Friday, January 27, 2023

Coriole Fiano

 I am not very experienced with Fiano. This 2022 Coriole Fiano is as bland as its label.


It starts with good fruit purity and flavours of green apple, pear, and grapefruit. Once the wine gets to the mid palate, it loses itself. I am not sure if it is a lack of acidity, intensity or texture. The finish is medium minus.

This is a pleasant summer drink, not very demanding. A number of wineries in McLaren Vale are pushing Fiano. I hope some more interesting wines will emerge.

Score: 86/- 


Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Château Clos de Boüard Bordeaux

 With ever increasing prices of wines from the best European regions, one is tempted to try new producers who still need to establish their brand. Obviously one needs to be selective. When I came across a new wine from a co-owner of Château Angélus, Coralie de Boüard, I thought this is worth trying, given she knows how top class wine is produced. This is my experience with the 2016 Château Clos de Boüard Bordeaux from the mountain area of Saint-Emilion.


So this is a wine at 15% alcohol. It had to happen in Bordeaux. This has not been a pretty experience. You smell the alcohol already on the nose. The wine is dark fruited with earthy notes. However, the alcohol kills the fruit quality. The wine is dense and ripe with firm tannins, but the alcohol kills these, too.

This was really unpleasant. Only the second time in my life did I add water to  wine to achieve some dilution. Not surprisingly, this did not help the taste.

Score: 76/---

PS: I woke up with a headache.


Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Shadowfax Straws Lane Pinot Noir

 When discussing wines from the Geelong region, the wineries which foremost come to mind are Bannockburn and By Farr. But there are others. Shadowfax is particularly interesting though, because it has ventured out to other regions. A special vineyard is Straws Lane in the Macedon Ranges, a very well suited region for premium Pinot Noir. It is a 40 year old vineyard, closely planted, on granite soil. My first exposure to it is the 2019 Shadowfax Straws Lane Pinot Noir.


This is an energetic wine with pretty blackberry flavours and lively acidity. The wine has an attractive saline character. It comes a bit at the expense  of a rounded mouthfeel, but the wine is serious and pleasant at the same time.

Score: 93/++




Sunday, January 22, 2023

Three Châteauneuf-du-Pape

 I am continuing the theme of Grenache a bit more. It is not often you find a 100% Grenache in the Southern Rhone and possibly not at all in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the most highly regarded region there. Still, this is where I am heading today. I drank three Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines over three consecutive nights, all from 2016. This is what I found.


Those who have followed my blog for some years will know that I have a soft spot for Vieux Télégraphe. The 2016 Vieux Télégraphe is quite a ripe wine, yet it is balanced with complex flavours of blackberry, black cherry, olive, tobacco, and spice. Despite being full-bodied, it is an elegant wine. It feels very settled, with finesse and a smooth finish. The Grenache component in this GSM is 65%. These old vines are grown on the famous rocky soil of La Crau. This wine is quite dark and savoury, maybe not quite expected for a Grenache dominant wine.

Score: 96/+++

The 2016 Château de Vaudieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape is not the top bottling of this chateau, and it certainly did not measure up to the Vieux Télégraphe. The grapes are grown on sandy soil. This wine appears bigger in the mouth, reflecting the very dark colour. It is a juicier, more forward wine with earthy flavours. I would have anticipated a larger Shiraz component. However, this wine is 80% Grenache, most of the rest is Shiraz, with some Mourvedre. So it is a dark wine, but Grenache dominant, and grown in sand. Go figure?

Score: 92/++

The 2016 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf  is a more energetic wine. It is a lifted wine with pronounced acidity. I see a bigger Grenache influence in this wine. However, the Grenache component is only 30%, the lowest between these three wines.

Score: 94/+++

I found this wine comparison totally baffling.


Friday, January 20, 2023

Thistledown Sands of Time Grenache

 A couple of posts ago, I reviewed a Bekkers Grenache, which was highly aromatic but lacked some secondary components. This 2020 Thisledown Sands of Time Grenache comes from the same area of Blewitt Springs, in the Northern and slightly hilly part of McLaren Vale.


This wine is highly acclaimed. It is very aromatic. The fruit flavours of strawberry and raspberry almost explode in the mouth. This is a full-bodied wine, very aromatic, with a big mouthfeel. It is powerful and concentrated with firm tannins; but again, I think some complexity is missing behind the fleshy initial impact.

Why does this wine stand out in reviews? It is always the same thing. The first impression counts, and big flavours obviously stand out. But you drink a wine like this over an evening, and there is something lacking.

The other thought that comes to mind after drinking these two wines: The wisdom in Australia is that the best Grenache is grown on sand. And yes, this produces pure and aromatic wines, but maybe not much else. In contrast the best Grenache in Châteauneuf-du-Pape is grown on the famous rock field of La Crau. Similarly, the Grenache in Priorat grows on rocky slate soil. Most of Seppeltsfields famous Grenache fruit used to go into Port, but they have now bottled some premium Grenache, which I have yet to try. This is grown on red brown clay.

The Grenache story in Australia is still in its early stages. It reminds me a bit of the Pinot Noir development 20 years ago. This wine is a promising start, and maybe I judge it a bit unfairly, as this wine is very young and will no doubt develop further.

