Helm Canberra District Classic Dry Riesling 2007 $25
A perverse season of drought and frost reduced Ken Helm’s 2007 crush by two thirds. There’ll be no Premium riesling (‘frost destroyed the crop’, writes Ken) and it was only an intense search around Murrumbateman that allowed Ken to make any riesling at all. And it’s a ripper — a winner of bronze, silver and gold medals in the Winewise, Cowra and Melbourne shows respectively. It has a brilliant, green-tinted, pale-lemon colour and tremendous volume of ripe varietal aroma and flavour – more than you usually see in riesling this young. But the flavour volume doesn’t come at the expense of fresh. This is as crisp and youthful as they come. Released in October.

Teusner Barossa Valley Joshua 2006 $24 & Avatar 2005 $30
Kym Teusner is one of the adventurous young Barossa makers mentioned in a recent column. He went straight from Uni to winemaking at Torbreck in 2001 and started making his own wines in 2002. Kym focuses on reds made from the Barossa’s time-proven specialties – shiraz, mourvedre (aka mataro) and grenache – sourced principally from around Ebenezer and Moppa at the northern end of the Valley. Joshua and Avatar are grenache-dominant blends – the former completely unoaked and offering a musky-savoury purity in a soft but still grippy red-wine frame.  Avatar brings the added dimension of oak maturation – an attractive charry note plus a greater buoyancy and all round velvety generosity on the palate.

Teusner Barossa Valley Albert 2005 $45
& The Riebke Ebenezer Road Shiraz 2006 $20
Kym Teusner owns no winery and no vineyard. Instead he sources grapes from ‘people I can have a drink with down the pub and do business with on a handshake. It’s all about a sense of community’, he says. Albert and The Riebke show two different faces of Barossa shiraz. The Riebke, from the Ebenezer sub-district, shows the fragrant, vibrant, purity of young shiraz. It’s plump and soft and approachable now, though by no means without a future. It’s a bargain. Albert shows the spicier, more serious side of shiraz, with a charry-oak note adding complexity to the aroma. It’s generous and layered in a big and tender Barossa way. See www.teusner.com.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Collector Marked Tree Red Shiraz 2005 about $26
Collector Reserve Shiraz 2006 about $46
Former Hardy Kamberra winemaker, Alex McKay’s first two reds won’t harm the district’s reputation for shiraz. They’re both gold medallists, both sourced from Murrumbateman and both outstanding. Marked Tree Red, a blend from a couple of vineyards, shows the richness of the vintage with bright berry aromas and supple, juicy, varietal/peppery palate. Reserve, from a single block of old shiraz belonging to Andrew McEwin, seems a little less revealing in its aroma than Marked Tree – but shows its breeding in a palate of remarkable concentration and finesse. The wines will be released as soon as Alex’s licence comes through – probably in late September. Keep an eye on www.collectorwines.com.au — and don’t miss out.

Kid You Not Viognier Roussanne 2005 & Tempranillo Graciano 2005 $22
These new-look wines from a new generation of Browns of Milawa, continues the family’s tradition of innovation. The white combines two Rhône Valley varieties – powerful, viscous viognier and shy, tangy roussanne – to produce an attractive, rich but savoury style: essentially the roussanne tames the viognier. The red brings together low acid tempranillo and high acid graciano – both Spanish varieties. It’s a fragrant, medium bodied style with an attractive spiciness. Both offer an interesting and savoury alternative to the traditional Aussie ‘fruit bomb’ style. They’re ready to enjoy now and probably won’t benefit from ageing. Can be ordered at www.kidyounot.com.au

Deakin Estate Shiraz 2005 $10
Last week it was Oxford Landing Estate, this week Deakin Estate, another genuinely estate-based budget wine. Both are on the Murray, Oxford Landing in South Australia, Deakin Estate upstream at Red Cliffs, near Mildura, Victoria. This warm, well-watered environment produces healthy commercial crops. With modern vineyard management the vines yield fruit with good varietal flavour as well as sugar ripeness. With the economies of scale this means production of tasty, clean varietal wines at affordable prices – of the style that’ve driven our export sales to date. Deakin’s latest shiraz sits squarely in this mould, offering appealing plummy, varietal flavour at a fair price.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $11.95; Galway Vintage Shiraz 2005 $13.95
Yalumba’s on a roll with these mid-priced wines. They offer outstanding value and will almost certainly be discounted below the recommended prices given above. Pinot Grigio is a strong, distinctive expression of the variety with pear-like flavour, crispness and rich texture. Y Series Cabernet is a very youthful and solid varietal sourced from the Barossa Valley, Eden Valley and Langhorne Creek.  It’s made for early drinking but still captures the soul of cabernet. And Galway is simply a great bargain. It’s a beautifully fragrant, juicy shiraz with typically tender Barossa tannins. The depth of this wine reflects the outstanding vintage.

