Rosemount Show Reserve Chardonnay

The reason most of my reviews are quite positive is that I mainly report on wines from my cellar, and I usually taste before I buy. But being independent, I am quite happy to dish out negative reviews where they are deserved.

I tried the 2009 Rosemount Show Reserve Chardonnay on an aeroplane. What a shocker this is. Rosemount used to have access to a vast amount of Chardonnay, and some were reasonable. I have not had any of their wines for a while and don't know the current circumstances.

In any event, this wine is as industrial as you can get: no particular fruit flavour, very oaky, slightly sweet. It screems 'pump out the volume' and 'enjoy the alcohol, no matter what the taste'.

Score: 72/---

PS: I just saw this wine advertised in a merchant's brochure: oaky is 'toasty' and what I called 'no particular fruit flavour' is 'straw and melon finish'. Hilarious!

Uzbek wines

I have been a bit silent due to my travels to Central Asia. I have yet to find a 90 pointer in Uzbekistan, but some red wine is drinkable. Some customs are unusual, though.

My favourite wine so far is called Classico, from Tashkent. It is called a Vino Rosso Secco. There is no name of a maker on the front label and no year. The back label is in russian and mentions a manufacturer's address. - The label mysteries continue, obviously.

The wine is probably a Cabernet Sauvignon or blend, but the yield pretty high. The colour is slightly off-red, and the fruit concentration not great. However, the wine has some structure and firm tannins. - You are unlikely to be interested in this, I gather.

John Duval 2009 New Releases

If you are interested in Barossa wines, in particular Shiraz, you have some difficult vintages to deal with: 2007 and 2008 have been drought years, with wines often too ripe and not very differentiated. 2011 is a disaster, and don't get persuaded by whatever the local spin doctors come up with. So the vintages to go for are 2009 and 2010.

The first 2009 reds are coming out now, and I had the opportunity to taste the 2009 John Duval Plexus and the 2009 John Duval Entity yesterday. The Plexus is the GSM, the Entity the pure Shiraz. These wines are pretty much as far away as you can get from the Penfolds profile. They are wines where the fruit reigns supreme and the 2009s are impressive. The Plexus shows the elements of all three grapes, the Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre quite clearly and weaves them to an elegant whole. The Entity, from vineyards in the Barossa as well as Eden Valley shows more fruit concentration, a very pretty plum profile. There is oak there as well, and fine tannins - a wine made for longer term cellaring. I was impressed and can recommend these well made wines.

Wendouree Label

This is the Wendouree label. No mention of alcohol level. There is no back label nor information around the cork seal. Other bottles look similar. Can anybody explain this? It should not be allowed.

Wendouree Shiraz/Mataro

Some people would love this 2002 Wendouree Shiraz/Mataro. I think it has enormous potential, but could have been better.

Wendouree is one of these iconic wineries, and as a result it seems to be beyond criticism. However, as an independent reviewer, I feel free to not be intimidated by that.

This wine shows both components very well. There is rich and deep plum fruit from the Shiraz, and there is redcurrant and tannin structure from the Mataro, some eucalypt, too. The two elements are not well integrated, though. They stand side by side. The wine seems a bit alcoholic, too. Curiously, there is no information about the alcohol level on the label. Is this legal?

The wine has quite a long finish and has mellowed somewhat, but the best years are yet to come. This could still turn into an outstanding wine, but I am not convinced it will achieve the seamless elegance I would like to see in a blended wine. To me, the winemaking is a bit rustic and, dare I say it, outdated?

Score: 93/0

Great wine/food combinations

The Easter weekend was a very hedonistic affair, I must admit. We experienced some wonderful wine and food combinations. I did not want to get too serious, therefore took no notes, and therefore no detailed wine descriptions:

Blue-eye cod and 2005 Giaconda Aeolia - the richness of the Roussane matched the food perfectly

Apple tart and 2002 Leeuwin Chardonnay - a (surprisingly) perfect match of flavours

Leg of lamb and 1998 Cullen Cabernet/Merlot and 2001 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon - an obvious match. Both Cabernets were brilliant

Following day: Cold leg of lamb and 2006 Mount Mary Pinot Noir - the savoury flavour of the Pinot Noir enriched the dish

Eye-fillet and 1998 Katnook Cabernet Sauvignon (Magnum) - again, an obvious match, wine still showed a lot of terra rossa flavours.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

I like to drink mature wines because of their added complexity, but often in Australia, the experience is not so good, as maturing wines get out of balance. Your safest bet would be a Cabernet Sauvignon from WA.