Score: 93/0 


Thursday, January 12, 2023

Cape Mentelle Back In Australian Hands

 It is perhaps not surprising that Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy sold Cape Mentelle. While Cape Mentelle is an iconic Margaret River winery, it is a fair distance from Dom Perignon, Krug, and Glenmorangie in terms of geography, positioning and size.

The new owner is the Endeavour Group, the alcohol business spun out of Woolworths. It is best known for owning the retailers Dan Murphy's and BWS, but it also has a very significant winery portfolio under the Paragon Wine Estates umbrella, including Chapel Hill, Krondorf Wines, Riddoch of Coonawarra, Shingleback, Oakridge, Joseph Cromy, and Isabel Estate in New Zealand.

Cape Mentelle's sister company, Cloudy Bay, is not part of the transaction.

Monday, January 9, 2023

Bekkers Grenache

 Bekkers has increased its profile for high quality McLaren Vale wine slowly, but surely over the last few years. Today I review the 2017 Bekkers Grenache. I tasted this wine on release. This is my second look.


The wine shows a bright red colour with good depth - very appealing. It is quite fragrant on the nose, and very pretty and aromatic in the mouth. Raspberry and red cherry flavours show great purity. There is a sweetness on the mid-palate, which did not show in my original tasting, delivering a slightly confected taste. The tannins are soft, and the slightly fruity finish very long.

This ultra premium wine will not appeal to everybody. Savoury characters are lacking. The wine delivers Grenache typicity on the fruit level, but I would have enjoyed more complexity.

Score: 93/0




Friday, January 6, 2023

Wine Trends in 2022

 A trend is something that establishes itself over time and continues for a while. Therefore, it is not surprising that the trends I will mention are not necessarily new. I am taking an Australian perspective here.

The most significant move in red wine is a trend towards fresher, lighter, and more elegant wines. Pinot Noir and Grenache are on the rise, both with quality value offerings as well now. The response of the major South Australian regions is interesting. Many wineries continue with full-bodied Shiraz. But in the Barossa, there are new wineries which make lighter style Shiraz, and grapes from the cooler Eden Valley are highly sought after. In McLaren Vale, many experiment with Mediterranean varieties, others head for the hills. Cool climate Shiraz across Australia has not taken off in the way one might have expected, given  the above trends.

The situation with white wine is less clear. Chardonnay continues to dominate, with ever rising quality across all regions. Sauvignon Blanc and blends remain popular. A downward trend may occur with Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio, as too many offerings have been disappointing. Other varieties remain niche.

In Champagne, a balance between the large houses and grower champagne seems to have been established. Prosecco is gaining in certain segments of the market, partly replacing light white wine.

The topic of alcohol requires a mention. Lower alcohol wines, such as most Riesling and Semillon, are not really low alcohol at twice the level of beer. There is clearly growth in zero alcohol wine, but why would you drink it?

Two more comments. By my observation, cocktails are taking share from wine, certainly among younger people. And we can expect environmental considerations to become more significant: bottles are getting replaced, and we will see soft packages with quality wine emerging.

And then there is natural wine. Is it a trend? Maybe not quite yet.

What did I miss?

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Grace Kayagatake Koshu

 When thinking about Japan, and its wine in particular, freshness and purity of fruit is top of mind. On that basis, I enjoyed the Grace Kayagatake Koshu in the past. This is an entry level wine from a vineyard at the bottom of the Kayagatake mountain.


I am a bit disappointed with the 2021 Grace Kayagatake Koshu. Yes, it is clean and pure, but it lacks the precision and definition of some previous years. This is a light coloured wine, with white flower, citrus, and some slight grapefruit flavours. It goes well with Sashimi and Sushi. I recommend to drink the wine fridge cold to eliminate some of the rather plump structure.

Score: 87/0


Sunday, January 1, 2023

Spinifex Rostein Shiraz

 Peter Schell of Spinifex has employed a clever strategy of blending. Many components of his wines are from less desired grapes, bought well, and blended into appealing wines of great drinkability. Then in 2014, Spinifex bought the Rostein vineyard in the Flaxman Valley of Eden Valley. This vineyard is in the southern part of Eden Valley, near High Eden, and situated at close to 500m altitude on predominantly sandy soil. 2018 is the first release of this single vineyard wine, positioned as the new Spinifex flagship. Given Eden Valley, the altitude, and the soil, I was expecting a fragrant, perfumed wine. I could not have been further from the truth.


Is the label the soil profile? If it is largely sandy soil, I would not expect it to look like this, but I am not sure.

The colour of the 2018 Spinifex Rostein Shiraz is deep purple. There is a sense of denseness on the nose. It made me slightly uneasy. And clearly, on the front palate, it is already clear this is a big and ripe wine. Blackberry and blood plum flavours are added to by ever so slight typical Eden Valley blue fruit. Licorice, smoke, and meaty flavours add complexity.

The mouthfeel is big, more power than elegance, but balanced with firm acidity and blocky tannins. Surprisingly, the alcohol is only 14.2%, and it is not felt. Overall, this is a well made wine, it feels more Barossa Valley than Eden Valley, but no matter, this is a substantial addition to warm climate Shiraz.

I am drinking this at 4.5 years of age. The wine is still very young, and it has a structure which will easily take it into the second decade.

Score: 96/++