, as it does, in the upper registers, a more aggressively textural mouthfeel seems appropriate. The rough edges, though, are smoothed over here. Still, there’s ample intensity of flavour, and the fruit is clean. There’s a nice streak of acidity that runs the length of the wine too, which partly compensates for the lack of tannic fun. Pretty decent finish.
There’s some thought behind this wine, which I appreciate at the reasonable price point.

Angullong
Price: $A15
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Pig in the House Shiraz 2008

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An organic (certified) wine from the Cowra region; 440 cases made. Quite a few producers in this region seem to be pursuing an organic and/or biodynamic approach. Probably not a bad way to define a winemaking community at the moment. I remember only a few years ago organic wines seemed to be held in distinctly low regard.

This is an entirely fruit-driven style that seems designed for immediate, unpretentious pleasure, and in this goal it succeeds admirably. The nose shows expressive dark plums and raspberries, some brambles and just a hint of spice. The fruit seems sweet, and verges on confectionary, but in this context works well. 
In the mouth, a big rush of fruit flavour. The entry is very flavoursome, with dark berries and a sense of immediacy that speaks of freshness and the happy bursting of blueberries. Things only get fresher and fruitier towards the middle palate, though at this point one also realises there are some chocolate-like tannins that are quite assertive and which certainly hold things together. The fruit, again, almost expresses that industrial confectionary edge, but pulls back just in time. Berries and chocolate sauce on the after palate, before a surprisingly long finish of slightly rustic dryness.
A straightforward, attractive wine that seems ideally suited to easy drinking. I’d prefer a lower price, but there’s no doubting this is a fun, well-made wine.

Pig in the House
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Mulyan Block 9 Shiraz Viognier 2007

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Some wines tread a fine line between angular and offputting. This wine (or this bottle) is certainly a good example; at least at first, where the overriding impression is one of tacky New Zealand geothermal theme parks (“Craters of the Moon!”) and mud. But just as I was about to reach for the term “European” to describe what felt like a borderline faulty wine, it has zapped into focus, becoming a peppery, meaty expression of Shiraz Viognier that is decidedly improving with air.

Full-on pepper steak aromas smother core of dense berry fruit, quite dark in character and brambly in expression. The aroma is actually quite fascinating in its cacophony; I can’t decide whether it’s disjointed or a radically different interpretation of coherence. I suppose that it prompts such aesthetic flights of fancy is a point in its favour, irrespective of taste.
The palate is also curiously styled, with a plump apricot presence alongside red berries and more cooked steak. It’s flavoursome for sure; the entry has good immediacy and zips along in the mouth, thanks mostly to some fairly prominent acidity. The middle palate relaxes a little, though it’s still bright. Medium bodied, this wine’s mouthfeel is slippery despite the acid, and reminds me a little of the way apricots feel when you bite into a ripe one. Fruit character is quite sweet, which is a provocative counterpart to the funky, meaty notes and makes for a flavour profile that is full of contradictions. Good continuity through the after palate, and a nice flourish on the finish helps berry flavour to linger on for a good while.
Despite its oddity, I’m fascinated by this wine. Its profile is far from conventional, and tends towards exaggeration. But it’s also more beautiful than many conventionally styled wines. 

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

Kalari Chardonnay 2008

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My second Cowra Chardonnay for this evening; always fun to do some comparative tasting. Against to the just-tasted Cowra Estate, the balance of this Kalari is notably different, tending more towards a generous, peachier style, though still far from the sort of peaches and cream buxomness of old school, now-maligned Chardonnays. 

The nose shows some vanilla ice cream oak along with a tiny bit of sulphur and not a lot of fruit. This doesn’t sound great, but in fact it’s attractive to smell, and the fruit is there, it’s just bound up in the oak character at present. The palate is quite a different story. Here, the fruit flows more freely, an even mixture of white and yellow peach. On entry, sizzlier acidity than the Cowra Estate and a bigger presence in the mouth; this seems to present a bit more of everything across the board. The middle palate smoothes out with ripe peaches and cheap ice cream (you know, the ones that are more ice than cream), all underlined by lively, somewhat rough acidity that contributes level of sourness to the profile. The after palate thins out compared to what has come before, but the finish more than makes up for it with good continuity of fruit flavour and surprising length.
Another solid, straightforward Cowra Chardonnay, and one I might give a few months’ further in bottle before drinking. These don’t scale great heights but nor do I believe they set out (or need) to, as they present attractive fruit in a food-friendly package. Good value drinking.

Kalari
Price: $A17
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Cowra Estate Chardonnay 2008

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Australia’s oldest Chardonnay vineyard – so proclaims the label, even though an establishment date of 1973 reveals the relative youth of this variety’s presence on the local wine scene. I’ve got a couple of Cowra Chardonnays on the table this evening, both reasonably priced (as a lot of Cowra wines appear to be).

On the nose, some smokey, burnt match overlays tight, white stonefruit notes and a bit of minerality. It was a bit yeasty at first but those funky notes blew off fairly quickly, leaving behind this lean, quite stylish aroma profile. No overt complexity, just balance and a bit of tension between notes that don’t quite go together — I mean this in a good way.
The palate follows a similarly lean route, emphasising the nose’s attractive minerality and elaborating a little on the fruit character. A cool, clean entry that shows firm, fine acidity. Things don’t get terribly flavoursome until the middle palate, where a mostly-savoury character relaxes a little on the tongue. Fruit begins to leak: grapefruit, white nectarine, very much a cooler climate flavour profile. This expands through the after palate, whose acidity shows some hardness but which nonetheless is well-shaped and straightforward. There appears a minimum of winemaking here and the consequently simple style comes as something of a relief; also, it seems well-matched to the fruit character. The clean finish is quite mineral and very refreshing.
Good value, utterly unpretentious Chardonnay.

Cowra Estate
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample