Majella Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $33
Like Canberra, Coonawarra suffered severe crop losses in the frosts of late 2006. As a result, says Majella’s Brian Lynn, there’s only a tiny quantity of the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – one of the most appealing cabernets you’ll ever taste. It has an extraordinary high-toned fragrance and a buoyant fleshy-but-firm, elegant palate to match. I’ve been cellaring Majella cabernets for more than a decade now and, young and old, they provide exciting drinking, never losing their varietal flavour and structure – just changing subtly as they age. This is one of the best. It’s made by Bruce Gregory in Brian and Tony Lynn’s winery alongside the vines.

Ken Helm Premium Riesling 2009 $45
Majella Coonawarra Riesling 2009 $16
What a contrast there is between riesling prices. And the amazing thing is that the quality gap is less than the price suggests. Especially when they’re young, rieslings can be hard to differentiate between – show judges regularly stuff it up. But you can bet your last bottle of Grange that as time goes by the intense, taut Helm Premium will pull ahead of the juicy and delicious Majella. It’s estate-grown-and-made by the Lynn family in Coonawarra. And Ken Helm’s wine is made from the best grapes off Al Lustenburger’s Murrumbateman vineyard.

Brindabella Hills Canberra Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $16
Lake George Vineyard Canberra Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $16
Shaw Vineyard Estate Canberra Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2008 $20
These three appealing whites all featured in James Halliday’s rating of NSW’s top 100 wines and at a subsequent dinner at old parliament house. They offer easy drinking, good value in a spectrum of styles. My favourite is the Brindabella Hills (from Hall), a subtle, pure, ripe sauvignon blanc. It’s just about sold out, but the 2009 is about to be released. The Lake George wine shows more of the lemon-like varietal flavour of Semillon and that variety’s backbone and structure, too. The Shaw wine (Murrumbateman) expresses more of the herbal, greener notes of the two varieties.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Angullong Fossil Hill Orange Region Sangiovese 2008 $20
Angullong Fossil Hill Orange Region Barbera 2008 $20
The Crossing family’s 220-hectare Angullong vineyard undulates in and out of the Orange District because of its varied altitude – the vines located above 600 metres are in, and everything else is out. The climate clearly suits these two Italian varieties and winemakers know how to capture the individuality. The sangiovese is medium bodied with dry, savoury tannins gripping a subtle core of sweet and sour cherry-like flavours, finishing lean, dry and savoury. The bright and zesty Barbera is packed with vibrant summer-berry flavours, given flesh by very clever oak maturation. Fine tannins give a dry, savoury finish. See www.angullong.com.au

Freeman Secco Hilltops Rondinella Corvina 2004 $30
This is a brilliant Aussie take on the classic reciotto della Valpolicella Amarone style of Verona, Italy, made from dried grapes. Brian Freeman established his vineyard at Young from just six cuttings each of the Veronese varieties, rondinella and corvina in 1999. Rather than go the whole hog like the Valpolicella Amarone makers, Brian uses mainly fresh grapes, adding a portion of dehydrated berries during fermentation. The result is a very full, ripe red with a distinctive ripe black-cherry flavour with undertones of port and prune and a pleasantly tart, savoury edge.  It’s a delicious and distinctive red and looking very young at five years’ age. See www.freemanvineyards.com.au

Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Il Vescovo Savagnin 2009 $20
Earlier this year Australian growers, including Chapel Hill, learned to their surprise that their prized plantings of the Spanish white, albarino, were, in fact, traminer, also known as savagnin. There’d been a gigantic stuff up in Spain decades back and, as a result, the CSIRO imported a woolly pup (for the full story go to www.chrisshanahan.com and search ‘albarino’). At Chapel Hill’s Kangarilla vineyard the variety thrived and made such good wine that winemaker Michael Fragos stuck to his knitting and simply changed his Il Vescovo label from ‘albarino’ to ‘savagnin’. It’s subtly aromatic and smoothly textured with a bone dry, savoury flavour.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Nick O’Leary Canberra District Riesling 2009 $24
Nick O’Leary Canberra District Shiraz 2008 $28
In Canberra recently, Wolf Blass sunk the boot into Hardys, suggesting they contributed nothing before departing the local wine scene. What Wolfie didn’t say was that Hardys won the ‘champion wine’ trophy (for shiraz) at the local show in both 2005 and 2006, generated the planting of some of our leading vineyards and left behind two accomplished winemakers, Alex McKay and Nick O’Leary. Hardy’s contribution was pivotal to the Canberra District we know today. And without Hardys we wouldn’t have young Nick O’Leary’s delicious, fine-boned shiraz, nor his beautiful, crisp, delicate, dry riesling. These are absolutely top-notch, fairly priced wines.

