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/+++ 

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.

Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Shiraz

The wines of Clarendon Hills are a conundrum. Roman Bratasiuk, who founded the winery in 1990, is playing at opposite ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, he takes advantage of his great vineyard sites in Blewitt Springs and Clarendon, which allow him to produce powerful, yet elegant Shiraz and Grenache. On the other hand, he started his business when Robert Parker's influence was at his peak. Making wine for his palate has allowed the shy Mr. Bratasiuk to direct the majority of his wines to the US for many years. I have found his wines very variable for my palate.

The 2016 Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Grenache was offered to me at an incredible price. I could not say no. Maybe I should have been warned.

The aroma is perfumed and quite strong. On the palate, ripe raspberry and stewed prune flavours hit the palate hard. The Grenache grape has the habit of hitting a peak in ripening quite suddenly, and then goes into overripe territory quickly. In this wine, I suggest, the best picking time was missed. The wine is intense, but overripe, thereby missing any nuances. One glass was all I could manage, and this with difficulty.

Score: 84/--  

 

Pinot Noir And Other Highlights

 At a recent tasting, I tasted predominantly Pinot Noir, but also some other interesting wines.

Rippon just found out that its Gamay labelled wine is in fact Pinot Noir; a bit embarassing. And do not be afraid if you cannot tell, the winemakers apparently can't either. I tasted the three key Pinot Noirs. The 2020 'Rippon' Estate wine is very perfumed and quite light. It is an easy drink, quite elegant, with strawberry and red cherry flavours (91 points) . 'Emma's Block' sits at the bottom of the vineyard, just above the lake, facing east. This wine has a similar profile, but a bit more intensity (93 points). 'Tinker's Field' sits right next to it, with the oldest vines from 1986, and north facing. This wine is a bit darker, with a piercing drive and a long finish. Elegance is the key here as well (94 points). The Rippon wines are expensive, and while they are well made, they lack power (for me). I would look elsewhere.

From Tasmania I tasted the 2023 Dr Edge Tasmania Pinot Noir. This is a bright and fruity wine with red cherry and some undergrowth flavours. It fills the mouth nicely, but is a bit forward (92 points).  The 2018 Moorilla 'Muse' is a different proposition. This is a much more complex wine, dominated by red cherry fruit and vanilla from the oak. This is an elegant wine with good length, but too much oak, which is a concern after six years (92 points). Ossa made quite a splash with its new Pinot Noirs from fairly young vines. The 2022 Pinot Noir has red and black cherry flavours, intense on the front palate. The wine is quite fruity, but is helped with elegant tannins and a minor oak influence (93 points).

The wine of the tasting, however, was the 2022 Bondar Clarendon Shiraz. The wine comes from one of Australia's best Shiraz vineyards, the Hickinbotham vineyard in Clarendon, McLaren Vale. The wine is surprisingly blue fruited, fresh, but with good intensity, silky tannins, and a long, satisfying finish (95 points). 

The real surprise (as I expected) were the Dão wines from António Madeira. These wines taste like nothing we have in Australia, and they have personality. The 2020 DãoVinhas Velhas Branco is an interesting white wine, quite full-flavoured (there is some skin contact), tasting of tropical fruit and kumquat (I have never seen this as a descriptor; it is meant to describe complex citrus). The light touch oak is well integrated, and the finish is firm (92 points). The 2019 Dão Vinhas Velhas Tinto is quite a light red, tasting of raspberry and pomegranate; some dark fruits as well. It also has pleasant earthy flavour, spice, and a soft mouthfeel (92 points). The 2019 Dão Vinha da Serra is a step up. It is António Madeira's top vineyard at 600m of altitude based on granite. The raspberry and cranberry flavours are delicate, fresh and elegant, yet quite intense and powerful. Dry tannins lead to a long finish (95 points).

 

Bekkers Syrah

 Bekkers is a boutique producer with a focus on the northern, hilly parts of McLaren Vale, and a meticulous focus on Shiraz and Grenache. Toby Bekkers operates at the premium end of the market.

The 2018 Bekkers Syrah delivers layers of fruit on the palate, blackberry and forest berries. There are also tobacco notes and licorice. The wine is focused and intense, without being overbearing. It is quite savoury on the back palate, a really interesting wine. There is good energy, before firm tannins lead to a medium plus finish.

