TOP NSW Wines

 Wines from New South Wales do not have a great reputation. I do not know if it is the arrogance of Sydneysiders, or what is causing it, but a recent tasting of premium NSW wines demonstrated they can mix it with the best. I will comment briefly on five wines in this tasting.

The first two wines are from Orange, a cool climate region, which produces increasingly exciting wines. The 2022 Canobolas Chardonnay is citrus and floral flavoured. It is a very elegant wine. It does not undergo malolactic fermentation, and is matured in oak. The vineyard slopes down the mountain of Mt. Canobolas, and this translates into an energetic wine with a mineral finish. This wine is absolutely first class (94 points).

The 2023 ChaLou 'Quixotic' Reserve Pinot Noir is equally impressive. This is the first Reserve Pinot Noir from this producer. The wine is obviously very young at this point and quite restraint. The grapes are grown on volcanic soil. They deliver an appealing blend of black cherry and mulberry fruit and some savoury characteristics. The finish is caressing and long (94 points).

Then came the known big guns. The 2019 Tyrrells Old Patch Shiraz was most impressive. It comes from the oldest vineyard in NSW, planted in 1867. This is a medium bodied wine with great purity of  red fruits. The wine has a velvety texture and a piercing drive. The wine is elegant and powerful at the same time. The excellent balance between fruit, acidity, and tannins points to a long future (97 points).

Tasting the 2009 Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier straight after, was a tough assignment. This is quite a different wine - softer and fruitier, with a bigger mouthfeel, and some five spice. It was quite harmonious at 15 years of age (95 points).

The 2000 Lake's Folly Cabernet Blend from Magnum was equally fresh, after 24 years. What an achievement! The vineyard is on a unique plot in the Hunter Valley, red clay over limestone. The wine is red fruited with a characteristic earthy flavour. The beautifully structured palate delivers great concentration of fruit and a long finish (97 points).     

 

What Happens When You Buy Cheap Bordeaux?

 What is the experience of buying a cheap bottle of Bordeaux? When I say cheap, I do not mean real cheap, but, say, under $100 per bottle. Yesterday, I tried the 2016 Château Clos de Boüard. Depending where you live, this wine can be found for under $50 per bottle. The owners also own Château L'Angélus, one of the top right bank producers.

This is a right bank wine, so unsurprisingly, the dominant grape is Merlot with 85%, then 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

This is quite a dark wine, and the fruit is quite concentrated. Mainly blackcurrant, but also licorice and tobacco. The mouthfeel is quite complex and attractive. Unfortunately, the tannins are somewhat coarse, and the finish is a bit harsh. Overall, a good wine, in particular with protein food.

If you go for this kind of strategy, looking at the right bank makes sense. In contrast to the Cabernet Sauvignon dominated left bank, Merlot at the lower price point would be less astringent, generally speaking. The Clos de Boüard comes from Montagne, a satellite of St. Emilion. This explains the lower price point.

I found this quite an acceptable value for money proposition. Is it better than a similarly priced local wine. I think this depends; sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Score: 90/++

Peay Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

 Buying American wine in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter, is always a difficult value for money equation. Peay Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is somewhat of an exception. The wine is priced like a blended wine from purchased fruit, but in this case, it is all Estate fruit at relatively low yields. The vineyards are only 4km from the coast. The grapes benefit from frequent fog and overnight cooler temperatures, and avoid the heat spikes further inland.

A couple of nights ago, I poured the 2019 Peay Sonoma Cost Pinot Noir. The wine has an appealing aromatic nose of rose petals and hibiscus. Red and black cherry fruit is blended on the palate with mild savoury notes of forest floor. This delivers an appealing, slightly soft mouthfeel. The wine is framed by solid acidity and dry tannins.

This wine has all the ingredients of a great wine, but it ultimately lacks some depth and drive for it to be outstanding.

Score: 94/++

  

Château Pontet-Canet

 In the last post, I talked about a surprising Barolo. Today, it is about a surprising Bordeaux wine. I experienced the 2004 Château Pontet-Canet.

So the wine is 20 years old, comes from a cooler vintage and is from Pauillac, where the soil is stony and the tannins strong. This should translate into a somewhat austere wine with piercing tannins.

Instead, I experience quite a rounded wine, dark fruited, with a very pleasant and complex mouthfeel. The tannins do not overwhelm, but are getting more prominent and dry with more tasting. Overall, this wine is a pleasant surprise.

Score: 95/+++

The conclusion is that overall descriptors of vintage or soil deliver little accurate prediction of a particular wine. Despite the popular notion 'we let nature do their thing', winemakers have a significant influence on the end product. Why otherwise would some be so revered?   

