Monthly Archives: November 2015

Wine review – Greywacke, Soumah, Jacob’s Creek, d’Arenberg, Huntington Estate, and Tulloch

4 November 2015Wine, Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Greywacke Pinot Noir 2013
Yarrum and other vineyards, southern valleys, Marlborough, New Zealand
$40–$45
Marlborough makes its red specialty, pinot noir, mostly in the light and fruity, drink-now style. However, the area’s cool, sunny climate suits the variety and the best equal those of more glamorous New Zealand pinot regions like Central Otago and Martinborough. Kevin Judd’s Greywacke is one of those. His beautifully harmonious, 2013 delivers deep, ripe, varietal flavours, meshed with the earthy, savoury, smoky flavours and silky texture of great pinot noir.

Soumah Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
Soumah vineyard, Gruyere, Yarra Valley, Victoria
$31–$40
Soumah 2014 topped the chardonnay classes at this year’s Royal Sydney Wine Show to win the chardonnay trophy, then the best-white-of-show trophy. The judges no doubt loved the completeness of a wine built on outstanding stone-fruit and grapefruit-like varietal flavour, with the extra dimension contributed by skilled winemaking: barrel fermentation with indigenous yeast, barrel maturation and partial malolactic fermentation (converting harsh malic acid to soft lactic acid). That all adds up to a full-bodied, smooth-textured, refined chardonnay, seasoned with barrel-derived flavours.

Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz 2014
Padthaway, Coonawarra and Bordertown, Limestone Coast, South Australia
$10.90–$18
On a quality basis, Jacob’s Creek Reserve justifies its full $18 recommended price. But why pay that when it’s perennially discounted, currently to $10.90 as part of a six-bottle buy? Lap it up and let the marketers worry about how they differentiate it from the standard Jacob’s Creek brand. The 2014 delivers pure, vibrant varietal fruit flavours on a medium-bodied, elegantly structured palate.

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original Shiraz Grenache 2013
McLaren Vale, South Australia
$16–$19
d’Arry Osborn popularised this rich, warm blend of shiraz and grenache decades ago as d’Arenberg Burgundy. Varietal labelling from the early 1990s made no difference to its quality, style or long-term cellaring ability – the latter a rare thing in sub-$20 reds. The new release shows the extra body and depth of a very good vintage. It offers full-flavoured, bright fruit, deeply layered with firm, satisfying tannins – perhaps a touch firmer and more assertive than usual.

Huntington Estate Semillon 2015
Huntington Estate vineyard, Mudgee, NSW
$22
Huntington Estate, founded in 1969 by Bob and Wendy Roberts, built a reputation as much for its music festival as for its long-lived red wines. Tim Stevens bought Huntington a decade ago and continues making wine in the styles established by Roberts. Stevens’ new semillon, weighing in at just 11.7 per cent alcohol, provides light, lemony, juicy flavours on a soft, drink-now palate. Available at huntingtonestate.com.au.

Tulloch Pokolbin Dry Red Shiraz 2014
Pokolbin, Lower Hunter Valley, NSW
$30
There’s a paradox in Hunter shiraz: a warm to hot region this far north ought to make ink-deep, high-alcohol, big and tannic wines. Instead it makes limpid, medium bodied shiraz of moderate alcohol (13.5 per cent), with soft, silky tannins. The Tulloch family’s 2014, a great example of the regional style, sits light and bright on the palate, with fruit flavours reminiscent of red summer berries. Soft tannins weave through the fruit and together they create a well balanced, satisfying but gentle red. It’s enjoyable now, but a few years’ bottle age should see the Hunter’s earthy characters come into the picture.

Beck’s – confusing label and a paradox

4 November 2015Beer, Beer reviewChris Shanahan

Left: Aussie-brewed Beck's, pale and fresh. Right: two glasses of the darker, stale imports — Left: Aussie-brewed Beck’s, pale and fresh, but its origin revealed only on the back label. Right: two glasses of the darker, stale Woolworths import.

Beck’s $US20m settlement highlights beer paradox:
locally brewed version likely better than the German import

A US class action over deceptive packaging of US-brewed Beck’s beer has resulted in a US$20mllion settlement. Americans who thought they were buying a German import will be able to get cash payments.

Beck’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, agreed to the settlement and changed its packaging. But under the settlement did not admit any wrongdoing.

In Australia, Lion brews Beck’s, though Woolworths imports the German original. The two bear identical front labels, except the word “Imported” appears on the German neck label and “330ml on the Australian label. Only on the back label does the Australian brew declare its origin.

In a triple blind tasting, the fresh Australian Beck’s outclassed our stale German bottle, bearing a September use-by date, but purchased on 21 October from BWS.

The benefits of local brewing, including freshness, are many. But drinkers deserve a prominent statement of origin. Shouldn’t it be on the front label?

Reviews

Mornington Pale 330ml can $4.40
Like a genie rising from the bottle, the aroma of lavish, citrus-like hops gush out with the hiss of the can’s tab. The hops flow through as a spikey, tart sensation on the rich, malty, vigorous palate. Resiny, citrusy hops flavours rise through the malt and subside partially as their bitterness takes over and lingers.

Sint Canarus Tripel 330ml bottle $8.20
Sint Canarus, a small craft brewer in the Belgium village of Gottem, makes this strong ale (7.5 per cent alcohol) in a style developed originally by Trappist Monks. Its deep golden colour, sturdy white head and intensely fruity aroma whet the appetite for the opulent, malt-sweet, spicy, creamy palate that follows.

Wine review – Heggies, d’Arenberg and Hay Shed Hill

1 November 2015Wine reviewChris Shanahan

Heggies Eden Valley Riesling 2015 $19–$23.95
Vine rows snake along contours of Heggies vineyard, meagrely nourished by lean soil and a dry climate. From this challenging site, 550 metres above sea level, Peter Gambetta makes the steely, delicate, much-loved Heggies riesling. A warm, dry season and early harvest created the 2015 now appearing on retail shelves. Water-pale colour and modest alcohol content (12 per cent), point to a delicate wine of lemon-like varietal flavour and brisk, dry finish. It’s a wine to enjoy now for its vigorous, fruity youth. Or buy a case, drink a bottle every couple of years and enjoy its evolving flavours.

d’Arenberg The Olive Grove McLaren Vale Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2015 $14.25–$15
Chester Osborne’s well-priced chardonnay combines fruit from warm McLaren Vale and cool Adelaide Hills. Fermented then matured in French and American oak barrels for seven months, it offers deliciously bright, fresh melon and citrus varietal flavours. The oak treatment contributes more to the wine’s rich texture than it does to flavour, meaning varietal fruit flavour is the star. This is a very good modern chardonnay style, offering full body, without heaviness, delicious fruit, rich texture and a dry, refreshing finish – all at a modest price.

Hay Shed Hill Block 8 Margaret River Cabernet Franc 2013 $35
Sometime before the mid eighteenth century in France’s Gironde region, the red variety cabernet franc spontaneously crossed with the white variety sauvignon blanc to produce a remarkably progeny – cabernet sauvignon. We might therefore call cabernet franc the mother of all cabernet sauvignons. The latter became the star of the cabernet family. But cabernet franc remains an important blending partner, along another offspring, merlot. Occasionally it appears unblended, as in this beautifully aromatic red from Mike Kerrigan’s Hay Shed Hill. The floral aroma leads to an elegant palate, combining floral character with ripe-berry flavours.

Beck’s $US20m settlement highlights beer paradox: locally brewed version likely better than the German import

Reviews

Beck’s $US20m settlement highlights beer paradox:
locally brewed version likely better than the German import