Sami-Odi Hoffmann Dallwitz Syrah

 The oddity of Sami-Odi (port shaped bottle, blend of vintages) is no longer new, so the obvious question is, how good is the wine?

The ten dots on this bottle of the 2016 Sami-Odi Hoffmann Dallwitz Syrah represent the first 10 years of this venture. Grapes come from some of the oldest plots (more than 100 years) of the famous Hoffmann vineyard in Ebenezer and some newer plantings next door by winemaker Fraser McKinley.

On the nose, this wine does not give much away (or maybe it's just me). On the palate, this is quite an aromatic wine, with pure blackberry fruit and an elegant mouthfeel. There is a mocca note in this full-bodied wine. It is still quite fresh and lively, with fine grained tannins. the finish is medium to long.

This wine is not overly complex, but well made. The Hoffmann vineyard often delivers blockbuster wines, but this one can appeal to people looking for lifted Shiraz as much as traditional Barossa drinkers. I can drink more than a glass of this.

Score: 94/+++

Flor de Pingus

 Peter Sisseck, the very smart Dane, is the founder and owner of Pingus. He researched Ribera del Duero meticulously before he settled on two vineyards of different soils which deliver the fruit for the Pingus wine. If anybody is interested how to create an ultra premium brand, and a wine which sells for more than US$2000 per bottle, one could do worse than studying this story. No I have never tasted this wine.

However, there is a little brother, Flor de Pingus, and this I tasted a few days ago. This wine is a blend of six other vineyards of the region, from 19 biodynamically farmed parcels. He and others hold the view that blended wines are superior to single vineyard wines of Ribera del Duero because of quite extreme soil conditions.

The 2019 Pingus 'Flor de Pingus' shows a very dark inky colour. It is quite aromatic on the nose. One would expect a big, concentrated wine on the palate, but this is not the case. The dark cherry flavours and spice are very elegant; the wine almost dances on the palate with its silky tannins. However, I find the wine lacks some drive and power, which I would have expected from such a premium wine.

Score: 94/++

Priorat Garnatxa

 Up to about 30 years ago, Priorat was a run down region with a lot of poverty and no significant investment in vineyards or winemaking. Then a number of winemakers realized the great history and potential of this area. A group of five wineries moved away from bulk production and planted new vineyards with an interest in single vineyard wines. In the meantime, Chateauneuf-du-Pape had become the epicenter for Grenache. But Priorat started to fight back. And as proud Catalans, they spell their wine Garnatxa. The following mini tasting takes a look at the current state of play.

The 2020 Sara i Rene Dido Garnatxa Tinto is an entry level style wine, but made by two of the famous five, Réné Barbier of Clos Mogador and his wife Sara Perez of Mas Martinet. The Grenache dominant blend is grown on limestone soil. They farm biodynamically. The wine impresses with its pure fruit and elegance. It is not as concentrated as the following wines.

Score: 91/+

The 2020 Mas Doix 'Les Crestes' Poboleda Garnatxa is made from younger vines. The vines are grown on soft powdery brown slate. The flavours show the unique profile of Priorat Grenache. This is not so much raspberry, and it is not sweet. Dark cherry and boysenberry is what I taste. This is a powerful wine with bigger weight than the first wine and more grip than the third, yet impressive silky tannins. I love this wine.

Score: 95/+++

No Priorat tasting is complete without a wine from its superstar, Alvaro Palacios. The 2019 Alvaro Palacios Les Terrases Garnatxa-Carinyena is a blend from an astonishing 80 plots across 8 different villages. The common denominator is the black slate on which the vines are grown. It has similar fruit flavours to the previous wine. The structure is not as big, with a focus on elegance. It is a driven wine, still powerful and a little rustic.

Score: 94/++

 

Dr Edge Wines

 He is not a doctor. The winemaker is Peter Dredge (get it?). He has worked at a number of prestigious wineries in the Adelaide Hills and Tasmania before starting his own label. It is the one with the clown faces.

I just tasted his two current releases. The 2021 Dr Edge Tasmania Chardonnay is a blend of Tamar Valley (Joe Holyman vineyard) and Derwent Valley (Meadowbank vineyard) fruit, blending from gravel soils of the former and sandy soils of the latter.

This is a lively wine, tasting of citrus and white peach, with a good body. It has flint and salinity, and a fresh finish, maybe like a good Chablis.

