Leasingham Bin 8 Riesling

I'm trying not to buy a lot of wine because I'm still struggling to figure out how I'm going to get what I have to the US without sacrificing my liver....but I recently came across a killer deal and I couldn't resist.

Leasingham Bin  8 K.S. Riesling 2008.
Leasingham has gone through some ownership issues and whether as a result of that or just the market, they have stopped exporting to the US although they still export to Europe. 
The K.S. stands for Kabinett Style which basically means it has a bit of residual sugar.  Personally I don't mind a bit of residual sugar as long as the acidity balances it out...I rarely get to see any quality Australian Rieslings (ones not made to be simple and sweet) with RS.  The few I see have a very small bit of RS...this one actually has significantly more than what I might see from Lethbridge or Pressing Matters (both of which I think are great).   Nose has a good amount of Petrol and lime.  This smells like a typical dry Australian Riesling with some age on it.  It is actually quite nice.  Some people might be put off by it but I think it is quite nice.  Nose is a bit simpler than I'd like I didn't really give this a chance to get a lot of air.  The nose should have led me to this but the palate was actually quite surprising.  The best way to describe it is a good amount of RS but that strong Australian acid backing it.  Unlike German Rieslings which seem to seamlessly integrate the sugar as part of the wine...this is very much like half DRY Australian riesling, with the mouthfeel and acidity and that strong Clare Valley Riesling touch to it, combined with a Riesling that has a bit of RS.  Don't get me wrong, it is actually quite nice.  Lime, petrol, a bit of sweetness but it is quite balanced with very good acidity.  Good minerality.  I'm really enjoying the fact that  this has a that aged Riesling taste (even though it is only from 2008) but a bit of sugar...

I'm of two minds on this wine..
On one hand, I can see this being liked by non wine geeks and wine geeks alike...On the other,  I'm not quite sure this would compete properly in the same space as Kabinett German Rieslings...While I think this was quite enjoyable, there is something awkward about the wine.  The ones I've seen with just a touch of RS feel very integrated and you can just catch the glimpse of sweetness....This one really did feel like it wanted to be dry but it wasn't.   It certainly doesn't help that the Australian market thinks this would be more like a dessert wine (which it definitely is NOT..this wine wants food food).  I do like this wine..I'm glad I have some bottles left...I'm also looking forward to having it with some spicy food in the near future.  If you're looking for something completely different than what you might normally see as Riesling in Australia, definitely give this a go. 

James Halliday's iPhone Application

One of the better apps on the iPhone for wine in Australia is the James Halliday Wine Companion.  While I'm not really a big fan of James Halliday's reviews, there is no doubt he has had a huge impact on the wine industry in Australia.  Unfortunately, like many in the wine industry, his grasp on the current environment and technology is terrible and the way his publishing company is running his app is incompetent if not borderline thievery. 

The 2012 version of the app was plagued with problems on release.  It would crash, you couldn't update it to get updated notes...They finally released a stable version in March of 2012.  As far as updated notes were concerned, there wasn't any since January or December and no other notes came out.  So pretty poor on his part to not release a few more (why bother saying you'll do it if you don't want to or plan to).  Some time in July they lowered the price because the new version of the app was to be released...ok, fair enough.

Apple then released iOS 6.0.  Guess what?  You could buy the app but it wouldn't work on iOS 6.0.  So essentially if you had bought it in July, a couple of months later you couldn't use the app at all.  Requests to update their application were ignored. 

They then release the newest version of the application which is subscription based.  While I have no issues with a subscription based service, what I do have issues with is they've basically had their previous version being sold after iOS 6.0 came out yet they haven't bothered to fix that (2011 still works so in many ways I feel like they broke 2012  intentionally).  So you have a history of a problematic application that is now subscription based and a history of not having updated tasting notes...and why should people now subscribe to this?  If they had a history of a stable application with constant updates this would be less of an issue..but since they just screwed over their customers, why should anyone trust them?  Not to mention the first version of the subscription based one didn't work right...

What I find even more disgusting is because the application was getting hammered by reviewers, they put up a bunch of shill reviews.  When you get reviewers talk about how they use it daily (the day the only working version came out) or how it gets updated tasting notes all the time (which is impossible at this point), you know they're shills...It is absolutely one of the most disgusting things I've seen from some that is so highly respected in  Australia. 

I have a hint for you James Halliday, get a new publisher.  I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you don't realize how much damage these guys are doing to your reputation and how much you've ripped off your loyal customers.  

Vinturi or not to Vinturi

Most wine people are aware of a device call a Vinturi...When pouring a glass you pour the wine through the Vinturi which then aerates the wine..opening it up and doing all sorts of good things according to the company....

I have one and have used it quite a bit..but does it really work?  And does it improve your wine?

Yes and Maybe.

It definitely aerates the wine...and feeding it oxygen to kick off that chemical process..There is no doubt about that...

But does it improve your wine?  Maybe.  Sometimes you want to see the evolution of the wine...especially with older wines, you might skip something really fantastic about the wine that is only going to last a short while...

I rarely use my Vinturi any longer...at least not when I'm drinking at home.  I'd much rather just wait and swirl it around and watch the wine evolve...

There are times though..especially with guests..where you don't have time to wait for a wine that is just too tight....and it really just needs that kick in the behind to get it going.  It is those times you're glad you have it and happy you're using it because it definitely helps...

More Hunter Valley

Had the chance to visit the Hunter awhile back (again :)) but didn't have a chance to post about it..

On this trip we went to see a few different places plus some of the same..

Lakes Folly
Piggs Peake
Bimbadgen
Meerea Park
Pepper Tree

Lakes Folly Cabernet 2010
I remember this standing out to me because it was a very nice medium bodied, high acid Cabernet that didn't strike me as a Cabernet..it was quite nice.   I can see why some people might not like this but I thought it was quite good.  Nice wonderful red fruit with enough tannins for structure but just this really nice mouthfeel because of the fresh acid....This is very much a Cabernet made like a Hunter Shiraz...it's good.

Piggs Peake Cabernet 2009
Huge alcohol big brooding Cab that is almost borderline sweet.  Not overly tannic, relatively good acid...nice bright fruit..but I think what stands out is you can tell the wine is highish alcohol but it doesn't come across as hot....the alcohol does give it a fair bit of weight but you can see why this would be a crowd pleaser...They say it'll age, I'm not sure as I don't have enough experience with Piggs Peake to know...but really, the way it is right now I'm not sure you want it to age...

Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon 2006
I'm not sure why I didn't buy some of this..I always tell myself to buy some...maybe it is because I have a relatively good stash of Semillon and I have very few people to share it with (actually I know this is it).  Either way, my not buying it shouldn't reflect how good this is...it is very good.  Wonderful acid that is still going strong...Wonderful development with Honey and Toasty notes....close to the Stevens Vineyard is what I'm told...I'm glad this wine is getting the recent recognition it deserves as it has, to me, been the pick of their Semillon...And unlike the Alexander Munro, the acid is still right there...great buy...

Ferraris Shiraz 2010
I really do wish the Boutique Winemakers Centre was still there rather than just Meerea Park...They had Ferraris, Glenguin, Chateau Pato...a lot of good stuff...In any case, Ferraris is now being carried by the Pokolbin Winemakers Outlet.  The last vintage I had of this was 2007 and I thought back then it was very good value.  The 2010 is no different...Very nice Red fruits...medium bodied, good acid..very Hunterish but not too Hunterish..I can see this appealing to a much larger scope of people as it lacked the really strong leather and sweat but still, this was definitely a Hunter Shiraz...I forget how much I paid but it was either 20 or 22 or something like that..Great value...

Of course there were quite a few other wines I had on this trip but these are the only ones I've bothered to mention....I think the biggest disappointment for me was Pepper Tree...it didn't have anything to do w/ the quality of their wines but the selection available for tasting was basically nothing...All of the wines I would have loved to taste weren't available..and what was really wasn't a good representation of their winery...

What would you buy with $200 AUD?

My friends here in Australia were kind enough to give me a great gift which was a gift card to Dan Murphys...

Now, on one hand, I have too much wine as it is and at some point I'll be moving back to the US so if anything, I should be getting RID of my wine.  Instead I have bought 6 bottles of Leasingham Bin 8 Riesling (which is made in a Kabinett Style) because the were dirt dirt cheap from Winestar at 5 dollars each...and I figure they'd be good for Indian, Thai and my wife who likes a bit of RS.  So with this very generous gift I need to think of something to get....

There are several things I know I won't get...which is stuff I have bought in the US for significantly less..so that removes any Rockford or Clonakilla from the mix.

I also don't want to buy anything that I can get overseas for less..so basically any import is automatically a no (except maybe NZ but not likely NZ).

Stuff I'm considering:

Mt. Edelstone
Bass Phillip Premium if available

Lethbridge stuff although this would be on the lower end  which is not what I want...If they  carried the Allegra, Mietta or Indra I'd be all over it...

If I'm going down that route I could also look at Yabby Lake, Ten Minutes by Tractor, etc...but I would like to avoid buying several bottles as I still don't know how I'd get them back to the US. 

Anyone have any suggestions?  

Wine and a cake!

Had a few friends over to enjoy some wine and food...and a cake!

Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 1998
I am fully convinced Tyrrells makes THE BEST Semillon in the world.  1998 and 1999, every single time I have them, are utterly fantastic.
I  pop this one open, cork is in great shape...pour a little, not getting too much but at least it isn't corked...so far so good.
The wine is really tight...I'm really not getting much from the nose.  The palate was really tight..not getting much from it either..the acid seems rather low at this point..I'm a bit disappointed.  My friend thinks it is over the hill...I don't see how though unless it is completely oxidized but I think it would taste differently...
Near the end of the first glass and a LOT of swirling, the wine starts to wake up a bit..acid is coming through..nose is coming through...My friend asks if I have a Vinturi..and what do you know, I do.  Give that a go and wow...I normally don't care if I use a Vinturi and it only makes a slight difference here or there...This time it made a HUGE difference.
Honey, grass, biscuits and toast on the nose...this is what I love about aged Semillon.  Still had a lot of very lively acid which is fantastic...This has at least another 5+ years....Honeysuckle, toast and a just a tad of lanolin on the palate....ever so slight.  I really love this stuff.  I have yet to be bored of good aged Semillon, maybe because I don't get enough opportunities to drink really good ones or maybe because it is just that good..either way, great way to start the evening.

Meerea Park Terracotta Shiraz 2002.  This is actually a Shiraz Viognier but it is labelled as a Shiraz.   I'm going to guess because every year it doesn't hit that 5% Viognier but who knows.
I've always had mixed feelings about this line from Meerea Park...At its best, you get very nice florals and aromatics combined with this added depth and softness to the shiraz....at its worst it is quite  harsh on the palate and the Viognier seems to stick out but only the bad parts...This was a combination of the two.  Wonderful aromatic nose...red fruits, some smokiness, some very savory notes coming from the nose..a bit of herbs...quite nice.  The palate still had great acidity, a wonderful array of red fruits, cherries even.  It didn't have that overly savory characteristic I tend to see from Australian SV's and I'm going to guess it is because of the bottle age...This is actually very Rhone like and while I hate using that term...it was actually very much like a Cote Rotie...BUT, at the end there was this slight spike of something...I'm going to guess Viognier..that didn't go down quite right with a few other people..but I thought was fine.

Yering Farm "John's Estate" Winemakers Selection Limited Release 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. 
This was the first "Premium" type wine I bought in Australia while on a trip to Melbourne.  I actually think I bought it before moving to Australia and I think I even took it back to the US and then back here again.  I had somewhat low expectations for this wine for several reasons.  First off, it has gone through a lot of travel and probably more than a few less than ideal storing conditions.  Secondly, I felt this would be on the end of its life based on other things I read...  Third, my palate has changed quite a bit from when I bought this so I wasn't sure what to expect...
I cut off the wax capsule, popped the cork...so far it all looks ok.  The nose has some very nice herbal notes and a lot of red fruit.  It smells a lot  fresher than I would have expected it to and the color of the wine isn't showing its age nearly as much as I would have expected.  Still very bright, no signs of bricking at all...Interesting...
Palate had loads of very FRESH red fruits..bright fruit..I'm really really shocked...Maybe it is because this was the 4th wine of the evening...I'm not really sure but this is really standing out.  Some herbs on the palate, a very slight touch of mocha...The palate had great acidity...The tannins are very well integrated...From memory the tannins on this were very fine and silky when I bought it so this isn't a big surprise...This is actually very much in a style that I'd like today but really just odd ball luck.  I doubt I liked this before because of the acidity but the cool climate of the Yarra probably just pulled it out for me....I'm really sad to see this one go but it was a good time to open it...

Franciscan Estate Merlot 2008.
A wine a friend bought from their trip to the Napa.  Franciscan has always made a relatively good wine at a reasonable price and this is no exception.  Nice solid fruit, well made wine but maybe a bit simple compared to the others...Granted, the others had a bit of age as well...Overall a good wine, good QPR..

And lastly....A cake that my wife made for me....The best cake someone has ever made for me...Tops the bear cake my mom made for me when I was 3 which eventually fell over.  R2D2 in his Iron Man costume. 

Tasting in the USA

I've done a number of tastings in the US but this was the first time I actually made sure I went to a number of different ones (normally I don't go to more than one per trip).

Wine Exchange Beaujolais Day.  November 17, 2012.

I've been to a number of tastings at Winex and they generally do a pretty good job.  They have little snacks if you want.  They have plenty of seats, plenty of spit buckets.....You get a few people there to drink wine but you get just as many wine geeks that are there to taste...  The ones I've been to tend to have about 15-20 different things to try.

Most of the Beaujolais they  had for tasting was ok.  Good acid, lowish tannins...Wine Exchange has a good buyer so it was really hard to go wrong.  At the same time, a majority of what they had available was pretty boring as well.

The only shocker was the

Chateau des Jacques Moulin-A-Vent Champ de Cour 2009.  At 30 dollars it is an expensive Beaujolais but I'm not even sure I'd call this a Beaujolais....Big, almost vanilla like oak on the nose, big fruit...dark dark fruit...It was almost like an Australian Pinot...except the use of oak was very good (not overpowering) and the wine was still very medium bodied.  I've heard people refer to Moulin-A-Vent Beaujolais as very Burg like and this definitely reminded me of that.  Good acidity, nice dark fruit, more tannic than I'd think a Beaujolais would have...nice depth to the wine...I'd like to try this again in a year or so..is was very good.   


Hi Time Wine Cellars "Super Bad Ass" California tasting November 23, 2012.

The first time I've actually been to Hi Time for a tasting...to be honest, I was pretty disappointed.  You can definitely see, people come here to DRINK not to taste.  They charge a lot for the number of wines you get to taste..and that is probably because they serve you double or more the amount you might have at a tasting.  On the good side, if you want to go somewhere and drink wine...these aren't a bad deal..you'd see tons of people show up with some cheese they bought and just sit there and drink drink drink...I think I was one of only two people that actually spit.

I think there was like 8 California wines and 1 Washington wine....They were all pretty good..well made..nothing wrong w/ them...I wasn't excited about any of them either.  The more expensive wines had more structure..the less expensive ones were more drink now...I'm sure people would be very happy to drink them..I'd happily drink them..but I'm not sure I'd buy any of them.  They were, IMO, typical CA wines...Well made, tasted good, but overpriced for what you get.  Oddly enough, the most interesting wine was a heavily oak CA Chardonnay..and not because I thought it was really interesting..but because I haven't had one of those in quite awhile.

Wine Exchange Burgundy tasting November 24, 2012

Probably one of the most expensive Winex tastings, but it is Burgundy so it was to be expected.

A lot of good stuff...they really do have great buyers here...only disliked one wine, the rest were all very good...so for those that think Burgundy is full of land mines, the great thing w/ the buyers here is they tend to not pick those...

Robert Denogent Macon-Fuisse Les Taches 2010.
I haven't had too many Chards from Macon..and the ones I've had were almost salty....This was a very nice Chardonnay, great acidity, good balance..felt old world but quite fresh.  A good buy at 24 dollars.

Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2010.
A bit tight on the nose but getting a bit of citrus...Once I try it, it definitely sings of Burgundy..especially in the mouthfeel...good acidity, good use of oak...wine is a bit tight but oddly enough, the finish was crazy long...I could hardly believe it.  It isn't that I wasn't expecting a long finish from a white Burgundy but it still felt like it needed more air and more time..and yet it delivered a long long long finish...The downside?  90 dollars.....

Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Clos des Myglands "Monopole" 1er Cru  2010.
Nose is a little tight but palate had great acidity, great depth..not overly tannic for a 1er Cru this young...I'm not sure this is built to last..but for 30 dollars it is a great buy..

Domaine Charles Audoin Gevery Chambertin 2010
Very good structure, great acidity..for 43 dollars this was a very good Gevrey Chambertin.

Other notables:
Domaine Tortochot Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2010
Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits Saint Georges Clos de L'Arlot 'Monopole' 1er Cru 2010
Domaine Charles Audion Marsannay Les Favieres 2010
Domine des Heritiers Louis Jadot Corton Pougets Grand Cru 2010
Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny Les Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru 2010

Five Nations Wine Challenge 2012

This is a yearly even that is held in Australia and judged by a number of well known critics.

The Five Nations are:

Australia
New Zealand
Argentina
South Africa
Chile

The five judges select 110 different wines from their home country to compete against the wines from the other countries.  For example, Bob Campbell respresented New Zealand and Huon Hook represented Australia.

They had a good broad range of different types of wine and for the most part the quality was above average.

BUT

The tasting part of the show was so poorly run, I have to question the experience of whomever was putting it on.

Let's start off with how you get a ticket in the first place:

Your options were to fax it (secure but a bit out of date).
or
E-mail it.  Sounds pretty benign except only someone completely ignorant would send their credit card details over something like E-mail which is not secure.  I'm not saying these people should really understand all the technical stuff behind getting credit card information but certainly doing it this way is a bit of a joke.
Don't have a secure shopping card?  Have the information sent over SSL off of your website.  DO NOT HAVE PEOPLE E-MAIL YOU THEIR CREDIT CARD DETAILS.

Ok so no big deal...fax it in...get the ticket (which btw was just a word document with no way to verify if you actually bought one or not).

The show was moved from its previous room at the Four Seasons to a larger room at the Four Seasons..perfect...no point in getting squeezed together...EXCEPT....
They didn't seem to have very many tables..so you had a very large room with just enough tables to fit the wine shoulder to should across all of the tables..so on the outside you had tons of free space (For what I'm not sure) and on the inside you had a ton of people squeezing in trying to get a taste.

