Mt Monster Limestone Coast Shiraz 2013 $13–$16
The Bryson family owns two vineyards, totalling 170 hectares, at Padthaway on South Australia’s Limestone Coast, about an hour’s drive north of Coonawarra. By my estimate a vineyard of that size might produce around 120 thousand dozen bottles in a good year – fairly large production for a family holding in Australia. The family manages the vineyards and marketing of its Moorambro Creek, Jip Jip Rocks and Mt Monster brands. The 2013 shiraz pours deep and crimson-rimmed, offering ripe mulberry-like aromas and a generous, fruity mid palate, with soft, easy tannins.

Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Verdelho 2014 $12.80–$16
In the nineteenth century, cuttings of the verdelho vine found their way separately to the east and west of Australia direct from the Island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean, about 700 kilometres west of Morocco. The vine adapted well to Australia’s hot dry conditions and over its almost 200-year history here, winemakers have used it in both fortified and table wines. These days it’s used mainly in light to medium bodied table wines and offers an alternative to our big-volume favourites, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Chapel Hill’s offer bright, fresh passion fruit- and –citrus-like flavours on a light to medium bodied palate with pleasantly tarty finish.

Tyrrell’s Belford Vineyard Hunter Valley Semillon 2009 $26–$35
The Elliott family planted the Belford vineyard in the Hunter in 1933 and still controls it. However, Tyrrell’s lease and manage the vineyard which is source of some their best semillon. Typically these are very pale, minerally and delicate as young wines, gradually taking on a fuller, honeyed character with bottle age. Fortunately, Tyrrell’s hold small volumes back for later release, giving the majority of drinkers without cellars a chance to taste the glories of aged semillon. The 2009 is a great and delicious example of this unique style, currently displaying a combination of aged and youthful characteristics.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 24 and 25 January 2015 in Fairfax digital media and the Canberra Times

Tyrrell’s Belford Chardonnay 2012 $33.50–$40
Belford, lower Hunter Valley, NSW
Tyrrell’s led Australia’s charge into chardonnay decades ago, albeit misnamed as “pinot chardonnay” for many years on its Vat 47 label. In theory the Hunter ought to be too warm to make cutting edge chardonnay. But Tyrrell’s top version, Belford and Vat 47, easily stand alongside more expensive wines from cooler southern regions. Belford 2012 lifts even higher in quality than usual, offering quite powerful chardonnay fruit flavour on a fine, richly textured palate, subtly seasoned by partial fermentation and maturation in French oak barrels. The wine bears two trophies, four gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

Tim Adams Riesling 2014 $19–$22
Clare Valley, South Australia
Australia’s best dry riesling provide beautiful drinking at modest prices – partly because they’re released young, and therefore not burdened with holding costs, and don’t require expensive treatments such as oak maturation. Clare Valley producer Tim Adams makes a particularly fine and pure expression of the style. Picking fruit early (at around 11.5 per cent alcohol potential) gives an austere, lemony edge to the acidity. This gives life and freshness to delicate but generous lime-and-lemon-like varietal flavours.

Fighting Gully Road Aglianico 2012 $40
Alpine Valleys, Victoria
Winemaker Mark Walpole describes Aglianico as, “my climate change variety. I think the site may be a little cool at the moment, but if things warm up as predicted the hopefully I’ll have some old vine aglianico in the perfect climate”. Aglianico, the most extensively planted red variety of Campania and Basilicata, southern Italy, buds early, ripens late and produces high quality very tannic reds. Walpole’s version, from a cool vintage, displays a limpid colour and vibrant, fresh, berry aromas with a touch of spice and pepper. The medium-bodied, elegantly structured palate reflects the aroma, especially in its berry and pepper character. It finishes with quite firm, fine, lingering tannins. (Available at fightinggully.com).

Hesketh “Small Parcels” Touriga 2014 $25
Tscharke vineyard, Seppeltsfield, Barossa Valley
Jonathon Hesketh and winemaker Phil Lehmann collaborate on the “small parcels” range, sourcing “fruit grown by specialist growers who are friends of either Phil or Jonathon and have a particular parcel that Phil believes will make something special”, write the pair. Their touriga (a Portuguese red variety) comes from the western Barossa’s Seppeltsfield sub-region. The limpid, purple-rimmed wine offers delightful floral and musk-like aromas. The fine-boned palate reveals more musk, a lick of pepper, a pinot-like texture and quite a firm backbone of fine tannins.

