Tag Archives: South Australia

Gilligan Marsanne Roussanne 2009

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Why is Coke so popular? Why isn’t Passiona taking the world by storm? Personally, I adore Passiona and think it has a lot to offer the soft-drinking community. Yet Coke flies off the shelves. It all begs the question: are some soft drinks inherently better than others? Ditto grapes; do some varieties, barring easy targets like Trebbiano, simply make better wines than others? 

I don’t care to attempt an answer but, given the role fashion plays in wine appreciation and commerce, it seems dangerous to use market acceptance as an indicator of a variety’s potential. (Hunter) Semillon is a great example, and I wonder about the white Rhône varieties too. Viognier is, of course, enjoying an odd sort of resurgence, though I’m buggered if I can figure out what to eat with it. Marsanne and Roussanne are even more interesting. Tahbilk continues to make its iconic Marsanne at Nagambie Lakes, and a street price of about $A10 should tell you how scandalously little it is valued by the market (not that my wallet is complaining). Australian Roussanne is even thinner on the ground, yet my infallible fashion radar indicates a growing interest in these two varieties, even if the local industry’s collective expression suggests a degree of puzzlement rather than confidence. 
Enter McLaren Vale producer Gilligan with the first vintage of its Marsanne Rousanne blend (about half each). It’s a striking label, and I mean that literally; its bold typographic treatment on reflective silver should stand out on a shelf. It should also stand out when smelled, because it delivers a big hit of honeysuckle and bubblegum with the eagerness of an overweight teenager deciding what to order at McDonald’s (I speak from personal experience). If it had lingered too long on this note, it would have quickly become cloying, but the nice thing about this wine is that it keeps defying my expectations. From its Britney Spears start, it evolves to show subtle yet lively fruit flavours (in a sort of pineapple and orange spectrum) and, a little unexpectedly, savoury minerality too. The aroma profile never lives up to the impact of its first impression; whether this is good or bad is probably a matter of taste. 
The palate starts full and generous, as one might expect from these varieties, with a shapely flow into the mouth herded by fine, fresh acid. Again, intensity of fruit wanes a little towards the mid-palate, and it’s here more than on the nose that I was left wishing for just a bit extra. Compensation comes in the form of decent complexity and a pleasingly nuanced structure. That same savouriness as on the nose (is it sulphur-derived?) presents through the after palate and tastes very grown up. A fresh finish of unremarkable length.
You could throw this back as a simple quaffer if you chose but, like an unexpectedly smart movie, it prods and provokes more complex responses. This intelligence, combined with a still-unusual mix of grape varieties, is a lot of wine for $A21. Nice.

Gilligan
Price: $A21
Closure: Stelvin

Karra Yerta Eden Valley Riesling 2009

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ev riesling 09.gifThe Karra Yerta vineyard has a flavour that is partly Eden Valley but otherwise all its own. This is the third vintage I’ve tasted and there’s a striking family resemblance between the wines. The 2008 was full and soft, communicating a luxuriant plushness while remaining in the mainstream of Eden style. The 2005 was austere and acidic, clearly built for the long haul, and what one might consider a more typical wine of the region. This most recent edition is different again, yet its core of pastel, shimmering fruit is all Karra Yerta, clearly showing the terroir of this special vineyard.

A most interesting range of aromas — watermelon, apples, lychee, cut grass, spice, lemon — seem to glisten and evolve from the glass like shiny scented pillows. There’s excellent complexity and cohesiveness for such a young Riesling; this is absolutely ready to drink now as a striking aromatic white, although I’m quite sure it could take a good deal of bottle age if one likes that sort of thing. 
A wallop of acidity announces the palate in no uncertain terms; this is definitely a young Riesling, but it’s not undrinkably tart as some can be. Instead, its fine texture and delicious sourness present alongside quite rich, full fruit flavours of a similar character to the nose, but for more prominent apple and lemon flavours. The middle palate is strikingly intense, yet what I like most is the shape and flow. Generous flavour is contained within a couture-like silhouette that cuts a dashing figure through the mouth. Everything’s in line, flowing as it should, with perfect control. An intriguing note, savoury and spicy in equal measure, kicks through the after palate before a sour, delicious finish of very impressive length rounds it all off. Indeed, this seems to go on and on for ages.
I don’t pretend to be an objective taster by any means, so although this is a quality wine made by a passionate producer in tiny quantities, it all comes to nought, because drinking this is like falling in love. Nothing else matters. 

