Torbreck RunRig

Back in Sydney, I decided to raid my cellar for a quintessential Australian red wine, the 2004 Torbreck RunRig. Torbreck has been facing a couple of headwinds, the departure of David Powell and the wine journalists drive against full-bodied Shiraz. And also, there has  been a question mark about the ageing ability of these wines.

Dealing with the last issue first, there is no problem with the age of this wine. It is not tired and drinking very well. This wine is a perfect example of a very ripe, yet lively wine. One element of this is the fact that Torbreck has access to the very best grapes in the Barossa. This wine is big, but the small Viognier component provides just the lift it needs. The blend is perfectly integrated and fills the mouth beautifully. Plum and blackberry flavours are integrated with new oak and smooth tannins. The finish is long and silky.

This is not a wine for everybody. However, it stands out as an example of a sun drenched, high quality Shiraz, which is a unique style not matched from any place in the Northern Hemisphere.

Score: 96/++ 

My Readership

I thought you might be interested who is actually reading my blog. The overall readership is continuing to increase, but the mix has changed. Until the 3rd quarter of last year, most readers came from the US and Australia, other countries came and went. Since then, France has taken over as number one, and Australia is number two. The USA has dropped to third, sometimes fourth place and actually dropped in absolute numbers. The other contender for third place is Japan. This pattern has now been stable for quite a few weeks. For some reason, I have never attracted many readers from the UK, Italy or New Zealand on a consistent basis. And then there is the occasional spike from Russia, but I don't think they are looking for wine.

Nine Hills Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is the second major white grape variety in India, next to Chenin Blanc. Nine Hills comes from the same area as the previously reviewed Big Banyan wine and is owned by Pernot Ricard.

The 2014 Nine Hills Sauvignon Blanc is a simple fruit forward wine, with citrus and grapefruit flavours on the palate. The wine is not as fruity or grassy as some New Zealand examples, which I could regard as a plus. However, there is nothing particularly interesting about this wine. It is reasonably well made and should be drunk early.

Score: 82/--

Big Banyan Wine

I find it quite hard to go for a week or even longer without wine, but when you travel to India, it is easier. For one, it is really too hot, and then maybe nothing special to look forward to?

But then, curiosity takes over. So, a couple of days ago I tried a Big Banyan Chenin Blanc. This wine comes from the centre of the Indian wine industry - which is quite new and small, the Nashik Valley. This is located at 700 meters altitude, at the foothills of the Western Ghats, 3-4 hours drive from Mumbai.

The wine has some good qualities. It is fresh, clean and dry. There is not much fruit flavour, just a little spice, and the wine is nicely balanced with a pleasant acidic finish. There are no major highlights on the palate, but this wine avoids potential downsides from a hot climate. It was a good companion to the spicy fish I had. I think I will have this again.

Score: 86/+

Vieux Telegraphe Current Releases

My tasting at Vieux Telegraphe was one of the highlights of my 'Tour de France' last year. Now Daniel Brunier, one of the two owner brothers, has come to Sydney to show his latest releases.

This tasting confirms why I like these wines so much. Half the wines were from 2013, which was not a great vintage due to the cold conditions. Yet there is a style to these wines which cuts across the different terroir, as well as different years. All red wines are Grenache dominated, yet the emphasis is not on fruit. It is on earth, minerality, vibrancy, balance, and a line leading to a smooth and satisfying finish. These wines have a personal signature.

The two Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines from 2013 are the Telegramme and the Vieux Telegraphe, the flagship wine. They both come from the famous stony plateau of Le Crau, where they own about 70 hectares, a huge holding for the area. The Telegramme is of young vines, on average 20 years old. It is a fresh and savoury wine (92 points), which beat its famous sibling this year. It seems the grapes of the old vines did not fully ripen, which can be a problem for Grenache. The Vieux Telegraphe is earthy, and a bit rough, not fully rounded (91 points).

The star of the tasting was the 2012 Domaine La Roquete Piedlong Chateuneuf-du-Pape, from a property further west. This wine was fragrant, very fine, savoury and very, very elegant. The wine was long on the palate, floating along with vibrancy and sheer drinkability (95 points).

