Larnook Grenache Gris

 

Here is another terrific value wine made from the seldom seen in Australia Grenache Gris grape. The 2024 Larnook Grenache Gris combines lightness and freshness with more textural elements, often found in southern Rhône whites. White flower, apple, and almond flavours combine to an appealing mouthfeel. The lively acidity delivers a crisp finish. 30% of the wine has been matured (for a short time) in oak.

Score: 93/+++ 

Miraval Rosé

 

In Asia, I enjoyed the Miraval Côtes de Provence Rosé, as did many others. The domaine and winery has a glamorous history. There is a recording studio, where Sting recorded, and Pink Floyd laid down tracks for The Wall album. I think they once released a wine called Pink Floyd. In 2011, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt bought the Domaine and 50% of the wine business. Their share was sold to a Russian vodka business in 2021. However, the other 50% is owned by the Perrin family of Château Beaucastel fame. Marc Perrin is responsible for winemaking.

While the wine would fit into the pale Rosés of Provence, it is not pale to oblivion. Equally, it is not hearty, like some Barossa Rosés. Colour and flavour add up to a nice balance of this easy drinking style. The grapes are Cinsault, Grenache, Rolle, and Shiraz. Roses and strawberry flavours, backed by some citrus zest, deliver a refreshing mouthfeel. Natural acidity keeps the mouth fresh and dry and the minerality on the finish invites you to another glass.

Score: 92/+++

Three Value Chardonnays

 It is not a secret that the quality of moderately priced Australian Chardonnays has gone up dramatically in the last few years. They are now perhaps the best value proposition in the world. This is in particular true for Chardonnays from the Yarra Valley. Here are three I recently tried.

The first is the 2021 Wheeler Electric Lines Chardonnay. This is the first time I come across this producer, and I am very impressed. This fresh wine of citrus flavours is quite tight and linear in a modern style. The wine has good depth and bright acidity. There is minerality on the pretty long finish, like a classy Chablis.

Score: 94/+++

The 2024 Hoddles Creek Chardonnay is much better known. This wine  is broader and quite fruity, and fills the mouth with its citrus and pear flavours, and ends nicely on a mineral finish. It is very young now, and would be a better drink in a year's time.

Score: 90/+

The 2024 Giant Steps Chardonnay is a little superior, in my opinion. It does have intensity of citrus and stone fruits, but matches this with a good drive down the palate. This is a smooth wine with a crisp finish, but not as good value as the other two.

Score: 92/++

Cabernet's from Margaret River and Hawke's Bay

 

It was difficult to come to generalized conclusions in a recent comparison tasting of Cabernet's from Margaret River and Hawke's Bay. The wines varied wildly in age, grape composition, and screw cap vs. cork also made a difference.

The two Gimblett Gravels wines from Hawke's Bay, the 2021 Tom by Church Road, and the 2013 Sophia by Craggy Range, were full-bodied, with the Sophia quite rich and dense, whereas the 2021 Tom was more red fruited with a silky finish. New oak was significant in both wines.

In contrast, the Te Mata Coleraine comes from vineyards near Havelock North, with a different soil profile. This shows in the wine, which is a bit lighter, savoury, and higher levels of acidity. 

The Margaret River wines were very different from each other. The 2014 Woodlands 'Matthew' is quite open and fruit oriented, the 2008 Howard Park 'Abercrombie' was surprisingly sweet and ripe, whereas the 2005 Diana Madeline from Cullen impressed with its complex palate of various fruits, licorice, dark chocolate and earthy notes.

I could not draw any generalizations from this comparison, maybe other than 'when wines come from similar climates, it is down to the winemaker'.

Woodlands 'Margaret' Cabernet Blend

 The 'Margaret' Cabernet Blend comes from the estate block where these vines were planted in 1990. A couple of days ago I tasted the 2019 Woodlands 'Margaret' Cabernet Blend. This wine is always around 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, and so it is in 2019. The rest is Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

The red and blackcurrant fruit is very smooth. It is not overly concentrated, but with enough intensity, leading to an elegant mouthfeel. There is a savoury character to this wine as well, almost like a forest floor Pinot Noir character. The tannins are smooth, and the wine surprises with a long finish.