 

Azelia Margheria Barolo

 There is probably no other type of dry wine which achieves almost always reviews of 90+ points than Barolo. This is probably due to the combination of aromatics and tannin structure which can hardly go wrong. Yesterday I tasted the 2013 Azelia Margheria Barolo. The Margheria vineyard is in Serralunga. A number of leading producers source wine from here, including Gaja. Massolino's Vigna Rionda is just below the sizable Azelia holding. This is a vintage in which many great wines were made. Let us see how it went.

Discovering the colour of the wine, I got a bit alarmed. This was not the frequent orange, nor the darker red of Serralunga, but a brown colour. I could still taste the intensity of the fruit, but it was ripe, dried off, and simply dead. There were tobacco and licorice flavours, which helped a bit. The wine was slightly lifted by the firm tannins, which were still alive. Overall, a very disappointing experience. Was this a bottle problem? The cork was fine. Unfortunately, I do not have a second bottle to compare. Azelia does not rank in the list of top producers and is priced accordingly. However, this wine is best avoided.

Score: 84/-- 

Delamere Pinot Noir

 I have mentioned a number of times that Tasmanian Pinot Noir is tricky. The marginal climate can be attractive. However, there are many subregions in Tasmania with quite different conditions. What is very suitable in one year may not be ideal in another. It is therefore difficult for Tasmanian wineries to establish a solid track record over a number of years.

I am drinking the 2021 Delamere Pinot Noir  from the Tamar River region. The vines are well established at 40 years of age.

The colour is purple, indicating a savoury Pinot Noir, and it is. The wine is of medium intensity. The complex dark fruit flavours are quite ripe, but are balanced by savoury notes. The wine sits in the mouth a bit, and lacks energy to move forward, but it is appealing when it  finally gets to the finish. The tannins are soft and fine grained, leading to a satisfying medium plus finish.

Score: 93/++  

 

Barossa Valley, Part 2

 Two more wineries to visit on this short trip to the Barossa; Phase III Wines and Alkina.

The name Phase III refers to the third stage of Ben Kelley's life, when he decided to move to the Barossa to grow truffles, and then wine. However, he has been associated with wine for a long time and along the way got to know Fraser McKinley, the winemaker of Sami-Odi fame. His influence is obvious in a number of ways, for example the port shaped bottles and including wine from more than one vintage.

Ben is more playful, though; grabs fruit from wherever he can, adds Pinot to Shiraz, and generally behaves like a kid in a candy store (not in a bad way). His volume of his key wine, Dero (Australian slang for 'I am nobody') is 250 cases.

I also tasted some more experimental wines. The 2022 Phase III Semillon is an attractive wine. It is barrel fermented and richer and rounder than a young Hunter Valley wine. Yet it is a refreshing wine at 10.5% alcohol with crisp citrus flavours (92 points). The 2023 Phase III Chardonnay comes from High Eden, near Mountadam. The wine has whole bunch and tastes of tropical fruit and spices with a nice acidic backbone. The wine also includes four buckets of frontignac. I did not notice it, but it may have added complexity (92 points).

There was also a 2021 whole bunch Pinot Noir. It was robust and powerful, with red fruits dominating, and a musky and savoury backbone. It was interesting, but did not work too well (86 points).

Then I tried the 2023 Phase III Home Block Shiraz. Ben has now planted three small vineyards, which over time presumably will replace bought fruit. The fruit in this wine comes from 3 (!) year old vines. This seems crazy, and it does not work too well. The fruit is picked early. The wine is fruity, despite 100% whole bunch and one of the lowest alcohol Shirazes in the valley at 12.2% (88 points).

Then we come to the 2023 Phase III Devo, the main wine. The fruit comes from something like 10 vineyards, including two Hoffmann blocks. The bottle is in a bag, in reference to his earlier work in a bottle shop. The philosophy is to pick early and whole bunch to soften the tannins. He wants to make wine to be drunk early. The wine shows pleasant red and black fruit, but no sweetness. The structure is solid (93 points).

I would not be surprised if something stunning will come from this producer one day.  

The final stop is at Alkina. The contrast could not be starker. Serious money has gone into this business. The vineyards around the property have been meticulously analysed, and divided by soil type. This is not unusual in many parts of the world, but not common to this detail in the Barossa Valley. The different plots are called polygons, meaning an area made up of line segments. The focus of Alkina is Grenache and Shiraz. It will be interesting to compare these wines to the McLaren Vale tasted wines.

