Langmeil Jackaman’s Barossa Valley Fifth Wave Grenache 2006 $30
Langmeil Jackaman’s Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $50
Langmeil’s ‘Old Vine Garden’ wines reviewed here today present the gentle, distinctive flavours derived from old-to-very-old central and southern Barossa vines. Jackaman’s Vineyard, from Lyndoch (southern Barossa), produces the full, fleshy, lively and pure Fifth Wave Grenache from vines planted in 1953 – and the intense, elegant, soft cabernet from vines planted in 1964. In both wines (indeed in all of the Langmeil wines) fruit comes before winemaking artifice. They’re gloriously complex and satisfying with deep, sweet, juicy fruit flavours. See www.langmeilwinery.com.au for the full story.

Langmeil Orphan Bank Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 $50
This wine was sourced from three old vineyards – two near Tanunda (central Barossa) and one near Williamstown, towards the region’s southernmost boundary. The Tanunda vines, planted in the 1860s, were uprooted after this vintage but not before Langmeil successfully transplanted 300 of them to their own vineyard on the banks of the North Para River, on the western edge of Tanunda, in 2006 and 2007. These distinguished old vines, located on what is now called the Orphan Bank vineyard, will produce future vintages of this wine. It’s a rich, fine, expression of the district style.

Langmeil The Freedom 1843 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 $100
Langmeil’s showpiece comes from vines believed to have been planted by Christian Auricht in 1843. The vines survived, somewhat battered, until 1996 when they were revived by new owners, Barossa veterans Richard Lindner, Carl Lindner and Chris Bitter. They’ve been producing a single-vineyard shiraz since 1997. If you’re in the Barossa, Langmeil is a ‘must visit’ – both for the quality of the wines and for a look at these marvellous old vines. The Langmeil crew are delivering what will be the lifeblood of Australia’s wine industry once the world recovers from its current malaise – beautiful, natural, wines that express the local flavours. This is as fine, supple and lovely as Barossa shiraz gets.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Capital Wines Canberra District The Backbencher Merlot 2006 $25, The Frontbencher Shiraz 2007 $25, Kyeema Vineyard Reserve Shiraz 2007 $52
This is an incredibly high quality trio from Capital Wines, formed last year by the Mooney and McEwin families to market Canberra wines made by Andrew McEwin and sourced principally from his Kyeema Vineyard, Murrumbateman. In style ‘Backbencher’ merlot sits somewhere between shiraz and cabernet, with a sweet perfume, delicious mid-palate fruit (a bit like shiraz) and fine but slightly austere tannins (a bit like cabernet) – lovely drop. ‘Frontbencher’ shiraz is all perfume and sweet fruit. It’s fine-boned, soft, delicious and approachable now but could cellar for a few years. The Reserve wine, a selection of the best barrels, has similar fruit flavour to the ‘Frontbencher’ but it’s tightly wrapped in tannins and needs a few years in bottle. It has great potential.

Z4 Zoe Canberra District Riesling 2008 $13.95
This appealing silver medallist from the regional wine show was produced for Bill and Maria Mason, owners of Canberra-based wine wholesaler, Z4.  Bill writes that ‘The wines produced in the Z4 range recognise the Christian names of each of the four family members of the next generation’. We’ve not met Zoe, but her mum and dad can be pretty happy with the zesty riesling named after her. It’s a good example of the regional style, with attractive, drink-now, lime-like varietal flavour. Great value.

Ten Minutes by Tractor Mornington Peninsula
X Pinot Noir 2007 $23, 10X Pinot Noir 2007 $36, Reserve Pinot Noir 2006 $60, McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 $70
Ten Minutes by Tractor, one of Mornington’s leading chardonnay and pinot noir producers, offers a range of small-production, estate based wines as well the slightly cheaper ‘X’, sourced from a leased neighbouring vineyard. The wines give a spectrum of pinot aromas and flavours from the simpler, fragrant (but still proper pinot) style of ‘X’ through to the more robust and savoury McCutcheon Vineyard wine. You can buy any of these wines with confidence. See www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au for more detail.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Zonte’s Footstep Langhorne Creek Verdelho 2007, Pinot Grigio 2007 and Viognier 2007 $15–$18
A group of old schoolmates established a 210-hectare vineyard at Langhorne Creek in the late nineties and launched the Zonte’s Footstep brand about seven years later. The group sells a good deal of the grapes but winemaker Ben Riggs selects parcels for the Zonte wines. The verdelho’s my pick of the whites as it’s clean, fresh and bone dry. It’s lighter than chardonnay, heavier than riesling and not as in-your-face as sauvignon blanc. The pinot grigio is more powerful and savoury and beginning to fatten up with age – so drink up. And the viognier shows fresh, distinctive apricot-like varietal flavour

