Chatto Isle Pinot Noir

 Chatto's Huon Valley vineyard, a warm site facing north in a cool region, was first planted in 2007. A small part of the vineyard was first bottled separately in 2014 as the Isle Pinot Noir. While the whole vineyard is planted with nine Pinot Noir clones, only three go into the Isle Pinot Noir, with clone 777 dominant. Limestone, calcareous mudstone and a lot of fossils form the soil. The wine is made with a significant proportion of whole bunches.

Vintages vary a lot in Tasmania's marginal climate leading to great variability in wine quality. It is clear that the 2018 Chatto Isle Pinot Noir is very special. 

The wine is complex and layered with dark cherry, cranberry and soft spices on the palate. Earthy and underbrush flavours add to the intense mouthfeel. Fine tannins drive these flavours across the palate to a harmonious finish. This is how Australian Pinot Noir should taste.

The volumes of the Isle Pinot Noir are small. I came across this wine for the first time now. I encourage you to seek it out.

Score: 96/+++ 

Mauro Molino Barbera D'Alba

 

Mauro Molino is one of the stalwart wineries of the La Morra subregion of Piedmont. I described the Rosso in the last post as a pizza wine. Well, Barbera goes pretty well with pizza, too.

This 2021 Mauro Molino Barbera d'Alba tastes of fresh red cherry, getting darker down the palate. There is a bit of underbrush, too. This is a medium-bodied wine with quite good intensity. The acidity is very high and remains a dominant feature of the finish.

This is a very lively wine. The acidity is perhaps a bit much.

Score: 91/+ 

J.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso

 There are mainly two styles of entry level wines involving Nebbiolo in Piedmont. One is the Langhe Nebbiolo, a 100% Nebbiolo which for one reason or another does not go into Barolo or Barbaresco, the other is a Rosso, which is a blended wine, often involving a Bordeaux variety, mainly Merlot. The 2020 J.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso, however, focusses on Piedmont varieties; Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Albarossa. Some Pinot Noir is included as well. 

This wine is medium-bodied, with a bright red colour. Fresh red cherry flavours jump out of the glass. The fruit is backed up by firm acidity. You may call this bright and lively wine a pizza wine, but there is a solid structure behind the fruit.

I probably prefer a good quality Langhe Nebbiolo, but this is also a great choice on warm summer nights.

Score: 89/++

Giant Steps Applejack Pinot Noir

 Giant Steps is one of the success stories of the Yarra Valley. Like few others, Giant Steps have emphasised the characteristics of different vineyard sites. Still, we have perhaps not conclusively progressed past the differences between the Valley Floor and the Upper Yarra Valley.

The Applejack vineyard fulfills many conditions for great Pinot Noir; it is closely planted with seven clones; a sloped vineyard at higher altitude; east facing. The only drawback; clay soil, not ideal for energetic Pinot Noir.

The 2021 Giant Steps Applejack Pinot Noir is very perfumed, with rose petals so present.

On the palate, we experience a typical Yarra Valley fruit profile; strawberry, raspberry, red cherry. The flavours are not overly complex, but the texture is very appealing with silky tannins present along the palate, and on the long finish.

The wine presents a little fruity now, but with time is likely to deliver more complexity.

Score: 94/++

Tyrrell’s 4 Acres and 8 Acres Shiraz

Over the last couple of days I had some protein dinner and given relatively warm, but not hot summer temperatures, I was wondering what to pair this with. South Australian Shiraz would have been too heavy, a different grape variety did not seem right. Why not Hunter Valley Shiraz, a lighter, less alcoholic style, often with velvety tannins. It gave me an opportunity to drink two highly regarded Tyrrell’s wines side by side.

 In Burgundy, it is easy to find maps of all vineyards; not in Australia. It is unfortunate in the case of Tyrrell’s, as it would be instructive to see the location and size of their so called Sacred Sites vineyards. The four Sacred Sites vineyards (an unfortunate name?) have been planted well over 100 years ago. The 4 Acres and 8 Acres vineyards sit right next to each other, both on the same red clay over limestone.

So will the 2019 Tyrrell’s 4Acres Shiraz and the 8 Acres Shiraz taste very similar? There seem to be one major difference: the 8 Acres vineyard is planted North to South, the 4 Acres East to West.

There is already a big colour difference: the 4 Acres has a crimson colour, whereas the 8 Acres is purple. On the palate, the 4 Acres is red fruited, with great energy, edgy even in the mouth. There is a fair amount of acidity and tannins in this wine, but the elements are in balance. The wine is long on the palate, and perhaps more of a challenge, in a good way, than the 8 Acres. This wine will clearly add complexity with age.

Score: 95/++

The 8 Acres is a much softer wine, with a velvety mouthfeel. It is medium bodied with soft tannins. The wine is great on the mid-palate, but loses towards the finish.

Score: 94/++

These two wines are quite different. I don't think the treatment in the winery would have been different. Is it all due to the different vineyard orientation. Could be. Or are picking dates different, for example. Unfortunately, such data is not available. In any case, it shows how decisions over a hundred years ago can still impact the flavour and taste of a wine.