The first Grenache based wine tasted is a 2024 Alkina Rosé. The wine is matured 50% in stainless steel, 50% in concrete. The wine is light, with beautiful aromatic flower scents, and clean raspberry flavours (93 points).

The entry level Grenache was the 2023 Alkina Kin Grenache. It is a blend from different plots of limestone and schist soil. 100% whole bunch was used, and the wine was matured in 100% concrete, to bring out the fresh fruit. The wine is red fruited and quite soft - an easy drinking wine (92 points).

A big step-up were the two polygon Grenaches, from 2022, a cool vintage. The 2022 Alkina Polygon 3 Grenache comes from a plot of limestone and schist soil. This is an intense and super elegant wine, majestic comes to mind. The acidity is present, but beaten by the weight of the fruit. The silky tannins lead to a very satisfying finish - a superb wine (96 points).

The 2022 Alkina Polygon 5 Grenache comes from heavier soil, fractured schist and clay. And this is reflected in the wine. This wine is bigger, quite fiery. This more savoury wine has a great structure pointing to a long life ahead (96 points).

These two wines were certainly highlights of my week in South Australia. They are superbly crafted, and showing off the different soil profiles really well. 

Then came the Shiraz flight. The 2023 Alkina Birdsong Shiraz is matured in concrete to showcase the pristine red and black fruit. There is elegance and power in this wine, but the wine is not as focused as some (92 points).

The 2022 Alkina Polygon 1 Shiraz comes from a tiny plot of quartzite and schist soil. The colour is very dark, and the nose is big. This is a fiery, but quite dense wine with a long finish. Attractive mulberry flavours stand out (95 points).

And then came a surprise, the new 2023 Alkina Striato. I do not know much about this wine. It was quite a contrast to the Polygon 1. The wine is lighter, lively and red fruited. It has great balance and finishes with firm, but fine grained tannins (95 points).

As previously, this was an excellent tasting experience. Some of the Alkina wines are superb. With its scientific soil approach, could Alkina become an icon Barossa winery? There is one big problem: these polygons are tiny plots, and the resulting wine is made in small volumes. It will simply not be available to many people. This however, should be a criterion for an icon winery. However, if you are lucky enough to get access to some of these wines, enjoy!

This week in South Australia had a strong focus on Grenache. A theory is emerging. The premium Grenaches from Blewitt Springs and Clarendon tend to be fresh and red fruited. Their ph is between 3.0 and 3.35, indicating high acidity. The Grenaches from Alkina have a ph of close to 3.6, indicating lower acidity, largely a function of the warmer climate. These wines still have some freshness, but fruit intensity and some dark fruit flavours are also characteristic. So it seems ph levels can predict key components of the Grenache flavour.

 

  

Barossa Valley, Part 1

 Then on to the Barossa, where I wanted to taste the 'new' or 'alternative' Barossa. My first stop is at Agricola in the Eden Valley. This is a small operation (700 cases per year) by Callum Powell, the son of ex-Torbreck winemaker David Powell. His wines are nothing like Torbreck, though.

Callum's wines have been well received and are sold out, but he was kind enough to open two bottles for me. One of the key features of his Shiraz winemaking is the use of 100% whole bunch in the ferment. Let's see how this goes. He also does not do any manipulation, say adding acid etc.

The first wine is the 2023 Agricola DWxHV Shiraz. DW stands for Dallwitz, HV for Hutton Vale. So this is a blend of fruit from the famous Hoffmann managed vineyard in Ebenezer and Eden Valley. The wine is fresh and very savoury and drinks well. I took the bottle with me, and found on day two that more green elements emerged. Using 100% whole bunch is brave in a cool vintage such as 2023, but the fruit from the warm Ebenezer area made it work, although not perfect (92 points).

The second wine, the 2023 Agricola Ebenezer Shiraz comes from old Dallwitz and Dimchurch fruit (not the oldest blocks). The wine is bright, and tastes of red skinned fruit, licorice, and mocca. This is also a fresh wine, a little bit herbal. There is no sweetness in these wines and alcohol is about 13.9% (92 points).

I found these wines interesting. In warmer vintages and with more experience, they could become outstanding.

My second visit is to Ollin, a new winery only started in February of this year.  However, Jaysen Collins, the winemaker, is very experienced, probably best known for the work at Massena together with Dan Standish.

The surprise here was that I liked the white wines better than the reds. The 2022 Ollin Chenin Blanc spent 24 months on lees, yet the colour was still bright. This was a refreshing dry field blend with 13.5% alcohol (92 points). The 2022 Ollin Chardonnay was my wine of the tasting. It spent 12 months on lees and was matured in old French barrels. Gentle citrus flavours dominate in this textural wine (93 points). I also liked the 2023 Ollin Rosé from Grenache fruit. 12 months on lees and barrel fermented, this is made in the Provence style - pale, but with flavour (92 points). 

