Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz 2011 $28.85–$35
McLaren Vale, South Australia
Wolf Blass chief winemaker Chris Hatcher rates McLaren Vale shiraz as South Australia’s best in the cold, wet 2011 vintage. Blass Grey Label 2011 is classic McLaren Vale in style – densely coloured and crimson rimmed with deep, ripe fruit flavours cut through with mouth-watering savoury character, both oak and fruit derived. It’s a beautiful, modern wine – clean, fresh and vibrantly varietal, but also dark, brooding, savoury and layered with soft tannins. The oak and fruit work particularly well together, and the overall harmony, richness and structure suggest good medium-term cellaring potential.

Wolf Blass Gold Label Shiraz $16.90–$20
Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia
If ever you want to taste the difference between Barossa and McLaren Vale shiraz, try Wolf Blass’s Gold and Grey Label shirazes side-by-side. Grey Label presents McLaren Vale’s brooding, savoury character; Gold Label shows the fragrance, fleshy fruit and tender tannins of the Barossa – even in the difficult 2011 vintage. Crop losses were significant in the Barossa. But, as Gold Label demonstrates, some vineyards delivered decent fruit.

Cullen Diana Madeline 2011 $115
Cullen Vineyard, Margaret River, Western Australia
Like Penfolds Bin 707 2010 reviewed in June, Cullen Diana Madeline enjoys a cellaring potential measured in decades, not years. But the wines contrast starkly in style. Bin 707 shows an impenetrably dark, powerful face of cabernet – overwhelmingly dense and tannic as a young wine but becoming increasingly elegant as the decades pass by. Cullen is limpid and approachable on release – a wine of delicate violet-like aroma and seductive, subtle, supple, fine-grained palate. It’s a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, cabernet franc and petit verdot, planted forty years ago by winemaker Vanya Cullen’s parents, Kevin John and Diana Madeline. The fruit flavours are particularly pure and concentrated in 2011.

Domain Day “l” Lagrein 2010 $30
Domain Day vineyard, Mount Crawford, South Australia
Lagrein is a red variety cultivated in Alto Adige and Trentino, Northern Italy. Recent DNA analysis revealed it as a cousin of shiraz, though that’s unlikely to have been in Robin Day’s mind when he established lagrein at Mount Crawford. Day says, “At its best, it is intensely coloured, rich in flavour and yet soft and easy to drink, so the style is not at all difficult for many consumers to relate to”. And that’s exactly how it went down – people enjoyed its savoury, rustic tannins.

Stonier Pinot Noir 2011 $19.70–$25
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
One of Mornington’s older wineries continues to impress with the quality of its pinots and chardonnays. It produces a range of very good pinots, starting with this very well priced version that’s often on special at about $20 a bottle. The 2011, though a touch lighter than usual because of the cold season, is nevertheless ripe and silky textured with the perfume, flavour and structure that add up to real pinot. The 2012, due for release at the end of October offers a little more flesh and power.

Stonier Chardonnay 2012 $20.89–$25
Mornington Peninsula
Wolf Blass used to say of red wines, “No wood, no good” – a slogan that applies equally to chardonnay. Unoaked versions, in general, simply don’t cut the mustard. And Australian winemakers have long since learned how to use oak beneficially in chardonnay without injecting overt woody flavours. Stonier’s is an excellent example of the modern, cool-climate style. It uses an unoaked component for fruit purity, but ferments and matures the balance in oak barrels for the texture and complex aromas and flavours this gives. The result is a vibrant, rich, smoothly textured wine of great appeal.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 11 September 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

Wolf Blass Gold Label Eden Valley Riesling 2012 $14.55–$25
Wolf Blass’s new release continues the run of brilliant rieslings from the great 2012 vintage. Once a blend of fruit from the Clare and Eden Valleys, the wine is from now on to be all Eden Valley as “that’s closer to our roots”, says winemaker Chris Hatcher. It’s a delicious wine all through, from the delicate, lime-like aroma and through its vibrant, intense, irresistibly fruity, fine-textured palate. Though a fruity, drink-now style, Gold Label, should develop well in bottle for four or five years. Retail discounts can be substantial, so watch for the specials.

