Underestimate or Overestimate

 Growing grapes and making wine is obviously a challenging business and developments can be quite dynamic. Part of this dynamic is the 'discovery' of new wine making areas or regions. Over the last couple of days I tasted two wines from very different regions which both are not necessarily new, but have grown in significance over the last few years. The two wines were a 2020 Chacra Pinot Noir from Patagonia, Argentina, and a 2019 Tertini Pinot Noir from the Southern Highlands, New South Wales.  

Chacra has taken a very serious approach, including bio-dynamics and organics, since starting their journey in 2004. Obviously, they impressed the wine world and have achieved glowing reviews. My first experience has been with the 2020 Chacra Cincuenta Y Cinco Pinot Noir, obviously from a vineyard started in 1955. The palate shows strawberry and red and black cherry flavours, as well as licorice and herbal flavours. The wine is quite elegant and balanced, but it lacks a bit of interest in its texture. The tannins are mild, and the finish is medium.

While this wine is certainly a good Pinot Noir, it is not outstanding, and certainly not as exciting as the reputation preceding it. While the climate is quite suitable for Pinot Noir, the soil composition of pebbles and clay may not deliver the drive and intensity I had hoped for.

Score: 92/+

The Southern Highlands south of Sydney do not really rate as a premium wine growing region among most wine enthusiasts. Its preeminent winery is Tertini. I recently tried the 2019 Tertini Yaraandoo Vineyard Pinot Noir. The vines are still quite young, planted in 2000, but the vineyard, sitting at an altitude of over 700 meters, is highly regarded.

The wine is quite perfumed on the nose. Dark cherry flavours dominate the palate. This is a light to medium, clearly cool climate Pinot Noir. What this wine has, a bit in contrast to the Chacra, is drive, a great texture, and a long finish. This is not the most complex of wines, but it drinks beautifully with an excellent Pinot Noir typicity. 

Score: 94/+++ 

P.S.: A reader has pointed out to me that the winery has closed. A Canberra article mentioned the winery is closed since 2023 due to a lack of succession. This is a real shame. I am wondering what is happening to the vineyard shown in the picture.

Tertini Wines

 Tertini is located in the Southern Highlands, NSW, and it deserves more recognition. I visited 18 months ago, and have now come back for a second look. Last time, I reported that the strength of this winery is in Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. This turned out to be the case in this tasting as well. 

The 2019 Tertini Riesling has 8g of residual sugar. It delivers a bit of sweetness, but essentially adds more interest to the palate, which delivers citrus and some honey flavours. The wine remains crisp, with well balanced acidity and a dry finish (93 points).

The 2019 Pinot Blanc is a clean wine, texture orientated, and a good food wine. The finish is a little flat (90 points).

I tasted their two Chardonnays, which provide an interesting contrast in styles. The 2018 Tasmanian Chardonnay is very fresh, citrus focussed, and very dry. This is a typical modern Australian cool climate Chardonnay. I found it a bit lean, but well made (92 points). The 2019 Southern Highlands Chardonnay in contrast goes through 100% malolactic fermentation and sees 40% new oak. This is a  wine with a rounder mouthfeel. Citrus, melon, and pineapple flavours deliver complexity on the palate (93 points). 

The 2019 Southern Highlands Pinot Noir is an attractive wine with a light touch. There is a small amount of whole bunch (12%) in this wine. Red cherry, five spice, mushroom, and forest floor flavours deliver a typical good quality Pinot Noir flavour, on a light frame in this case, defying the 13.1% alcohol (94 points).

The other red varieties I tasted, a Nebbiolo from Hilltops (very Pinot Noir like), a Corbena Amarone, and a Lagrein (Northern Italian variety) create some curiosity value, but do not reach the quality of the other reviewed wines. 

Tertini Lagrein

 On to the second exotic. It is perhaps less exotic, as Lagrein is a Northern Italian variety. The name is Austrian, and it originates from Tyrol. I call it exotic, because it is not well known, even in Italy, and much less in Australia. This wine is produced by Tertini, an Italian family wine company in the Southern Highlands. The Southern Highlands themselves are not well known for premium wines, but Tertini stands out, and I encourage people to try their wines.

The 2018 Tertini Lagrein tastes of black cherry, sour cherry and herbs (not because of unripe). This is a medium-bodied wine with quite an attractive flavour profile. The acidity is very high, and would not be everybody's cup of tea. Tannins are medium, and the finish is very soft.

