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In 1991 I tried a bottle of Lassalle and loved it so much I tried to buy some more. I was told it was no longer being brought into the country. I had it again in November 2006 (its on the site, look it up). That wine was out of someone’s cellar and although about 10 years old it was lovely.

Now I discover Champagne J. Lassalle is back! I had this with a group of friends and although everyone loved the wine nobody was aware of the fine reputation this small house has. The mousse was fine and gentle with aromas of fresh bread, a bit of meringue, some red berry and a bit of lemon. The palate has superb balance with great fruit power. The flavours begin with the red berry jam flavours typical of a blanc de noir yet are balanced with the melon of chardonnay along with the fresh bread flavours that one gets with a bottle fermented fizz with several years of lees contact. A wine with quite a degree of richness,complexity and length.

Other non vintages : NV

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I’m sure this wine keeps getting tighter and more refined each year, in spite of hot early vintages. It’s one of my favourite Chardonnays at its price point too.

It’s a bit brassy but really energetic with the whole spectrum of citrus flavours (grapefruit, lemon, orange), fresh stonefruit, some matchstick, a bit of spice and a great deal of minerality. It’s dry and tight, a touch pithy and has a core of strong bright acidity providing freshness and drive. Good long dry finish too. A snip at this price with complexity and great drinkabilty - it provides us with yet another good reason to keep drinking Chardonnay.

Other vintages : 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004

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They spelt plum as plumb on the back label, but other than that everything else comes to you in perfect working order.

Impressive colour leads into a fine regional wine - plum, chocolate, a bit of black pepper, some earthiness and a dab of coconut/vanilla oak. It’s medium to full bodied but, refreshingly, is neither heavy nor sweet. Nice and fresh with a light fine grained tannin grip and clean dry finish of good length. Great drinking - an excellent savoury dry red.

Other vintages : 2005

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I tasted this alongside the Estate wine of the same vintage and curiously it was the Premium that was open and expressive on day one, the Estate being more sullen and subdued. Next day they exchanged roles, flip flop, criss-cross, the Premium shut up shop and the Estate was singing sweetly (and scoring higher as a result). It will be fascinating to taste them both again in ten years time.

It smells strong and rich with cassis, violet, mineral, pencil, a distinct earthiness and spice laden toasty oak. In the mouth medium to full bodied with excellent freshness, plenty of firm fine grained tannins and a similar earthy, Cassis laden and (particularly Bordeaux like) pencilly oak driven flavour profile. Again it’s classic Cabernet - linear, balanced and fine with appropriate grip on exit. One for the cellar.

Other vintages : 2005

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It’s a blend of Marsanne, Chardonnay and Rousanne and I think the Burgundy piggy in the middle really adds something to the blend - it gives that bit of shape and freshness that its Rhone pals sometimes lack when left on their own.

Apple cider, stonefruit, pear, a drizzle of honey and more savoury lees characters are the main flavours on a palate that’s weighty, dry, flintily textured and highly satisfying to drink. There’s fresh clean acidity, excellent shape and balance and a degree of interest that’s so often lacking around this price point. It’s a very good wine I think.

Other vintages : 2005

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This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (44%), Shiraz (33%), Petit Verdot (14%) and Grenache (5%) with the balance being Merlot and Malbec. It sees only old oak, is available for $120 per dozen direct from the winery (I think) and as an excellent weekday it comes with my recommendation free of charge.

It smells of plum, mixed berries, a bit of mint, cocoa and vanilla. On the palate medium to full bodied with plenty of flavour - juicy and sweetly fruited with cassis and dark berries, a touch of herb and some violet and vanilla perfume. It has light dry tannins and some warmth but closes with a savoury toasty aftertaste. It leans a bit towards the front palate but has integrity, vinosity and offers excellent drinking at the price.

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Bright in the glass, just starting to go golden. The nose is toasty, limes and a bit of cashew. The palate is really delicious, with great toast flavours, even suggesting some oak char but it had no oak aging! The acid is the crispiest I have seen in a wine of this age and it really balances the toasty lime flavours well. I saw this at the cellar door and grabbed some for home. I saw 5 older Hunter Semillons in a week and feel that there is a definite window of optimum balance. It is probably 3 to five years wide though but in the Semillons grown on the sandier loams it seems to open at about 7 to 10 years. Once again, I love the low alcohol. This is great value, speak to Scott at the cellar door. The history behind this cellar door is quite amazing since they have diaries going back to the 1800’s that trace the vines to the original plantings in NSW.

