Mike Press Shiraz 2009

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

It feels a while since I last tasted some of Mike Press’s wines. A quick search of Full Pour tells me I tasted the 2008 Shiraz in February of this year, but earlier vintages are more prominent in my deteriorating memory banks. I remember the splash made by the 2005 vintage wines, and bought a few myself. I’ve always been impressed by the easy styling of the red wines; at their best they convey a sense of sophistication that sits well outside their price points. Oak handling has historically been a slight sticking point for me, though I am pleased to see the oak flavours in this 2009 wine are much more to my taste.

Initially, there are some bright aromas that seem like left-overs from fermentation. These quickly blow off to show quite luscious red and black berry fruit, some sharp pepper and spice, plus lightly malty oak. The aroma profile tilts firmly towards liqueurous fruit, but there’s enough complexity to suggest some seriousness of intent. I suspect a few months in bottle will calm the slight edge here and bring each component together more naturally.

After a flavoursome entry, the palate is pleasingly savoury, taming any suggestion of fruity excess from the nose and placing dense berry flavours in a framework of spice, bright acid and powdery tannin. Don’t misunderstand me; there’s plenty of fruit, which fills the middle palate with satisfying generosity. It’s the structure that elevates this wine well beyond a quaffing style. I’d go so far as to say the structure places this wine in opposition to a quaffing style; I don’t feel this is ready to drink, and when it is, will show considerable elegance. For now, good texture and a hint of minerality on the after palate, through to a nice finish that is nevertheless a bit compressed by tannin.

Ridiculously cheap for this level of quality.

Mike Press Wines
Price: $A12.50
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Gift

Dowie Doole Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

I really liked the 2007 vintage of this wine, so approached the current release with some anticipation. As an aside, it amuses me sometimes to read winery press releases on wines from hot years – it seems no-one ever picks after a heatwave. And so it is with this wine, picked before the heat, with the intent of producing the lighter and more easygoing Dowie Doole house style. For the most part, I would say this is a success.

But vintage conditions will shine through, and here they translate to a very slightly cheap-smelling confectionary fruit note that, thankfully, seems to blow off fairly quickly. Once settled, the wine expresses as much darker, with black fruit and sexy nougat-marzipan oak the key aromas. It’s chewy (if an aroma can be described thus) and dense, and smells very honest to me. This is the smell of a winemaker getting the best from a difficult vintage, even if that involves applying a liberal dose of oak.

The palate flows freely, and is full of clean fruit and more of that obvious, but tasty, oak. Entry is clean and brisk, leading to a more complex middle palate where a nice earthiness contributes a sense of rusticity. Body is medium, as is intensity. The after palate is a bit lighter and shows caramel flavours plus quite simple berry fruits. The finish lingers well with fruit flavour.

Not a wine for lovers of sharply varietal Cabernet. Definitely a wine for those who want to enjoy their winter evenings. Tonight, I fall in the latter camp.

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

Leconfield Cabernets 1998

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Christopher Pratt

Curious, curious. First off, the sticker above the label on the back of this bottle appears to be in Chinese for some reason:

If memory serves me correctly, I bought this at the winery in the Spring of 2002. At the time, it tasted pretty fantastic to me, so I schlepped a bottle home, moved it a few times, forgot about, and then was reminded of it this week when Julian reviewed the 2008 version of what I assume is essentially the same wine.

So: how’s this one? Well, just for grins, let’s quote Mr Halliday:

The bouquet is fresh, with aromas of mint and leaf, and minimal oak: the palate is elegant, but pretty light for a ’98. Best drinking: 2002-2004.

Oops… guess I left this one in the cellar too long. Or did I? Well, let’s see: the color is no longer pretty light: instead, it’s a fairly dark, rich, squid ink black with some watering at the rim. The smell is reminiscent of entry-level port: somewhat fruity, a hint of wintergreen, and not terribly much else. In terms of taste there’s a faint hint of unripeness, but that’s just fine; without it, it would be too simple, too fruity. There’s still just enough tannin to keep it from being completely without interest, but only just barely: although this doesn’t taste bad, it really doesn’t taste good, either. If tasted blind, this could almost be mistaken for sweet and sour McNugget sauce: simple, slightly sweet, with a little bit of acidity.

Eventually, however, the wine did in fact display some reasonably interesting notes of wood and dirt, but those were sadly overwhelmed by marked acidity on the palate. I do believe that I let this one slip away from me. Lesson learned: I should have drunk this six years ago.

Leconfield
Price: A$30.95
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Leconfield Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

I’ve tasted this over a couple of days. At first, the aroma created an entirely positive impression, being both varietal and strongly regional at the same time. I value Coonawarra Cabernet’s signature leafiness and fruit character, both of which this wine has in spades, along with a framework of rather glossy cedar oak. The reason why I let it sit for a while is because, on the palate, the acidity struck me as over the top; not outrageous, but a little peaky and unbalanced.

