Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2012 $26.60–$35
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Coldstream makes several pinots. In 2012 this included the sensational “reserve” ($85) and two single-vineyard bottlings, The Esplanade ($50) and Deer Crossing ($50) – both of which I rated slightly ahead of the lower priced standard blend. The reserve is built for the long haul, and both single vineyard wines also offer good cellaring. However, the standard blend, often on special at under $30, shows the sophistication of a wine honed and polished over a quarter of a century. It’s well removed from the “strawberry and raspberry” simplicity of many Australian pinots. Instead it presents a deeper, darker side of the variety – more akin to ripe cherry and plum – in a savoury, earthy coat of silky tannin, partly oak derived, and seasoned with a subtle stalkiness derived from whole-bunches included in the ferment. This wine, too, will cellar in the medium term. It benefits from a good aeration now, revealing a little more with every glassful.

Gilberts 3 Lads Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 $18
Mount Barker, Western Australia
Bev Gilbert whizzed through Canberra in September, promoting wines from her family vineyard at Mount Barker. She and husband Jim planted vines on their farm in 1985 and over time built a solid wine business – though they continue to run sheep. They also raised three sons, inspiration for the label of this intensely flavoured cabernet. Cassis like varietal flavours come wrapped in the region’s tight, dry savoury tannins. The Gilberts send their grapes to Cath Oates at nearby Plantagenet Wines for winemaking.

Pizzini Prosecco 2013 $19.50
King Valley, Victoria
Although the variety probably originated in Istria, Croatia, prosecco is best known as the grape of north-eastern Italy’s light, fresh sparkling wines. Italian-descended vignerons in Victoria’s King Valley have adopted it as their own and now make light, fresh, fruity versions like this 2013 vintage from the Pizzini family. The fruit was hand picked and whole-bunch pressed and the juice cold fermented – techniques that preserve pure, fresh fruit character. It’s an aperitif style designed for drinking immediately on release.

Pizzini Nebbiolo 2010 $45
Pizzini vineyard, King Valley, Victoria
Pizzini’s nebbiolo accompanied us to Pulp Kitchen, Ainslie, where it upstaged the food. Piedmont’s noble red variety can do that – though more often than not it falls flat, a victim of its intractable tannins. Pizzini’s, however, revealed the charming, elegant side of the variety with an enticing perfume, matched by delicious bittersweet cherry-like flavours. The distinctive, tight tannins arrived, too, but in harmony with that kernel of lovely fruit.

Glorioso Rioja Reserva (Bodegas Palacio) 2007 $27
Rioja, Spain
Vintage Cellars, a retail brand of Coles Liquor Group, imports this 100 per cent tempranillo from Spanish producer, Bodegas Palacio. Under Spanish law, to be called ‘reserva’, Rioja reds must be aged a total of three years, at least one in oak barrel – in this instance French barriques. The oak, however, contributes subtly to a mellow, medium-bodied red that remains vibrant, fruity and fresh six years after vintage. Age seems simply to have rounded off the edges of the tannin, which can be quite pronounced in tempranillo.

Ferngrove Limited Release Malbec 2011 $20
Frankland River, Western Australia
Malbec (also known as cot) is the dominant red grape variety of Cahors, France, and is the national red specialty of Argentina. It originated in France, and shares a mother with the Bordeaux variety, merlot, making the varieties half-siblings. It makes dark, fruity, tannic wines and in Australia is generally blended with other varieties. However, it stands on it own, as demonstrated in Ferngrove’s satisfying, ink-dark, deeply fruity, firmly tannic 2011. Ferngrove, controlled by Hangzhou businessman Xingfa Ma, focuses on exports into Europe, North America and China and recently appointed Angoves as national distributor in Australia, putting the wines in reach of a larger audience.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 16 October 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2012 $100
Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
Canberra (and Australia’s) benchmark shiraz–viognier came out of the blue – a wine style no one would have backed in the first two decades of Canberra viticulture. But the wine, now honed to perfection, speaks for itself. Indeed, without it, Canberra may have puddled around for decades seeking a red-wine identity. Fittingly, Gourmet Traveller named its creator, Tim Kirk, as winemaker of the year just as we finished the last few mouthfuls of our bottle. It’s a stand out vintage – all perfume, spice and silk. It’s a unique wine in Australia’s wide and extraordinary spectrum of shiraz styles.

