Margaret River - Cabernet and Blends

A number of newer wineries were showing their Cabernets, some of which collected a fair bit of acclaim for their 2007 wines, including the Jimmy Watson winner Flametree Cabernet Merlot. Three such wineries are Juniper Estate, Flametree and Fraser Gallop. One interesting aspect here is that their Cabernets cost half or even less than those from the leading wineries. So how good are they?

The 2007 Juniper Estate Cabernet Sauvignon has good depth, ripeness and concentration, but I found the eucalypt flavours a bit too strong (90 points). The 2007 Higher Plane Cabernet, from young wines, was quite pleasant, but did not have the same depth (88 points). The 2008 Fraser Gallop Cabernet shows pretty varietal flavours, but the vines are quite young, and the wine lacks some mouthfeel (91 points). This could be very good once the grapes are more mature. The 2009 Cabernet Merlot is lighter, but with interesting earthy flavours (89 points).

The 2008 Flametree Reserve Cabernet is similar to the Fraser Gallop (90 points). The 2009 Cabernet Merlot shows shades of greenness (87 points).

I thought the 2008 Lenton Brae Willyabrup Cabernet was a shocker. It tasted sugary and sweet (82 points). The 2008 Redgate Cabernet was better, but the palate not well rounded (87 points).

The most interesting Cabernets came from Woodlands, Brookland Valley and Cape Mentelle. I always find the Woodlands brand hierarchy and prize points puzzling, and so it was again. The 2007 Woodlands Margaret Reserve Cabernet Merlot was quite polished, a well made wine, although lacking the depth of the best wines of that year (92 points). The flagship 2007 Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon was dark, mainly tasting of blackcurrant. It had earthy flavours, too (92 points). I scored it the same as the Margaret, but at more than twice the price ($100/bottle), it is simply too expensive.

Cape Mentelle showed the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was the best wine I tasted, by a whisker. It displayed typical red- and blackcurrant flavours, and had good fruit concentration. The mouthfeel lacked a little on the mid-palate, and while the finish was long, it lacked complexity or lift (93 points). The 2004 Brookland Valley Reserve Cabernet was an interesting contrast because of bottle age. The fruit was concentrated, with mulberry and minty flavours and a dry, still quite stringent finish (90 points).

I do not feel compelled to add any of these wines to my cellar. A second label Moss Wood or Cullen would have given these wines a run for their money.

Margaret River - Chardonnay

I attended a tasting of a number of Margaret River wineries. I tasted Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chardonnays left me somewhat underwhelmed.

I found the 2009 Brookland Valley Reserve Chardonnay quite woody, and lacking fruit and freshness (87 points). The 2009 Cape Mentelle Chardonnay was fresher, with lemon flavours, but not very intense. This wine had a nice acidity balance (90 points). The 2007 Voyager Estate Chardonnay was my favorite, with good core lime fruit, some length on the palate, but lacking a bit of acidity on the finish (91 points). The standard 2009 Woodlands Chardonnay is a fairly simple wine, but is fresh and goes down easy (88 points).

Has 2009 been a bad year in Margaret River for whites?

Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz

Regular readers may have noticed that I have posted less often lately and on other matters than tasting wine. Well, I am doing a detox now, and apart from losing weight, I lost all my yeast on my tongue, hopefully revitalizing a few taste buds.

However, I am allowed a 'cheat meal' every now and then. Tonight involved opening a 2005 Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz. One of the major surprises to me and others was the recent elevation of this wine to the top category in the Langton's Classification. I have never drunk a lot of this wine, but I have a few bottles. So tonight it was a 2005.

I have to say the wine impressed me. It delivers the holy grail of depth of flavour, elegance and silky smooth, long finish. It does not come first in any of these dimensions alone, but delivers a great combination. A serious wine, but also a good food companion.

The wine was fresh, but had developed complex flavours. It is rewarding to drink now, but will live well for another five years at least.

Score: 95/++

Wine-shopping Online

Many wine enthusiasts get frustrated that they cannot find the desired wine in the shops they go to or they are not sure how competitive the pricing is. Alternatively, you could go on the internet first. In the early days, online wine-shopping came and went. Transport was often expensive and unreliable. Online companies went bust.