So you had a rather unprofessionally organized event to start off...and then it gets better (worse).

It is on a Friday night...in the city...so half the people there are showing up not to taste but to get pissed drunk....People pouring each other nearly full glasses of some wine..chatting it up across the table so no one could get in..For a social event where you just want to drink some wine and come home completely off your face, it would've been great....For a tasting it was terrible.

What made this worse is there was only one bottle of any given wine.  Ok, so not only are you doing this on a Friday night where you know all of the piss heads will show up and get to pour their own "tastes" but you supply a single bottle....I'm sure these wineries donated their wine for the show so I'm not sure why they'd only have a single bottle left for the tasting...who knows..

Luckily for me, I figured out that there wouldn't be enough wine to taste the ones I wanted to taste so I skipped from whites to reds for a bit and back...not exactly ideal but I would've missed out more than I did...

And finally, one of the most annoying things you can have at these events...a lack of spit buckets....There were spit buckets..small ones....spread out across the tables...but there weren't many (I'd guess about 12 in total for the entire room).  This made for a terrible time if you were there to actually taste and not drink...another indication that their target market was for the after work Sydney crowd to come and get pissed on some wine..great.

There were some other minor annoying things...
The wine that they had available to buy was set aside on a different table...but no way you'd actually know that without running across it...luckily at some point I did...In many ways this was good as it ended up hiding some wine from people that I'm sure would've just come and poured themselves a few glasses full...
 There was absolutely no rhyme or reason to how the bottles were placed the table except that they were in their general area.  Example, Chardonnay was in the Chardonnay section...but the bottles were in alphabetical order or by vintage (which doesn't make sense to do anyways) or even by country..they were basically randomly put out across the section.....It meant if you were actually looking for something specific, it took longer than it should have..

So that was the show itself...for me, because of all the pressure to hurry up, because it was so crowded, I felt incredibly rushed...

Overall, glad I got to to but really annoyed at how it was organized...Sorry to rant about it but I figure if they ever get around to searching what people thought of the show, maybe they'll read this and make improvements...

Now to the WINE

Overall the quality of the wine was quite good...with a few very ordinary wines but for the most part, because of how the wines were selected, the overall selection was excellent.

Caro 2009 from Argentina.  Consisting of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, I had never heard of this label but was quite surprised at it its structure and complexity.  Dark fruit, some herbs.  It was very very tannic...but the fruit still managed to come out.  The wine shifted as it was in my mouth and I was actually quite surprised.  I do wish it had a bit more acid but overall this looks to be a pretty good wine in 10+ years..it'll probably take that long for the tannins to soften..

Newton Forrest Cornerstone 2009 from New Zealand.  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec blend.  First thing that strikes me is this is a fairly medium bodied Bordeaux blend...More red than dark fruits coming off the nose...Maybe come pencil shavings...Palate has lovely acid that gives it a great lift.  It is also making it stand out from the rest of the wine I'm trying.   Fruit is bright and very forward but not big and overpowering.  It is mainly red fruits or maybe it is just the acid that makes it feel that way..Tannins are there but mainly for structure.  The wine evolves while it is in my mouth..good complexity but not more than the Caro or a few others...but either way, this is a really nice wine, something I'd gladly drink over and over.

Penfolds Bin 169 2008 from Australia.  This is a Penfolds 707 but with French Oak instead of American.  It is actually quite difficult to find and I'm a bit surprised it was here.  Really deep deep dark fruit.  Tannins are definitely there for structure and the oak is very apparent although not as much as the 707.  It actually does seem significantly more elegant than a 707 would be at this stage.  It is a very well made wine, it has good complexity, good structure, good balance.  There is actually nothing wrong w/ this wine but for whatever reason, it isn't exciting me either.  Don't get me wrong, this is very good but for the price I'd rather get multiple bottles of other things.  The best way for me to describe this is...a wine that everyone (wine geeks and non wine geeks) will enjoy and everyone will be happy drinking it...but no one will remember it later on other than to say they've had it.

Pikes "The Merle" Reserve Riesling 2011 from Australia.  Slight petrol notes on the nose which is nice to see on a Riesling this young.  Picking up some stoney characters as well.  Really good acidity on the palate and a tad of residual sugar.  The RS really helps soften the acidity just a tad but not so much where you lose it...I really enjoy Australian Rieslings done in this fashion.  Completely dry Rieslings are also great but sometimes they're just overdone. To put it in perspective, I liked this more than the Peter Lehmann Wigan 2006, more than the Pewsey Vale Contours 2006 and the Grosset Watervale Riesling 2011 at least on this day.

Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2010 from Australia.  I'm surprised but not surprised.  I'm surprised that every time I come back to this wine, it is excellent.  You'd think there would be more bottle variation or my palate would change or the conditions would be different so it would taste different but no...As I've stated several times before, this is a really great Chardonnay...Good acidity, good use of oak, good fruit, has good complexity, good balance.  I only wish this was priced better in Australia (it is actually cheaper outside of Australia).  Do I think this is comparable to the top Chardonnays in Australia?  As it is tasting now yes.  Will it age well?  Probably...but without the proven track record it is hard to put this at the same price point.   Other "new" guns like Lethbridge Allegra or Yabby Lake Single Vineyard or something from 10 Minutes by Tractor, are also up there but at a lower price point.

Boekenhoutskloof Shiraz 2009 from South Africa.  I'm not very familiar with South African wine but I'm told this is fairly well known.  Very complex nose with red and dark fruits, some earth, a tad bit a of leather.  Palate is has nice dark fruit and a bit fruit forward but not too much.  Good use of oak, very nice balance.  A bit of a fruit bomb but not a fruit bomb.  Silky tannins, not as much acidity as I'd like but this has very nice balance and complexity.  I would like to try this again to see how it goes....

Some other wines to mention...

Navarro Correas Structura 2006.  A nice Bordeaux blend but definitely more on the fruity side. This won a Trophy in its division.
Polkura Block G+I Shiraz 2009 from Chile.  BIG fruit bomb.  Actually quite a complex palate.  Very smooth tannins, very low acidity.  A bit of heat.  Not sure this will get better but it will be a crowd pleaser.
Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2010 from NZ.  Far more approachable than I've seen them in the past.  A lot more fruit forward than I'm used to seeing them as well.  Still, this was nice to have in a sea of Pinot Noir made like Shiraz.

Overall the quality is was very good..there are probably about 30 or 40 more I could mention and nearly everything there was above average so it was a good event from that standpoint.  My only hope is they're far more organized the next time around...



 

Mistletoe

Had the opportunity to visit Mistletoe in a Sydney tasting...A bit disappointed they didn't have some of their other stuff available for tasting but I suspect it is because it is sold out...

www.mistletoewines.com.au

Mistletoe Reserve Semillon 2012
I've always been pretty neutral on Mistletoe Semillon but this one really surprised me.  It has aged characters already which is really odd, maybe this one isn't for cellaring but it is tasting great now.  Toast and honey with a lot of lemon on the nose....it's actually quite nice that this strikes me as very fresh but with the added complexity.  Very nice acid, nice deep toasty notes, fresh lemon, a bit of grass....Great drop.  Definitely better than anything I've had from them in the past and as long as it stays along its current path without dying off, this one is definitely one to get.  On the downside, $30 for a new release semillon is a bit much.   To put it in perspective, it is more expensive than Thomas Braemore Semillon and Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon (which is released with 5 years of age).  It is tasting great now and is definitely not a bad buy...but without the established reputation for Semillon, hard to say where this will go and if the higher than its peers price is justified.

Mistletoe Semillon 2011
A very typical young Semillon.  Well made, decent acidity...but it is a reminder why I generally dislike drinking Semillon young..

Mistletoe Silvereye Semillon 2011
This semillon is one that has a bit of residual sugar...it tends to appeal to people just getting into wine but to be honest, this is actually a very nice little drop.  With a bit of sweetness (not too much),  it'll pair well with things a Gewurztraminer or Riesling will pair with (Thai food for example).  Even though Australians tend to look down on anything with RS, this wine is actually well made and has reasonable complexity.  It isn't going to blow your mind but has decent acidity, good balance, not too sweet and while it has some characters of a semillon with a bit of lemon/grass, it actually tastes like it might be blended with something else like a Pinot Gris.  At $18 AUD, it is a pretty good buy.  Again, not a serious wine but one I'd be happy to drink with food. 

Mistletoe Chardonnay 2011
Probably the biggest surprise...well balanced, good acidity, a bit of cashew, citrus...tasted a lot like the little brother of their reserve (which has been excellent lately).  Spent time in older oak barrels so nowhere near over oaked...this was actually very nice...

Mistletoe Reserve Chardonnay 2010
Biggest disappointment.  I've tried this before and it was very good.  I think this has gone to sleep.  It was very tight, didn't get anything from it.  Oak was actually sticking out because the fruit seems like it has disappeared.  Maybe it was the bottle, maybe it is just sleeping....

Mistletoe Petillant Sparkling Rose 2011
Another one of those wines that has actually disappointed me every time I've tried it....except this one.  A nice, very refreshing Sparkling Rose.  Simple but well balanced.  This doesn't taste like the leftovers someone decided to make a Rose out of....Would be great on a hot day.  A bit of cherry, a bit of fizz, a bit of alcohol and important (from my standpoint) for a rose, it isn't full of bad flaws making it undrinkable.