Zeppelin Big Bertha Shiraz 2013 $16–$19
Barossa Valley, South
For a modest price, Zeppelin, a brand of the McWilliams family, delivers the power, richness and ripeness of a warm Barossa Valley vintage. Although the wine is in the big regional style with abundant (though soft) tannin, the fruit remains vibrant and lively. Winemaker Andrew Higgins says he makes the wine from “low-yielding vineyards, traditional hands-off winemaking, open fermenters and basket pressing before bottling with minimal fining and filtration”. You can taste its wholesome goodness.

Tyrrell’s Stevens Vineyard Semillon 2009 $32.30–$35
Neil Stevens Glen Oak vineyard, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, NSW
The lower Hunter’s idiosyncratic semillon style divides drinkers into lovers and haters. True believers, agnostics and the uninitiated should be tempted by Tyrrell’s latest release. From the outstanding 2009 vintage, it reveals the power and delicacy of the style: at just 11 per cent alcohol, it combines some of the lemony tartness of a young wine with the first honeyed richness of bottle age. Tyrrell’s source the grape from one of the Hunter’s great vineyards, planted between 1911 and 1966.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 20 and 21 January in Fairfax digital media and the Canberra Times

De Bortoli Vinoque Yarra Valley Sangiovese 2013
De Bortoli’s first straight Yarra Valley sangiovese comes from the warm 2013 vintage. Fruit comes from the family’s north-facing Art Martin vineyard. Presumably the warm season and good sun exposure accounts for such ripe fruit flavours and tannins in this otherwise quite cool region. Leanne De Bortoli and winemaker husband Steve Webber say they planted the vineyard to “premium sangiovese clones” in 2007. Their irresistible first effort delivers deep, juicy sweet fruit flavours, backed by earthy, soft tannins. The palate is medium bodied and perfectly balanced despite an alcohol content of 13.9 per cent.

Angullong Fossil Hill Central Ranges–Orange Vermentino 2014 $22
The 220-hectare Angullong vineyard rolls in and out of the Orange region: sections of the vineyard at an altitude of 600 metres or more qualify for the Orange appellation, while those below 600 metres belong in the Central Ranges region. The variety thrives in hot, dry conditions, says Ben Crossing. “We chose a site on top of a ridge that is exposed to hot, dry, westerly winds during summer”, says Crossing. They grafted the variety onto existing vines in 2011 to test the variety and made the first vintage in 2014. The result is a pleasing, full-flavoured, smooth-textured, soft, citrus-and-melon-like dry white.

Ferngrove Frankland River Symbols Cabernet Merlot 2011 $14–$17
With over 300 hectares of vines in Western Australia’s Frankland River region, Ferngrove makes a range of wines including this very good, modestly price blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. As eastern Australia contended with almost non-stop rain and low temperatures during the 2010–11 growing season, vignerons in the west experienced benign conditions and ultimately harvested outstanding grapes. The high quality shows even in this entry-level wine with its bright, fresh berry characters and lively, fresh palate. The wine’s fruity varietal flavours, medium body and soft tannins provide good current drinking.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published 18 January 2015 in the Canberra Times

Swinging Bridge Mrs Payten Chardonnay 2013
Balmoral vineyard, Orange, NSW
$32
With an altitude range of something like 500 metres, the Orange region, not surprisingly produces a spectrum of wine styles. Chardonnay performs well in the cooler sites, in this instance the Balmoral vineyard at 870 metres. The wine topped its class at the 2014 Orange wine show and went on to win trophies as best chardonnay, best white and best wine of the show. Winemaker Tom Ward captured the delicious grapefruit- and nectarine-like varietal flavour of cool-grown chardonnay, with the added textures and subtle flavours derived from maturation in high-quality oak. (Available at swingingbridge.com.au).

Angullong Shiraz 2013
Angullong vineyard, Orange, NSW
$19
In contrast to the high-altitude Swinging Bridge Orange chardonnay reviewed today, Angullong’s shiraz comes from the lower, warmer edge of the Orange district. The 220-hectare vineyard varies between 580 and 620 metres. Since the regional boundary includes only vineyards at 600 metres or above, Angullong literally rolls in and out of the Orange region – a bizarre situation, but one that at least acknowledges the primacy of growing temperatures in determining wine styles. The shiraz shows the generosity of a warm and benign season in a still-cool climate. The brilliant, crimson-rimmed colour and vibrant summer-berry flavours make compelling, medium bodied drinking right now.