Thomas Hunter Valley The O.C. Semillon 2007 $20, Braemore Semillon 2007 $25
Former Tyrrell winemaker, Andrew Thomas, specialises in the Hunter’s two distinctive wine styles, shiraz and semillon. Thommo’s new releases express the character of two individual vineyards in the lower Hunter. The O.C. from a vineyard planted near Oakey Creek Road in 1999 is the riper, more forward style of the two. But at a still modest twelve per cent alcohol it has a delicious, fine, delicate, lemony freshness. Braemore, from the sandy flats of Hermitage Road, is even more taut with a lovely lemony/grassy edge. It’s an absolutely stunning, classic of the style. Screw-cap sealed it ought to age for decades. See www.thomaswines.com.au

Chrismont King Valley Petit Manseng 2006 $22
Petit manseng, a white variety grown in Jurancon, southern France, makes what Jancis Robinson calls ‘one of France’s unusually underrated treasures, Jurancon Moelleux’ – a seductively juicy, sweet, long-lived white. This dry King Valley version shows the yeast-lees influence and vanilla-like character of oak fermentation and maturation. But the full, vaguely pineapple-like fruit flavour carries these winemaker inputs comfortably. The result is a rich, fresh, oak-influenced dry white with a flavour all its own and worth trying. Arnold Pizzini’s Chrismont vineyard is located at Cheshunt in Victoria’s upper King Valley, opposite Pizzini Wines, belonging to Arnie’s cousin, Fred Pizzini.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Leo Buring 2007 Rieslings: Eden Valley $18.99, Clare Valley $18.99
Leonay DW K17 Eden Valley 2007 $36.99
These continue a great tradition that began under Leo Buring in the 1940s, passed to Lindemans in the 1960s and then, via Penfold Wine Group and Southcorp, to Foster’s in 2005. Components of the three rieslings looked good in the Barossa recently and hit the mark as finished wines. The Clare wine is the most rounded, generous and slightly grippy of the three – in a crisp, dry, varietal way. The Eden Valley wine is more delicate and racy – a nose ahead of the Clare version. And ‘Leonay’ simply blows its cellar mates away. This is sheer, intense, refined class with long term cellaring potential.

Oxford Landing Cabernet Shiraz 2006, Merlot 2006, Sauvignon Blanc 2006 $6–$8
This is one of the few budget-priced wine ranges with a name that relates to its origins. Oxford Landing is, indeed, a wine estate, established on South Australia’s Murray River in 1958 by Wyndham Hill-Smith, father of the current owner, Robert. Since Oxford Landing’s launch in the eighties, it’s been a budget champ, delivering rich, ripe flavours at the right price. The comparatively low alcohol sauvignon blanc (11.5 per cent) is right on the money in 2007 with fresh, crisp, passionfruit-like varietal flavours. Merlot 2006 is medium bodied with real-red tannins; and Cabernet Shiraz 2006 offers more robust flavours with, again, real red-wine structure.