Mistletoe Rose 2011
Along with the Petillant, I've never been happy with the Rose coming out of Mistletoe, and like the Petillant, this one surprised me.  It had a little bit of residual sugar but overall, a nice refreshing rose.  Some light red fruits on the palate.  Not overly complex but again, well made and balanced.  Whatever they changed for this years Petillant and Rose, was a good change. 

Mistletoe Hilltops Merlot 2009
A very nice, crowd pleasing Merlot.  A bit of green pepper (capsicum), red and dark fruit on the nose.  Relatively big fruit on the palate...not sweet and not over ripe but definitely fruit forward.  Reasonably good acidity, sweet soft tannins.  A very solid Merlot and I'd be happy to drink this with food.   I don't consider this overly special but for the price (about 25AUD), it is better than most.

Mistletoe Home Vineyard Shiraz 2010
Winemakers notes say the nose is pure Hunter...but that isn't what strikes me when I first give it a sniff.  Some red fruit, a tad bit of pepper...but I'm not getting that earthy, leathery nose I immediately associate with the Hunter.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't pick this as a South Australian Shiraz on the nose but I don't know if I'd guess Hunter either.  The palate, however, is very much Hunter Valley Shiraz.  Medium bodied, good acidity, leather, earth, peppery notes...a pretty good example of a Hunter Shiraz.  Good balance, very well made.  Price is right at 25AUD.  I don't thin it has the depth of its bigger brothers but good nonetheless.

Mistletoe Hilltops Shiraz 2010
A lot of reasonably good stuff coming out of the Hilltops region.  On the plus side, it all tastes very "clean", nice, good quality fruit...good balance...Good wines but nothing special (at least I haven't seen anything special).  Maybe it is the lack of anything really different.  Either way, this wine definitely falls into the same category I've seen a lot of Hilltops Shiraz fall under.  Well made, nice to drink wine without any weird flaws or anything too odd about it.  At the same time, it is very forgettable too.  A wine you'd drink during the week or with food and be perfectly happy to drink..but not something very memorable.

Mistletoe Hilltops Shiraz Viognier 2010
Take the well made but nothing special Hilltops Shiraz and add Viognier and you get a slightly more interesting wine.  I like that this isn't being overpowered by the Viognier, I'm not getting that overly savory characters I might from a lot of SV.  Instead the Viognier is adding some nice complexity to the nose...some floral characters but nothing too strong, not getting that strong apricot you might see from other SVs.  Palate is similar to the standard Hilltops Shiraz but added depth.  A bit more herby, slightly more savory, floral notes...I'd much rather have this than the straight shiraz....

What to buy?

I get asked by a lot of people..."What should I buy?".....but rather than give them the answer they want to hear...I always give them back something they probably don't want to hear...which is...Buy what you like to drink..

I've heard some people say that is a bad idea...I don't see how that is possible.  If you are going to buy wine, it should appeal to your palate...and the only person that will know what you like is you. 

How much wine you should buy will depend on each individual but here are my suggestions...

If you are getting into wine and you plan on tasting many different things and you are thinking of being a bit more serious/geeky about your wine...do not buy more than a couple of bottles of any one thing.  I can think of no better way to get a cellar full of stuff you no longer want to drink than to buy wine by the case.  This isn't to say you'll never buy a case of anything...but it is fair to say, if you're getting "into" wine, your palate will probably change quite a bit over the next couple of years...It'll change faster than you'll be able to drink that case because you'll have bought cases of other stuff as well.....On the plus side, you'll have plenty of wine your non-wine geek friends will likely enjoy..

If you like wine but don't plan on doing tastings on a regular basis, go ahead and buy a case or maybe just half a case.  Your palate will likely not change quickly and you should buy stuff you like...

Fesq and Company Distributor tasting August 2012

Fesq and Company is a wine distributor here in Australia.  They had a trade/corporate tasting in Sydney where many of the brands they carry had some of their wine available for tasting.  While I'm currently not a buyer or working for a wine store, I've considered myself part of the trade simply because I do review them and try to get their name out there...I'm certainly not there to drink (I don't see how you can go to these things and not spit everything to be honest).  It is always interesting to get to meet some new wineries and get an idea of what is out or coming out from each of them.

A quick list of what wineries were represented (I took some out of the list if I didn't recall seeing it there).

Best's Great Western
Between Five Bells
Bream Creek
BTW...
Carlei
Cascabel
De iuliis
Elderton
Fire Gully
Leconfield
Leeuwin Estate
Lethbridge
Misha's
Moss Wood
Pierro
Printhie
Radford
Richard Hamilton
Sons of Eden
Tim Gramp
Turners Crossing
Zilzie
Duskey Sounds
Main Divide
Momo
Pegasus Bay
Seresin
Tarras
Waipara Hills

A lot of good surprises here...and I actually have pictures!  But stupid me, I had the chance to take them with proper light but was busy tasting..and by the time I got around to taking pictures the lighting was terrible...the result is a lot of pictures out of focus because I needed to allow light in (I didn't want to use a flash with tons of people around) and I couldn't hold it steady enough.  Anyways, some are better than none I suppose..

The winery I was impressed with most was one called Lethbridge which is located in Geelong.    The winemaker's name is Ray Nadeson whose philosophy is basically, he wants to make wine he loves to drink..and while I think every winemaker wants to believe that, with the way Australian wineries change their styles to fit whatever is "in" at the time, I truly believe he is one of very few that take that approach and reflects that into their product.  The best way I can put this is, Ray makes wine for Wine Geeks...He makes wine that gets you thinking, he makes wine in a style he likes even if that isn't what Australians typically want...It was exciting to see.

Lethbridge

2011 Dr. Nadeson Riesling.
Lemon, lime, crushed rock and a bit of grass on the nose.  A young riesling so hasn't developed any aged characteristics but nice.  A big hit of acid on the palate..nice...and what is this?  Some residual sugar?  Not a typical Australian Riesling...I like it.  Nice tart, pure fruit...but I'm really liking the acid...and thing nice thing is, the acid and the sugar are really balancing each other out...It really is a lovely balance.  Don't get me wrong, I like bone dry rieslings as well but I do like the fact that you can get that lovely acidity and balance it with a bit of RS so the wine isn't like tasting battery acid.  Ray tells me the pH is below 3 and something like 13 grams of total acidity...It almost makes me laugh because definitely this needed the RS...I'm really liking this..... I'm going to guess it retails for about 25-30 AUD which makes this a fantastic buy if you can find it.

2008 Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay.
Ray starts off by telling me this is a limited production of about 90 cases and Heston Blumenthal recently purchased about 40 for his restaurant "Dinner".  Always interesting to know but not letting it influence what I'm tasting.   Peach, citrus a little bit of nuttiness on the nose..nice but maybe a little tight...Then I taste it...a bit of minerality like a rocky peach...good citrus coming through...nice acidity....the oak is really giving it some body and complexity...I'm not sure if malo was used but it has good body but it isn't buttery....Then the wine continues to unfold and evolve.   A hint of lime, some herbs, the acidity continues to dance on my tongue and bring out more layers of flavor.  I REALLY love when you can just keep that one sip of wine in your mouth and it just keeps getting better and better.  So I'm impressed....and surprised..and wondering why the heck haven't I heard of this place before?   Full retail on this is 65, I think you can find it for as low as 50-55.  Either way, great buy.

I move on to the Pinot Noirs of which there are three...

2011 Lethbridge Menage a Noir Pinot.
This is their entry level Pinot Noir....I swish it around...looks to be lighter than a typical Australian Pinot Noir....nose of cherry, no burnt rubber, a bit of moss, rocks...nice nose.  Doesn't smell like a typical Australian Pinot...I try it...feels different..body is different...not a terribly complex wine but this feels...right.  I'm thinking, is this guy making Burg like Pinots in Australia?   The fruit is nice, not great...a bit of earth and dirt...nice cherry flavor..but as this probably sells for about 25AUD in Australia..this isn't bad...I'm not terribly excited about this wine but the style is making me VERY excited about trying the next two. 

2010 Lethbridge Pinot Noir
Again, it looks to be very medium bodied..I'm excited....Lovely nose...strawberries, cherries, forest floor, some earthiness...maybe a touch of coffee..I'm intrigued.  I taste it...WTF.  This guy IS trying to make a very Burg like Pinot Noir...I want to give him a hug.  It is not just the body of the wine but also the mouthfeel..where it hits you in your mouth..the parts of your mouth that taste the wine....Typical Burg like acidity and mouthfeel...I'm getting earthiness...wonderful clean fruit....Cherries, coffee, a bit of truffle is sneaking in there...I would NOT pick this as Australian....There is no way I would pick this as Australian....I'm not sure this would be popular w/ many Australians because this isn't what they're used to but it is really nice stuff.  I think more than anything, I love the style and I love what Ray is trying to do with his wines...Should retail for about 35 AUD or so..which makes this a fantastic buy if you can find it. 

2008 Lethbridge Mietta Pinot Noir
At this point I'm really looking forward to trying this...if their mid range was like that...I'd love to see what their top of the line one is like...The Mietta is a LOT darker than I would have expected...it is almost a disappointment..but then again, a great Pinot can have deep color.....Nose is a bit tight...Still picking up red fruit...some earthiness...I give it a go and to my surprise, it is still in the same style as the previous two except it has much more structure.  Still a bit tight, tannins still need some time..but the fruit is very nice..very pure...definitely makes me think New World but Old World style...great acidity....good earthiness...forest floor...herbs...some bark...Really really nice wine.  I think at this point in time, I would prefer their normal estate Pinot Noir...but I can definitely see this being absolutely brilliant.  The style is fantastic....I believe this retails the same as the Allegra Chardonnay...which again makes this a very good buy. 