A new generation of sites works with a large number of retailers. The most relevant of those with a global orientation is probably Wine-searcher.com, based in New Zealand. It lists over 4 million offers from more than 19,000 retailers across the globe. It is fairly simple to use and the pricing information is transparent. Typing in 'Moss Wood 2008', as an example, lists 63 entries. An annoying factor is that only the pro version for US$30 will list them all.

An alternative is Globalwinestocks.com, which is based in Canada. It is of similar size and operates in a similar manner. You click on the wine you want to buy and get switched to the online site of the retailer.

This method can be efficient, but does, in my view, not fully replace the personal service a specialist retailer or the winery direct can provide. No doubt, it will work for some.

Langton's Classification, Mark V

A number of reviewers have commented on the latest Langton's Classification, however, based on statistical analysis, a number of points can be made which I have not yet seen.

First of all, what does the Classification measure or reflect? It is a statistical analysis of the performance of wine at the Langton's auctions, the premier auction house in Australia. This means it is measured by wine consumers who like aged wine and by investors. As a result, it is inherently conservative, as both groups tend to favour proven names. The measure itself is performance against release price. It is therefore not an absolute measure of quality, and age-worthy wines which are not expensive can get in, as has happened with a number of cheaper Penfolds wines.

What are the trends against the last Classification, published in 2005? Let us look at three categories: which wines have dropped out, which are new and which have been upgraded (only two wines have been downgraded). Let us first look at grape varieties: Shiraz, which dominated the list in 2005, is the prime mover. Over half the new wines are Shiraz (18.5*), half of the upgrades are Shiraz (13.5*), and they also dominate the eliminated wines (6 out of 11). Cabernet Sauvignon has done well, with 8.5* new wines and 6.5* upgrades, and no elimination. Other varieties play minor roles: Pinot Noir (5 new, 3 out), Riesling (1 new, 3 upgrades), Chardonnay (1 new, 2 out), Semillon (2 upgrades). The result is clear, no major shift in grape varieties preference, except for a strong showing of Cabernet Sauvignon, which is contrary to the retail trade, where the focus is on immediate consumption.

What about regions? In the past, the Classification was dominated by wines from South Australia and Victoria. This has not changed, but the relative weight has shifted to South Australia. Victoria saw 7 out of 11 wines dropped, 4 Victorian wines were upgraded and 11 new wines added. South Australia saw 3 wines dropped, 13 upgraded and 19 added. The dominant region was the Barossa, with no wine dropped, 5.5* upgraded and 10.5* new wines. Coonawarra did pretty well, with no wine dropped, 2.5* upgraded and 5.5* new. McLaren Vale was almost as good. The other point to note is that NSW wines did better than Western Australia, thanks to Tyrells, McWilliams, Clonakilla and De Bortoli.

I find the regional results interesting. The most influential reviewers of newly released Australian wine, James Halliday and Jeremy Oliver, have a Victorian bias, and despising Robert Parker has become a bloodsport. However, in the secondary market, it is the big South Australian Shirazes which are valued most, even increasingly so. I must admit I like these wines, because they are uniquely Australian, although I am not keen on the excesses, for example Greenock Creek. Striving to make European wines here has always struck me as slightly odd. Having said this, I think we make some wonderful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

By the way, wines which have done well in my polls have scored well, with e.g. Clonakilla and Grosset Polish Hill being upgraded to the top 'exceptional' category.

Langton's does not publish the exact methodology, and I have no doubt a fudge factor is applied. What would be nice to have, though, is an auction barometer, say based on the top category, or a timeline of price realisation for Grange and Hill of Grace.

Some people who clearly did not like the outcome of this Classification have said it is irrelevant. Do we have some evidence here that maybe the most quoted review compendiums are irrelevant?

I am interested in your comments.

*the 0.5 results from a split with Coonawarra in Penfolds blended wines.

Henschke Mt. Edelstone

I reviewed the 2002 Mt. Edelstone a few posts ago and one of my readers suggested a comparison with the 2004. As I have it in my cellar, here it is.

The 2004 Henschke Mount Edelstone is an intriguing wine. It tastes of plum and mulberry, quite brooding flavours, yet very fresh and lively. There is also quite a lot of mint and some bacon on the palate. The fruit is nicely balanced with acidity, but you would not call this wine especially elegant. The wine has a firm structure and its significant tannins provide a long finish. The wine is perhaps not as big as one would expect for the 2004, and while there is a lot going on, it feels more like a hilly road along the tongue than a smooth highway.