Gallagher Shiraz 2012 $25
Gallagher vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
Winemaker Greg Gallagher describes 2012 as a wonderful vintage, “Especially after so many difficult seasons – 2009, 2010 and particularly 2011”. He says rain delayed ripening and this probably accounts for the extra depth of flavour in this outstanding shiraz. The cool ripening conditions also explain the peppery high notes of the aroma – a varietal character seen more intensely in cool-grown shiraz. The seductive aroma leads with pepper, but also includes spice and fresh, bright fruit characters. The elegant palate reflects the aroma – and persistent, ripe, fine tannins add savouriness and grip to the lean, peppery finish.

Quarry Hill Shiraz 2009 $18
Quarry Hill vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
The inclusion of three Canberra shirazes, all from Murrumbateman, in today’s reviews underlines our region’s great strength with this variety. These are beautiful wines – all variations on a generally fine-boned, spicy cool-climate style. Quarry Hill, made by Alex McKay, won the trophy as best shiraz at this year’s Winewise Small Vignerons Awards. Four years’ age simply enhances the appeal of its buoyant, spicy, flavours – cut through with fruit and oak savouriness. It’s a riper, rounder style than the Gallagher wine. Alas, the wine is all but sold out – hardly surprising given the quality and price. There’s limited stock available at cellar door (quarryhill.com.au), Dan Murphys, 1st Choice Braddon, Ainslie Cellars, Plonk and George’s Liquor Stable.

Gallagher Riesling 2013 $20
Barton Estate, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
As I enjoyed Greg and Libby Gallagher’s 2013 riesling, an email arrived from Matt Skinner at the Canberra and Region Wine Show. Skinner wrote, “Just judged riesling 13 – possibly the best bracket of riesling I’ve ever had the pleasure of judging!”. And if Gallagher’s riesling was in the line up, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t win silver or gold [It won silver]. This is seductive riesling – floral and lime-like in aroma and flavour, with mid-palate richness, and a fine, delicate and dry finish.

Helm Riesling 2013 $26
Cullen vineyard, Tumbarumba, NSW
In 2013, veteran Tumbarumba grape grower, Juliette Cullen, offered Ken Helm a parcel of riesling grapes. Helm accepted them, he says, as they looked ripe and healthy and free of sunburn, disease or bird damage. From the grapes Helm made just 370 cases of dry riesling. It’s slightly plumper than his Murrumbateman wines, and offers attractive citrus-like varietal flavour, with a touch of granny smith apple.

Pizzini Sangiovese $26
King Valley, Victoria
Sangiovese can sometimes be a little too skinny – lacking fruit, but not mouth-puckering tannins. Fred Pizzini’s 2012 gets it pretty well spot on – a kernel of sweet, ripe, cherry-like fruit flavour gives life and instant appeal to the palate. And the variety’s earthy, savoury flavours and firm tannins counterbalance the sweet fruit. It’s a distinctive and loveable wine style. Pizzini attributes the intense fruit flavour to seasonal conditions. He writes, “Summer was colder than average, this was good for the vines and fruit maturation process. The conditions allowed for flavours in the grapes to mature at the same rate as sugar ripeness”.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 9 October 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

Torbreck Barossa Valley Cuvee Juveniles 2011 $20
Founder, David Powell, recently departed Torbreck, the winery he founded in 1994 and built into one of the Barossa’s most esteemed names globally. Torbreck continues, however, under American owner Pete Kight. A group of us recently enjoyed Torbreck Juveniles at Shorty’s, Garema Place. An unoaked blend of grenache, mataro and shiraz, it’s a delicious lunch wine – fragrant and fruity with soft tannins and a smooth, silky texture. Powell made the wine originally for the Juveniles Restaurant, Paris. You can now find it on a number of Canberra wine lists and in retail outlets. Expect to pay double the retail price in restaurants.

Schild Estate Barossa Valley Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz 2012 $15
Ed Schild and his family own about 160-hectares of vines in the southern Barossa Valley, a winery and a cellar door at Lyndoch – the lovely little southern gateway to the valley. The significant vineyard holdings allow the Schilds to sell grapes to other winemakers as well as to make 40 thousand or so dozen under their own label. Offering tremendous value is their unoaked blend of grenache, mourvedre (aka mataro) and shiraz. Like Torbreck’s blend, above, it offers ripe, juicy fruit flavours and soft tannins for current drinking. It’s fuller bodied than Torbreck’s, reflecting the warmer 2012 vintage.

