Stefano Lubiana, Ashton Hills, Mitchelton

Some days ago I attended the latest Wine-Arc tasting. It was a mixed bag of wineries, maybe relatively cool climate was the common denominator.

In contrast to other wine writers, I have not been impressed with most Tasmanian wines in the last few years (apart from Bay of Fires). So I didn't expect too much from Stefano Lubiana. They showed an 04 Chardonnay and an 06 Pinot. They were pleasant wines, but at $45/bottle expensive for what they were.

Ashton Hills established the first vineyards at the Adelaide Hills. Their best known wines are again Chardonnay and Pinot. The wines are quite individualistic, but failed to impress. The Chardonnay lacked acidity and had a plump finish as a result. The Pinot was more attractive; you could taste the natural yeast, but again it lacked length.

The interesting wines from Mitchelton were the Shirazes. First, the 06 Parish Shiraz/Viognier, a wine with bright fruit and uplifting floral flavours. Good value at $25 per bottle. Then on to the flagship Print Shiraz. I had not tried this for at least 7 years, but enjoyed it previously. The 03 was quite a meaty wine, possibly drought affected, and lacked length and complexity. Then we tried the 98. It was the wine of the night, showing dark fruit and more concentration and length. It finished quite dry - a serious Shiraz, but not a blockbuster, well suited to food.