Zonte’s Footstep Langhorne Creek Dry Rosé 2007 and Cabernet Malbec 2006 $15–$18
If we’re going to drink rosé it should, at least, be dry and made from purpose-grown grapes – as Zonte’s is. In this version, Ben Riggs used cabernet and petit verdot in a blend that delivers rich fruit flavour with a pleasant dry, savoury edge. It’s pleasant as rosés go, but overshadowed by the cabernet malbec blend – a solid, deeply-coloured red combining two varieties that seem to do particularly well in Langhorne Creek. The region’s cabernet tends to have clear varietal flavour with an atypically fleshy mid palate. This seems to work well with the deeply coloured, opulent malbec – and a truly dry, tannic finish mark it as a real red.

Zonte’s Footstep Langhorne Creek Shiraz Viognier 2007 and Sangiovese Barbera 2007 $15–$18
What a big, soft, juicy, beautiful mouthful of fruit the shiraz viognier blend offers. It’s an enjoyable, drink-now expression of a combination that all too often doesn’t work, as even a few drops too much of the white viognier can spoil the blend. Even though it’s fleshy and soft, there’s plenty of tannin there to give grip and finish. Sangiovese and barbera are indigenous Italian varieties, the former tending to be light coloured (partly because it tends to overcrop) and tannic and the latter purple-hued and acidic. It’s no doubt taken a bit of work in the vineyard to achieve the colour and flavour depth of this blend. It’s very fruity, fresh and bright with a structure of fine tannin and brisk acidity.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Deviation Road Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2007 $28
Deviation Road Adelaide Hills Reserve Shiraz 2007 $34
Kate and Hamish Laurie’s Deviation Road, established in 1999, uses fruit from a 30-year-old Laurie family vineyard and other growers in the Lenswood subregion of the Adelaide Hills. These elevated (600 metres), cool sites produce Deviation Road’s fine boned wines including a lovely, zesty sauvignon blanc 2008 ($18) and these two very appealing reds.  In some senses they’re peas in a pod – limpid, finely structured, savoury, taut and bone dry. But the varietal differences show clearly in the deeper coloured, fuller bodied, peppery shiraz and the paler, more earthy, spicy pinot. See www.deviationroad.com for more info.

Lillet Blanc, Lillet Rouge $32
Deviation Road also imports Lillet, an oak matured aperitif, made in France’s Bordeaux region. Lillet combines wine and fruit liqueurs, made from fruit peel macerated in spirit, seasoned with a dash of quinine. It’s a beautifully refreshing, fruity, sweet, pleasantly tart drink, best served short, on the rocks with a twist of orange. You can try it at Parlour Bar, Acton, or order it through www.deviationroad.com. It’s no stranger to Canberra as Farmer Bros imported it during the eighties and early nineties. David Farmer still recalls a Lillet drenched lunch with countless members of the Lillet family.

Tim Adams Clare Valley The Fergus Grenache 2006 $25
Brands Laira Coonawarra Shiraz 2005 $18–23
d’Arenberg Footbolt McLaren Vale Shiraz 2006 $16–22
Conventional wisdom matches beer or white wine with curry. But recently a group of tennis-playing, curry-eating red wine tragics put a range of full-flavoured, fruity reds to the test. Aussie shiraz and grenache easily handled the spicy pace. Some favourites: Tim Adams ‘The Fergus’ 2003 appealed for its plush, soft and velvety grenache flavours – it’s sold out now, but the current release 2006 is as good. d’Arenberg Footbolt 2006 showed a little more oomph and earthiness, but it still had the necessary core of deep, sweet fruit. The more elegant Brand’s Coonawarra succeeded with its subtle berry flavours. And a couple of spicy WA reds, Capel Vale Mount Barker Shiraz 2005 ($50) and Cape Mentelle Margaret River Shiraz 2006 ($39) passed the curry test.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2009

Stonier Reserve Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2007 $50
Yering Station Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2007 $26
For Christmas luxury few wines match a top-notch pinot noir. The heady perfume, supple texture and luxurious flavour suit the Aussie summer and our traditional food, such as roast turkey and ham. Pinot also suits more robust seafood such as salmon and even crayfish for those who regard white wine as foreplay. Stonier’s is a superb example of this complex, subtle, supple luxurious style – one to savour and linger over. For a more taut and savoury expression of the variety, one that’s delicious but not opulent, Yering Station 2007 offers good value.