Score: 94/++

The 2021 Dr Edge Tasmania Pinot Noir is a blend from the same vineyards, this time with the Meadowbank vineyard the dominant component, and a bit of East Coast fruit as well. There is some carbonic maceration. 

This is a very pretty wine, quite floral with bright red cherry and orange rind fruit. Not often does one describe a wine as light-bodied, but this one is. This is a delicate wine with a smooth finish.

Score: 93/++

These two wines are crisp and light footed. They speak of the Tasmanian climate. They are not trying to be something unsuitable. They are well made and will suit people who like a more subtle style.  

 

Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5m Chardonnay

 After selling Petaluma in 2001, Brian Croser founded Tapanappa. His most famous wine is his Chardonnay from the Tiers vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills. The grapes come from the oldest Chardonnay vines in the valley, planted in 1979. Enters the 1.5m. This is a block of the vineyard replanted in 2003, to Burgundian clones, and only spaced 1.5 meters apart - clearly an attempt to copy Burgundy.

The flavours of this 2017 Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard 1.5m Chardonnay are complex. There is green apple, pear, pineapple, no citrus in sight. There are hazelnut flavours, probably from the oak. The acidity is a little shy, but is clearly there. The wine delivers quite a full mouthfeel. It shows some development. 

I found the overall flavour profile dull, and did not warm to this wine. (As an aside, if you look at the picture carefully, you will detect an edge of a Singapore Airlines uniform. This wine was consumed on a plane, which would not have helped the assessment)

Score: 94/0 

St. Hallett Faith Shiraz

 Let me move to the value segment today. When you look to buy St. Hallett Shiraz, you know you are going to get good fruit. How is this playing out for the entry level Faith Shiraz?

Blackberry and plum flavours deliver a typical Barossa Shiraz. The 2020 St. Hallett Faith Shiraz is full-bodied and quite ripe, with a sweet core on the mid-palate. The tannins are quite coarse, and the finish short to medium. There have been smoother wines of this brand in previous years.

Score:  85/-

Domaine Faiveley Clos-de-Vougeot Grand Cru

 Clos de Vougeot of 50ha is the largest single vineyard of premium red wine in the Côte de Nuits. At the same time, it is very divided and has more owners than any other. It is generally believed that the upper parts of the vineyard produce better wine, but there are many variables in the soil and between producers. I have been to the famous Château of the vineyard, but must admit I have never tasted any of the wines until this time.

The Faiveley plot is at the bottom of the vineyard, so in a less favourable position. However, Domaine Faiveley is a very experienced producer with many Burgundy holdings. As I will outline now, I was very impressed with this wine.

The colour of the 2014 Domaine Faiveley Clos de Vougeot is dark ruby, but quite transparent. On the nose, very perfumed floral and fruity notes emerge from the glass.

On the palate, black cherry, raspberry, and mild spices arise from a powerful texture. This is quite an opulent and velvety wine, quite rich for a Pinot Noir, and a little sweet. The wine is in good harmony with some oak flavours in the background. It is still quite youthful, but good to drink now. The fine, but firm tannins form an excellent structure. The finish is not too long, but expanding in a satisfying way.

This grand cru is priced at premier cru level and well worth seeking out.

Score: 95/+++

Vasse Felix Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

 The blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc is essentially only produced in Bordeaux and Margaret River. White Bordeaux has become quite unpopular, certainly in comparison with White Burgundy or Rhône wine. Yet such a blend has advantages over the world beater of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The 2021 Vasse Felix Semillon Sauvignon Blanc clearly demonstrates this. 

 

The Semillon component in this wine delivers citrus and green apple flavours on the palate rather than the gooseberry flavours and grassy notes of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. As a result, this wine has a fuller mouthfeel.The Sauvignon Blanc component delivers freshness. Overall, this is a balanced wine. The acidity is high, but not unpleasant.

Score: 89/++

Three Wines From Bordeaux 2009

 Having had the pleasure of the mature Lynch-Bages, I wanted to explore how the 2009 vintage stacks up by tasting three wines from different left bank subregions.

The results were surprising to me. The favorite from these three wines was the 2009 Chateau Beychevelle from St. Julien. This is quite a dark fruited wine with cassis and plum flavours on the palate. Tobacco augments the long finish. This is a well balanced wine with lively acidity promising a long future. The highlight for me was the equal power and elegance of this wine (97 points). 