I was not too impressed with the red wines. The 2022 Balto Grenache from Standish fruit was hand stomped. It is meant for early drinking, but I found fruit and earthy components not well integrated (86 points). The 2022 Ollin Grenache is more serious. It comes from 160 year old fruit in the Eden Valley. There is a lot of spice on the palate. The wine is quite astringent and acidic (87 points). The 2022 Ollin Shiraz, from Kalleske fruit, is a slightly better wine. It is fresh, red fruited, but also quite astringent (89 points).

McLaren Vale, Part 3

 The tasting at perhaps McLaren Vale’s most iconic winery, Yangarra, was very extensive. 

I will only report on the five wines, which impressed me most. Others were still outstanding, in particular the 2022 Ovitelli Blanc. So let us start with the Grenache range. On layer three is the 2023 Yangarra Old Vine Grenache. This is simply a joke. This wine is superb. The wine has great purity, and a fragrance which leads to an elegant mouthfeel (95 points). The 2022 Yangarra Ovitelli Grenache is quite different. It is still a fresh wine, but the fruit expression is quite dark. The wine is also quite tannic, but balanced overall (95 points). I found the 2021 Yangarra High Sands Grenache, the top of the tree, controversial. It is an elegant wine, with more fruit intensity than the others. There is a bit of Grenache sweetness in the core. The issue I have with this wine is that it wants to be fresh on the one hand, and deep and profound on the other. These ideas seem to almost clash on the palate (94 points).

Shiraz is the second major leg of Yangarra. I found the 2022 King’s Wood Shiraz very appealing. It is a bright and elegant wine, red fruited, but also quite savoury, helped by 75% whole bunch (96 points). The higher priced 2021 Ironheart Shiraz is a bigger wine, quite plush and long on the finish (94 points).

This tasting proved that Peter Fraser, the winemaker, is on top of his game. These wines are sophisticated, yet quite easy to drink. Perhaps with the exception of the Ironheart Shiraz, I would be happy to drink a second or third glass of all of them.

These three tastings had quite a focus on Grenache. They showed a particular upper McLaren Vale Grenache style which is fresh, aromatic, but not sweet, and quite acidic. One could argue this is because of the recent cooler vintages, but all winemakers emphasized they liked the low ph levels of, say, 3.0 to 3.2. They are somewhat higher in the Barossa, and we will see what difference this makes. This is where I go next.

McLaren Vale, Part 2

 The next stop was at SC Pannell. Stephen Pannell is a highly regarded winemaker, but the wines from the home block have always been disappointing. Then everything changed when he managed to purchase the Koomilya vineyard in 2013. He has always been keen on this, as the wine he won a Jimmy Watson trophy with at Hardys came from this vineyard.

I had the privilege to walk through this sizeable and very isolated vineyard while tasting its wines along the way. The core wines are the Shiraz from three different blocks; the DC block, the GT block, and the JC block. 

                               Looking down the GT Block, with some Touriga vines in the front

The first wine is the 2021 SC Pannell Koomilya DC Block Shiraz. The vines are 49 years old. The wine has quite lifted aromas, but on the palate, you are hit with power and punch. Red and black fruits vie for attention; cranberry, boysenberry, black cherry. There is also some charred meat, eucalypt, and black tea. The firm tannins bring the wine to a powerful close.

Score: 95/++

It is really important to see how this wine ages. The 2013 DC Block Shiraz helps to explain it. The fruit profile is similar. The ironstone effect from the soil comes through a bit more, as savoury flavours are strong. The tannins have softened. I believe 10 years maturing is a minimum to really enjoy this wine.

Score: 95/++

The 2021 SC Pannell Koomilya GT Block Shiraz comes from 33 year old vines. Curiously, the vines are grafted on Gewurztraminer planted 50 years ago. The fruit of this wine is softer, maybe due to the grey slaty siltstone. More raspberry flavours emerge, but also cedar and other savoury notes. This is a fresh and energetic wine with silky tannins.

Score: 95/+++

The vines of the JC Block are also 49 years old. The fruit is darker in this wine. There is a lot of ironstone  rubble in the soil. The 2021 SC Pannell Koomilya JC Block Shiraz shows complex fruit flavours; dark cherry, mocca, black pepper. However, it is a softer expression of Shiraz. Having said this, the finish is very long, flanked by firm tannins.

