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....
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
NZ in a Glass 2012 Part 2
Elephant Hill Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2010. Another one of those different Sav Blancs...fermented in barrels and on lees, definitely a nice change to your typical NZ Sav Blanc. NZ nose with added complexity and not so in your face. The palate has a great deal more complexity than a normal NZ Sav Blanc...Still getting a little bit of passion fruit, lemon, grass, good acidity..good length. It is really too bad most Sav Blancs aren't like this...quite good. Not too bad at 37 RRP.
Fancrest Estate "Di" Pinot Noir 2007. Small producer in New Zealand, and I believe 2007 was their first vintage. Located in Waipara...Definitely a nice little pinot here. Very nice nose of cherry and herbs...Good acidity and starting to pick up some secondary characteristics. Not sure this will go the long haul but it is drinking very well right now. At $30 RRP, it is a really good buy, possibly one of the best at the show. Their 2009 and 2010 were also good but both need more time. They're currently seeking distribution in Australia. I will say they need to do something with their website, it is quite a chore to hack around it.
Northburn Station Pinot Noir 2008. Like all Central Otago Pinot Noirs...good acidity. Cherry and rocks on the nose....Good structure on this wine. Firm tannins, very nice fruit...good complexity...I think 2008 was challenging for many in Central Otago but Northburn seems to have done quite well. To me this was significantly better than their Bill's Blend Pinot although it is priced accordingly (34 vs. 49 RRP).
Pasquale "16" Riesling Waitaki 2010. Maybe it was because I didn't find enough Rieslings with a bit of Residual Sugar but this one came in at 16g/L and it was quite nice. 16g/L is really not a lot....Maybe by Australian standards it is but to me, a little bit of RS helps soften the acidity. Or you can look at it as, with sufficient acidity, it balances out the RS...as well as I think it helps brighten the fruit. This one was well made and a good change of pace. To be honest, I'd really like to taste this again before making any further judgements but from what I had there, it was one of the better Rieslings...RRP 22.
Saint Clare Pioneer Block 5 Bull Block Pinot Noir 2009. Another Pinot Noir from Marlborough...Maybe it is the day or what I ate..I'm not sure. Good acidity, clean fruit, a good amount of complexity. Not too much oak, balance is good. I wasn't a fan of either the Premium or the Block 14 but this one was showing very well. RRP is 31.50, I'm keeping an eye out for them as I'd like to try this again to confirm my initial gut.
State Landt Syrah, Marlborough 2009. Deep dark fruit on the nose. Palate is clean, dark fruit, some oak coming through but the wine has good balance, reasonable acidity and fine tannins. I was a little bit surprised by this one, I'm not sure why, maybe because I'm not looking for a Syrah out of Marlborough...at 45 RRP, this is a good buy. Another one I'd like to re-try.
Wooing Tree 2009 Pinot Noir. VERY nice pinot here. Has a little bit of that Cherry Cola thing going on with the nose but really nice overall. Wine has tons of complexity. Red Fruit, herbs, a bit of crushed rock..Tannins are nice but firm enough to give you the impression this will last awhile. Acidity is good like all Central Otagos...Great pinot, a bit dear at 55 RRP but if I compare that to what is available in Australia, it is better than nearly everything....
Wooing Tree Sandstorm Reserve Pinot Noir 2009. Way too young. Big tannins, the fruit is clean and very nice but I'm really not getting too much here. From what I get, I'm sure this will end up being a really great wine once it has some time to age. At this stage I prefer the normal Pinot to the Reserve...and at 120 RRP, I strongly prefer the normal Pinot over the reserve. If I'm lucky enough to try one of these with 10 years+ on it, maybe I'll be able to give it a better assessment.
Surveyor Thomson Estate Pinot Noir 2007. I really like the stuff coming out of this estate. Part of it is because it is different but really, they do make a really nice Pinot Noir. Really nice nose, some herbs, maybe a bit of stink (not in a bad way). Good acidity. Fruit is not too big..and the oak comes through nicely (although not too much). Balance on this wine is really nice. For people that think Central Otago Pinot Noir is too fruit forward, this is a good one to try. Very burg like to me. It is one of those wines that shows its terroir quite nicely.
Surveyor Thomson Estate Pinor Noir 2010. I don't know if they changed styles or they just start off like this but the 2010 is big, but big as in, acidity is really big, big tannins, really big fruit, big oak...To be honest, I couldn't pick these as coming from the same vineyard or the same maker. I asked the guy if they all start off like this he said yes..but I don't know if I believe him or not. Granted, I've only had the 2006 and 2007 so everything I had tried from them so far had some age on it....It'll be interesting to see how these develop...
Trinity Hill "The Gimblett" 2009. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Really nice wine. Dark fruits and black pepper on the nose...DEEP big fruit on the palate. Maybe this is a bit too big or maybe it is just when I tried it. Really nice though and balance is good. Tannins are firm but not too firm. Has some acidity which is nice. A really well made, crowd pleasing Bordeaux Blend...A wine that both the wine geek and regular punter would like... A really good buy at 38 RRP.
Trinity Hill Tempranillo 2009. I was curious as to why the winemaker wanted me to try this after the Gimblett but I can see why...This is a BIG Tempranillo. I think it actually has some Touriga Nacional and Malbec and a bit of Viognier...which is probably to try to soften the thing because it is really too big for a Tempranillo. As a wine, it is pretty good. Nice BIG fruit, big tannins, I'd probably prefer a bit more acidity but overall the wine tastes great. I definitely don't associate Tempranillo with being like this, but it is nice to try different styles of this grape. Australia is starting to do Tempranillo better (most of it was dreadful before) and I'm sure NZ is doing the same. One to watch. 38 RRP.
Trinity Hill Homage Syrah 2009. HUGE Dreadnought bottle. Massive. The winemaker said these bottles cost about $3 each..and I can believe it. HUGE wine. A bit too big. Really big tannins suggest it is made for the long haul. The fruit is pure and clean with a lot of dark dark fruit, chocolate. Hard to say where this will be in a few years but it is just too harsh at this stage. At 120RRP, the price is a bit much. It is a big contrast to their other offerings which I think are good value...
Overall this was a very well done show. The number of different wineries and wines was impressive. It was very well organized and the staff were very professional. I would have to say, it is probably one of the best overall shows I've been to. +1 for the NZ wine in a Glass folks...really great work!
Fancrest Estate "Di" Pinot Noir 2007. Small producer in New Zealand, and I believe 2007 was their first vintage. Located in Waipara...Definitely a nice little pinot here. Very nice nose of cherry and herbs...Good acidity and starting to pick up some secondary characteristics. Not sure this will go the long haul but it is drinking very well right now. At $30 RRP, it is a really good buy, possibly one of the best at the show. Their 2009 and 2010 were also good but both need more time. They're currently seeking distribution in Australia. I will say they need to do something with their website, it is quite a chore to hack around it.
Northburn Station Pinot Noir 2008. Like all Central Otago Pinot Noirs...good acidity. Cherry and rocks on the nose....Good structure on this wine. Firm tannins, very nice fruit...good complexity...I think 2008 was challenging for many in Central Otago but Northburn seems to have done quite well. To me this was significantly better than their Bill's Blend Pinot although it is priced accordingly (34 vs. 49 RRP).
Pasquale "16" Riesling Waitaki 2010. Maybe it was because I didn't find enough Rieslings with a bit of Residual Sugar but this one came in at 16g/L and it was quite nice. 16g/L is really not a lot....Maybe by Australian standards it is but to me, a little bit of RS helps soften the acidity. Or you can look at it as, with sufficient acidity, it balances out the RS...as well as I think it helps brighten the fruit. This one was well made and a good change of pace. To be honest, I'd really like to taste this again before making any further judgements but from what I had there, it was one of the better Rieslings...RRP 22.
Saint Clare Pioneer Block 5 Bull Block Pinot Noir 2009. Another Pinot Noir from Marlborough...Maybe it is the day or what I ate..I'm not sure. Good acidity, clean fruit, a good amount of complexity. Not too much oak, balance is good. I wasn't a fan of either the Premium or the Block 14 but this one was showing very well. RRP is 31.50, I'm keeping an eye out for them as I'd like to try this again to confirm my initial gut.
State Landt Syrah, Marlborough 2009. Deep dark fruit on the nose. Palate is clean, dark fruit, some oak coming through but the wine has good balance, reasonable acidity and fine tannins. I was a little bit surprised by this one, I'm not sure why, maybe because I'm not looking for a Syrah out of Marlborough...at 45 RRP, this is a good buy. Another one I'd like to re-try.
Wooing Tree 2009 Pinot Noir. VERY nice pinot here. Has a little bit of that Cherry Cola thing going on with the nose but really nice overall. Wine has tons of complexity. Red Fruit, herbs, a bit of crushed rock..Tannins are nice but firm enough to give you the impression this will last awhile. Acidity is good like all Central Otagos...Great pinot, a bit dear at 55 RRP but if I compare that to what is available in Australia, it is better than nearly everything....
Wooing Tree Sandstorm Reserve Pinot Noir 2009. Way too young. Big tannins, the fruit is clean and very nice but I'm really not getting too much here. From what I get, I'm sure this will end up being a really great wine once it has some time to age. At this stage I prefer the normal Pinot to the Reserve...and at 120 RRP, I strongly prefer the normal Pinot over the reserve. If I'm lucky enough to try one of these with 10 years+ on it, maybe I'll be able to give it a better assessment.