Vintage Cellars Toscana Sangiovese 2006 $13.50–$15
That regulations sometimes backfire is well illustrated in Italy where the so-called super Tuscans, like Sassicaia and Tignanello, rose to global prominence on sheer quality, eschewing Italy’s top ‘DOCG’ status because they used forbidden grape varieties.  Now Italy’s top winemakers face another, potentially more damaging regulation – that DOCG wines be sealed only with natural cork. It’s an old regulation but one that will hurt as the world embraces cork alternatives. A leading Italian producer (presumably the exclusive-to-Coles Rufino) recently illustrated the absurdity of the regulation by shipping Chianti Classico to Coles (owner of Vintage Cellars) under screw cap. To meet legal requirements it’s been downgraded on the label to ‘Toscana Sangiovese’. But in reality it’s a lovely, bright, savoury Chianti Classico.

Grant Burge Summers Eden Valley Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2007 $20–$25
Coffman & Lawson Eden Road Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2008 $22
These represent the bright and shining face of modern chardonnay. They’re both fermented in small oak barrels and matured on spent yeast cells – winemaking tricks that can backfire if the fruit or oak isn’t right. But done properly with the right fruit and oak, as it is in both of these wines, you get superbly rich, beautifully structured wines of great complexity. The funky, taut Burge wine comes from the Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills, neighbouring regions on South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges. The Coffman & Lawson wine, made at the old Kamberra winery, Watson, shows the exciting flavour and finesse of Tumbarumba chardonnay.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2008

 McKellar Ridge Canberra District Chardonnay 2008 $18–20
McKellar Ridge would have to be one of Canberra’s smallest wineries with production of only 400–500 dozen a bottles annually. Brian and Janet Johnson own the brand and they source fruit from Martin Susan’s Point of View vineyard, Murrumbateman – home also of the winery and cellar door, now open on Sunday afternoon’s. Brian’s first chardonnay from the vineyard is deliciously taut and zesty with melon-like varietal flavour, overlaid harmoniously with distinctive aromas and flavours derived from fermentation and maturation in oak barrels. But it’s the fruit that leads the flavour from beginning to end.  Available at cellar door or through www.mckellarridgewines.com.au

Zilzie Selection 23 range $9–11
Chardonnay 2008, Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Moscato 2008
The Forbes family’s Zilzie Wines, established in 1999 and located at Karadoc, near Mildura, takes the value fight to the big producers. It’s not often you’ll find a trophy winning chardonnay under $10, but Selection 23 has won four of them recently – one at the Riverland Show and three at the Australian Inland Wine Show. It’s an appealing, fresh drop with bright, nectarine-like varietal flavour and tingly, dry finish. The lighter-bodied sauvignon blanc offers flavours more akin to passionfruit. And the grapey, spritzy, sweet Moscato, a terrific drop for fresh young palates, has little to do with that variety at all. It’s a blend of crouchen and muscat gordo blanco.

Zilzie Wines $14–16
Shiraz 2007, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Chardonnay 2008, Viognier 2007
Zilzie’s more upmarket wines offer big value, too, with a notable lift in flavour and complexity over the cheaper range. The sauvignon blanc is pristine, light and fresh with tropical fruit flavours. The barrel-fermented chardonnay is bolder, rounder and fuller with lovely ripe, peachy flavours and the complexities that come from time in oak – but it’s not overdone. The syrupy rich viognier is… well, viognier …a love-it or hate-it style for the adventurous. The reds are very good varietals at a fair price, both in the generous, warm-climate mould. The shiraz is ripe, full and soft with a little burst of toasty oak. And the cabernet shows leafy, clear varietal character, but it’s ripe and full with the variety’s firm tannins.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2008