The wine is quite balanced, and I would happily drink more than one glass. My score would have been even higher, if the level of elegance (which is not bad) had stood up even more to the fruit weight.

Score: 95/+++

 

Yangarra Rosé

 Yangarra grows all Rhône varieties on its estate. No wonder their Rosé is made in the Provence style with a very pale colour.

But do not be fooled if you plan to drive. This 2023 Yangarra Rosé has 13.0% alcohol. I do not get much on the nose. Purity and freshness are the main impressions on the palate. Flavours of strawberry and pink apple are quite restrained. The wine would work well with a light salad or salmon mousse. If you like your Rosé with low flavour impact, this well made wine is for you. 

Score: 88/+

Yangarra Piquepoul

 Piquepoul Blanc is mainly grown in the Southern Rhône and in Languedoc. It is predominantly blended into Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but the percentages are very low. It was first introduced in Australia in 2017. As there is more of a tendency for single varietal wines in Australia, you see this variety now displayed on bottles from McLaren Vale. Coriole was an early leader.

Now it has been picked up by the cannot do wrong Peter Fraser of Yangarra. Is it a worth while effort? I suggest it is. The 2023 Yangarra Piquepoul is a pale green in the glass. It gives fragrant aromas away on the nose.

On the palate, it is a fresh wine, with light pear flavours, good drive, minerality, and a little sweetness on the finish. It tastes a bit like a less serious Chablis. This wine should be drunk quite cool - excellent for summer lunch, in particular salads and also oysters.

Score: 89/++ 

 

2023 Penfolds Collection

 What Penfolds presents in August is quite a collection these days: 25 wines in fact. In addition, there is a Chinese wine (not available in Australia yet), and some cheaper wines, such as the terribly named Max wines.

I taste nine of their new releases at a new event, Penfolds Transcend. The wines are narrated on screen by Steph Dutton, Penfold's red winemaker, who will succeed Peter Gago, in my view. It was efficient and worked well. 

The 2023 Bin 51 Eden Valley Riesling is a good Riesling with white flower aromas, and citrus and melon flavours. The wine has good drive and a mineral finish, a well executed, typical Riesling from Eden Valley (92 points).

The 2022 Reserve Bin A from the Adelaide Hills can be funky and spectacular in some years. This is not one of those. Apple blossom notes on the nose are followed by apple custard and pear flavours. This is quite a soft, opulent wine with good length and a wet stone finish (92 points).

The 2022 Bin 23 Pinot Noir is now exclusively made from Tasmanian fruit. There are quite a few flavours on the palate like strawberry, dark and sour cherry, cranberry. The key feature, however, are the firm dry tannins. This wine is not yet quite in the Penfolds DNA (92 points).

Then we come to the 2021 Bin 28 Shiraz, Penfold's workhorse. This is a rich wine with plum and mocca flavours, a bit of five spice as well. The core of this robust wine is quite sweet and juicy (93 points).

The 2020 FWT (French Wine Trial) 585 is a Bordeaux blend, Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. Blackberry, chocolate and licorice are the dominant flavours. There are savoury notes as well. Overall, the mouthfeel is soft and a little lean: more Bordeaux than Penfolds (92 points). 

The Bin 704 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley is the much more powerful wine of course. It has excellent blackberry fruit purity. It has great balance between fruit and savoury flavours and finishes on fine grained tannins (94 points).

An absolute highlight was the 2021 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz. There are layers of dark berries; blueberry, blackberry, mulberry. Roasted meat flavours and spice add to complexity. The wine is seamless between the Cabernet and the Shiraz fruit, and fruit and savoury flavours. This dry wine,  is concentrated, yet can be enjoyed now. This is probably the best 389 I have ever tasted (97 points).  

The 2019 Grange is immediately recognizable. Blackberry and blue fruit, licorice, black olive and charcoal form the core. This is an intense wine with great depth, yet it is fresh and smooth. It is already drinkable. It will probably forever live in the shadow of the 2018, but it is a great follow-up (98 points).

After tasting Grange, the concentration tends to drop. Yet, the 2021 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon deserves attention. It is full-bodied, with concentrated blackcurrant and tobacco flavours. This is an elegant wine with an extra long finish (97 points).

