The Home of Renowned Tasting

Nice florals and lots of fruits, with pears, red delicious apples, lemons and pear skins. The palate displayed more of a reserved character, with hard pears, lemons and grapefruit, and an underlying brisk acidity and almost a minerally dryness. Good length, and it will come as no surprise to hear that this is very much in the Grigio style and shows very nicely when accompanying some food.

Other vintages: 2006

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The Coborra State Forest is west of the Drumborg vineyard and its name serves an inspiration for this Seppelt’s label.

A pale straw in colour. Aromas on limes and lemons, minerals but not slately, looking a bit like a Riesling, except that there was also with some hard green fruits. The palate initially looked a little watery and almost grassy, but as it warmed it showed yellow fruits and minerals, and an elusive amalgamation of pears, melons and nectarines. Lovely structure and a dry finish followed by some pleasing lingering flavours in the mouth.

Other vintages: 2005

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If I were to use a meteorological simile, there is a low pressure system of Pinot Gris over me at the moment, and there will be a deluge of notes on said wines this week. I am hoping for sunnier skys on the weekend and a high pressure system of Pinot Noir. This wine was made from fruit grown in the Innes vineyard at Littlehampton on the eastern side of the Adelaide Hills.

On the nose, showing powerful aromas of honeysuckle, pears and lemons, with a touch of spice. The palate is quite punchy and ripe, pears and lemons and a bit of spice with a savoury edge. And though I say ripe, the balance of flavours are well judged and there isn’t anything sickly or heavy about the wine; crisp and fresh all the way down the line.

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I got this bottle shot from their website; it should actually be green in colour. Brown is not an attractive colour, especially for a Pinot Grigio - it sends the wrong message. It makes me think of Brisbane bottleshops facing west with racks of bottles that have sun faded labels.

A reticent nose; it took a lot of swirling and a bit of warming to get lemon and hay, white florals, a touch of gooseberries, unripe yellow fruits and some minerals. Very tight. The palate is drying, lemon and lime, slate, focussed and grassy, with lemons and minerals on the finish. Not a particularly fruity wine, more textual and structured, also displaying terrific length. This is a very good example of the Grigio style, and probably something right up GW’s alley.

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Well it would seem that the fruit for this wine has changed from the Tamar Valley to the Adelaide Hills. It certainly looks like that was a good move after reading GW’s review of the 2005.

A complex and interesting nose, undecided and indecisive, yellow florals, ripe bartlett pears, arugula, green herbs, lemon oil, celery seed - quite elusive really. The palate is leaner than the nose would suggest, unripe pears and dry spice, a touch of green stalk, refreshing acidity and a drying finish. Nicely balanced, and very much a food wine; drink over the short term.

Other vintages: 2005

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Another wine from Kirrihill’s Single Vineyard Series; in this case the Serendipity vineyard in the Adelaide Hills.

A delicate and reserved nose, hard pears, dusty spices and lemon rind. A tight palate: unripe pears, drying granite, hay and lemon, minerals, really quite lean, finishing with a lemony dryness. Structured and balanced, so it should take a bit of aging, but I am not exactly sure how much. A real food-wine style.

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Another wine from the Angullong Fossil Hill range. I have already reviewed the Sangiovese, but there is also a Viognier, a Shiraz Viognier and a Barbera in the range. I have requested a sample of the last wine because I am interested in Italian varietals.

Pear and pineapple, honeydew melon, dry grass, preserved lemons, a certain broadness and promise of richness. On the palate, fleshy pears and pineapple, a bit of apple, expansive and strong, minerals, finishing with candied oranges, dryly, and strangely afterwards showed a lingering sweetness and spice. Nicely fruited and balanced. Excellent juice, and very much in the Gris style.

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The screwcap had been knocked around quite a bit - not sure if this affected the colour or the taste of the wine. Yellow with more than a hint of strawberry blush. The nose was interesting, old pears and minerals, lemon rind, old citrus fruits and a smidge of dusty spices. The palate is more rounded, apples and pear (as you would expect), but also musk and a sweetness that is laced with some fine acid. Good length and good weight - a lovely food wine. Drink over the short term.

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This is a single vineyard wine from a site near Birdwood in the Adelaide Hills. It is a north-eastern facing block, but the 2005 vintage was on the cooler side of things. A restrained and lean nose, with half ripe pears, straw, lemons and some minerals. The palate is quite lean and savoury, focused, a wine that knows what it wants to do, minerals, ripe green fruits, lemony acid with some softness, and memorable length. An Italian styled Pinot Grigio, and one that complements food well. Drink over the short term.

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Dr Anthony Miceli acquired land on the Mornington Peninsula in 1989, specifically for the purpose of establishing a vineyard. The first plantings of 1.8 hectares date from November 1991, followed by a further hectare of Pinot Gris in 1997. This wine is named after the Miceli family’s youngest daughter, and is a pale straw in colour. The nose shows pears and oranges, with tropical fruits, a bit of musk and a dollop of oatmeal. The palate is tight, with preserved lemons and minerals, and as it warmed the flavours on the palate became quite expansive, but without ever being overripe or sweet. The length is good, and it complements food very well. Drink over the short term.

