Symphonia King Valley

• Petit Manseng 2008 $24
• Saperavi $24

These eye openers come from the Symphonia Vineyard, owned by Peter and Suzanne Evans, parents in law of well-known winemaker Sam Miranda junior. Petit manseng, a southern French variety, impresses for its scrumptious fruit flavour and racy, pleasantly tart dry finish. Everyone loved it at a recent tasting. The same tasters, though intrigued, struggled with the purple, fruity, acidic, tannic saparavi (a Russian variety). That’s not surprising, though, says winemaker Robert Paul, describing saperavi as the Russian equivalent of the equally burly durif variety. Like the tasters, Paul sees a bright future in Australia for petit manseng.

McIvor Estate Heathcote

• Marsanne Roussanne 2010 $25
• Nebbiolo 2008 $35

Gary and Cynthia Harbor’s McIvor Estate lies at the southern, cooler end of Victoria’s Heathcote region, about 50 kilometres southeast of Bendigo. They specialise in niche varieties, including this white Rhone Valley inspired blend of marsanne and Roussanne and the red nebbiolo, from Italy’s Piemonte region. The white combines the shy, light tanginess of roussanne with the textural richness of marsanne – a pleasant, savoury drink-now white that’ll probably fatten with age. The nebbiolo is typically pale coloured and aromatic with the always-surprising lean, sinewy, savoury palate – a really good expression of this difficult variety and a treat to drink with high protein and gamey food.

Brand’s Laira Coonawarra

• Shiraz 2008 $17–$22
• Cabernet Merlot 2009 $17–$22

These are decent, solid wines at a fair price. The shiraz is attractively aromatic and flavour packed with quite a hit of oak building the mid palate and swamping, to some extent, the mid-weight ripe-berry flavours of the fruit. I can’t help thinking, therefore, that the wine might be a whole lot better, and reveal its Coonawarra origins more clearly, if the winemakers wound the oak back – maybe use no new barrels at all. The same might be said for the cabernet merlot, which seems also a touch leafy and green. At this price point these wines are being killed in quality and regionality by their neighbour, Majella, with its pure and lovely The Musician.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Angullong Fossil Hill Pinot Gris 2010 $22
Orange, New South Wales
Because the Orange region is defined partly by altitude, the 220-hectare Angullung vineyard wanders in and out of the regional boundary – walk up a row of vines until you’re 600 metres or more above sea level and you’re in Orange; stand below 600 metres and you’re in the Central Ranges district. This smooth-textured wine, from the higher, cooler slopes, expresses crystal clear, pear-like varietal aroma and flavour of pinot gris. We’ve notched the rating up by one star since first tasting it three months ago as the pinot flavour and structure really let rip.

Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling 2005 $30
Eden Valley, South Australia
Wigan Riesling – a bling-clad darling of Australia’s wine show system – delivers the great beauty of bottle aged riesling at a fair price. It’s named for Andrew Wigan, Lehmann winemaker since 1976, and sourced from low-yielding old vines up in the Eden Valley, in the ranges forming the Barossa’s eastern boundary. It’s released after five years in bottle, allowing the lovely, maturing honey and toast aromas and flavours to join the pristine, lime-like varietal character. Thanks to the screw cap it retains a dazzling freshness.

Four Winds Vineyard Merlot 2009 $19
Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales
The Lunney family’s 13-hectare vineyard lies just east of Murrumbateman and the wines are made by Graeme Lunney and his daughter, Jaime – a forensic biologist-turned-winemaker. The merlot shows high-toned, plummy aromas and the bright, vibrant fruit of the outstanding 2009 vintage. It’s medium bodied and vibrantly fruity with the elegant, taut-but-soft structure of cool-grown merlot. It’s made to enjoy now or in the next couple of years either on its own, thanks to the bright fruit and softness, or with light, savoury food.

