Langton's Classification Tasting, Part 2

                                                            There was a lot of space

There were big surprises for me in the main red categories of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Of the 14 Shiraz wines I tasted, the 2018 Henschke Hill of Grace narrowly won out. It is a very elegant and silky wine, which goes on and on. But the next two wines in the top category were the big surprises. I have not tasted these for probably 10 years. This will now change. The 2019 Castagna Genesis Syrah from Beechworth is incredibly aromatic, with a medium body. Violets, spices, a little musk, all beautifully integrated with smooth tannins. And then there was the 2022 Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz. This wine is fresh, balanced, and super smooth. The finish is very long. When I tasted this brand many years ago, I found it sometimes a bit heavy and worked. None of that in this wine.

In the next category I have the Rockford Basket Press, which was similar on the palate to the Brokenwood, just a bit sweeter. Then there is the 2020 Sami-Odi Hoffmann Dallwitz Shiraz from one of the most famous and very hot vineyards in the Barossa. This is a dark, big and slightly sweet wine, yet well made and balanced. The blackberry fruit stands out. And finally the 2018 Henschke Mt. Edelstone, also a very dark wine, complex, with mocca notes and some sweetness. These three wines a good examples of Barossa Shiraz, big wines, but well made.

Very different wines appear at the next level. There is the highly regarded 2018 Penfolds Grange. This wine is massive in its fruit weight. At this point, it is quite oaky and sweet. I can only judge what I taste now, but it is likely that in 10 years time different elements of this wine will come together better. It is the first time I tasted the 2023 Serrat Shiraz/Viognier from the Yarra Valley. I enjoyed the aromatics and the quality of the fruit, and found the wine slightly more appealing than the Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 Shiraz. I also rated Sami-Odi's Little Wine #12 in this category. It is a blend of vintages from 2015 to 2022.

In the final category are the disappointments. Chris Ringland is known for making extra ripe, high alcohol wines. The 2016 Chris Ringland Dry Grown Shiraz, the current release, is no exception. The wine tastes like port and a wine from a bygone era. The other two Shiraz which disappointed me, surprisingly, were cool climate wines from Victoria. The 2019 Craiglee Shiraz was sweet and oaky, and lacked structure. I also expected much much from the 2021 Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz. It is a big and alcoholic wine.

Now to the 12 Cabernets I tasted. Two aspects turn me off with Cabernet; when the capsicum flavours and other herbal flavours are too strong, and when there is a hole mid-palate. Overall, the category was not as strong as Shiraz.

The 2021 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon stood out among this group. This is a wine with depth of fruit, very rounded, but not overripe, a lot of complexity and balance. Outstanding!

In the second group are a number of wines from different regions and with very different characteristics. The 2018 Wynns John Riddoch shows beautiful terra rossa red fruit, and is balanced with chalky tannins. It will live a long time. The 2021 Yarra Yering Dry Red No.1 Cabernet delivers a full, satisfying mouthfeel. It is well balanced and quite long. The 2023 Lake's Folly Cabernet is very young, but promising, with good fruit and an excellent structure.  The 2020 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon has a similar profile to the Moss Wood, not surprising given its proximity. The intensity is just one notch down. The last wine in this group is the 2018 Henschke Cyril Henschke Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine surprised by being quite light on its feet, with excellent balance and oak treatment.

The third group includes two wines which are better judged 10 years from now. The 2022 Mount Mary Quintet is simply not very distinctive right now. It is long in the mouth. A recent vertical tasting showed that this wine takes time to come into its own. The 2022 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon delivers the darkest black colour of any wine I have ever seen! It is very dense and complex, with blackcurrant and mocca flavours standing out. Then there is the Deep Woods Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a bit of a hole mid-palate, and I could not rate it as highly as the Cape Mentelle. 

 In the group of disappointments I found the Yeringberg Cabernet Blend. I normally rate this estate highly, but this wine is surprisingly tannic, and the fruit does not stand up to it. Leeuwin's long march to create a Cabernet Sauvignon of equal standing to the Chardonnay is still an ongoing objective, I suggest. The 2021 Leeuwin Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon has a strong capsicum flavour, and yet the alcohol is noticeable - not a nice combination. Finally, the 2021 Balnaves The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon sufferrs a similar fate - quite green and capsicum laden.

This is a long post. The descriptions are brief, I had a lot of ground to cover. Hopefully the notes are still valuable for you.

Langton's Classification Tasting, Part 1

 This tasting of the best Australian wines according to Langton's 'empirical' data only happens once every five years or so. It is a big affair, as 100 wines are available for tasting. I attended it yesterday in Sydney.