Therefore I was confident to open this 2001 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, under screwcap by the way. I was not disappointed. 2001 was a pretty good vintage at Margaret River, and this wine delivers a beautiful ripe and rich fruit set of blackcurrant and mulberry. The wine is fresh and very smooth and silky. All components are balanced elegantly and velvety tannins lead to a seamless finish.

The only slight flaw: the mouthfeel was a bit fruity. I would have liked a bit more tannin and acidity on the palate. This is only a minor complaint, though, and I will be looking forward to drinking the rest of my case over the next few years.

Score: 95/++

Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Shiraz

A number of the larger companies in the Barossa are putting the toe in the water in relation to wines expressing terroir. There is the terroirs series by Chateau Tanunda, Yalumba has released single vineyard wines from different sub-regions, Turkey Flat has three of those in the works, and Peter Lehmann has released wines from Light Pass and Eden Valley.

Tonight, I opened a bottle of the 2006 Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Shiraz. The wine shows quite pure and pretty plum fruit, but elas! it is difficult to detect. The wine is dominated by lashings of American oak. It tastes like vanilla ice cream. Well, a bit warmer.

Showing the specifics of different sub-regions in the Barossa is a worth while exercise, but winemaking has to be very non-interventionist for it to work. This effort masks the specific flavour and texture attributes of the Eden Valley. Maybe 2006 was early days in this effort, but it needs to get a lot better.

Score: 85/--

Kooyong Haven Pinot Noir

I cannot say that I am too familiar with the differences and intricacies of the different single vinyeard wines of Kooyong, but I like to drink one occasionally.

This 2006 Kooyong Haven Pinot Noir shows quite a strong red/purple colour. The taste is of dark cherry and secondary flavours of forest floor. I like the purity of this wine as it moves down the palate. The wine is a little bit fleshy and soft for my liking, I would have preferred a bit more acidity, but it has a peacock fan finish of sorts and is a good example of a well made Pinot Noir.

This wine drinks well now, showing good complexity, and will continue to do so for 2-3 years.

Score: 93/+

Lawson's Dry Hills Gewuerztraminer

I like Gewuerztraminer with Thai food. My choice normally is a Pipers Brook or a Delatite. Choices are very limited. Tonight I ended up with a 2008 Lawson's Dry Hills Gewuertztraminer from Marlborough. Dry it was not. My wife said she would not put this wine in a cask. It was very broad and sweet. No cut through the coconut or curry at all. This wine should be avoided. I still ended up drinking a bit, so hopefully I will not have a headache tomorrow.

This review gives me a chance to use more of the scoring scale.

Score: 75/---

Paxton Thomas Block Chardonnay

It has probably been more than ten years since I have tried a Chardonnay from McLarenVale. They used to be big and buttery, the climate simply too hot.

Paxton has adopted a biodynamic approach in the vineyard, so I thought I give the 2009 Paxton Thomas Block Chardonnay a try. This is a bigger wine than from Australia's cool climate regions, but it is not a traditional McLaren Vale Chardonnay.

The fruit is mainly white peach, quite clean, a little broad and undifferentiated. Oak is very present, but not overpowering. Too much complexity cannot be expected at this mid 20s price point.

The wine is well made, a bit bigger than a Chablis drinker would want, but a pleasant 'winter' white.

Score: 88/0

Thomas Wines Kiss Shiraz

2003 was a great year for Hunter Valley Shiraz, although the recently reviewed Alexander Munro did not live up to that reputation. This 2003 Thomas Kiss Shiraz is a revelation, however. This is a full bodied wine, showing a lot of complexity and style.

This wine tastes of dark plum, but it also shows earthy characters and a bit of mint. The fruit has softened, and the wine has a great mouthfeel with long lingering flavours and velvety tannins. It is beautifully balanced and has a very long finish.

This Kiss Shiraz is a prime example of what Hunter Valley Shiraz can achieve when the stars align - one of the most interesting Shirazes I have drunk in a while and many years in front of it.

Score: 96/+++