Wynns Coonawarra Estate V and A Lane Cabernet Shiraz 2012 $47.50–$60
Wynns V and A vineyard, Coonawarra, South Australia
It’s a hard concept to convey (short of taking a mouthful), but wines can have enormous concentration of fruit flavour but remain medium bodied and graceful. This is the classic, but not always achieved, Coonawarra standard of delivering power with elegance. Sue Hodder’s lovely blend achieves that. She co-fermented cabernet sauvignon and shiraz from the company’s V and A vineyard, Coonawarra, and subsequently matured the wine in a combination of new and older French oak barrels. Cabernet lends savoury, black-olive-like undercurrents and a firm, fine structure to the supple palate, featuring the sweet red-cherry-like fruit of the shiraz. Oak gives great buoyancy to the fruit, adds its own spicy flavours and contributes to the fine structure.

Mistletoe Reserve Semillon 2013 $25
Pokolbin, Lower Hunter Valley, NSW
Mistletoe makes three Hunter semillons – the traditional bone-dry Reserve, the half-dry Home Vineyard and the quite sweet Silvereye. The latter two come as quite a shock to lovers of the traditional dry style, though proprietor Ken Sloan writes, “these three wines continue to surprise and delight visitors to our cellar door”. The sweeter wines are worth trying, but the dry Reserve really stands out as an exceptional wine in the outstanding Hunter Vintage. At 11 per cent alcohol, it’s light bodied and the austere, lemony acid accentuates the intense but delicate lemongrass-like varietal flavour to delicious, mouth watering effect. I suspect this will evolve into a classic toasty Hunter style over many, many years.

Yering Station Chardonnay 2011 $32–$38
Yering Station, Yarra Valley, Victoria
The Rathbone family’s Yering Station consistently makes some of the Yarra’s most exciting chardonnays – even in the cool, wet 2011 season. The aroma presents a notable “struck match” character (naturally occurring sulphur compounds) now commonplace in Australian chardonnays. Their presence provokes a good deal of discussion among show judges, mainly some wines lack the fruit to carry such pungent seasoning. Yering Station does, however. And that’s what’s so delicious about it – that seasoning, aided by spicy oak – becomes part of the intense fruit and luxurious smooth texture.

De Bortoli Vinoque Pinot Noir 2012 $25
Dixons Creek and Tarrawarra, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Australia’s maturing pinot-making ability shows when our makers pack so much goodness and sheer “pinosity” into a wine at this price. Steve Webber’s Vinoque excites for its complex, earthy, beetroot-like aroma, and the fruit power and firm tannin structure of the palate. Webber writes, “2012 was a stonking season for pinot noir in the Yarra Valley with near perfect growing conditions”. Find out what “stonking” means – try Vinoque.

Brand’s Laira Cabernet Merlot 2012 $ 16–$24
Coonawarra, South Australia
The late Eric Brand bought the Laira vineyard in about 1950 and sold grapes until making his first wine in 1996. In 1990 he sold a half stake in the business to McWilliams, who took full ownership in 1994. The vineyard holds now extend well to the west of the original plantings, while the older vines contribute to the company’s flagship and far more expensive wines. The 2012 Laira cabernet merlot, a full-bodied Coonawarra style, offers ripe plummy flavours, tinged with mint and herbal notes. Strong, firm tannins give a satisfying grip to the workmanlike regional style.

Le Cirque Wine Co Whiz Bang Barossa Shiraz 2013 $16–$18
Barossa Valley, South Australia
The Angove family offers two full-bodied, warm climate shirazes under its Le Cirque Wine Company label – this Barossa version and the more savoury McLaren Vale Muscle Man 2013, reviewed last week. Should you see them together in store, perhaps grab a bottle of each as they illustrate the regional differences clearly and at a realistic price. Whiz Bang offers the sweet, black-cherry aroma of fully ripened Barossa shiraz. The sweet fruit flavours flow onto the opulent palate, coated in the Barossa’s tender, soft tannins.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 30 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Mount Majura Vineyard Canberra District Shiraz 2012 $32
Mount Majura’s just released 2012 shiraz won gold medals in last year’s Canberra and Region Wine Show and the Winewise Small Vignerons Awards. It backed up this success with an ‘outstanding’ rating in the Winewise Championship 2014 – where three out of five judges rated it as the best in its category. The product of a particularly cool season, the highly aromatic 2012 shiraz shows varietal spice and a strong stemmy character, derived from the inclusion of whole bunches in the fermentation. The medium bodied, silky palate reveals good fruit, seasoned with stem and spice.