Seppeltsfield Barossa Valley Grenache Rose 2011 $17
Rose comes in many forms, from light, dry and savoury with pale, onion-skin colour to much richer, fuller styles bordering on red. Seppeltsfield’s version, sourced from the estate’s old bush-pruned grenache vines, sits square in blush-pink rose territory. Those beautiful old vines, and low-temperature fermentation, deliver amazingly vibrant fruit flavours, reminiscent of strawberry and Turkish delight. It’s light, fresh and fruity on the palate and a small amount of residual grape sugar (eight grams per litres) adds to its fleshy, drink-now appeal. (Available at seppeltsfield.com.au). Tasted at Seppeltsfield on 25 July.

Tyrrell’s Old Winery
Hunter Valley Chardonnay 2012 $10.45–$12.99
Old Winery Chardonnay, first made in 1979 and fine-tuned ever since, rates among Australia’s best budget chardonnays. It combines liveliness and freshness with chardonnay’s full flavour and a rich, smooth texture. The appealing, ripe, varietal flavour comes from good fruit. And the rich, smooth texture, says Bruce Tyrrell, comes from “all the techniques of solids in the ferment and lees stirring but on a larger scale in a tank rather than a small barrel”. At the recent Hunter Wine Show, Tyrrell’s once again hauled in a great pile of medals and trophies.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 8 September 2013 in the Canberra Times

Tim Smith Wines Mataro 2012 $36
Greenock and Light Pass, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Tim Smith made wine at Yalumba for 15 years, but now produces his own delicious reds, like this one, discovered at Tanunda’s exciting FermentAsian restaurant. Smith says he loves mataro (aka mourvedre) and sees good cellaring potential in the variety, thanks largely to its firm tannic structure. However, he likes mataro’s fruit unadorned with oak, though the variety takes some taming in older, larger oak vessels before bottling. In the outstanding 2012 vintage, the beautiful, sweet, tender fruit makes for joyous drinking, though there’s sufficient tannin structure to see the wine through perhaps a decade in the cellar. (Available at timsmithwines.com.au).

Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett 2011 (Dr Loosen) $33–$36
Lay vineyard, Bernkastel, Mosel River, Germany
Ernie Loosen’s house and office, a stroll downstream from Bernkastel, sit just below the Lay vineyard. Loosen owns part of the vineyard and wines he makes from it carry the village, vineyard and grape varietal names. We bought the wine at Vintage Cellars, Adelaide markets, to accompany the outstanding food of Star of Siam, in Gouger Street. It’s a medium sweet wine of dazzling freshness, with the lightness, intense flavour, delicacy, high acid and rich texture typical of the vineyard. Australian versions of this style face an uphill battle in our warm climate. And few, if any, can match the class of this German original, from one of the great producers of the Mosel River.

John Duval Plexus 2012 $25–$30
Barossa Valley, South Australia
A warm area like the Barossa floor is seldom going to make riesling to match the quality of those from the high, cooler Eden Valley in the hills to the Barossa’s east. If any white styles are to match the region’s reds in quality in future, I’d put my money where John Duval does with Plexus. He uses the Rhone valley varieties, marsanne (55 per cent), roussanne (35 per cent) and viognier (10 per cent), sourced, respectively from Marananga and Seppeltsfield, Kalimna and the Eden Valley. A combination of fermentation regimes, including both tank and barrel, created a full, fresh, richly textured dry white with a distinctive flavour, reminiscent of that sweet-tart area between the flesh and rind of rockmelon. It’s delightful, different and in 2012, particularly rich and sweet fruited.

