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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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Good wine this and probably the best Ninth Island I can remember tasting - it has personality and vigour.

Intriguing and challenging with dark cherry, raspberry, spice, Irish Moss (if you remember either the lozenge or the syrup) and a little smoke. On the palate firm and muscular with quite chunky grippy tannins and some tangy acid. It has savoury flavours of peat, undergrowth, black cherry and dried herbs. It’s complex and engaging - an earthy wine with an abundance of personality that finishes with bright acid and decent length of flavour. A winner at this price point.

Other vintages : 2006, 2005, 2005

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I thought I’d give the old Panzer Juice a bit of rest for a while and taste a few more dry Australian Rieslings, although the Tasmanians are a bit closer to the German style than those from the mainland I suppose.

It’s fresh and floral with green apple, lime and at this youthful stage a bit of chest tightening free sulphur. On the palate clean and refreshing with citrus and green apple fruit and a pretty flowery mouth perfume. It has a dry flinty texture with acidity and fruit power striking a fine balance - not too heavy, not too light. Excellent tangy green apple finish too. I like it centurion. I like it.

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I’m not a big fan of Australian sparkling wine generally but this is very good. Maybe I should taste it blind, in amongst a bunch of other fizzy wines, just to keep myself honest. Watch me make a goose of myself. It wouldn’t be the first time. Certainly won’t be the last. It’s not Champagne though, it’s something different - although an equally valid and enjoyable style.

It smells of brioche topped with a little caramel and nuts, citrus, spice and mineral salt - sophisticated and engaging. In the mouth it’s full in flavour with waves of fine rippling bubbles, balanced clean acidity and has gentle charm throughout. It has creamy spicy flavours of cracked wheat, lemon and a mineral/salty character and closes with good length and again that attractive salty mineral tang. Lovely wine where bottle age adds an extra dimension of complexity and finesse.

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I opened this up last night, had a quick taste, and thought it was pretty good. Now I think it’s outstanding.

It’s complex and nuanced with myriad smells - pear, white peach, almonds, milk (slightly sour), vanilla and clove spice oak. On the palate it bursts open with a river of lip smacking grapefruity acidity flowing over a bed of flint and mineral. Dry, tight and focussed it tastes of pear, citrus, spice and almonds but also has a savoury richness to offset the sparkling diamond-like acidity. Finishes long and clean leaving the mouth feeling thoroughly refreshed. Cool, classy and invigorating.

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Made from fruit from Relbia in Northern Tasmania (50%), Richmond in the Coal Valley (25%) and Cambridge also in the Coal Valley (25%). Yields were between 2.4 and 3.2 tonnes per acre. Fermented using an inoculated yeast in 1/2 and 1 tonne open fermenters that were hand plunged 3 times daily. Barrel matured for 10 months in 50% new and 50% seasoned French oak barriques. Pad filtered before bottling.

Showing fruit aromas mainly in the cherry and strawberry spectrum, but not without some hints of secondary development, old woody spices like cassia bark, and a bit of varnish too. The palate showed soft fruits, cherries and a bit of spice, lightly bodied and quite delicate. The fruit does seem to be falling a bit, and it lacks some oomph through the palate. Finishes with some sap and a touch of greenish stalk. Pleasant enough drinking and okay value, but not a cellarer.

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This may not appeal if you are looking for a slatey South Australian style, but if you are up for explosive sweet fruit and length of flavour then this could be right up your alley.

Aromas of sugar coated apple lollies, passionfruit skins, lavender, spice and lemon drops. Slightly flinty and sweaty. On the palate intense sweet green apple, lemon and flowers with some flinty minerally flavours. Off dry and quite tight with crunchy acidity and a long sweet fruited finish. A showstopper.

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Fascinating styles these Tasmanian Rieslings. Nothing much like Clare or Eden and perhaps more towards a German style than anything else. I tasted this alongside its non tigery (and more expensive) sister and while they are similar, they are also quite different.

Quite sweaty with passionfruit, flowers, green apple and lime jumping out of the glass. It has an almost ‘Pez’ like confectionary aspect. On the palate light and fine but an explosion of juicy passionfruit, green apple and lime flavour. There is a real burst of sweet fruit on the mid-palate coupled with crystal clear acidity and remarkable length of flavour. Leaves you feeling refreshed and a little bit startled. Top wine.

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‘Bay of Fires’ and ‘Tigress’. Doubly evocative. I am really liking these 2006 Tasmanian Pinots; they have a purity and clarity that is most appealing.

Wide open and expressive with cherries, meat, undergrowth, spice and sweet vanilla oak. On the palate medium bodied with pure red fruit, undergrowth, cinnamon bark and vanilla flavours. It has fine grained sappy tannins and sparkling fresh acidity providing an airy fluffy texture. Really lively and seductive - a pleasure to drink. Closes with an expansive spicy rose tinged red fruited aftertaste. An absolute blinder.

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I remember buying about two dozen of the 2000 SLW Primavera some years ago. Loved it. It was a dark full bodied ‘Shiraz drinkers Pinot’ that satisfied from beginning to end. Recent vintages are looking finer and more complex.

Bright crimson red. Fragrant and juicy with an array of raspberry, strawberry and cranberries, a little bark and earth with a dab of vanilla oak. Sprightly and fresh in a Beaujolais sort of way. On the palate light to medium bodied with juicy summer berry, cherry and cranberry fruit, vanilla and some slightly earthy characters. Dry and crunchy with fine sappy tannins and a dry finish (although not expansive or long). A delicious wine.

