Poggerino Chianti Classico

The 2006 Poggerino Chianti Classico is the perfect wine for pizza. It is serious enough to be enjoyed, but not a stellar wine which would reward too much attention. From an outstanding vintage in Tuscany, this wine has bright red cherry flavours and plenty of acidity to cut through the food. It is probably best drunk in three to five years when the acid has mellowed somewhat, but I enjoyed it just the same right now.

Schubert Gosling Shiraz

For those who are looking for a big Barossa Shiraz at an affordable price, the 2007 Schubert Gosling Shiraz might be the ticket.

The flavour is bright, mainly redcurrant, and the fruit is ripe. I believe the fruit stems from fairly young wines and is of good quality. Notwithstanding the bigness of the wine, it has a good structure and is well balanced.

I really enjoyed the first glass, but was a bit reluctant for a second because of the wine's boldness. However, it is the right wine for the current temperatures.

The Gosling is the Schubert's second label, following the Goose-yard Shiraz, both from fruit grown near the famous Roennfeldt Road.

Craggy Range Merlot

It is not easy to find very good Merlot, which is lush, profound and gripping, outside of Pomerol. Contenders in Australia, such as Yarra Yering or  Irvine, are very expensive and variable. However, we seem to have excellent Merlot in blends, even where it is dominant or very significant, such as in the Mt. Mary Quintet or Cullen's Diana Madeline.

Several years ago, when I visited Craggy Range, I was impressed by their Merlot efforts. I pulled out a couple of bottles this weekend to see what happens after a few years.

The first wine was a 2002 Craggy Range Seven Poplars Vineyard Merlot. The grapes come from Hawkes Bay, the warmest New Zealand wine region, and the vineyard itself is located in a particularly warm area. The wine tasted of Blueberry and Mulberry and was still very fresh. It certainly had some grip and depth. It is well structured with a fine balance of tannins and acidity. What I missed was a sweeter core and more volume in the wine. The finish was also somewhat non=descript.

The second wine was the 2001 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Merlot from the famous 'hot stones' district in Hawkes Bay. This wine is also well structured, but its fruit is lusher on the palate, yet it still has sufficient acidity for further cellaring.

These two Merlots were quite impressive. They are grown under the warmest conditions, and one feels it could have been a little warmer still. However, they are quite complete wines and better structured than most Australian examples.   

John Duval Plexus

The 2005 John Duval Plexus is an excellent wine. It is a GSM wine from the Barossa which is much more serious than most. The wine has great balance between fruit and oak, and primary and secondary characteristics. Redcurrant is the dominant fruit flavour. The wine is big, still very young and made to last. The mouthfeel is very satisfying, although the finish falls a little short for this substantial wine.

The wine shows the considerable winemaking skills of John Duval as well as his access to excellent fruit. 

Explaining 'structure', 'texture', 'mouthfeel'

These are terms I use quite often in my descriptions. What do I mean by them? 

Mouthfeel is really what it says. Does the wine fill the mouth? Is the wine built like a 'skyscraper', to use a Parker term, with many layers of taste and very thick, or much more linear, running just over the tongue?

Structure is more difficult to define. It refers to the balance of different aspects, such as fruit, acidity, tannins and alcohol. A positive perception is an indication of improvement potential over time and ability to age.

Texture is often used interchangably with structure. I often use it more specifically to describe the tactile sensation experienced as a result of acidity, tannins, and residual sugar. In great wine, I often think of texture first, rather than aroma.

Maybe this helps with some of the terminology. 

Best's best - A vertical tasting of Bin 0 Shiraz

I love vertical tastings. As a wine collector, it is difficult to do more than a few, and mostly only over 5 vintages or so. Otherwise, there are not many opportunities to experience them. Yet they provide the best chance to evaluate a wine or winery in a day.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to participate in an extraordinary tasting of the Best's Bin 0 Shiraz over a number of decades. We tasted 1977, 85, 90, 95, 99, 04, 05 and also the 05 Thomson Family Shiraz. 

Best's is located in the Great Western region of Victoria and is an often overlooked, very historical winery. The Bin 0 Shiraz is their premium Shiraz, which takes vines from three vineyards, planted in 1866, 1966 and 1970. My overall impression was that the wines can last a long time, but are also quite variable, depending on climatic conditions. In the cooler vintages, the wines are quite peppery, but also a little thin. In the warmer vintages, the wines show a lot of mocca and dusty, crumbly chocolate, which is quite unique and apparently due to regionality.

The outstanding wines for me were 1977, 1990 and 2004. The 1977, with over 30 years old, did not show much fruit any more, but had great flavours of mocca and chocolate, and still a good texture and a long finish. In fact, I tasted more of the wine after it had gone from my mouth. Sensational. The 1990 showed blackberry and plum fruit with some overtones of mint and a smooth, elegant and creamy finish . The 2004 tasted more of mulberry and dark cherry, it has a good structure, soft tannins and good length.

These wines are often thrown into the 'cool climate Shiraz' bucket. This tasting showed there is a lot more to them. The wines mentioned above showed great complexity and elegance. 

    

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The last few posts reviewed wines with vastly different alcohol content. What level is your preference in red wine? Please vote.

Schubert Goose-yard Shiraz

In this miserable weather, it is best to keep the Shiraz thing going. As I was sorting a few bottles in my cellar, I came across this 2002 Schubert Goose-yard Shiraz. This seemed like a good choice.

