Chris Shanahan: Wine review – Angove, Xanadu and Mount Langi Ghiran

Angove Long Row Riesling 2015 $8–$11
Long Row riesling’s low price and drab label convey little of the very good wine quality. In the benign 2015 vintage the wine shows both the floral and citrus side of the riesling grape, in a delicious, round, juicy, drink-now, dry style. It comes from Angove’s Nanya vineyard on the hot stretches of the Murray River. While this is hardly a textbook site for the riesling grape, the family knows how to coax the best out of those vines, planted by Tom Angove back in the early 1970s.

Xanadu Fusion Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $18.05–$20
A spin-off of all the top-end cabernet coming out of Margaret River, is the emergence of high quality drink-now versions at more modest prices. Xanadu, maker of a couple of seriously good cabernets, now offers Fusion – a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, petit verdot and merlot. It’s a lot of wine for around $20 and really good representative of the elegant Margaret River style. The emphasis is on bright, fresh, ripe, berry-like flavours, with the minty and herbal notes typical of cabernet-related varieties. Fine tannins give the wine proper cabernet structure, but in an approachable drink-now style.

Mount Langhi Ghiran The Divide Grampians Shiraz 2013 $16
The Rathbone Wine Group’s Mount Langhi Ghiran specialises in the unique, peppery, savoury shirazes of Victoria’s Grampians region. In the best vintages, its flagship, The Langi Shiraz ($110), equals any red made in Australia, in its own idiosyncratic style. The more affordable Billi Bill Shiraz ($17) and Cliff Edge ($25) provide variations on the regional theme. And now “The Divide” shiraz, provides more good drinking – and evidence of the power Woolworths holds over such a small, but significant Victorian brand. This fruity, silky, savoury, spicy shiraz is available at Woolworths-owned Dan Murphys and Mount Langhi Ghiran cellar door.