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I’ve been sitting on this sample for a while - time to write a review…

Lots of pretty florals, a certain delicacy, with lemon, sherbet, and dryness. The palate is tight and quite austere, with lemon and slate, sour fruits, finishing with an acid twang and dryness. This said, it does show a lovely purity of fruit and some good intensity, but it certainly is a style that needs some food. Drink now and over the next few years.

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A blend of 100% estate grown fruit, using the varieties 114, 115 and MV6. Handpicked and aged in French and Hungarian oak barriques. Aromas of cherries and earth, a bit of fennel, tomato and leaf. With time, there was a hint of vanish too. The palate showed red cherries, tomato fruit, some eponymous brownness, with a bit of sap and acid on the finish. Nicely textured with good length, and seems to be showing some age (or at least this bottle was) so I would drink them now. Good value too.

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I have done a surprising amount of tasting this weekend, and I’ll write some of the others up later, but this one makes me want to put fingers (I can touch type in a very awkward kind of way) to keyboard immediately. A crty rxciynh rine.

Aromas of lime, fresh pineapple, cashew nut ice cream, spice and mineral. Light and fragrant. On the palate tight but juicy with pine-lime, vanilla nougat, mineral and spice flavours. It has a fine dry texture with a bright clean acid backbone. Finishes clean, crisp and dry with a spicy lime aftertaste. Complexity and finesse at a bargain price.

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I have tasted this twice now, and while the second bottle is better, I still find it a very curious wine. Enigmatic certainly.

Aromas of cassis, blackberry, stewed plums flecked with vanilla, pepper, a puff from an inner-tube and the scent of a two stroke mower going over long sweet grass. A challenging yet strangely compelling mix of herbal, chemical and fruity smells. On the palate medium to full bodied with raspberry coulis, blackberry, spice and dried herb flavours. It is smooth and lush with plenty of powdery fine grained tannins and good length of flavour. It drinks really well and feels good. I like it but find it very hard to rate rationally.

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The fruit is sourced from vines grown on Deakin University campus and is presumably made there too. I have a range from this producer to taste and based on this sample I’ll be doing them sooner rather than later.

Aromas of red and black berries, pepper and spice. It is meaty and fragrant with a little sweet tomato adding interest; a peppery Cornas style. On the palate medium bodied with black and red fruit, pepper and meaty flavours. The tannins are dry and fine and there is a sappy chalky mouthfeel that is most attractive. Finishes spicy with some sappy flavours. A stylish cool climate shiraz and a dead set bargain at the price.

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A group of us got together to look at “Cellar Discoveries”. There were 28 old wines going back to 1978 which included whites and reds. We took it in turns to present, whites first then reds. Spittoons were provided and most were removed after a brief taste and spit. A couple of surprises were found and this was one of them. The fruit was from Anakie in the Geelong region and it was made by the late Stephen Hickinbotham. The flavours were rather harmonious showing a degree of oxidation but essentially, classic cabernet with a little jam of the raspberry type and maybe a hint of apricot with a touch of fennel. The length was excellent and everyone actually sat back and enjoyed it, especially when it was revealed. Stephen had observed that Bordeaux often got a little botrytis which helped add some complexity to the wine. It would also add a little apricot which is what we began discussing once it was revealed. Once again, the wine has gained a bit of palate weight with age without relying on the higher level of fruit ripeness used in current times. I will be interested to hear if any others out there have old Cabernet based wines made by Stephen.

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On the way back from our visit to Riverland we had a few days with a friend in the sea side town Anglesea. Obviously we try and drink local wine when on tour so this was selected by Wendy. The nose has lovely fresh zingy nectarine aromas with a little honey and maybe a bit of peach. On the palate the same flavours are there and it seems quite nice but to our palates the level of residual sugar was too high. It reminded me of the Taylors Chardonnay we had earlier in the year except this had more obvious sweetness. I knew a winery that had this style about ten years ago and it raced out the door and I am sure at this price point some will like it, but Wendy didn’t have a second glass!

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I am drinking all my old Aussie pinots; after this I am on to 2002s. A murky red in colour. Stalk, beetroot, red cherries, earth, smoke, a touch of caramel and toffee, a bit of tar too. Quite a bit of fruit sweetness on the palate, red cherries and cranberries, with beetroot and stalk, and a bit of meatiness, like ham. I like the feel of the palate, mouthfilling, textured, almost sticky but not quite. It also has good length, with the stalkiness running through the palate, and a lovely soft finish, like resting your head on a fresh pillow at night. Looking good at the moment, and drink over the short term.

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I recently saw a comment from tannin suggesting this wine is a freak, a wine “walking the line between genius and madness”. I had to try my last bottle; it had to be done. Initially, this wine was looking like a candidate for the sink: stewed plums and spice, stalks, white and black pepper, compost, full and rounded, herbal, soft fruits, a wild feral Heathcliffe character, a bit of varnish, rank vegetables and an acetic finish. I was not really sure what to make of it; did I like it or not? After a couple of hours it had settled down, with juicy fruit emerging, and a lovely texture, stalk, raspberries and plums, almost meaty like a steak freshly cooked on the barbeque, but was still a bit vegetal and stalky. The finish is dry; an odd wine indeed but very enjoyable.

