Tag Archives: South Australia

Atlas 429° Shiraz 2008

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Some wines make you work, taking their time to emerge and show true character. Other wines reach out to you with an aroma that sings with freshness and vitality, like a chatty first date with whom you just know you’ll get along. Like that first date, appearances can be deceptive in the long term, but there’s no denying the enjoyment to be had in first conversations. To be sure, I tasted this over two days.

This wine has the most attractive fruit note immediately on pouring; it’s all blackberries and plums, rather liquerous in expression yet redolent of freshness at the same time. Some aniseed and mocha complexities sit in the background at first, very much secondary to the juicy fruit. This does rebalance quite quickly, and the hedonist in me was almost slightly disappointed to observe various notes come into better balance after some lazy swirling. 
The palate is a surprise, in that it’s quite restrained. Entry is quiet, showing some grainy texture and a savoury, mineral note. The middle palate brings Summer berries back into the mix, along with oak that is part bubble gum and part milk coffee. It’s medium bodied and quite savoury, with brisk movement through the mouth. Tannins were quite prominent at first but have settled into a better place, still abundant but not so forbidding. To be critical, this lacks some drive and punch in the mouth, and I’d like to see an ounce more presence to match the headiness of the nose. Pretty delicious all the same.

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

Second Nature Cabernet Shiraz Merlot 2008

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It’s probably counter productive to go to the gym then pick up McDonalds on the way home. And yet, here I am, pleased to report my Mighty Angus went down superbly, well accompanied by this reasonably priced McLaren Vale blend. I’m a firm believer even the humblest meal can be a bit special, and that the right wine is often the key. But then, I’ve been known to match wine with Chicko rolls, so trust me at your peril.

What one really needs in this situation is a wine that stands up to the, at times, coarse flavours of fast food – those salty, greasy, perhaps sweet components that make the experience so enjoyable. This wine responds to those challenges with a firm, robust flavour profile and sufficient structure to combat the excesses of a burger, without sacrificing the soft luxury of an easy drinking red wine. On the nose, rather non-specific but expressive red and black berry fruits, a hint of brambly vegetation and some supportive bubble gum oak. It’s far from complex; what makes it work is its sense of harmony and composure. It’s “just right.” 
The palate is refreshingly acidic while retaining good body and presence in the mouth. Entry is textural and quite lively, leading to a middle palate that shows a fruit-driven flavour profile. Mixed berries mostly, with a lick of latte and some crushed leaves, all moderate in intensity. Again, quite straightforward, easy, and drinkable. There’s no shred of the confectionary flavours that can plague lower priced red wines. Oak lifts the after palate to a dry finish that shows some dried fruit characters alongside the structural elements. 
Not a wine of sophistication or complexity, but really fun and drinkable nonetheless. Sort of like my Mighty Angus. A good match.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A18
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Ishtar Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre 2008

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Really curious flavour profile here. Looking back over my notes, I found the 2006‘s fruit character quite sweet, though tempered by spice and meatiness. This wine, all other things being equal, presents a rebalanced set of flavours, tilting further towards savouriness, though retaining hints of the fun, playful Grenache fruit of its predecessor. I like it.

The nose takes some time to blossom. When it does, it shows quite complex aromas of malt, cough syrup, red fruit and twigs. I found it a little confronting at first. I suppose it’s not the kind of aroma profile one expects in a sub-$20 wine, possessing considerable character and feeling somehow risky. Does it all come together? I’m not sure. It’s certainly fun to smell. It will probably polarise drinkers too, perhaps alienating those who prefer a straighter set of aromas. 
The palate retains the moderate intensity of the 2006, while reflecting the complexity of the aroma. Entry is subtle, ushering in little bombs of sweet fruit on the mid-palate, framed by sappy, meaty flavours and underpinned by a softly viscous mouthfeel. This is a light to medium bodied wine, brightly flavoured, unapologetically funky. The after palate is savoury, with medicinal flavours over the top of pepper steak. Finish is sappy and astringent.
A cubist rendition of Barossa GSM. 
Update: another unexpected trait for a wine of this modest price — it tastes even better on day two. Markedly better balance and integration of flavours. A really pleasant surprise!

Balthazar of the Barossa
Price: $A19.50
Closure: Other
Source: Sample

Balthazar of the Barossa Shiraz 2006

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Without wanting to suggest this wine is all about its 15.4% abv, smelling it reminded me of something a very clever fellow said to me the other day. And I paraphrase: alcohol can have its own smell, and it may, perhaps, be legitimate to enjoy a sweet tingle of ethanol as much as any other aroma. Food for thought, and a challenge to the reflexive position often taken that perceptible alcohol is a fault. 