Danielle Brunier makes two wines from the Gigondas. The 2013 Terrasse du Diable comes from a vineyard at 300-400 meters altitude. It had cherry and raspberry flavours, but suffered in a similar way to the Vieux Telegraphe (90 points). In contrast, the 2013 Les Racines is based on old vines. It is more intense and delivered a savoury, yet elegant profile with a long finish. A remarkable wine for this vintage (94 points).

Patrick Piuse Chablis

This photo shows 11 of the 15 Chablis I tasted from Patrick Piuse. He is a Canadian who gained his experience overseas before opening his winery in Chablis in 2008. You can see he is a traditionalist, opting for cork and wax as the closure, but he also did something revolutionary, as he separated the standard Chablis in a number of single vineyards. This makes a lot of sense, as the soil on the eastern side of the river is limestone, which brings out herbal character and minerality in the Chardonnay, whereas the 'left bank' is clay, and the Chardonnay expresses more fruit here, in particular apple and apricot. This distinction gets lost in a mixed wine.

The 2014 vintage is regarded as 'classic'. It was quite cool, and the wines show the steeliness and acidity many associate with Chablis. I was impressed with the 2014 Terroir de Chichee and the 2014 Terroir Decouverte, which expressed this particularly well. These wines are perfect as aperitif or with oysters. All the wines see oak, but the vessels are quite old and did not depart any noticeable oak flavours.

I will not go through all the wines, as they are hard to get. In general, I felt the quality increase in the premium and grand cru wines, if any, does not justify the price jumps. The standard wines are very good indeed. Amongst the grand crus, the 2014 Blanchots stood out with its elegance, balance and length on the palate.

Overall, this is an interesting producer, worth searching out.

Grace Wine

This is the first time I experienced wine (other than Sake) from Japan. Grace Wine is perhaps the most reputable of the over 200 Japanese wineries. It started in 1923 and is now fronted by young 5th generation winemaker Ayana Misana.

The signature indigenous grape is Koshu. The 2014 Grace Kayagatake wine is the 100% free run entry wine. It is transparent, light, relatively low alcohol, very pure and delicate, tasting of white flower and a little citrus (90 points).

The most serious wine in the line-up of about seven wines is the 2012 Grace Toriibira Vineyard Koshu. It is a single 1.6 ha vineyard wine from a high altitude property (450 metres)  with clay and volcanic soils. The wine is clear and very pure, with flower aromas and minerality on the palate. There is some length on the finish. If you wanted to make a comparison, this would have some similarity to a good Pinot Grigio (92 points).

If you have ever seen the fruit displays in Japanese stores, you will appreciate the care that would be taken in the sorting process. Not one bad berry would ever enter the tanks.

I find it interesting how local wines often are the perfect fit for the local cuisine, think Sangiovese and pizza, or Bordeaux and red meat. Koshu is absolutely ideal with sushi.

Eden Road Long Road Shiraz

Eden Road made a splash on the market some years ago with well made and well priced wines. How are they holding up?

I opened a bottle of the 2008 Eden Road Long Road Shiraz. It delivers intense plum fruit on the palate and a big mouthfeel. The fruit is not very fresh, however. It comes from a hot year. The initial impression is, this is not a typical Canberra wine. Then the spice hits you. This wine is loaded with white pepper, stronger than I have ever tasted. This goes along the palate, and on the finish is joined by some heat from the alcohol - an acquired taste, this one. I don't find this wine properly balanced.

Score: 87/-

Kooyong Haven Pinot Noir

Kooyong has been more serious than most in identifying the specifics of its vineyards and developing distinctive profiles for its single vineyard wines. The Haven vineyard is protected from wind and has relatively fertile soil.

This translates directly into the tasting profile of the 2010 Kooyong Haven Pinot Noir. The bouquet is floral and aromatic, with aromas of violets jumping out of the glass. On the palate, the wine is pure and lush. Elegant red cherry flavours dominate, but there is an immediate complexity with underlying savoury flavours. This is an elegant wine, but unfortunately it falls off a bit at the finish.

Kooyong used to have detailed vineyard information on the label. Unfortunately, it is no longer there with this vintage.

Score: 92/+

Rippon and Felton Road

I started day 2 at Rippon. I have always felt that Rippon is a bit like this waterfront restaurant with a beautiful location, where they don't have to try too hard to fill the restaurant. This is a bit unfair, as no doubt they are working hard and seriously. Any biodynamic winery would. But they do play on its beautifully located vineyard a lot.

