Woodlands 'Alex' Cabernet Sauvignon

Woodlands is a good producer, and its vineyards sit on prime terroir in Margaret River. I have previously pronounced it as the worst developer of brands and labels in Australia, but I will not dwell on it this time.

The 2011 Woodlands 'Alex' Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautiful wine. It has a delicious core of black and blue fruits. The mouthfeel experiences a battle between this pure fruit and its dry tannins. The overall impression is one of elegance and balance which carries on to the fresh (still!) finish.

Score: 95/+++

E. Pira Barolo Cannubi Vineyard

The third wine in this series of full-bodied reds is the 2008 E. Pira Chiara Boschis Barolo Cannubi from arguably Piedmont's most famous vineyard. This is a balanced wine, but totally different from the previous two - the result of a different variety (Nebbiolo) and terroir.

 

The fruit is largely red cherry, simpler on the palate perhaps than is the case with the previous two wines, but on the nose, rose petals and complex aromatics create an enticing aroma. The tannins are strong, but well rounded, and the wine finishes very dry.

This wine needs protein. I paired it with lamb sausage, which was perfect. The wine drinks very well now, but will remain at this level, maybe increase some savoury notes, over the next 5+ years. 

Score: 95/+++

Rockford Basket Press

If you are asked to name a wine which represents everything that is good about Barossa Shiraz, many would mention Rockford Basket Press. The 2010 is an excellent example.

This is a full-bodied wine. Blackberry, plum, mulberry and mocca flavours fill the mouth. The complexity of flavours is well balanced by smartly applied oak. The wine has energy despite its ripeness. The tannins are surprisingly fine, and really reveal themselves only on the long finish.

How would this wine compare with the Pontet-Canet I reviewed a few days ago? Both great wines, but I would give the Basket Press a slight edge. This is a more generous wine, without feeling too big.

Score: 96/+++

Chateau Pontet-Canet

The 2005 Chateau Pontet-Canet is as full-bodied as they come from Bordeaux. It is only now coming into its own. I last reviewed this wine in 2011, when I said it was too early to drink. I now feel it has entered its maturing phase and is starting to drink well. Yes, you have to be patient with good Bordeaux and need a cellar.

Blackcurrant, plum and cassis flavours deliver a big mouthfeel. Elegance is emerging from under its oak frame. There is no gap on the mid-palate (as many Cabernets have). Firm tannins deliver a solid structure, and the finish is long.

This wine shows many aspects of new world wine. It would have been out of place in Bordeaux in the last century, but warmer vintages and changed winemaking have blurred the boundary, so obvious 20-30 years ago.

If the classification was redone today, this biodynamic estate would at least be 2nd growth. Prices tend to reflect this, but this wine is still a bargain compared with the 1st growth wines.

Score: 95/++ 

The World Of Sake

        

When in Japan, you are likely to drink sake. Yet most people have no clue what to order and how to distinguish different types. I participated in a structured tasting of the Kyoto Insider Sake Experience 

https://kyotosakeexperience.com/. It was an excellent introduction. You learn about the different dimensions, for example the importance of water (20 litres are needed for 1kg of rice), the different grains of rice, different polishing levels, added alcohol or not, different sweetness and different acidity. There are now also nonpasteurised and non diluted sakes, a bit similar to natural wines. These cannot easily be exported, as they need to be fresh and chilled. The presentation given was clear and well structured.

There are some surprises. For example, less polished rice does not lead to inferior sake. It just means there are more proteins and minerals in the drink, whereas the more polished ones are of pure starch, leading to more delicate and fruity sake, which the Japanese prefer. I liked the less polished sakes, the  Junmais, for their rice taste and complexity. So did my host.

The different sakes are tasted on their own, and then with food. The differences are striking and the pairings illuminating.

This was an excellent experience, which I can highly recommend. I will now order sake in a much more informed way.

Primaterra Primitivo

The 2017 Primaterra Primitivo (Zinfandel for you American folks) is from Puglia, Primitivo’s birthplace, I think. This is a full-bodied wine, yet easy drinking, not heavy. The flavours are of plum and black cherry, lifted by firm acidity. The wine has a sweet core, and licorice and savoury notes on the back palate. It is pleasant to drink, with a straightforward finish.

This wine is less bold and in your face than many American Zinfandels and incredibly good value.

Score: 89/++

Chateauneuf du Pape 2016

This is a report on a brief tasting of only four wines from the region. I regard the first two at entry level wines, but I was curious how they would look in a vintage such as the great 2016.

The  2016 Font du Vent CDP shows pretty fruit, raspberry and red cherry flavours. There is also some licorice. This is an easy, medium-bodied wine to drink, with a slightly harsh finish (88 points).

The 2016 Pierre Usseglio CDP has a similar fruit profile, but more intensity. There are also some chocolate flavours. This is a fresh wine with a relatively simple finish (91 points).

Frankly, I would prefer to go for a Cote du Rhone blend at a third of the price.