Cape Mentelle Marmaduke Shiraz 2008 $19
Margaret River, Western Australia
Marmaduke is the budget red of Cape Mentelle winery, owned by French group, Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. A blend of shiraz (88 per cent), grenache (seven per cent) and mataro (five per cent), Marmaduke shows a ripe-cherry, spicy face of shiraz – its fruit fragrance boosted by grenache and the fine, tannic finish bolstered by the mataro (aka mourvedre). The fruit comes predominantly from Cape Mentelle vineyards in Margaret River’s Wallcliffe and Karridale subregions.

Chapel Hill Mourvedre 2009 $30
McLaren Vale, South Australia
This is big brother to Chapel Hill’s simpler, fruitier and cheaper Il Vescovo Mourvedre reviewed here a few months back. It’s one of a growing number of straight mouvedres (also known as monastrell and mataro) now be being released by Australian winemakers. The thick-skinned variety tends to make inky black wines with a solid tannin backbone. In this version, made by Michael Fragos and Bryn Richards, we tasty, juicy, sweet, black-cherry fruit flavours with a complex spiciness – all backed by the signature chunky, firm, drying tannins. This is a substantial, beautifully balanced drop.

Tim Adams Reserve Tempranillo 2008 $38
Clare Valley, South Australia
Inspired by the savoury tempranillo based wines of Rioja, Spain, Tim Adams added 6.5 hectares of the variety to his Clare Valley vineyards in 2004. This, then, is one of Tim’s early attempts with the variety. It’s a blend of the best barrels made in the vintage and shows the body and weight of the hot season. The flavour’s reminiscent of ripe black cherry, underpinned by a pleasant savouriness and cut by fine, drying tannins. The savouriness and tannins temper the wine’s fruitiness, making a good match for savoury food or pure protein dishes like rare steak or lamb.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Willow Creek Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2009 $40
Willow Creek is one of many beautiful Mornington Peninsula vineyards to make stunning chardonnay and pinot noir. Winemaker Geraldine McFaul writes that the wine is estate-grown, whole-bunch pressed, fermented in oak barrels (25 per cent new) and matured on yeast lees in the barrels, with regular lees stirring, for 10 months. It also undergoes full malolactic fermentation (converting hard malic acid to soft lactic acid). The result is a fine, delicate chardonnay that blossoms after opening for some time, revealing delicious, subtle nectarine-like varietal flavour. A silky, fine texture adds to the appeal. And bottle age should bring out more magic.

Clonakilla Canberra District Jack Reidy Shiraz 2009 $28–$35
This is one of several shirazes made under proprietors’ labels exclusively for the Coles liquor group and available in their 1st Choice and Vintage Cellars outlets. This one, named for Clonakilla founder John Kirk’s grandfather, expresses the bright, generous fruit flavour of the great 2009. It’s a little more upfront and simpler in its fruit expression than Clonakilla’s other two more-expensive Canberra shiraz viognier blends. Nevertheless it shows Tim Kirk’s deft touch with these varieties. It’s totally seductive; our sample disappeared in less than an hour. Although it’s easy to drink now, it should age well for three or four years.

Coriole McLaren Vale

• Redstone Shiraz 2008 $18
• Estate Shiraz 2008 $28

A severe March heat wave in 2008 brought vintage on in a rush and pushed grape ripeness to unprecedented levels. Coriole’s Mark Lloyd said he coped by declassifying over ripe, late picked batches. Certainly he produced a couple of very good wines in the difficult conditions. Redstone, sourced from Coriole and other vineyards, is a nice chunky wine at the price, packed with ripe flavours and cut with firm, satisfying, savoury tannins. The estate-grown version is more intensely flavoured and more fine boned but still has the firm, savoury tannins of the vintage.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Jim Barry “The Florita” Riesling 2009 $40
Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia
This is a stunning riesling, sourced from selected rows of the historic Florita Vineyard, established by Leo Buring in the 1940s. Replanted to riesling under Lindemans in the 1960s, the vineyard provided fruit for the great Leo Buring Watervale rieslings made for the next few decades by John Vickery. Jim Barry Wines acquired the vineyard in 1986 and the “Florita” trademark in 2004. Florita 2009 is a pristine, powerful riesling with a distinctive lime-like flavour and acidity.