Karra Yerta Wines
Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin

Moxie Sparkling Shiraz NV

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mox.pngSome wines work a treat over a long, Summery lunch.  Others make a roast beef taste twice as good as it normally would (especially if consumed before dinner). In my constant quest to categorise wine according to its most suited purpose, this shall hereafter be known as “the wine that goes great with Dominos pizza on a night where you decide to chuck all the hard work you did last week in the gym because it’s rainy out and you just can’t be rooted walking on a treadmill for an hour.” Admittedly, a niche category, but one I suspect some of our valued readers can identify with.

Indeed, it can be hard to find a good pizza wine, and I don’t mean a good gourmet crocodile and chermoula pizza wine, but a good pepperoni, or a good ham and pineapple, pizza wine. When confronted with such nourishment, most options seem either to lack robustness (causing one to feel a sense of loss with every barely discerned sip), or are of an excessively Italianate manner (compelling a sense of approval, if not satisfaction). This sparking Shiraz from Langhorne Creek, though, seems to hit precisely the right note. 
Aromas of cured meat, spice, garlic, tomato and yeast; yes, a delicious slice of pizza indeed, after which smelling this wine is like inhaling a barrel full of crushed blackberries. It’s somewhat one-dimensional but, more importantly, cuts through heady flavours of pepperoni and crust with a thrust and parry of juicy black fruit and high toned vanilla. It’s pure fun, quite vulgar and, somehow, exactly what one wants to smell after a mouthful of savouriness. 
Being a sparkling wine, the mouthfeel is tingly and refreshing almost by default; again, a desirable trait when coupled with a potentially greasy, overpowering food like cheap pizza. As it is, any trace of oiliness is whisked away with each sip, leaving behind echos of sandalwood oak and your current waistline. It’s not a sweet wine, but neither is it excessively dry, so the fruit has fullness without becoming cloying or heavy with time in glass. As with several other Dowie Doole wines I’ve tasted, this seems designed for pleasurable drinking rather than contemplation; a worthy goal indeed.
The label design, which I feel compelled to reproduce here, suggests nightclubs, fast times and thoughtless consumption. To me, though, here’s a wine that makes fast food a bit special on a Monday night. 

Dowie Doole
Price: $22.50
Closure: Diam

Yalumba FDW[7c] Chardonnay 2007

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I wonder what sort of feedback Yalumba gets regarding the nomenclature? It’s all satisfyingly boutique in effect, though word of mouth marketing may result in some hilarity. But hey, it worked for me. Purely for the name, I remember tasting the 2005 vintage at cellar door with Chris, and being seriously impressed; for some reason I’ve not sought out another bottle since then. So much wine, so little time (and money). 

Classy nose; some sulphur, some lees-derived aromas, some watercolour stonefruit and honeydew melon, and some other things that are too fleeting to capture in words. It’s quite funky overall, and seems reasonably manipulated within the context of its style, which is fine and tight. For me, it’s treading a fine line regarding the struck match aromas; one sniff seems balanced, the next just that bit too astringent. Very much a matter of taste.
In the mouth, a complex, savoury experience. The mouthfeel is really interesting, seeming to alternate between luscious and sharp, like cutting into a ripe peach with a cleaver. Mostly savoury on entry, it really kicks up a gear on the middle palate, which shows decent complexity and hints of the cushioned generosity that is the point of some Chardonnay styles; not here, though. Before the word “flab” can even begin to form in one’s mind, we’re whisked away to a lean after palate that introduces an interesting hint of vegetal, almost stalky flavour. A very long finish rounds things off well.
An intellectual wine, and an expression of Chardonnay that I find somewhat lacking in easy sensual pleasure. That’s not a criticism per se; in fact, it marks this wine as one of the more important essays in contemporary Australian Chardonnay style. 