Lerida Estate Lake George Shiraz Viognier 2007 $38.50, Pinot Gris 2009 $28, Botrytis Pinot Gris 2008 375ml $24.50
Jim Lumbers and Anne Caine originally set their sights on pinot noir as Lerida’s flagship variety. But shiraz, in tandem with the white viognier, pretty quickly left pinot in its dust, demonstrating just how well suited it is to our district. The latest release, a gold medallist at the recent Canberra Regional Wine Show, sits at the bigger, riper end of the regional style at around fifteen per cent alcohol. But the deep, vibrant varietal fruit gobbles up the alcohol, leaving a juicy, elegant medium bodied red to enjoy over the next decade. The pinot gris is fine, dry and thickly textured; and the gold-medal-winning sticky is a dessert in itself.

Capital Wines Canberra District The Whip Riesling 2009 $18, The Senator Chardonnay 2008 $ 22
These are big-value offerings from Capital Wines, the joint venture between the Mooney and McEwin families – the Mooneys looking after viticulture and marketing while Andrew McEwin makes the wine. The delicate, intensely flavoured dry riesling (a gold medallist at the 2009 Canberra Regional Show) comes mainly from a Gundaroo vineyard planted to the Geisenheim clone by the Mooneys in 2001 and subsequently sold to the Lamberts. The chardonnay comes, smartly rebadged under the new venture, is one of a long line to come from the Kyeema Vineyard, Murrumbatemen.  There are plenty of clever winemaking inputs, but the core flavour is intense, melon-like varietal fruit.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Disaster Bay Pambula River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009 $20
In 2000 Dean O’Reilly planted about a hectare of vines on his parents Pambula River farm. The site was too cool for the Bordeaux red varieties, but the whites, semillon and sauvignon blanc, perform well. Dean crushes the grapes on site then transports the juice to Murrumbateman and makes the wine under the tutelage of Andrew McEwin. It’s barrel fermented, in the Bordeaux style, and at just 12.5% drinks deliciously – cleverly made, light and subtle. It’s available in the better restaurants around town and by the glass at Tongue and Groove, in the city. Dean recently won a place in the prestigious Len Evans Tutorial.

Peter Lehmann ‘Layers’ Barossa Red and Adelaide White $14–$16
Semillon, muscat, gewürztraminer, pinot gris and chardonnay are the unlikely partners in Peter Lehmann’s new non-vintage white blend. It’s a bit like putting the grape equivalents of Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull, Wayne Swan, Tony Abbott and Steve Fielding into one bottle. Surprisingly, it’s an harmonious, soft, gentle blend with none of the idiosyncratic individual varieties starring. The generous, soft red is less political – more like a back room gathering of diverse but like-minded individuals, bent on a single purpose. Shiraz, mourvedre, tempranillo, grenache and carignan were always going to work together – and do so deliciously.

Murdoch Hill Adelaide Hills The Cronberry Shiraz 2007 $22
Toolangi Yarra Valley Shiraz 2006 $25
Here’s a couple of contrasting and attractive cool-climate shirazes – one from South Australia; the other from Victoria. The Downer family’s Murdoch Hill, made by Brian Light and Michael Downer, is the more robust of the two ¬– it’s rounder and a touch more alcoholic with juicy, savoury shiraz flavours and extra palate weight derived from oak maturation (see www.murdochhill.com.au). Julie and Garry Hounsell’s wine, from the Yarra Valley’s Dixon Creek sub-region, shows an even cooler face of shiraz. The flavours are more at the pepper and spice end of the shiraz spectrum, with the taut, elegant structure that goes with that territory (see www.toolanngi.com).

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Westend Estate Hilltops Tempranillo 2008 $11.95
Westend Estate Richland Merlot 2008 $11.95
Chapel Hill McLaren Vale ‘The Parson’s Nose’ Shiraz 2008 $16
Westend, a sizeable Riverina winery, belongs to Bill Calabria and, under winemaker Bryan Currie, turns out high quality, modestly priced wines – like the two recommended here. Tempranillo offers generous mainstream flavours that are somehow different from what we are used to, but easy to love. The merlot is a medium bodied, plummy drop with fine, drying tannins. And for a more robust drink, Chapel Hill’s Parson’s Nose provides full-blooded, soft and savoury McLaren shiraz flavours at a modest price.

Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling 2009 $29.95
Tamar Ridge Kayena Vineyard Tasmania Riesling 2008 $16–$20
We taste tested these contrasting, superb rieslings against the food at Lemongrass Thai in the city. The generally spicy, sometimes chilli-tinged food at Lemongrass tends to sit well with delicate aromatic wines. Mount Horrocks, from the Clare Valley’s Watervale sub-region, showed young riesling’s amazing lime-like briskness. It’s rich, purely varietal and bone dry. On its own you’d call it light and delicate. But the Tasmanian wine tasted lighter and more delicate again – its fine, acidic structure and low alcohol being attributable to the Tamar Valley’s much cooler growing climate. See www.tamarridgewines.com.au and www.mounthorrocks.com

Collector Marked Tree Shiraz 2008 $26.95
Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2007 $34–$39
rk Beechworth Shiraz $42.99
Local winemaker Alex McKay’s Collector wine looked the goods in our little tasting of top-shelf cool-climate shirazes. The benchmark Shaw + Smith sits at the very ripe, dense dark side of the cool-grown shiraz spectrum – an appealing, complex wine albeit bolder in style than the previous vintage. Rk Beechworth, made for Vintage Cellars by Giaconda’s Rick Kinzbrunner, impresses for its deep, juicy, peppery-savoury-spicy flavours. And Collector, from a couple of Murrumbateman vineyards, is a class act built on elegant, red-berry flavours and plush, fine tannins – with complex, ‘stalky’ notes derived from using whole-bunches in the ferment. It’s available on www.collectorwines.com.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Richmond Grove Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2008 $18–$24
Barwang 842 Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2006 $30–$35
Shaw + Smith M3 Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2008 $35–$40
Petaluma Tiers Vineyard Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2005 $100–$130
What a gorgeous line up – beautiful, complex oak-fermented and matured chardonnays with neatly aligned price and quality. Richmond Grove is the value offering, especially on special under $20. But Barwang takes a step up, showing the bracing freshness of high-altitude Tumbarumba. Shaw + Smith is all refinement and finesse with potential to build in richness over time. And Petaluma’s in the zone right now – a mature, weighty, fine and magnificent drop for a special occasion.

Helm Classic Dry Riesling 2009 $23–$28
The 2009 adds to Ken Helm’s glory list. It’s simply bloody delicious, ¬delivering volumes of appealing, floral aromas and a zesty, lime-like freshness on the palate. Indeed, I found it as refreshing as Hugh Johnson’s comment on using fruit similes to describe wine “… I don’t think it really helps anyone to give what sounds like a recipe for fruit salad. Riesling tastes like riesling more than it tastes like lemons and apples. Surely once you have tasted riesling, it becomes a reference. How many apples do you have to eat to recognise an apple?”

Kirrihill Clare Valley Shiraz 2008 $11–$15
Kirrihill Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $11–$15
Arete Barossa Valley Shiraz 2008 $18–$20
The distress pricing on the Kirrihill wines give a hint of the pressure on small makers in our glutted market. They’re powerful, albeit slightly raw, reds that could do with another year or two in bottle. But they’re rich, solid, and squarely regional and varietal. The shiraz comes from the Tullymore and Ballingarry Vineyards and the cabernet sauvignon from KSI and Kalimpa vineyards. While you’re taming the Kirrihill wines, Arete, made by Richard Bate from fruit grown in the Barossa’s Greenock Creek sub-region, offers perfect drinking right now. It’s fragrant, ripe and juicy with lovely soft tannins. See www.aretewines.com.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2009 $14.95
Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2009 $36
Grosset Polish Hill Riesling $45
Probably because it’s so subtle and delicate as a young wine, riesling can be difficult to assess. Even our best wine judges struggle, regularly ranking modestly priced wines ahead of more expense and, given a little bottle age, better wines. Even then, the quality gap can be out of proportion to the price difference. In a recent tasting, for example, we rated these three wines closely – making the lovely, limey, dry Jim Barry wine a great bargain for drinking any time in the next 20 years (the 1989 still drinks well).  Nevertheless, the Grosset wines are impressively delicate yet intense.

Williams Crossing Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2007 $24
Stefano Lubiana Tasmania Primavera Pinot Noir 2008 $33
Curly Flat Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2006 $46
Does Aussie pinot get better than this? For current drinking try Steve Lubiana’s delicious Primavera. It’s fragrant, generous, supple, elegant, pristinely varietal and ready to drink now. Williams Crossing presents more mature and savoury pinot flavours – it’s a blend of the barrels that didn’t quite make the cut for Curly Flat and, in my view, remains the best value pinot noir in Australia. It’s sensational at the price.  Curly Flat rises to another level again, a pinot of great complexity and length and built to last.