Domain Day One Serious Sangiovese 2009 $30
Domain Day vineyard, Mount Crawford, Barossa Valley, South Australia
One of Tuscany’s great sangioveses, Brunello di Montelcino, inspired Robin Day to plant the variety at Mount Crawford, a comparatively cool site at 450 metres, on the border of the Barossa and Eden Valleys. Day’s is an earthy, savoury expression of the variety – the savouriness wrestling with its core of ripe, sweet and sour cherry flavour. In the 2009 vintage, the savouriness and earthiness seem even more pronounced than usual, setting the wine apart from tamer beasts like shiraz, cabernet and pint noir.

Ashton Hills Piccadilly Valley Pinot Noir 2012 $30
Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
In a good season, Stephen George makes three pinot noirs – estate and reserve from his own vineyards, and a lighter, fruitier style under the Piccadilly Valley label. In 2012, he sourced the latter 70 per cent from his own vineyards with the remainder coming from a nearby Piccadilly Valley neighbour. In such a good season, however, “lighter and fruitier” takes on a new meaning, as this is far richer and more concentrated than usual ¬¬– though nothing compared to the reserve version reviewed last week. This is way above average pinot, offering really satisfying drinking.

Redbank The Long Paddock Shiraz 2012 $9.50–$13
Victoria
Redbank won’t let us in on the regional sourcing secrets. But there’s no doubting, even at the price, that it includes pretty good material. Its fragrant, ripe and supple, with medium body and spicy, peppery notes derived from cool climate components of the wine. The winemakers added sangiovese to the blend (six per cent of the total) – injecting savour and grip to the otherwise soft tannins. Redbank is a Victorian based brand belonging to the Hill-Smith family’s Yalumba group.

Copyright  Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 4 September 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

Champagne Taittinger Brut Resérve NV $50–$60
With a little more chardonnay in the blend than most NV’s (40 per cent versus about 33 – the remainder pinot noir and pinot meunier), good old Taitts giggles on the light and cheery side of Champagne, with seemingly little lees-aged character. Nevertheless, it’s a lovely, delicate aperitif style with the lightness of chardonnay and yummy brioche-like nuances of pinot meunier, the lesser of the two pinots, but indispensable nevertheless. Pinot meunier tends to fill the frost-prone dips in the Champagne region and is more fruitful than pinot noir in this situation as it buds later, giving it better odds of missing the chill.

Chianti Classico (Corte Carista) 2009 $10
Aldi’s Tuscan import takes us well away in style from Australian wines made from the same grape variety, sangiovese. It’s light to medium bodied, taut, bone-dry, earthy and savoury with its cherry-like fruit flavour buried well inside the fine, firm tannins. Like all the Aldi wines I’ve tried to date, it fits the specification, offering very good value for money. The withered little cork snapped in half as we coaxed it from the bottle. But at least the wine emerged clean, fresh and untainted by the cork – something drinkers always risk with this outmoded seal.

Tscharke Barossa Valley The Potter Garnacha 2011 $24
Barossa winemaker Damien Tscharke favours the Spanish ‘garnacha’ over the French ‘grenache’. But call it what you will, it’s a variety long established in the Barossa’s Marananga sub-region where it works as well in fortified wine as it does in table wine. We tasted the 2011 at cellar door in July, where the staff told us Tscharke had “picked it [the fruit] early in this shitty season”. Indeed, miserably cold, wet weather destroyed much of the Barossa’s crop that year. Tscharke, however, succeed in making an attractive, spicy, peppery red, albeit lighter, more savoury and less fleshy than usual, but one we enjoyed.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 1 September 2013 in the Canberra Times

Chianti Classico Peppoli (Antinori) 2009 $22.90–$25
Chianti Classico zone, Tuscany, Italy
At the Food and Wine truffle dinner (10 Yards restaurant), we compared Peppoli 2009, an Italian sangiovese, with Ravensworth Le Querce Canberra Sangiovese 2012. The pairing highlighted Ravensworth’s bright and fruity Australian character, albeit with sangiovese’s signature tannic bite. Peppoli, from the 600-year-old producer, Antinori, revealed the elegant structure, savouriness and fine, persistent tannins seen in the best reds of Tuscany’s Chianti Classico region. A touch of merlot and shiraz in the blend adds a little flesh to the bone. And maturation of a small portion of the blend in American oak barrels contributes subtly to the aroma and mid palate. It proved irresistible and I confess to nicking editor, Kirsten Lawson’s, glass.