Schubert is one of a number of growers in the Barossa who - based on their success as growers - ventured out in the last decade to launch their own label, based on some of their premium fruit. Schubert achieved high acclaim by James Halliday for this particular wine, which was his third vintage,  produced by Dave Powell from Torbreck, by the way.

The fruit of this wine tastes of blackberry and plum and is quite ripe. It is a big wine, but the alcohol is kept in check. However, I do detect some dead fruit amongst the mix. The overall impression is positive, though, with an elegant mouthfeel and a smooth finish. It probably would have been better to pick the fruit slightly earlier, but the wine should not be grouped with the supercharged Parker wines of the Barossa.

Clearly, Schubert's vineyard is of high quality. It will be interesting to see what kind of track record this wine can establish. I have collected a few bottles of the subsequent vintages and will  find out over time.

Torbreck RunRig (2)

I cannot go back as far with the RunRig as I could with the Mt. Mary Quintet, partly because the wine did not exist in 91, partly because I do not have the first vintages, starting from 95. My first one is the monumental 98.

The 1998 Torbreck RunRig is much further developed than the 2001. The fruit has blackcurrant and cherry flavours. The oak is much more in the background. The wine is as big as the 2001 and has a slight alcoholic feel to it. The mouthfeel is equally thick, ripe and intensive. The tannins are strong and produce quite a dry feel leading to a very long finish. 

This is a wine which requires food. It is overpowering on its own. In comparing it with the 2001, I feel that the 2001 is better made. The 98 does not have the same elegance and smooth finish. It is quite a big and aggressive wine. On the other hand, the oak integration is working much better at this point in time. I am probably drinking the 98 at its optimum time. The 2001 will live a lot longer and, in my opinion, will outshine this wine in a few years time.  

Torbreck RunRig

Now it is time for a new iconic wine to show its wares. Boy, how different can two red wines be? But to start with the conclusion, this 2001 Torbreck RunRig came through with flying colours as well. 

As I was drinking this wine in a restaurant environment, I can't say too much about the nose. Then I took the first sip - and it hits you like a ton of bricks - actually more like a wave of thick ripe dark cherry fruit and plenty of oak. Dave Powell is the master of combining concentrated fruit and elegance, in my book. The best fruit each year, and he has the best of the best to choose from, goes into the RunRig. The wine also includes 3% Viognier, but its perfumed character is hardly noticable. The wine has incredible mouthfeel and initial sweetness. Down the palate, the vanilla character of the oak takes over, there is some eucalypt there and plenty of spice as well. It then leads to a harmoneous finish on the back of strong, but silky tannins.

This wine is still young. The fruit is quite dominant and fresh. My only concern: There is too much new oak on the palate. The fruit can take it, but I hope the oak will mellow and step into the background over time.

After having written this, I thought to look up what Parker in his "The world's greatest wine estates" had to say. He gave the wine 99+ points (how ridiculous is that?) 'flirting with perfection' and a 'worthy successor to the blockbuster, surreal 1998' (which I will be drinking tonight). A good description is 'The impression on the palate is one of marvelous richness and expansive texture, a multilayered skyscraper soaring across the palate with no heaviness.' In my view, the 'no heaviness' is the real achievement and difference to many blockbuster Barossas. He gives the wine 20 to 25 years, and after tonight's experience this may well be right.

Mt. Mary Quintet (2)

Tonight I look at the question of what happens when the Mt. Mary Quintet has aged another nine years. 

I have opened the 1991 Mt. Mary Quintet - or Cabernets as it was called then. The first good news is that the cork came out fairly easily and in one piece. The wine is surprisingly dark.

Obviously, the starting point is a different one. This wine shows serious blackcurrant and is an altogether bigger wine than the 2000, although the alcohol level is similar at 12%. The fruit is still there, but starting to dry and secondary savoury characteristics dominate the palate. The structure of the wine is still exemplary. Again the wine has exquisite harmony and tannin integration. Unfortunately it has lost some of the complexity seen in the 2000. It is probably 3-4 years past its peak. However, the wine still has some vibrancy and a powerful, yet smooth finish. About how many Australian wines of 18 years maturity could this be said?

This experience confirms the iconic status of the Mt. Mary Quintet. It is a delight to drink and will offer interesting experiences across a range of vintages and maturity. In each case the elegance and texture of the wine is likely to be a stand-out feature. 

Mt. Mary Quintet

Tonight, finally the first review of the promised Mt. Mary. I opened a bottle of the 2000 Mt. Mary Quintet. The first thing to notice is its crimson red colour. The bouquet is quite floral.

After drinking the usual array of Shirazes and Cabernets, it is surprising how light this wine is. Flavours move from strawberry fruit to candy to rose petals to earthy components. However, this wine is really about texture. The mouthfeel is excellent, despite the lightness of the wine. The move from fruit to savoury components to soft tannic elements is seemless. The finish is very long. Needless to say, this Quintet is elegant and well balanced.

The wine is still vibrant despite its 9 years and has many years in front of it. Primary characters and certainly ripe fruit in the Yarra Valley way (including earthy flavours) still dominate. It will have another 10 years in front of it without any doubt. One of the best year 2000 wines of Australia (many wineries struggled that year).

Mt. Mary Quintet occupies a unique position in the Australian red wine spectrum. It is a serious, light red wine with astonishing length, texture and balance. Good Bordeaux would often be bigger, but not offer the sensuous fruit element which this wine has. In the vocabulary of French reviewers: 'this is a female wine with excellent body and form'.