Logan Weemala Central Ranges Shiraz Viognier 2013 $19
Peter Logan’s shiraz-viognier blend combines grapes from two distinct points on the NSW Great Dividing Range – Mudgee and Orange. Lower, warmer Mudgee makes strong, tannic shiraz; higher, cooler Orange makes lighter, spicier, softer styles. Logan says the wine is basically Mudgee shiraz (70 per cent of the blend), mollified by the Orange component. It’s a pleasing result from a very good season, the best in his 20-year career, says Logan. The wine shows ripe, cherry-like fruit flavours, with a spicy lift and firm tannins that give a dry, savoury finish.

Angullong Orange Sauvignon Blanc 2014 $19
The 220-hectare Angullong vineyard, 35-kilometres south of Orange, rolls in and out of the Orange wine-district boundary, which is defined partly on altitude. The vineyard’s altitude varies by only 40 metres, from 580-metres to 620-metres. But only the vines above the 600-metre mark lie within Orange. Those below it qualify for the Central Ranges appellation, which must make harvesting and separating the fruit quite a challenge for the managers. Fortunately they grow very good grapes – and it shows in this bright and zesty, clearly varietal dry white. It’s a drink-now style from a region well suited to the variety.

Tudor Central Victorian Shiraz (Aldi) 2013 $12.99
Few wines at this price win gold medals and trophies. But Aldi’s blend shiraz–mourvedre blend earned one trophy at the 2014 National Wine Show of Australia and two in the 2015 Sydney International Wine Competition. That’s on top of two gold, two silver and two bronze medals. The brilliant crimson-rimmed colour; cheerful, fruity aroma, reflected on the juicy palate, are easy to love. Little wonder the judges rated it so highly. Gentle tannins mingle with the fruit, though there’s a savoury note and a little bite to the finish, courtesy no doubt of the mourvedre.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 10 May 2015 in the Canberra Times

Sevenhill Cellars Inigo Riesling 2014 $18.80–$20
Sevenhill Cellars vineyards, Clare Valley, South Australia
In 1851 the Society of Jesus established Sevenhill Cellars, the Clare Valley’s first winery. The Jesuits still run Sevenhill from magnificent stone cellars where they make amazingly concentrated wines from their own extensive vineyards. Inigo – the cheaper of their two rieslings (the other, St Francis Xavier, sells for $35) – seduces the palate with a sensuous, drink-now opulence. Seduction begins with the pure citrus-and-floral varietal aroma. But it’s the slick and slippery palate that makes the earth move. More please.

Bowen Estate Shiraz 2013 $28.50–$33
Bowen vineyards, Coonawarra, South Australia
For a cool-climate Coonawarra shiraz, Bowen’s is of heroic proportions: high in alcohol at 15.5 per cent, pulsing with rich, very ripe fruit flavours, made even more succulent by a mother-load of soft tannins. If these descriptors seem at odds with Coonawarra’s demure template, they come with a few caveats. Despite the wine’s size and power, the fruit flavours remain in the regional ripe-berry spectrum and there’s an elegance to the structure, albeit obscured slightly by the high alcohol.

Yalumba FDR 1A Cabernet Shiraz 2010 $36.10–$43
Eden Valley, South Australia
“We have a new deal on FDR”, announced the sales rep in nineteen seventy something. Undeterred by collective groans in Farmer Brothers’ buying office, he poured samples. We duly applauded what was to be one of the few successes of the Barossa’s appalling 1974 vintage. That was the first vintage of a blend that, on the strength of the Eden Valley cabernet component, became 100-per-cent Eden from the 2010 vintage. At five years’, it tastes young and fresh, with the deep berry, mint and firm tannin character of Eden cabernet, rounded and softened by shiraz. It’s an outstanding red with decades of slow evolution ahead of it.

Penfolds Bin 311 Chardonnay 2013 $34.80–$40
Tumbarumba, NSW
In the early nineties Penfolds put its mind to making a white flagship – a white equivalent to Grange, eventually released as Yattarna, from the 1995 vintage. Though the search began with semillon, riesling and chardonnay, the latter fairly quickly became the sole focus. During this search, Tumbarumba chardonnay made the initial cut, but soon bowed out to components from the Adelaide Hills and, later, Tasmania. However, Penfolds didn’t abandon Tumbarumba altogether and the region generally contributes partly or solely to the brilliant Bin 311 – a rich, fine and sophisticated chardonnay. It has immediate drinking appeal and potential to evolve in the cellar for several years.

d’Arenberg High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $18–$20
d’Arenberg High Trellis vineyard, McLaren Vale South Australia
Only a comparatively small proportion of under-$20 reds have the stuffing to cellar well. But an earthy, fruity, richness and savoury, rustic tannins give High Trellis cellarability as well as grippy, drink-now appeal. The wine, produced from a nineteenth-century vineyard, shows clear varietal cassis- and mint-like varietal flavours and firm but friendly tannins. The chewy, richly textured palate has a wholemeal goodness, partly because winemaker Chester Osborne doesn’t fine of filter the wine before bottling.