Tim Adams Semillon 2009 $22
Clare Valley, South Australia
Clare semillon enjoys a long, albeit mostly anonymous, history as the backbone of popular, sometimes oak-matured, “white burgundies” in the days of generic labelling. Tim Adams is a particularly good,  modern expression of the style, partly fermented and matured in oak and partly in stainless steel tanks. The stainless steel component retains the tart, lemony freshness of the variety. And the oak fermented and matured component lends structure and complexity – without injecting overt woody flavours. At just on 12 per cent alcohol it’s light, zingy, tasty and refreshing.

Willow Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 $40
Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
First impressions are of a pure delicate, paler coloured pinot noir, with high-toned perfume and delicious, drink-now flavour. But over a number of days the wine reveals its wonderful flavour depth and a quite strong tannin backbone that should see it evolve beneficially with bottle age. It’s made entirely from estate-grown fruit by Geraldine McFaul, former winemaker for the neighbouring Stonier Winery.

Mitchell GSM (Grenache Sangiovese Mourvedre) 2006 $22
Clare Valley, South Australia
Winemaker Andrew Mitchell describes this as “the glorious essence of grenache enhanced with a touch of mourvedre and sangiovese”. He adds that the wine’s made from hand-pruned old vineyards from around Clare. It’s completely unoaked and a few years’ bottle age sets it apart from other reds at the price. A big, intriguing, earthy-savoury blend – with fruity, spicy grenache at the core – Mitchell GSM offers tonnes of flavour and character at a modest price.

Rutherglen Estate Shiraz Durif 2008 $13.95
Rutherglen, Victoria
Here winemaker Marc Scalzo presents a robust but happy, fruity face of Rutherglen’s two signature red varieties – shiraz and durif. The latter, also known as petite syrah, is an accidental shiraz-peloursin cross, first identified by Francois Durif at Montpellier, France, in 1880 and brought to Australia by Francois de Castella in 1908. This is a big, simple plummy style, packed with ripe fruit flavours and soft, easy-on-the-gums tannins. It’s a good general quaffer, but the sweet fruit and soft tannins allow it to match hot to spicy food.

Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc 2007 $50
Marlborough, New Zealand
Kevin Judd left a notable winemaking legacy at Cloudy Bay, including this left field, oak-fermented, aged sauvignon blanc style. While overproduction and declining prices take much of the cache from Marlborough sauvignon blanc – Te Koko flaunts the region’s extraordinary ability with the variety. As one taster aptly commented, Te Koko feels like chardonnay, tastes like sauvignon. The oak regime contributes a rich texture and complex flavours, but the pungent varietal flavour soars above it. It’ll be the centre of attention wherever it’s served.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Pankhurst Canberra District Dorothy May Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $27–$30
Pankhurst Dorothy May 2009 was the sole star of the cabernet classes in the recent Canberra Regional Wine Show. It earned the only gold medal and trophy for the variety. And what a beautiful, seductive wine it is – another gem from the great 2009 vintage. Allan and Christine Pankhurst grow the fruit on their vineyard at Hall and Roger Harris makes the wine at his neighbouring Brindabella Hills Winery. The wine’s sweet, cedary aroma combines ripe, pure varietal fruit with beautifully judged oak; these are reflected, too, in the deep, juicy, elegantly structured palate. The wine is due for release early next year. Meanwhile the gold medal winning 2006 is still available.

Mitchell Clare Valley

• Watervale Riesling 2009 $22
• McNicol Clare Valley Riesling 2006 $35

What a delightful pair of rieslings from Jane and Andrew Mitchell’s Clare Valley vineyards. The younger wine presents riesling’s high-toned purity and lime-like varietal aromas and flavours, typical of Watervale, at the southern end of the valley. Its shimmering fruit and brisk, tangy acidity make it a good aperitif or company for delicate seafood; and it has potential to take on toasty complexity with age. McNicol, named for Andrew’s father, comes from a higher, cooler Clare vineyard that ripens two or three weeks later than Watervale. It’s ageing slowly and gracefully – combining fresh, tingly acidity with the deeper, maturing fruit flavours.