Score: 94/+++

Prowein, Day 3, Final

 The afternoon of day three was a mix of tastings, with some absolute highlights. It started with some wines from Argentina. First I tasted some wines of Colomé, the winery with vineyards with the highest elevation in the world. The 2022 El Arenal, with fruit grown at an altitude of 2700m was the highlight. The concentrated Malbec fruit is pure and intense, yet elegant and with good energy. The extreme is the 2019 Altura Maxima, from a vineyard at 3100m. I enjoyed the fruit here as well, but the tannins were quite blocky.

Then I tasted wines from Familia Zucchardi.I never really warmed to them, and this afternoon was not different. The 2023 Poligonos was fresh, but simple. The 2020 Altamira lacked depth. The 2022 Amphora was fresh and fruity. And the 2021 Piedra Infinita had good fruit intensity, backed by firm and dominant tannins.

In a strange way, I lost my notes on Norton, El Enemigo, and Alta Vista, but I remember I was very impressed with the Norton Privada.

Craggy Range showcased its premium wines. The 2022 80% Merlot based Sophia is excellent. The wine has a strong fruit profile. It is very balanced, and long on the finish. I preferred it to the flagship  2022 Le Sol, which has a very soft profile. It is a well rounded wine, but lacked some acidic backbone, in my opinion. The 2022 Te Kahu, a Cabernet based blend, is also a strong wine, with firm tannins and good length.

Australia did not have a major presence, but Yalumba showed their most prestigious wines. The 2020 Octavius came across as a little sweet and broad. The 2020 Caley is a big wine. It is more red fruited, and a bit alcoholic on the finish. The 2023 Centenary, which does not see any oak, was very young and a bit confected - overall, I was a bit disappointed.

Then I tasted some South African wines. This was interesting to me. I have not been exposed to these wines since the late 1980s, when I traveled there a bit. The red wines were fashioned along Bordeaux, but did not quite make it, with earthy notes often overwhelming. I now had a chance to revisit the same producers, after a break of 35(!) years or so.

I started with the well known Rust en Vrede. I liked their 2022 Syrah. The inclusion of 30% whole bunch made this quite an elegant wine. I also enjoyed the 2022 Cabernet. This wine showed the earthiness of years gone by, but in this case it just added to the complexity of the palate and was not dominant. The soft tannins lead to a long finish. I found the 2021 Estate wine, a Cabernet/Shiraz blend, and perhaps the flagship wine, less appealing.

Then it was on to Kanonkop. The 2021 Paul Sauer is a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated Bordeaux blend. This wine drank really easy - quite a crowd pleaser. The 2022 black label Pinotage, South Africa’s signature wine, was my preference.

The last stop was at Meerlust, probably my favourite 35 years ago. I tasted three reds from 2021, with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon leading varieties respectively. These wines were good, but perhaps not as polished and balanced as they could have been. The 2022 Rubicon, their flagship wine, was more elegant and my pick from Meerlust.

Overall, the South African wines I tasted were quite attractive and an improvement over what (little) I knew. I am looking forward to taste more of these wines when I will be back in South Africa later in the year.

My final tastes provided an absolute highlight. I stumbled over the wines of Wine & Soul from the Douro, which I previously could not find. These were gorgeous wines. The 2022 Pintas, from 90 year old vines, is the standout. This is a field blend of more than 30 varieties, with Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo) the largest contributor. This is quite a big wine, with a lot of complexity. It makes an elegant statement, and is not overripe. I also like the 2023 Character a lot. The fruit comes from vines surrounding the Pintas vineyard. This wine is a bit less concentrated, with a beautiful palate. The fruit is dark, with balanced acidity leading to a refreshing finish. The 2022 Manoella, from a different vineyard, but in eyesight, is based on Tinta Francisca. This is a somewhat lighter wine, very elegant, with silky tannins. After Vietti, these were my favourite wines at Prowein. They are now available in Australia as well.

These three days were quite full on. I hope I did not bore you too much with the many, but quite brief reviews. It was meant to highlight the variety of what was on offer, and I only scratched the surface.

 

Prowein, Day 3, Part 1

 On the final day, I am starting with some Grüner Veltliner from Austria. I compared the wines from Bründlmayer, Nigl, and Pichler Krutzler. The quality of these wines was very high. The wines impressed with their line down the palate, floral and apple flavours, spice, and salinity. The soil is mostly rock and slate. These wines were fresh, and in general, I would say, vastly underrated. I tasted the 2023 Loiserberg and Vogelsang Grüners from Bründlmayer, the 2023 Pellingen from Nigl, and the 2024 Ried Superin and Ried Kellerberg, as well as the 2023 Pfaffenberg from Pichler Krutzler. I found it difficult to pick a favourite. I liked them all.

