Ravensworth Neighbourly Chardonnay

 Ravensworth seems to be a winery which goes from strength to strength. It certainly escaped the shadow of Clonakilla by now with its interesting and wide ranging wine making. The small batch 2021 Ravensworth  Neighbourly Chardonnay is curiously named, given the wine is a blend of Margaret River and Tumbarumba fruit. 

This wine has quite a golden colour for such a young wine. On the palate, the wine is more understated with an interesting and quite complex mix of flavours; lemon, grapefruit, apricot, lychee, even ginger. I thought this was quite an expensive Burgundy, yet at $25/bottle, this must be the bargain of the year. I recommend it highly.

Score: 92/+++

Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay

 Hunter Valley Chardonnay is quite distinctive in the Australian context, as it is a bigger wine, often with tropical fruit. Then comes the very challenging wet vintage of 2011. The 2011 Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay still has tropical flavours, melon and passionfruit, but also some quite noticeable citrus. It delivers a lively mouthfeel, and a very long finish. This is a remarkable wine and great to drink now (95 points).

The 2014 Tyrrell's Vat 47 Chardonnay is a little different. This is from a warm vintage. Tropical flavours, peach and melon, and hazelnut from the oak deliver a complex and, dare I say it, a little buttery mouthfeel. This wine is still developing.  It would be best served with a weighty fish dish, such as a prawn curry (93 points).

Vintage conditions have quite an influence in the volatile Hunter Valley. 

Vanguardist Grenache

 In the previous post I talked about Blewitt Springs, and how suitable the area is for Grenache. Yesterday I tried one from a producer I know nothing about. It was the 2021 Vanguardist McLaren Vale Grenache. This comes from a more than 50 year old sandy vineyard.

This turned out to be quite an intriguing wine. The bouquet is very intense and aromatic.

On the palate, quite a lot is going on from the start. Raspberry flavours, licorice, herbs and savoury notes deliver a complex and quite moreish mouthfeel. But then it tastes as if the winemaker wants to avoid at all costs a confectionary flavour. This is fair enough, but it is like a meal where too many things are going on without achieving a balanced integration. The tannins are shy, and the soft finish is of medium length.

I would like to drink this in a few years and see how this wine develops.

Score: 92/+

Clarendon Hills Astralis Vertical Tasting

 I still remember a special dinner from 2008, where I paired a 1990 Grange with a 1996 Astralis. The Astralis absolutely held its own with its combination of power and elegance. Then I lost contact with this wine. The price is above every day drinking and availability is low. Yet it is an intriguing wine.

This has to do with the location. When there is talk about full-bodied Shiraz, and a comparison between the Barossa and McLaren Vale, the Barossa tends to take first place. However, the northern part of McLaren Vale, Clarendon and Blewitt Springs, may just be perfect. The area is hilly, deep sand over limestone is the dominant soil type, and warm days are split by cool nights. Shiraz and Grenache excel here, think Bekkers and Yangarra - and Clarendon Hills.

So when the opportunity came up of a vertical tasting of Astralis, the flagship wine, I jumped at it. It turned out to be a fascinating experience of vintage variation and evolving style.

100ml bottles, perfect for tasting

Going from old to new, we started with the 2008 Astralis. It was a super hot year, with 18 consecutive days above 40 degrees C. And it shows in the wine, which has a deep purple colour. The wine is opulent and rich. Ripe plum and charred meat flavours fill the mouth, with espresso and black olive added to it. The tannins are velvety and long, and deliver an overall warm mouthfeel. There is some heat on the finish of this 15.5% alcohol wine. Present acidity and structure are still holding up.

Score: 93/+

The 2011 Astralis is a complete contrast. You may remember, this was the wettest vintage since 1974. Many producers did not make wine. This wine has a lighter colour. Blue fruits, black cherry and spice, as well as menthol stimulate the palate. The tannins are firm, before the wine finishes slightly on the thin side. It is remarkable how this wine stands up after 12 years.

Score: 93/+  

These two wines saw extreme weather, but when the growing conditions are good, you get something like the 2012 Astralis. This wine delivers infinite perfume on the nose. The blackberry flavours are vibrant and spicy, with silky tannins and an elegant mouthfeel. The wine has quite a tight structure with firm tannins and an extra long finish. It turned out to be my favorite of the night.

