Lowestoft Pinot Noir

 The 2018 Lowestoft Pinot Noir is the first wine of this new Tasmanian label, put together by the Fogarty Wine Group, owners of Dalwhinnie, Deep Woods, Evans & Tate, amongst others.

This is not a single vineyard wine, but a best barrels selection from vineyards across Tasmania. The wine has been matured in large format French oak, 35% new. It is positioned as an ultra premium wine.

And the wine is impressive. It is a delicate wine of great purity, initially quite understated. Red cherry fruit and some darker and earthy flavours, backed by firm acidity, deliver quite a piercing mouthfeel. The fine grained tannins linger long on the palate.

Score: 94/+++ 

Head Ancestor Grenache

 Alex Head has dramatically increased his range. The Ancestor Grenache comes from the famous 163 year old Stonegarden Vineyard at Springton, Eden Valley. The soil is sandy loam over decomposed granite and clay.

Only 900 bottles were made of the 2020 Head Ancestor Grenache. This is a soft and smooth version of Grenache. Raspberry, cherry, and plum flavours lead to a very round and ripe mouthfeel. Black olive and cola flavours add complexity. The acidity is low, the tannins are fine grained. The wine ends with a velvety finish.

This wine is not quite my style, but it is well made.

Score: 93/+ 

Unico Zelo Fresh A.F.

 I am not discussing the commune and environmental based philosophy of Unico Zelo here, but it is worth while to read up on it. This is a review of the 2022 Unico Zelo Fresh A.F., a wine based on Nero d'Avola, with some Grenache, and the rare white wine variety Zibibbo thrown in. 

The fruit comes from the Riverland, known for high yielding, high production vineyards. However, this fruit is especially selected for its quality.

This wine is super bright, fresh, and pure. It is all about the fruit; red and black cherry, pomegranate. The wine is lively, with an appealing texture. Fine tannins lead to a balanced finish.

This Unico Zelo is a medium-bodied wine, great for summer, and at great value.

Score: 90/++

Joshua Cooper Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir

 I am not a big fan of new wineries putting out wines at big prices without a history of success. However, at this winery, success is coming quickly. Just recently, Joshua Cooper has been named best new winery in the Halliday guide for 2024. But it is not exactly without history. Joshua Cooper is the son of Alan Cooper of Cobaw Ridge, the established winery in the Macedon Ranges. It has to be said, though, that while Joshua gained experience in this region, father and son do not necessarily see eye to eye, when it comes to winemaking. Anyway, today I am tasting the 2019 Joshua Cooper Ray-Monde Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Ray-Monde is a grower vineyard at 400m elevation between Sunbury and Macedon. The soil is poor, with bluestone rock prominent. Gravelly ironstone and basaltic clay form the soil.

The wine is very fragrant on the nose. Black cherry, kirsch, licorice, and earthy flavours combine in an ethereal texture. The wine is more linear than voluptuous, with excellent drive and energy. Fine tannins round out the sophisticated composition of this medium-bodied wine (12.5% alcohol) before it finishes medium plus. Macedon has delivered again.

Score: 95/+++

 

Philip Shaw No19 Sauvignon Blanc

The 2023 Philip Shaw No19 Sauvignon Blanc is an attempt to produce a wine more like a Sancerre than a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Did he succeed?

The starting point is good, high altitude at 900 meters, short maturation in mostly used French oak. The colour is pale straw.

But still, on the palate, it immediately hits me with gooseberry. The wine is crisp, with some citrus flavours, and not herbaceous. The texture is finer than many New Zealand examples, and the finish is fresh and smooth. However, the gooseberry flavours make it a new world wine. They are too strong for me.

Score: 89/0  

 

Hirsch Vineyards Horizontal Tasting

 I was attracted to Hirsch Vineyards for a couple of reasons. It is not located in the heart of Sonoma, where Pinot Noirs can be big and bold, but rather at Sonoma Coast, where the climate is cooler and wetter. And Secondly, because the owners have gone through a big effort to identify individual blocks which have different soil and aspect characteristics, and are bottled separately. The last few days, I compared three of their wines from 2016.

The first wine I review here is the best of barrels 2016 Reserve. As is often the case with best of barrels wines, this wine is overdone, in my view. The wine has good concentration of red and black cherry fruit, but it is not very precise or differentiated. It shows some fruit ripeness, but also green components. The tannins are dry and long before the wine finishes firm, but a little dull.

Score: 90/0

Then I look at the 2016 East Ridge. The peculiar aspect of this steep sloped vineyard is that two thirds of the vines have phylloxera. The owners say it is very carefully managed, and I quite like this wine, particularly on the second day. It is more restrained than the Reserve with red cherry and savoury earthy flavours. The wine has better balance overall, but the tannins are still quite plucky.

Score: 92/+

The third wine is the 2016 Block 8, regarded by the owners as their grand cru. There are concentrated red fruits on the palate, but the overriding feature is the high level of acidity, backed by firm tannins. Again, I did not find this wine all that pleasing to drink.

Score: 91/0

While the wines are not bad, I found this tasting experience disappointing. I did not see the terroir coming through all that much, and I missed any kind of enchantment I like to associate with good Pinot Noir.

 

Two Leading Australian Pinot Noirs

 It is interesting to compare these two leading Australian Pinot Noirs I drank this week, even though they are of different age. They are the two brands with international Pinot Noir reputation.

