Giant Steps Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs

 Giant Steps received great accolades for its 2023 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs. To see how they develop, I opened a couple of these wines from 2021.

The 2021 Giant Steps Wombat Creek Pinot Noir comes from perhaps the most challenging vineyard in the Yarra Valley. It is the most elevated at over 400m. Giant Steps does not make wine from it every year. It did not, as far as I know, in 2023, a very cool year.

But lets look at 2021. The colour is very bright pink, translating into vibrant red cherry flavours. The wine is really intense in its fruit flavours, almost jumps out of the glass. It is backed by savoury notes and firm tannins before a medium plus finish. The wine is not too complex in its flavour profile, but it is very well made and has a great structure. I found it quite exciting.

Score: 95/+++

The 2021 Giant Steps Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir is also from a higher altitude vineyard at 240m.  It shows a more complex fruit profile, with red and black cherry flavours dominant, and a fragrant mouthfeel. This wine is quite soft in the mouth. Again, there are savoury or mushroom flavours. The tannins are soft.

In terms of quality, it is high in both wines, but the focus is quite different. The Wombat Creek wine is about structure, whereas Primavera is about flavour complexity.

Score: 95/+++

Both wines indicate excellent and site specific winemaking. They hint at great things to come from this winery.

Swinney Farvie Grenache

 The  large Swinney vineyards near Frankland River in the south of Western Australia have been a significant source of fruit to the royalty of Margaret River for many years. The obvious question is, why not make wine ourselves? When the Shiraz and Grenache wines launched some years ago, they were welcomed with some fanfare, given the pedigree of the old vines. But how do they really stack up? I tried to find out with a bottle of the 2019 Swinney Farvie Grenache,  the second vintage of their premium wine. 

It is a dark version of Grenache, with black cherry, some gravelly and spice flavours. This is a full-bodied, muscular wine, with a whiff of alcohol on the finish. The wine is perhaps similar to the Cirillo 1850, not quite as round and aromatic. The wine has a savoury and firm finish. It is quite long with blocky tannins very present, probably thanks to the 12% Mourvedre in the wine.

There is clearly great fruit in this wine. The winemaking is good, but not excellent. I think there are a few little kinks to flatten out.

Score: 94/++

Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon

 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon can be magic: boysenberry flavours, smooth mouthfeel, silky tannins. Unfortunately, these wines, particularly from the valley floor, are often overripe. In response, a number of wineries  headed for the hills. And then you have the opposite issue. Enter the 2019 Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon.

2019 was a cool vintage. And despite this wine coming from the valley floor, the blackcurrant flavours are overshadowed by herbal notes. While the wine avoids the gap in the mid palate, it delivers quite a coarse mouthfeel. The finish is quite long, but a bit harsh and not totally pleasant.

Score : 87/0

PS: We all know that Napa Cabernet is expensive. I only buy the occasional bottles from airport duty free stores.

Is Bordeaux The First Major Wine Region In Modern Times To Collapse?

 The en primeur worked great for leading Bordeaux wineries. These wines need time to come into their own, yet en primeur sales generate cash-flow straight away. In addition, these sales take place without a proper assessment of quality.

Over the last years, a number of developments happened and have started to form a perfect storm. First, early this century, Chinese buyers got into the market irrespective of price. The major US customers increasingly turned away. As the Chinese economy started to stall, and directions were given to stop drinking imported wine, this market fell away. In addition, younger consumers in the Western world increasingly turned off serious and intense red wine.

Yet, not withstanding these trends, many wineries kept increasing en primeur prices year on year. As quality could not keep pace, prices in the secondary market could not match en primeur prices. The incentives to buy en primeur, securing supply and better prices, are no longer there.

And now we have the 2024 vintage. It is a disaster. Flowering was poor, ripening is uneven, leading to longer hang time and exposure to mildew.The industry is putting its usual spin on the vintage, but volumes will be down, quality down as well. Prices must fall. It will be interesting to see how the wineries will cope.

Rieslingfreak No.2

 Sometimes, not very often, when I drink a new wine, I am simply astonished. This happened to me yesterday when I drank the 2024 Rieslingfreak No.2 from Polish Hill in Clare Valley.

This wine has a high intensity of lime and green apple, but it is not fruity. The wine has a great line, and it is not broad. Equally, it is not piercing. It has a wonderful balance. The palate pushes towards a mineral and very satisfying finish.

This is the best young Australian Riesling I have tasted, not withstanding some Leo Burings of the past. I have never rated a wine as high for this price ($30/bottle).

This wine will age well, but it is such a treat right now.

Score: 97/+++

Elanto Vineyard

 There are not many high density projects in Australia. The new Bindi vineyards and Place of Changing Winds are perhaps the most prominent. Now we have the first wines from a new, very ambitious project. It is called Elanto Vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula, managed by Sandro Mosele, the former winemaker of Kooyong.

As you can see, it is meticulously planted (in 2018) in eight blocks with different slopes and sun exposure. Interestingly, the soil is the same, namely red volcano. At Kooyong, Sandro planted on different soils, and he found this the most promising.

The first wines from 2023 are now available. I found the Chardonnay had a promising fruit profile, but was still lacking some definition. The Pinot Noir was the better wine, with good complexity, red fruits and savoury underbrush characteristics. Making great wine takes a lot of time and patience. Apparently the 2024 wines are a step up. This will be a producer to watch. 

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/-