Campbells Limited Release Rutherglen Durif 2011 $28
Colin Campbell chairs the Durif of Rutherglen group, formed a decade ago to promote this unique regional specialty. Campbell also makes two of Rutherglen’s leading durifs – the powerful Barkly Durif and more approachable Limited Release Durif. Campbell calls the latter, “the stepping stone to our pinnacle durif which is a fuller style and more complex”. Even in the cold 2011 season, where we might expect lighter bodied wines, Limited Release hits the palate pretty solidly. It may be a tad lighter coloured than some durifs, but the firm tannins make it almost a meal in itself, albeit without the sweet fruit of more benign seasons.

Stella Bella Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc $19-$21
We could call Margaret River the Bordeaux of the south – not only for its cabernet-based reds, but for its pungent, refreshing complex dry whites, blended from semillon and sauvignon blanc. The better examples like Stella Bella barrel ferment a portion of the blend to build the texture, body and complexity of the wine. Many vineyards contribute to this blend and all are fermented separately (one third of every batch in barrels, says the winemaker). The final blend offers ultra-fresh citrus-like fruit flavour, with the pungent and herbal character of the varieties and a fine, soft texture.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 27 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Wynns Coonawarra Estate V and A Lane Shiraz 2012$ 48–$60
V and Lane vineyard, Coonawarra, South Australia
Coonawarra appears flat and homogenous – a sea of vines hugging the north–south Riddoch Highway for many kilometres. But ripening times vary widely. At about the half-way mark, V and A Lane intersects the highway, marking what was once said to be the southern boundary of shiraz in Coonawarra – “shiraz won’t ripen south of V and A Lane”, went the local saying. The saying no longer holds. Indeed, Wynns’ V and A shiraz block, sitting on the Lane’s southern side, ripens earlier than its other shiraz vineyards. In 2012 the vineyard produced a particularly finely structured, elegant shiraz, featuring vibrant red-currant-like fruit flavours. Sympathetic use of French oak amplifies the fruit in a vivacious wine with a fine, persistent tannin structure.

Le Cirque Wine Co Muscle Man Shiraz 2013 $17
McLaren Vale, South Australia
Everyone loves a circus, a bargain and a McLaren Vale shiraz. And here we have it all in one bottle, presented to us by one of Australia’s old family wine companies, Angoves. They source the fruit from Willunga, Blewitt Springs and Clarendon in McLaren Vale, ferment it with ambient yeasts in small, 70-year-old open-topped concrete fermenters, and mature it for nine months in oak barrels. The result is a ripe, juicy, vibrant red with a savoury soft finish, true to its McLaren Vale origins.

West Cape Howe Chardonnay 2013 $15–$17
Western Australia
“No wood, no good”, Wolf Blass reportedly said of red wines not matured in oak barrels. The same could be said broadly of chardonnay – a variety at its best when fermented and matured in barrels (like Larry Cherubino Pedestal, reviewed today). West Cape Howe, however, tacks successfully in another direction. Winemaker Gavin Berry ferments it at low temperature in stainless steel tanks to capture the fruit flavour and aromatics. He pops it in older oak barrels after this to build the wine’s texture without inserting oak flavours. He delivers a rich, vibrant chardonnay with all the focus on fresh, citrus-like varietal flavour.

Toolangi Pinot Noir 2012 $25–$27
Dixon’s Creek and Yarra Glen, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Toolangi offers a lighter, tighter style of pinot noir. Produced from low yielding vines, and all the hands-on tricks of pinot making, it offers delicate, cherry-like varietal flavour on a finely structured palate. Fresh acidity and fine tannins give the wine a tight structure that carries the fruit across the palate and gives a clean, persistent dry finish.