Tasting a range of young Penfolds wines used to be hard work. Yet this was thoroughly pleasant. The oak influence has been dialed back, and freshness has increased. 

Hickinbotham Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Hickinbotham is the sister property to Yangarra, both owned by Jackson Family Wines. It is a lot less known in Australia, as early production was almost exclusively aimed at the US market. This has, however, changed over the years. The vineyards are in immaculate condition in a prime spot of McLaren Vale. The focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

I tasted the 2019 Hickinbotham Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon a couple of days ago. It is a full-bodied, quite concentrated, ripe and thick wine of blackcurrant, plum, and charcoal flavours. The oak, high quality and mostly new, I imagine, is noticeable as well. The fruit flavours are intense, yet the wine is balanced. It is a wine on steroids you could say. A Napa wine made in Australia. I guess this was always the idea, at 10-20% of the price.

Score: 93/++

Noon Reserve Shiraz

 It has been a long time since I drank any wine from Noon, the cult producer from McLaren Vale which shot to fame in the Parker years. Has the style changed since then?

The 2015 Noon Reserve Shiraz does not indicate a change. The blackberry, dark plum, and charred meat flavours are concentrated and ripe. This is a powerful wine, but it also delivers quite an elegant mouthfeel. The gritty tannins lead to a long, but slightly unbalanced and alcoholic  (15.5%) finish. Parker lives on!

Score: 94/0 

Bekkers Grenache

 I have reviewed the 2017 Bekkers Grenache a couple of times before. Here is a little preamble. On those occasions, I rated the wine 96 and 93 points, today it will be 95. Does this mean poor assessments on my part? Studies have been done that even the most highly regarded wine critics in the world score the same wine differently at different times. How can this be? There are a number of factors. Over time, a wine will change. While it is possible to incorporate ageability in the score, it is quite impossible to predict how a wine will age, as the chemical composition is unknown. Other factors which will have an impact are the temperature of the wine, how long it has been open, any food involved, and the general mind set of the reviewer. So, here the assessment of yesterday.

This Grenache is quite dark fruited, with ripe raspberry, red and black cherry flavours. The wine is quite layered and complex. It is savoury and elegant, but with some real bite. This wine comes from vineyards not far from Yangarra, where I just reviewed the Ovitelli Grenache. But it is a real contrast to the super fine Yangarra.

This is another sophisticated wine from the Blewitt Springs/Clarendon region in McLaren Vale. It is perhaps not quite as well rounded, but I am splitting hairs here.

Score: 95/+++ 

Yangarra New Releases, Part 2

 In the red wine group, only two Grenaches featured at this tasting.

The 2021 Old Vine Grenache strikes with an intense aroma of red berry fruit. This is a big and quite fruity wine with raspberry and red cherry flavours. This wine is quite ripe, round, and soft - a real crowd pleaser one might say.

Score: 92/+

The 2021 Ovitelli Grenache could not be more different. The colour is lighter, and on the palate, this is a finer, more elegant, and quite ethereal wine. Yet the wine has good intensity, built on fine, silky tannins. The soil for this wine is deep sand, and the maceration is very gentle in ceramic eggs. This is a sensational Grenache, only medium-body, but perfectly made.

Score: 96/+++

The idea of the Shiraz tastings was to compare a recent release with an older version.

It started with the 2015 King's Wood Shiraz. This is a big and ripe wine with jammy blackberry and plum flavours. The wine has good length, but I found the finish a bit flat (91 points). The 2021 King's Wood Shiraz is a bit lighter, still dark, but the fruit spectrum has now moved to blackberry and blueberry (92 points). 

For reasons unknown, the order was switched for the Ironheart Shiraz. We tasted first the 2020 Ironheart Shiraz. This is a more impressive wine than the King's Wood, with black and blue fruits. The palate is elegant, quite soft and gentle. Savoury notes and velvety tannins deliver an appealing mouthfeel. 

Score: 94/++

This was compared to the 2014 Ironheart Shiraz. This wine was more concentrated, with deeper fruit weight and quite a long finish. The question was, was this a function of age, vintage or style difference? According to Peter Fraser, a bit of all three.

Score: 94/++

It is clear, Yangarra is moving towards more elegant wines in its reds. The latest Ovitelli Grenache and Ironheart Shiraz are quite sophisticated wines, without giving up Australian typicity of these varieties.

