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.