And yes, this wine does show a whiff of alcohol on the nose, as well as that characteristically swollen, slinky mouthfeel. It’s also a complex and seductive wine that I am enjoying very much. The alcohol lends an air of louche decadence and seems appropriate within the context of the style. Hence, it bothers me not in the slightest. 
On the nose, hospital floors, rich earth, dark berries, cedar and tobacco. It’s quite approachable and well integrated, yet also shows quite serious levels of density and concentration, befitting its position as the premium label in Balthazar’s portfolio. It seems more approachable in some respects than its older sibling, with perhaps a slightly different oak flavour (going by my previous note, anyway). 
The palate is very impressive. On entry, quite a fruit driven flavour profile, showing sweet blackberries and some astringent plum skins alongside attractive, supportive oak. The suppleness of the mouthfeel becomes apparent as we hit mid-palate; it glides and winds its way over and around the tongue, scattering complex flavours of cigar box, blackberry, salami, spice and dirt roads. The fruit is sweet, but the overall impression is savoury. Really satisfying intensity of flavour, and the density isn’t so great as to be forbidding. Indeed, this is quite approachable right off the bat. Very good, flavoursome finish.
As with all of Anita Bowen’s wines (that I’ve tasted), this wine shows serious intent and possesses an ability to jump around under one’s nose, delivering a series of shifts and changes through what I’d suggest should be a lengthy drinking experience. Sip slowly, deliberately, sensually. 

Balthazar of the Barossa
Price: $A49.95
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Flaxman Shiraz 2007

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This one’s certainly got me thinking. I was quite partial to Flaxman’s 2007 Stranger, largely because of its luxurious flavour profile and mouthfeel. This, by contrast, is an entirely different beast. For starters, it is made from estate grapes hailing from a dry grown vineyard at the top of the Barossa Ranges (so says the back label). Very Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush, not Emily Brontë). More meaningfully, it is quite distinct, stylistically, from its cheaper sibling. 

Quite savoury on the nose, some twiggy, brambly notes sitting alongside dark berries that present in a restrained yet liquorous manner. There’s an element of sous-bois and dirt to the aroma profile, a little unexpected perhaps but also quite interesting. The oak influence, such as it is, consists of a mocha-like note that remains subservient to the fruit aromas. I found it slightly hard going at first, its charms subtle, but its seduction has proved surefooted; an hour in and I’m enjoying the aroma very much.
The palate is equally coy, initially hiding its plush fruit behind a veil of savouriness. On the minus side, there’s a hardness to this wine’s flavour profile that, through an evening’s tasting, never quite disappears. But wow, what impressive length and structure. In a top year, I’m sure this wine would be quite remarkable; as it is, it’s still all quality, and transparent in a way many wine lovers will value and be fascinated by. Fabulously intense berries and coffee on the mid palate, with tannins that are both abundant and velvet smooth as the after palate gathers steam. And again, a satisfyingly extended finish, full of rich fruit flavour and textured tannins. There’s a lot to enjoy here.
A really worthwhile wine. 

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

Mike Press Chardonnay 2009

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Or: the art of the perfect quaffing wine.

At $8.33 per bottle, this wine positions itself squarely at the “everyday drinking” end of the market. This can be scary vinous territory, swinging unpredictably from surprisingly good to revoltingly cynical in the twist of a corkscrew. And it’s fair to ask: what ought a wine to be at this price? I don’t pretend to have an answer, but I know a good attempt when I taste one, and this certainly is a good attempt at the ideal quaffing white.
The nose shows alcohol and sweet basil, but mostly juicy white nectarine (including the skins). It’s all quite simple and fresh, with little in the way of confectionary overtones, nor worked characters that might suggest a sense of obesity. The palate adds to these simple, attractive flavours by delivering a slippery, borderline syrupy mouthfeel that speaks of cost-effective luxury.  Intensity is quite decent, and there’s a surprisingly sophisticated streak of minerality running underneath all that peachy goodness. Indeed, this is the Hyundai Sonata of quaffing wines; aiming above its station and, for the time it takes to smell and swallow, more or less delivering. That it evaporates from one’s memory almost as quickly as the dramatic impact of Avatar is quite beside the point. It’s awfully fun while it lasts.
And isn’t that what quaffing wines are all about?

Mike Press Wines
Price: $A8.33
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Dowie Doole California Road Shiraz 2008

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This single vineyard wine is, in some respects, the ideal Dowie Doole red. Incidentally, Dowie Doole must surely be amongst the more satisfyingly alliterative names in the wine world. It’s the name of a card game, or perhaps a bubble gum and, whether deliberately or not, its wines often reflect a sense of relaxed playfulness.

What I like about this wine is the depth and richness of its fruit. Forget reflexively fashionable words of the moment like “elegant” and “restrained” and instead revel in old school McLaren Vale Shiraz, complete with bold oak flavour and lusciously abundant fruit. A slightly lifted nose shows cedar and toasted coconut, dutch cocoa and very squishy mulberries. There’s a raw, sappy edge to the aroma (and indeed palate) that speaks of youth more than anything else, and which should calm down with a few months’ rest. 
In the mouth, quite strikingly full and fruit-driven. The entry is slippery and dark, plum fruit mixing it with vanilla oak and hints of licorice. Flavours open out through the middle palate, with a wide range of fruit notes — ranging from raspberry to plum to much darker berries– combining in a liqueur-like expression of notable sucrosité. Underlying this sweet fruit is a savoury note that reminds me of tarragon. It’s quite distinctive, in fact, and satisfyingly regional too. Oak is supportive and acid surprisingly firm. Tannins are of the ultra-fine, soft variety, making the wine approachable despite its young flavour profile. Time will be of benefit, though, as its constituent parts operate somewhat independently at present. A really long, delicious finish follows an after palate that sings with fresh fruit juice.
A bit less showy than its Reserve sibling, this wine possesses the easy flow I look for from this maker combined with the characterful fruit one expects from a single vineyard wine. I like.