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I had two tastings of the 2005 vintage, rating one bottle 90 points (only just) and the other 94 which was a bit confusing admittedly, but regardless I think this is the superior vintage for the Estate wine (but not the Premium). It’s a wine for lovers of fine understated and age-worthy Claret in the Mount Mary and Yeringberg style, and not a blockbuster by any means.

It’s classic Cabernet to smell with blackcurrant, black raspberry, tobacco and a cedar wood fragrance. On the palate medium bodied and very stylish - lithe and fresh with raspberry and blackcurrant, mineral, pencil and a little dried herb. It has particularly good acidity, dry fine grained tannins and a long clean finish. The combination of full ripeness at modest alcohol and (almost) certain age-worthiness make this an unusual and very attractive proposition for the cellar - cork permitting.

Other vintages : 2005

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Voyager Estate, along with Leeuwin and Cullen, make up my “big three” Margaret River Chardonnays i.e. the ones I like best and buy most often.

Distinctly cool and minerally with grapefruit, dried pear, fairly subtle vanilla nougat oak and a bit of matchstick. It’s tight and fine boned with intense citrus and pear flavours, a touch of spice and a texture that’s lightly creamy but beautifully balanced by crisp clean acid and flinty mineral characters. Long, fresh and distinguished - it’s a top wine from an exceptional vintage (for whites).

Other vintages : 2005, 2002

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Yields are down (50%) price is up (17%)…but the quality is 100% awesome. It’s one of the best Australian Chardonnays I have tasted. You might have noticed the addition of “Kevin John” to the name, thus joining the “Diana Madeline” Cabernet Merlot to make a formidable flagship duo - the King and Queen on the Cullen chess board if you like. I also find (and enjoy) a gentle sort of irony in having the Chardonnay named for a man and the Cabernet for a woman. And if you taste this wine you’ll need no reminding that great Chardonnay can be every bit as powerful and energetic as a full bodied red..

It’s subtle, slightly wild and very complex with grapefruit, white nectarine, Nashi pear, cashew nut, fennel and light dusty spicy oak. On the palate medium bodied and light but so powerful and vigorous - it expands and surges through the mouth like a long cool wave breaking on the shore. It’s fine boned and graceful with a lightly chalky texture and impressive length, closing sparklingly clean and dry. I’m not sure I’ve had much better.

Other vintages : 2005, 2003, 1999

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Waskly Wabbit. This is made by Port Phillip Estate from brought in fruit - hence the name Quartier - meaning neighbourhood or similar in French.

I like the smell of it - it’s a bit nutty with almond, pear, lemon oil, spice and snuffed candle. On the palate it has pithy and pulpy sorts of flavours with hard green pear, bitter lemon, spice and almond. It’s dry, textured and quite weighty (although fresh) with a good dry finish. Interesting wine. The more I taste it, the more I like it.

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I’m tasting the 2008 red releases from Hillcrest at the moment (well not exactly at this moment, I’m having a cup of tea right now) and will review the 2006 Cabernet pair shortly. If you happen to be in the Yarra or fancy a trip up from Melbourne then this may be of interest.

Hillcrest Open Day – Saturday 19 July

Just a quick note re: our annual Open Day.

Saturday 19 July, 10am - 5pm.

Due to the limited amount of wine remaining for sale, we are opening for one day only. All of the current release 2006 wines will be available for tasting.

Last year’s concept of opening for tasting all of our older wines worked really well, so again this year we will be opening all of the Hillcrest wines ever made to give people a chance to have a look at them. We even have some barrel samples this year from the 08 vintage to show those who may be interested.

Cheers
David & Tanya

Hillcrest Vineyards
31 Phillip Road. Woori Yallock
Yarra Valley
www.hillcrestvineyard.com.au

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A friend who has a very eclectic cellar put this up, yes masked. It opened with the nose that I associate with older Aussie dry reds, a mix of cinnamon spice, red berry and a little mushroom. On the palate it tasted more like an old shiraz that was dried out. It had no faults and pretty good colour too. The friend believes this was the original experimental planting for sparkling base that Seppelts had and is now owned by Pfeiffers. Surely the oldest Pinot Noir vines around?