Larry Cherubino Pedestal Chardonnay 2013 $25
Margaret River, Western Australia
Larry Cherubino’s Pedestal chardonnay shows the generous flavours of a warm season in Margaret River. Typical of a Cherubino wine, Pedestal seamlessly folds the fruit flavour together with the influences of fermentation with natural yeasts in new and used French oak barrels – followed by maturation in those barrels. The technique gives the wine a rich, silky texture to carry the beautiful fruit flavours satisfyingly across the palate.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Shiraz 2012$28.49–$45
Coonawarra, South Australi
A few years back, Wynns introduced Black Label Shiraz, priced between the ever-popular grey label ($14–$20) and flagship Michael Shiraz ($104–$120). Extensive plantings during the nineties enabled greater production. Coupled with finer segmentation of vineyard parcels, and an increase in the winery’s capacity to handle multiple small batches, this allowed Wynns to maintain quality and volume of existing labels while introducing distinctive new products at higher prices. The owner, Treasury Wine Estates, naturally hoped its big investments in Coonawarra might bolster its lacklustre bottom line. Good luck with that, I say, as the big retailers finally set the price – generally dramatically below the hopeful recommended price. Oh, the wine? It’s a beautiful rich, elegant cool-climate shiraz with good cellaring potential.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 23 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Thorn Clarke Barossa Shotfire Quartage 2012 $20–$252
The Clarke family owns about 270 hectares of vines spread around the Barossa – a remarkable estate that grew from Cheryl Clarke’s (nee Thorn) very old family holdings. The wines offer plenty of flavour for their modest asking prices. We could call them comfort wines, just as we have comfort foods. Quartage – a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, petit verdot and merlot – has an inky black, crimson-rimmed colour. The palate is impressively sweet fruited, with the leafy, herbal edge that comes with the cabernet varieties. The finish is very dry and firm, though not hard.

Mount Majura Vineyard Canberra District Touriga 2013 $27
After success with the Spanish varieties tempranillo and graciano, winemaker Frank van de Loo decided to have a shot at Portugal’s touriga. He writes, “we have seen tantalising glimpses of touriga from the Surveyor’s Hill vineyard locally, and were intrigued by the potential for earthy flavours and floral notes”. Van de Loo blended away the small 2009–2012 touriga harvests, but finally bottled some in the excellent 2013 vintage – and what an intriguing wine it is. The aroma is floral, earthy, spicy and peppery. The light-to-medium-bodied palate is alive with berry fruit, seasoned with spice, herb and pepper-like flavours.

W. Gisselbrecht Alsace Riesling 2009 $16.99
This Costco import shows all too clearly why cork should never be let near delicate, aromatic white wines. We’ve tried several bottles of this Alsace riesling. The best have been pretty good, while others have been flattened by oxidation (a result of cork failure) and another spoiled by trichloroanisole, or cork taint. At its best, it’s a full-flavoured riesling, in the distinctive Alsace style, enhanced by bottle age. At its worst, it’s undrinkable; and in between, it’s, well, in between. The message for wine drinkers: expect bottle variation. The message for Costco: on behalf of your customers, lean on your suppliers for screw caps as Australian retailers do.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 20 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Alex 88 Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $80
Alexander’s Block, Coonawarra, South Australia
Wynns decade-long makeover of its grape growing and winemaking under winemaker Sue Hodder and viticulturist Allen Jenkins, lifted the quality of the company’s wines to probably the highest level since it began in the early 1950s. Managing vineyards in small blocks, harvesting progressively in blocks, or even vine rows, then fermenting in small batches added up to better fruit, better differentiation and endless blending combinations. It also allowed Hodder to identify special parcels for separate bottling. Alex 88 is one of those, from a vineyard planted in 1988 and named for the family that owned it for the first two thirds of last century. This is a robust but elegant expression of Coonawarra – with deep, sweet blackcurrant-like varietal flavours, married beautifully with French oak. Fine, firm tannins and the depth of fruit, looking so young at four years, suggest a long and glorious cellaring life. Retailer discounting may reduce the price.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $25–$45
Coonawarra, South Australia
The Wynn family made its first Coonawarra cabernet in 1954. The vintages have rolled out for 60 years now, and bar a brief hiccup in the late seventies, and a few weaker individual vintages, the wines proved to be long-lived and wonderful to drink. Various winemakers tweaked the style, but under Sue Hodder’s guidance we now see a highly polished, elegant cabernet that’s certainly the equal of the earliest vintages and very likely, over time, to prove even better. The new release reveals fully ripe Coonawarra berry flavours on an elegantly structured palate, with firm but smooth tannins. I’m writing this review before its release, so I’m punting that retailers might cut the price as they have previously (the 2011 currently sells for as little as $25).

Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2014 $15.20–$18
Jim Barry vineyard, Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia
In a phone call around Easter, Peter Barry, son of the late Jim Barry, said the 2014 rieslings turned out well considering the hot growing season. “Temperatures were especially extreme”, wrote Barry recently, “with January’s average maximum 1.9 degrees above the long-term average and with 12 days above 35 degrees (six of those above forty degrees)”. However, rain followed the heat and judging by the wine, the grapes came through OK. Barry’s Watervale (southern Clare) riesling is particularly floral this year, with lime-like varietal flavour on a delicate, soft, dry palate.

Jim Barry Lodge Hill Riesling 2014$ 20.89–$23
Jim Barry Lodge Hill vineyard, Clare Valley, South Australia
Though less floral than Jim Barry Watervale riesling reviewed today, Lodge Hill, from a higher, cooler site, shows greater intensity of lemony varietal flavour, and a significantly more assertive acid backbone. The acidity seems to intensify the fruit flavour and lengthen the aftertaste. This suggests tasty evolution if cellared for a few years. But the combination of acidity and intense fruit makes the young wine a good companion with oysters, salads and hot, spicy food.

Stella Bella Serie Luminosa Chardonnay 2010 $65
Isca and Forest Grove vineyards, Margaret River, Western Australia
Stella Bella Serie Luminosa sits comfortably with Margaret River’s other outstanding chardonnays. It comes from two vineyards planted in 1998 and, is so often the case with exceptional wine, the quality stems from outstanding fruit, good winemaking (including appropriate use of oak barrels), then skilful selection and blending in the winery. Stella Bella comes from blending the best barrels from the best blocks. A full-bodied yet elegant white, it has intense nectarine-like varietal flavour in a matrix with the flavours and textures derived from fermentation and maturation in oak barrels. Oak inserts its own flavours sympathetically into an harmonious wine. What a joy it is to drink.

Larry Cherubino Ad Hoc Hen and Chicken Chardonnay 2012$18.05–$21
Pemberton, Western Australia
Winemaker Larry Cherubino sources fruit widely across southwestern Western Australia, in this instance using chardonnay from a Pemberton vineyard planted in 1999. At 13 per cent alcohol, it’s probably a little lighter bodied than many Australian chardonnays. However, fermentation with wild yeasts and maturation in new and two-year-old French oak barrels added textural richness and nutty, spicy oak flavours to the lemon-like and melon-rind varietal character. It’s a rich, soft, gentle style, very easy to like.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 16 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original McLaren Vale Shiraz Grenache 2011 $18–$20
d’Arenbeg’s shiraz-grenache blend entered the Australian market decades ago as d’Arenberg “Burgundy”. But it switched to varietal labelling in 1993, at the same time honouring its creator, d’Arry Osborn. It was, and remains, a loveable, warm, generous red with considerable cellaring potential – a rare thing in wines of this price. Even in the cool 2011 vintage, the wine offers an attractive fragrance and generous soft flavours that are both fruity and earthy – with soft tannins completing the red-wine picture. It’s fifty–fifty blend of shiraz and grenache.

Heartland Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $18–$20
Grant Tilbrook, Scott Collett and Ben Glaetzer are the driving force behind Heartland Wines – a brand and winemaking operation now using only fruit from the Langhorne Creek region. “Ben [Glaetzer] had grown up immersed in the potential of Langhorne Creek through the work of his uncle John Glaetzer”, says the website. John Glaetzer made many of the early Wolf Blass reds using from fruit from Langhorne Creek, and later built his own brand on the region. Ben Glaetzer’s Heartland 2012 shows the region’s ability to produce generous, firmly structured, pure, varietal cabernet at the right price. This is outstanding at the price.