Sassafras Gamay Ancestral 2014 $24
Johansen vineyard, Tumbarumba, NSW
In 2014, Quarry Hill’s Paul Starr branched out and produced a sparkling rose by applying the ancestral method to red gamay grapes. The method involves a standard fermentation, with just enough skin contact to extract the pink colour. The maker refrigerates the wine to arrest the fermentation while it retains a small amount of residual sugar. After bottling, the sugars undergo a secondary fermentation, creating carbon dioxide and a very fine haze from the spent yeast cells. Starr’s wine, sealed with a stainless steel crown, offers an attractive pink colour, a modest level of effervescence and gamay’s alluring strawberry-like aroma and flavour. The zippy, fresh, fruit-sweet palate finishes pleasantly tart and dry.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 5 and 6 May 2015 in goodfood.com.au and the Canberra Times

Stefano Lubiana Derwent Valley Pinot Noir 2013 $48
Winemaker Steve Lubiana writes, “vintage 2013 was a vintage that ticked all the boxes: the timing was great, good natural acid with the right volume of fruit/ha, producing softer more approachable wines”. He and wife Monique also celebrated their 20^th vintage at Granton, near Hobart, and their first as certified biodynamic operators. As Steve suggests, the 2013 pinot presents opulent, ripe, soft fruit flavours. It’s a wine of great buoyancy and upfront charm. But there’s much more to it. The juicy varietal fruit forms a matrix of flavours and textures with the soft, abundant tannins and first stirrings of deeper, savoury elements.

Shanahans Silence is Golden Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 $23.75–$30
Shanahans The Old Dog Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 $16.20–$20
Independently of one another, an older brother and old mate brought these cellar mates on a coast weekend. The name alone guaranteed a review, though there’s no family or other connection I’m aware of. But I’ve tasted Shanahan wines before and they’ve always delivered true Barossa warmth and richness at a fair price. They’re both from single vineyards in the western Barossa – the first from Greenock the other from an undisclosed location. The opulent, silk-smooth Silence is Golden contrasts subtly with the firmer, more savoury Old Dog. Both wines were purchased at Dan Murphy’s and they’re available at shanahanswines.com.au.

Redbank King Valley Fiano 2014 $21.95
With more romance than reality the back label depicts fiano as a variety “dating back to the days of Roman viticulture”. More prosaically, Jancis Robinson and Jose Vouillamoz in Wine grapes – a complete guide to 1368 varieties, including their origins and flavours, dismiss as futile attempts to link ancient names with modern varieties. They do, however, point to its origins in Campania and mentions of it as early as 1240. At Myrrhee, 700-metres up in Victoria’s King Valley, it produces a full-flavoured, melon-scented dry white with a rich texture and tangy, lemony dryness.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 3 May 2015 in the Canberra Times

Turkey Flat Mataro 2014 $32
Turkey Flat vineyard, Barossa Valley, South Australia
In Spain, where it originated, this late ripening variety is known as monastrell. The French call it mourvedre. In the Barossa most winemakers know it as mataro, though mourvedre gets a nod at times. And at Turkey Flat, writes owner Christie Schulz, “We originally referred to [it] as mataro and for unknown reasons we changed to mourvedre. After several years of customers struggling with the pronunciation we have decided to revert to mataro”. The name rolls off the tongue as easily as the 2014 slips down the throat. It’s a big, jolly wine, bulging with juicy, ripe fruit flavours, with undertones of spice and earth. Fine but firm tannins complete a seductive, unique and complete red.

Stefano Lubiana Estate Chardonnay $48
Lubiana vineyard, Granton, Derwent Valley, Tasmania
In their sheer luscious drinkability, Lubiana wines reflect the loving care lavished on them by Steve and Monique Lubiana. Their latest chardonnay, from the small 2012 vintage, seamlessly combines the intense grapefruit- and nectarine-like varietal flavours of cool-grown chardonnay with the textural richness derived from spontaneous fermentation and maturation in oak barrels. Once you start drinking this wine, you simply can’t stop. The unique vineyard site, surrounded on three sides by water, lies at around 43-degrees south, just a short drive from Hobart. The Lubianas converted to organic management some years back and now follow biodynamic principles in the vineyard and winemaking. But I think it’s the loving care that really makes the difference.