The event was well organized, but still, one had to navigate quite a big crowd. There was not enough time to take detailed notes, as I tasted 30+ wines. It became obvious that there were hardly any bad wines; so it came down to personal preferences. In this post I will comment on the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs I tasted. The next post will cover Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and blends.

I did not taste all wines in these categories, because I either knew them quite well or was not interested, So for example in Chardonnay, I did not taste Penfolds Yattarna and Giaconda Chardonnay.

Of the Chardonnays I tasted, the perhaps surprising, but not altogether surprising favorite was the 2018 Penfolds Reserve Bin A Chardonnay. This wine seems to be a bit less restricted by the house style. It is a bit funkier, still very fresh, with concentrated citrus and grapefruit flavours, and a creamy texture and great line. World-class! 

Not far behind was the 2021 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay. A bit understated, yet powerful, with beautiful lime and white peach fruit and great drive.

The 864 Oakridge Chardonnay was very clean, but a bit oaky (pardon the pun). And the Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay came last, showing less freshness and vibrancy (still a good wine).

On the Pinot Noir front, it was essentially a battle between Bass Phillip and Bindi. Both wineries had two wines in the line-up. The very rare 2018 Bass Phillip Reserve Pinot Noir was exquisite - a wine of elegance and poise, silky tannins and a long finish.

The Bindi wines showed a clear winery style of delicacy and finesse. The 2021 Bindi Block 5 Pinot Noir impressed with lifted aromas and a very smooth palate. The Bindi Original Vineyard Pinot Noir was also very balanced and smooth - not much between these two.

The 2022 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir was quite different - a result of the new ownership? This was a very savoury and peppery style; quite unusual for an Australian Pinot Noir, and not as poised as the previous three wines. Finally, the 2022 Main Ridge Half Acre could not outperform its tough competition. The owner described the vintage as tough, and the wine, while quite aromatic, fell a bit short on the finish.

While this went close to expectations, part 2 will show some real surprises.   

Pooley Cooinda Vineyard Pinot Noir

 Time for a potentially controversial post. Pooley is a Tasmanian winery which has greatly expanded its range and tiered its offerings, including single vineyard wines. So far, so good. 

It is located in the Coal River Valley, an area in Tasmania which gets a lot of sunshine and little rain. It is therefore attractive to many producers, because the disease risk is lower than in other parts. However, a leading expert on Pinot Noir (who will remain nameless) is critical of this location. In his view, Pinot Noir needs rain and needs to struggle. I just tasted the 2021 Pooley Cooinda Vineyard Pinot Noir and am interested to find out if this thesis shows in this wine. 

The Cooinda Vale vineyard is now almost 40 years old, so the vines are quite mature. On the palate, the wine is fruit focused. Red and black cherry flavours open up immediately. There is some elegance and finesse in this medium intensity wine, but the mouthfeel is a bit shallow. The tannins are soft, and  structure is lacking. This is a pretty and quaffable wine, which to me does not hold much interest.

Maybe there is some truth in the Coal River hypothesis mentioned above.

Score: 89/0  

Elio Grasso Ginestra Casa Maté

 Last year was the first time I visited the Elio Grasso Estate. Once you have managed to get past the barrier of the private road, the eastern slopes of the world class vineyards open up. The tasting of the 2019 Barolos were great, but they are too early to drink. So yesterday, I opened a 2010 Elio Grasso Casa Maté Barolo. 

I last reviewed this wine five years ago. The dark colour is still firmly in the glass. This is a wine from Monforte! The nose reveals rose petals, but also brooding, earthy notes. It is an appealing bouquet.

On the palate, dark cherry is the first flavour experience, then savoury, earthy flavours follow. This is wrapped up in firm, dry and chalky tannins. This all sounds quite serious, but this wine is very elegant with a fine finish which goes on and on. The wine is perfect with a serious protein dish. If you have this in your cellar, do not worry, the wine has not yet reached its peak.

Score: 96/+++ 

Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape

 Vieux Télégraphe is the largest holder of the famous La Crau field, with its large pebble stones. This is where its Châteauneuf-du-Pape comes from. 2015 was a warm vintage. Given the heat reflections from the stones, I was concerned about this year's flagship wine.

However, the 2015 Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape deals with this well. The heat is not at all seen in the wine. Red and black cherry fruits, raspberry, and some blue fruits flavour the palate in multiple layers. This leads to a complex mouthfeel. Olive, spice, underbrush flavours deliver  savoury notes.

This is an elegant wine, bordered by firm tannins and a finish which lasts and lasts. One for the ages.

Score: 96/+++ 

 

Archery Road Longbow Shiraz

 I do not know much about Archery Road. Apparently the winery is located at the south end of the Barossa Valley. Its address is Adelaide based. The Longbow Shiraz is made from a number of low yielding parcels, not sure from which subregion or regions. I have heard the approach to winemaking is opportunistic in terms of grape buying.