Surveyor Thomson Estate Pinot Noir 2007. I really like the stuff coming out of this estate. Part of it is because it is different but really, they do make a really nice Pinot Noir. Really nice nose, some herbs, maybe a bit of stink (not in a bad way). Good acidity. Fruit is not too big..and the oak comes through nicely (although not too much). Balance on this wine is really nice. For people that think Central Otago Pinot Noir is too fruit forward, this is a good one to try. Very burg like to me. It is one of those wines that shows its terroir quite nicely.
Surveyor Thomson Estate Pinor Noir 2010. I don't know if they changed styles or they just start off like this but the 2010 is big, but big as in, acidity is really big, big tannins, really big fruit, big oak...To be honest, I couldn't pick these as coming from the same vineyard or the same maker. I asked the guy if they all start off like this he said yes..but I don't know if I believe him or not. Granted, I've only had the 2006 and 2007 so everything I had tried from them so far had some age on it....It'll be interesting to see how these develop...
Trinity Hill "The Gimblett" 2009. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Really nice wine. Dark fruits and black pepper on the nose...DEEP big fruit on the palate. Maybe this is a bit too big or maybe it is just when I tried it. Really nice though and balance is good. Tannins are firm but not too firm. Has some acidity which is nice. A really well made, crowd pleasing Bordeaux Blend...A wine that both the wine geek and regular punter would like... A really good buy at 38 RRP.
Trinity Hill Tempranillo 2009. I was curious as to why the winemaker wanted me to try this after the Gimblett but I can see why...This is a BIG Tempranillo. I think it actually has some Touriga Nacional and Malbec and a bit of Viognier...which is probably to try to soften the thing because it is really too big for a Tempranillo. As a wine, it is pretty good. Nice BIG fruit, big tannins, I'd probably prefer a bit more acidity but overall the wine tastes great. I definitely don't associate Tempranillo with being like this, but it is nice to try different styles of this grape. Australia is starting to do Tempranillo better (most of it was dreadful before) and I'm sure NZ is doing the same. One to watch. 38 RRP.
Trinity Hill Homage Syrah 2009. HUGE Dreadnought bottle. Massive. The winemaker said these bottles cost about $3 each..and I can believe it. HUGE wine. A bit too big. Really big tannins suggest it is made for the long haul. The fruit is pure and clean with a lot of dark dark fruit, chocolate. Hard to say where this will be in a few years but it is just too harsh at this stage. At 120RRP, the price is a bit much. It is a big contrast to their other offerings which I think are good value...
Overall this was a very well done show. The number of different wineries and wines was impressive. It was very well organized and the staff were very professional. I would have to say, it is probably one of the best overall shows I've been to. +1 for the NZ wine in a Glass folks...really great work!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
New Zealand in a Glass 2012 Part 1
I had the pleasure of attending New Zealand in a Glass this year. Held at Dockside in Darling Harbour, I was fortunate enough to attend the trade tasting which was held from 12-5pm. There are goods things about trade tastings and bad. The good is, they generally give you more time, it tends to be less crowded and most people there are a bit more serious about trying the wine rather than showing up after work to get a little drunk. The downside is the slight marketing and questions you get from some of the distributors but it is not too bad and it's a very minor thing. Overall they're much better.
I have been looking forward to attending this event for over a month, more so than the Royal Sydney Wine Show....I've mentioned several times that I think New Zealand is making a lot of exciting stuff and, for the most part, have surpassed Australia wine wise. I don't think they yet get the attention they deserve internationally...but a lot of good stuff coming out of here.
General impressions: A few too many typical NZ Sauvignon Blancs...I don't dislike NZ Sav Blanc...I think they have a nice nose, good acidity and go well with food. They are generally an easy pleaser...I think some wine geeks tend to rip on them unfairly...but the fact is, they tend to be a bit simple and not that interesting once you've had a few...but do I think they're bad? No..Do I think they deserve to get looked down on? Certainly not....As with many Pinot Gris/Grigio...they're just hard to get excited about but I have no issues with drinking them..
HOWEVER, there were quite a few places that were trying different things with their Sav Blanc...A bit of oak...time on lees...It was noticeable that these places were trying to distinguish themselves from the typical NZ Sav Blanc...Trying to make it more refined....Some places would say it was more like a Sancerre...I don't really think it was but that isn't a bad thing. I do think a lot of the extra things they were doing to the Sav Blanc was making them quite a bit more interesting and gave them a lot more depth. The downside to all of this is they were on the expensive side and I'm not sure they compete well at that price point but they are definitely worth giving a shot...
Rieslings. Someone said that NZ doesn't know what style they want to do their Rieslings in so they don't have an identity..I don't really think they need to do that...but I will say, from a Dry Riesling perspective, they do fall a bit short of Australia...on the flipside, they have quite a few interesting Rieslings that have a little bit of residual sugar...there are actually quite a few and they do them well...I'm not sure they have the minerality of many German Rieslings but tend of have really nice fruit.
Chards. A lot of good Chardonnay coming out of NZ and there were a couple of really good ones here at the tasting....but then again, in the last few years Australia has come out with a lot of good Chards too...
Reds. Pinot, Syrah, Bordeaux Blends, etc. They've been great in NZ for awhile. Central Otago is picking up steam internationally....I've been seeing some in Australia for fairly cheap too...which is fantastic. Syrah, Cab Sav, Cab Franc and Merlot are all also picking up some steam but definitely not getting the coverage they should. Part of it is they don't make enough, part of it is they just don't have the reputation. There were quite a few really great reds at the show. A number of ok ones but most of them were pretty good.
By my count, I tried over 150 wines while at the show and while I will attempt to cover a wider range of wines at the show in a bit of detail, I think for now I'm going to stick to covering the highlights and slowly work towards that.
Here is a list of the Wineries that were at the show:
Akarua
ARA Wines
Archangel
Auntsfield Estate
Babich
Bespoke (Which represents Ceres, Charcoal Gully and Folding Hill)
Borthwick
Bouldevines
Bridge Pa
Brightwater Gravels
Catalina Sounds
Totara Wines
Chard Farm Winery
Domain Road Winery
Elephant Hill
Map Maker
Fancrest Estate
Gibbston Valley Wines
Giesen Wines
Grasshopper Rock
Greystone Wines
Huia Vinyards
Hunter's Wines
Invivo
Konrad
Lawson's Dry Hills Wines
Man O'War
Martinborough Estate
Mt. Difficulty
Matahiwi Estate
Matua Valley
Maude Wines
Mission Estate
Moana Park
Mount Riley
Northburn
Ostler
Oyster Bay
Pasquale
Pernod Ricard
Saint Clair
Seifriend Estates
Sileni Estates
Spring Creek Estate
Spy Valley Wines
Staete Landt Vineyard
Wooing Tree
Steve Bird Winery
Surveyor Thomson
te Pa
Terrance Edge
Trinity Hill
Trout Valley
Tupari Wines
Two Paddocks
Villa Maria Estate
Vinoptima
West Brook
Whitehaven
Wither Hills
Lindauer
Yealands
I tried to hit as many of these as possible. In some cases I wasn't able to cover both reds and whites and in some cases, I wasn't able to cover anything from them. It really is a matter of where they were in the showroom plus time constraints..
Highlights:
Auntsfield Estate.
Auntsfield 2009 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. Fermented in French Oaks and put on Lees for 10 months, this was a wine that had much more finesse than what you'll normally see from a NZ Sav Blanc...Still had great acidity but far more complex and a LOT more depth. Tropical Fruit, spice, a bit of nuttiness. Some minerality. Good finish. At $39, it is a bit of a stretch but a very good wine nonetheless.
Auntsfield 2009 Estate Chardonnay. The winemaker told me only a single barrel had gone through Malo and was mixed in with the rest of the barrels...The result was a wine with good acidity, fruit and freshness that has become popular lately..but you're still getting a little bit of creaminess.. Great depth..very nice finish. Not sure how long this will go but it tastes great now. A really excellent buy at 29 AUD (If that is what it sells at). I've even seen this in the US for $19 which makes it a STEAL.
Auntsfield 2009 Estate Pinot Noir. Another great wine from here. Really nice nose of cherry, some florals, a bit of minerality as well. Good acidity on the palate, nice bright red fruit, cherries...nice fine tannins. Another one I'm not sure how long it'll go but it tastes great now. It is also a great buy at the price. I know this goes for $25 USD which is a total steal.
Auntsfields 2007 Heritage Pinot Noir. Apparently these are barrel selections but it is a completely different wine from the normal Estate Pinot. This one is still very tight. Good acidity, brutal tannins. Still a good amount of oak showing. Great fruit, great length, tremendous complexity. This one is obviously built to be cellared. At $80+ this might prove to be a fantastic wine way down the line but hard to say..
Babich Wines
Babich Winemakers Reserve 2010 Pinot Noir. A well made, crowd pleasing Pinot. Good Acidity to balance out the cherry and raspberry flavors. Maybe a bit of Cherry Cola as well. Definitely a more drink it now type of Pinot Noir and a reasonable buy at 30-35.
Babich The Patriarch 2009. A Bordeaux Blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet France and 25% Malbec. Deep brooding nose of dark fruit, spice and chocolate. You immediately know this wine will probably best at its best after at least 5+ years. Decent Acidity, to balance out the Blackberries, pepper and chocolate. Tannins are pretty big yet tasty and not so harsh where they're ripping your teeth out. Drinkable now but I'd imagine it would be pretty tiring...Goes for about 50-60 AUD which keeps it out of the great value category but it is fairly priced and probably a good buy compared to many Australian Cab blends at the same level.
Bridge Pa. This is the first I've heard of them but they were probably one of the big surprises of the show for me...