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I have no story to tell, but since this is a fun kind of wine I thought I’d tell a quick joke instead. The other day I came home and I disturbed a burglar in my living room - I told him there was no God.

Anyhoo, on to the wine. A medium red. A nose like Jimmy Durante: big and rich; intense blackcurrants and raspberries - I could even smell it when the glass was several feet away - and some light spices. The palate was soft and sweet, plump blackcurrants all mashed up with warm spices, a pure and concentrated wine. On the downside, it is a tad on a shortish side and there is touch of bitterness on the finish, but really, for $12 you cannot complain too much. It should go well at a barbeque.

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This is the last, but not least, of three excellent pinots reviewed this evening. I have always liked Bannockburn but never seem to get round to buying the wines. I drink them at restaurants quite often but somehow never manage to get them into the cellar. Hmmm. Must fix that.

Aromas of dark cherry, beetroot, earth, licorice, roses and a good measure of spicy vanilla oak. On the palate medium bodied with flavours of dark cherry, plum, undergrowth, sap, spice, vanilla and more gamey flavours. Quite rich and intense with firm fine grained grippy tannin. Excellent mouthfeel and length of flavour. Very Australian in style but also very good.

Other vintages reviewed: 2001, 2002

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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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I do like to find one nice thing about a wine before being too critical, but unfortunately this is was not possible, and it completed a quartet of disappointing pinots that I tried yesterday. A particular nose: asphalt, green beans, and a horrid smokiness. Dare I put it in my mouth? Well I did: green beans, red cherries, stalk, quite smooth for what it is, but it is overwhelmed by rank vegetal characters. Bugger.

Other vintages reviewed: 2001

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I had been flat chat for a week and friends asked if we wanted to have a late dinner over masked bottles. This kicked off proceedings. The nose showed lovely solids character with a bit of peach and almond. The palate had lovely texture and length with rich fruit and beautifully integrated oak. Very harmonious. It was a bit like a Giaconda but the oak was less obvious. A bit like a Mersault but the solids character was more obvious than most. We all liked it.

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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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I don’t know too much about this wine (yet) but I do know that the fruit is sourced from the wineries only netted block. Do the birds like shiraz more than pinot? I’ll have to find out. These are important questions. All the wines are made from fruit grown on the Curlewis property located on the Bellarine Peninsula. I think this wine may polarise but I really like it. A lot.

Strong purple red. Aromas of plum/raspberry, lots of pepper and spice, honey glazed ham and a touch of capsicum. A most distinctively perfumed and attractive smelling wine. On the palate medium bodied with flavours of baked plum and raspberry, spice and bitter herbs. Fine grained powdery tannins and fresh acidity. Delicious clove spice finish. A refreshing, savoury and highly drinkable cool climate style. I’m taking this bottle home!

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Austins have revamped this label recently, and I certainly think it is an improvement. I’m not sure if this has been released, as I tasted it from a sample bottle left at a wine store during the week.

A big-ish nose, though not quite Paringa big: morello cherries with some black plums, backed up some spice and earth, a dash of caramel. The palate is ripe and full, but not sweet or overpowering, with red and black fruits and some classy oak. Full across the palate, ripe tannins and some coarse minerality, with a hint of stalk and a drying finish. Modern, clean, honest and good value at $25 (or thereabouts).

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Prince Albert is a small producer in Geelong. The 2 hectare vineyard is a north facing slope of terra rossa soil, 600mm deep on top of limestone/marle. It is planted exclusively to Pinot Noir. After several years of drought, the vineyard has received some good rains, as well as plenty of sunshine.

Quite a light nose: cranberries and vanilla, raspberry jubes, a touch of spice and some pretty florals. The palate shows sweet juicy fruits, red cherries, wood spices, with a certain lightness of being. An attractive wine, though I did find a touch of stalky bitterness on the finish, but it didn’t really detract too much. Fine drinking now, and should age in the medium term.

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A medium red in colour. A palate of red cherry and black pepper, dry woody spices, green stalk – a lovely combination of cool climate characters. The palate shows pure red currants and black cherries, balanced against spices like cinnamon bark and five spice, and ultra-fine tannins. The balance is terrific and length outstanding. An excellent wine.

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Cherry red colour. Aromas of red cherry/strawberry, spice, beetroot and cold tea - with a tiny squeeze of lemon hmmmm and some dusty old drawers with cedar balls in them. No moths. Light to medium bodied with strawberry/cherry, spice and sappy flavours. Bright acidity. Light drying grainy tannins. Falls away on the finish. Nice easy drinking bistro style but probably struggling at this price point in the current market.

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