Yangarra New Releases, Part 1

 It makes a difference when one has an opportunity to drink a whole range of a winery's wines. You start to really understand the style. This happened to me lately when I tasted the Grace wines from Japan, and now also when I tasted the new releases from Yangarra. Let's start with the white wines.

The 2021 Yangarra Blanc is the entry level wine. It includes 5 Rhône varieties, with Grenache Blanc being in the majority. It is not a very detailed wine, but very clean, with white peach flavours, pear, and a whiff of hazelnut, although  it does not see any oak, to my knowledge. The wine is texture focussed, with a satisfying, light mouthfeel. It lingers delicately on the palate. Much more than a quaffer.

Score: 90/++

The 2021 Ovitelli Blanc is a step up. It is a blend of Grenache Blanc and Roussanne.  50% of the wine has spent more than 100 days on skins, yet the colour is quite pale. According to Peter Fraser, the winemaker, this is because the wine sees no sulphur at this stage. While sulphur is meant to purify wine, it actually binds skin colour to the wine, which is why many wines on skin are quite deep in colour. This wine is very clean and light, yet with a bigger mouthfeel than the Blanc.

Score: 92/++

The final white wine is the 2021Roux Beaute Roussanne. Minus the Grenache Blanc, this wine sings at a lower octave with more apricot flavours. Otherwise, it has the same skin treatment and  a similar feel; clean, with a good line, and a saline component. This is not a fat wine, as Roussanne can sometimes be. This is an excellent white, if you had enough Chardonnay.

Score: 94/++

The white wines have great purity and are excellent examples of texture based wines. Grenache Blanc, seldom seen in Australia, plays an attractive role.

 

Vanguardist Grenache

 In the previous post I talked about Blewitt Springs, and how suitable the area is for Grenache. Yesterday I tried one from a producer I know nothing about. It was the 2021 Vanguardist McLaren Vale Grenache. This comes from a more than 50 year old sandy vineyard.

This turned out to be quite an intriguing wine. The bouquet is very intense and aromatic.

On the palate, quite a lot is going on from the start. Raspberry flavours, licorice, herbs and savoury notes deliver a complex and quite moreish mouthfeel. But then it tastes as if the winemaker wants to avoid at all costs a confectionary flavour. This is fair enough, but it is like a meal where too many things are going on without achieving a balanced integration. The tannins are shy, and the soft finish is of medium length.

I would like to drink this in a few years and see how this wine develops.

Score: 92/+

Clarendon Hills Astralis Vertical Tasting

 I still remember a special dinner from 2008, where I paired a 1990 Grange with a 1996 Astralis. The Astralis absolutely held its own with its combination of power and elegance. Then I lost contact with this wine. The price is above every day drinking and availability is low. Yet it is an intriguing wine.

This has to do with the location. When there is talk about full-bodied Shiraz, and a comparison between the Barossa and McLaren Vale, the Barossa tends to take first place. However, the northern part of McLaren Vale, Clarendon and Blewitt Springs, may just be perfect. The area is hilly, deep sand over limestone is the dominant soil type, and warm days are split by cool nights. Shiraz and Grenache excel here, think Bekkers and Yangarra - and Clarendon Hills.

So when the opportunity came up of a vertical tasting of Astralis, the flagship wine, I jumped at it. It turned out to be a fascinating experience of vintage variation and evolving style.

100ml bottles, perfect for tasting

Going from old to new, we started with the 2008 Astralis. It was a super hot year, with 18 consecutive days above 40 degrees C. And it shows in the wine, which has a deep purple colour. The wine is opulent and rich. Ripe plum and charred meat flavours fill the mouth, with espresso and black olive added to it. The tannins are velvety and long, and deliver an overall warm mouthfeel. There is some heat on the finish of this 15.5% alcohol wine. Present acidity and structure are still holding up.

Score: 93/+

The 2011 Astralis is a complete contrast. You may remember, this was the wettest vintage since 1974. Many producers did not make wine. This wine has a lighter colour. Blue fruits, black cherry and spice, as well as menthol stimulate the palate. The tannins are firm, before the wine finishes slightly on the thin side. It is remarkable how this wine stands up after 12 years.

