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Jump in the tardis for a tick because even though Gary has just reviewed the ‘07, I am going to step back in time for moment and review the ‘06. I think it should still be available. A rich red in colour, and an attractive nose showing red fruits, liquorice, spice, blackberries, meat, and a touch of earth. The wine is lovely and soft in the mouth, with sweet fruits, cherries and blackberries, ripe tannins and a dangerous suppleness. Get stuck into it - it offers excellent value.

Other vintages: 2007, 2006, 2005

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Again this is a blend of 60% Hilltops and 40% Hunter Valley and again it’s a very smart wine at the price.

It’s spicy and saucy with plum, black fruit, pepper and the barest lick of dusty old oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with plenty of spice, a mix of plum skins, juicy dark cherry, a few dried herbs and a bit of smoke. It has balanced acidity, lightly chalky open weave tannins and a good spicy finish. A young giant killer from the Hills and the Valley - I’d suspect it has a little room for further improvement too.

Other vintages: 2006, 2005

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Mature vineyards (20 years old) in Kingsvale (60%) in the Hilltops GI and Hunter Valley (40%) located in New South Wales are the fruit source for the 2006 vintage release.

Aromas of blackberry, plenty of spice, dark chocolate, smoky bacon and some earthiness. All very nice. It has a medium to full bodied palate with blackberry and dark cherry fruit, spice, dark chocolate and earthy flavours. Firm dry lightly grippy tannins and good weight (not too heavy, not too light) so that you can drink heartily and well (but no more than your allotted two standard drinks per day mind you..) at a very keen price. Outstanding value.

Other vintages: 2005

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A blend of 55% Sangiovese from Orange and 45% Shiraz from Young.

Red cherries and earth, a bit of dirt too, with roasted nuts and old wood. The palate showed cherries and earth, plums and a bit of leather, spice and roasted nuts. It has the verve of the Sangiovese and the plumminess of the Shiraz. Pleasantly fruited with a lovely richness and pretty good length. With time, it moved more towards black fruits. Also, I should mention that this looked a little flat straight out of the bottle and it took a while to come out of its shell, so but patient. A tidy price too.

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I think this is the only Meerea Park wine that includes some non-Hunter fruit. I think it is an export jobby where they kept a bit back for local sales to local people.

Aromas of dried cherry, raspberry pie, smoky bacon, dried herbs and spice. Curious smelling wine but I like it. On the palate medium to full bodied with dried cherry, raspberry, dried herb and earthy flavours. Smooth texture with some grainy tannins. Gamey raspberry finish of good length. Very good wine at this price.

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My goodness..no problem getting the grapes ripe in them there Hilltops. The picture is of a cork sealed bottle but yes the wine is screwcap. I am getting lazy in my old age and don’t do much photography anymore.

Aromas of cassis, blackberry, beef stock, felt pen, vanilla and licorice. On the full bodied palate a wine of considerable scale and richness with plum, cassis, licorice, dried herb and savoury beefy flavours. Smooth ripe tannins and a slippery texture with just a little warmth from alcohol. Long spiced plum and berry finish. Too big for me but a very good wine, although not particularly varietal.

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I have been sitting on this note for a while, and it is starting to feel uncomfortable, so here it is:

A lifted nose, showing pretty florals, black cherries, plums, spice, and just a bit of gunsmoke. The palate is quite tasty, but very primary, with plummy fruits, spice, white pepper and cassia bark. It is rich but not sweet, with some super tannins and a focussed dryness. Needs a couple of years to blossom I reckon. Oh, and when I finally got around to looking at the back label it came as no surprise to find that it was made by Tim Kirk.

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Some technical facts first: this wine is a blend of 99% Shiraz and 1% Viognier, and was matured in 30% new French oak, 10% new American oak, with the balance in 1-2 year old oak, 80% French and 20% American, for 13 months. Quite a mouthful indeed. Blackfruits and spices, smoked blackcherries, nutmeg and black pepper. The palate is dry, blackcherries and red cherries, dry barky spices, an elegant shiraz no doubts, with reserved fruits framed by quite a bit of oak at the moment. Lovely tannins too. A bit unyielding perhaps, though hopefully it become more generous with a little sleep.