Bridge Pa Zillah Merlot 2006. A very nice merlot. Very nice nose of dark fruits, a bit of spice, some florals...Good deep palate, it makes me think blend but apparently it isn't which makes it even more impressive. Nice finish..a good start. RRP 42 AUD.
Bridge Pa 2008 Reserve Syrah. I'm not really sure why this call these their reserve because they have another line called Louis that is their premium line...They do have a regular Syrah line but it doesn't look like one has been made for awhile...Not sure.. In any case, starts off with a very nice nose, blueberries, chocolate...Good Acidity which I like from my reds. Relatively big fruit but not a fruit bomb and the acidity really balances it out...Nice tasty tannins...Very nice length..Very nice. Not sure how this one will age but it is drinking very nicely now. Still relatively primary but that doesn't mean it doesn't have good complexity...really nice. RRP 44AUD
Bridge Pa 2006 Louis Syrah. This is their premium line. This one was actually a bit of a letdown after the 2008 Reserve. It is a very good wine. Nice nose, nice dark fruits on the palate, but for some reason it isn't hitting everything just right. Let me make it clear, it is still a very good wine..enough for me to mention it....but maybe my expectations were too high. RRP62 AUD
Bridge Pa 2007 Louis Syrah. Whatever expectations the 2006 didn't hit, the 2007 did. Really fantastic nose, getting a lot of dark fruits, a bit of pepper, spices, a little mocha...really nice nose...Good acidity, really balanced dark fruits..blackberries, plum, spice, pepper...Definitely not in your face...Has a bit of Old World in this New World wine...Really liking this one a lot. At $62 RRP, not a tremendous value but I'd easily put this against anything in Australia at that price point...Looking forward to trying this again at some point to see if it was me or the wine.
They are currently looking for a new distributor in Australia since their current one is going through some financial troubles..and I believe they're looking for distribution in the US as well.
I have been looking forward to attending this event for over a month, more so than the Royal Sydney Wine Show....I've mentioned several times that I think New Zealand is making a lot of exciting stuff and, for the most part, have surpassed Australia wine wise. I don't think they yet get the attention they deserve internationally...but a lot of good stuff coming out of here.
General impressions: A few too many typical NZ Sauvignon Blancs...I don't dislike NZ Sav Blanc...I think they have a nice nose, good acidity and go well with food. They are generally an easy pleaser...I think some wine geeks tend to rip on them unfairly...but the fact is, they tend to be a bit simple and not that interesting once you've had a few...but do I think they're bad? No..Do I think they deserve to get looked down on? Certainly not....As with many Pinot Gris/Grigio...they're just hard to get excited about but I have no issues with drinking them..
HOWEVER, there were quite a few places that were trying different things with their Sav Blanc...A bit of oak...time on lees...It was noticeable that these places were trying to distinguish themselves from the typical NZ Sav Blanc...Trying to make it more refined....Some places would say it was more like a Sancerre...I don't really think it was but that isn't a bad thing. I do think a lot of the extra things they were doing to the Sav Blanc was making them quite a bit more interesting and gave them a lot more depth. The downside to all of this is they were on the expensive side and I'm not sure they compete well at that price point but they are definitely worth giving a shot...
Rieslings. Someone said that NZ doesn't know what style they want to do their Rieslings in so they don't have an identity..I don't really think they need to do that...but I will say, from a Dry Riesling perspective, they do fall a bit short of Australia...on the flipside, they have quite a few interesting Rieslings that have a little bit of residual sugar...there are actually quite a few and they do them well...I'm not sure they have the minerality of many German Rieslings but tend of have really nice fruit.
Chards. A lot of good Chardonnay coming out of NZ and there were a couple of really good ones here at the tasting....but then again, in the last few years Australia has come out with a lot of good Chards too...
Reds. Pinot, Syrah, Bordeaux Blends, etc. They've been great in NZ for awhile. Central Otago is picking up steam internationally....I've been seeing some in Australia for fairly cheap too...which is fantastic. Syrah, Cab Sav, Cab Franc and Merlot are all also picking up some steam but definitely not getting the coverage they should. Part of it is they don't make enough, part of it is they just don't have the reputation. There were quite a few really great reds at the show. A number of ok ones but most of them were pretty good.
By my count, I tried over 150 wines while at the show and while I will attempt to cover a wider range of wines at the show in a bit of detail, I think for now I'm going to stick to covering the highlights and slowly work towards that.
Here is a list of the Wineries that were at the show:
Akarua
ARA Wines
Archangel
Auntsfield Estate
Babich
Bespoke (Which represents Ceres, Charcoal Gully and Folding Hill)
Borthwick
Bouldevines
Bridge Pa
Brightwater Gravels
Catalina Sounds
Totara Wines
Chard Farm Winery
Domain Road Winery
Elephant Hill
Map Maker
Fancrest Estate
Gibbston Valley Wines
Giesen Wines
Grasshopper Rock
Greystone Wines
Huia Vinyards
Hunter's Wines
Invivo
Konrad
Lawson's Dry Hills Wines
Man O'War
Martinborough Estate
Mt. Difficulty
Matahiwi Estate
Matua Valley
Maude Wines
Mission Estate
Moana Park
Mount Riley
Northburn
Ostler
Oyster Bay
Pasquale
Pernod Ricard
Saint Clair
Seifriend Estates
Sileni Estates
Spring Creek Estate
Spy Valley Wines
Staete Landt Vineyard
Wooing Tree
Steve Bird Winery
Surveyor Thomson
te Pa
Terrance Edge
Trinity Hill
Trout Valley
Tupari Wines
Two Paddocks
Villa Maria Estate
Vinoptima
West Brook
Whitehaven
Wither Hills
Lindauer
Yealands
I tried to hit as many of these as possible. In some cases I wasn't able to cover both reds and whites and in some cases, I wasn't able to cover anything from them. It really is a matter of where they were in the showroom plus time constraints..
Highlights:
Auntsfield Estate.
Auntsfield 2009 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. Fermented in French Oaks and put on Lees for 10 months, this was a wine that had much more finesse than what you'll normally see from a NZ Sav Blanc...Still had great acidity but far more complex and a LOT more depth. Tropical Fruit, spice, a bit of nuttiness. Some minerality. Good finish. At $39, it is a bit of a stretch but a very good wine nonetheless.
Auntsfield 2009 Estate Chardonnay. The winemaker told me only a single barrel had gone through Malo and was mixed in with the rest of the barrels...The result was a wine with good acidity, fruit and freshness that has become popular lately..but you're still getting a little bit of creaminess.. Great depth..very nice finish. Not sure how long this will go but it tastes great now. A really excellent buy at 29 AUD (If that is what it sells at). I've even seen this in the US for $19 which makes it a STEAL.
Auntsfield 2009 Estate Pinot Noir. Another great wine from here. Really nice nose of cherry, some florals, a bit of minerality as well. Good acidity on the palate, nice bright red fruit, cherries...nice fine tannins. Another one I'm not sure how long it'll go but it tastes great now. It is also a great buy at the price. I know this goes for $25 USD which is a total steal.
Auntsfields 2007 Heritage Pinot Noir. Apparently these are barrel selections but it is a completely different wine from the normal Estate Pinot. This one is still very tight. Good acidity, brutal tannins. Still a good amount of oak showing. Great fruit, great length, tremendous complexity. This one is obviously built to be cellared. At $80+ this might prove to be a fantastic wine way down the line but hard to say..
Babich Wines
Babich Winemakers Reserve 2010 Pinot Noir. A well made, crowd pleasing Pinot. Good Acidity to balance out the cherry and raspberry flavors. Maybe a bit of Cherry Cola as well. Definitely a more drink it now type of Pinot Noir and a reasonable buy at 30-35.
Babich The Patriarch 2009. A Bordeaux Blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet France and 25% Malbec. Deep brooding nose of dark fruit, spice and chocolate. You immediately know this wine will probably best at its best after at least 5+ years. Decent Acidity, to balance out the Blackberries, pepper and chocolate. Tannins are pretty big yet tasty and not so harsh where they're ripping your teeth out. Drinkable now but I'd imagine it would be pretty tiring...Goes for about 50-60 AUD which keeps it out of the great value category but it is fairly priced and probably a good buy compared to many Australian Cab blends at the same level.
Bridge Pa. This is the first I've heard of them but they were probably one of the big surprises of the show for me...
Bridge Pa Zillah Merlot 2006. A very nice merlot. Very nice nose of dark fruits, a bit of spice, some florals...Good deep palate, it makes me think blend but apparently it isn't which makes it even more impressive. Nice finish..a good start. RRP 42 AUD.
Bridge Pa 2008 Reserve Syrah. I'm not really sure why this call these their reserve because they have another line called Louis that is their premium line...They do have a regular Syrah line but it doesn't look like one has been made for awhile...Not sure.. In any case, starts off with a very nice nose, blueberries, chocolate...Good Acidity which I like from my reds. Relatively big fruit but not a fruit bomb and the acidity really balances it out...Nice tasty tannins...Very nice length..Very nice. Not sure how this one will age but it is drinking very nicely now. Still relatively primary but that doesn't mean it doesn't have good complexity...really nice. RRP 44AUD
Bridge Pa 2006 Louis Syrah. This is their premium line. This one was actually a bit of a letdown after the 2008 Reserve. It is a very good wine. Nice nose, nice dark fruits on the palate, but for some reason it isn't hitting everything just right. Let me make it clear, it is still a very good wine..enough for me to mention it....but maybe my expectations were too high. RRP62 AUD
Bridge Pa 2007 Louis Syrah. Whatever expectations the 2006 didn't hit, the 2007 did. Really fantastic nose, getting a lot of dark fruits, a bit of pepper, spices, a little mocha...really nice nose...Good acidity, really balanced dark fruits..blackberries, plum, spice, pepper...Definitely not in your face...Has a bit of Old World in this New World wine...Really liking this one a lot. At $62 RRP, not a tremendous value but I'd easily put this against anything in Australia at that price point...Looking forward to trying this again at some point to see if it was me or the wine.