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A bunch of Pinot makers met to watch the football Grand Final so we sipped on some Pinots. I have not tried much wine from Andrew Pirie in recent years so was keen to try this. Andrew has probably forgotten more than most of us know about wine and is a real believer in Tasmania as a Pinot region. He produces several levels and if I understand correctly this is part of the Estate range. This wine has a clean cherry nose with maybe a hint of spice and some subtle oak. The palate is very supple but not exactly a fruit bomb. The flavours are quite subtle and long and will probably fill out over the next few years.

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I wasn’t at all sure about this wine at first as it looked all arms and legs. Very backwards with high acid and some hardness on the palate yet pure fruited and well structured. Quality certainly. Perhaps this is a keeper? So I put it in the fridge and tasted it a day later. Much better again with my suspicions starting to be confirmed. Now on the third day I think I can see clearly.

Bright clear cherry red in colour. Aromas of red cherry, raspberry, some violet perfume, a little sap and some cinnamon and vanilla oak in support. Very clear and direct. On the palate light to medium bodied with bright clean fruit showing cherry and red berry flavours with a touch of meatiness and some spicy vanilla oak. It feels fresh with slightly tart acidity and light but firm dry tannin. This delivers pure fruit travelling a happy journey from the front to the back of the palate with no stops along the way. Just don’t drink it too young.

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Third in my series of wines that are likely to polarise but this time it’s one I really like. It reminds me a fair bit of a good Beaujolais Villages with its meaty strawberry flavours and it kept my interest throughout.

Aromas of cherry, blood plum, pink sausage meat, sap and light vanilla oak. On the palate medium bodied with cherry, fresh strawberry, meat and sappy flavours. It has bright acidity, a bit of firm grippy tannin and feels fresh and balanced throughout. Dry finish. The more I tasted it the more I liked it the more I tasted it…and so on. A happy result all round.

Other vintages : 2005, 2005

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On our second night staying with friends Brent and Janice this wine was produced with a superb Lamb dish. I have not had wines from here for some time and I seem to recall Linc muttering something similar. The nose shows dark cherry with an earthy edge. On the palate I saw a whole range of flavours that had me thinking it had a style like many Pinots from Central Otago. It had some sweet red cherry flavours with a little of the sour style Morello cherry on the middle palate. The tannins were fine and the acid was pretty firm. Reckon it needs a little time to fill out. I used the website to get the price.

Other vintages : 2005

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I’d like to drink a lot more Tasmanian Pinot but you really have to go looking for it. I can feel a regional feature coming on if I can get the wineries to play along…

Aromas of bramble fruit, cherry, soil and attractive pencilly spicy oak. A very appealing and classy mix of mineral and subtle fruit. On the palate medium bodied with cherry and raspberry fruit, graphite and a little spicy cinnamon oak. Fresh and slightly sappy with firm tannins it tastes dry and minerally rather than showy and fruity. Finishes dry with good length. Refreshingly sophisticated or sophisticatedly refreshing. Either way I love it.

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I opened this alongside a Deutz Marlborough Cuvee because my theme today was ’sparkling wines ending with the letter Z’. Sadly the Deutz was horridly corked. Ed Carr, sparkling winemaker for Hardies (and nothing to do with Deutz I hasten to add) is convinced that cork is the best closure for fizzy wines, to which I say ‘Pffffffffffffffffffft’.

Aromas of strawberry, white peach, honey nougat, fennel and little spice. Quite sweet but very pretty. On the palate is just off dry with nectarine, summer berry and some creamy cashew and nougat flavours. Gentle acidity and a light prickly but persistent mousse. Good crisp finish. A lovely easy going style.

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This is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay although I have to confess that when we had it I had no idea of its blend. The blend works very well. The aromas show yeast complexity and pinot style fruit, broad with upper sweet berry flavours. The palate has firm acid with a bit of sweetness on the finish but this is kept in check by the acid. The broad fruit yields to the chardonnay which leaves a little citrus tickle on the finish. Good fizz and well priced.

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The wine is bright although the colour seems a little developed for an ‘05. The nose bursting with red fruits and a little spice. The palate is also rather yummy too. Flavours are full of red cherry, a little blueberry and a spicey oak bit at the end. The finish seems slightly odd but the overall package is very nice and the concern I have with the finish vanishes when consumed with food. It is getting up there in price but I found it preferable to several ‘05 Burgundies that were more expensive.

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I’d love to see more Tasmanian pinot but I reckon they hide it all down south. Thank goodness for Jim Chatto who ferrets out nice parcels and makes it into excellent wine up in the Hunter. Now he just needs to knock out a classic Hunter Shiraz Pinot blend….

Aromas of raspberry, strawberry, roses, stalk, brown sugar and spicy oak. On the palate medium bodied with spicy red fruit, meat and sap and a light toffee veneer. Tight and slightly tart with a firm acid backbone and attractive grainy tannins. A wine of some precision and focus. Long spicy red fruited finish. Really good stuff.

Other vintages reviewed : 2005

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A Tasmanian Chardonnay that has been awarded a Gold Medal at the Tasmanian Wine Show. The nose is all about cool climate chardonnay showing melon, a bit of citrus and some apple. The palate is very similar with medium length and a very firm acid finish. It seemed to suggest that it wanted to be left alone for a day to open up, but two days later it was very similar, with the acid being very assertive. Those who like their Chardonnays lightly oaked with a firm acid finish will like this. Those who like the Kesner Californian style toasty oak and rich will not like it at all.

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