Bibendum 2014

I was able to attend the Bibendum annual tasting where they show off a good portion of their portfolio....I'll cover mainly the AU stuff that I thought was worth commenting on...

Bannockburn..

Always a divisive wine..although I think Michael Glover knows this.  There is definitely something very unique about Bannockburn and it is very interesting, I just think they need to make sure they don't go too far over that edge...

Bannockburn SRH Chardonnay 2010.
A bit of vegetalness..some smoke, oak, malo, acid, great texture..I really like this Chardonnay quite a bit..it has great personality and the uniqueness to it isn't overboard...Still, I can see people disliking it too...91 points

Bannockburn De La Terre Pinot Noir 2011
This had a VERY strong vegetal character to it..almost too vegetal really...high acid and the fruit was in the background...last year.... THIS year the vegetal character has sort of toned down a bit, the wine actually has gained some fruit weight, acidity is still great..overall the wine is actually coming together quite nicely....It was definitely on the far end of Bannockburnness last year...I'm excited to see the 2012 release and beyond. 88 points.

Bannockburn Serre 2011
Great wine....I know Michael won't like to hear this but it is very By Farr like...Has that vegetal character but in such great balance with the fruit and acid...great texture....What I think is weird is both By Farr and Bannockburn have that vegetal character...but Lethbridge down the street does not?  Or at least not in the same way...But they all have in common great winemaking, great texture, great acidity....Win, win, win..91 points


Toolangi -
Nothing about their specific wines...but generally their stuff is pretty good.  Pinot is solid but not overly excited about it...their Chardonnays are VERY Yarra...so high acid, no malo, oak...Not too lean, not too fat...a really nice place and it seems to suit Yarra Chardonnay well.  Their Shiraz is pretty good..well made, solid cooler climate shiraz.  What is weird is I like their stuff..but I'm not blown away by it...if you can find it for a good price, safe bet...but at full RRP sometimes I wonder..

Mac Forbes.
Solid wines across the board but the only one I really liked was the Hugh.  Solid Bordeaux blend.  Great texture, good fruit, well balanced...

Spinifex -
A few years ago I remember these wines being relatively big..enjoyable overall..but relatively big...I had a few more a year or so ago and thought the acid was coming along, it is actually far better balance wise...and this year I try his Grenache and I'm thinking, wow, you're really trying something new.  Picked a LOT earlier than before..it actually has a little bit of greenness to it..but IMO, that isn't a bad thing...Good acid, the green character adds some savoriness to the wine.  Texture is great, fruit is there but not overpowering...alcohol was something like 14% on a lot of the wines.  Across the board they seemed to be picking earlier, getting better natural acid, still getting great fruit but not overripe fruit...I want to see more of this out the Barossa...I've heard people say you can't..it'll be too green..I don't think so...I just think their tastes think it is too green but it isn't.

Adelina/Some Young Punks
Adelina and SYP share the same winemaker.  It is actually the winemakers wife's parents that own Adelina....Overall the Adelina stuff was very good...Safe riesling with some RS, good acidity, solid effort...The Grenache was really quite interesting with a slight hint of green and smoke..it was really a cool thing to try..I was rather impressed.  Both the Shiraz and Shiraz Mataro carried that same thing and they were both very well made solid wines..good stuff.  SYP is more of an experimental label...hipster labels, interesting titles...most of the wine there (red wise) is just ok...it is a lot of the extras...but the Riesling...Monsters Attack...IS GREAT.  HIGH acid...30g/RS...I really like the style..I know it isn't for everyone but I really like this....They also has  Neb/Cabernet blend called Love Trouble which was also very interesting..actually a very cool blend that I enjoyed....For 20 dollars RRP on all the wines, they're worth a punt...


International stuff...a few interesting wines from Canary Islands...a few decent Italians from Sandrone and Cavalloto....A decent Montlouis...a good Vouvray from Domaine Huet...but really, most of the international stuff wasn't good at all...The Weinbach stuff was fine..but I really felt like they weren't showing off the best stuff..just the very low end stuff...