They are currently looking for a new distributor in Australia since their current one is going through some financial troubles..and I believe they're looking for distribution in the US as well.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Sydney Royal Wine Show 2012
I look forward to this show each year as it is a great opportunity to try many many many different kinds of wine from all over Australia...in fact, you're basically not given enough time to try them all..
Overall, this year the show was far better organized than last year. Wine was organized by varietal rather than numerical classes. This meant all of the Chardonnays were together, from the cheaper higher production to the named single vineyard premium class...The same for Shiraz, etc.
Another big plus was the tutorials were actually on time and ready to go. Last year, the tutorials were running late, weren't even set up...and of course ended late. This meant everyone wasted extra time just waiting around and in fact, the whole tutorial just ended up being a waste of time. This year, everything was setup, they had multiple rooms to handle all of the traffic and, for the most part, they were on time. I definitely think feedback from last year (not necessarily mine but a lot of people complained I'm sure) was taken in and the organizers should be congratulated.
Overall impressions of the wine this year....Not as good as last years...the whites, overall, were pretty good....The reds...a bit disappointing. I wasn't sure if this was because I had whites first or because I went to that Riesling tasting and my palate was still funny...or if it was just the reds were not that impressive. My wine buddy had a similar opinion so I figure it just must be the entries in this year's show...
Highlights White:
Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling basically all of the vintages they had there...were good. This is definitely one of the best Rieslings in Australia...Consistently good, always a great nose, great acidity, great complexity...ages fantastic...nice long finish...Fantastic stuff...
Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 2006. Another great Vat 1. Not as developed as I'd like but you can see that it'll get there.
Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2010. Their normal Chardonnay is a good buy...their Reserve is pretty fantastic with really good acidity, good use of oak...nice pure fruit...very Burg like.....the only issue I have with this wine is the price....
Highlights Reds: None. This isn't to say there weren't good reds...but for whatever reason, I was just really disappointed with most of them. Maybe my expectations were not right? I'm not sure...A good showing for the Hunter...I thought Briar Ridge and Meerea Park were still pretty good (although I was disappointed by the MP Howard 2007 Shiraz...not good at all compared to the 2006). I confirmed that the Xanadu Cab 2008 that I had in the US with the metallic smell must have just been that bottle or batch because I tried it again at the show and it was good and like I had remembered previously...no metallic smell to it...
Paringa's Pinot Noir was fairly good....Coldstream Pinot Noir was also pretty good considering it was an Aussie Pinot...It isn't that I don't like Aussie Pinots...I just don't think they're that good compared to so many other places....Bass Phillip seems great...and I'm sure there are others....
Stickies: I normally don't get this far but with the number of disappointing reds...
Penfolds Great Grandfather. I didn't even know about this but it was probably one of the main highlights of the entire show for me...Fantastic Tawny....Layers and layers of complexity...Finish was tremendous...They also had the Penfolds Grandfather which was very similar. The Great Grandfather just seemed like it had a bit more complexity and depth...but that said, I think the difference in price is something like 300 vs. 80...is the Great Grandfather that much better? Probably not...still really good though.
Oddly enough the Penfolds Bluestone 10 year old did better show wise than the Great Grandfather...It had better acidity and a cleaner taste...but far more simple...I can only guess the acidity helped it here? I dunno...
Overall...Great event. Hoping next year we'll see some highlight reds...
Overall, this year the show was far better organized than last year. Wine was organized by varietal rather than numerical classes. This meant all of the Chardonnays were together, from the cheaper higher production to the named single vineyard premium class...The same for Shiraz, etc.
Another big plus was the tutorials were actually on time and ready to go. Last year, the tutorials were running late, weren't even set up...and of course ended late. This meant everyone wasted extra time just waiting around and in fact, the whole tutorial just ended up being a waste of time. This year, everything was setup, they had multiple rooms to handle all of the traffic and, for the most part, they were on time. I definitely think feedback from last year (not necessarily mine but a lot of people complained I'm sure) was taken in and the organizers should be congratulated.
Overall impressions of the wine this year....Not as good as last years...the whites, overall, were pretty good....The reds...a bit disappointing. I wasn't sure if this was because I had whites first or because I went to that Riesling tasting and my palate was still funny...or if it was just the reds were not that impressive. My wine buddy had a similar opinion so I figure it just must be the entries in this year's show...
Highlights White:
Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling basically all of the vintages they had there...were good. This is definitely one of the best Rieslings in Australia...Consistently good, always a great nose, great acidity, great complexity...ages fantastic...nice long finish...Fantastic stuff...
Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 2006. Another great Vat 1. Not as developed as I'd like but you can see that it'll get there.
Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2010. Their normal Chardonnay is a good buy...their Reserve is pretty fantastic with really good acidity, good use of oak...nice pure fruit...very Burg like.....the only issue I have with this wine is the price....
Highlights Reds: None. This isn't to say there weren't good reds...but for whatever reason, I was just really disappointed with most of them. Maybe my expectations were not right? I'm not sure...A good showing for the Hunter...I thought Briar Ridge and Meerea Park were still pretty good (although I was disappointed by the MP Howard 2007 Shiraz...not good at all compared to the 2006). I confirmed that the Xanadu Cab 2008 that I had in the US with the metallic smell must have just been that bottle or batch because I tried it again at the show and it was good and like I had remembered previously...no metallic smell to it...
Paringa's Pinot Noir was fairly good....Coldstream Pinot Noir was also pretty good considering it was an Aussie Pinot...It isn't that I don't like Aussie Pinots...I just don't think they're that good compared to so many other places....Bass Phillip seems great...and I'm sure there are others....
Stickies: I normally don't get this far but with the number of disappointing reds...
Penfolds Great Grandfather. I didn't even know about this but it was probably one of the main highlights of the entire show for me...Fantastic Tawny....Layers and layers of complexity...Finish was tremendous...They also had the Penfolds Grandfather which was very similar. The Great Grandfather just seemed like it had a bit more complexity and depth...but that said, I think the difference in price is something like 300 vs. 80...is the Great Grandfather that much better? Probably not...still really good though.
Oddly enough the Penfolds Bluestone 10 year old did better show wise than the Great Grandfather...It had better acidity and a cleaner taste...but far more simple...I can only guess the acidity helped it here? I dunno...
Overall...Great event. Hoping next year we'll see some highlight reds...
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting 2012
Held at Dolton House in Pyrmont, this was a fantastic opportunity to try not only some of the best Rieslings in Australia, but some really great dry Rieslings from Europe. A majority of the Riesling exported from Germany has some residual sugar and generally the dry Riesling they tend to either keep for themselves or they don't seem to have a market for....Australia is another country that loves their dry Riesling so it is a perfect market for them to export to. Not to mention the margins they must get in Australia are huge but more on that later.
Most of the major players in the Australian Riesling market were there..such as Grosset and Petaluma....but I was mainly interested in the stuff from Germany...
I'm a big fan of German Rieslings...Unlike many Australians (I'm a Yank so I guess that is where it is from), I don't mind some residual sugar....With good fruit and enough acidity, the RS does not feel sticky and thick in your mouth. Riesling with RS is still a very serious wine but a good example of what many Australians think was highlighted to me when a lady, who had just tried a Kabinett had asked the maker if it was a dessert wine. The answer back to her was no but she looked at him like he didn't know what he was talking about.
Highlights of the German Rieslings:
Clemens Busch.
Clemens Busch Marienburg Rothenpfad Grosses Gewachs 2010. For those that aren't familiar with GG, it is basically Germany's "1st Growth" classification when it comes to their dry Rieslings... This wine starts with good acid, and really nice fruit paired with a good amount a minerality. What made this wine so fantastic was the complexity as I was consistently picking up different flavors while I had it in my mouth...It had a long fantastic finish... The difference between this Riesling and a really great Australian Riesling was it had slightly less acid (but definitely a good amount), it showed better fruit and far better complexity. Really good Australian Rieslings tend to show their secondary characters (which are fantastic) but are far more upfront and definitely do not show the 20 different colors this one did....My biggest complaint about this wine in Australia? TOO EXPENSIVE. Many good GG's go anywhere from 35-60 internationally....Why does Australia have them for 100+ no idea...
Donnhoff. I think anyone that has tried German Rieslings has heard of Donnhoff...A huge variety of wines out of Nahe, Donnhoff makes some of my favorites Rieslings and certainly they didn't disappoint.
With their regular 2010 Donnhoff Tonschiefer Dry being very ordinary (I prefer most Australian Dry Rieslings to low end dry German Rieslings)..
2010 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett was significantly better and a nice change from so many dry Rieslings. Good Acidity to balance the RS, nice fruit, good minerality..nice slatey taste...
2010 Donnhoff Neiderhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese. A bit out of place since a vast majority of the Riesling here were dry but still, really fantastic wine. Laser like Acidity really balanced out the RS...I love Rieslings like this. Australians don't seem to like any RS but I think like this, its great. Great with food, great on its own...Bright fruit and brilliant finish. Why is RRP on this over 100? I'll wait and buy more overseas.
2010 Donnhoff Neiderhauser Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs. I place this and the Clemens Busch above as the two best Rieslings at the show...Wonderful nose...Great Acidity that brings out the purity of the fruit....I love how this changes and evolves in my mouth. Picking up some really fantastic minerality....Finish is long...clean...fantastic...