Mount Majura Canberra District Riesling 2007 $16, Merlot 2005 $16, Shiraz 2006 $25
Tempranillo 2006 $25
Frank van de Loo’s new riesling bursts with aroma and flavour, giving it a drink-now appeal that we don’t always see in this often slow-developing variety. But it also has the fresh acidity and to develop well for several years. It’s clear from the new red releases – and a taste of the 2005 Tempranillo against the 2006 – that 2005 was a stronger year than 2006. That’s just the wines reflecting the seasons, of course. Merlot 2005 shows the chocolaty richness and firm tannin structure of the vintage; Tempranillo 2006 seems a little leaner and more acidic than the 2005; and the 2006 shiraz is just lovely – in the fine, spicy, soft cool-climate mould.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Carlei Green Vineyards Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2005 $29, Heathcote Shiraz 2004 $27 and Upper Goulburn Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 $29
Sergio Carlei sources fruit from various Victorian vineyards, matching grape variety to region – with great individuality from what I’ve tasted to date. The new releases hit the mark again, particularly the chardonnay and shiraz. While the finely structured Yarra chardonnay shows all the complexities of barrel fermentation and maturation, it’s the pure, varietal fruit that really stars. The shiraz is sensational – full bodied, but elegant at the same time, with generous, savoury fragrance, silky, smooth tannins and high natural acidity that focuses the varietal flavour and gives the wine life and lift. The cabernet? – lovely, but upstaged by a few Coonawarras on the tasting bench.

Majella Coonawarra Shiraz 2005 $30, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $30 and The Malleea Cabernet Shiraz 2004 $70
These have become Coonawarra benchmarks since Brian ‘Prof’ Lynn and his brother Tony shifted from grape growing to winemaking in the early nineties. The wines are made in a distinctive ripe and robust style with generous, though sympathetic oak treatment – a style partly steered by what the vineyard produces but also carefully thought through by Prof and winemaker Bruce Gregory. The 2005’s show the great ripe, juiciness of the vintage without sacrificing Coonawarra’s deep, sweet berry flavours. The cabernet, in particular, is stunning and destined for a very long cellaring life. The flagship Malleea shows the elegance of the cooler year.

Wither Hills Marlborough Pinot Noir 2004 or 2005 $45-$50
Lion-Nathan-owned Wither Hills, on the cooler, southern side of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley, has developed what I believe are some of the best value-for-money pinots in the world under its founder, Brent Marris. Brent recently left, leaving the reins to his long serving offsider, Ben Glover. Ben had a hand in making both of these delicious wines. And although the richer, riper 2005 replaced the 2004 some time back, both can still be found on retail shelves. The 2004 now shows some sweet, gamy, bottle-age character that’s 100 per cent pinot, while the 2005 still presents more primary varietal fruitiness. Both have the silky depth of good pinot.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Balnaves of Coonawarra Shiraz 2005 $24, The Blend 2005 $19,
The Tally Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $80
This impressive trio of new releases from the Balnaves family shows the ripeness and strength of the warm 2005 vintage. The shiraz shows some peppery, cool-climate flavour but it’s otherwise fuller and more tannic than usual, albeit in a soft and approachable style. The Blend — the bargain of the three — delivers attractive, ripe, upfront fruit flavours with soft, easy-on-the-palate tannins. It’s ready to drink now. The Tally, from the Balnaves family’s ‘Dead Morris’ and ‘Walker’ vineyards belongs to the cellar: it’s dense and powerful with Coonawarra’s vivid cabernet varietal flavour, firm structure and assertive, but sympathetic, oak character. See www.balnaves.com.au

Gallagher Canberra District Riesling 2007 $18, Merlot 2006 $22, Blanc de Blancs 2005 $35
Greg Gallagher’s new releases offer pretty good value. This, the first of the local 2007 rieslings that I’ve seen, seems particularly aromatic and full flavoured for such a young wine, with an appealing, round, soft, juicy palate. The merlot hits a lot of the right buttons with its appealing, plummy perfume and finely structured, medium-bodied, fruity palate. It has richness without heaviness and avoids the over-oaking or green tannins that mar too many examples of this variety. The estate-grown bubbly shows Greg’s expertise in this area. It’s a beautifully made, very youthful and full-bodied expression of this all-chardonnay style. Cellar door phone 6227 0555.