Mitchell Sevenhill Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $24.70–$27
Mitchell vineyard, Sevenhill, Clare Valley, South Australia
In a sea of soft, drink-now shiraz, high quality cabernet sauvignon stands out for its mouth-gripping tannins. It’s not a wine to drink on its own, but with high-protein food, preferably roasted or grilled beef or lamb. Protein tames the tannins, which purr across the palate, marrying with the juicy meat and wine flavours. Even after eight years, Mitchell’s elegant wine retains cabernet’s signature tannins, sufficiently tamed to enjoy with succulent red meat. It’s a lean, taut, though flavoursome style far removed from the fleshier cabernets we see from, say, Langhorne Creek.

Vin Vale by Shingleback Shiraz 2013 $13–$15
Davey Estate vineyard, Friends and Neighbours vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Vin Vale is a label exclusive to Coles. They offer it in their Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and 1^st Choice outlets and, at the time of writing, Vintage Cellars at $12.99 (case price) was undercutting 1^st Choice’s $13.30. Down the road, archrival Woolworths offered its equivalent Red Knot Shiraz 2013, from the same producer, at an even cheaper $12.40 as part of a six-bottle buy. From a drinker’s viewpoint, it’s a hoot to see the big guys competing away at least part of the bigger profits exclusive labels are meant to deliver. Vin Vale and Red Knot offer the rich, fruity-savoury delights of McLaren Vale shiraz at a fair price.

Mitchell Riesling 2014 $19–$22
Mitchell vineyard, Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia
Jane and Andrew Mitchell offer a unique take on riesling, well removed from the majority of styles found on retail shelves. Andrew says, “This is our ‘natural’ wine”, fermented spontaneously to complete dryness with ambient yeasts and with no acid adjustment – a rare achievement in the warm Clare Valley. The spontaneous ferment, and several months’ maturation on spent yeast cells, mutes some of riesling’s aromatic high notes while leaving the intense, citrusy varietal flavour intact. The process also adds a deliciously rich texture to the wine. The result: a rounded mouth-caressing riesling with concentrated flavours and crisp, bone-dry finish.

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2013 $35.20–$40
Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale Clare Valley and Langhorne Creek, South Australia
Bin 28, first made in 1959 from shiraz grown in Penfolds’ Kalimna vineyard in the north-western Barossa, is today a multi-region South Australian blend. While it’s less burly and chunky as a young wine than its forebears, it remains a rich, ripe and satisfying expression of warm-grown shiraz. The 2013 vintage offers particularly lovely, supple fruit flavours, reminiscent of ripe, black, cherries. It’s loaded with ripe, soft tannins which add savoury notes and a satisfying chewy texture. Our bottle remained drinkable for a week after opening, suggesting very good cellaring prospect.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 28 and 29 April 2015 in goodfood.com.au and the Canberra Times.

Mitchell Clare Valley McNicol Riesling 2007 $35–$48
Jane and Andrew Mitchell’s McNicol riesling comes from a high-altitude Clare Valley vineyard. They write, “[it] has never been irrigated and neither herbicides nor pesticides have been used”. They say the vines “work for a living, rather than having it all handed to them” and as a result produce wine that is “simply too powerful to be released in its youth and needs time in the cellar”. The McNicol could well be the most beautiful riesling you ever try: stunningly fresh at eight years, amazingly powerful and varietal, yet mellowed by time, and with a long life still ahead.

Hay Shed Hill Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2014 $18.05–$20
Many Margaret River producers ferment and mature some or all of the components of this signature regional blend in oak barrels. The practice lends body, backbone and texture (and sometimes oak flavours) to their wines. At Hay Shed Hill winemaker Michael Kerrigan opts for a more riesling-like approach, aimed at capturing the pure varietal fruit characters of the two varieties. Fermentation of the finest cut of juice in steel tanks at low temperatures delivers a strikingly pure wine, with pungent varietal character, reminiscent of torn pea shells and fresh-mown grass.

Turkey Flat Butchers Block Shiraz Grenache Mataro 2013 $19
Turkey Flat is one of the Barossa’s must-visit vineyards, with rows of gnarled old vines planted in 1847 and a range of beautifully made estate-grown wines. Butchers Block (owner Christie Schulz’s entry-level red) combines the valley’s three signature red varieties ­­shiraz, grenache and mataro. The proportions vary each season and in 2013 shiraz leads at 48 per cent, followed by grenache (28 per cent) and mataro (24 per cent). They’ve been making this blend for a while now, so it’s a highly polished, harmonious blend presenting the lovely, sweet ripeness of the warm 2013 vintage. Fragrant, gentle, juicy, spicy and soft, it’ll put a smile on any face.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 26 April 2015 in goodfood.com.au and the Canberra Times.