Peter Lehmann Barossa Riesling 2008 $11–14, Eden Valley Riesling $17–20
The cheaper Lehmann wines sometimes make the retail scrum, so watch for fighting prices on these, and the wines below, then leap in for terrific drinking. The Barossa riesling is beautifully floral with a zingy fresh, juicy, fruity, off-dry palate – the sort of fruitiness that sits so well with Asian food. The Eden Valley to the east of the Barossa floor, provides a cooler growing environment and tends to produce more acidic, taut intense rieslings. This one shows distinctive lime-like varietal aroma and flavour. It’s an intense but fine-boned, dry aperitif style – and just 11 per cent alcohol.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Semillon 2006 $11–14, Margaret Semillon 2003 $40
You wouldn’t know it from looking at wine labels, but semillon is Australia’s second most widely grown white variety behind chardonnay.  In 2008 we harvested 444 thousand and 100 thousand tonnes respectively of the two varieties. If semillon’s fate lies mainly as a blender (either anonymously, but commonly in tandem with sauvignon blanc) it reaches great heights on its own in the Hunter and Barossa Valleys. In the Barossa, Lehmann is, to me, the leading producer of unoaked versions.  The standard blend is modest in alcohol with an appealing, light, fresh, savoury lemony tang. And ‘Margaret’, the aged release, rates among the best and most interesting of Australian white wines.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz 2006 $16–19, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $16–19
Shiraz originated in France. But during the last decade Australia seized ownership of the variety that does so well in so many of our growing areas. It leads our red grape crush by a country mile (435 thousand tonnes versus second-placed cabernet’s 254 thousand tonnes in 2008). And it’s become our signature variety in export markets – principally through the generous, soft warm-grown styles that, arguably, the Barossa makes better than any other region. Just try the opulent, ripe, soft Lehmann 2006 to see how loveable the style is and what value it offers. Cabernet doesn’t perform as consistently well there, but the 2006 offers a generous, firm expression of the variety.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2008

Joseph Perrier Cuvée Royale NV Brut Champagne  $45.90–50
Saumur Brut NV (Gratien & Meyer) $18–20
Here’s a couple of lovely French bubblies imported by Woolworths (Dan Murphy) and Coles (1st Choice and Vintage Cellars) respectively. Joseph Perrier is the real thing and its flavour strongly reflects the company’s holdings of pinot meunier near its Marne River press house in the village of Cumieres. It shows meunier’s brioche-like aroma and flavour and round soft texture. It’s an old favourite and to my taste beats the pants off other cheaper Champagnes like Mumm. For delicious, fresh, pure fruit flavours try the light, crisp and well-priced Saumur (Loire Valley) bubbly, a blend of chenin blanc, cabernet franc and chardonnay.

Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2006 $60–69
Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2004 $95–105
Hardy’s flagship red and white hit their top form comparatively recently even though the red has been with us since 1970 and the white since 1986. The red began as robust, long-lived McLaren Vale shiraz. Its style shifted with the wind for decades, then more recently settled into the present style – a generous, extraordinarily intense McLaren Vale shiraz (from three vineyards) with a fine, elegant texture. It’s a super-refined version of the original and looks to have very long cellaring potential. The chardonnay, born in 1986, became finer over the years and is now one of Australia’s leading examples of the fine, complex, cool-grown style.

Waterwheel Bendigo Memsie 2007 $13–15
Wyndham Estate George Wyndham Shiraz Cabernet 2005 $18–20
Jacob’s Creek Three Vines Shiraz Cabernet Tempranillo 2007 $12–15
Here’s a trio of tasty, not-too-expensive reds. Memsie, a blend of shiraz, cabernet, malbec and petit verdot, is the second label of Waterwheel of Bendigo. It’s a medium-bodied red with juicy, rich fruit flavour and a satisfying tannic bite, courtesy presumably of cabernet, malbec and petit verdot. Wyndham’s George Wyndham, a South Australian blend, is more robust and mature, combining earthy soft, generous shiraz flavours with the tannic backbone of cabernet sauvignon. Jacob’s Creek, the gentlest and softest of the three mixes old Aussie favourites shiraz and cabernet with Spain’s tempranillo – the result: ripe, easy fruit flavours with an interesting spicy note and dry, soft finish.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2008

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008 $17.99 cellar door
Penfolds have kept this delicious, retro-packaged riesling out of the retail scrum, offering it only at their cellar door outlets in Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley, and Magill, Adelaide, and in some restaurants (where it’s more like $35). They do this with a number of outstanding wines, so it’s worth a visit if you’re visiting South Australia. The label and press blurb say nothing about grape origin, but this is clearly from top growing areas – presumably Clare and Eden Valleys. It’s low in alcohol (11.5%) and it’s intensely flavoured and perfume, yet delicate. A tiny touch of traminer in the blend adds to the flavour complexity.