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Nugan Estate is based in Griffith, but they source grapes from Darlington Point (near Griffith), Coonawarra, McLaren Vale and King Valley. This wine is made from King Valley fruit, not surprisingly - it is a very sensible place to grow Pinot Grigio.

Aromas of pears and apples, with lemon and spice, and a hint of minerals. The palate is quite lean, citrus fruits and unripe pears, with a lick of minerals and some brisk acidity. Excellent length, and some pith on the finish. A wine that is full flavoured but not sweet, tending more towards the savoury and minerally; quite a drying experience really. A great food wine.

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Another Italian varietal from Chain of Ponds. I have some Sangiovese and Nebbiolo too to try soon. Pear, lemon, apricot and sherbet with a little bit of celery. The palate showed sweet fruits and a bit of spice, some minerals and dryness on the finish. Texturally pleasing, full-flavoured and abounding with sweet fruits. On warming the finish seemed sweeter than before, and there was also a hint of musk. A tidy wine.

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Gris is the word
Gris is the word, is the word that you heard
Its got groove its got meaning
Gris is the time, is the place, is the motion
Gris is the way we are feeling

Apparently…

Aromas of nashi pear, pez and bananas. Flowery and fruity. On the palate plenty of pear, candy and tropical fruit flavour. Quite full bodied with soft lightly slippery texture and no intrusive alcohol. It is all juicy fruit and rather like biting into a big juicy pear. Touch of phenolic grip on exit. I served it well chilled and imagined I was having a fruit juice. Healthy!

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I don’t particularily like pinot gris but I think that if you insist on making them then they should, at the very least, taste like pinot gris rather than pinot grigio. This one is certainly a weighty example packed with flavour and I think that Central Otago tends to do this style very well.

Aromas of ripe pear, pez candy and spice. On the palate full bodied and full throttle with intense pear, candy and spice flavours. Its slippery in texture with excellent mouthfeel although the alcohol does intrude slightly. Very long spicy finish. An excellent example of a style that will please many.

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I reviewed this a while ago but the bottle was not up to scratch. Very reduced. This bottle, while still a bit pongy, looks much better. I left it in the fridge over-night and it still looks nice and fresh. I lost all the notes I scribbled down last night. Somewhere.

Aromas of hard green pear, mango, celery leaf, spice and some rubbery overtones. On the palate quite firm and crunchy with flavours of green pear, dried herbs, spice and green mango. It has some phenolic weight and a pleasant herbal bitterness. It looks more grigio than gris though I think. I like it very much which is no mean feat considering I don’t like pinot gris at all!

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Aromas leap from the glass like dolphins at Sea World. Gorgeous scents of orange sherbet, lychees and lemons, orange blossoms and melons. The palate is lean and savoury, and though the fruits are obviously ripe there is some restraint here. This is not a tarty wine. It finishes with some minerals and musk, drying, satisfying. Would I like some more? Another splash would be nice, thanks.

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This comes from vineyards perched 600 metres above sea level. Tonight saw a tussle between this and the Brokenwood for top place in the 2006 Gris-a-thon. I was continually oscillating (or is that vacillating?) between the two wines. I liked the smoothness of the Brokenwood and then I liked the grip and tang of this wine. Both good wines. It could go either way really.

Aromas of pear, tropical fruit, spice, musk and a little flinty reduction. A very winning smelling wine. On the palate spicy apple, pear, musk and spice flavours. There is a light phenolic grip that works very well to balance out the otherwise soft slippery texture. Light grippy phenolic finish of orange and spice.

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My winner in this evenings 2006 Gris-a-thon is this wine from Beechworth.

Intense and floral with aromas of apricot, musk, lemon and spice. On the palate rich but not overdone with flavours of peach, lemon, tropical fruit and musk stick. It is lightly slippery and has weight from alcohol but runs through the palate without snagging the tongue on any phenolic edges. Spicy peach and pear finish. A very good example.

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Second in tonights Pinot Gris pageant comes our entrant from the Grampians region of Victoria.

Very fragrant with aromas of lychee syrup, flowers, bananas and ripe pear. On the palate very slippery character with flavours of musk, nashi pear and melons. The flavours are good and fresh if not slightly watery. It is a bit loose and wobbly on the palate too. A couple of turns on the spanner would see higher points. Attractive finish of spiced pear and brandy.

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Opened up four 2006 Pinot Gris from various bits of Australia this evening. This is the first and comes from a small vineyard in Geelong.

Strongly reductive with aromas of burning rubber, grass clippings and then buried underneath the pile of smoking tyres are a couple of pears and a basket of tropical fruits. The palate carries the slightly acrid reduced characters and then flavours of crisp green pear, mango and green herbs. The palate structure is very good with clean crisp acidity, freshness and the lightly oily pinot gris texture. I can’t work past the reduction here and can’t imagine it typical of the wine. Reviewed but not rated.

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