The Home of Renowned Tasting

This is a new line from Seppelts (hence the review) that came along with a 2006 Heathcote Shiraz. It’s yet another wine from the 2007 Victorian vintage that I reckon is showing smoke taint characters. I think I’m either looking for it too closely or just getting too sensitive to the smell and taste of it (and it’s mainly the taste that presents the problem) because it keeps cropping up over and over again, and while this is not nearly as bad as some, it’s enough to knock a couple of points off and shorten the drinking window.

It smells of nectarine, yeast, smoke, aniseed (or is that Bonjella on my finger?), orange and cardamom spice. Nice and tight on the palate with fine clean acidity and good balance throughout. It’s medium weight with attractive citrus and nectarine flavour that’s marred by a slightly acrid character that carries through to the finish. A promising debut but a tricky wine to score, all things considered.

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No introduction, I am in a rush and Blackboard is telling me to “hurry up”.

Glacé cherries, a roundedness, stalk and pepper, soda water, mint tea and a touch of dried meat. The palate showed red fruits, dried stalks through the mid palate and fleshed out on a finish that included a touch of sap too. There was some sweetness of fruit, with some game and dried meat characters, but there was also an underlying stalkiness that might disconcert some people. A lovely light mouthfeel, good length, dry and perhaps a bit shy, lightly weighted with a feminine edge. Short term drinking I would guess.

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Hmmm well I think I like this one a little more than the 2005 vintage (more length) so logically I need to give it a slightly higher score, even though I have both 92 and 93 written on my pad (a trend you might begin to notice). I’d need to taste them side by side to be absolutely sure, rather than many months apart, but I’m as confident as you can ever be when dealing in absolutes. Well that’s my story anyway, and I’m sticking to it.

It’s fragrant and creamy with spice and pepper over dark cherry and fresh blackberry and a bit of the old liquorice coming up with air. It feels medium bodied in the mouth with excellent flow and nice fine smooth tannins, acidity perhaps a little unsettled at this early age, but set for a long future. There’s no heat or over-ripeness - just beautiful blackberry/dark cherry fruit seasoned with pepper, spice and subtle creamy oak running onto a good long finish. A boastful advertisement for stylish Grampians Shiraz at a painfully modest price.

Other vintages : 2005

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Rose of Virginia turns 21 this vintage and I’d say it’s still about my favourite local rosé. It walks with style that fine line between being juicy, fresh and flavoursome without wobbling over to the sweet or sickly side. This year’s model is Grenache 44%, Cabernet 29%, Pinot Meunier 14.4% and Shiraz 12.6%.

As pretty as ever with the scent of rose petal and musk over clean raspberry and cranberry fruit. On the palate fine balance between the sweeter raspberry flavours and those of the fresh dry cranberry juice - it comes across as being juicy and vibrant rather than sweet. Lots of flavour and refreshment but showing slightly edgy acidity at this youthful stage which should settle down with few more months in bottle (just in time for Spring). Dry finish of good length. Still a firm favourite and one of the rosés I’m always up for drinking.

Other vintages : 2007, 2006

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I’m having a couple of major problems with all these 2005 Margaret River Cabernets, namely those of limited funds and finite capacity. This year’s Heytesbury is all Margaret River with just a sneaky little addition of 5% Shiraz and is a barrel selection rather than a single vineyard wine (as per usual). There won’t be a 2006 vintage release so the intention is to stretch this out until the 2007 Heytesbury becomes available.

Flamboyant, complex and highly aromatic with a mix of ripe cherry and cassis, violet, dark chocolate and spice tempered by more herbal influences of peppermint, gum leaf and snapped green twigs. It’s also appropriately gravelly and earthy as is the way with the best Margaret River Cabernets. On the palate full bodied and flooded with ripe cassis and cherry fruit, dried herbs and mocha flavours - a wine of considerable impact, depth and drama. It has strong ripe chalky tannins, superb balance and a long dry finish. A wine that resonates in the memory long after tasting.

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I know what you’re thinking, here goes Lincoln with that weird descriptor, but this does smell like sausage meat. It does. I might be odd but I hope I am consistently so. There are also aromas of red fruits, spices and smoke, but all this is dominated by spicy tomato sauce and sausages. The palate is, to be honest, a bit feral, with plums and red cherries, minerals, hints of meats and stalks, and wild sauvage character. The finish is little warm and metallic. Very odd indeed, though good persistence through the palate, with some creaminess, but the sweet tomato sauce confection pushes the wine well to the left of field. A tough one to rate.