Below is Ray from Lethbridge.  Sorry about the poor photo quality Ray!

Turners Crossing

Another winery out of Victoria.  I found out from their managing director that they have a vineyard called Yankee Creek, which I thought was a really funny coincidence.  Paul (pictured below) is also planning on sending me some wine labeled Yankee Creek which we both think will be "a hoot" (His words not mine :)).

2008 Turners Crossing Shiraz Viognier. 
My initial reaction to this is, it doesn't stand out as an Aussie Shiraz Viognier.   Some floral notes on the nose but I'm not picking up the umami that I normally get from Australian Shiraz Viognier.  Red fruits, a touch of earth...but not picking up too much else.  Palate was clean, pure red and dark fruit with good balance and the viognier really softens the wine.  Some earthiness coming through but not a lot...  I wouldn't say this wine is striking me as overly complex but it is very nice to drink.  Strikes me as a very good cool climate shiraz that people (both wine geeks and non wine geeks) would really enjoy to drink on a regular basis.  Retail is about $20AUD which makes this an excellent buy.

2005 Turners Crossing "The Cut" Shiraz
The first thing that strikes me about this is the bottle.  Big Dreadnought bottle with a punt as deep as my hand.  Nose is deep dark fruits...this looks like a giant wine..Picking up some black pepper and mushrooms on the nose.  I take a sip...Not a giant wine...nice.  Still, big structure, tannins are still evident but I'm picking up really nice acidity.  Dark dark fruit and some earth but as it sits in my mouth, it starts unfolding.  The fruit gets a bit brighter, some spice starts coming out...some herbs.  Wonderful complexity, wonderful balance. This is definitely a wine that would appeal to the Australian "full bodied" (Aka, super giant fruit bomb crowd) because of its great structure but it is also a very lovely wine for wine geeks.   Definitely a wine for the long haul but drinking great right now.  Retail is $90 AUD which puts it up there price wise but it definitely delivers on quality. 

Misha's Vineyard
A relatively new winery out of Central Otago...they had a few interesting Pinot Noirs available...I think I tried these right after the Lethbridge ones so it was a good contrast.  I've mentioned this several times before but to me, Central Otago has been making some great pinots...they're not Burgundy like but they do have good acidity...and they are medium bodied..unlike their Australian counterparts which I can hardly call Pinot Noirs (in a general sense).  I DO know what Aussies might not like about them...they think they're too fruity (Oh the irony).  Their higher end Pinots (High Note and Verismo) were both good solid Central Otago Pinots...Maybe a bit expensive considering the numerous alternatives coming out of that region..but they were very solid. 

De iuliis
Consistent performer...They've been releasing shiraz from the Stevens Vineyard which I've always enjoyed...they do a fantastic job of representing the Hunter and that particular vineyard.  I think every vintage of their Stevens shiraz has been very good.  Medium bodied, leather, red fruit, good acidity...great Hunter.  Their limited Hunter Valley Shiraz is also always very good...I don't think you can go wrong with either one of these.

Moss Wood
An iconic Australian producer.  Always a great Cabernet Sauvignon....Their Ribbon Vale series represents a reasonable value.




One other thing I'd like to mention is Bread Brasserie which provided all of the bread and cheese for the event...about 6 or 7 different types of bread...I tried most of them :).  They were excellent.

Mornington Peninsula

I had the opportunity to attend the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons event put on by Best Cellars..and while I'm not a big fan of Australia Pinot Noir, I was looking forward to the event.

I'm not sure what it is but I think lately I've been more and more picky.  If a particular wine isn't sticking out as interesting, it needs to be an excellent wine for me to notice it...  Well made but typical wine is getting rather uninteresting.  It isn't that I wouldn't be perfectly happy drinking it or drinking it with food....but certainly I wouldn't go out of my way for it...and that is starting to translate its way into writing about it.  I suppose that will start to make for some poor blog material so I'm not really sure what to do.  I could put short notes on the 100+ wines I tried or I could taste fewer wines and have longer notes...I guess I'll have to wait and see.....

I only had two standouts:

2010 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Chardonnay 
Lime Flint and Peach on the nose....Bright acidity and good use of oak...  I don't think this has gone through malo but it still has body to it...and the fruit is coming out to be very pure.  A bit of grapefruit and additional minerality showing through.  Focused, balanced and pure...that is probably the best way to describe this wine at this point.  I've had previous vintages of this and this might be the most impressive out of all of them.  I'm surprised but not surprised...impressed but I really shouldn't be, Yabby Lake has been coming out with great Chards for awhile...Retails for $45 AUD which is a pretty good buy. 

2010 Ten Minutes By Tractor Estate Pinot Noir 
Cherry, strawberry, earth and moss on the nose.  I look at the wine and I'm looking forward to trying it...medium bodied?  For an Australian Pinot?   A hit of GOOD acidity makes my mouth start to water.  What is going on?  An Australian Pinot with good acidity....I know they exist but I'm always excited to see it...Nice bright red fruit, forest floor, picking up a bit of stink (but good stink)...and it progresses....spices starting to show through, a bit of orange peel maybe?  Maybe I'm just excited about the acidity....I'm not only excited about the acidity but the I love the fact that this isn't filled with the burnt rubber/asphalt that seems to plague Australian Pinot..maybe it is because this one isn't made like a Shiraz...It isn't burg like..not enough earth/dirt/stink..but it isn't overly fruity like NZ Pinots...Most definitely a New World Pinot but with the acidity and finesse of a burg...minus the dirt...$46 AUD at retail which makes this a good buy.  They also sell three single vineyard Pinots (which make up the estate pinot).  It would really be interesting to try these...

Other notables....

Paringa Estate
A perennial favorite in Australia....It is definitely an Australian Pinot but lacks the burnt rubber so to that extent, it is well made..a good drop.  Both their estate and single vineyard are good pinot noirs...but most definitely not my favorite style wise. I would enjoy drinking these but I'd never seek them out. 

Hurley Vineyard
Their estate pinot was actually quite good..and I enjoyed the fact that they had their 3 single vineyard pinots available to taste...Their estate pinot at $45 AUD is a pretty good buy...

The more I think about it...the more I think I'm just being too picky...I'm looking through my notes and list and I see a lot of pretty good wines...but very few things I'd actually search out and buy....A bit concerned this will lead me to start bashing wines I don't like..I hope that isn't the case...

Hunter Valley - Again

I never finished my last trip to the Hunter but it wasn't all that exciting...

I had the opportunity to go out there again with some friends that were not wine geeks...We went to:
Meerea Park
Brokenwood
Tyrrells
Tower Estate

I'm not exactly sure how we only hit four places but we did enjoy our time at each of these places.  Special thanks to Meerea Park, Tyrrells and Brokenwood for spending the extra time and effort.

Meerea Park

Meerea Park 2011 Hell Hole Semillon. 
I have decided I'm not really into young Semillon.  There are some good examples but I think what I'm looking for in Semillon and what I get from a young Semillon are not consistent.  This is a very nicely drinking young semillon.  Lemon, good acidity.  I'm craving toast and depth...This is a nice summer drink but not what I'm looking for but for people that enjoy young semillon, this one is very nice. 
Meerea Park 2006 Terracotta Semillon:  I have always been a fan and this often sells out so quickly that you rarely get the opportunity to taste it.  Really good development, very nice toasty notes, a bit of honey, lemon, lemongrass.  Still has great acidity..A lot better than the Alexander Munro 2006 as far as acidity...This one will last at least another 5 years but is drinking fantastic right now.
Meerea Park 2007 Alexander Munro Semillon.  This is drinking far better than the 2006 Alexander Munro..which I thought was really good at release but every subsequent time I've had it, I've been disappointed.  The acidity is not as good as the Terracotta but it has very good development, very nice complexity to this one and overall is probably a bit better balance wise than the Terracotta..but the Terracotta is going to outlast this.  I'd probably drink these up in the next few years.

Meerea Park 2010 XYZ Chardonnay.  Better than expected with good citrus and peachy notes.  Old French Oak and no Malo...seems very in line w/ the style of Chardonnay we're seeing today.
Meerea Park 2011 Alexander Munro Chardonnay.  A slight step up from the XYZ.  Slightly more oak (using some new oak) and still no malo, this used to be one of my favorite Chardonnays in the Hunter and is still one of the better ones...but there are so many really good Chards coming out of the Hunter now..

Meerea Park XYZ Shiraz 2010.  A good solid Hunter.  I believe they also add a bit of Viognier which is definitely not obvious at all.  Leather, Earth, almost typical Hunter but softer.  Relatively good value but this butts up right to the Aunts...

Meerea Park "The Aunts" Shiraz 2010.  Very well made Hunter Shiraz.  This is always very good each year.  Most years it seems to use some American oak, sometimes as the majority.  Soaking up that American oak gives it a bit of vanilla on top of the leathery notes you normally get from the Hunter. 

Meerea Park Hell Hole Shiraz 2009.  Almost every year this is my favorite out of Meerea Park.  Great Acid, very Hunter in its characteristics, red fruits, leather, earth, hint of herbs, smooth tannins...  It is basically everything I'm looking for in  a Hunter Shiraz..  It ages beautifully but is approachable early on. 