Tower Estate Coombe Rise Vineyard Hunter Valley Semillon 2013 $22
Tower Estate’s 2013 semillon comes from Peter and Kaye Barnes’ Coombe Rise vineyard at Pokolbin, in the lower Hunter Valley. The wine packs a power of flavour at just 11 per cent alcohol. Although the wine is bone and dry and somewhat austere in its lemony acidity, the fruit flavour – reminiscent of lemongrass – seems very intense and lingering. From experience with this style, it should evolve over time, shedding the austerity as the fruit flavour takes on a honeyed, toasty richness.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 13 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Mount Majura TSG Tempranillo Shiraz Graciano 2013 $32
Mount Majura Vineyard, Canberra District, ACT
If you want to see a Canberra winemaker smile, just say, “2013”. After a run of tough vintages, including the particularly shitty 2011, along came the perfect season, from budburst in spring 2012 until harvest in autumn 2013. Conversely, if you want to see a Canberra wine drinker smile, share a glass of a 2013 red – like Frank van der Loo’s 2013 Touriga Shiraz Graciano. Van de Loo describes 2013 as, “simply an outstanding vintage” producing reds of “tremendous colour and fruit weight”. Mount Majura’s signature TSG pleases spectacularly with its heady, fruity aroma and punches of spice and black pepper. The fleshy, medium bodied palate simply oozes fruit flavour and spice, backed by fine, velvety tannin.

Heartland Shiraz 2012 $18–$20
Langhorne Creek (86 per cent) and Limestone Coast, South Australia
Grant Tilbrook, Scott Collett and Ben Glaetzer are the driving force behind Heartland Wines – a brand and winemaking operation now using fruit from the Langhorne Creek region, sometimes bolstered, as this is with material from the nearby Limestone Coast. “Ben [Glaetzer] had grown up immersed in the potential of Langhorne Creek through the work of his uncle John Glaetzer”, says the website. John Glaetzer made many of the early Wolf Blass reds using from fruit from Langhorne Creek, and later built his own brand on the region. Ben Glaetzer’s Heartland Shiraz 2012 is rich and soft and somewhat lighter in body, say, than shiraz from the warmer Barossa Valley.

Mandala Chardonnay 2012 $25–$28
Mandala Vineyard, Dixons Creek, Yarra Valley, Victoria
For a reasonable price Mandala delivers the intense flavours of cool-grown chardonnay – in this instance from mature vines located at Dixons Creek in the Yarra Valley. The generous, melon-like varietal flavour comes with the pleasant, well-managed winemaker add-ons derived from fermentation and maturation in oak barrels. A couple of years’ bottle age certainly adds to the wine’s fullness, which contrasts with many of the leaner chardonnay styles now coming to market.

Stoneleigh Rapaura Series Pinot Noir 2012 $25–$29
Northern Wairau Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand
The Rapaura Series is a step up in flavour intensity over Stoneleigh’s standard pinot noir, reviewed a few weeks back. Both come from the warmer northern side of the Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. But Rapaura series comes from a favoured vineyard site, albeit in a cooler than average vintage. The wine delivers attractive plummy varietal flavour on a medium bodied, tightly structured palate. The smooth tannins give quite a grip, as they should in good pinot noir.

Cofield Durif 2012 $24
Rutherglen, Victoria
Durif, Rutherglen’s signature red variety, is an accidental cross of shiraz and peloursin, first identified by Francois Durif at Montpellier, France, in 1880 and brought to Australia by Francois de Castella in 1908. It thrived in Rutherglen’s hot climate and remains the region’s signature red variety, tending to a porty ripeness and burly tannic structure. Styles vary from maker to maker, however, with some fine-tuning viticulture and winemaking in search of a more approachable style. Damien Cofield presents a bright, fresh, fruity face of Durif, albeit with variety’s big, firm tannins.

