Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay 2009 $22–$27
Drumborg Vineyard, Henty, Victoria
A generation ahead of his time, Karl Seppelt planted a vineyard for the then family company at Drumborg in 1964. It’s a cold site, near Portland in southwestern Victoria. Some say it’s the first landfall north of Antarctica. The vineyard grows beautiful chardonnay – high in natural acid, with intense flavours at the cool, grapefruit and melon end of the spectrum. Winemaker Emma Wood fermented and matured the wine in a mix of new and seasoned oak barrels, adding attractive but subtle complexities to one of the best value whites in Australia.

Zarephath Riesling 2007 $25
Porongurup, Western Australia
As the 2010 rieslings come on stream it’s refreshing to come across a maturing wine, currently available at Sage Restaurant or direct from Zarephath Wines, located in the very cool Porongurup region, just north of Albany  – see www.zarephathwines.com).
The pale colour belies its three years’ age. But the age becomes apparent in the intense, citrusy aroma with its little edge of “kero”, commonly seen in aged rieslings. The palate, however, pulses with life – it’s powerful, juicy, taut, lively, and steely dry, with a distinctive lime-like varietal flavour.

McWilliams Hanwood Estate Shiraz 2008 $9–$12
Gundagai, Hilltops, Heathcote, Limestone Coast, Orange, Riverina, Western Australia and Yarra Valley
The label bears only the broad appellation, Australia. Typically this indicates a blend from many regions. And in the case of well-resourced companies like McWilliams the mix includes components from some of our best regions. These add depth to components from higher-yielding vineyards. The combination means good flavour at a low price. The result, in Hanwood, is a fragrant, generously fruity red showing pure, high-toned varietal flavour and the round, soft tannins necessary for early drinking. This is a very, very good red at the price.

Capital Wines Ministry Series “The Foreign Minister” Sangiovese 2009 $25
Pialligo, Australian Capital Territory
This is Capital Wines’ first sangiovese – sourced from three clones of the variety, including two of the noble “Brunello”, grown at Pialligo Estate. It’s pale-to-medium in colour and the aroma and flavour reveal the appealing fruitiness of the 2009 vintage – a character shining through across all the red varieties I’ve tasted. Although it’s medium bodied, there’s good, fleshly depth to the berry fruit flavours; and these are held in check by fine, savoury tannins and high acidity. The acidity adds to the structure and boosts the brightness of the fruit flavours.

Terra Felix Sagrantino 2009 $21.50
Euston, New South Wales
It’s been almost twenty years since I’ve had the pleasure, but I still recall the palate-wrenching, tannic grip of Sagrantino di Montefalco – a sturdy, impenetrably inky-black drop from Umbria, Italy. Winemaker Terry Barnett’s version starts more seductively than the Italian original. It’s highly aromatic, combining pure, sweet berry aromas with a touch of spice. So far, so good. The palate starts with the same delicious fruitiness – then the jaws of tannin snap shut. The tannin, however, doesn’t swamp the fruit entirely and we find ourselves coming back again and again for just one more glass.

Domaine A Pinot Noir 2006 $70
Coal River Valley, Tasmania
Dense, crimson-rimmed Domaine A seems in a different pinot orbit than its Australian peers. It’s not pale. It’s not strawberry aromatic. And it’s not soft and rearing to go now. In pinot, deep colour sometimes points to over-extraction and hardness. But in Domaine A it’s a prelude to an extraordinary concentration of aroma and flavour – a deep, sweet, ripe, chewy opulence that grows over time: layers and layers of interwoven powerful fruit and powerful tannin. It’s balanced and you can drink it now. But it’s really built to cellar and I suspect it’ll do so with distinction.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Freeman Hilltops Fortuna 2009 $22–$25
Fortuna is a very smart, unusual and lovely blend sourced from five varieties grown on Dr Brian Freeman’s old vines in the Hilltops region. Freeman writes, “It is inspired by the aromatic white wines of two regions of northern Italy – Friuli and Alto Adige, a textural wine crafted from pinot gris, riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and a smidge of aleatico”. The blend works spectacularly well in the outstanding 2009 vintage. It’s highly aromatic with matching intense fruit flavour. However, it’s richly textured and savoury, too; and a firm (but gentle) bite of tannin lends and Italian touch to the finish.

Henschke

• Barossa Keyneton Euphonium 2008 $48
• Littlehampton Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2009 $34

In March 2008 an unprecedented, prolonged burst of scorching heat sent grape sugars soaring across the Barossa. Winemakers scrambled to harvest their grapes. But after initial pessimism, we’re seeing some decent wines from the vintage, including this elegant Eden and Barossa Valleys blend of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. It’s in the deeply flavoured but elegant Henschke style, with firm, persistent tannins suggesting a medium-term cellaring. The pinot gris shows the extra fruit richness of the benign 2009 vintage and a complex textural richness derived from maturation on spent yeast cells. It’s one Australia’s leading examples of this style.