Yalumba
Price: $A23.75
Closure: Stelvin

Dowie Doole Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

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The third of three current release Dowie Doole reds tasted (also tasted: 2007 Shiraz and 2008 Merlot). This is the most interesting for me personally, as I strongly prefer cooler climate expressions of Cabernet. Yet, ironically, this is perhaps my favourite of the three; it’s strongly regional and quite delicious. 

A very expressive nose of ripe red plums, light cocoa and tea leaves, along with a bit of spicy oak. It’s one of those wines you can smell from across the room, and its character becomes more interesting and subtle as you approach, rather than simply becoming louder. The aroma profile is a bit blunt perhaps, lacking in elegance and shape. But it’s hard to argue with something that smells this good.
On the palate, lots of everything: fruit, oak, texture. It’s not a heavy wine, just generous, with good flow through the mouth. Flavours are of more ripe plums (perhaps slightly stewed), spicy vanilla oak and some chocolate, though less than on the nose. There’s herbaciousness too, though unlike the dusty leaf of a cooler climate wine, this expresses as sun-scorched, once-luxurious foliage. An especially tasty, sour finish of plum skins and sweet tannin. 
I was going to say that you have to like the style, but I don’t especially, yet I still find this quite convincing. Just drink it.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A21
Closure: Stelvin

Dowie Doole Shiraz 2007

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I’ve tasted all three current release Dowie Doole reds in the “standard” range, though this is only the second note I’ve posted (Cabernet to come soon). There’s a definite family resemblance at work in the way the fruit is expressed in these wines that makes this trio of labels variations on a theme. Though they show different flavour profiles, they are all primary, fresh wines of attractive vibrancy.

If anything, this Shiraz is a better drink now proposition than the Merlot. There’s an immediate burst of fruit on the nose, along with some spice, vanilla coffee and something darker and more savoury (a bit like licorice or some other tangy delight). It shows easy balance between each element; this is very natural-smelling, apparently free of strain or artifice. Over time, the aroma grows more expressive and even spicier.
In the mouth, I found the fruit flavours too simple at first (verging on confectionary), until the wine had spent half an hour in the glass. After this short rest, a more nuanced range of flavours emerged, without sacrificing a core of playful red and black berries. On entry, a good tingle of acidity that carries chocolate and berries through to the middle palate. This wine fills the mouth with ease so that, although it is only medium bodied, its drinks in some respects like a wine of larger dimensions. A good burst of clean fruit and spice on the middle palate. Though I suspect oak contributes significantly to the overall flavour profile, the fruit is always discernible in the mix. An easy after palate and soft, lightly drying finish round things off. 
Personally, I marginally prefer the Merlot to this wine, as it shows a bit more sophistication and bit less confectionary fruit. But you can’t go wrong with either as a tasty quaffer. This is a satisfying, delicious wine.

Dowie Doole
Price: $A21
Closure: Stelvin

Bleasdale Malbec 2005

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There aren’t too many straight Malbecs made in Australia, although the variety continues to appear in many blends, sometimes as a regional specialty (as with Cabernet Sauvignon in the Clare Valley, for example). Chris’s partner Dan is something of a Malbec enthusiast, so it is in his honour that I taste this wine tonight. 