Score: 95/+++

There is also a small volume of 2021 SC Pannell Koomilya Cabernet Touriga from this vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon does not ripen every year and is likely to be pulled out. However, I found this wine very attractive. This is a fresh wine, caressing fruit on display. The Touriga grape lifts the wine adding some fruitiness to the wine, which is otherwise still quite tight and astringent. I think in a few years, this will be a great wine.

Score: 94/+++

Overall the impressions from this vineyard are: freshness, no sweetness on the mid-palate, and firm tannins.

Leaving this vineyard, I am moved to the centre of Blewitt Springs to taste the three single site Grenaches.  This is the other strength of SC Pannell. The 2022 SC Pannell Smart Grenache comes from the famous 67 year old bush vines of the high altitude Smart vineyard. The acidity is very prominent in this wine, maybe a bit too much for me. However, the raspberry and red cherry fruit is perfectly ripe, before the wine finishes with firm tannins.

Score: 93/+

The 2022 SC Pannell Little Branch Grenache is the first release from a newly acquired 30 year old vineyard. The tannins are not as strong as in the Smart Grenache. This is a slightly more friendly wine at this stage, still with a focus on freshness.

Score: 93/++

These two wines are based in Blewitt Springs at some altitude. The third Grenache is closer to the ocean at only 80 meters of altitude. All are on sandy soils, of course. The 2022 SC Pannell Old McDonald Grenache comes from an 80 year old vineyard. It has more of the characteristics of the flats of McLaren Vale. This is a gentler wine with some fruit sweetness on the mid palate, but clearly held in check. Good winemaking here.

Score: 94/++

Overall, this tasting wiped out some less exciting SC Pannell experiences of the past. The 2021s and 2022s tasted here come from cooler vintages, and it shows. The wines are fresh, but also quite acidic.

McLaren Vale, Part 1

 A brief trip to South Australia plans to first of all explore the northern parts of McLaren Vale, Clarendon and Blewitt Springs. First stop is Bekkers, a boutique producer of high end wines. You have to be brave and confident to start pricing from $90/bottle. Is it justified?

Bekkers focusses on three red wines, as they say, from the hero varieties of McLaren Vale. The 2022 Bekkers Grenache is red fruited, singing the high notes. There is some spice as well. The key to this wine is its texture, defined by the silky tannins. Acidity is quite high (more on this in later posts) and the finish is long. This is a very harmonious wine.

Score: 95/+++

The 2021 Bekkers Syrah sees 47% new oak. The dark fruit flavours are intense, but more significant are the savoury flavours, its salty and liquorice notes. This firm flavour profile is matched by soft and silky tannins. This is a very seductive Shiraz.

Score: 95/+++

Then there is the 2022 Bekkers Syrah-Grenache. This blend is 75% Shiraz, 25% Grenache. I find it less convincing. The colour is dark, showing the Shiraz dominance. Vegetable flavours add to the dark fruit flavours. I did not find much of the alluring Grenache flavours in this wine. The blend is not so convincing.

Score: 92/+

I could also taste the 2017 Bekkers Grenache to understand how the Grenache evolves over time. This is a very aromatic wine. The acidity stands out less. It almost tasted like an aged Nebbiolo; very gentle, but with a solid structure and red and black berry flavours.

Score: 95/+++

Overall, a very promising start to the McLaren Vale exploration.

Giant Steps Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs

 Giant Steps received great accolades for its 2023 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs. To see how they develop, I opened a couple of these wines from 2021.

The 2021 Giant Steps Wombat Creek Pinot Noir comes from perhaps the most challenging vineyard in the Yarra Valley. It is the most elevated at over 400m. Giant Steps does not make wine from it every year. It did not, as far as I know, in 2023, a very cool year.

But lets look at 2021. The colour is very bright pink, translating into vibrant red cherry flavours. The wine is really intense in its fruit flavours, almost jumps out of the glass. It is backed by savoury notes and firm tannins before a medium plus finish. The wine is not too complex in its flavour profile, but it is very well made and has a great structure. I found it quite exciting.

Score: 95/+++

The 2021 Giant Steps Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir is also from a higher altitude vineyard at 240m.  It shows a more complex fruit profile, with red and black cherry flavours dominant, and a fragrant mouthfeel. This wine is quite soft in the mouth. Again, there are savoury or mushroom flavours. The tannins are soft.

In terms of quality, it is high in both wines, but the focus is quite different. The Wombat Creek wine is about structure, whereas Primavera is about flavour complexity.

Score: 95/+++

Both wines indicate excellent and site specific winemaking. They hint at great things to come from this winery.