Australian Riesling... I really enjoy good Aussie Rieslings...Really good acidity (sometimes too much), good toasty honey characters come into play as they age a bit...To be honest, I wish there was a bit more Residual Sugar in some of them...Dry doesn't mean it needs to be bone dry. And something with RS doesn't mean it is not a serious wine.
I think there were more disappointments than anything else Australian wise...but highlights for me were:
Tertini 2008 Riesling. Out of the Southern Highlands, a really great Aussie Riesling. Very good acidity which makes the sub 9g/l RS balance out perfectly. It softens it a bit but definitely not perceived sweetness, if anything it helps bring out the fruit...Wonderful bright fruit and the wine is already picking up secondary characteristics which is great. The winemaker thinks it'll last quite awhile longer and I'd have to agree. Thoroughly impressed, I think this might've been the best Australian at the show...beating out Grosset, Petaluma, Pewsey Vale and a few other better known Rieslings.
Heggies 2011 Riesling. I'm not sure if it was because I was so disappointed with Grosset and Mesh...but this one, which I don't even think had representation at the tasting, definitely showed them up. Very good Acidity, very good fruit...it seemed to have fantastic balance.
I definitely think Aussie stuff needs to have a little more Residual Sugar...I definitely think Acid is good..too much acid is not....low acid is really bad...and while there were some rather flat Aussie Rieslings, I think overall they do a dry/bone dry Riesling quite well. Especially at the low end, they beat their German counterparts. At the same time, on the the high end, while they gain a good amount of complexity, definitely they're falling behind those from Germany. Acid is good, too much acid probably isn't. The fruit needs to show better..it's possible they need to allow for some RS to add complexity...Brilliant tasting overall....One of the best events I've been to.
Most of the major players in the Australian Riesling market were there..such as Grosset and Petaluma....but I was mainly interested in the stuff from Germany...
I'm a big fan of German Rieslings...Unlike many Australians (I'm a Yank so I guess that is where it is from), I don't mind some residual sugar....With good fruit and enough acidity, the RS does not feel sticky and thick in your mouth. Riesling with RS is still a very serious wine but a good example of what many Australians think was highlighted to me when a lady, who had just tried a Kabinett had asked the maker if it was a dessert wine. The answer back to her was no but she looked at him like he didn't know what he was talking about.
Highlights of the German Rieslings:
Clemens Busch.
Clemens Busch Marienburg Rothenpfad Grosses Gewachs 2010. For those that aren't familiar with GG, it is basically Germany's "1st Growth" classification when it comes to their dry Rieslings... This wine starts with good acid, and really nice fruit paired with a good amount a minerality. What made this wine so fantastic was the complexity as I was consistently picking up different flavors while I had it in my mouth...It had a long fantastic finish... The difference between this Riesling and a really great Australian Riesling was it had slightly less acid (but definitely a good amount), it showed better fruit and far better complexity. Really good Australian Rieslings tend to show their secondary characters (which are fantastic) but are far more upfront and definitely do not show the 20 different colors this one did....My biggest complaint about this wine in Australia? TOO EXPENSIVE. Many good GG's go anywhere from 35-60 internationally....Why does Australia have them for 100+ no idea...
Donnhoff. I think anyone that has tried German Rieslings has heard of Donnhoff...A huge variety of wines out of Nahe, Donnhoff makes some of my favorites Rieslings and certainly they didn't disappoint.
With their regular 2010 Donnhoff Tonschiefer Dry being very ordinary (I prefer most Australian Dry Rieslings to low end dry German Rieslings)..
2010 Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett was significantly better and a nice change from so many dry Rieslings. Good Acidity to balance the RS, nice fruit, good minerality..nice slatey taste...
2010 Donnhoff Neiderhauser Hermannshohle Spatlese. A bit out of place since a vast majority of the Riesling here were dry but still, really fantastic wine. Laser like Acidity really balanced out the RS...I love Rieslings like this. Australians don't seem to like any RS but I think like this, its great. Great with food, great on its own...Bright fruit and brilliant finish. Why is RRP on this over 100? I'll wait and buy more overseas.
2010 Donnhoff Neiderhauser Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs. I place this and the Clemens Busch above as the two best Rieslings at the show...Wonderful nose...Great Acidity that brings out the purity of the fruit....I love how this changes and evolves in my mouth. Picking up some really fantastic minerality....Finish is long...clean...fantastic...
Australian Riesling... I really enjoy good Aussie Rieslings...Really good acidity (sometimes too much), good toasty honey characters come into play as they age a bit...To be honest, I wish there was a bit more Residual Sugar in some of them...Dry doesn't mean it needs to be bone dry. And something with RS doesn't mean it is not a serious wine.
I think there were more disappointments than anything else Australian wise...but highlights for me were:
Tertini 2008 Riesling. Out of the Southern Highlands, a really great Aussie Riesling. Very good acidity which makes the sub 9g/l RS balance out perfectly. It softens it a bit but definitely not perceived sweetness, if anything it helps bring out the fruit...Wonderful bright fruit and the wine is already picking up secondary characteristics which is great. The winemaker thinks it'll last quite awhile longer and I'd have to agree. Thoroughly impressed, I think this might've been the best Australian at the show...beating out Grosset, Petaluma, Pewsey Vale and a few other better known Rieslings.
Heggies 2011 Riesling. I'm not sure if it was because I was so disappointed with Grosset and Mesh...but this one, which I don't even think had representation at the tasting, definitely showed them up. Very good Acidity, very good fruit...it seemed to have fantastic balance.
I definitely think Aussie stuff needs to have a little more Residual Sugar...I definitely think Acid is good..too much acid is not....low acid is really bad...and while there were some rather flat Aussie Rieslings, I think overall they do a dry/bone dry Riesling quite well. Especially at the low end, they beat their German counterparts. At the same time, on the the high end, while they gain a good amount of complexity, definitely they're falling behind those from Germany. Acid is good, too much acid probably isn't. The fruit needs to show better..it's possible they need to allow for some RS to add complexity...Brilliant tasting overall....One of the best events I've been to.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Southern Highlands
I had a trip out to the Southern Highlands (not specifically for wine) and dropped by a couple of places...
Centennial - Probably the most well known winery out this way at least as far as number and the quality of the wines...They had a rather extensive range that you don't see too often in Australia. They source all of their wine from their own vineyards in the Southern Highland as well as from growers in Orange.
Sparklers - They have a surprising number of Sparkling wines....which I also think is unusual...and oddly enough, most of their Sparklers were actually quite good. For some reason, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of good Sparkling wine from Australian producers..there are some but it seems like most just are not there. That said, even Centennial's basic Bong Bong Sparkling wine, which is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is actually fairly enjoyable. Well made, definitely a drink now type of Sparkling....They also let us try their normal Chardonnay Pinot Noir which was also very good....They had a Rose, a Blanc de Blancs and a couple of others (didn't get to try to Blanc de Blancs).
Whites - I had heard some good things about their Rieslings so I was looking forward to giving them a try.
Centennial 126 Riesling 2011 . 12% Alcohol, 6g/l of residual sugar. I had expected a bit more out of this...not sure if this was old or not but it was missing something I would normally expect out of a good Aussie dry riesling..maybe it was the acidity level...maybe it was just too young?
Centennial 918 Riesling 2011. 9% alcohol, 18g/l of residual sugar. Missing acidity...I think this was a few days old..tasted ok and in fact the people I was with liked this one...
Cenntennial 836 Riesling 2009. 8% alcohol, 36g/l of residual sugar. VERY nice acidity on this one and it balanced out the residual sugar very well. Finish was a bit shorter than expected but overall it was pretty good.
They had an ok Pinot Grigio and a decent Sav Blanc (I believe it used oak which is a nice change). For some reason we missed the Chardonnay...
Reds - A really extensive range here....and almost everything surprisingly good..
Bong Bong Red - I'd give this a miss. I spit anyways but this was in and out in a hurry.
Shiraz 2010 - Good acidity, nice fruit, quite a good shiraz. Reminds me a bit of a Hunter shiraz but without as much leather and dirt. A definite winner for the price.
Reserve Merlot 2008 - Well made, herbaceous Merlot. Tasted like it was from Orange..another good drop.
Woodside Tempranillo 2010 - So many places are starting to make Tempranillo in Australia. Until somewhat recently, most of them have been doing it very poorly. I have noticed in the last couple of years, a big change. First is, they're making some decent Tempranillo..it used to be almost undrinkable....but they're actually turning out some pretty good ones. Second is, they are starting to actually pronounce it correctly. If you're going to call it Tempranillo, pronounce the double L's correctly....it is not tem pran ill oh. In any case, this was a good example of an Australian Tempranillo...Nice medium bodied, good fruit, good overall balance.
Reserve Sangiovese 2009 - Again, another wine Australia usually does poorly but done very well here. Not as good as the Tempranillo but by Australian standards, still very good..
Woodside Pinot Noir 2010. I was a bit disappointed in this. They have a reserve but I believe it was sold out...either way...not enough acidity to be a good medium bodied Pinot Noir...ok fruit but it wasn't a big Aussie Pinot...it wasn't an elegant medium bodied Pinot...I dunno, not bad...not great...not memorable.
Reserve Cabernet Savignon 2009 - One of the better NSW Cabernets I've had. Great value here...This one is built to last at least 5-10 more years. Good fruit, tannins showing that it would be best with some time but not too overpowering. Good acidity....really a well made wine and really good value for Cab Sav.