Ashton Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2012 $65–$75
Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
For all the talk of “terroir”, the best wines, in any region, come from those making the fewest compromises in every little step through vineyard, harvest, grape transport, winemaking, maturation, bottling and storage. Stephen George’s wines show these perfectionist traits year after year. So, on a recent visit to the cellar, it was no surprise to taste pinots probably as good as they’ll ever be out of the Adelaide Hills – each showing the character of its vintage. George’s Estate Pinot Noir 2011 ($30) showed the edgy, just-ripe flavours of the cold season, albeit with pinot’s slick texture and fine tannins. The reserve 2012 revealed the beauty of an exceptional year – pinot with extra fruity depth, flesh, power and layers of flavour; all without losing its “pinosity”, that hard-to-describe character separating pinot from other varieties.

Tscharke Barossa Grounds Collection Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2012 $22
Marananga, Barossa Valley, South Australia
At Damien Tscharke’s cellar door we tasted a range of reds from the 2011 and 2012 vintages. Tscharke made decent, though lighter reds in the cold 2011. But the 2012s offer riper, fleshier, more satisfying drinking. His grenache-shiraz-mourvedre appealed for its bright, spicy aroma, medium body and delicious, sweet, juicy fruit flavours. Typically Barossa in its generosity and soft, easy tannins, it’s ready to drink right now.

Cotes du Rhone Blanc (Guigal) 2009 $20–$25
Rhone Valley, France
At the Food and Wine truffle dinner we paired Guigal’s Rhone blend with Alex McKay’s Collector Canberra District Lamplit Marsanne 2011. Overall, diners preferred the livelier, younger, oak-fermented Canberra wine, made principally of marsanne with a little viognier and roussanne. But the French wine had its admirers, too. It’s a tank-fermented blend of viognier (55 per cent), roussanne (20 per cent), marsanne (10 per cent), clairette (10 per cent) and bourboulenc. Viognier leads the blend, giving it weight and viscosity and a touch of apricot-like flavour. It’s not a wine to drink on its own, nor would the flavours and texture familiar to the Australian palate. But its weight and texture worked well with the lovely, sweet pumpkin and goat curd ravioli.

Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Auslese 2005 $85–$90
(Reichgraf von Kesselstatt)
Piesport, Mosel valley, Germany
For some, this wine proved the highlight of our truffle dinner – enjoyed not necessarily with the excellent dessert, but after it as a meal in its own right. The shimmering, pale, lemon-lime colour and equally shimmering, intense fruit and dazzling, fresh acidity make it unique among sweet wines. This is a classic Mosel wine with decades of cellaring ahead of it. It comes from the ancient Goldtropfchen vineyard, located on the steep slopes opposite the village of Piesport. Wine has been grown on the vineyard since at least Roman times and the riesling grape has dominated plantings since the 1760s.

Redbank The Long Paddock Merlot 2012 $12.95
Predominantly Ovens Valley, Victoria
Redbank is part of the Hill-Smith family portfolio, which also includes well-known brands such as Yalumba, Heggies and Pewsey Vale. The Redbank brand is Victorian based, drawing fruit from the King and Ovens Valleys and, for some of its lower priced wines, from warmer Victorian regions as well. This merlot comes primarily from a cool site in the Ovens Valley and contains about five per cent sangiovese from the King Valley. The latter presumably explains the savouriness and quite firm, tannic grip in an otherwise bright and fruity, medium bodied red wine.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 28 August 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

Wicks Estate Adelaide Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $18–$20
I tasted this in July at the winery with Tim Wicks and his three winemakers, Tim Knappstein, Leigh Ratzmer and Chris Parsons. The winery, on the edge of the 40-hectare vineyard, puts out good volumes of tasty, medium-bodied wines you can usually pick up for less than $20 a bottle. The 2012 reds impressed across the range – pinot noir, shiraz and this appealing cabernet sauvignon. All three deliver ripe, juicy fruit flavours with well-defined varietal character. The aromatic, drink-now cabernet combines cassis-like fruit flavour with just a touch of leafiness and a backbone of ripe and assertive but soft tannins.