Interestingly, time and air have changed the flavour profile without significantly calming the acid. Today, two days after opening the bottle, the overtly vegetal side to the aroma profile has subsided, allowing dark chocolate to take its place. What has remained constant is a decadent edge to the fruit character; it’s limpid and easy, like ice cream melting in Summer, and quite delicious as a result.

The palate remains on edge to an extent, a trait partially offset by the character of the fruit. As with the aroma, red and black berries express a syrupy dimension, in the most positive sense. Quite lush on entry, this is mostly fruit-driven until the middle palate, where very slightly raw oak impresses the palate, and tannins start to settle on the tongue. The tannins create a mouthfeel not unlike high cocoa content dark chocolate — full, perhaps raspy, quite pleasing to me. There’s just enough power in the fruit to ride atop all of this and carry some nice sucrosité through the after palate and into the finish. The finish itself is nice and long, not to mention delicious, though it needs time to fill out.

I really like the fruit in this wine; the question mark for me relates to structure, and whether all the elements are in balance. Still, I do like drinking this.

Leconfield
Price: $A30
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Retail

Dowie Doole Merlot 2009

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

I understand 2009 was a difficult vintage in some parts of the McLaren Vale. Certainly, compared to the 2008 Merlot, this wine shows less freshness of fruit character. It retains, however, the same sense of drinkability and charm, and for that I like it a great deal.

The nose shows plums, some spice and what smells like scorched foliage (the power of suggestion, perhaps?). There’s a prickliness to the aroma profile that may be partly due to the youth of this wine; whatever its origin, it is quite edgy, yet at the same time connects well with subtle, nougat-like oak notes. Overall, generously expressive, if a bit lumpy.

Entry is bright and fresh, with well-judged acidity carrying light plum fruit flavours through to the middle palate. Weight is light to medium bodied, intensity in a similar range, yet the components seem balanced overall. There’s an attractive icing-sugar sweetness to the middle palate, adding some nuance to the fruit flavours and contributing a welcome sense of plushness. The after palate begins to show some dried fruit notes that aren’t altogether welcome, which reside under a twig-like note and gentle oak flavours.

A product of its vintage, no doubt, but eminently drinkable nonetheless. I like the acidity in particular.

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

Dowie Doole Chenin Blanc 2010

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

Whether it’s the youth of this wine, vintage conditions or a stylistic choice on the part of its maker, the 2010 Chenin from Dowie Doole is a significantly more taut, edgy experience than previous vintages (for example, the 2009). And, as delicious as the softer, fruit salad Chenin style can be, this is something else entirely, closer to the reserve Tintookie wine than to its predecessors.

The nose shows aromas of delicate apple skins, minerals and a fairy floss note that I’m sure I’m describing poorly; fairy floss is the first thing that comes to mind, though, and it’s something I’ve noticed in a lot of Loire Chenins. It’s fresh and expressive, but not at all slutty; any seduction happening here is of the high class sort.

In the mouth, a burst of minerality that races through to the middle palate, where Granny Smith apples mix with a hint of roasted almonds. This is so structured and alive — the acidity is abundant and natural-tasting — it takes a moment for actual flavours to register, but they are there, fresh and clean, and quite intense. Decent thrust through the after palate leads to a slight dip just before an unexpectedly long, truly impressive finish.

When opening the bottle, I expected a fresh, easy Summer quaffer. This release really is a step up, though, showing real sophistication of structure and restraint of flavour. This delivers a lot for the dollars, and I would not be surprised if it improves over the medium term.

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

Rockford Black Shiraz (disgorged 1998)

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Christopher Pratt

I was excited to find this wine; I’ve been eagerly anticipating opening the bottle all week. From what I’ve read over the last decade, I was wondering: would it be a leaky bottle? Would the cork be too small? What would be wrong with it? And thankfully I was not disappointed: I’m now bleeding on the knuckle of my right hand as opening the bottle turned out to be a major production number: the too-small cork was firmly wedged in the bottle, and attempting to remove it using the standard methods resulted in failure along with a broken cork. Skittishly attempting to remove the final inch of it with a regular corkscrew resulted in a sudden burst of pressure and an accidental stabbing. Ouch. So how’s the wine?Thankfully, the wine isn’t dead. I bought this sight unseen, not knowing how old it is: turns out it’s a fairly old bottle. The bead is fairly anemic, but at least it’s still there. The color is an awful lot like American root beer mixed with cranberry juice: alternately nearly brown and occasionally surprisingly translucently black cherry red. It’s pretty, but could also be mistaken for Dr. Pepper.The nose is distinctly old earth, dusty loam with hints of prune, chocolate, and an intriguing mentholated eucalyptus mint note hovers over the glass. On the palate, this isn’t like any red sparkling wine I’ve had before: it’s extremely dramatic, the vinous equivalent of Norma Desmond, beautifully lit from all sides, a wine from another era. At times, it reminds me of extremely old balsamic vinegar or shoyu, with almost caramelized, umami notes. At other times, there’s a refreshing mintiness not unlike some Aussie sparkling chambourcin. The most amazing thing about the wine, however, is how long the finish lasts: minutes. Minutes, I say. Thinking about the wine long after I’ve swallowed it, I find myself thinking of hunting cabins in high meadows, cedar-smoked fire raising smoke in a starry sky, soft Spring flowers withholding the perfume for the morning.This really is a beautiful, profound, satisfying wine in a way few wines ever truly are. More than anything, I can’t think of anything else like it. This has got to be one of the most distinctive Australian wines there is – shame it’s so damn difficult to find. At this rate, I reckon I’ll next taste some shortly after retiring. Ah well!Rockford
Price: $40
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Sarantos Soft Press Moscato 2010