Morambro Creek

• Padthway Shiraz 2008 $26–$28
• Jip Jip Rocks Padthaway Shiraz 2009 $16–$18
  
• Jip Jip Rocks Padthaway Shiraz Cabernet 2009 $16–18

Remember Padthaway – the huge sea of vines about an hour’s drive north of Coonawarra? Its grapes feed mainly into multi-regional blends, but over the years we’ve seen many very good regional varietals under the Lindemans, Stonehaven, Orlando Lawsons and other names. Morambro Creek is an independent operator in the region (see www.morambrocreek.com.au), making good value, generally elegant wines. In the hot 2008 vintage, the flagship shiraz seems notably fuller and more tannic than usual, still with an appealing, complex core of sweet and savoury fruit. The lower priced Jip Jip wines, from the milder 2009 vintage, show more traditional elegance and suppleness.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Henschke Louis Semillon 2009 $28
Eden Valley, South Australia
Named for the late Louis Edmund Henschke, this light-bodied, bone-dry semillon comes from 50-year-old vines on a Henschke vineyard. Like the Hunter style, it’s tank fermented, never goes near oak and is bottled early to preserve the fruit flavour. However, it’s slightly fuller than the Hunter style, with the distinct aroma and flavour of warm-grown semillon – somewhere between lemongrass and wet hessian. Don’t be put off by the latter, though, as there’s a zesty, tart, lemony tang setting Louis apart from other wines. Would be terrific with delicate fish.

Innocent Bystander Chardonnay 2009 $19.95
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Winemaker Steve Flamsteed writes that in the bushfire, smoke-damaged 2009 vintage Innocent Bystander destroyed all of their reds because “nothing made the cut” – but salvaged small quantities of whites through selective hand harvesting and gentle winemaking. The lovely chardonnay we see eighteen months after the fire delivers pure, varietal citrus and melon flavours, set in a textural richness derived from 100 per cent barrel fermentation and maturation. It’s rich, but not heavy, with lively natural acidity.

Picardy Merlimont 2008 $48
Pemberton, Western Australia
This is Dan Pannell’s occasional, special blend of merlot (58 per cent), cabernet sauvignon (26 per cent) and cabernet franc (16 per cent). It’s a beautiful, limpid wine, square in the refined, elegant St Emilion style. Merlot sets the rich, earthy flavour tones, but cabernet franc adds to the aroma intensity, while cabernet sauvignon contributes to the elegant but firm structure. It’s a complex, more-ish wine with a modest (for today) alcohol level of 13.5 per cent. While it drinks well now, it’ll probably evolve well for another decade.

Mount Majura Tempranillo 2009 $35
Mount Majura, Australian Capital Territory
If first impressions count, then Frank van de Loo’s latest tempranillo ranks among the best of the variety in Australia. At first opening the wine impressed for its pure, plush, fruit flavour – a characteristic, it seems of Canberra’s 2009 reds in general. A few days later, pleased we hadn’t quaffed the whole bottle on day one, we sipped on, savouring the intense, blueberry-like varietal flavour and delicious, savoury, persistent tannins. It’s only a matter of time before Spain’s tempranillo variety moves from niche to mainstream. It’s certainly at home on Mount Majura.

Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz 2007 $80
Eden and Barossa Valleys, South Australia
This is a one-off Henschke blend, sourced from growers in the Tappa Pass and Light Pass areas of the adjoining Barossa and Eden regions. Although matured in about 60 per cent new oak, the luxurious fruit simply gobbled the oak up, morphing into a wine of great dimension. In style, it sits between the hot Barossa and slightly cooler Eden – with vibrant, dark berry flavours, tinged with liquorice and spice, layered with soft tannins, and made complex by the subtle, integrated oak. It’s sealed with the German-developed glass Vino-Lok.

Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling 2010 375ml $35
Auburn, Clare Valley, South Australia
Winemaker Stephanie Toole produces two Clare Valley rieslings – a shimmering, lime-like, dry version from her Watervale vineyard (reviewed in Relax last Sunday) and this unique sweetie from nearby Auburn. Cutting the canes, or cordons, of the vines causes the grapes to become sweeter, while retaining pure varietal flavours and high acidity. The result is a pristine, varietal riesling with crisp acidity and very high sugar levels. It delivers dessert wine sweetness without the aid, or extraneous flavours, inserted by botrytis cinerea (noble rot).

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

d’Arenberg McLaren Vale “The Dead Arm” Shiraz 2007 $60
Grab a magnifying glass and you can read a lovely back-label treatise on the fungus “eutypa lata” and how it reduces an arm of the vine to dead wood (the dead arm) while the other side of the vine bears small crops of grapes of “amazing intensity”. You can read on and learn all the winemaking details. Better still, you can then twist the cap off and savour this extraordinary red, with some understanding of its origins and the traditions behind its making. It’s dense, deep, vibrant and layered with ripe fruit and tannin – but at the same time it’s savoury, earthy and satisfying.