Ad Hoc Avant Gardening
Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2012 $21
I’m even more drawn to the wine by winemaker Larry Cherubino’s suggested food companion – wild mushroom ravioli with sautéed chantarelles and cabernet butter. I can imagine the chewy, sweet, earthy richness of the fungi with the bright, sweet, ripe-berry flavours of this appealing blend. A little malbec modifies the flavour and structure of cabernet in a pleasing way, adding a plummy, leafy fragrance and sturdy tannins to balance the sweet-berry flavours. Cherubino sourced the fruit from the Riversdale vineyard, planted in the Frankland River region in 1997. Though matured in new and older oak barrels, the wine’s focus is all on the delicious fruit.

Xanadu Next of Kin Margaret River Shiraz 2011 $18
Xanadu is the Margaret River arm of the Rathbone Group, comprising, as well, Yering Station (Yarra Valley), Mount Langi Ghiran (Grampians) and Parker Estate (Coonawarra). Xanadu’s Next of Kin range offers really good, drink-now regional wines at prices well below the premium offerings. The shiraz, though 14.5 per cent alcohol, seems more medium than full-bodied. Vibrant berry flavours drive the wine, but these are satisfying layered with spicy and savoury notes and soft, easy tannins. Vintage 2011 was very good in the west, unlike the cold, wet season experienced in eastern Australia.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 18 August 2013 in the Canberra Times

Seppeltsfield Para 100 year old vintage tawny 1913 $330 100ml, $999 375ml
Seppeltsfield vineyard, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Seppeltsfield released its first 100-year-old Para tawny in 1978 – drawn from a barrel set aside by Benno Seppelt in 1878. He instructed the family to bottle it in 100 years. Amazingly, Seppelt’s successors, including corporate and then private owners, continued the practice without interruption. And today, for $40, cellar door visitors can taste the current release (plus the $150 Seppeltsfield Uber Shiraz 2010). For most, tasting a wine freshly bottled after maturing 100 years in barrel, will be a once in a lifetime experience. The 1913 vintage, tasted at cellar door in July, poured slickly into the glass. The tawny and orange colours spoke of autumn leaf and old age; the aroma spelled the comfort of ancient leather furniture, shellac, cedar, soy and burnt sugar; the viscous but ethereal palate reflected the aroma – a luscious, precious glory of a thing, made before the World War I, venerable but still fresh, in its own aged and stately way. (Available at seppeltsfield.com.au).

Seppeltsfield Grenache Shiraz Touriga 2010 $31.50–$35
Seppeltsfield vineyard, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Approached from the west, the firsts view of Seppeltsfield is of the gently curving contours of grenache vines, pruned as individual bushes – the largest such plantings in Australia, claim the owners. These vines, along with estate-grown shiraz and touriga, provide the fruit for this delicious, trophy-winning blend. It’s generous, round and soft, in the Barossa mould, with fruit flavours reminiscent of red currant. Grenache and touriga contribute attractive floral highlights to the aroma and lift to the palate.

Oliver’s Taranga Tempranillo 2011 $32
Oliver’s Taranga vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Overall McLaren Vale seems to have weathered the cold, wet 2011 vintage better than the Barossa Valley. Winemaker Corrina Wright called it an “interesting” season, noting that 1974 was wetter. I tasted this wine with Wright on a visit to the winery in July. Wright said this was a very small production of a wine she’s made since 2006. Tempranillo seems well suited to McLaren Vale and, indeed, to a great diversity of Australian regions. This one’s medium bodied, with blueberry-like fruit flavours under more savoury characters and the variety’s distinctively firm but fine tannins.