Shelmerdine Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2009 $29
Shelmerdine is a chardonnay that grows on you sip, by sip – subtle and restrained but revealing a little more with each glass. It’s probably best served at around 8–10 degrees, allowing the fine, delicate nectarine-like varietal flavour to emerge. It’s sourced from the Shelmerdine family’s Lusatia Park vineyard near Woori Yallock in the high, cool upper Yarra Valley. The winemaker captures the intense, delicate flavour through gentle hand harvesting, whole-bunch pressing and allowing spontaneous fermentation in older French oak barrels. The barrels add little oak flavour, but the oxidative environment and presence of spent yeast cells during maturation add to the texture and complexity of the wine.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Holm Oak Riesling 2009 $25
Rowella, Tasmania
Before unscrewing the cap, prepare for a giant step away from our traditional Clare Valley, Eden Valley or even Canberra riesling styles. Rowella’s very cool climate means more acidic grapes. The resulting wines tend therefore to be lean and minerally with high natural acidity. We see this in Home Oak, produced by husband and wife team  – Rebecca Wilson in the winery and Tim Duffy in the vineyard. The cool climate also tends to intensify varietal flavour. In tandem with the natural acidity this delivers a delicate, bracingly fresh, dry aperitif style with potential to build and fill out over time.

Seppelt Drumborg Vineyard Pinot Gris 2010 $27
Henty, Victoria
The wine’s been around since 1997 under Seppelt’s Coborra label. The name change simply emphasises its source – the Drumborg vineyard, just north of Portland on Victoria’s southwestern coast. The particularly cool site brings out the distinctive, if elusive, pear-like varietal flavour; and fermentation and maturation of part of the blend in older French oak vats builds texture and richness on the palate. It’s bone dry, zesty fresh and finishes with a pleasant savoury bite. Emma Wood makes the wine at Seppelt’s Great Western winery.

Stefano Lubiana Pinot Noir 2008 $45–$50
Derwent River, Tasmania
There’s something special about this part of the Derwent, just outside Hobart – home to Steve and Monique Lubiana’s vineyard and neighbouring Derwent Estate. Lubiana’s chardonnay and pinot rate among the best in Australia. And we know that Derwent Estate supplies chardonnay for Penfolds flagship Yattarna and Hardy’s just-released, new Eileen Hardy pinot noir. While Derwent Estate has yet to appear on the wine drinker’s radar, Lubiana demonstrates in this wine just how good the sub-region is. This is pinot of rare dimension – fragrant and intense, with deep, sweet fruit, restrained by fine, but firm tannins. This is pure power and elegance, built for the long haul.

Heartland Dolcetto and Lagrein 2008 $17
Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast, South Australia
Dolcetto, originating in northwestern Italy and Lagrein, from the northeast, succeed dramatically well in this blend from winemaker Ben Glaetzer. The vivid purple colour, heady, ripe-cherry aroma and opulent, juicy-but-dry, savoury palate make a winning combination – especially at the price. Ben writes that dolcetto provides the “berry fruit flavours and lifted tones” while lagrein offers “astounding colour intensity and very good acid retention”. Something different and thoroughly enjoyable.

Coriole Reserve Sangiovese 2007 $45
McLaren Vale, South Australia
The Lloyd family was an early pioneer of Italy’s sangiovese, planting its first vines in 1985, about a decade behind Carlo Corino at Montrose, Mudgee, but a generation ahead of a wider trend to “alternative” varieties. This is Mark Lloyd’s first “reserve” since 1998 – “selected from our best vineyards and barrels from vintage 2007”, he writes. It’s pristine sangiovese, with an aroma and flavour reminiscent of dark, ripe, sour cherry, backed by firm, savoury tannins. Unlike most McLaren Vale reds, it’s medium rather than full-bodied. I suspect that over time it’ll become more ethereal, savoury and earthy while retaining its lovely core of unique, varietal fruit flavour.