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 2010.  Their Flagship wine which is excellent every year.  It is made for the long haul so the tannins are quite evident.  The fruit is darker and bigger than the Hell Hole.  I consider this to be more like a Hunter Shiraz made to be similar to a Barossa.  Very hard to evaluate at this stage but looks to be very good.  As typical from their Alexander Munro line...this will go 20+ easily and is made to drink probably after 8-10 years.


Brokenwood

Well known for their Cricket Pitch (low end) and Graveyard Shiraz (high end), Brokenwood makes a very wide variety of different things to try.  We tried a large variety of different things here so I'll concentrate on the ones of note. Brokenwood tends to use at least some American oak in their Shiraz..which is not really typical for Hunter Shiraz..it being a bit more delicate than SA Shiraz but it definitely adds something different and I can see why people really enjoy their wine.

Brokenwood Nebbiolo 2010.  Not very typical of this grape variety.  I don't know if I'd call it a good Nebbiolo but it was a decent drop.  Nice medium body, a bit of cherry, decent acidity...lacked the tannins I'd expect from a Nebbiolo...Overall a decent version out of Australia but if you can get Barolo, Barbaresco or just Nebbiolo from Italy, it'll likely be a bit better than this.

Brokenwood Verona Shiraz 2009.  A block right across from the Graveyard vineyard, a very good Hunter Shiraz.  Good Acid, medium tannins, getting leather, earth and a bit of vanilla and a bigger mouthfeel.  American Oak somewhere?  A quick look reveals they use 50/50 American/French oak.  Good overall wine, maybe a bit on the expensive side.

Brokenwood Hunter Valley Shiraz 2005.  There is often some declassified Graveyard fruit in these which is always a plus.  Very nice Hunter Shiraz with that plushy vanilla and big american oak coming through but not too big as it has integrated nicely into the rest of the wine.  Overall a very nice wine and a good example of what these wines will become. Price was insane though (80?).  Their recent vintage release is currently at 40 although you can find it for 30 or around there if you look.

Brokenwood Wade Block 2 Shiraz 2007.  Made from McLaren Vale fruit...This is a fruit bomb.  Big, glass coating, thick fruit bomb. Big fruit and lowish tannins...but decent acidity which is a nice change of pace and to some might pop this out of the fruit bomb category.  Definitely an enjoyable wine but one you'd only have with meat or dark chocolate or on its own. 

Tyrrells

I think Tyrrells has become THE best producer, overall, in the Hunter.  They make fantastic Semillon and fantastic Shiraz.  They also make a very good Chardonnay and surprisingly enough, a pretty decent Pinot Noir as well.  Not only that but they have a huge range within each grape variety.  They have very low end stuff you'll find at the store for 10 or less...and they have top notch stuff that competes w/ the best Australia has to offer...and generally several steps in the middle....They'll have similar wines at the same price point but made in a very different style from each other...each giving you a sense of place and personality.
I think they're quite busy on the weekend but if you happen to visit them during the week, you'll get to spend more time talking to them and if you're lucky, you'll get to do glass to glass comparisons of their different offerings.  I always enjoy getting to see wines side by side to have a point of reference...and especially for my friends, I think it was a great learning experience and we even got to taste some of their higher end stuff which has further cemented Tyrrells, in my mind, as the best overall producer.

I've already previous gushed over Tyrrells VAT 1.  It is THE best Semillon in the world in my opinion.  It ages beautifully and will age for a LONG time and just has such complexity, depth and great acidity.  I don't think they drink great young...they definitely need time...but with age they are absolutely stunning.

Tyrrells VAT 1 Semillon 2005.  Still a young one but showing a bit of honey and toast as well as fantastic acidity.  To be honest, I was expecting a little bit more development which leads me to believe this one will go on for 20+ more years..especially w/ a screwcap.

We also got to try
Stevens Semillon - one of my favorites.  Consistently very good, great acidity and development.  Superb value.  This and the Meerea Park Terracotta are very similar, I believe they're from the same area but right next to each other.
HVD Chardonnay 2011
Vat 47 Chardonnay 2011
Both were able to show different styles of winemaking as well as showing off the fact that the Hunter is coming out with great Chardonnay, especially lately.

Tyrrells Brokenback Shiraz 2010.  A very typical Hunter but actually quite a bit better than I would have expected for a 20 dollar bottle.  This includes from the 4 Acres vineyard because it wasn't of sufficient quality to make the 4 Acres.  I have heard people say this is a good example of what is going on in the Hunter in any given year...but to be fair to everyone else, this year's Brokenback is probably exceptional compared to previous years.  Very Hunterish...great acidity...an utterly fantastic buy with tremendous value.  Even my non wine geeky friend that does not like Shiraz really liked this...

Tyrrells Rufus Stone Heathcote 2009.  A cooler climate shiraz, this also represents great value.  Bigger than a Hunter Shiraz, cleaner, but not huge like the McLaren Vale, the Rufus Stone line has always been a great value buy. 

Tyrrells Rufus Stone McLaren Vale 2009.  A fruit bomb style but not quite a fruit bomb.  Probably the biggest crowd pleaser out of these last 3.  Big fruit, lowish tannins, lowish acid..but not huge alcohol. A really good buy and I can see people drinking a lot of this.

And now...to the two wines that basically made me rush through everything else...

Tyrrells 4 Acres Shiraz 2011.  Cherry, raspberry, red fruits on the nose.  I'm getting something I always say "herbs" on but I guess when I have to describe it, no one specific herb.  A tad bit of "green" which most people call forest floor.  It could be stalks were included in this, I'm not sure.  Either way, getting a bit of leather, not a very STRONG sense of the hunter but it smells a bit more like an aged Hunter..which I find odd and interesting because this is not an aged wine.  On the palate I get a gush of bright but light red fruit with fantastic acidity..no green in the palate, a little bit of leather, but as the wine is in my mouth it keeps evolving.  Raspberry, truffle, a hint of thyme, all backed by very pure fruit and wonderful acidity.  It FEELS like an aged Hunter...but the fruit is telling me there is no way this is an aged Hunter.  Layer upon layer upon layer while I'm waiting for it to end so I can spit...a stupid smile comes across my face and a nod...this is good.

Tyrrells Johnnos Shiraz 2011.  This is supposed to be the best Johnnos they have released...I look and it has lower alcohol than the 4 Acres...Smells a bit tighter, it looks like it is bigger..odd.  Having this after the 4 Acres was a bit odd..at first I thought, this is missing some acidity..but it wasn't..it was just the 4 Acres had more.  The fruit is a bit darker, but very nice.  I think a bit more oak is showing through..definitely a different wine but starting to see a few things poke through.  I stop, spit..and give myself some time because I feel like the 4 Acres is influencing my tasting....Next mouthful gives me a much better idea of what I'm looking at.  Darker reds fruits, a bit of leather, a bit more oak, still great acidity, none of the herbs I got from the 4 Acres....Lower alcohol but definitely bigger mouthfeel than the 4 Acres...I'm about to spit and then it starts to gush...Layers, spice, layers, different red fruits, layers, spice, leather, earth....Wow..

Which is better?  I'm not sure...Two different Hunter Shiraz showing off their sense of place.  These ARE Hunter...no doubt.  They easily compete w/ the best the rest of Australia has to offer.  They are nothing like what the rest of the world thinks of as Australian Shiraz.... 

What else can I say except they make one of if not the best Semillon...and some of if not the best Shiraz in the Hunter...and then past that, their mid range wines are fantastic...Good Good...

Hunter Valley May 2012 Part 1

I think the Hunter is severely underrated..and when I say that, I'm referring to Australia. The rest of the world barely knows it exists...which is a shame because with the current trend for wine, Hunter Shiraz is actually more in that vein of what wine geeks are looking for.  This isn't to say other regions don't make great wine..they do...It is just that Hunter Shiraz ticks all of the current wine geek boxes (not to mention good aged Semillon is impossible to find outside of Australia).

Capercaillie
I've wanted to come here for awhile..Overall very solid wines but to me they're mainly crowd pleasing wines...I tried a majority of their range but I'll just comment on the ones I think are worth making a statement about.
Capercaillie 2008 The Clan:  A Bordeaux blend made from several different regions (I think the majority is from SA) although I'm not sure which regions those are.  A solid performer, not quite the structure I'd want from a Bordeaux blend but I can see a lot of people enjoying this wine.  A bit hot Alcohol wise (or maybe I'm mixing this up).  16% and showing every bit of it.  But again, I think people, in general, will enjoy this..
Capercaillie 2008 Ceilidh Shiraz:  This is also not Hunter fruit (since 2008 was a really bad year).  I was told this was also 16% but it hides it much better than the Clan.  It doesn't feel too heavy but still, it is very much a SA Shiraz...Clean..Lowish acid...This wine is also lowish tannin so it completes the fruit bomb description although it isn't too much of a fruit bomb.  This is another crowd pleaser....but not what I'm looking for..not from the Hunter anyways...
Capercaillie 2007 Ghillie Shiraz.  Only made in the best Hunter Years and only from Hunter fruit...This is their flagship wine.  Very well made, good acidity, maybe a bit bigger alcohol wise than I want from a Hunter but seems like 2007 is typical of that.  Getting a bit of the Hunter nose but not a lot...A little bit of leather, red fruit..dark fruits...It is oddly very clean tasting.  My wife actually enjoyed this one quite a bit...it is definitely a wine most wine geeks would like. It is almost like they cleaned out most of what the Hunter is while still maintaining some of the Hunter.  Maybe a good intro for non wine geeks to the Hunter?  Could be...
Overall:  Not currently what I'm looking for...but I can see this place been incredibly popular with a lot of people...especially on wine tours, etc.  You can't really go wrong here as all of the wine was made very well and I'm very certain most non wine geeks would love the wine here....

http://www.capercailliewine.com.au/


McLeish Estate: 
Another one I've wanted to go to for awhile...I've had their wine before...Their semillon has always been pretty solid...They had a lot of different things to taste and my wife really enjoyed herself here.