Awfully grand intro for a $A15 wine, no? Yet this is full of interest and tasty to boot. The nose shows a nice array of aromas, including slightly jammy red and black fruits, dense brambles baking in hot Summer sun, mint lollies and what seems like rather raw oak, vanillan and sappy in equal measure. Somehow, it strikes the same pose as an Italian pastoral art movie from the 70s; rough around the edges yet vividly sensual, all in slightly porno-like soft focus. I’ve never compared wine to an adult movie before, so this must be doing something right. 
In the mouth, a big rush of Langhorne Creek goodness. It’s just as minty as the aroma, which is to say noticeably so without being offensive, and more importantly has the generous rush of flavour that seems to characterise this region’s red wines. Bang; immediately on entry there’s rich fruit flavour, a little baked perhaps, plus a lively mouthfeel that owes its character to a decent whack of acidity. This acidity isn’t that well integrated but, given the style of wine, its robustness works acceptably well. Intensity of flavour remains decent throughout, never peaking or troughing at any stage, nor scaling any particular heights. The acid-driven after palate brings a slightly medicinal edge to the flavour profile, before a nice long finish of red fruits and fine, dry tannins. 
Totally unsophisticated, totally enjoyable. Not a bad companion to the consolations of another Monday evening. 

Bleasdale
Price: $A15
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

Cardinham Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

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The final of three Cardinham Estate reds recently tasted. I’ve been impressed with the honesty and straighforwardness of these wines, and feel they are well-priced for what are true regional styles (the Sangiovese excepted, if only because I’m not sure what Clare Sangiovese “should” taste like). Clare Cabernet can be quite rustic, with full-throttle warmer fruit flavours and powerful oak. This wine is very much in the mainstream of the style, with a sense of drinkability that is quite convincing.

An expressive nose of slightly stewed plums, spice, sweet oak and twiggy vegetal notes. The elements are well balanced between each other and, although it’s not an elegant aroma profile by any means, it’s clean, full and generous and, if you like the style, most appealing. The palate is true to the nose’s overall impression, being both full-flavoured and quite chunky. Gobs of fruit and oak flavour coat the tongue at first, and it’s only towards the after palate that a slinky, sophisticated mouthfeel asserts itself, a little unexpected, perhaps, and a pleasant surprise. Some tannins, loose-knit and sweet, add texture and grip. A good long finish of bubblegum oak and plum skins. 
I crave wines like this on certain nights after work when all I want is a flavoursome, robust red to accompany a steak meal. It’s a Cabernet to warm the heart rather than challenge the mind.

Cardinham Estate
Price: $A20
Closure: Stelvin

Cardinham Estate Sangiovese 2007

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Refreshingly, the back label doesn’t lie; it reads straightforwardly: “Everything about this wine seems to be built around dark chocolate and black cherries.” And so it is. Which may not sound very Sangiovese-like, but let’s proceed with an open mind to the wine itself.

On the nose, there’s… oo, chocolate, of the quality sort, edging towards cocoa powder. Some almonds perhaps, cherries too, and an impression of gustatory delight I usually get when selecting what to buy at the bakery. It’s funny; some wines remind me of eating, and this is one of them. There’s nothing especially complex about the aroma, it just smells good, in the way a freshly made chocolate muffin smells good. 
In the mouth, surprisingly light and nimble. The flavour profile continues to revolve around key notes of cocoa, red fruits and almonds. On first sip, I felt a bit let down as there’s a lack of thrust through the entry and middle palate. After adjusting to the style, though, I started to appreciate it more. It’s what I call a “watercolour” wine; one that can seem delicate to the point of transparency, but which nonetheless carries an entire picture within its frame. Mouthfeel is quite interesting, in that it’s very supple and finely textured too, especially towards the after palate, where ultra-fine tannins settle gently on the tongue. Surprising power and persistence on the finish, with sweet cherries and almonds riding a flavoursome wave. I wonder if the alcohol is slightly too high for the style; in absolute terms, 14.2% abv isn’t groundbreaking, but there does seem some heat on the palate, and I suspect aspects of the mouthfeel are similarly pumped up.
This isn’t at all what I expected, but I am enjoying it, and it seems to me a “real life” wine, made for drinking on a weeknight with one’s favourite pasta dish. Drink now for maximum pleasure.

Cardinham Estate
Price: $A20
Closure: Stelvin