This wine needs time to mellow, and the ageing potential is good.

Score: 91/0 

The Last Bottle Of The First Wine

 Tertini is a winery which should be on your radar. Its home is the Southern Highlands. I reviewed some of its wines a little while ago. It is nice when there is a story associated with the wine you are drinking. Often it would involve you in relation to the wine. This one is different. This story writes itself.

I am drinking the last bottle of the first wine of Tertini, a 2005 Tertini Riesling. It was generously given to me by the winery. Amazingly, the colour of this high altitude wine is still green/golden after 15 years.

This is a remarkable wine. Citrus is prominent on the palate. The wine is still fresh, with lime peel and honeycomb flavours. Acidity keeps the wine lively, and on the back palate, lanolin or petrol flavours emerge. The mouthfeel is very satisfying, with this complexity. Love this wine.

Score: 95/+++

Southern Highlands Wines

The wineries of the Southern Highlands are the closest to Sydney. Yet I must admit I had not visited there before. I am sure the same is true for many Sydney wine lovers. And there are some valid reasons. It is a relatively new region, started in the 1990s, I think. Many original vineyards were managed by hobby farmers with a focus on selling as many grapes as possible. And the volumes are small. Yet, the attraction is cool climate and an elevation of 500m plus. In the meantime, some wineries have become serious about quality. I visited two; Artemis and Tertini.

The focus of Artemis is on Pinot Noir with a sloped 3ha home vineyard started in 1996 on sandstone and clay soil. However, there are many different wines on offer, based on purchased fruit. The Sparkling Riesling, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc were all quite attractive with typical varietal character. These wines had good drive and well-known acidity for the area. The 20% oak fermented portion in the Sauvignon Blanc added additional interest.

The 2018 Pinot Noir from purchased fruit had a slightly brown tinge. It is fruit forward with licorice and earthy notes being quite prominent - a strange, I would say slightly faulty wine. The tasting highlight was the 2016 Artemis Close Vine Pinot Noir from the home vineyard, planted from 760 to 710m elevation. The yield is 800g per vine, half of the other Pinot Noir. There are pretty red cherry flavours, some creaminess and excellent acidity in this wine. It was matured in used 350 l french barrels (92 points).  

Artemis produces a number of full bodied reds. The 2017 Petit Verdot is blue fruited and quite tannic. The Southern Highlands are not ideally suited for these varieties. Maybe in 2100?

Tertini produces an even wider range of wines, but some are from Tasmania and Tumbarumba.

The 2015 Riesling from the Southern Highlands is excellent. The citrus flavours are flanked by subtle acidity. There is enticing minerality on the back palate, overall a complex mouthfeel (93 points). The 2018 Chardonnay is equally good. This wine is fresh and pure, with  white peach the dominant flavour. It delivers a well-rounded mouthfeel (93 points). 

The highlight was the comparison of the Southern Highland Pinot Noir and the Tasmanian Pinot Noir. The 2018 Southern Highlands Pinot Noir has a surprisingly dark colour. It includes 20% whole bunch. It is a fruit driven wine with red and black cherry flavours, and quite a firm structure (92 points). The wine of the day (maybe unfortunate?) goes to the 2017 Tertini Tasmanian Pinot Noir. It won a trophy there against Tolpuddle and all others. It is a very elegant wine, with a slightly orange colour. On the palate, cherry, strawberry and raspberry flavours seek your attention. Some creaminess rounds out the complex flavour profile (94 points).  

Overall, there is great potential, already partly realized, in the Southern Highlands for Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. The production of full-bodied reds is a distraction. It is part insurance policy, part to satisfy stranded Shiraz drinkers, but in the end, these wineries need to focus on those varieties that do best in the region.

Tertini Pinot Noir Reserve

The 2009 Tertini Pinot Noir Reserve is the first ever wine I tasted from the Southern Highlands (snob!). I approached this very skeptically despite a recommendation from a trusted friend - in fact, he gave me the bottle. I was in for a surprise.

This wine is medium-bodied, with red cherry flavours and attractive underlying secondary forest floor contributions. The tannins are quite fine, providing a lengthy finish. While the structure seems solid, the wine (and its colour) is quite developed. Better drink now, while it is so attractive.

This Pinot Noir can hold its own in any serious line-up. I never expected this from a Southern Highlands wine. I know nothing about this winery, but I think a visit is on the cards.

Score: 92/++