Fetherston Chardonnay

The Fetherston label is a new label to me. This 2016 Fetherston Chardonnay displays quite a golden colour. However, on the palate, the citrus and apple flavours are not very generous and there is a bit of a metallic aftertaste. On the plus side, the structure is good and the acidity level just right. This is an easy drinking quaffer (and a bit more), and it represents excellent value for money.

Score: 90/+ 

Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier

I am not sure what I can add to the glowing reviews for this wine except that this review is now for the nine year old 2009 Clonakilla Shiraz/Viognier. The flavour profile is complex. Blackberry, bramble, blueberry and forest berries are now supported by the development of earthy flavours. The texture is excellent; intense, but not heavy. The lift from the Viognier is there, but not in a significant way and not in isolation. The wine is savoury in character. It is very silky along the palate. This Clonakilla is profound, but also elegant, and with a long finish.

This wine sits between the blockbusters of South Australia and the cool climate wines of Victoria. It is a classic.

Score: 97/+++

Best's Bin 0 Shiraz

The 2013 Best's Bin 0 Shiraz is a well made wine. It is very balanced, delivers a good mouthfeel, and is fresh on the palate. The fruit flavours are blackberry and eucalypt. Dry tannins lead to a firm finish. This wine will drink well for many years, as older wines have demonstrated.

The problem for me with this wine are the strong mint flavours. I do not think this is attractive in red wine. A hint of it adds complexity, but a heavy dose overwhelms everything else. Therefore the disparity in my score.

Score: 94/0  

Coldstream Hills Deer Farm Pinot Noir

The Coldstream Hills Deer Farm Pinot Noir extinguishes itself by the brightness of its fruit. And so it is with the 2015 Coldstream Hills Deer Farm Pinot Noir. The fruit flavours are explosive on the front palate. The red fruit is really delicious, and you do not need to worry too much what happens after. The structure is nice enough, but does not match the early sensations on the palate. The tannins are smooth, but this wine is all about the front palate.

Score: 93/++

Some young wines and James Halliday ratings

Over the last few days, I had dinner at a restaurant which listed next to the wines the scores of James ' The Pointsmaster' Halliday. All wines had a minimum of 95 points. The wines I tasted were

-2016 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc  ( citrus focus, a nice example of Marlborough SB)
-2017 Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc (also a citrus and lemongrass focus)
-2015 Seppelt Drumborg Chardonnay (good initially, loses structure as it warms up)
-2013 Majella Cabernet Sauvignon (very ripe and alcoholic, not a great vintage for them)
-2015 Hardys HRB Cabernet Sauvignon (overripe, no specific varietal character)
-2016 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir (nice fruit; lacks definition)
-2015 Paxton Shiraz (vibrant fruit, quite ripe)

All these wines were good, but not exceptional, and had some shortcomings. I would rate them 89 to 90 points, with the Paxton at 92 points, and the Drumborg Chardonnay similar as long as it is drunk quite cold. The average Halliday points were 96. He defends his scoring by saying that all Australian wines have improved a lot.

Well, I rate some other wines at 95 points or higher, therefore 5 points or so higher than these wines. This means Halliday would have to rate them at 101 points, which is obviously not the case. This just demonstrates how squashed the ratings in his Compendium have become. As I have said before, the value is in the description, not the point ratings, but in our fast paced world, a simple score dominates, unfortunately. 

Felton Road, Kosta Browne, Dumol Pinot Noirs

Felton Road and Kosta Browne are leading Pinot Noir producers in New Zealand and the US. I recently tasted a few of their wines from 2010 and 2011. As not many of you will have access to these wines, I will just make some general comments of my impressions.

The Pinot Noir wines of these producers age well. Primary fruit is still strong after 7 years and the structures are holding up well. However, and this is a big however, it is not obvious that the wines have improved with age. When these wines are young, they are just as attractive to drink; well balanced, great oak integration.

There are many similarities: red and black cherry fruit, not much forest undergrowth character, silky tannins, smooth finish.

The main difference is the fuller mouthfeel of Kosta Browne, but it is not a blockbuster, it is a pleasing sensation. The Felton Road wines are a bit edgier and have more drive. Overall I call it a draw.

Where these leading new world wines are still behind grand cru Burgundy: These French wines show more complexity on the palate after some years and an expanding finish, which is only rarely experienced from new world Pinot Noir.