Pizzini King Valley Il Barone 2004 $43, Nebbiolo 2004 $45, Coronomento Reserve Nebbiolo 2003 $135
Pizzini’s new-release Italian 2008 white varieties, the dry Pinot Grigio and Arneis, and sweet Brachetto, are on the money as usual. But there’s even more excitement in the reds made entirely, or partly, from Piedmont’s nebbiolo grape. At its best nebbiolo is beautifully perfumed and strong but elegant with a firm, tannic backbone – characteristics displayed by these three Pizzini wines. Il Barone, combining shiraz, cabernet, sangiovese and nebbiolo is a lovely blend. But the true nebbiolo magic appears in the exciting Nebbiolo 2004 and, even more so, in the reserve version, Coronomento. This is a truly great Australian wine.

Eperosa Barossa Valley Synthesis 2005 $31, Totality 2005 $38, Elevation $35
Eperosa is one of a number of tiny producers presenting tasty snapshots of every little corner of the Barossa Valley. The move is being driven by viticulturists and winemakers familiar with this very complex and old grape-growing landscape – and not happy seeing wonderful fruit sent off to anonymous blends. Eperosa belongs to viticulturist Brett Grocke. He makes his reds in batches of just 100 to 200 cases. ‘Elevation’ is a soft, elegant shiraz, with liquorice like flavours, from vines grown above 300 metres. ‘Totality’ is a beautifully fragrant, spicy, savoury blend of mourvedre (aka mataro) and shiraz. And ‘Synthesis’, combining grenache, mourvedre and shiraz, is led by grenache fragrance and fruitiness.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2008

Williams Crossing Macedon Pinot Noir 2006 $22–$25
Curly Flat Macedon Pinot Noir 2005 $46–$52
After several tastings, most recently as a judge at the Macedon Wine Show, I rate these amongst the best pinot noirs in Australia. They were in a field of 28 pinots, all from Macedon. Twenty of them won medals, with the only gold (and ultimately several trophies) going to Curly Flat 2005, an extraordinarily delicious pinot loved by all the judges. In my score sheet, Curly Flat’s yet-to-be released 2006 showed similar class, as did Curly Flat’s second label, Williams Crossing 2006.  This is also pure and scrumptious pinot in its own elegant, fine way. Surely it’s Australia’s best-value pinot.

Hanging Rock Macedon Rosé Brut NV $27, Cuvée VIII LD $115
Mount William Macedon Blanc de Blanc 2001 $35
I’m just back from judging at Victoria’s Macedon Wine Show – and dazzled yet again by the sparkling wines. In a class of 18 wines we awarded 14 medals, including 3 golds and 5 silvers. And the wines were far from homogenous – ranging from the deep, almost bronze-coloured, aged ‘LD’ series from Hanging Rock, to their very strong but delicate all-pinot Rosé and on to the fine aperitif chardonnays from Mount William – the near perfect 2001 and the mature-but-fresh 1998. There’s wonderful  drinking, too, in Cope-Williams Romsey Brut Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV and Pinot Chardonnay NV and Macedon Ridge Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2004.

Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling 2006 $22–28
In 1962 Colin Gramp planted the Steingarten vineyard on an exposed ridge a few kilometres to the east of his family’s historic homestead on Jacob’s Creek. The vineyard struggled but produced a number of long-lived rieslings over the years.  By the time Steingarten shifted from Orlando to Jacob’s Creek branding a couple of years back, it had become a blend of material from Steingarten and other nearby vineyards. The recently-released 2006 continues a style shift seen in recent Steingartens – away from austerity, towards softness and more easy drinkability when young. The 2006 really hits the spot. It’s terrific.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2008