One of the biggest complaints I have about the Australian wine market is there is a severe lack of imports and when they do import, the stupid pricing associated with it.
On the plus side, in the last couple of years there has been a good number of things brought in at much better price points...
The main thing I noticed was there were probably 2-3 times as many sparkling wines as previous years...with a lot of that coming from Champagne...
Most of the Champagne was very competent..Most of them missed some of the yeasty biscuit I really enjoy from Champagne..or maybe it was just my palate...
A couple of impressions..
Moutard Brut Grand Cuvee NV. A growers Champagne..VERY solid. Nice acidity, good balance, some citrus and fruity notes.. a bit of yeast and scones....I wouldn't call it mind blowing..but for 30 some odd AUD, I don't know if there is anything better in this category...Better than Veuve NV (Which embarrassingly costs nearly twice as much) or most of the Moet line up (which is pronounced Moe - Eht...not Moe Aye or Moe ee). Really solid, priced right...really good buy. I know this is an Aussie wine site but for those that are interested in Grower's Champagne..look for RM on the label. It stands for recoltant-manipulant...which basically means it was made by the same producer of the grape..
Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 2008. I was a bit shocked by this. Big fruit but very medium bodied compared to most Australian shiraz. Tannins were silky but providing structure..and the most shocking thing? It had very good acidity. It wasn't Hunter Valley nice..but still, really good acidity...so that combined with the clean Barossa fruit and supple tannins... made for a very good wine. I've had several of these I thought were fruit bombs or borderline fruit bombs....I've always thought this wine was good but not my style..but the 2008 is really good..really really good.
Georg Breuer Estate Riesling 2010
Really good acidity...and dry for a German Riesling..this was very much borderline Aussie in style but still had good elements of fruit..whereas I generally feel really dry Aussie rieslings tend to strip out most of the fruit...Good complexity and balance..I was really surprised by this. There were a couple of other Rieslings I thought had better complexity..but not sure I enjoyed them quite as much...and when GG Rieslings are 100+ in Australia..the choice is really easy....This was nearly on par but for 1/3rd the price...
Chalkboard Hunter Semillon 2012. Made by Tyrrells for Vintage Cellars...this one really shocked me. I was expecting something really mediocre (the price point is 12 dollars) but what I got was something with excellent acidity and really good development. I'm not sure this is going to go the long haul...but it is already starting to show some toasty notes which gives is good complexity and helps balance out the strong acidity...I'm sure this will stay excellent for at least a few years and for a daily quaffer, this might be one of the best buys in Australia. I'm not sure what happened here and if it was just pure luck combined with great winemaking..but this is a steal...
Glorioso Reserva Rioja 2007. Well made Rioja made entirely of Tempranillo....spent a good time in oak and in bottle before being released...at for 20some odd dollars, this is a very good buy. Dark fruits, good acidity, nice balance...has the structure to go quite a few more years...a better structured and made wine than this price would suggest..
Some honorable mentions...Saint Cosme Cote Rotie..which was 100% Syrah...it was just priced a bit too high for what you get...really nice wine. Howard Park Cabernet and Shiraz..all made with big tannins...I thought it was a bit odd that the guy said their mid range (like the Leston) was made to go about 5 years...I don't know if these significantly soften and quickly..but certainly I didn't get the impression these would be peaking in 5...
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