Jim Barry Cover Drive Coonawarra Clare Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $19.50
The Barry family captures the essence of good, drink-now cabernet in Cover drive. A warm-vintage blend from Coonawarra – cabernet’s heartland – and Clare Valley, it delivers pleasant, ripe-berry/chocolaty varietal flavours with just the right weight and richness on the mid-palate. It’s a good argument for cross-regional blending, a great Australian specialty. The Barrys are Clare Valley based and have very substantial vineyards in a number of locations. But they also own a vineyard in southern Coonawarra. Peter Barry says the Coonawarra component provides ‘intense varietal character’ while Clare Valley contributes chocolate-like flavour and round, soft tannins.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Wynns Coonawarra Estate – Shiraz 2006 $12-$15 – Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $23-$30
My only quibble with these two new releases – and especially the shiraz – is that they ought to be a year older at release. Not that you’ll be putting the cork back in. The shiraz offers lovely, sweet berry flavours with cool-climate spice and pepper and an elegant, fine-grained tannin structure – very appealing, and will be more so in another year. The cabernet is all class and must surely rate amongst the best value in the world. The fruit flavour shows the extra ripeness of a warmer season, but it’s still crystal-clear cabernet varietal, albeit in a slightly fleshier, silkier style – and should drink beautifully for many, many years.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate – Michael Shiraz 2004 $73 – John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 $73
Wynns two flagships reds have shifted gear since their reintroduction in 2003 after a short, oversupply-driven hiatus. What we see now is a more refined version of what went before: slightly less ripe, notably less new-oak influence and a little more brightness in the fruit character. All of this is particularly apparent in the sensational 2004 Michael Shiraz. Yes, there’s oak there but the keynote is superb, fragrant peppery shiraz with an elegance reminiscent of that of the legendary 1955 – the original. John Riddoch, too, shows the great fragrance of the vintage in its own cabernet way – powerful, yet supple and elegant. Both wines are screw cap sealed.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Johnson’s Block Shiraz Cabernet 2004 $35
This is a straight, single-vineyard wine from one of the original sites acquired by the Wynn family in 1951. It still has vines dating from 1925 and was one of several older vineyards to be rejuvenated from the late 1990s. Winemaker Sue Hodder calls the wine ‘old fashioned’ in that it shows more fruit and less oak than the modern Wynns wines do. The aroma really is seductively floral and backed by a juicy, shiraz-led palate. Cabernet’s role seems to be to tighten up the palate, giving structure and elegance. It’s really a classic Coonawarra blend, revived a decade ago by Majella and now finding new life under Wynns.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2007

Yalumba Barossa Valley Bush Vine Grenache 2006
Yalumba Eden Valley Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2006 $17.95
They call it grenache in France and Australia and garnacha in Spain. By whatever name, it’s is an interesting red variety, tending to a pale colour and very high sugar levels (and therefore alcohol) when ripe. It’s fragrant and spicy, has soft tannin and is therefore very soft and at home in blends with shiraz and mourvedre. In the Barossa it made superb fortifieds before the current table wine age and, as a consequence, many little stands survive. Yalumba’s captures the perfume, spice and softness of the variety, along with an earthy, savoury edge. Its companion chardonnay is a bright, fresh and funky style of great appeal.

Clonakilla Canberra Shiraz Viognier 2006 $80, Hilltops Shiraz 2006 $28, Canberra Ballinderry 2005 $30
This trio, due for release on September 1, further cements Clonakilla’s place as one of Australia’s great wine estates. Tim Kirk’s Shiraz Viognier – inspired by Rhône Valley winemaker Marcel Guigal – remains the benchmark of this blend in Australia. The 2006 continues the beautifully fragrant, graceful, supple style. With such small production of the flagship, Tim introduced a few years back a second shiraz, sourced from the nearby Hilltops region – a bolder style featuring deep, spicy shiraz flavours with typical Clonakilla silky smoothness. Ballinderry, a cabernets and merlot blend, is the surprise in this year’s release. Was it Tim I heard denouncing Canberra cabernet? He won’t be any more. This one is outstanding – fully ripe but elegant and varietal.

Innocent Bystander Moscato 2007 375ml $13.50
This one’s as pretty to look at as it is pleasant to drink. The quirky label, clear bottle and blush-pink colour look inviting. Flip off the crown seal, pour a lightly frizzante glass and you can smell the enticing, grapey, musk-like sweetness. The distinctive aroma and flavour come from the muscat grape – gordo muscat and black muscat from the Boulton and Burge vineyards on Victoria’s Murray. Picked early, made fresh and at just 5.5 per cent alcohol this is an Aussie interpretation of Asti Moscato, from Italy’s Piemonte region. It’s crisp, fresh, grapey and slightly sweet – a good afternoon pick-me-up or aperitif.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 207