The first impression of the 2021 Archery Road Longbow Shiraz is its black ink colour. This is intense.

And it is a very concentrated wine. Ripe flavours of plum, blackberry, olive, and mocca lead to a generous mouthfeel. There is a certain sharpness there, and it tastes as if it was made in an industrial style, while obviously the volume cannot be very large. There is some sweetness in the mid-palate, and the finish is somewhat harsh.

There is not much elegance or detail to this big wine. It is a style which may appeal to some consumers who value alcohol first, but I find it unremarkable and not made with finesse. Given this, the $80/per bottle is quite steep.

Score: 86/-    

 

Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay Mini Vertical

 Sorry, I have not posted for a while, as I have mainly been drinking wine I already reviewed, but I experienced a mini vertical of the Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay, which is worth while talking about.

There are not many Australian Chardonnays which age well, but the Leeuwin Art Series is one. This tasting included the years 2020, 2013, and 1999.

The 2020 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay is pale in colour. It is quite restrained on the nose. On the palate, many flavours reveal themselves: white flower, white peach, lemon curd, white melon, flint, and marzipan. Very high quality French oak is noticeable. The wine is very focused, and reveals its intensity after some time in the glass. Very complex and long on the finish (97 points).

The 2013 Chardonnay is light gold in colour. Flavours of white peach, citrus, nectarine, and some cashew. This is a powerful wine with a luscious mouthfeel. Acidity is more obvious than in the 2020. This wine is obviously more developed than the 2020, probably drinking at its peak now, and certainly proving this label can be aged (97 points).

The 1999 Chardonnay is different. The colour is an intense yellow. It delivers a big mouthfeel of lemon, melon, pineapple, fig, a hint of butterscotch. In comparison to the first two wines, it feels a little worked and heavy. However, it is a great effort to keep a 25 year old Australian Chardonnay alive and well (95 points).

At some point, I think in the early 2000s, the style of the Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay changed. Prior its fruit flavours were tropical, such as pineapple or yellow peach, and the mouthfeel broader. Since then precision on the palate increased, and citrus and white fruit flavours started to dominate, making the wine closer in style to a top level Burgundy. This was certainly brought out in this small tasting.

 

Mount Mary Quintet Vertical

 Vertical tastings, not easy to come by, are great opportunities to identify a producer's style, while also appreciating vintage variations. I was lucky to recently participate in a vertical tasting of Mount Mary Quintet from this iconic producer of the Yarra Valley. The Quintet has never been a top pick for me. This tasting has told me why. These wines only come into their own once they are at least 10 years old - and I never had the patience. This tasting spans vintages from 2017 to 2002.

The youngest wine, the Quintet 2017, was the least impressive. The wine is red fruited, with red cherry and raspberry flavours. The fruit has great purity and is enriched by mocca flavours. I notice a whole in the mid-palate, typical for Cabernet Sauvignon, even though the Quintet includes Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Hard to know if the wine will integrate as well as the older ones on tasting, but judging the wine as it is, I give it 93 points.

The Quintet 2013 impresses with quite a purple colour. The wine is very aromatic on the nose. In the mouth, it feels a little leaner. This is supported by some blue fruit flavours, which add to the raspberry, plum, and mocca character. In this wine, the different grape varieties are well integrated, and the mouthfeel is seamless (95 points). 

The Quintet 2012 is very different. This is quite a big and fruity wine; concentrated, yet very balanced. There is cassis and graphite on the palate and some muskiness. This is complex, with a long finish (97 points).

When we come to the Quintet 2005, we notice a difference due to age. This is now a wine on the plateau of development. It is very settled, a bit more linear than the bigger mouthfeel of the 2012. This wine is dark fruited and very elegant. It offers less generosity than the 2012, but a long and silky finish (95 points).

The Quintet 2002, from a cooler year, is still very much alive. The colour is still dark and intense, not at all flaky. This wine could be taken for a 1st or 2nd growth Bordeaux. Layers of red and black fruits are very smooth on the palate; chocolate and hints of muskiness. I detect some bret, but at this level it is not distracting. This is a beautiful aged Yarra Valley Cabernet (96 points). 

What are the key takeaways? As already mentioned, this wine should be drunk at 10 years plus. Also, as others have suggested, high quality aged Cabernet tends to end up in a similar spot (of taste).

 

Delamere Pinot Noir

 As I mentioned in previous posts, Tasmanian Pinot Noir is difficult to get a grip on. There are a number of sub-regions with quite different terroir, and, being a marginal wine growing region, depending on the vintage, in one year one sub-region works out well, and in another year another. For the 2021 vintage, Delamere from the Pipers Brook region in the north-east was written up well. This is my first taste of the 2021 Delamere Pinot Noir.