Reserve Barbera 2009 - A good solid Barbera...You don't get to see this too often and usually they're not very good when you do (in Australia). I think Margan's White Label Barbera is a bit better but still, well made, decent value.
Reserve Shiraz Viongier 2008 ....this was good, not great. I wasn't getting any of the floral notes I might expect off of a SV....Decent drop...maybe it was out too long? Nothing wrong with it really...but I think there were a lot of other things that were better...
Joadja winery- They only had 3 whites and 1 red with their other reds having sold out. They had a decent Pinot Grigio, a ok Sav Blanc, a decent Chardonnay...an ok Cabernet Malbec. The nice thing w/ the Cab Malbec was it was only 12.5%....but it really was just ok.
Sutton Forest. A bit further out and just off the freeway on the way to Canberra...a good place to stop for a nice little meal. A couple of interesting things here.
Sutton Forest Classic White which I believe was a blend of Chardonnay and Semillon. Not a huge fan of this blend in general but this one was done quite nicely.
Sutton Forest Chardonnay - Made in the style that has been popular the last couple of years...not over oaked, good fruit, good acidity....Not a super buttery mess of a wine.
Sutton Forest Red Blend - Made from Pinot Noir and Sangiovese. I was expecting a mess of a wine but it actually ended up quite nice. Medium bodied...Good fruit, good acidity, a nice dry finish (which I think is from the Sangiovese). A pretty good everyday wine.
Sutton Forest Pinot Noir 2010. A bit young still. Not a big fan of the big Aussie Pinot. Good fruit, not picking up a huge amount of complexity but this didn't have any funny flavors either which tends to happen when places try too hard to make Pinot...
Now, it could be because I had this one before and after it.
Sutton Forest Reserve Pinot Noir "Three Daughters" 2009. For some reason we ended up trying this before and after the 2010...When we first had the 2009 Pinot, thought, wow, not bad. Good complexity, decent acidity, good fruit..not my favorite style of Pinot but still, very well done. We then had the 2010...and then what I thought was the 2009 Reserve...So after having the 2009 Reserve I thought..wow, really quite similar to the 2009 Pinot, I'm going to ask about the 2009 Pinot and see how much that one is (because it wasn't listed) since the Reserve and it were both very similar and the 2010 was 13 dollars cheaper....Then I find out they it was the same wine. I didn't pick them as the same wine..which either means my palate isn't great or it could be the 2010 in the middle changed how I perceived them exactly....I guess I can take some solace in the fact that I thought they were very similar and what I liked about both of them were the same things...*shrug* :).
Centennial - Probably the most well known winery out this way at least as far as number and the quality of the wines...They had a rather extensive range that you don't see too often in Australia. They source all of their wine from their own vineyards in the Southern Highland as well as from growers in Orange.
Sparklers - They have a surprising number of Sparkling wines....which I also think is unusual...and oddly enough, most of their Sparklers were actually quite good. For some reason, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of good Sparkling wine from Australian producers..there are some but it seems like most just are not there. That said, even Centennial's basic Bong Bong Sparkling wine, which is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is actually fairly enjoyable. Well made, definitely a drink now type of Sparkling....They also let us try their normal Chardonnay Pinot Noir which was also very good....They had a Rose, a Blanc de Blancs and a couple of others (didn't get to try to Blanc de Blancs).
Whites - I had heard some good things about their Rieslings so I was looking forward to giving them a try.
Centennial 126 Riesling 2011 . 12% Alcohol, 6g/l of residual sugar. I had expected a bit more out of this...not sure if this was old or not but it was missing something I would normally expect out of a good Aussie dry riesling..maybe it was the acidity level...maybe it was just too young?
Centennial 918 Riesling 2011. 9% alcohol, 18g/l of residual sugar. Missing acidity...I think this was a few days old..tasted ok and in fact the people I was with liked this one...
Cenntennial 836 Riesling 2009. 8% alcohol, 36g/l of residual sugar. VERY nice acidity on this one and it balanced out the residual sugar very well. Finish was a bit shorter than expected but overall it was pretty good.
They had an ok Pinot Grigio and a decent Sav Blanc (I believe it used oak which is a nice change). For some reason we missed the Chardonnay...
Reds - A really extensive range here....and almost everything surprisingly good..
Bong Bong Red - I'd give this a miss. I spit anyways but this was in and out in a hurry.
Shiraz 2010 - Good acidity, nice fruit, quite a good shiraz. Reminds me a bit of a Hunter shiraz but without as much leather and dirt. A definite winner for the price.
Reserve Merlot 2008 - Well made, herbaceous Merlot. Tasted like it was from Orange..another good drop.
Woodside Tempranillo 2010 - So many places are starting to make Tempranillo in Australia. Until somewhat recently, most of them have been doing it very poorly. I have noticed in the last couple of years, a big change. First is, they're making some decent Tempranillo..it used to be almost undrinkable....but they're actually turning out some pretty good ones. Second is, they are starting to actually pronounce it correctly. If you're going to call it Tempranillo, pronounce the double L's correctly....it is not tem pran ill oh. In any case, this was a good example of an Australian Tempranillo...Nice medium bodied, good fruit, good overall balance.
Reserve Sangiovese 2009 - Again, another wine Australia usually does poorly but done very well here. Not as good as the Tempranillo but by Australian standards, still very good..
Woodside Pinot Noir 2010. I was a bit disappointed in this. They have a reserve but I believe it was sold out...either way...not enough acidity to be a good medium bodied Pinot Noir...ok fruit but it wasn't a big Aussie Pinot...it wasn't an elegant medium bodied Pinot...I dunno, not bad...not great...not memorable.
Reserve Cabernet Savignon 2009 - One of the better NSW Cabernets I've had. Great value here...This one is built to last at least 5-10 more years. Good fruit, tannins showing that it would be best with some time but not too overpowering. Good acidity....really a well made wine and really good value for Cab Sav.
Reserve Barbera 2009 - A good solid Barbera...You don't get to see this too often and usually they're not very good when you do (in Australia). I think Margan's White Label Barbera is a bit better but still, well made, decent value.
Reserve Shiraz Viongier 2008 ....this was good, not great. I wasn't getting any of the floral notes I might expect off of a SV....Decent drop...maybe it was out too long? Nothing wrong with it really...but I think there were a lot of other things that were better...
Joadja winery- They only had 3 whites and 1 red with their other reds having sold out. They had a decent Pinot Grigio, a ok Sav Blanc, a decent Chardonnay...an ok Cabernet Malbec. The nice thing w/ the Cab Malbec was it was only 12.5%....but it really was just ok.
Sutton Forest. A bit further out and just off the freeway on the way to Canberra...a good place to stop for a nice little meal. A couple of interesting things here.
Sutton Forest Classic White which I believe was a blend of Chardonnay and Semillon. Not a huge fan of this blend in general but this one was done quite nicely.
Sutton Forest Chardonnay - Made in the style that has been popular the last couple of years...not over oaked, good fruit, good acidity....Not a super buttery mess of a wine.
Sutton Forest Red Blend - Made from Pinot Noir and Sangiovese. I was expecting a mess of a wine but it actually ended up quite nice. Medium bodied...Good fruit, good acidity, a nice dry finish (which I think is from the Sangiovese). A pretty good everyday wine.
Sutton Forest Pinot Noir 2010. A bit young still. Not a big fan of the big Aussie Pinot. Good fruit, not picking up a huge amount of complexity but this didn't have any funny flavors either which tends to happen when places try too hard to make Pinot...
Now, it could be because I had this one before and after it.
Sutton Forest Reserve Pinot Noir "Three Daughters" 2009. For some reason we ended up trying this before and after the 2010...When we first had the 2009 Pinot, thought, wow, not bad. Good complexity, decent acidity, good fruit..not my favorite style of Pinot but still, very well done. We then had the 2010...and then what I thought was the 2009 Reserve...So after having the 2009 Reserve I thought..wow, really quite similar to the 2009 Pinot, I'm going to ask about the 2009 Pinot and see how much that one is (because it wasn't listed) since the Reserve and it were both very similar and the 2010 was 13 dollars cheaper....Then I find out they it was the same wine. I didn't pick them as the same wine..which either means my palate isn't great or it could be the 2010 in the middle changed how I perceived them exactly....I guess I can take some solace in the fact that I thought they were very similar and what I liked about both of them were the same things...*shrug* :).
Friday, November 4, 2011
Internationalist wine tasting
International Wine tasting event held on November 3rd at the Watersedge in Walsh Bay. Put on by the same people that did the Central Otago event I went to earlier, it was definitely a well run tasting event but more on that later.
A fairly uncommon opportunity to try wines from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, USA and of course Australia, it was definite one of those I was looking forward to...
I'm also thinking I should be taking pictures..as of course that helps complete the picture but when I'm at these events I'm a machine...I did over 110 wines in 3 hours...actually, I think I'm getting quicker and quicker but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. But between tasting and talking w/ the people there, I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to take pictures...Maybe I need to research who is going to be there if I can and plot out a better plan of attack...
Japan
The Japan stuff was all Sake and two Whiskeys (which I didn't try). Two very unusual ones which were:
Kameman Shuzo - 2010 Genmaishu Junmai Genmai-zake. A bit of brown sugar and a different mouthfeel to Sake. Almost barley like? Brownish in color, it was quite nice but definitely not what I'm used to.
Mukai Shuzo - 2010 Ine Mankai Junmai Genshu. A sake made from Red Rice...I don't think I would've picked this as Sake. A bit of cherry, much more acidity than what I normally think of with sake...It's actually very wine like but with that familiar rice alcohol feel in the nose.