Turkey Flat Butcher’s Block Marsanne Roussanne Viognier 2012 $19.95–$22
Barossa Valley, South Australia
This white style seems well suited to the warm, dry Barossa Valley. Made from three Rhone Valley varieties, marsanne, roussanne and viognier, Butcher’s Block offers texture and savouriness rather than the aromatics and fruitiness cooler regions do better. Christie Schulz polished the style over the years, treating each of the components separately, including skin contact for the viognier, early picking for the marsanne and later picking and whole bunch pressing for the roussanne – with 50 per cent of the blend matured in oak. It’s a full-bodied, richly textured dry white with subtle, underlying nectarine and apricot-like flavours. Tasted at the winery 27 July.

Rockford Frugal Farmer Red 2011 $20.50
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Like the frugal farmer who wastes nothing, Barossa winemaker Rocky O’Callaghan, ferments grenache and mataro on the skins left over from his rose production – made from the obscure variety, alicante bouchet. The result is a light (for the Barossa), crimson-rimmed, joyous red, brimming with lively, fruity flavours to enjoy right now. Available at cellar door, see rockfordwines.com.au

Wicks Estate Pinot Noir 2012 $18–$22
Wicks Estate vineyard, Woodend, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
In 1999, property developers Tim and Simon Wicks bought a 54-hectare property at Woodside, Adelaide Hills. They planted a 40-hectare vineyard and, in 2004, built a winery large enough for their three winemakers – Tim Knappstein, Leigh Ratzmer and Chris Parsons – to process the vineyard’s considerable grape output, much of it released under the Wicks Estate label. Their first pinot noir, from the excellent 2012 vintage, won a gold medal and trophy at the Cowra show, just as stock moved to retail outlets. Simon Wicks says it sold out instantly at wholesale level. The wine, tasted at the winery, bears a familial resemblance to the excellent shiraz – with a focus on bright, well-defined varietal flavour, medium body and soft, juicy tannins. This is very good pinot noir to enjoy now.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 14 August 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au

Seppeltsfield Eden Valley Riesling 2012 $19.80–$22
After a couple of changes of ownership in recent years, Barossa’s historic Seppeltsfield belongs to four investors, led by winemaker and managing director, Warren Randall. Under an arrangement with former owner, Foster’s (now Treasury Wine Estates), Randall’s group can sell Seppeltsfield table wines only through the cellar door and mail order. However, it distributes the unique and superb Seppeltsfield fortified wines throughout and Australia. And Treasury continues to use the Seppelt brand for table and sparkling wines. Seppeltsfield riesling, under its beautiful retro label, provides the full flavoured delicacy of a great Eden Valley vintage. (Available at seppeltsfield.com.au).

Wicks Estate Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2012 $16.15–$20
In 1999, property developers Tim and Simon Wicks bought a 54-hectare property at Woodside, Adelaide Hills. They planted a 40-hectare vineyard and, in 2004, built a winery large enough to process the vineyard’s considerable grape output. The wines, made by Tim Knappstein, Leigh Ratzmer and Chris Parsons, have been outstanding at the price. On a recent visit to the winery, the 2012 shiraz appealed strongly. It’s of a similar quality and style to the gold-medal-winning 2010 vintage (there was no 2011), offering lovely fragrance, vibrant, ripe-berry and spicy flavours and silky soft tannins.