The wine shows a ruby colour, bright and intense. On the palate, black cherry and licorice dominate. This Pinot Noir is very deep and concentrated, surprising for Tasmania, perhaps (although there are other examples). There is fresh acidity and firm tannins, but the fruit flavours outweigh the structure elements. As a result, the strength of the wine is on the front and mid palate. Still, this is a satisfying wine, which drinks well right now. 

The wine clearly benefits from 40 year old vines and the winemaking skills of the Bay of Fires team.

Score: 95/++

A Winning Strategy?

 We all like to acquire an excellent wine at a low price. Is there a systematic way of doing this? One approach is to buy a second or third level wine from a leading winemaking team. Well, this can work to some extent, but there is a reason why these wines are second or third tier. I have now come across another approach. It is terroir related. The first wine is from Lusatia Park, Yarra Valley. This vineyard has delivered fruit to Giant Steps, Oakridge, Phi and others. Since 2015, the site is owned by De Bortoli. Interestingly, this name is not found on the label of their 2022 Riorret Lusatia Park Pinot Noir.

The wine comes across as quite fruity, in a typical strawberry, red cherry blend. It is a lively wine, and some savoury backbone starts to develop on the mid-palate. The wine is medium weight, with a balanced mouthfeel. The tannins are mild and the finish medium. This is a good quality all-rounder, but it lacks the sophistication of a top Yarra Pinot Noir.

Score: 93/++

So, has this approach been successful? I guess to a degree, but not completely.

The second wine is the 2022 Terra Sancta Mysterious Diggings Pinot Noir.

This wine is from Central Otago. In fact, the vineyard is right next to the original Felton Road vineyard. It sits at 300m altitude and consists of sandy soils.

This is a more intense wine than the first wine, with red and black cherry fruit, raspberry, black truffle, and forest floor. There is good complexity in this energetic wine. It is also fruit dominant and delivers a silky mouthfeel. Other elements fall in the mid range: body weight, tannins, and finish.

Again, the wine is good quality, a bit darker and bigger than the first wine.

Score: 93/++

So, is this strategy working? The wines did not disappoint, and they deliver very good value for money, in particular the Mysterious Diggings. But is it a major revelation or an absolute steal? Probably not. The wine market is quite efficient. 

Epis Pinot Noir

 Domaine Epis is a bit of a legendary winery. It was one of the first in the Macedon Ranges, and it made Pinot Noir in a Burgundian style, more savoury, while 20+ years ago many Australian Pinot Noirs were very fruit forward. It's volume was also very small. So you had the making of a cult winery. Forward 20 years, and the Pinot Noir landscape has changed a lot and the quality is much improved across the board. I have not had Epis wines for a long time, but I picked up a 2021 Epis Pinot Noir the other day.

The first impression: this is not so different and unusual any more. Black raspberry and forest floor flavours deliver a largely savoury impression in the mouth. There is also a slightly metallic touch. This is a medium-bodied wine with a somewhat linear, austere mouthfeel. The tannins are mild, and the finish medium plus. The wine opened up a bit in the glass, and will be better in a few years.

What is happening here is, many other wineries have caught up and gone ahead, whereas Epis has stood still (remember Virgin Hills?). The owner is now a remarkable 86 years old. He is getting some help from Michael Dhillon (Bindi) and others, but a more permanent solution will be required.

Score: 92/+

20 Year Old Penfolds Grange

 This is the preamble: Many of my wine drinking friends pooh-pooh Grange: too ripe, too big, too brutal, not sophisticated. A tall poppy syndrome? I must admit that I have tended to enjoy lighter wines over the years. But then, on a special occasion, I like to open a special wine, in this case a 2004 Penfolds Shiraz. This is what happened:

The wine shows a very high shoulder. The cork is clearly tight. Well, it was very tight and started to crumble and disintegrate as I started to pull it. Thankfully, I manage to extract the bottom part in one piece. No cork fell into the bottle.

The wine was astonishing. Yes, it is big and ripe, but also polished, fresh, smooth, with lively acidity. The blue and black fruits are layered, the finish goes on and on. This wine would stand out in any crowd. Can a full-bodied Shiraz be better than this?

Score: 100 points (+++)

Two other points of interest. When is the best time to drink this wine? An older version of Rewards of Patience suggests between 2016-2050. This is not very helpful. This wine still shows primary fruit, but also secondary characteristics. The structure is strong. You do not want to lose all fruit. I suggest a drinking window from here to 2030.

Many people wonder how the current release can be close to $1000 per bottle. I bought this wine in 2009 for $600. This means the increases have been 3% per annum - not too outrageous.