The third wine was the 2016 Vieux Telegraphe CDP. I must admit, I am a big fan of this estate. There is great integrity in the wines, savoury flavours are always prominent, and the wines are never overblown. This wine tastes of red and black cherries, and it is savoury as expected. The wine is very silky and elegant, but the power is evident on the long finish. I rate this wine 95 points now, but it could go higher in a couple of years.

Then there was one wine from the Gigondas, the 2016 Domaine le Pallieres Terrasse du Diable. This wine has quite a different flavour profile. Red and black fruits are wound up in earthy notes, and the acidity is considerable (91 points).

Torbreck, The New And The Trusted

Torbreck, under new winemaking management, has taken some steps to broaden its offering. I am comparing here two newbies and two oldies from a recent tasting. Nothing has changed on the labels. It is still plain writing on white. Nothing wrong with that.

The first new wine is the 2016 Hillside Grenache, from a very old vineyard in Lyndoch with sandy soils. It is a few special rows which used to go into the Steading. The wine is fragrant, medium-bodied, raspberry fruit of some intensity, also some black fruits. The wine is appealing on the front palate, but then falls off (92 points).

Compare this to the 2017 Steading GSM. This wine offers more intensity and complexity. Raspberry, plum, black cherry and spices compete for your attention. The wine components are well integrated, but lack a bit of mouthfeel. The tannins are silky, but do not have much impact (93 points).  

The first wine is the more expensive wine because of its scarcity, the Steading is the better wine.

Another new wine from the Hillside vineyard is the 2017 Hillside Shiraz Roussanne. This is a typical Torbreck wine of old: big, fat, plum profile with good fruit depth, and an alcoholic finish (90 points).

Compare this to the 2017 Struie. In this vintage, the Eden Valley component is 22%. It may be the junior partner to the Barossa Valley fruit, but it has quite an impact. Next to the intense plum fruit, there are blueberry notes and a perfumed aspect to the flavour. The mouthfeel is big, and the firm tannins are well integrated. This fruit dominant wine is too early to drink, and will come together well with time (94 points).

In this comparison, old wins over new. 

Torbreck RunRig

The 2016 Torbreck RunRig is creating plenty of waves, even before its world-wide release on 1 June. This is due to its 100 point rating by Robert Parker, only the second time this has occurred in the 20 year life of this brand. I had an opportunity to taste this wine yesterday.

The first impression is; this wine has beautiful balance. It is lingering in the mouth and goes on and on. The colour of the wine is the usual impenetrable deep purple. Back to the flavour; this wine is delicious, great depth of fruit, unfolding in layers, not too heavy, with a rounded mouthfeel and silky tannins. The Viognier component does not stand out, but gives the wine a lift on the very long finish.

Make no mistake, this is a typical Torbreck wine with 15% alcohol, but the fruit can take it. It goes against the trend of lighter wines, but has probably shifted slightly to a fresher profile.

Score: 98/++

Am I swayed by the Parker rating? I hope not. Torbreck has access to the best and oldest Shiraz grapes in the Barossa Valley and in this release has fashioned a special wine. There is a word of caution, though, as I was able to compare this wine with the release from 10 years earlier, the 2006 Torbreck RunRig.

This wine had the 'advantage' of being poured from Magnum. And there was still some freshness in the wine. The flavour and structural profile was very similar to the 2016, but the fruit flavours were beginning to decline. The wine is now more savoury, the tannins are still silky, but the high alcohol (15.5%) is now starting to show, leading to a slightly hot finish.

Score: 94/0

The lesson from this comparison is to pick the drinking window of the 2016 RunRig carefully. It will definitely benefit from some maturity, but I would suggest to drink this wine earlier than what would be normal for a wine of this pedigree, maybe at 5 years of age. The fruit needs to still be strong to keep the alcohol in check.  

Lucien Le Moine 2016 Releases

Lucien Le Moine is a small negociant in Burgundy, yet he releases over 50 1er Cru and Grand Cru each year. I had a rare opportunity to taste 11 of them from the 2016 vintage.

There are a number of things which set Lucien Le Moine apart from most other Burgundy producers; most significantly his long élevage period of 18-24 months. He lets the wine sit on lees and does no racking. With this method, he requires no sulphur. All wines undergo malolactic fermentation and are aged in 90-100% new oak of low toast.

The first bracket of four wines are Chardonnays from Chassagne-Montrachet and Meursault. The quality of these wines is very high. Apart from the first wine, I rate them 94-95 points. Charmes was my favorite from this bracket. As expected from a 1er cru of Meursault, this is quite an opulent wine, but it is elegant as well, with good drive. The Chassagne-Montrachet wines and the Porusot are leaner, showing attractive minerality.  

                              

In the first red bracket, there is a difference between the first two wines, and the next two. The first two wines are a little lean, reflecting the cooler condition of the 2016 vintage, with acidity being a strong feature. The Les Cazetiers is a complex wine from almost 100 year old vines. It is expressive , with spiciness and earthy flavours, and a long finish (94 points). The first Grand Cru from Latricières is even more elegant, with silky tannins (95 points). 