Tscharke Girl Talk Barossa Valley Savagnin 2012
As cooler areas inexorably dominate production of the crisp, zesty white styles demanded by consumers, some winemakers in warmer areas like the Barossa seek white varieties that make appealing wine in these warm, dry conditions. Damien Tscharke pioneered the Spanish variety, albarino, only to find it was savagnin. Whatever it’s called, though, the variety produces a soft, juicy and smooth textured dry white with a pleasant savouriness setting it apart from, say, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay. For the first time in the very good 2012 vintage, Tscharke fermented a small proportion of the wine in older oak – boosting the wine’s texture.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 11 August 2013 in the Canberra Times

Main Ridge Estate Chardonnay 2011 $55
Main Ridge vineyard, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
In a tasting of top-shelf chardonnays from the cold 2011 vintage, Main Ridge stood out from its bonier peers. The shift to leaner, tighter chardonnays in Australia has been overall a good thing, though some wines do seem a little too skinny, especially in very cool seasons. But even in one of the wettest, coolest vintages Nat and Rosalie white manage to keep some flesh on the bone. Theirs is an elegant chardonnay, in the best sense of the word – finely structured and delicate, but with beautiful fruit flavours, a subtle, sweet, caramel-like undercurrent (probably a result of malolactic fermentation) and smooth, silky mid palate and brisk, clean finish.

Prancing Horse Estate Pinot Noir 2010 $65
Prancing Horse vineyard, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Prancing Horse vineyard dates from 1990. But after a change in ownership in 2002, writes Tony Hancy, it was “rejuvenated with an extreme pruning regime. Additional clones were grafted into the sit alongside the existing MV6 and great effort went into changing the trellis system from Scott Henry to VSP [vertical shoot positioning]”. Hancy engaged Burgundian biodynamic wine consultant, Pascal Marchand, a soil expert, Professor Yves Herody, and winemaker Sergio Carlei. The team is clearly getting it all right as this is an outstanding pinot, showing intense, savoury fruit flavours and a strong, fine backbone of tannin.

Oliver’s Taranga Fiano 2013 $24
Oliver’s Taranga Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Put this spritely white in you notebook for spring. Winemaker Corrina Wright, a sixth generation Oliver of Taranga, McLaren Vale, mixes several Italian and Spanish varieties in the family’s extensive plantings of more traditional cultivars. Wright’s fiano, an Italian white variety, is bracingly acidic but also richly textured, with a sweet kiss of residual grape sugar offsetting the high acid. Wright says the very low pH of two needed a little sugar coating. It’s something different and exhilarating for the coming summer.

Paxton AAA Shiraz Grenache 2011 $20
Paxton vineyards, McLaren Vale, South Australia
David Paxton and family operate several vineyards in McLaren. Paxton originally grew and sold grapes, and was involved in establishing several significant vineyards – including Hardys highly regarded Hoddles Creek vineyard in the Yarra Valley. However, the Paxtons moved to wine making a few years back and intend ultimately to process all of their own grapes for the Paxton label. AAA, a delicious, savoury, medium-bodied blend, is their biggest seller, offering the regional style at a fair price.

Seppeltsfield Solero DP117 Pale Dry Flor 500ml $29–$32
Seppeltsfield vineyard, Barossa Valley, South Australia
That unique Barossa wine estate, Seppeltsfield, sits on a treasure trove of fortified wine, stretching back in an unbroken sequence to the 1878 vintage. The company’s stocks include a solera of this thrilling, salty, briny, tangy fino “sherry” style made from palomino grapes grown on the estate. With an average age of eight years in barrel, it offers a fine and thrilling expression of this Spanish inspired style, so suited to savoury food like olives and anchovies.

Langmeil Eden Valley Riesling 2012 $25
Eden Valley, South Australia
On a cold Barossa day we arrived at Tanunda’s 1918 restaurant ready for a hot meal and cold drink. We asked the waitress for something refreshing, and she delivered Langmeil’s delicious Eden Valley riesling. The shimmering green-gold colour appealed enormously and the thrill carried through to the generous, vigorous, lime-like flavours. It’s a fuller-bodied version of the Eden Valley style, giving great drink-now appeal but without sacrificing vibrancy and freshness.

Copyright Chris Shanahan 2013
First published 7 August 2013 in the Canberra Times and goodfood.com.au