McLeish Estate 2011 Semillon:  A pretty good young Semillon.  Good Acid, not too much development yet (and there wouldn't be) but a very nice tasting young semillon.  Lemon curd, a bit of grass...very clean tasting at this point...

McLeish Estate 2009 Semillon:  Apparently this has been very highly regarded but to me it looks like it is dying.  Some development as far as toast and honey goes...but where is the acid?  It can't be gone in a few years...I've actually had older McLeish Semillons so I know this isn't right....It might've been fantastic before, but for anyone that has it, I'd drink up.  There is no way this goes the long haul...it just does not have the right structure to age like a proper Hunter Semillon....

McLeish Estate 2007 Semillon:  I've tried this before but trying it right after the 2009 confirmed exactly what I thought about the 2009.  This is still a very good semillon...Great development with nutty toasty notes..a bit of honey, lemon and most importantly, it still has acidity.....My only issue is the price.  It might be worth it but at $40, it is competing with Vat 1, Thomas and other very established Semillons....That said, it is an excellent wine.

McLeish Estate 2003 Semillon.  This one is WEIRD.  I don't want to call it bad because that isn't what strikes me at first.  I wouldn't guess this is semillon. The wine isn't poorly made, it has some lemon and toast characters but there is some really odd flavor coming from this wine.  The person working there told me there were brushfires that year and that smoke is coming out into the wine...Apparently this is a member favorite....The wine is not bad...I just have no way to assess this one it is too weird...

McLeish Estate 2010 Chardonnay.  A good Chardonnay for non Chardonnay drinkers...not oaky at all...decent acidity and it actually comes across as a little bit sweet.  My wife really likes this one.  I think it is just ok.

McLeish Estate 2010 Reserve Chardonnay:  This wine has a lot more structure to it than the first one.  A good overall Chardonnay with a bit Peach, citrus fruit and a bit of cashew (which is coming across a lot of Hunter Chardonnay).  Good overall wine.

McLeish Estate 2009 Shiraz.  Nose tells you it is Hunter right away.  Leather, a little pepper, some dirt, red fruit, a bit of crushed rock.  Good Hunter acidity, smooth tannins...Really nice red fruit.  A very well made Hunter.  I'm not sure the structure for the long haul is there but so what?  It is drinking great right now...Not so Hunterish that it'll scare away newcomers but it is definitely a Hunter Shiraz..  A really good buy here at $22.

Mcleish Estate 2008 Reserve Shiraz.  This is made from fruit sourced from the McLaren Vale.  The person working there seemed to really love this wine...It was a McLaren Vale Shiraz.  I wouldn't call it made in the Hunter style...it was pretty good but not quite what I'm looking for at this point.  To be honest, at the price point they want, there are some places in the McLaren Vale that I'd rather buy from directly.  That isn't to say this wasn't a good wine..it was...Big fruit, lowish acid, low tannins...tasted good.  McLaren Vale Shiraz..

International Wine Fair 2012

This is an event put on by Vintage Cellars and is really there to highlight some of the stuff they are importing into Australia. There were a few Australian wine producers at the event but a vast majority was all stuff from outside of Australia.

Most of the international stuff was from France, Italy or New Zealand..with a bit of Spain and Germany. Also represented were Argentina, Austria, USA, Chile, Portugal and South Africa.

I think the most exciting part about coming here was seeing that finally a retailer is bringing in stuff from overseas and the prices are actually reasonable...There were still some things I thought were ridiculous (double the price of what they go for overseas) but some of the stuff was priced quite well...even competitive with overseas pricing..(at least the by the dozen price was good).

Some general highlights and impressions...

Maison Champy. Had a variety of things ranging from their Bourgogne and various village Burgs from Beaune, Volnay, Gevrey Chambertin..up to their Vosnee Romanee Les Suchots 1er. Good lineup, all of the villages were showing nicely and are definitely more of a drink now type of wine...The 1er Cru had great structure, great acidity, still very tannic, fantastic length...

There were quite a few good Chablis available. This style of Chardonnay has started to become very popular in Australia...Seeing a good number of quality Chablis in the 20-40 dollar area was definitely a nice thing.

Another big plus was seeing some value Nebbiolo as well as some Barbaresco and Barolo. Seeing some decent Barolo that isn't 100+ should really help its popularity in Australia.

There was a good sprinkling of Rioja, stuff from the Rhone which was encouraging as well.

One other surprise was seeing the Chalkboard series from Vintage Cellars..basically their own label with grapes sourced from different regions. Nothing too special but the few I tried were fairly decent..and with most being under 15 AUD, not a bad deal at all....

Glenguin School House Block 2009

Glenguin is a small winery located in Broke (Hunter Valley). Most of their wine is a few hundred cases each so definitely a very boutique Winery. I believe most (or maybe all) of their wine is still made by Rhys Eather of Meerea Park. The actual winery itself is own and operated by Robin Tedder MW.

Glenguin School House Block 2009 Shiraz.
I believe this actually has a small amount of Viognier (although it doesn't list it). I get a little floral as well as that umami (savoriness) that I associate with Shiraz Viognier. Really nice red fruits on the nose, a bit of leather and flowers. Decent acidity, this is still a very young wine. Red fruits on the palates that gives away to some leather, and salty/savory. Relatively silky tannins.. To be honest, I'm not much of a Hunter Valley Shiraz Viognier fan....I much prefer Canberra SV but this represents the Hunter very well, I think most people (Wine geeks and non wine geeks) would like this wine.

Sydney International Wine Competition Top 100 Tasting 2012

Sydney International Wine Competition is a competition where the wine is judged with food. It is mainly Australian wine but there are a number of New Zealand entries....There are also some entrants from Portugal, Italy, Spain and I think France. After the competition they have what they call their "Top 100" tasting which consists of any of the wines that won a Blue Gold medal...they also nominate the Top 100 out of this bunch (So you get two little stickers instead of one).

The tasting itself was fairly well run. They gave you a tasting note/score sheet that listed all of the wine and left you room to score and to write notes. They also had sheets with instructions (although no one took them) that basically said, get a taste, move away, spit when you're done, score (if you want)... The tasting glass had a little line so you knew about how much to pour (25ml..or close to 1 fl oz). There were also plenty of spit buckets all over the place so it was a pretty good setup for getting through a lot of wine. I think the only downside is they didn't have much in the way of something to clean your palate. They brought out some bread at some point but they would've just been better off with water crackers.

Overall, the tasting was a bit of a disappointment wine wise. A few really great whites...some good reds. It was definitely a good opportunity to try some reds I hadn't tried but overall most of the reds were pretty ordinary. I should know better than to think most of these types of shows would have the type of wine I really like...they tend to have a few here and there and then a lot of stuff that is decent. This is contrary to the regional shows where you get to try a good number of really great wine.

One other thing I want to comment on....There is a Pinot Noir Class, then a Lighter Bodied Red, Medium bodied Red and Full bodied Red. For everyone else this would be

Lighter Bodied Reds - Beaujolais, Valpolicella. Actual LIGHT bodied wines.
Medium bodied Reds - Pinot Noir, maybe a Hunter Shiraz, maybe a Nebbiolo or anything that is a bit lighter than a Full bodied Red.
Full Bodied Red - Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Grenache (although you can argue it is medium bodied because of the low tannins), etc, etc.

Now, you can get medium bodied wines of different varieties..but medium bodied is lowish alcohol, lighter mouthfeel.

For this show..

Lighter Bodied Red = Full Bodied Red
Medium Bodied Red = Higher Alcohol, getting into Fruit Bomb territory
Full Bodied Red = HIGH Alcohol, BIG BIG FRUIT. STAIN YOUR TEETH FRUIT. BIG.

I guess it is all relative..but pretty funny. To be fair within their own classification, it was pretty appropriate. The thing I find most odd with this is, except for maybe some of the normal (light bodied) wines, none of the reds are probably appropriate for food...or at least not anything except a big steak...Just seems a bit...well, stupid.

Highlights:
Mistletoe Reserve Chardonnay 2009. This has been cleaning up at shows. This won a trophy at this show. Forgetting about awards (because I could really care less), really nice attack on this wine. Good acidity that tingles your tongue. Really great citrus, cashews, good use of oak. Great balance, great length. The Hunter has been making some great Chardonnay lately and this is one of them...
Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2010 - As I mentioned for the Sydney show. This wine is still going strong. Seemed to show a bit more acid this time around but an EXCELLENT Chardonnay..I think I appreciate this more and more each time I try it. Too bad it is so expensive...
Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling 2005. Again another great showing. This is a great Riesling..I don't care how much anyone says shows don't matter, this one always does well..
Lawson's Dry Hill Riesling 2010. Great QPR. Really good acidity and development for only a 2008. A bit of honey, slight petrol notes (not a lot), nice long finish. Surprised by this one.