Te Mata Gamay Noir

 This 2022 Te Mata Gamay Noir is a great find. 

There is a lot of talk about the improvement of Beaujolais cru, and some of this is justified. And then you get a Gamay from left field, at half price or less, which is quite exciting.

The colour is carmine (ruby with a bit of blue), very appealing.

On the palate, there is raspberry fruit, but also a lot of savoury flavours, game and green tea. The mouthfeel is velvety. The wine is not very concentrated, but the flavours create an intriguing complexity. Acidity and tannins are medium.

This is a good quality, very drinkable great summer wine. Highly recommended.

Score: 90/+++

What Did We Drink For Christmas?

 My Christmas was quite small in scope and the wines were mostly disappointing.

A Pipers Brook Late Disgorged Sparkling was fine, but not very distinctive. The Tyrell’s Vat 47 was better, quite traditional with a nice peachy mouthfeel. On the red front, I was disappointed by two different Mataros (see post below). I then needed something special. I opened a 2009 Robert Chevillon 1er cru Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Vaucrains. The fruit profile was fine, but nothing special. I enjoyed the silky finish.

What did you drink over Christmas? Get on the board! I would like some American or European contributions, too.

Mataro (Mourvèdre) Time

 The days around Christmas have been quite cool in Sydney, so I decided to open some Mataro. This variety is found most often blended with Shiraz and Grenache as a Southern Rhône or Australian wine. Mataro tends to produce tannic wines, with gamy notes. It is also difficult to grow. However, there are some straight variety wines.

The first wine I opened was the 2016 Powell & Son Kleinig Vineyard Mataro. Seven years seemed like a good age. However, the wine showed very ripe and burnt. Mulberry and earthy flavours were dull. Tannins had mellowed. The wine clearly lost its energy and had aged too quickly.

Score: 82/--

The second wine was an entry level 2021 Alkina Mataro. I expected this to be much fresher, due to the winemaker and its young age. It had a similar dark colour to the Powell. The typicity was quite good, with mulberry and savoury flavours. The wine had more energy than the Powell, but it was still very full-bodied and quite thick in the mouth - not very exciting.

Score: 88/0

I think I prefer to enjoy Mataro as part of a blend.

Wild Duck Creek Shiraz Reserve

 A few days ago, I was given a 2009 Wild Duck Creek Shiraz Reserve. It came with a warning: 17% alcohol. Wild Duck Creek used to be one of the Australian Parker cult producers. How did this wine hold up after 14 years? I was concerned.

The colour was a deep purple-brown - not a good sign. I could smell the alcohol.

On the palate, the wine was overripe, tasting of raisin and alcohol. I was inclined to say this wine was past its best, but did it ever have a best? It was hard to drink one glass.

So here we have a producer who liked to make ripe wine, in a drought year, and an attempt to enjoy this wine after 14 years. This could not work. It was a stark reminder how crazy some Shiraz got in the 90s and 00s. It was so misguided.

Score: 70/--- 

Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir

 I have been collecting Felton Road Pinot Noir wines for many years. They produce about five single vineyard wines, and then there is the blended Bannockburn wine from the remaining grapes. Obviously, the single vineyard wines are more expensive. Over the years, I have observed an almost perfect correlation between the price points of the single vineyard wines and the blend and the scores. Blind tasting? I found the blend often more layered and complex than some of the single vineyard wines.

The labels of these wines are very similar and quite boring, but the content is anything but. This is the 2019 Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir. There is a dark cherry and forest floor aroma arising from the glass. On the palate, red and black cherry flavours are matched with some underbrush and excellent oak integration. Fresh acidity and solid tannins produce a perfect balance. The finish is long and lingering.

Score: 95/+++

Don Melchor

 It has been a long time between drinks, drinks of Don Melchor that is. My last taste of Chile’s Grange was over 20 years ago, but yesterday I allowed myself a bottle of the 2020 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon. Like Penfolds in Treasury Wine Estates, Don Melchor has become a separate identity within Concha y Toro.

The wine is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon. Red and black currant flavours, as well as blue fruits (the Cabernet Franc influence?) deliver a complex profile on the palate. The wine is quite concentrated and generous in the mouth. A stony element keeps it energetic. The wine has substantial fruit weight, but not as much as Grange. It is a majestic and elegant wine. The racy acidity delivers good energy. The firm tannins are substantial and very dry, leading to a medium plus finish.

Based on this bottle, Don Melchor deserves the status of the classically fashioned top wine of Chile.

Score: 96/+++

Castello Banfi Summus

 When one thinks of Super Tuscans, the first names which come to mind are probably Sassicaia and Ornellaia, which are very expensive. However, Super Tuscans simply means world grape varieties, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon are added to Sangiovese, often in the majority. However, not all are expensive. Let’s see how this 2018 Castello Banfi Summus shapes up.

This Summus is a blend of 40% Sangiovese, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Shiraz. Red cherry and currant fruit flavours are added to by mocca, tobacco and herbal notes. The wine is quite spicy on the palate and tastes a touch underripe, despite its 14.5% alcohol. Acidity and tannins are quite pronounced. I found the wine a bit unbalanced. A super Tuscan? Maybe not.

Score: 89/-