Score: 98/+++

The 2015 Astralis, from an excellent warmer growing year, received 100 points from the Parker Wine Advocate. It is a little riper and more generous than the 2012 (which is not a shy wine). The wine is also gentle and very elegant. This is where Astralis delivers the power/elegance balance perfectly. Blueberry and blackberry fruit is more fleshy here. The typical for Astralis black olive flavour is present, and hazelnut flavours remind us that there is a good portion of new French oak (40+%?) in these wines.

Score: 97/++

2018 Astralis is from another year with ideal growing conditions. The wine is very dark, with concentrated blackberry fruit and black olive. There is some sweetness on the mid-palate which I found irritating. This is a muscular, powerful wine which needs more time to fully come together and mellow.  It shows that Astralis is made for the long haul and should not be drunk too early.

Score: 94/+

The 2020 Astralis is proof of some development in style. The founding winemaker Roman Bratasiuk (he started in 1990) is very private, with firm views. But the next generation starts to have some influence with this wine. This wine is fresher, with 1% point less alcohol. The blue fruits and espresso flavours deliver immediate well balanced complexity. The wine delivers an elegant mouthfeel with perfectly balanced acidity, drying tannins, and a very long finish.

Score: 96/+++

The challenge for the future, as I see it, will be to deliver the recent found freshness, while maintaining the fruit concentration and power, which can make this wine quite unique. 

 

Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen

 Domäne Wachau is a large co-operative in Austria with vineyards rising from the Danube. Their Grüner Veltliner is their high volume, well priced standard wine.

The 2021 Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Terrassen opens with a pale green colour. The bouquet is pronounced with fruity pear notes.

On the palate, pear and green apple flavours deliver a slightly broad and fruity, yet dry mouthfeel. Apricot and fresh marzipan add interest. The wine is lively on the back palate with white peppery notes and pleasant acidity.

This is a versatile food wine, well suited to Asian food. It is made to drink now.

Score: 90/++

Domenica New Releases

 The new Domenica range from Beechworth is from 2021 and 2022. The 2021 Domenica Rousanne Marsanne shows white flower notes. On the palate, this wine is surprisingly energetic with its citrus flavours. I expected a broader texture. There are some earthy notes on the back palate, which is anchored by firm acidity. The wine is not fat, which can be experienced sometimes with this blend, but also not very typical, without the expected texture (91 points).

The 2022 Domenica Chardonnay tastes of citrus and white peach. There is good drive in this wine, but not quite the complexity I was hoping for. This is a medium bodied wine with good structure, supported by firm acidity (92 points).

The 2022 Domenica Gamay is a new wine in the line-up. Carbonic maceration delivers some confectionary flavours, but also floral notes and good minerality on the finish. Still, the confectionary flavours are too much for me (I am very sensitive to this) (90 points).

The 2021 Domenica 'Two Cells' Shiraz is an attractively priced wine. It is a medium-bodied wine which is quite tight. Plum and black cherry flavours are not overly concentrated while spice adds interest. This is a cool climate Shiraz, which needs a bit more time to come together (90 points).

Overall, it is commendable to see these wines at lower alcohol levels. On the other hand, they lack some specific interest to stand out from the crowd.

Place of Changing Winds Syrah

 There have been many new winery developments in Australia in the last ten years. To me, two stand out. One is Alkina in the Barossa Valley, due to the financial investment, the international expertise and the interesting soils. Two is Place of Changing Winds at Macedon. This is because of the immense experience of Robert Walters, in particular with French wine, and the very scientific approach to vineyard establishment. I am not normally excited about winemakers trying to make French wine in Australia - why? Cultural cringe? But with Robert Walters it is a different depth of interest in high density planting and creating a world class portfolio of savoury Pinot Noirs.

Like Bindi before him, he has also ventured to Heathcote to make Shiraz, and different Shiraz from the typical full-bodied, high alcohol wine typical for the region.

It takes a minute to decipher this label

I was therefore interested to taste the 2020 Place of Changing Winds Syrah. It was very closed on opening. My note refers to the second night. The bouquet is very aromatic with black fruit scents.