Reds:
McWilliams 1877 2008. A cabernet sauvignon/shiraz blend...This was a pretty big wine. Good acidity, big tannins, the fruit was still big as well. A slightly better wine than the 2009 (to me anyways) but that could be because of the additional age. Seems like the structure is there, tastes good now as well but it is a pretty massive drink right now.
McPherson Basilisk 2010. A blend of Shiraz and Mouvedre. A cooler climite shiraz. A bit of Pepper and red and dark fruits on the nose. Decent acidity, maybe a tad of menthol a bit of pepper, dark and red fruits. Fine tannins, decent length. This is a pretty good blend.
Anvers "the Warrior Shiraz 2008. BIG bottle. This bottle (along w/ some of the Italian ones) weigh at least twice as much as a normal bottle. This was a pretty big wine out of the "medium Bodied reds category". A lot of dark fruits on the nose, smells a bit sweet actually. I'm thinking McLaren Vale (and yes it mostly is). Good acidity but big fruit. Nice silky tannins. Big but a bit more restraint than I expected. My understanding is it has some Adelaide Hills fruit, maybe that is where this is coming from. Pretty good wine overall.
Penny's Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2010. Big Fruit bomb. Fun to drink. Actually has decent acidity which makes this a bit more enjoyable. This is a sub 20 dollar wine but drinks like one more than that. Really good QPR, showing quite well (at least the bottle I tried).

There were several other reds that were good...some were fairly well known. Kilikanoon Oracle, Yalumba Octavius..both were quite good but not much of a highlight. The were both fine but I expected more...the Pinots were pretty ordinary...

I think the only wine that still confuses me is the Coolangatta 2006 Semillon. It has been doing very well in all of the shows...Nose on this wine is great..like an aged Semillon. It is definitely missing acidity though and seems a bit flat for a semillon. Other than that it is fine but I haven't figured out if it is just me or the particular judges. All of the semillon I have tried that I thought was great (older Tyrrells VAT1 and Mt. Pleasant Lovedales) had that good acidity as well as the development...This one has the development but no acidity..it is weird....Actually, out of the 3 main Semillons there (First Creek, McLeish and the Coolangatta), I thought it was the weakest out of the 3...*shrug*.

Aged Hunter Pinot? Plus a Frenchy?

French wine is incredibly expensive in Australia...Based on the conversations I've had with various wholesalers...basically everyone is keeping the price up and pocketing the margins. Apparently it is for when the currency is against them...which hasn't been the case for a long long time.

2005 Chateau Les Grands Marechaux. Cotes de Blaye. Mostly Merlot with a bit of Cab Franc and Cab Sav. A real value wine for 2005 Bordeaux. Punches very well above its weight. If you can still get it, you'll find it 20-30 in the US. 50-60 in Australia. Started off rather tight but really opened up with some air. Really nice red fruit, some herbs, spice maybe a bit of licorice on the nose. Decent acidity. Good red and dark fruits on the palate. Tannins are not too big in this..and I don't think they have been for awhile....The wine is going down really smooth...maybe too much. I would definitely drink this now or in the next year or two. A fantastic value at 20-30...at 60 AUD...no way.

1998 Petersons Back Block Pinot Noir. Hunter Valley. Not a fan of Australian Pinot in general (although there are some good ones). The Hunter Valley is not really suited for Pinot but you sometimes get a few here and there. I don't believe Petersons even makes this any longer. A lot of red fruits, cherries and spice on the nose..a bit of leather as well. My nose says Pinot but not necessarily Australian Pinot...interesting. Palate strikes me as oddly similar to some of the other aged Petersons stuff I've tried. Really good acidity, I'm a bit surprised considering the general lack of acidity in Australian Pinot. Maybe its the age, I'm not sure. Getting a good amount of cherry on the palate, some nice leather, earth, leaves and herbs. A bit of spice in there as well. As this gets air, the more Pinot like it starts becoming and it is quite nice. I had read some other notes online that this was a big fruit bomb type Pinot..it definitely doesn't strike me as that right now...I'm not sure what it is about the Hunter but their reds, even this Pinot, age really well.

Kay Brothers 2005 Hillside Shiraz

Kay Brothers 2005 Hillside Shiraz - I picked this up a couple of years ago on a trip through parts of South Australia...This is one that makes it over to the US quite a bit. Some previous vintages have garnered some high points from RP in the past. You can see why. Big nose of dark fruits, blackberry, blueberry, a bit of mocha and vanilla. Palate has decent acid, I'd probably prefer more but for this style it works. This wine is really smooth. Silky tannins, big big dark fruit. This is a crowd pleasing wine. Good use of oak...getting a hint of vanilla, some spice, really nice depth. Long finish.....It is very much a typical mouth coating McLaren Vale Shiraz...but without being too obnoxiously big. Alcohol was reasonable and no hint of heat anywhere..the wine had good balance...Overall a great buy, a great crowd pleaser. Probably not the style of wine I prefer but I'd be perfectly happy drinking this anytime.

Meerea Park

Meerea Park is located in the Hunter Valley. It is owned by the Eather brothers and Rhys is the winemaker. Rhys also makes the wines for several other labels in the Hunter. Last I checked he still made the wines for Glenguin, Ferraris and Mountain X.

Meerea Park is, in my opinion, one of the best wineries in the Hunter. They have a very large range of wines and across the board, they're all very well made. They also do one thing I think is fantastic...They don't release their top semillons until 5 years after vintage. This allows people to have them as they should be rather than far too young where you get pure lemon and acid.

Meerea Park 2006 Hell Hole Shiraz. Made from the Howard Family's "Somerset" vineyard..A brilliant medium bodied Shiraz. Leather, earth, a bit of pepper...red and dark fruits on the nose. It smells like a Hunter. Really good hunter acid, a lot of red fruits on the palate, plum, a bit of herbs, leather...Fine sweet tannins..Very well balanced, fantastic length. This drank wonderfully young, it drinks fantastically with a few years on it. I really do wish they exported more of this style of wine to the US.

Meerea Park 2003 Alexander Munro Shiraz. The Alexander Munro line has become the flagship line for Meerea Park. It tends to be done in a much bigger style of shiraz compared to the Hell Hole. Sourced from the "Ivanhoe" vineyard, this is a relatively big wine for a Hunter Shiraz. Nose has a bit of reduction which I find is typical of this line but this blows off relatively quick. I'd actually strongly suggest decanting this as well... BIG nose of dark fruit, chocolate, leather. This doesn't come across as a typical Hunter nose...more of a cross between Hunter and Barossa. Decent acidity but less coming across than I'd probably like but it could be because the fruit is big..really big. Very ripe, dark fruit. Some spice, some leather, a little bit of earth but not much. If I haven't said it enough, this is really big for a Hunter Shiraz. Tannins are nice and silky. The wine feels like it has years left to go but drinking quite well now. This is actually released now as a Aged Release....This wine is fantastic but the Aged Release price is a bit much...Personally, I think I prefer their Hell Hole line..it is more in line with what I want from a Hunter...but this wine is still excellent.

Meerea Park 2006 Alexander Munro Shiraz. As I mentioned before, this line tends to be made big. This wine has a bit of reduction on the nose but it blows off quickly. Nose of dark fruits, herbs, a little bit of leather..a bit vegetal. Fairly good acid, dark fruits..a bit greeny...A bit of leather. This one seems to be in an odd place right now. After a few hours this starts to get rid of the greenies...Acid is coming out better now, a bit of red fruit along w/ the dark fruit. A bit more leather. I had this over 4 days and it was actually best on day 3 and 4. Fairly certain this wine needs quite a bit more time. Otherwise I would decant this for several hours before drinking.

Meerea Park 2005 Alexander Munro Semillon. This line only gets released 5 years after vintage and I'm really glad they do this. Really good acidity, wonder Hunter semillon aging going on...Honey, toast, lemon. Great depth of flavor...good complexity...very nice finish...

Meerea Park 2006 Alexander Munro Semillon. I've had this several times. The first time, I thought the acidity was good, the last couple of times, it has been a bit flat. I'm not sure if the bottles were oxidized or it was opened too long before trying it (Both were in a public setting). I'm not sure what it was. Nowhere near as developed as I would've expected and nowhere near the acid. I'm not sure if it is just me or if this wine is on the decline.

Meerea Park 2009 Alexander Munro Chardonnay. Made from fruit from the Casuarina Estate, this is actually one of several great Chardonnays to recently come out of the Hunter. I think the change in style from big oaky, buttery, creamy chardonnays has allowed the Hunter to shine. Made without Malo and 40% new French Oak, on the nose you get melon, peach. Really good acidity and purity of the fruit. Has some creaminess but not a lot. The French oak is adding really nice complexity.


As a general overview of the rest of their line...

Terracotta Shiraz. For some reason every single one of these I've had young, I haven't been impressed with. With age though, it becomes VERY nice. The added Viognier integrates fantastically and the wine picks up fantastic complexity.

XYZ Shiraz - First two vintages were very good with the 2007 being fantastic. 2009 is falling more in line with it's price point.

Aunts Shiraz. Made with American Oak, this is very much a Hunter Shiraz but with a bit more vanilla. Really good value....Tends to have really good acidity, a bit of leather...

Terracotta Semillon. This might actually be my favorite Semillon they make...but quantities are really minute. Sells out quickly and near impossible to find. If you like the Tyrrells Stevens Semillon, you will likely like this one as well....