Another star producer in the making is DuMol from Sonoma. Their estate vineyard has the highest density planting in California. I recently tasted two of their 2014 Pinot Noirs. The Russian River Pinot Noir has a profile of very black fruit, cherry and licorice. It is elegant with good length. The Estate Pinot Noir is similar, with more concentrated fruit. The hallmark of DuMol is the combination of fruit intensity and elegance. This is a producer well worth seeking out.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz

I am a bit hesitant to put up a review on Bin 389. What can be said that has not already been said about this legendary wine? In contemplating this question, it was clear there is one thing: do not drink this wine too early in its life. I opened a 2006 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz, and it has just reached its strong drinking window. 

The colour is still impenetrably dark. Blackcurrant and plum fruit deliver a sweet core, but not in an extreme way. The two grape varieties are seamlessly integrated, as is the oak (old Grange barrels). Dark chocolate and soft beef flavours add to the complexity. The overall impact is a beautifully rounded mouthfeel with mellowed tannins, which still have a firm grip on the wine's structure. This is a top wine from a not so highly regarded vintage.

Score: 95/+++  

Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay

The 2016 Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay is a straight shooting, good quality wine. The colour is quite pale, but the lime flavours are intense. The wine has quite a fruity mouthfeel, but the acidity keeps it balanced. This is not a very complex wine, but it has good energy and drive towards a fresh finish.

Score: 93/++

Domaine Blain-Gagnard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Caillerets

This is a seven year old wine, but the colour is still light gold. Good complexity in the mouth, with citrus flavours, a hint of tropical fruit, walnuts and vanilla. The oak is quite noticeable, and more than I am used to, but the treatment is smart and adds to the mouthfeel. The wine is quite rich, but not heavy. Firm acidity drives the flavours down the palate to a fresh finish. A very good wine.

Score: 94/+++

Wine Fashion

The wine world (wineries, writers, restaurants and retail) looks as much at fashion as, well - fashion. Everybody wants to find the next big thing. This means that the 'latest thing' is invariably hyped up more than what it can deliver. In some cases, the delivery comes a few years later, for example Pinot Noir from Tasmania. In some cases, the delivery comes from a small percentage of the trumpeted next big thing, for example orange wines. And in some cases, maybe not at all.

This is the preamble to my tasting of the 2011 Passopisciaro Etna Rosso. This wine has been hyped: Sicily, volcanic soil, and a 'new' variety, Nero d'Avola.

Pouring this wine into the bottle makes me wonder. The colour is already a quite developed garnet. Tasting the wine confirms my concerns. It is quite rustic, ok to drink with pizza or in my case tacos. Cherry flavours are there, but not very elegant, and the finish is quite rough. In defense of the winery, this is their entry level wine and probably should be drunk young. However, pricing is not at an entry level, and the single vineyard wines from this winery are seriously expensive. Being fashionable has its price.

As a consumer being interested in fine wine, I do not care about fashion. It is interesting to try different things, but the quality must be there.

Score: 85/--

Eden Road Tumbarumba Chardonnay

Chardonnay was the big winner in my recent poll, but not everybody likes Chardonnay. In fact, some people won't touch it. There are mainly two reasons for it. If you do not know the wine, it may be difficult to predict what you are going to get. For example, in Australia, the fruit expression can go from citrus to stone fruit to tropical fruit characteristics. Oak treatment can also vary dramatically. Which brings me to the second reason. Chardonnay is often manipulated in the winery, because in and of itself the grapes may not have a lot of character. And this takes us to today's wine, the 2013 Eden Road Tumbarumba Chardonnay.

This is Eden Road's premium Chardonnay. The wine has a very clean colour. There is not much happening on the nose, and this continues on the palate. There simply is not much fruit flavour. There is not much minerality either. This is quite a steely wine, well made, and the emphasis is on the balanced texture. But is this enough?

Score: 91/0

Poll Results

When the first votes came in, I got really confused, but then a clear picture emerged: you are moving to lighter style wines. The big winner was Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir and Champagne also doing well. No wonder prices of the small volumes of Burgundy wines are reaching stratospheric heights.

Riesling quality is improving a lot, but you are still not convinced. In fact, you have turned of Riesling more than of any other variety.

Amongst the fuller bodied wines, Grenache has gained, and the losers were Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Who would have thought?