The 2009 Chateau Malescot St Exupery is a wine I have reviewed before. In this tasting, I found it quite muscular, somewhat surprising for the Margaux subregion. The blackcurrant, redcurrant and espresso flavours are quite concentrated. Still, this is an elegant wine with a satisfying mouthfeel and a long finish (95 points).

The 2009 Chateau Duhart-Milon Rothschild from Pauillac does not have the same intensity, but the blackberry and blueberry flavours deliver a silky texture. This is quite a smooth wine as you would expect from the Lafite stable (95 points).

Sub-regionality did not show up in expected ways. The Margaux was concentrated rather than perfumed, the Pauillac smooth rather than tannic. In Bordeaux, the winemaker wins over terroir, at least this time.

Overall, the 2009 vintage certainly delivered at this price point. The fruit flavours are intense, and the wines balanced. I reviewed more value based wines from this vintage before. There, the results were much more mixed.  

Chateau Lynch-Bages Vertical Tasting

This Is A Vertical, But The Years Are On The Back

Verticals of more than 15 year old Bordeaux wines are not easy to come by. This was a special occasion. The four wines were from 2001-2004 Lynch-Bages.

Let me start with two main conclusions. One really needs to be patient with good quality Bordeaux and wait 10-15 years before opening the wines. This is to experience the wine in perfect harmony. I have mentioned this many times on this blog. The second conclusion is that a great producer can make excellent wine in difficult vintages. Wine Spectator rated three of these vintages between 86 and 90 points, only 2003 at 95 points (more on this later).

The best wine was the 2004 Lynch-Bages. It was in perfect balance. The redcurrant fruit still very present. The mouthfeel was surprisingly big. Cedar and tobacco flavours rounded out the palate, while the firm tannins held up the structure (96 points). The 2001 was also very enjoyable. Here I noticed more smoky and earthy flavours. This is a more developed wine with good length and still lively acidity (95 points). The 2002, from a really lean vintage, was holding up, too. It is a leaner wine, with red capsicum prominent - still a fresh and balanced wine (92 points).

The one wine that started to struggle, was the 2003 Lynch-Bages. This was a very hot vintage, in particular pre harvest. The wines were supposed to be powerful, but they were also ripe. And this showed in this wine. Redcurrant fruit was still there, but was overtaken by tertiary flavours, leather in particular. The tannins did not stand up any longer - a (probably) once attractive wine in decline (88 points).

Overall, this was a fascinating tasting. There was a special Lynch-Bages character, certainly in the first three wines mentioned: redcurrant fruit, liveliness, balance, backed by a firm tannin structure.

One more thing: Over 30,000 cases are made each year. Achieving outstanding quality for this volume is different from the minuscule quantities most Burgundy producers dare to handle. 

  

 

Frogmore Creek Chardonnay

 There is no doubt that Tasmania can deliver top shelf Chardonnay. Is the 2021 Frogmore Creek Chardonnay in the same league as Tolpuddle, Penfolds and a couple of others?

Floral notes will start you off, followed by pineapple and white peach. There is good purity of the fruit. The oak, through vanilla and nutty flavours, is quite present. The wine is a little sweet, which I did not find appealing, but might suit some. The wine has medium length and low acidity. This should be drunk young.

Clearly, this wine is not top shelf, but the attractive pricing reflects this.

Score: 89/0

Achaval Ferrer Malbec

 It was not until after I bought a bottle of 2019 Achaval Ferrer Malbec that I started to think about it. You see, this business is owned by Stolichnaya, a Russian vodka business. Are we, as individual consumers to boycott Russian goods? On one level, it makes sense, because it creates trouble for these companies, and hopefully creates pressure for the Russian regime. On the other hand, and in particular if the business resides elsewhere, it hurts local employment, and would it really achieve anything? Anyway, I had bought this bottle before those thoughts went through my mind.

Achaval Ferrer has done a lot for raising the quality of Argentina’ s Malbec. Following Catena Zapata, it became an advocate of single vineyard wines, based on old vines, and mostly from the Uco Valley. However, this wine is a blend from their vineyards, I guess from the declassified fruit for the single vineyard wines.

Blueberry and blackberry flavours dominate. The fruit is very pure and quite plush. Having said this, some savoury notes add to the overall pleasant  mouthfeel. Most of it is on the front palate. Still, the wine is balanced with a medium finish.

Score: 90/++