Mount Majura Canberra District

• Riesling 2009 $21
• Chardonnay 2009 $21
• Pinot Gris 2010 $23

There’s great value here from winemaker Frank van de Loo at Mount Majura. The wines are all estate-grown and made. Riesling 2009 looks young, taut and fresh at 18 months, a bone-dry aperitif riesling with a zesty, lemony dryness. The chardonnay shows generous nectarin- and-melon varietal flavours backed by a rich, fine texture derived from barrel fermentation and maturation. It’s taut, fresh and structured to age well in the medium term. The pinot gris flaunts its youth with a high-toned, musk-edged aroma – but, under that, the crisper pear like varietal character lurks, ready to take over after a few months bottle age.

Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2010 $30
Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2010 $31
The variable and early 2010 vintage seems to be throwing out some terrific rieslings like this contrasting pair from Watervale, Southern Clare, and the Eden Valley, a little to the south of Clare, but also on the Mount Lofty Ranges. The green-tinted Mount Horrocks, made by Stephanie Toole, offers shimmering, lime-like varietal flavour and matching, bracing acidity. It’s an exciting riesling, good as an aperitif now but probably destined for a long life in the cellar. Henschke’s wine leans more to riesling’s floral side, with a slightly rounder, softer palate than the Clare wine. But it’s a wine of great depth and with proven cellaring potential.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Cullen Diana Madeline Cabernet Merlot 2008 $105
Margaret River, Western Australia
What a contrast on the tasting bench – an ink-black, 14.9 per cent alcohol $75 Coonawarra cabernet and Cullen’s limpid, 12.5 per cent alcohol $105 cabernet merlot blend. I’ve no objection to the blockbuster. But, oh my, how can anything beat Cullen’s subtle elegance? Despite the low alcohol, it’s perfectly ripe, with not a trace of the leafiness cabernet sometimes has. Vanya Cullen attributes the ripeness at low alcohol level to structural changes in the soil resulting from biodynamic management – and fastidious berry selection. This is a beautiful wine with the depth and structure to age gracefully for decades.

Champagne Lanson Gold Label Brut Vintage 1998 $68–$85
Champagne, France
In the right conditions, Champagne ages gracefully for many decades – protected by low cellaring temperatures, high acidity, yeast lees and dissolved carbon dioxide. Throw in the region’s unique, beautiful fruit flavours and you get the incomparably mature but fresh delicacy seen in this 12-year-old Lanson. The high acidity’s still there freshening up the deliciously honeyed, mature fruit flavours. In the context of Champagne it’s not of the first order – but it’s knocking on the door, and certainly trumps any Australian bubbly. Imported by Woolworths for Dan Murphy.

Kilikanoon Mort’s Block Riesling 2009 $20–$32
Watervale, southern Clare Valley, South Australia
It’s sold out at cellar door, but we bought our bottle at Candamber, Civic, en route to Flavours of India restaurant. What a perfect wine it was for the hot and spicy food. That’s generically true of dry and semi dry riesling, thanks to its pure fruit flavour and crisp acidity. But Kilikanoon went the extra yard, offering really intense, delicious varietal flavour and a pleasing textural richness that comes to good riesling after a year or two in bottle. Should drink beautifully for a decade at least.

Oakridge “The Parish” Shiraz 2008 $23–$33
Yarra Valley, Victoria
In a recent masked tasting this tasty, supple shiraz rated a tad behind Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard Shiraz 2008 (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand), but a length ahead of Hungerford Hill Tumbarumba Shiraz 2008. They were three very good, graceful cool-climate styles. The Oakridge wine focuses on fresh, pure, bright berry flavours, layered with soft, supple tannins. Its softness and delicious, fruity flavours provide good drinking now, but it’ll probably drink well for three or four years. Oakridge makes it for the Coles’ Vintage Cellars chain.

Ant Moore Pinot Noir 2008 $29.95
Central Otago, New Zealand
Ant Moore’s pinot comes without the fancy price tag of many of its Central Otago peers. While the colour’s mid-to-pale, it weighs in at a solid 14.2% alcohol and presents a solid, earthy, savoury face of pinot. The aroma and palate reveal full fruit ripeness, without the floral and musk notes we see in many local versions – it’s more vinous, with a touch of earthy “beetroot” and a savoury note from the oak. The palate’s full and finely textured with savoury pinot flavours and an assertive, tannic bite.

d’Arenberg “The Custodian” Grenache 2007 $19.95
McLaren Vale, South Australia
Grenache is the backbone of France’s Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation and a star of d’Arenberg’s wonderful red line up – in tandem with shiraz in the classic “d’Arry’s Blend”.  In “The Custodian”, though, grenache stands on its own. It’s earthy, rich and sweet fruited with a savoury dryness that goes well with food – a particularly good example that avoids the tendency to confection-like flavours that can be a turn off. In the concentrated 2007 vintage the savoury tannins feature more than usual, but as they’re backed by loads of fruit sweet, it looks to an age-worthy vintage.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010