On the palate, black cherry and blackberry flavours open beautifully in this medium-bodied wine. The mouthfeel is very elegant. I think Waters referred to wanting to make a Northern Rhône wine, and the lightness, but piercing drive can remind one of this. What is different, however, is the fruit sweetness on the mid palate, unavoidable in this climate and on the ancient red Cambrian soils. It is by no means very intense. The alcohol is a pleasant 13%. The soft tannins lead to a satisfying long finish.

This wine is a bit different from Bindi's Pyrette.  Both have early picked fruit, but there is more serious structure in this wine. It would make sense to put this away for another three years or so, and the fruit sweetness will have mellowed somewhat. Good value for money, too. 

Score: 94/++ 

Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz

 Finally, back to Australia, and a fairly classic wine. Although, it is not really classic, as it is a break away from tradition for Penfolds to release a wine from a single sub-region. It stills feels quite new, although the 2016 Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz is its 9th release. 

The colour of the wine is deep purple. On the nose, you can smell the warm climate which delivers this ripe black fruit bouquet. 

The wine opens with concentrated blackberry and mulberry fruit on the palate. The wine is still youthful and the fruit of high purity. Char-grilled meat flavours and aniseed add to the complexity of the wine. Firm grippy tannins hold up the structure, and the finish is long lasting. The problem? The palate is dominated by a strong vanilla influence from the American oak. It completely covers the beautiful fruit flavours. By now, after seven years, it should have been integrated, but it is not.

I first drank this wine on its own, and I did not enjoy it. When I had it with a fillet steak, the oak dominance was matched by the meat and nullified somewhat.

Score: 94/0   

Grace Wines Tasting, Part 2

 In Japan, observing tradition is very important. So the wines in my last post were essentially fashioned by the grandfather of current winemaker Ayana Misawa. However, Ayana also spent three years in Bordeaux, and was therefore interested to take her learnings back to Japan and try new things. The oak treatment of the Private Reserve, mentioned in the last post, was the first step, but it did not stop there.

Enter the Misawa vineyard at Akeno. This vineyard is situated at an altitude of 700m, based on volcanic soil. Grapes are trained along rows using single and double guyot, not common in Japan.

The 2015 Akeno Vineyard Misawa Koshu benefits from the lower yield at this altitude. The wine is more intense than the other Koshus and white pepper is a feature. I tasted similarity to Gruner Veltliner (94 points). Later she discovered that grapes from this vineyard include a different acid, rare in Japan, which is very helpful for malolactic fermentation. As a result, the 2020 Misawa Koshu is the first Koshu undergoing malolactic fermentation, based on indigenous yeast, and again it sees seasoned oak. The wine is still citrus dominant, but is more complex, with oak flavours and minerality rounding out the picture. This is clearly the most interesting Koshu of the tasting (95 points).

Grace Wines also make Chardonnay from this vineyard. I find the 2019 Misawa Chardonnay quite pure, but a little broad (92 points). The 2020 comes from a warmer vintage. It is a more generous wine with tropical flavours (92 points). Generally, I do not believe these wines hold a lot of special interest overseas.

Then we come to the reds. The 2020 Yamanashi Rouge is based on the Japanese grape Muscat Bailey. The wine is quite fruity and a bit confected (87 points). More interesting are the two Bordeaux blends, which come from the Misawa vineyard. The 2019 Akeno Rouge is Merlot dominant, with some Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Merlot ripens easier at this altitude than Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has a long maturation period to achieve ripeness. It is very elegant and enjoyable, but not very concentrated. The Merlot delivers a velvety character to the wine (92 points). And then we get to the 2019 Misawa Rouge. This is a world class wine. Cabernet Franc is the dominant grape (60%), followed by Petit Verdot (30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%). This wine is still tight, but shows excellent red fruit intensity with an elegant mouthfeel. Spice and oak flavours deliver complexity, but it is the fruit which makes this wine special. In a blind tasting, you would never pick this as a wine from Japan; but you have to pay $200 per bottle for the privilege (95/+++ points). 

It was an excellent experience to taste the full range of Grace Wines. I think there is something here for everybody.