                           

The two Grand Crus in the last bracket really shine. Clos de Vougeot is the largest Grand Cru in the Côte-de-Nuits and can be quite variable. Lucien Le Moine has access to fruit from the lower, middle, and upper part in order to achieve a balance between the different influences of fruit weight and elegance. The 2016 wine has good depth of fruit, silky tannins and a long lasting finish (96 points). The top wine is the Bonnes Mares Grand Cru. A similar profile to the Clos de Vougeot, it has additional smoothness, and therefore an outstanding texture. This wine has been described as the signature wine of Lucien Le Moine, but you have to pay about $A800/bottle for it (97 points). The Feusselottes was sandwiched between these two, and could not match them in fruit depth and mouthfeel. 

    

                         

Bindi Dixon Pinot Noir

Bindi is currently releasing its new 'entry level' wines, so I thought it would be good to see how one of them has developed over time.

The Dixon used to be the Composition Vineyard Pinot Noir. How is the 2014 Bindi Dixon Pinot Noir drinking now? In short, extremely well.

The colour of the wine is still red, with medium depth. A beautiful aroma of forest fruits lifts out of the glass. This is sophisticated!

Dark cherry fruit flavours kick off the tasting experience, but then savoury and mushroom notes take over. This is a medium-bodied wine, still quite delicate and very elegant. The fruit profile is not too complex, but the texture is very balanced and subtle. There is enough intensity in this wine, and the finish is smooth.

This wine is clearly better now than on release, and has many good years in front of it.

Score: 94/+++ 

Super Premium Spanish Wines, Including A $2500 Bottle

I recently attended a tasting of outstanding Spanish wines, where the emphasis was on 'delicacy', not something automatically associated with Spanish wines. I will report here on the Mencia wines, and the wines from Priorat and Rioja. The tasting was set up in such a way that a top-level blended wine was shown first, followed by some single vineyard wines, which the Spanish only recently started to emphasize.

Mencia is a grape variety grown in the northwestern part of Spain. It derives from Portuguese varieties. It has a reputation for light and diluted wines, but more serious wines have recently been made, with great success. The 2016 DJP 'Petalos' from Bierzo is one of the leading blends. It is very attractive wine, based on red cherry flavours with good intensity, great length and a dry finish (93 points). The two single vineyard wines were from Valdeorras. The 2015 Telmo Rodriguez 'As Caborcas' Vineyard wine is a bit lighter and delicate, with enticing sea-spray and spice flavours (93 points). The 2015 Telmo Rodriguez 'Falcoeira' Vineyard wine is more generous, with a bigger mouthfeel, sea-spray again on an elegant texture, and a balanced finish (94 points).

The blended Grenache from Priorat is the 2017 Blai Ferre Just 'Billo'. This is a medium-bodied wine, raspberry the dominant  up-front fruit flavour, but not overpowering, delivering an elegant and balanced structure with a dry finish (93 points). Next is the 2015 Blai Ferre Just 'Desnivell' Vineyard Grenache. Apart from raspberry fruit, there are also blue fruits here - a very drinkable wine (92 points).

The highlight of the tasting arguably were the two wines of Alvaro Palacios. The 2015 'Finca Dofi' shows quite a light colour, which translates onto the palate, but the intensity grows quickly, a bit like an iron fist in a velvet glove. The raspberry flavours are matched by savoury notes (94 points). The famous 2015 L'Ermita is quite a fascinating wine. The colour is light as well. This is a very smooth wine, dancing on your tongue. It has been described as liquid poetry. The subdued fruit lays bare the complexity of this wine, from orange rind to slate minerality. A little sweetness completes the satisfying mouthfeel (96 points). 

Is this wine worth $2500 per bottle? First, why does it cost so much? Yes, the yield is low, and the handling is very detailed and specific, but the main reason is that the fruit comes from a 1ha property. So scarcity drives the price. For a case of 12 bottles, you get a decent car. The wine is gone in 12 nights, but the car lasts years. Ok, I am comparing luxury with utility, but it is hard to make a rational case for it. As there is very little going around, the winery is not relying on rational decision-making; so it all works out.

The Rioja blend is the 2016 Alegre & Valganon Tempranillo-Garnacha. This is an odd blend. The wine has some depth, but is not complex; an easy drinking style with a little sweetness (90 points). The 2016 Alegre & Valganon 'La Calleja' Vineyard Tempranillo is a light to medium-bodied wine. The wine has good drive on the back of its red cherry fruit, but is a little harsh on the finish (90 points). A more interesting wine is the 2016 Alegre & Valganon 'Bahiarra' Field Blend. Field blends are all the rage in Portugal, but this is good, too. The wine has a darker colour, which translates into darker fruit, mainly black cherry, on the palate. The texture is very harmonious (93 points). 

The two best Rioja wines were the 2016 Sinodo Viticultors 'Los Tollos' Tempranillo, and the 2015 Telmo Rodriguez 'Tabuerniga' Tempranillo. The former impressed with its complex fruit flavours and superb elegance, before finishing light (95 points), the latter was a bigger wine with complex fruit and earthy flavours, wound together for a satisfying mouthfeel (94 points).