Score: 93/+  

These two wines saw extreme weather, but when the growing conditions are good, you get something like the 2012 Astralis. This wine delivers infinite perfume on the nose. The blackberry flavours are vibrant and spicy, with silky tannins and an elegant mouthfeel. The wine has quite a tight structure with firm tannins and an extra long finish. It turned out to be my favorite of the night.

Score: 98/+++

The 2015 Astralis, from an excellent warmer growing year, received 100 points from the Parker Wine Advocate. It is a little riper and more generous than the 2012 (which is not a shy wine). The wine is also gentle and very elegant. This is where Astralis delivers the power/elegance balance perfectly. Blueberry and blackberry fruit is more fleshy here. The typical for Astralis black olive flavour is present, and hazelnut flavours remind us that there is a good portion of new French oak (40+%?) in these wines.

Score: 97/++

2018 Astralis is from another year with ideal growing conditions. The wine is very dark, with concentrated blackberry fruit and black olive. There is some sweetness on the mid-palate which I found irritating. This is a muscular, powerful wine which needs more time to fully come together and mellow.  It shows that Astralis is made for the long haul and should not be drunk too early.

Score: 94/+

The 2020 Astralis is proof of some development in style. The founding winemaker Roman Bratasiuk (he started in 1990) is very private, with firm views. But the next generation starts to have some influence with this wine. This wine is fresher, with 1% point less alcohol. The blue fruits and espresso flavours deliver immediate well balanced complexity. The wine delivers an elegant mouthfeel with perfectly balanced acidity, drying tannins, and a very long finish.

Score: 96/+++

The challenge for the future, as I see it, will be to deliver the recent found freshness, while maintaining the fruit concentration and power, which can make this wine quite unique. 

 

Coriole Fiano

 I am not very experienced with Fiano. This 2022 Coriole Fiano is as bland as its label.

It starts with good fruit purity and flavours of green apple, pear, and grapefruit. Once the wine gets to the mid palate, it loses itself. I am not sure if it is a lack of acidity, intensity or texture. The finish is medium minus.

This is a pleasant summer drink, not very demanding. A number of wineries in McLaren Vale are pushing Fiano. I hope some more interesting wines will emerge.

Score: 86/- 

Thistledown Sands of Time Grenache

 A couple of posts ago, I reviewed a Bekkers Grenache, which was highly aromatic but lacked some secondary components. This 2020 Thisledown Sands of Time Grenache comes from the same area of Blewitt Springs, in the Northern and slightly hilly part of McLaren Vale.

This wine is highly acclaimed. It is very aromatic. The fruit flavours of strawberry and raspberry almost explode in the mouth. This is a full-bodied wine, very aromatic, with a big mouthfeel. It is powerful and concentrated with firm tannins; but again, I think some complexity is missing behind the fleshy initial impact.

Why does this wine stand out in reviews? It is always the same thing. The first impression counts, and big flavours obviously stand out. But you drink a wine like this over an evening, and there is something lacking.

The other thought that comes to mind after drinking these two wines: The wisdom in Australia is that the best Grenache is grown on sand. And yes, this produces pure and aromatic wines, but maybe not much else. In contrast the best Grenache in Châteauneuf-du-Pape is grown on the famous rock field of La Crau. Similarly, the Grenache in Priorat grows on rocky slate soil. Most of Seppeltsfields famous Grenache fruit used to go into Port, but they have now bottled some premium Grenache, which I have yet to try. This is grown on red brown clay.

The Grenache story in Australia is still in its early stages. It reminds me a bit of the Pinot Noir development 20 years ago. This wine is a promising start, and maybe I judge it a bit unfairly, as this wine is very young and will no doubt develop further.

Score: 93/0 

Bekkers Grenache

 Bekkers has increased its profile for high quality McLaren Vale wine slowly, but surely over the last few years. Today I review the 2017 Bekkers Grenache. I tasted this wine on release. This is my second look.

The wine shows a bright red colour with good depth - very appealing. It is quite fragrant on the nose, and very pretty and aromatic in the mouth. Raspberry and red cherry flavours show great purity. There is a sweetness on the mid-palate, which did not show in my original tasting, delivering a slightly confected taste. The tannins are soft, and the slightly fruity finish very long.

This ultra premium wine will not appeal to everybody. Savoury characters are lacking. The wine delivers Grenache typicity on the fruit level, but I would have enjoyed more complexity.

Score: 93/0