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It smells rich and sweet with blackberries, liquorice, chocolate and vanilla nougat oak with a bit of camphor lift. On the palate it’s full bodied with good rich fruit, almost syrupy and very fluid, with flavours of blackberry, plum, root beer, chocolate and some more savoury coffee/chicory oak characters. It has ultra fine ripe tannins coupled with clean acidity and good length of flavour. It’s a really good traditional Aussie red that really satisfies.

Other vintages : 2005

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I met the two chaps from BlackJack last year for lunch..and I reckon at least one of them would have made a very handy pirate… if only he’d been born a couple of centuries earlier….arrrrr.

It has good freshness which also includes a whiff of eucalyptus/camphor over red berries, spice, smoke and coffee nougat oak. On the palate raspberry and cherry, a bit of nuttiness, spice and light coffee oak. It’s medium bodied with light grainy tannins and (as previously mentioned) a highly pleasing sense of freshness and vigour. Good length of flavour finishing with a raspberry, eucalyptus and spice aftertaste. Maybe I’d not quite walk the plank for it..but I’d bounce on the edge for a bit no worries.

Other vintages : 2005

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Nice wine this one and a very good result from the coolest vintage yet experienced in Margaret River. It’s an atypical wine for the region, as much like a Cornas or Victorian as Margaret.

Cool and dusty with plenty of pepper, fresh blackberry, licorice/aniseed and some floral notes. It’s medium bodied and distinctly fresh, built on acid rather than tannin, although it does have a fair few and very fine grained they are too - although slightly sappy and green. The flavours are of mixed berries, aniseed, pepper and ripe tomato with an attractive meaty character. It’s not thick, rather Rhoney and light, but balanced and charming with a good dry peppery finish. A victory for style over substance perhaps.

Other vintages : 2005

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I tasted this over three days and it didn’t tire much at all. It’s a good sign.

It’s perfumed with roses, basil and aniseed over bright red fruits, a bit of smoke and a seemingly low oak influence. In the mouth medium bodied and tight with fresh acidity, strong dry tannins and flavours of bright red fruits, violet, stalks and mint. It pushes through the palate and clings on long afterwards. I think it’s a wine of structure and considerable power, although not fat or heavy, and should age magnificently - at which stage it may rate even higher again.

Other vintages : 2006

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A maker that I had never heard of but from an outstanding patch of vines. It was served blind with a couple of other whites from within a km, not that we were given any clues. The colour looked slightly golden but the nose had lemon, a hint of grapefruit and a bit of honey suckle. The palate was very rich and concentrated showing glorious fruit with just a hint of mushroom and caramel that had me thinking that cork was involved. It had great length that danced about the palate with the lemon, peach and grapefruit power of Chardonnay at its best. Sad about the premature oxidation from the cork though.

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From the Lowestoft Vineyard in the Derwent Valley comes the last instalment in the Heemskerk trio.

Plum jam, beetroot, rose, mint and some sweet spicy oak mingle on the nose of this attractive smelling wine. It comes over a little sweet but savouries up given a good airing and has flavours of plum, spice, a touch of caramel and some cooler foresty characters. It’s fairly soft in the mouth, and slightly warm, with fine grained tannins and a bit of stalkiness poking through to straighten the posture. Moves along pretty well but softens and fades on the finish a little. Really good to drink, although not exactly inexpensive.

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I’ve never had a wine from Olivers Taranga before but I’ve certainly heard of them. This is a small batch make of around 250 dozen and includes a splash of Shiraz (5%).

Appetising to smell with milk chocolate, raspberries, a touch of earthiness and some cinnamon oak spice. It’s just medium bodied with flavours of milk chocolate, raspberries, nuts and sort of gentle earthiness. With light sandy tannins and good freshness it has a degree of elegance and finesse and yes, there’s a slight warmth from alcohol on the finish, but it closes dry and long. Sensitively made with plenty of interest - a fine interpretation of Grenache.

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