Penfolds Grandfather Rare Tawny $99
South Eastern Australia
The distinctive pale, green-gold rim reveals Grandfather’s great age – an average of more than 20 years’ oak ageing for the various components in the blend. It’s one of Australia’s great wine treasures, based on a six-stage “solera” housed in a non-descript shed at Kalimna, northwestern Barossa Valley. Over great periods of time, the fortified blend of (predominantly) mourvedre, shiraz, cabernet and grenache takes on its unique, aged colour, aroma, flavour and texture through a process of slow oxidation in small, old oak barrels. The result is a luxurious tawny of great finesse and character.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Robert Stein Mudgee Reserve Riesling 2010 $45
What does Mudgee stand for as a winemaking region? I’ve visited there, judged there, and tasted wines from there since the late seventies, all without spotting a regional hero. Chardonnay stood out more than any other. Riesling, however, didn’t register until Robert Stein’s caught our attention a few years back. Winemaker Jacob Stein, says he sources fruit for the reserve wine from the family’s 32-year-old vines, at an altitude of 600 metres – considerably higher up than most Mudgee vineyards. Almost certainly the cooler site gives Stein riesling its racy edge and intense, fine, lime-like varietal flavour. It’ beautifully made a pleasure to drink, from first drop to last.

Bay of Fires Tasmania Pinot Noir $35
For a glimpse of Tasmania’s winemaking future, grab a bottle of this beautiful, silk-smooth, trophy-winning pinot before the price heads north. It’s part of Constellation Wine’s portfolio and made at their Bay of Fires Winery, Pipers River. Winemaker Fran Austin sourced fruit for the wine from a variety of clones grown on several vineyards on Tasmania’s east coast, Coal River Valley and Derwent Valley. Fran’s been tweaking the wine for about a decade, and in that time we’ve seen it evolve from a nice drop to jaw-dropping good. It joins a growing number of distinguished wines destined to make Tassie Australia’s pinot capital.

Tin Soldier Hunter Valley

• Verdelho 2010 $18
• Shiraz 2009 $20

Tin Soldier is the big-value member of a family produced by Swish Wines, comprising what were once the Gartelman and Warrarong vineyards in the Hunter Valley’s Lovedale sub-region. The verdelho is all about juicy freshness and fresh-from-the-vine fruit flavour – an appealing drop to quaff in its youth, then back up for the new vintage next year. The shiraz provides classy drinking at this price. Its pure, natural and fine-boned – in the Hunter’s medium-bodied, understated style. The winemaker hasn’t burdened it with too much oak, allowing the fruit to express itself. But it’s not too tutty-fruity either; it’s more trim and savoury.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay 2009 $22–$27
Drumborg Vineyard, Henty, Victoria
A generation ahead of his time, Karl Seppelt planted a vineyard for the then family company at Drumborg in 1964. It’s a cold site, near Portland in southwestern Victoria. Some say it’s the first landfall north of Antarctica. The vineyard grows beautiful chardonnay – high in natural acid, with intense flavours at the cool, grapefruit and melon end of the spectrum. Winemaker Emma Wood fermented and matured the wine in a mix of new and seasoned oak barrels, adding attractive but subtle complexities to one of the best value whites in Australia.

Zarephath Riesling 2007 $25
Porongurup, Western Australia
As the 2010 rieslings come on stream it’s refreshing to come across a maturing wine, currently available at Sage Restaurant or direct from Zarephath Wines, located in the very cool Porongurup region, just north of Albany  – see www.zarephathwines.com).
The pale colour belies its three years’ age. But the age becomes apparent in the intense, citrusy aroma with its little edge of “kero”, commonly seen in aged rieslings. The palate, however, pulses with life – it’s powerful, juicy, taut, lively, and steely dry, with a distinctive lime-like varietal flavour.