The others were Okamura Honke which was a very nice "normal" sake and the Kidoizumi Shuzo which was also very nice. For non-sake drinkers, the Chikuma Nishiki - Kizan Sanban is probably a good choice...a bit sweeter, it was actually quite enjoyable...different than what I'm used to but quite nice.
I'm not much of a sake drinker...I like good sake but I'm so woefully inexperienced...I know what certain phrases mean when describing the sake but really I'm out of my depth.
France:
The Champagne there was pretty good. Lombard & Cie was actually quite good overall. I have never seen them before but it was nice to again have a good sparkler..I'm not a fan of Aussie Sparkling..I think most of it is pretty bad. Lombard's Magenta Cuvee was good, not great but had that nice biscuit taste, a bit of peach, and no huge flaws like I tend to see with Aussie stuff. Their NV Brut which I guess is a a step up, was quite nice, to me it was very similar to the Magenta but a better nose, slightly more complex and nicer finish. The Brut Rose 1er Cru NV was also very good with a bit more acid, slightly sweeter but still a very nice finish overall.
Their 2004 Brut Grand Cru was ok, I felt like something was missing. Maybe it was because I had it after the Rose (which was their suggestion but not one I would think is right). Maybe it seem to harsh, a bit too dry, I would have expected this to be better than their Brut or Magenta. Lastly I tried their 2004 Blanc de Blancs. Definitely nicer than the Brut GC. A cleaner taste than the others so far, nice acidity, I actually think this one needs a bit more time.
There were two other Champagnes I tried at different times.
Larmandier NV Brut Blanc de blancs 1er Cru....I've seen them before as they tend to be in that 40-50 dollar range in the US. It was fairly good, nothing I'm seeking out. A step up from an Aussie sparking...I'd rather have the Lombard though.
Jean-Paul Perardel NV. Wasn't overly impressed here. Probably my least favorite of the group.
All of the champagnes were pretty good...Nothing was bad. I'd prefer them over an Aussie Sparkling...at the same time, I'd really only look for the Lombard & Cie...Maybe it wasn't a fair assessment since I had the others later in the evening...it won't prevent me from trying the others again...
The Bordeaux there, was terrible. I'm not sure how they possibly have any 2010's out...although that probably explains it. With 2009s just starting to come in from any decent producer in Bordeaux, seeing 2010s here was almost laughable. Both the whites and reds were disappointing..I'm not even going to mention other than that.
The Burgundies...Chablis was ok. The Domaine Christophe 2010 Petit Chablis was fairly nice. The Chardonnay was ok. Really there were no good examples of White Burgs there to try... No Pinots except one made by an Aussie with Burg fruit....Decent Pinot, great value at 21 dollars.. Called Les Petites Vignettes.
The Beaujolais was pretty good...not a great selection and even in talking to one of the main importers, what they have available is really limited (not just at the show but in talking to them, in general). The Vissoux Fleurie Poncie was nice, I've had this before from a different vintage but the 2010 was nicer. I asked one of the importers why there doesn't seem to be any availability of Lapierre Morgon...to which he asked if that was a small producer because he had never heard of it....I'm thinking, how do you import Booj but not know of Lapierre? I told him Lapierre is quite well known...he just said they must not carry it in Australia.
A couple of interesting things made with Tannat...too tannic to drink though...That was from Madiran and Cahors.
2005 Madiran Chateau Bouscasse. REALLY tannic...Overly Tannic...I would've expected it to soften somewhat...even though it is made from Tannat...Might go well with a big steak. I can't see drinking this any other way. Nice wine though.
2008 Chateau du Cedre Cahors. The guy told me it was Malbec..but this thing had huge tannins...he insisted it was just Malbec but I'm reading it is Malbec Tannat Merlot...which might explain why it is so Tannic. I looked this up online, it looks like it is just a little bit..really weird.... A bit more fruit forward than the Madiran but again, one that needs food. Apparently this retails for 50 AUD....I see some in the US for 15 or so..might be a different wine. At 15 it is a pretty good buy, maybe with some air it'll soften up a bit...at 50 it is a joke...
Chateauneuf du Pape.
They only had one which was the Chateau Mont Redon, 2007. Pretty good wine, big fruit but had a very nice balance. I think my wife would love this one. Retails for 90 AUD but selling for 68, either way it's a 25-35 USD CdP... At 25-30 it is a great buy. 90 makes me want to laugh. Another great example of Aussies getting RIPPED a new one by retailers. I've been told retailers are trying to keep prices stable which is why none of the prices have dropped with the stronger AUD....and apparently they cut their margins when the currency is weaker...but from 2000, that has basically been never. Sure there was a drop for a few months from .90USD to .60USD but basically, the currency has been appreciating since 2000 from .5USD to now over 1 USD. And retailers are laughing at the number of Francophiles that love their 50-100 dollar French wine that really retails everywhere else in the competitive retail world for 15-30 dollars.
Languedoc
They had a fairly nice Languedoc...Pretty good value here I think..
2010 Domaine Jean baptiste La Nine. This retails for 15 dollars elsewhere but in Australia it is 40..selling for 32....It isn't bad at 32 but Languedoc punches above its weight anyways....an underrated and undervalued wine region.
Alsace
The stuff from Alsace was disappointing. Ok Riesling, decent Pinot Gris...I've had better from here. The most interesting wine from Alsace was the really bad Pinot Noir. It is the perfect example of a bad European wine. No Acid, Dirt, tannins, no fruit. I like elegant wines, I don't really care for big fruit...but really when it tastes like tannins mixed with water and dirt..No...Even the importer thought it was bad.
Germany
Donnhoff. I haven't seen just Donnhoff estate riesling (Dry) before. I suspect that is their Donnhoff Riesling Trocken but not sure. It wasn't very good. Just too bone dry with not enough acid and not enough fruit. Their 2010 Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett was good but generally all their stuff is good. I like both the Kabinett and Spatlese from this producer...The one thing that surprised me was I thought the 2010 would have more acid..since I've read that is the case w/ most German Riesling for 2010...I didn't really think it was too acidic...
They had an A. Chistmann Grosses Gewachs Riesling which is supposed to be pretty good..I thought it was ok. Better than the Donnhoff Dry but not better than that Kabinett. It had a lot of complexity but I don't know...it was missing something..
Italy
There were a couple of decent Valpolicellas....One really traditional Old World one..and one that was a bit more modern. Both were well made. Some decent Sangiovese based wines...
The Nebbiolo there was ok. Most of it far too young...the on Barbaresco I thought was decent was way overpriced for what you got....The younger stuff was pretty cheap....
Overall, Italian stuff is looking good and in talking with them, the prices for Italian stuff has dropped..apparently because the price for it hasn't been established. To me this is good news. I think there will be some interesting Italian stuff coming in. Looking forward to some decent Sangiovese...
Some pretty decent Rioja from Exopto. They were all Tempranillo/Grenache/Graciano blends...
The Bozeto was a bit young. Nice Tempranillo though. The way the importer was talking about it, I expected it to be a bit more elegant but either way, it was a very nice Tempranillo and priced very well at 20-25.
The 2008 Horizonte Exopto was very good. At 33 it is a great buy..42 it is a decent buy. Very similar to the Bozeto but a bit more developed, a bit more elegant, greater complexity. A very good Rioja.
I already had this opinion but even the lower end Sangiovese and Tempranillo stuff tastes so much better than the Tempranillo and Sangiovese they make in Australia...I know they're trying new grapes but so far, any decent Temp/Sangio in Australia is 40+ and everything else seems to be bad..And the 40+ Temp/Sangio isn't exactly great..it is just decent.
New Zealand.
Some good stuff from NZ. Bunch of really nice Pinot Noirs. Both Craggy Range and Pyramid were nice...
Pyramid had some interesting whites...I'm not sure they were great, the semillon was very different, interesting, but for 43 on special (normally 53) I'd much rather get a Vat1. Both their Riesling and Pinot Blanc were nice. You can definitely get a feel for their style...Maybe it is their Terroir...Either way, they're nice but expensive...I don't imagine they sell for nearly as much in NZ or anywhere else...Pyramid had a decent Pinot, I don't think this is their better Pinot and quite overpriced at 70 RRP (selling for 57). You can pick this up for 30 USD. You can pick up their Calvert Pinot for 35-40. Based on how I see NZ wines priced in Australia, take NZ RRP and multiply by 2 which makes it a 105 AUD wine. What a joke.
Craggy had some good stuff. I think their Riesling was really good. Te Muna Riesling. Really really nice acidity, had a great tart feel and balanced by a bit of sweetness but not too much. Really quite good. I'll be looking for more in the US although it doesn't look like Te Muna makes it to the US. I'll give the Fletcher one a try either way. Te Kahu Merlot was good value although a bit expensive here. Their GG Syrah was pretty decent..a bit young. The 2009 Le Sol, I could hardly get anything from it was so tight. I've had this before with some age, really good. This one was just way too young and I'm not a good judge of what it will do later based on what I taste aside from the fact that I can tell it has good structure so I would guess it would become something quite nice.
Ata Rangi was good...Their main Pinot is actually very Burg like...I'm not sure everyone would like it but it was pretty good. Their Crimson Pinot was more fruit forward..fairly decent.
Matua Valley was ok. A lot of big Pinots but nothing I was too impressed with. For what they're trying to get, there are dozens of other Pinot Noirs from Central Otago that are better and cost less.
Mount Edward and Sato (Sato makes the Mount Edward Pinot Noir) were good...I think what Sato wants from his high end one (RRP 115) is a bit much...I'd rather just get a Felton Road Block 3 or Block 5 for that...