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A new label for the 2005 vintage (of which you can read more about in the excellent Moss Wood newsletter here), and while I miss the old one, the contents of the bottle more than adequately compensate for the loss of gold trim; this is easily the best since the mighty 2001 vintage. The oak is less obvious and it’s more refined and balanced (and less warm and chocolaty) than some of the more recent vintages. I tasted it alongside the soon to be released Vasse Felix Heytesbury of the same year, and while they are quite different wines and hard to separate qualitatively, it was the svelte charm of the Moss Wood that tipped the scale. A style preference in more ways than one.

A gorgeous smelling wine that immediately pulls at the purse strings of the Cabernet enthusiast - it offers mulberry and dark fruit, a violet perfume, spice, fine cedar oak and that gravel and wet cement aromatic that is so typical of the region (at least for me). In the mouth quiet authority and grace is the order of the day with ultra fine mouth coating tannins, ripe fruit, oak and alcohol all in perfect balance. It’s appropriately dry and savoury but not at the expense of bright fresh Cabernet fruit flavours. Long and satisfying this is a wine of rare balance and significant ageing potential. Certainly one of the finest Moss Wood releases to date.

Other vintages : 2001, 1999

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Greenvale is near the Melbourne airport, so I’ve plopped this wine in the Sunbury region. The vineyard is dry grown and the wine was made by Antonio Nania, Bruno D’Anna and Franco D’Anna using natural yeast, no filtration or pumping, and gravity feeds. This is the inaugural release.

A lovely nose, with the aromas oscillating between black cherries, red currants and black currants, with some vanilla pod, spice, and a matchstickiness. The palate is soft, red fruits, blackcurrants, liquorice, old black pepper and some matchstick on the finish. On the lighter side of medium bodied, with soft tannins and highly drinkable.

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This is a bit of a surprise. You’d not normally expect too much of an Australian Tempranillo but this made me double take (or sip). Big Tim Adams has an association with Muga and I’d say a little bit of Rioja magic has rubbed off here, although obviously hard work, top winemaking and quality viticulture are the real factors. What most impressed me here are the silky smooth tannins, almost RODAesque if you are familiar with that wine, that coat and caress the mouth. With regards to rating it, I’m dithering between an excellent and outstanding rating, so I’ll probably decide on a number when I finish writing the review. I tasted it over two days (with no sign of tiring) and have two different scores.

A fine smelling wine with a mix of black cherry and red fruits, cola, creamy spicy oak, liquorice (with extended breathing) and wafting above it all a very faint citrus leaf perfume. On the palate medium to full bodied with ripe black cherry and red fruits, brown spice, mineral, nuts and very slight mintiness. Good flavour but it’s the texture here that wins you over - a velvet fog of plush smooth tannins that coat the mouth and extend all the way through to the back palate. Excellente.

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I often like saying “Toolangi” in a baritone African Chief style voice before tasting a glass. It’s nearly as enjoyable as the wine, but not quite.

It offers up a gentle classic Yarra Pinot aromatic of red cherry, strawberry, spice and a bit of leaf mulch that leads into a light to medium bodied palate. The flavour is good with sweet red fruit and spice being the major players, accompanied by light dry tannins and clean soft acidity. It all flows along very nicely, is balanced and long, and drinks a treat from beginning to end. If you’re out shopping for good Pinot under $25 then I’d pop this near the top of the list.

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Protos is Greek for “first” but it also puts me in mind of a compact sedan, possibly from a compact Asian country, but that may be because I’m a bit of an idiot. There’s 200 dozen made from hand picked fruit off the 3.5 acre block behind the big dam at Glenguin Estate. It’s the first time I’ve seen this wine and I enjoyed my little test drive. A reminder that the Hunter can, and does, make some pretty smart Chardonnay.

It’s full bodied and powerful offering flavours of nectarine, citrus, spicy oak and yeasty lees characters that present warm and slightly sweet with a spine of bright penetrating acidity cutting through the creamy texture to provide necessary shape and vigour. Large scale and intense, but well balanced, with a long spicy finish. It’s a very fine example of warm climate Chardonnay with a bit of X-Factor lurking for possible further improvement.

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There’s apparently only around 50 dozen of these made, and mailing list members get first dibs.

It’s limey and already a little bit nutty with a little free sulphur showing. On the palate quite rich (in context) with plenty of rich sweet lime and mineral flavour, balanced acidity and excellent length of flavour. It’s often hard to say too much about a young Hunter Semillon other than whether you think it’s good or not. Well this is good and it’s already offering a fair degree of drinking pleasure.

Other vintages : 2005

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Friend Peter had an NZ holiday in March and brought some vinous treasures when he came to stay at the weekend. Wendy and I have fond memories of consuming this wine when we went on a walking trip with Abel Tasman Walks at night in the lodges. The style appears to have changed a little but it is still very drinkable. It opens with lovely lemon aromas and a little grapefruit. The palate is all about fruit that is exactly as the nose suggested except that the oak can be discerned and the acid is quite high in tune with the so called minerality style. It was great with food (tapas) and the fruit was lovely. The alcohol is listed at 14.5% yet I did not see it as being intrusive.