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I don’t think you need a preamble on Meerea Park, because you should have seen quite a bit of their wine reviewed here. And deservedly so - they are an excellent modern Hunter producer. This wine is made from Hilltops and Orange fruit. A rich nose, sweet brambly fruit, barbeque sauce (yes, Gary was spot on), a bit of coconut, and finally a hint of molasses and something a bit fishy. Now these slightly odd descriptors shouldn’t put you off, because it is quite an interesting and complex nose. The palate is firm and assertive, rich black Cabernet fruits with mocha, coffee beans and some nutty savouriness. Good length too, and gets a snappy thumbs up for value for money.

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My Brother in law Roger produced this wine to go with the Cassoulet that he made for dinner. How do I repay such kindness? At 72ish he goes to bed early so I resume work in the winery. Their bedroom has a wall in common with the winery. I tried to minimize the noise but…. Anyway, about the wine. I see the style as being a link between the rich style of warmer climes and the pepper bombs of the cooler climes. It’s not plush and it doesn’t gush but its very nice and went really well with the Cassoulet. It has definite shiraz berry flavour with a little blackberry and some licorice in back. Yes its tight but I see it opening up with time. There is a little of it left in the retail sector and it is drinking well but I would like to see it in 3 to 5 years time so grab some and hide it. The 2006 is due for release any day now so follow Roger down to Clonakilla and try it.

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Hilltops sounds like the right sort of area in which to grow nebbiolo and I think that provides a suitably nebulous introduction to this tasting note. Anyway, based on this wine it does look quite promising. I slooped a little slurp out of the bottle yesterday to check it out with a view to leaving it open for a day before tasting. Good move. It looks much better tonight which is hardly so very surprising (I lead a very exciting life and honey is my favourite fare). I also sniffed this out of a variety of glasses. First an ISO (not much), then Chianti (better), next Riedel shiraz (better again) and lastly out of a Riedel Bordeaux (best and most complete by a margin) thus generally confirming my theory that nebbiolo is amongst the most noble of grapes. The fragrance of pinot with the strength and structure of cabernet. I wish I could afford to drink a whole lot more of it.

Aromas of dark plum, red fruits, roses, tobacco and a couple of choc-licorice bullets with a touch of volatility providing a little tweak. On the palate medium to full bodied with red fruits, cherry cola lollies, tobacco, earth and a little bitter dark chocolate. Firm tannic backbone and clean fresh acidity. Slight warmth from alcohol but not intrusive. Dry lightly tannic finish of good length. Lots of potential here I think.

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I have been a bit tardy getting a note up on this wine. It has been in the inbox for a while and now it is in the outbox. I would have loved to have been a bureaucrat - especially if it involved using a big stamp that says ‘TASTED’ and then I could fill in the date and stuff. That would be exciting.

This has a certain cool blackcurrant/blackberry aroma with mint, cedar and tobacco. On the palate medium bodied with smooth fine grained tannins and flavours of blackcurrant, chocolate, tobacco and mint. Finishes with firm creamy tannins and a tobacco and blackcurrant aftertaste. This has excellent poise and balance. A lovely and very affordable cabernet.

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This is the only non-Hunter Valley wine made by Meerea Park. It is the 8th vintage of this wine since the first release in 1996. The blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% merlot.

As I removed the capsule I espied an odd looking cork. Is that a Diam I see there? Yes it is – sensible folks there at Meerea Park. Tremendous colour – inky purple, almost black – you can see the stains on the label. Blackberries and malt on the nose, rich and luscious with a dash of spearmint. On the palate, big and muscular, ripe black and red fruits, dried fruitcake, chocolate, but with drying savoury coffee beans on the finish. Bloody ripe for a cool climate wine, but not jammy, and ably supported by the oak. I don’t know how they pack so much flavour in there for $19 – terrific value.

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