Jacob’s Creek Classic Chardonnay 2012 $8.55–$12
Jacob’s Creek Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2012 $14.25–$18
Even critics who should know better sometimes heap scorn on popular brands like Jacob’s Creek. But the proof of the wine is in the bottle. And on that account Jacob’s Creek’s two chardonnays offer really delicious drinking at fair and – thanks to retail competition – widely variable prices. The Classic, a multi-regional South Australian blend, provides smooth, medium-bodied drinking with fresh, lively, pure melon and peach varietal flavour. The Reserve version delivers the full, but refined, deep, nectarine-like flavour of cool-grown chardonnay – the flavour completely integrated with minerally, fresh acidity.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 6 October 2013 in the Canberra Times

Quarry Hill Lost Acre Tempranillo 2013 $18
Quarry Hill vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
In a tasting of eight Australian tempranillos, two Canberra wines appealed strongly in utterly different ways. In the serious, complex, sip-and-savour mould, Mount Majura 2012 topped the list. But Quarry Hill 2013, the first from this Murrumbateman vineyard, strutted the naked beauty of the variety fresh from the vine. Quarry Hill’s Russell Kerrison described “the delicate juggling at harvest to get good fruit without going either side of it [neither over- nor under-ripe]”. Winemaker Alex McKay praised “the quality of fruit in a very good year”. The excellent balance of fruit, acid and tannin in the fruit, he said, suited production of a fruity, early-bottled style. Kerrison and McKay both see boldness, and an element of risk, in a style outside the mainstream for the variety in Australia. The risk paid off, as this is a joyous, fruity wine with tempranillo’s strong but rounded tannins.

Mount Majura Tempranillo 2012 $42
Mount Majura Vineyard, Canberra District, ACT
Alex McKay made Quarry Hill’s first tempranillo in 2013. At Mount Majura Frank van de Loo crafted his tenth in 2012. Now Mount Majura’s flagship variety, tempranillo, says van de Loo, “covers more area in our vineyard than any other single variety”. Cool conditions in 2012 produced a light-to-medium bodied style (compared to seven other tempranillos in the tasting), with just-ripe cherry and plum varietal flavours and delicious spicy and peppery notes. A day after the tasting we paired it with baked salmon in pastry, cooked by Linda Peek . The medium body, fruity-spicy-peppery flavour and savoury but fine tannins folded deliciously in with the food. See Linda’s recipe.

Balnaves Shiraz 2010 $24–$26
Balnaves vineyards, southern Coonawarra, South Australia
The 2010 vintage Coonawarra reds passing across Chateau Shanahan’s tasting bench point to an exceptional vintage. A few recent highlights include Majella Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, several Wynns reds (Black Label Shiraz 2010, John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Messenger Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 and Michael Shiraz 2010) and this voluptuous, silky shiraz from Balnaves. Although it’s rich, full, round and silky, it retains Coonawarra’s elegant structure. A small amount of viognier in the blend might account in part for the notable silkiness. Should age well for a decade despite its seductive appeal now.

St Huberts Roussanne 2012 $30
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Roussanne, perhaps the least known of the Rhone Valley’s white trio – roussanne, marsanne and viognier – makes a more subtle wine than its peers. In this instance, winemaker Greg Jarratt barrel fermented juice from handpicked fruit in French oak barrels. The wine shares textural characteristics with other barrel fermented whites, but the flavours head off in their own direction, well removed from those of say chardonnay, marsanne or viognier. It’s a distinctive, full-flavoured (but not heavy), smooth-textured dry white with subtle, pear-like flavour and tangy, slightly tart finish. St Huberts is a brand of Treasury Wine Estates.

Brookland Valley Unison Chardonnay 2012 $17–$22
Margaret River, Western Australia
Brookland Valley is one of many brands of Accolade Wines, the successor of Constellation Wines Australia and before that the Hardy Wine Company. Brookland’s entry-level Unison shows us the leaner, even skinny, face of modern Australian chardonnay – an overreaction, perhaps to the fat, buttery styles of old and to the dominance of sauvignon blanc. It’s a clean and pleasant enough wine. But to my taste chardonnay needs more flesh on the bone.

Running with Bulls Tempranillo 2012 $16–$20
Barossa, South Australia
In the same tasting as the other two tempranillos reviewed today, Yalumba’s Running with Bulls revealed yet another side of this versatile variety – consistent with the general Barossa red style. Though a touch less aromatic than either of the Canberra wines, the palate delivered an initial hit of delicious, ripe, round, juicy cherry-like varietal flavours. But tempranillo’s abundant tannins soon closed in on the fruit, giving a satisfying grip to the finish. The Barossa, incidentally, is home to 135 hectares of tempranillo, the largest plantings of any Australian region.

Copyright  Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 2 October 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au