Jim Barry Lodge Hill Clare Valley Shiraz 2007 $17–$20
Mitchelton Goulburn Valley Shiraz 2007 $17–$20
Put these two shirazes side by side and enjoy the contrast. Jim Barry’s wine comes predominantly from the Lodge Hill vineyard, high up in the Clare with views across to the Petaluma and original Knappstein vineyards. It’s a powerful, but not heavy shiraz featuring ripe fruit flavours, with a note of mint, and a round, soft tannins. It’s easy to love, delivering heaps of flavour and enjoyment at a reasonable price. The Mitchelton wine, from the cooler Goulburn Valley, Victoria, is also generous, but there’s an appealing spicy, meaty, savouriness in its flavour.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Jacob’s Creek Reeves Point Chardonnay 2005 $26–$32
Jacob’s Creek St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $32–$40
Reeves Point is a terrific example of modern Australian chardonnay – bright, fresh, beautifully varietal (with Padthaway’s unique melon-like flavours), full bodied (but not heavy), finely textured and with layers of complexity derived from oak fermentation and maturation. Four years’ bottle age brings out the beauty of this wine – and it’ll prosper for a few more years yet. St Hugo starred at a recent Canberra tasting, loved for its deep, rich cabernet flavours and firm but elegant structure – classic Coonawarra. Reds of this dimension need a few years show their best – good to see it being released at four years’ age.

Coldstream Hills Yarra Valley Reserve Chardonnay 2006 $50
Bream Creek Tasmania Chardonnay 2007 $22
Meet two absolutely delicious and contrasting chardonnays – the first an opulent, vivacious giant killer and top scorer in Winewise magazine’s recent international chardonnay shoot out; the second a leaner, understated, mouth-wateringly intense gem from Fred Peacock’s Bream Creek Vineyard, Marion Bay, south eastern Tasmania. Recalcitrants still in the ABC (anything but chardonnay) club stopped drinking chardonnay ten years ago – there just isn’t a sauv blanc in Australasia to match these two for quality and complexity. The Coldstream wine, made by Foster’s, is sold out officially, but a number of retailers still offer stock. Bream Creek is available at www.breamcreekvineyard.com.au

Capercaillie The Ghillie Hunter Shiraz 2007 $70
Wandin Valley Estate Bridie’s Reserve Shiraz 2007 $35
At the Winewise Small vignerons Awards recently we awarded three gold, five silver and five bronze medals in a class of 18 Hunter shirazes from the 2007 vintage. The extraordinary 72 per cent strike rate suggests rich pickings from that vintage well beyond the few wines we tasted on the day. The best probably won’t have been released yet. But it could be rewarding looking in this often-neglected corner of Australia’s wine world. These are very fine, soft wines, quite often with exceptional keeping qualities. The three gold medallists were Capercaillie The Ghillie, Wandin Valley Bridie’s Reserve and Thomas DJV – I’ll detail the release dates in a future review.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Voyager Estate Margaret River ‘Girt by Sea’ Cabernet Merlot 2007 $20–$24
Voyager Estate’s ‘Girt by Sea’ is to Margaret River what Majella’s ‘The Musician’ is to Coonawarra – a richly-flavoured, finely-structured, medium-bodied red built to drink now but without losing regional identity. ‘Girt by Sea’ reveals Margaret River’s greatest winemaking strength – blending cabernet sauvignon and merlot to produce a harmonious red, based on ripe berry aromas and flavours and backed by fine, savoury tannins – a delicious luncheon red. It’s sourced from Voyager’s ‘north block’ vineyard and the vines are up to 15 years old.

Grant Burge Barossa

• Hillcot Merlot 2008 $17–$22
• Cameron Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $19–$25

Grant Burge’s substantial vineyard holdings cluster around the cooler southern end of the Barossa Valley in the vicinity of Williamstown – with one outlier, Corryton Park, located further east in the higher, cooler Eden Valley (but still part of the Barossa zone). Grant planted the Hillcot Vineyard to merlot in 1982 (claiming it as the Barossa’s first planting of the variety). It’s medium bodied with an appealing plummy ripeness and firm, but not hard drying tannins and a sympathetic kiss of oak. The cabernet’s a little fuller, but still finely built with clear, ripe varietal flavour and structure.

Grant Burge Baross

• Daly Road Shiraz Mourvedre 2008 $17–$22
• Miamba Shiraz 2007 $19–$25

But when it comes to the Barossa, the real excitement invariably lies in shiraz, either on its own or blended with the other Rhone Valley varieties. Miamba captures the ripe, tender, juicy charm of Barossa shiraz. It’s gentle and easy to drink, but there’s sufficient tannin (from both fruit and oak) to give very satisfying drinking – and probably enough to guarantee four or five years in the cellar. It’s named for, and at least partially sourced from, Burge’s Miamba vineyard. Daly Road is another classic Barossa style, combining the juicy softness of shiraz with the spicy, earthy firmness of mourvedre.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009