Firstly, the 2020 Bass Phillip Estate Pinot Noir. Since the ownership change, the label is a little different; old vines is added. Is the wine different? This Pinot Noir is full-bodied, with flamboyant red and black cherry flavours. The wine is quite fruity, delivering a big mouthfeel, but there are also earthy notes, and smoky and salty flavours. This is quite Burgundian in a Vosne-Romanée style. The silky tannins have appeal, and the aromatic and expanding finish is excellent. The wine is 

perhaps a bit fruity, but it has other attractive elements. It certainly tastes like a Bass Phillip of old.

Score: 94/++

The 2017 By Farr Sangreal Pinot Noir is also big fruited, with dark cherry and black fruited jam flavours. It is also quite savoury. This wine certainly packs a punch, maybe a bit too much, but the fine grained tannins compensate. The wine shows an attractive salinity and a long finish. It is ultimately well composed, and would appeal to Shiraz drinkers.

Score: 94/++

In terms of international recognition, these two wines would certainly come across as Australian wines, bigger fruited than Burgundy. The expanding finish is a hallmark of Bass Phillip, and only the best Burgundies show this well. There are aspects which could improve before I would call these world- class, but they are excellent examples of how far Australian Pinot Noir has come.

Picq Chablis

 If you like crisp, clean, linear, but flavoursome Chablis, tasting of citrus rind, oyster shell, minerality and salt, this 2021 Picq Chablis is for you. This wine delivers a no nonsense Chablis, no diversion, no oak, natural yeast. It is utterly delicious.

Gilbert Picq & ses Fils is a small estate of about 14ha, comprising hillside vineyards near the town of Chicée. Some of the vineyards have a lot of small stones and no clay. The resulting wines tend to be crisp, chalky, and tinglingly mineral. 

This wine will easily age for ten years. Seek it out.

Score: 93/+++ 

 

Casanova Di Neri Tenuta Nuova Brunello

 I am not a big drinker of Brunello, but recently the 2016 Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova impressed me.

The palate is quite complex: red and black cherry, blood orange, chocolate, forest floor and a little bit of spice. This is a big wine, but quite pure, nicely packaged in firm acidity and dry tannins. This wine is powerful and elegant at the same time.

Score: 96/+++

 

Bordeaux Style Blends New Zealand

 The last post in the series of premium wines from New Zealand looks at quite an eclectic group of Bordeaux style blends from the North Island.

Three wines stood out from this line-up. My favourite wine was the 2019 Church Road TOM from Hawke's Bay, the predominant region of Bordeaux style wines in New Zealand. This Cabernet Merlot delivers red cherry and blackberry fruit flavours against a background of smoky notes. This is an elegant wine with soft tannins and a long finish. It is the most expensive of the wines reviewed here (96/+++ points).

Not far behind is the 2020 Man O' War Ironclad Merlot blend. This winery from Waiheke Island is going from strength to strength. It has a similar fruit profile to the previous wine. The wine is quite big and intense, while still elegant. It delivers attractive lifted notes on the finish (95/+++ points).

I also enjoyed the 2018 Paritua 21.12 from Hawke's Bay. This is a Cabernet blend with a similar tasting profile to the Church Road. The wine has medium concentration, and is elegant with silky tannins and a satisfying finish (95/+++ points).

The 2019 Te Motu Cabernet blend is fresh, with redcurrant flavours, a bit confected. This is a relatively straight forward, smooth wine (92/+ points).

Also from Waiheke Island is the 2017 Tantalus Ecluse Reserve, another Cabernet blend. This wine has medium concentration. It is a harmonious wine, but a bit bland (92/+ points).

Overall, Bordeaux style wines have come a long way in New Zealand. The blends are sophisticated, seamless, and elegant. They should certainly be considered as alternatives to Pinot Noir.

Powell & Son GSM

Powell & Son did not exist for long. David Powell is now Neldner Road, and Callum is Agricola. When David Powell was winemaker at Torbreck, he sometimes mentioned that making GSM was his favourite, in particular the Steading. This 2018 Powell & Son GSM is very similar.

The Grenache flavours of strawberry and red cherry dominate the front palate. Then the sweet core of Shiraz plum fruit takes over, and finally the savoury flavours of the Mataro. This is all seamless and well integrated. The wine delivers a full mouthfeel. It is generous and balanced, not overblown and not complicated. Firm tannins and enough acidity deliver a solid structure.

Score: 93/+++

 

New Zealand Chardonnay

 No grape variety in New Zealand can match Sauvignon Blanc by volume, but when we talk quality, it is a different story. Here are four New Zealand Chardonnays from excellent producers.

Kumeu River, from the unlikely Auckland region, has been making outstanding Chardonnays for many years. The 2022 Kumeu River Hunting Hill Chardonnay is continuing this 'tradition'. The wine delivers an elegant mouthfeel with a palate of stone fruit, melon, and peach. This wine delivers an excellent blend between body and acidity (95/++ points).

The 2022 Felton Road Block 2 Chardonnay has a lighter texture, very fine, with excellent oak integration. The finish is very long (95/++ points).

Quite expensive is the 2018 Bell Hill Chardonnay from North Canterbury. It is very interesting on the palate: Green apple fruit mixed with herbal and grassy notes. It is interesting, but not quite my favourite taste (94/+ points).  

I was a bit disappointed with the 2022 Neudorf Rosie's Block Amphora Chardonnay. The fruit profile is similar to the Kumeu River, but the wine is less precise, and the finish a little bland (91/0 points).