PHI Heathcote Syrah Grenache 2010 $35 About five years ago the De Bortoli and Shelmerdine families launched the PHI label, for wines made by Steve Webber (husband of Leanne De Bortoli) from fruit grown in Shelmerdine family vineyards. The original releases – chardonnay, sauvignon and pinot noir – came from the Lusatia Park Vineyard, Yarra … Continue reading Wine review — PHI, Mr Riggs and Yalumba
Four Winds Vineyard Riesling 2011 $17 Four Winds vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales This gold medal winner from the 2011 regional wine show could easily pass as a Mosel. The low alcohol (10 per cent), delicate lime-like flavour and high acidity move it way beyond the spectrum of flavours we normally see in … Continue reading Wine review — Four Winds, Tintilla Estate, McWilliams Mount Pleasant, Mount Eyre, Hill-Smith Estate and Yering Station
Man O’ War Dreadnought Syrah 2009 $45–$50 Eastern Waiheke Island, New Zealand Waiheke Island, to the east of Auckland, lies at about the same latitude as Bendigo, Victoria, and Naracoorte (just north of Coonawarra), South Australia. The three regions, though, produce starkly different cool-climate shiraz styles – probably driven by significant climate variances. The flavour … Continue reading Wine review — Man ‘O War, Jip Jip Rocks, PHI, Seville Estate, Yalumba and Jeir Creek
At a regional shiraz dinner a few years back, Garry Parker told me he approached wine marketing as he did building a career as a barrister from 1963 – on the belief that good performance would attract a following. And that’s exactly what he’s achieved at Long Rail Gully Wines – a deep respect among … Continue reading Exciting wines from Canberra’s Long Rail Gully
Whoosh! There goes 2011. What a year. Foster’s decided grape and grain didn’t mix; Constellation Brands USA sold the historic Leasingham winery to Clare winemaker, Tim Adams; Woolworths and Coles share of domestic wine sales hit 79 per cent; and winemakers across eastern Australia endured the coldest, wettest vintage in over a decade. Under these … Continue reading Whoosh! There goes 2011
Australia’s capital city wine shows date from the early nineteenth century when local agricultural societies included wine among the many agricultural products judged by experts. Today these “royal” agricultural society events compete like mad to be the biggest, the best, or in some way different from each other – a healthy competitiveness that sees the … Continue reading National wine show delivers its verdict
Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2011 $26.90–$34.80 The technical specs read more like something from the cool slopes of Germany’s Mosel than from Australia’s Eden Valley – pH2.88 and acidity of 9.4 grams per litre. A result of the cool 2011 vintage, the unusually high acidity in Julius provides a lean, taut backbone that accentuates … Continue reading Wine review — Henschke, Gipsie Jack and Pio Cesare
Pizzini Sangiovese 2009 $26.90–$30 King Valley, Victoria Several Pizzini brothers emigrated from Italy’s Trento Alto Adige region in the 1950s, ultimately settling in Myrtleford and growing tobacco. With tobacco increasingly on the nose, in 1978 second-generation Fred Pizzini planted vines in the King Valley, originally as a supplier to Brown Brothers. In 1994 Fred and … Continue reading Wine review — Pizzini, Yering Station, Brown Brothers, Philip Shaw, Dandelion and Evans & Tate
Shaw Vineyard Estate Isabella Riesling 2009 $28 Shaw vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales Almost two years after its release, Graeme Shaw’s delicious Isabella Riesling 2009 remains available at cellar door and on the wine list at Flint in the Vines – the restaurant adjoining the cellar door. This is where we reacquainted ourselves … Continue reading Wine review — Shaw Vineyard Estate, Pewsey Vale, Skillogalee, Peter Lehmann, Grosset and Mount Horrocks
What a hard job for judges at Canberra’s International Riesling Challenge – two days discerning the differences among 435-odd mainly young, acidic whites, often in classes more notable for similarities than differences. But the judges endured and, led by David O’Leary, handed out, by my count, 51 gold medals – a strike rate approaching one … Continue reading Lots to think about in riesling challenge results