Cherubino Laissez Faire Fiano 2013 $16–$29
Frankland River, Western Australia
Several Australian winemakers now produced dry whites from southern Italy’s fiano variety. Coriole from McLaren Vale is a favourite, but Larry Cherubino’s from the cooler Frankland River, Western Australia impresses, too. A mixed group lunching at Flavours of India, Civic, warmed up on Cherubino’s 2013 and loved it. The light body, bone-dry finish and pleasantly tart flavour – reminiscent of limoncello without the sugar – seemed just right as a pre-lunch tipple.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 9 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

d’Arenberg Hermit Crab McLaren Vale Viognier Marsanne 2013 $14.25–$16
McLaren Vale’s warm climate seems to suit these Rhone Valley white varieties better than more commonly encountered ones like chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc. In past years d’Arenbeg’s blend has often been predominantly marsanne with some viognier. In the warm 2013 vintage winemaker Chester Osborn bumped the viognier component up to 65 per cent. Although it isn’t so obvious in the aroma, the palate reveals viognier’s distinctive apricot-like flavour. Fortunately, marsanne tempers this (it can be overwhelming in some wines), giving a tasty, full-flavoured wine, with a savoury edge and rich, smooth palate.

Skillogalee Clare Valley Basket Pressed The Cabernets 2012 $30–$33
Skillogalee’s The Cabernets combines cabernet sauvignon (85 per cent) with robust malbec (9 per cent) and fragrant cabernet franc. The combination delivers a wine of dense, crimson-rimmed colour and vibrant, ripe-berry aromas, tinged with distinctive, regional touch of mint. The 2012 seems somewhat less fleshy than the 2010 vintage reviewed earlier this year. But that simply means cabernet’s assertive tannins play a slightly more prominent role. The fruit–tannin combination means a big but elegant cabernet with a very sturdy tannin backbone. This should cellar well for many years in stable, cool conditions.

Toolangi Yarra Valley Shiraz 2010 $20
Toolangi’s medium bodied shiraz comes from its own low-yielding vineyard at Dixon’s Creek, though the wine was made at three different wineries: Yering Station, Oakridge and Hoddles Creek Estate. This is very high quality cool climate shiraz at a modest price. It has a bright, youthful colour of medium hue. The aroma combines floral notes of cool-grown shiraz with a touch of spice; and though medium weight, the palate has a delicious concentration of ripe fruit flavour, seasoned with spice and with a fine tannin structure.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 6 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Skillogalee Trevarrick Single Contour Riesling 2012 $52.50
Skillogalee vineyard, Sevenhill, Clare Valley, South Australia
Each vintage, Skillogalee’s Dave Palmer makes a number of individual rieslings from various vineyard blocks. Most end up in the blending vat and go to market as the estate riesling. In the exceptional 2012 vintage, however, Palmer bottled a small parcel from “the highest altitude, earliest ripening contour on the property at around 500 metres”. Trevarrick (the original name of the Skillogalee property) shows a very powerful but fine and delicate face of riesling. At two years’ age, it’s moved beyond youthful floral notes to deeper lemon and lime character in the aroma, with a palate of unusual flavour concentration and textural richness. The high acidity accentuates the very long, bone-dry finish. This will probably cellar for many years. Sealed with the Vino-Lok glass stopper.

Ulithorne “Dona” Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2013 $24
Blewitt Springs, McLaren Flat, valley floor, McLaren Vale, South Australia
At 60 per cent of the blend, fragrant, softy, fruity grenache plays the lead role in this lovely red. However, the shiraz component (30 per cent) fills out the palate, while mourvedre adds to the wine’s tannic backbone. The overall impression is of a gentle, easy-to-drink red with vibrant, juicy fruit (with a touch of spice) and soft but assertive tannins. Winemaker Rose Kentish worked four vintages in France and says she drew inspiration from southern Rhone Valley blends of these varieties – particularly in letting the fruit talk, and not burdening it with oak flavours.

All Saints Estate Family Cellar Durif 2009 $60
Rutherglen, Victoria
Durif, Rutherglen’s signature red variety, is an accidental cross of shiraz and peloursin, first identified by Francois Durif at Montpellier, France, in 1880 and brought to Australia by Francois de Castella in 1908. It thrived in Rutherglen’s hot climate and remains the region’s signature red variety, tending to a porty ripeness and burly tannic structure. Some say it’s a meal in itself. All Saints, however, do much to tame those tannins during winemaking, resulting in a most approachable version under the Family Cellar label. Evan at five years, the bright fresh fruit remains in the grip of muscular but supple tannins. Hey, it is a meal in itself.