Which is the better Mt. Edelstone, the 2002 or 2004? They are both very interesting wines and still too early to drink, but my vote goes to the 2002, which seems better balanced and destined for a very long life.

As an aside, I am slightly worried about the screw cap on these wines. Yes, they are very fresh, but where is the mellowing which can be so terrific with the Mt. Edelstone? Is anyone else worried?

Score: 94/+ (the minty flavour took one + off the wine for me)

John Duval Entity Shiraz

When John Duval branched out on his own after his long reign at Penfolds, there was a lot of interest what kind of wine he would produce. Focus on Shiraz? Big, powerful? A lot of oak?

The 2005 John Duval Entity Shiraz is my first taste of his 'standard' Shiraz. The wine is deeply concentrated, with good linear fruit purity and predominantly plummy flavours. Oak, I think French, is present, but the fruit comes through nicely. The overall impression is a bit one-dimensional, but the wine has good length and finishes on fine grained tannins.

Compared to Penfolds, this wine is more fruit dominated and a bit more forward, yet has good depth. This is not a bad effort for a 2005 Barossa wine. I will be interested to taste future vintages.

Score:92/+

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay

I read with interest yesterday that the 2008 Heytesbury Chardonnay had won a trophy in the Tri Nations challenge with New Zealand and South Africa, as I had the 2006 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay the day before.

I formed the view that Vasse Felix has made big progress in the last few years after having mainly drunk some of their reds.

This 2006 Chardonnay is already quite developed. It is a bigger style, with some butterscotch next to the pear and citrus flavours. The new oak is quite present, and the fruit flavours do not quite match the creamy overtones.

There is certainly complexity in this wine, but it is not the style I typically enjoy.

Score: 92/--

Napa/Sonoma Valley, part 3

The third day became the highlight, not so much because of the visit to the Robert Mondavi winery, but for the other heavyweights. The tour at Mondavi was interesting, but the wines very ordinary. It seems the focus is on volume now, not quality.

The second stop was the Napa Wine Company. There are a number of tasting rooms which showcase smaller wineries, and this is one of the best (Ma(i)sonry is another one well worth a visit). This is in fact a contract winemaker, where you can taste all the wine he makes. Their own label is Blackbird, and the 2007 Ghost Block SV is an excellent Cabernet. It has beautiful cherry fruit, very elegant, and nicely integrated soft tannins (94 points).

I also tasted the range of the Pahlmeyer wines, one of the best family wine companies in the valley. Their 2006 Pinot Noir was a lighter style, but lush and velvety (94 points). The 2006 Cabernet (includes 18% Merlot) tasted of black- and redcurrant and had depth and an elegant structure (95 points). The Pahlmeyer wines are beautifully crafted.

The first absolute highlight was the tasting at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (see picture below left). This is one of the American companies which beat the French in the famous 1976 tasting. I managed to taste the three top wines from the hyped-up 2007 vintage, which are all rated in the top 50 American Cabernets. The Fay tasted of sweet cherry, with earthy undertones and dry tannins. It most the most approachable of the three (93 points). The SLV comes from the next block, but with different, more volcanic soil. Its colour was deep, and the blackcurrant flavours dominated. There was also a lot of smoked bacon on the palate. The wine was very complex and powerful, with great depth and a lengthy finish - almost the wine of the tastings (96 points). The Cask 23 is their flagship wine, a best barrels blend of the two vineyards. It tasted of black- and blueberry and was softer and more elegant than the SLV. The wine was not as big and I felt it had a hole on the mid-palate (94 points).

The other highlight was the short tasting at Joseph Phelps. The only American Cabernet I currently have in my cellar is their 1997 Insignia, an excellent wine. The Insignia, their flagship wine, is a blend from six different Napa vineyards. They had just released the 2007 to great acclaim, and I could taste it next to the 2006 (picture below right). The 2006 is 95% Cabernet and 5% Petit Verdot, which contributes to the very inky colour. It tastes of red- and blackcurrant with good length and soft, dry tannins. I just felt it lacked a bit of mouthfeel (94 points). The 2007 is 88% Cabernet, 8% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot. It tasted very complex, with black cherry and meaty flavours dominating. The wine is very elegant, with great integration of flavours and structure, and it has a very long finish - my wine of the tastings (97 points). Joseph Phelps is clearly back to their very best and remains probably my favorite Napa winery, for consistency of very high performance and for wines which are not overblown and can go the distance.