Redman Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Redman vineyards, northern Coonawarra, South Australia
$27.55–$32
Bill Redman arrived in Coonawarra in 1901, just 10 years after the first vines had been planted in the area. In 1908, after a period working for John Riddoch, Redman struck out on his own. I still hold haunting memories of an ethereal and lovely, 1919 vintage Coonawarra red, thought to have been made by Redman. His son, Owen joined the business in 1937 and in 1952 the family founded Rouge Homme wines. They sold this to Lindemans in 1965 but established Redmans, releasing the first wine under the label in1966. Owen Redman’s sons and their children continue to run the vineyards and winery today. Their 2012 cabernet sauvignon, a pure expression of the Coonawarra style, displays pure, ripe-berry varietal character with firm, fine cabernet tannins.

Hahndorf Hill Winery Cru Gruner Veltliner 2014
Hahndorf Hill vineyard, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
$28
Hahndorf Hill owners Larry Jacobs and Marc Dobson identified a fit between Austria’s late-ripening gruner veltliner and their elevated, continental-climate vineyard site in the Adelaide Hills. In Austria, they write, “vignerons all place huge emphasis on one crucial quality-defining factor – significant diurnal variation… the combination of good ripening days and cold nights that allows for an extended growing season… coaxing out its famously pure flavours and aromatics”. Jacobs and Dobson now have a run of successful gruner’s behind them. The latest citrus-like aromas and a full, dazzling-fresh, dry palate – a bit like a full-bodied riesling, but with a different flavour and a pleasant bite in the finish.

Seppelt Original Sparkling Shiraz 2010
Grampians, Heathcote and Bendigo, Victoria
$17.90–$18.80
Seppelt developed and popularised Australia’s love-it or hate-it sparkling shiraz style from its Great Western Cellars, western Victoria. Some, like me, tend to see it as a waste of good shiraz. Others love the idea – and flavour – of a real red with bubbles and a lick of balancing sugar. They also like the idea of a red wine you can chill and drink in hot weather. The wine begins as a regular shiraz, mellowed in oak casks and steel tanks for a short time, before being undergoing secondary fermentation to produce the bubbles. The 2010 looked good at a recent tasting, and I understand the 2011 and 2012 vintages are also in the market.

Santa Margherita Valdobiaddene Prosecco Superiore 52 2013
$21.80–$22.90
Woolworths’ Italian import (sold through its Dan Murphy and BWS outlets) looked good in a pre-Christmas sparkling tasting. Its light body (11.5 per cent alcohol) and clean, fresh, fruitiness provided refreshing, undemanding drinking. A creamy, mouth pleasing texture, bone-dry finish and typical Italian tartness added to the appeal. It makes no pretence to be anything other than a light and easy drinking sparkler to enjoy now. Made from the prosecco grape, it comes from Valdobiaddene in the northern Veneto region.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2015
First published:

• 13 January 2015 in the goodfood.com.au
• 14 January 2015 in the Canberra Times

Grosset Piccadilly Valley (Adelaide Hills) Chardonnay 2013
For very special Christmas drinking, consider one of Australia’s many ultra-fine but opulent cool-climate chardonnays. The world knows little about them. But we now make dozens of beautiful wines the equal of the originals from France’s Burgundy region. The finest Australian styles come generally from higher, cooler sites in NSW, Victoria and South Australia; the cool southern fringe of the continent (east and west); and throughout Tasmania. A consistent top performer is Jeffrey Grosset’s version from the Piccadilly Valley, Adelaide Hills. This is power with finesse – a succulent, silky, barrel-fermented dry white to savour drop by drop.

Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne NV $55–$70
We’ve been studying Champagne intensively for 35 years now – awestruck at times by the beauty of the best. Alas, we’re more often than not disappointed by the on-discount non-vintage wines. Many of them show little fruit flavour and scant signs of Champagne’s distinctive structure and texture, derived from long ageing in bottle on spent yeast cells. Perrier Jouet NV, on the other hand, brings delicious, subtle, delicate fruit flavour to the bottle – notably from the pinot varieties (noir and meunier), which comprise 80 per cent of the blend. It’s a delicate, soft, and very youthful aperitif style. This is genuine and good Champagne, albeit without the flavour and structure of long-term bottle ageing.