Peter Lehmann H and V Eden Valley Riesling 2014$19–$22
Eden Valley, South Australia
South Australia suffered two severe heatwaves in January 2014, the second pushing into the first two days of February, before flaring up again on the twelfth and thirteenth. Above average winter and springs rains, however, provided ample subsoil moisture to help vines through the torrid conditions. Peter Lehmann H and V riesling, was picked in milder conditions at the end of February. The wine shows a fuller and more floral aroma than we generally see from the Eden Valley, though the palate delivers more of a vibrant lime-like flavour with a pure, fresh, zesty finish.

Domaine Chandon Chardonnay 2013 $23–$26
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Winemaker Dan Buckle says, “Our 2013 Chandon chardonnay draws on grapes from vineyards at varying altitudes within the Yarra Valley”. Variations in altitude within the valley means a range of ripening times and temperatures and, with that, considerable variation in varietal flavours, tending from citrusy in cooler parts to melon and stone fruit in warmer sites. This diversity of fruit undergoes spontaneous fermentation, then maturation, in French oak barrels. The wine retains beautifully fresh citrus- and nectarine-like varietal flavour, with velvety, rich texture and a lovely acidity attenuating the flavour and clean dry finish.

Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $21.85–$24
Follett family vineyards, Langhorne Creek, South Australia
Langhorne Creek, near Lake Alexandrina, South Australia, supplies large volumes of high quality grapes to Australia’s biggest wine brands, including Jacob’s Creek, Penfolds and Wolf Blass. The region’s comparatively high yields and quality appeal as much to the accountants as they do to the winemakers – though it’s a pity to see so much of this material blended anonymously away. Local growers like the Follett family, however, make excellent wines bearing the regional name. Cabernet performs particularly well, retaining clear varietal flavour and firm structure, with a full palate sometimes missing in cabernet from other regions. Lake Breeze is a very drinkable expression of the regional style.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 2 July 2014 in the Canberra Times

Logan Apple Tree Flat Mudgee Chardonnay 2013 $10–$13
Mudgee, in the high country about 270 kilometres north-west of Sydney, makes sturdy, tannic reds and surprisingly gentle, tasty chardonnays. Surprising because, in theory, we’d be looking these days for cooler locations for this early ripening variety. But chardonnay arrived there mid nineteenth century and became an early source of the variety as interest in chardonnay spluttered to life from the late 1960s. In the warm 2013 season Peter Logan’s popular version offers attractive melon and peach varietal aroma, generous flavours, reflecting the aroma, smooth texture and clean, dry finish.

Lake Breeze Langhorne Creek Bernoota Shiraz Cabernet 2012 $19–$22
Langhorne Creek, near Lake Alexandrina, South Australia, supplies large volumes of high quality grapes to Australia’s biggest wine brands, including Jacob’s Creek, Penfolds and Wolf Blass. The region’s comparatively high yields and quality appeal as much to the accountants as they do to the winemakers – though it’s a pity to see so much of this material blended anonymously away. Local growers like the Follett family, however, make excellent wines bearing the regional name. In 2012 the family’s Bernoota gives sensational drinking at the price. It’s fragrant, ripe and rich (but not heavy), with a juicy, seductive mid palate and soft, tannic finish.

Domaine Chandon Heathcote Shiraz 2012 $26–$31
Heathcote Victoria, especially in the cool 2012 season, offers a pleasing, savoury contrast to the more robust, joyously fruity Lake Breeze shiraz cabernet reviewed above. The limpid, medium colour reveals the cooler origin of Chadon’s shiraz, as does the spicy note seasoning the bright berry flavours. On the palate the wine is lively, fresh and medium bodied with a taut structure and very fine, savoury tannins harmonising with the lovely fruit. This is elegant shiraz, ready to drink now and with several years’ cellaring potential. Winemaker Dan Buckle describes 2012 as, “a great vintage in central Victoria”.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published 29 June 2014 in the Canberra Times