McWilliams Hanwood Estate Shiraz 2008 $9–$12
Gundagai, Hilltops, Heathcote, Limestone Coast, Orange, Riverina, Western Australia and Yarra Valley
The label bears only the broad appellation, Australia. Typically this indicates a blend from many regions. And in the case of well-resourced companies like McWilliams the mix includes components from some of our best regions. These add depth to components from higher-yielding vineyards. The combination means good flavour at a low price. The result, in Hanwood, is a fragrant, generously fruity red showing pure, high-toned varietal flavour and the round, soft tannins necessary for early drinking. This is a very, very good red at the price.

Capital Wines Ministry Series “The Foreign Minister” Sangiovese 2009 $25
Pialligo, Australian Capital Territory
This is Capital Wines’ first sangiovese – sourced from three clones of the variety, including two of the noble “Brunello”, grown at Pialligo Estate. It’s pale-to-medium in colour and the aroma and flavour reveal the appealing fruitiness of the 2009 vintage – a character shining through across all the red varieties I’ve tasted. Although it’s medium bodied, there’s good, fleshly depth to the berry fruit flavours; and these are held in check by fine, savoury tannins and high acidity. The acidity adds to the structure and boosts the brightness of the fruit flavours.

Terra Felix Sagrantino 2009 $21.50
Euston, New South Wales
It’s been almost twenty years since I’ve had the pleasure, but I still recall the palate-wrenching, tannic grip of Sagrantino di Montefalco – a sturdy, impenetrably inky-black drop from Umbria, Italy. Winemaker Terry Barnett’s version starts more seductively than the Italian original. It’s highly aromatic, combining pure, sweet berry aromas with a touch of spice. So far, so good. The palate starts with the same delicious fruitiness – then the jaws of tannin snap shut. The tannin, however, doesn’t swamp the fruit entirely and we find ourselves coming back again and again for just one more glass.

Domaine A Pinot Noir 2006 $70
Coal River Valley, Tasmania
Dense, crimson-rimmed Domaine A seems in a different pinot orbit than its Australian peers. It’s not pale. It’s not strawberry aromatic. And it’s not soft and rearing to go now. In pinot, deep colour sometimes points to over-extraction and hardness. But in Domaine A it’s a prelude to an extraordinary concentration of aroma and flavour – a deep, sweet, ripe, chewy opulence that grows over time: layers and layers of interwoven powerful fruit and powerful tannin. It’s balanced and you can drink it now. But it’s really built to cellar and I suspect it’ll do so with distinction.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Freeman Hilltops Fortuna 2009 $22–$25
Fortuna is a very smart, unusual and lovely blend sourced from five varieties grown on Dr Brian Freeman’s old vines in the Hilltops region. Freeman writes, “It is inspired by the aromatic white wines of two regions of northern Italy – Friuli and Alto Adige, a textural wine crafted from pinot gris, riesling, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and a smidge of aleatico”. The blend works spectacularly well in the outstanding 2009 vintage. It’s highly aromatic with matching intense fruit flavour. However, it’s richly textured and savoury, too; and a firm (but gentle) bite of tannin lends and Italian touch to the finish.

Henschke

• Barossa Keyneton Euphonium 2008 $48
• Littlehampton Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2009 $34

In March 2008 an unprecedented, prolonged burst of scorching heat sent grape sugars soaring across the Barossa. Winemakers scrambled to harvest their grapes. But after initial pessimism, we’re seeing some decent wines from the vintage, including this elegant Eden and Barossa Valleys blend of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. It’s in the deeply flavoured but elegant Henschke style, with firm, persistent tannins suggesting a medium-term cellaring. The pinot gris shows the extra fruit richness of the benign 2009 vintage and a complex textural richness derived from maturation on spent yeast cells. It’s one Australia’s leading examples of this style.