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A rich red. Red cherries and red plums, lifted florals and strikingly deep seated peppery spices. There is also the impression of concentration, and hints of milk chocolate, cocoa and even chocolate. The palate is wonderfully balanced, cherries and plums, blackberries, maybe some raspberry acidity, milky and tangy, ripe but not too sweet, all with some beautiful tannins. Quite primary at the moment, but oh-so easy to drink. No sign of any heat whatsoever.

Other vintages: 2004, 1999

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I was tasting through a few modestly priced reds yesterday (06 Jacob’s Creek Shiraz, 05 Wyndham Estate 555 Shiraz etc.) and it prompted me to quickly write something about this wine. I’m not sure if I have the rating correct, I was a bit rushed, but I liked the wine and it easily falls into my ‘good’ range of scores. It has integrity.

Smells of blue fruits, plum, mint and a bit of cedar wood. The medium bodied palate offers similar flavours with perhaps the addition of blackcurrant and a bit of an olive savoury edge. It has firm tannins, a bit aggressive perhaps, but I’d rather have a bit of grip in an inexpensive wine than a lot of sugar. It’s good and tasty and finishes dry. Authentic and good quality is my quick impression.

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There’s plenty of good Pinot about for under $30 and the Yarra is generally the place to look for it. I was speaking to a wine writer the other day, moaning about how I wish I had time to do more reviews, but the formatting slows me down. He offered that all people want is an opinion and a score. Maybe he’s right? See below for an unpolished note.

It’s taught and acidic with lots of flavour - cherry, earth, briar, dusty oak, aniseed and dried herb. Quite dramatic and certainly spicy. Tannins are a little chalky and chunky and there’s a touch of bitterness on the finish that detracts but otherwise all very good. Like it and good value.

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A colleague of mine (and I use the term loosely) told me I ought to get on to Collector Wines, so I wasted no time touching them up for a few bottles. I like a hot tip. Anyway, Canberra is looking more and more like one of THE regions in which to make great Shiraz in Australia and this is no exception. I love the tannins here. Welcome to Tannin country.

Strong dark colour with a delightful aromatics of black cherry, toffee, Brazil and hazelnuts, pepper and meat. On the palate medium to full bodied with rich smooth fruit of the blackberry and dark cherry persuasion, pepper, aniseed and a nutty toothsome fine grained dark chocolate texture. It has superb ripe tannins, a fluid glycerol mouth feel and no hint of warmth or intrusive alcohol. Fully ripe, but not sweet, closing with a long dry finish of nuts and chocolate. Outstanding.

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Grange eh? A wine that requires no introduction.

As with all Grange the aromatics are layered and complex with this vintage offering a whole raft of interesting things to smell. It’s showing a touch of char, brown spices, blackberry, coconut, liquorice, aniseed, soy sauce, camphor and fruit cake in and amongst other things. Seek and ye shall find but the overall impression over three days tasting is of a rich darkly fruited wine backed with liberal high class oak that smells terrific. On the palate full bodied and bulging with powerful dark tarry fruit, mince pie, dark chocolate, dry spices, aniseed and plenty of perfumed cedary oak. It maintains a good level of freshness and has layers of open knit very firm chalky tannins that make their presence felt from start to long finish. The tannins receded and softened over three days but still felt a little raw and blocky at the end. Young wine, no doubt, but I’d suggest it will always be a more rustic example of Grange, although a good one. A remarkable wine considering the vintage too.

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A dinner where a couple of us tried to bring wines from 1999. This had lovely aromas of bright cherry fruit. The palate was supple and very long. The fruit was clean and expressed ripeness with a spectrum of flavours from dark cherry thru to raspberry. I could see oak but it was well integrated and did not stand out. The wine was very popular and a lot better than a few other ’99s I had a week earlier. Alongside the 99 from Bernard Dugat-Puy it shone.

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In between tasting a whole raft of other things I grabbed this from the fridge in order to refresh the old palate, and what a refreshing change of pace it made. It’s made from Chardonnay and Aligoté (no skins) and offers a refreshing bubble of difference. Imported by Marcus Gniel at Ce Soir Wine of smouldering James Bond style B&W photograph on the back of business card fame.

It opens with indistinct fruitiness, possibly apple and lemon sherbet with a little complex smoky sulphide and a round of cream biscuits. It has a big creamy foamy mouthfeel with lots of bubbles that’s both dry and charming, light, fresh and rather fluffy. A bit like stuffing powder snow into your mouth (although no need to get up after the experience here unless you drink too much). It’s wheaty and delicious. Flavour. Expression. Difference. Style. Drinkability. I love it. Do it. DO IT.

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