Posted on June 13, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

Moscato has quickly become quite the lifestyle product – one look at the press release that came with this wine confirms its priorities (low alcohol, wines that reflect a “way of life”). I hope this doesn’t appear cynical; although wine wankers (and I count myself amongst them) tend to revere authenticity and decry any hint of commercial reality, I’m resolutely in favour of wine styles that strike a chord with the mass market, if only because for some, perhaps, Moscato might be a gateway drug into a much wider world of wine. Even if not, I’m the first to admit some of these wines are damned refreshing and have found a place in my life.

This particular example is reasonably priced (not always a given) and stylishly packaged. It’s quite low on the spritz, which I regret a little because the varietal character of these wines can be a little cloying, and CO2 can help to cut through that distinctively sweet, grape-like character. The aroma here is actually a bit muted, with rich but subdued floral notes sitting alongside simpler fruit characters. On entry, tending towards fat, with quite rich fruit notes pushing aside subtleties of mouthfeel and flavour. No matter; there’s a lot here and it’s certainly easy to drink. The middle palate picks up a little with some textural influences that cut through the richness. Thins out through the after palate, which simply encourages another sip. Sugar levels are borderline for me, though I think ultimately well-judged with respect to the other elements, and should make for a pretty breezy experience.

I was thinking earlier today about fortified wines and how much I enjoy them. This, obviously, sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, presenting quite a different experience of enjoyment to no doubt a different target audience. No less worthwhile for it.

Sarantos Wines
Price: $A14.99
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Grosset Gaia 2001

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Christopher Pratt

Exotic and yet strangely familiar, this wine smells of California mission figs, damp soil in a shady redwood forest, freshly-baked German plum torte, the singing acidity of just-cleaved fruit, freshly baked brownies cooling in a suburban kitchen window, and cassis. It’s so wonderfully complex that honestly? I could probably sit here smelling it for half an hour; it’s as elaborate and fluid as a Guerlain perfume.Texturally, it’s fascinating, simultaneously hard and porous, with an initial impression of hard, ripe tannin quickly changing to a soft, slippery, sensual decay of just-melted chocolate. Beyond the texture, though, is still-present, still-youthful black cherry fruit, cheerfully slipping into warmer cigar box and cedar notes, finishing softly into a long, slow dissolve into dried herbs and dark bread baked in a wood-fired oven.Ironically, it’s the sweetness here that marks this wine as distinctly what it is. If that weren’t here, it would remind me of a Loire red, given its firm tannin and wonderfully complex notes of cherry, mineral, and herbs. However, it’s that beautiful, pure Australian fruit that elevates it beyond the merely really f***ing good and into the phenomenal. There aren’t many wines that can convincingly walk the line between Old World and New; just as Ridge Monte Bello does, this wine is simultaneously everything good about the Old and the New.I would imagine there’s another five or ten years’ life left here; simultaneously, I can’t imagine this being any better than it is right now.Grosset
Price: $27
Closure: Cork
Source: Retail

Flaxman Shiraz VP 2008

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Julian Coldrey

I love a nice Aussie Shiraz VP and this is certainly one. As an aside, I generally drink this style as a table wine, with food, and I feel it works tremendously well in this context. I guess that’s why I have a soft spot for some over those overwrought, overripe red table wines that exist between medium bodied sanity and the delicious lunacy that is the Shiraz VP style.

A woollen blanket of aroma, all prickly and comforting. Such dense smells of chocolate, ripe plum, spice, nuts, vanilla and leather. I can’t tell if this is complex or just overwhelming; it’s certainly seamless and expressive. The palate is pure luxe. Quite cool and slippery on entry, it quickly floods the mouth with sweet plum and chocolate, and that unmistakable mouthfeel that goes with 17.5% abv. Aside from abundant flavour, there are equally abundant tannins, silty-fine in character, and a burn of alcohol through the after palate and finish that speaks of decadence rather than imbalance.

Admittedly, this isn’t a style for everyone, but those who enjoy these wines will find great reward here. Will go for ages.

Flaxman Wines
Price: $A20 (375ml)
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

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