Morambro Creek

• Padthway Shiraz 2008 $26–$28
• Jip Jip Rocks Padthaway Shiraz 2009 $16–$18
  
• Jip Jip Rocks Padthaway Shiraz Cabernet 2009 $16–18

Remember Padthaway – the huge sea of vines about an hour’s drive north of Coonawarra? Its grapes feed mainly into multi-regional blends, but over the years we’ve seen many very good regional varietals under the Lindemans, Stonehaven, Orlando Lawsons and other names. Morambro Creek is an independent operator in the region (see www.morambrocreek.com.au), making good value, generally elegant wines. In the hot 2008 vintage, the flagship shiraz seems notably fuller and more tannic than usual, still with an appealing, complex core of sweet and savoury fruit. The lower priced Jip Jip wines, from the milder 2009 vintage, show more traditional elegance and suppleness.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Henschke Louis Semillon 2009 $28
Eden Valley, South Australia
Named for the late Louis Edmund Henschke, this light-bodied, bone-dry semillon comes from 50-year-old vines on a Henschke vineyard. Like the Hunter style, it’s tank fermented, never goes near oak and is bottled early to preserve the fruit flavour. However, it’s slightly fuller than the Hunter style, with the distinct aroma and flavour of warm-grown semillon – somewhere between lemongrass and wet hessian. Don’t be put off by the latter, though, as there’s a zesty, tart, lemony tang setting Louis apart from other wines. Would be terrific with delicate fish.

Innocent Bystander Chardonnay 2009 $19.95
Yarra Valley, Victoria
Winemaker Steve Flamsteed writes that in the bushfire, smoke-damaged 2009 vintage Innocent Bystander destroyed all of their reds because “nothing made the cut” – but salvaged small quantities of whites through selective hand harvesting and gentle winemaking. The lovely chardonnay we see eighteen months after the fire delivers pure, varietal citrus and melon flavours, set in a textural richness derived from 100 per cent barrel fermentation and maturation. It’s rich, but not heavy, with lively natural acidity.

Picardy Merlimont 2008 $48
Pemberton, Western Australia
This is Dan Pannell’s occasional, special blend of merlot (58 per cent), cabernet sauvignon (26 per cent) and cabernet franc (16 per cent). It’s a beautiful, limpid wine, square in the refined, elegant St Emilion style. Merlot sets the rich, earthy flavour tones, but cabernet franc adds to the aroma intensity, while cabernet sauvignon contributes to the elegant but firm structure. It’s a complex, more-ish wine with a modest (for today) alcohol level of 13.5 per cent. While it drinks well now, it’ll probably evolve well for another decade.

Mount Majura Tempranillo 2009 $35
Mount Majura, Australian Capital Territory
If first impressions count, then Frank van de Loo’s latest tempranillo ranks among the best of the variety in Australia. At first opening the wine impressed for its pure, plush, fruit flavour – a characteristic, it seems of Canberra’s 2009 reds in general. A few days later, pleased we hadn’t quaffed the whole bottle on day one, we sipped on, savouring the intense, blueberry-like varietal flavour and delicious, savoury, persistent tannins. It’s only a matter of time before Spain’s tempranillo variety moves from niche to mainstream. It’s certainly at home on Mount Majura.

Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz 2007 $80
Eden and Barossa Valleys, South Australia
This is a one-off Henschke blend, sourced from growers in the Tappa Pass and Light Pass areas of the adjoining Barossa and Eden regions. Although matured in about 60 per cent new oak, the luxurious fruit simply gobbled the oak up, morphing into a wine of great dimension. In style, it sits between the hot Barossa and slightly cooler Eden – with vibrant, dark berry flavours, tinged with liquorice and spice, layered with soft tannins, and made complex by the subtle, integrated oak. It’s sealed with the German-developed glass Vino-Lok.

Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling 2010 375ml $35
Auburn, Clare Valley, South Australia
Winemaker Stephanie Toole produces two Clare Valley rieslings – a shimmering, lime-like, dry version from her Watervale vineyard (reviewed in Relax last Sunday) and this unique sweetie from nearby Auburn. Cutting the canes, or cordons, of the vines causes the grapes to become sweeter, while retaining pure varietal flavours and high acidity. The result is a pristine, varietal riesling with crisp acidity and very high sugar levels. It delivers dessert wine sweetness without the aid, or extraneous flavours, inserted by botrytis cinerea (noble rot).

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010