Part of the vineyard is now 33 years old, among the oldest in Central Otago. Schisty soils, together with its location make this a special site. Many vines are still on their own roots. I tasted the 2013 Rippon Pinot Noir, which had mineral character and was quite taut, reflecting the character of the vintage (89 points). The 2011 Rippon Pinot Noir started to show a garnet colour in the glass. This is a delicate and aromatic Pinot Noir with fine tannins, finishing very dry (89 points).

Unfortunately I did not get to try the single vineyard wines. Maybe I would have come away a bit more impressed.

At Felton Road I was not interested to taste finished wines, as I have many in my cellar. I was impressed with the Chardonnay fruit in the barrel. The combination of purity, intensity and elegance will lead to excellent expressions of this variety. An interesting discussion ensued about the inclusion of whole bunch in Pinot Noir. Felton Road's view was that a quarter to a third is beneficial for the wine structure, but more would raise the ph to above 4.0 and mask site specific characteristics. But aren't the stems site specific as well? It would have been interesting to have had Maude's Sarah-Kate Dineen's response to this.      

Maude

The highlight of day 2 was a visit to the beautiful Mt. Maude vineyard, tucked away in the Maungawera Valley outside of Wanaka, planted in 1994. Like so many in Central Otago, this is a beautiful vineyard, very steep and north facing. The combination of sunshine and higher altitude leads to a slow ripening process and long 'hang time'.

The 2014 Mt Maude Chardonnay is a surprising delight. Surprising, because Chardonnay does not feature  as much in Central Otago as it could. This wine features green apple and other stone fruit, as well as citrus. The palate has weight and richness also, probably because of the malolactic fermentation. The wine is in perfect balance (94 points).

The 2014 Maude Pinot Noir is made from fruit of two leased vineyards in the Greater Cromwell subregion and the home block. This is also quite a complex wine, with dark cherry fruit and savoury components of forest floor dominating. The structure is balanced and the overall mouthfeel elegant (93 points).

The 2014 Mt Maude Pinot Noir is a step up in intensity. This wine includes 100% whole bunch in the fermentation, which is made possible by the long ripening period, as the stalks lignify. This complex wine tastes of dark fruit, bramble and black cherry. It has a slight mineral character, but is a ripe wine all the same. What excited me most was the shape of the wine. Many such wines in Central Otago are round and fat in the mouth, whereas this wine is long, with elegant silky tannins on the finish (96 points).

I could taste the 2009 Mt Maude Pinot Noir by comparison to see the aging effect. This wine was similar in its profile to the 2014, maybe not quite as balanced. It was still lively and had developed beautiful savoury characteristics.

Maude is in the first tier of Central Otago wineries. If you don't know their wines, try and seek them out.

Quartz Reef and Amisfield

The irrepressible Rudi Bauer started Quartz Reef 18 years ago, after having been the winemaker for Rippon. It is always very educational to have a talk to him, but I missed him this time. Maybe he does not need it anymore, after he is enshrined in history by playing a part in designing the Riedel Central Otago Pinot Noir glass. A special glass for a region just 35 years old - some record.

Quartz Reef has been biodynamic for a number of years now and apparently it has lead to deeper roots and grapes with thicker skin - not quite sure why. The cellar door, still in the industrial complex of Cromwell, is still the ugliest in the world. The 2014 Quartz Reef Pinot Noir is typical for the vintage: dark cherry, quite intense and lush, with soft tannins (91 points). The 2013 Ensemble Pinot Noir, from a special block, is dense, black cherry driven. Strong tannins engulf the palate. This is one for the cellar (92 points).

Amisfield is the anthithesis. The bistro is flashy and actually excellent. It outshines the cellar door and wines. The 2013 Amisfield Pinot Noir is quite peppery, with a good structure and firm tannins (92 points). The 2012 Pinot Noir, from a warmer vintage, is also dark, but a bit juicy (90 points). The 2012 Pinot Noir Reserve has 35% whole bunches included and is a lot earthier. It is round in its shape and lacks a strong finish (91 points).

The clear winner on day 1 is Chard Farm.