Napa/Sonoma Valley, part 2

The Sonoma Wine Festival was on for my second day. I thought this would be a good opportunity to capture a lot of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, without having to go to the wineries in this larger area.

In principle it worked similar to when the Hunter comes to Balmoral etc., except it was 10 times larger, with maybe 250 wineries participating. There were four big tents for the big appelations of Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, Russian River and Sonoma. One of the great things was that many wineries offered a snack which went well with their wine, and they were quite sophisticated.

My overall theory did not work so well, though, because like here, the best wineries were not represented. The other complication was that there was a special area where, for a premium ticket, special wines were poured. They were better in quality, but often very unusual bottlings you could never hope to find.

Overall, the quality level was disappointing, in particular for white wine, but also for Pinot Noir. I found some good ones, though, from Scribe, Garry Farrell and Willowbrook. The best Pinots came from Russian River. They tended to be quite ethereal in nature, only medium bodied, and more in the strawberry and forest floor flavour spectrum, rather than cherry.

The top wine for me was a 2004 Pinot Noir from Clouds Rest, a fairly unknown producer with very densely planted vineyards, similar to William Downie here.

My conclusion was that as far as new world Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is concerned, Australia can hold its head high, and certainly match what I found in Sonoma.

However, day 3 is still to come.

Napa/Sonoma Valley, part 1

Pride Mountain Vineyards

American wines were virtually non existent in Australia until recently - simply too expensive. As the Australian dollar is heading towards parity, some wines start to trickle in. Hopefully my notes over the next few days will stimulate some interest to try Californian wines - you should find it worth your while.

I was recently in Napa for tastings after an absence of nine years. Then I was tasting the 1997 vintage, a classic vintage for Cabernet. This report is about day 1.

I wanted to start with the core: Cabernet Sauvignon. But before, we kicked off with a bit of Champagne at Domaine Chandon. Early in the morning, the guys behind the counter had the music on full blast and the sales pitch was pretty direct. We headed for the outside terrace straight away, and managed to settle down a bit.

For the rest of the day, we visited Groth, Pride, Revana, Hall and Whitehall Lane. I must say I found it quite difficult to get my bearings after such a long time. The wines are really different from what we are used to. There is limited value for my readership, I think, to go into detailed wine reviews (I will in part 3), so let us focus on some general observations.

1) The main white varieties on offer are Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Well, you can forget all of that in Napa proper. The Sauvignons I tried are nothing special, and the Chardonnays are one confused lot. Napa is trying to get away from heavily worked Chardonnays, oaked and butterscotch, but it is like in the car industry: they simply cannot do it. Unoaked wines are whimsical and the rest remains too heavy for our palate. Hail to the Chardonnay improvements in Australia.

2) The Cabernets and Cabernet blends (you do not have to declare other varieties if they are not exceeding 25%) are very masculine wines. They are really more comparable to South Australian Shiraz than Coonawarra or Margaret River Cabernets. They are ripe and alcoholic, although the excesses seem to have disappeared. 14.5% alcohol seems to be the norm.

3) These wines have much more acidity than what we are used to. At the same time, there is a big focus on elegance, mostly successful.

4) I enjoyed the wines on this day, but you have to go to the Reserve level for special wine experience, which tends to be a 'best barrels' approach and the pricing is US$60-150.

On this first day, there was no wine with a 'wow' factor, but generally good quality Cabernet. Pride Mountain is an interesting winery to visit. It is a beautiful property in the Howell Mountains with beautiful natural caves (all the rage in Napa) for storage. Revana may be the next big cult winery with Heidi Peterson Barrett, ex Screaming Eagle, as the winemaker.

Overall, a good day, but I was hoping for more.

Poll Results

The Toolangi Chardonnay is probably not well known outside Victoria, but in my opinion a good value proposition. Very comfortable with the winners of this poll being the Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir and Torbreck's Woodcutters Red. Both are good examples of larger volume wines benefiting from good winemaking practises. They definitely punch above their weight. And as the competition has a look, this will hopefully improve the quality and aspirations for the $15 to $30 per bottle segment.