Then I was off to the French pavilion. It was disappointing; no Bordeaux, no Burgundy to speak of. Is the effect of the arrogance still not biting, at least in Bordeaux? Larger tasting set-ups were all empty - depressing. I ended up with a couple of mixed Rhône tastings.

The first was a large tasting of wines by the Perrin family, best known for their Beaucastel wine. The two wines which stood out were the 2022 Famille Perrin Les Chapouins, a single vineyard Chateâuneuf, and the better known 2022 Château de Beaucastel. The former wine is a GSM blend of old vines, expressing power and intensity, held in by firm tannins. The latter is a blend of up to 30 varieties. The fruit is quite beautiful, and the wine a bit lighter on its feet, with a long finish. I concluded that the Northern Rhône wines from Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph were less successful. Quite a special wine was the 2022 Château de Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin. This is an expensive wine, with the Mourvedre grape dominant. It is dark fruited, round and balanced, not harsh as Mourvedre can be.

The second tasting was Jaboulet. I found the four wines I tasted disappointing. They were either quite light or a bit ‘dirty’ in the mouth. These wines were a 2022 Crozes-Hermitage, a 2021 Saint-Joseph,  a 2018 Talabert, and a 2018 Hermitage.

Phew! One afternoon to go.

Prowein, Day 2, Part 2

 The few other Italian wines I tasted could not match the Barolos from earlier on. The 2021 Cepparello by Isole e Olena had beautiful kirsch flavours and decent length on the palate, but was not outstanding. The 2019 Frescobali Castelgiocondo Brunello, from this acclaimed vintage, included nice mocca flavours and good intensity with firm dry tannins, but again, not outstanding. The 2020 Luce Brunello was lighter in the mouth, but quite tannic.

Of these other wines, I preferred the Fontodi wines. The 2021 Vigna del Sorbo was elegant, with good depth and some interesting herbal notes, while otherwise quite ripe. The 2021 Flaccianello delivered typical mocca flavours with good intensity and drive.

Then it was time to go to the Spanish pavilion. First stop was Capellanes from Ribera del Duero. The wines were a mixed experience. I found the 2021 Reserva oaky, a bit rough and alcoholic. My preference was for the 2021 Un Sueno, from vineyards at 1100m altitude. This Tempranillo was very dark, with great fruit purity and elegance. The 2020 Picon is a big wine, full-bodied and oaky.

The second winery from Ribera del Duero was Cepa 21. The 2022 Malabrigo, grown on rocky soil, was fresh and complex, with the finish a bit unbalanced. I also tasted the low yielding 2020 Hortago.

Unfortunately, I only managed to taste two wines from Muga, the Rioja superstar.. The 2016 Prado Enea Gran Reserva was dark, with a good fruit profile, and the noticeable oak well integrated. I preferred the 2021 Muga Torre. The wine comes from 40-90 year old vines. It is a concentrated Tempranillo, built out in French oak, with an elegant mouthfeel. It gives this deceiving lightness impression, which I feel only old vines can do - excellent.

I could not find the Louis Sebra wines when tasting wines from Portugal, but I found the wines this afternoon, tucked away behind others. Luis Sebra was there himself. These Douro wines are different from most, not coming out of a Port tradition. My word for the 2022 Albariño Granito Cru Vinho Verde; simply exuberant. The 2022 Xisto Cru Branco is a high altitude wine from schist and granite, with many varieties. This citrus flavoured wine is similar to the very good Niepoort whites. The first red was the 2022 Mono C Castelão. This is a very different wine from the full-bodied typical Douro red. This wine, from the Castelão variety, is very light on its feet, matured in concrete, quite easy drinking, a bit like an easy drinking Grenache. The 2022 Xisto Cru Red comes from high altitude vineyards. It delivers more traditional flavours, and is complex on the palate. The 2022 Mono A is a single varietal wine from Dão. It is floral and quite light. Overall, this was an interesting and different set of wines from one of Portugal’s most innovative winemakers.

What a day!