Hewitson Ned and Henry Barossa Valley Shiraz 2013 $20–$26
Dean Hewitson’s Ned and Henry offers the generosity and distinct flavours of the Barossa shiraz in a subtle, understated way. At a recent tasting, several shirazes out-muscled it. But they, along with several slightly over-oaked wines, didn’t invite a second glass. Hewitson, in contrast, held our interest right to the end. The wine shows the Barossa’s ripe, vibrant and generous fruit character, harmoniously backed by ripe, soft tannins. While it was matured in oak (which no doubt mellowed the tannins), oak flavour remains out of the picture. This is one to savour, lightly chilled at Christmas.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published:

• 20 December 2014 in goodfood.com.au
• 21 December 2014 in the Canberra Times

Gallagher Shiraz 2013 $30
Gallagher vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District NSW
Canberra’s perfect vintage conditions in 2013 produced a great number of really outstanding shirazes across the district, including Gallagher – a gold medallist at the 2014 regional wine show. The best show greater richness and ripeness of fruit and tannin than normal, while retaining their fine-boned, spicy, medium bodied regional style. Gallagher 2013 excites from the first sniff of juicy, red berries, overlaid with the black pepper of cool-grown shiraz. The bright, intensely fruity palate reveals more of the spicy side of shiraz, cut through with fine, ripe, soft tannins.

Gallagher Riesling 2014 $22
Barton Estate vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
Like other Canberra 2014 vintage rieslings, Greg Gallagher’s new release delivers highly perfumed, floral aromas, with generous, juicy, citrus-like varietal flavours. However, there’s a gentle delicacy to the palate and a racy acidity that makes it impressively vibrant and fresh. A modest alcohol content of 11.4 per cent adds to its summer drinking appeal. Based on many earlier vintages, you can enjoy this wine for its youthful fruitiness now, or follow its flavour evolution over the next four or five years – perhaps longer in a cool, dark cellar.

Mount Pleasant Mount Henry Shiraz Pinot Noir 2013 $43.50
Rosehill and Mount Pleasant vineyards, Lower Hunter Valley, NSW
The McWilliam family, owners of Mount Pleasant, first produced this retro-labelled shiraz–pinot noir blend in 2011. They followed up with a second vintage in 2013. The wine salutes winemaker Maurice O’Shea (1897–1956) from whom the McWilliams purchased Mount Pleasant in two trenches, in 1932 and 1941. O’Shea named Mount Pleasant after buying existing vines there in 1921. He subsequently planted pinot noir at the winery site in 1922 and shiraz at the nearby Rosehill vineyard in 1946. These historic vineyards provide the fruit for this wonderfully elegant red, made by Jim Chatto. The bright, limpid colour and delicate, vibrant, fruity–spicy aroma lead to a gentle, sweet and complex palate, reflecting the aroma. This truly is history in a bottle – perhaps reflective of the superb, long-lived reds O’Shea made in the 1940s and 1950s. (Available at cellar door and mountpleasantwines.com.au).

Leo Buring Leopold DW R20 Riesling 2014 $40
White Hills vineyard, Tamar Valley, Tasmania
Leo Buring’s reputation for fine, long-lived Eden Valley and Clare rieslings emerged in the 1960s and 1970s under the ownership of Lindemans and winemaking skills of John Vickery. Today the Leo Buring brand belongs to Treasury Wine Estates, with winemaking in the hands of Peter Munro. Munro continues sourcing riesling from the Eden and Clare Valleys (both located on South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges). But the exciting new frontier for the variety is Tasmania. Munro’s 2014 Leopold shows extraordinary flavour intensity and weight for a young riesling – with finesse, despite the flavour intensity and rich texture. The wine should age well for many years in a good cellar.

Schmolzer and Brown Pret-a-Rosé 2014 $26
Beechworth, Victoria
Rosé styles range from sweet and sickly to dry and svelte; and their colour spectrum moves through light and vibrant pink, to light red, to mauve and even onion-skin brown. They can be made from any red variety on earth; though paler skinned varieties like grenache, pinot noir and sangiovese seem to work best. Tessa Brown and Jeremy Schmolzer make theirs from pinot noir and sangiovese, wild fermented (and matured briefly) in old oak barrels. The resulting pale pink wine offers a mouth-caressing, smooth texture with an undercurrent of bright fruit pushing through its savoury flavours. A gentle bite of tannin completes the finish of a very good rosé.

Hardys Sir James Pinot Noir Chardonna9 Cuvee Brut $9.95–$16.65
Riverland, Limestone Coast, Sunraysia and Adelaide Hills, SA and Victoria
Failing Dom Perignon for $10, where do we go for a sparkling quaffer that sits in the sweet spot, between cheap and nasty and good but expensive? It’s most rewarding, I believe, to head for the big companies making top-end wines as well as cheaper, large-volume products. The quality trickle-down effect – combined with strong competition among retailers for popular brands – keeps quality high and prices low. In this instance Hardy’s Sir James delivers the flavour and structure of a bubbly made from the right varieties by someone who knows what they’re doing. With a recommended retail price of $16.65, currently discounted to $9.95, it’s an excellent buy.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2014
First published:

• 16 December 2014 in goodfood.com.au
• 17 December 2014 in the Canberra Times