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

Dowie Doole Reserve Shiraz 2008

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I’ve tasted quite a few Dowie Doole wines over the past few months, and in most cases they have been an unpretentious pleasure. This wine, the flagship Shiraz in the range, is interesting to me as it’s the first “serious” red I’ve tasted in the portfolio, and I wonder how the approach shown in the standard range translates to something more upscale.

The most evident artifact of this wine’s position is a hell of a lot of oak, of the Bounty Bar sort, and a density of fruit not seen in the lower rungs. On opening, the wine fairly yelled its seriousness across the room. Give it a good decant — or in my case a couple of days of air — and the seriousness remains intact, minus the outré oak character and volume. So do give it some time, and you’ll be rewarded with a powerful nose of fleshy, liquerous fruit and luscious oak, young but quite well integrated, and curiously attractive subsidiary notes of licorice and spice.
The palate is characterised mostly by a flood of clean fruit. Despite the oak and dense structure, the fruit flows freely through the mouth, showing that especially nice red/black berry McLaren Vale character that fans of the region will recognise and rejoice in. More licorice and oak flavours accompany the berry fruit, along with a slightly astringent, bitter finish that should calm with some more time in the bottle. Certainly, the fruit remains present and attractive along the entire line. Nice long finish.
This is a good wine and what I was hoping for from this maker — a reserve-level wine that, in some respects, takes an obvious approach (oak, density, etc) but which nevertheless retains the fun of its lower priced siblings. 
Update: subsequent conversations with the winery reveal this was bottled in November 2009, for release mid-2010. I should imagine my day 2 experience will be closer to the wine as it will be on release.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A50
Closure: Diam
Source: Sample

Smallfry Barossa Tempranillo Garnacha Joven 2009

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What are the chances? This is the second Australian wine tasted in as many weeks made in a joven style, blending Grenache and Tempranillo, but referring to the former as Garnacha instead of the more bogan-sounding Grenache. This one is from micro-producer Smallfry, and the bottle in front of me is one of a run of 110 cases.

Dowie Doole’s G&T showed a Grenache Garnacha-dominant flavour profile of jammy red fruit, with Tempranillo adding savouriness and complexity at the edges. This, by contrast, takes a completely different approach, with funky, meaty Tempranillo taking centre stage, and Grenache adding some soft fruitiness. On the nose, the smell of pulling weeds, charcuterie, spice and soft red fruits. It’s light and fun, and its savouriness is attractive to me. No oak that I can detect. 
The palate is feather light, almost insubstantial, and it all might be too ephemeral if it weren’t such easy fun. Entry is sweet, but this quickly fans out to a savoury middle palate that is perhaps a bit dilute. The after palate shows the greatest complexity of flavour — crushed leaf and fresh cranberries —  plus a smattering of grainy tannins. Finish is decent. 
Very refreshing style. Personally, I prefer this to the Dowie Doole, though the latter’s generously sweet fruit will win many fans too. 

Smallfry
Price: $NA
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Dowie Doole Garnacha & Tempranillo 2009

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dd_gt.jpgThere’s something both fun and savvy about the way this wine is marketed; indeed, about what this wine is. The label design for starters, which caused me to laugh out loud when I pulled the bottle from its box, calls out the initials of its constituent grapes. Being a fan of gin and tonic, I immediately thought of satisfyingly fresh aromatics and a vaguely medicinal effect. More to the point, though, I thought of fun, ease and casual sophistication. Not a bad association to make given a new wine label.

The style here carries through, presenting a McLaren Vale spin on the easygoing vibe of a Rioja joven. The nose shows unmistakably fruity Grenache alongside some soft oak influences — light nougat and caramel — and a darker, more funky angle that, perhaps, is driven by the Tempranillo component. It’s fresh and fun, provided you are OK with a fruit sweet aroma profile, and its complexities are expressed as cuddliness rather than anything more intellectual. 
The flavour profile is absolutely in line with the aroma, showing juicy red fruits, rhubarb, some sunlit brambles and gentle caramel oak. It’s light to medium bodied, with a solid attack of confectionary fruit, leading to a middle palate that is all about deliciousness. The flavours are fleet of foot, registering then moving quickly on, never allowing time to be fully savoured or indeed examined too closely. This is deceptively sophisticated; there’s something impressive about making a wine seem so effortless. A fairly light after palate, with a smattering of grainy tannins, leads to a vibrant finish of average length.
There are some things one could object to here; the fruit is quite sweet, the structure very light, the concept derivative. But, as with my experience of the Dowie Doole portfolio generally, drinkability and real world satisfaction are put ahead of intellectual conceit and pretentious winemaking. I’m having a serious craving for croquettes.

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