The US stuff was ok. Decent Cabs...Viognier was nice. Really nice Petite Syrah from Stags Leap.
Stags Leap cab was good..not great. The Chateau St. Jean Cab was just far too tannic...I'm not sure what was wrong w/ it..
Didn't spend too much time in the Australian section....
I did try stuff from Pressing matters..their Rieslings were actually pretty good. They had R0 and R9 which represents how much residual sugar there was in there...The R0 was good..the R9 was very good.
I've been wanting to try Scarborough in the Hunter for awhile so I tried their stuff here. Really nice Shiraz...great acidity for a red. After trying a couple of big reds there, this was really nice and cheap too for what you get. I need to go here next time I'm in the hunter. Good Semillon as well and actually a pretty good Chardonnay. Of course, at this point my Palate was getting pretty tired so it could be the acid was really refreshing and it is not as good as I thought but I think it was. Not super Huntery on the nose but definitely had that leather, earthiness, low alcohol and acidity that I like from the Hunter...
Also tried some Cherubino stuff at the end..but my palate was definitely gone and after the Hunter Shiraz..just too big at that point....Well made, but I couldn't get anything from it...
Tried a few other random things from Mclaren Vale and Barossa...a lot of nice wines but they're still quite big...I definitely think they're a bit more balanced and definitely they're toning down the super over the top..but you can just see it in your glass...The stuff literally coats the sides of your glass...
A fairly uncommon opportunity to try wines from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, USA and of course Australia, it was definite one of those I was looking forward to...
I'm also thinking I should be taking pictures..as of course that helps complete the picture but when I'm at these events I'm a machine...I did over 110 wines in 3 hours...actually, I think I'm getting quicker and quicker but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not. But between tasting and talking w/ the people there, I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to take pictures...Maybe I need to research who is going to be there if I can and plot out a better plan of attack...
Japan
The Japan stuff was all Sake and two Whiskeys (which I didn't try). Two very unusual ones which were:
Kameman Shuzo - 2010 Genmaishu Junmai Genmai-zake. A bit of brown sugar and a different mouthfeel to Sake. Almost barley like? Brownish in color, it was quite nice but definitely not what I'm used to.
Mukai Shuzo - 2010 Ine Mankai Junmai Genshu. A sake made from Red Rice...I don't think I would've picked this as Sake. A bit of cherry, much more acidity than what I normally think of with sake...It's actually very wine like but with that familiar rice alcohol feel in the nose.
The others were Okamura Honke which was a very nice "normal" sake and the Kidoizumi Shuzo which was also very nice. For non-sake drinkers, the Chikuma Nishiki - Kizan Sanban is probably a good choice...a bit sweeter, it was actually quite enjoyable...different than what I'm used to but quite nice.
I'm not much of a sake drinker...I like good sake but I'm so woefully inexperienced...I know what certain phrases mean when describing the sake but really I'm out of my depth.
France:
The Champagne there was pretty good. Lombard & Cie was actually quite good overall. I have never seen them before but it was nice to again have a good sparkler..I'm not a fan of Aussie Sparkling..I think most of it is pretty bad. Lombard's Magenta Cuvee was good, not great but had that nice biscuit taste, a bit of peach, and no huge flaws like I tend to see with Aussie stuff. Their NV Brut which I guess is a a step up, was quite nice, to me it was very similar to the Magenta but a better nose, slightly more complex and nicer finish. The Brut Rose 1er Cru NV was also very good with a bit more acid, slightly sweeter but still a very nice finish overall.
Their 2004 Brut Grand Cru was ok, I felt like something was missing. Maybe it was because I had it after the Rose (which was their suggestion but not one I would think is right). Maybe it seem to harsh, a bit too dry, I would have expected this to be better than their Brut or Magenta. Lastly I tried their 2004 Blanc de Blancs. Definitely nicer than the Brut GC. A cleaner taste than the others so far, nice acidity, I actually think this one needs a bit more time.
There were two other Champagnes I tried at different times.
Larmandier NV Brut Blanc de blancs 1er Cru....I've seen them before as they tend to be in that 40-50 dollar range in the US. It was fairly good, nothing I'm seeking out. A step up from an Aussie sparking...I'd rather have the Lombard though.
Jean-Paul Perardel NV. Wasn't overly impressed here. Probably my least favorite of the group.
All of the champagnes were pretty good...Nothing was bad. I'd prefer them over an Aussie Sparkling...at the same time, I'd really only look for the Lombard & Cie...Maybe it wasn't a fair assessment since I had the others later in the evening...it won't prevent me from trying the others again...
The Bordeaux there, was terrible. I'm not sure how they possibly have any 2010's out...although that probably explains it. With 2009s just starting to come in from any decent producer in Bordeaux, seeing 2010s here was almost laughable. Both the whites and reds were disappointing..I'm not even going to mention other than that.
The Burgundies...Chablis was ok. The Domaine Christophe 2010 Petit Chablis was fairly nice. The Chardonnay was ok. Really there were no good examples of White Burgs there to try... No Pinots except one made by an Aussie with Burg fruit....Decent Pinot, great value at 21 dollars.. Called Les Petites Vignettes.
The Beaujolais was pretty good...not a great selection and even in talking to one of the main importers, what they have available is really limited (not just at the show but in talking to them, in general). The Vissoux Fleurie Poncie was nice, I've had this before from a different vintage but the 2010 was nicer. I asked one of the importers why there doesn't seem to be any availability of Lapierre Morgon...to which he asked if that was a small producer because he had never heard of it....I'm thinking, how do you import Booj but not know of Lapierre? I told him Lapierre is quite well known...he just said they must not carry it in Australia.
A couple of interesting things made with Tannat...too tannic to drink though...That was from Madiran and Cahors.
2005 Madiran Chateau Bouscasse. REALLY tannic...Overly Tannic...I would've expected it to soften somewhat...even though it is made from Tannat...Might go well with a big steak. I can't see drinking this any other way. Nice wine though.
2008 Chateau du Cedre Cahors. The guy told me it was Malbec..but this thing had huge tannins...he insisted it was just Malbec but I'm reading it is Malbec Tannat Merlot...which might explain why it is so Tannic. I looked this up online, it looks like it is just a little bit..really weird.... A bit more fruit forward than the Madiran but again, one that needs food. Apparently this retails for 50 AUD....I see some in the US for 15 or so..might be a different wine. At 15 it is a pretty good buy, maybe with some air it'll soften up a bit...at 50 it is a joke...
Chateauneuf du Pape.
They only had one which was the Chateau Mont Redon, 2007. Pretty good wine, big fruit but had a very nice balance. I think my wife would love this one. Retails for 90 AUD but selling for 68, either way it's a 25-35 USD CdP... At 25-30 it is a great buy. 90 makes me want to laugh. Another great example of Aussies getting RIPPED a new one by retailers. I've been told retailers are trying to keep prices stable which is why none of the prices have dropped with the stronger AUD....and apparently they cut their margins when the currency is weaker...but from 2000, that has basically been never. Sure there was a drop for a few months from .90USD to .60USD but basically, the currency has been appreciating since 2000 from .5USD to now over 1 USD. And retailers are laughing at the number of Francophiles that love their 50-100 dollar French wine that really retails everywhere else in the competitive retail world for 15-30 dollars.
Languedoc
They had a fairly nice Languedoc...Pretty good value here I think..
2010 Domaine Jean baptiste La Nine. This retails for 15 dollars elsewhere but in Australia it is 40..selling for 32....It isn't bad at 32 but Languedoc punches above its weight anyways....an underrated and undervalued wine region.
Alsace
The stuff from Alsace was disappointing. Ok Riesling, decent Pinot Gris...I've had better from here. The most interesting wine from Alsace was the really bad Pinot Noir. It is the perfect example of a bad European wine. No Acid, Dirt, tannins, no fruit. I like elegant wines, I don't really care for big fruit...but really when it tastes like tannins mixed with water and dirt..No...Even the importer thought it was bad.
Germany
Donnhoff. I haven't seen just Donnhoff estate riesling (Dry) before. I suspect that is their Donnhoff Riesling Trocken but not sure. It wasn't very good. Just too bone dry with not enough acid and not enough fruit. Their 2010 Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett was good but generally all their stuff is good. I like both the Kabinett and Spatlese from this producer...The one thing that surprised me was I thought the 2010 would have more acid..since I've read that is the case w/ most German Riesling for 2010...I didn't really think it was too acidic...
They had an A. Chistmann Grosses Gewachs Riesling which is supposed to be pretty good..I thought it was ok. Better than the Donnhoff Dry but not better than that Kabinett. It had a lot of complexity but I don't know...it was missing something..
Italy
There were a couple of decent Valpolicellas....One really traditional Old World one..and one that was a bit more modern. Both were well made. Some decent Sangiovese based wines...
The Nebbiolo there was ok. Most of it far too young...the on Barbaresco I thought was decent was way overpriced for what you got....The younger stuff was pretty cheap....
Overall, Italian stuff is looking good and in talking with them, the prices for Italian stuff has dropped..apparently because the price for it hasn't been established. To me this is good news. I think there will be some interesting Italian stuff coming in. Looking forward to some decent Sangiovese...
Some pretty decent Rioja from Exopto. They were all Tempranillo/Grenache/Graciano blends...
The Bozeto was a bit young. Nice Tempranillo though. The way the importer was talking about it, I expected it to be a bit more elegant but either way, it was a very nice Tempranillo and priced very well at 20-25.
The 2008 Horizonte Exopto was very good. At 33 it is a great buy..42 it is a decent buy. Very similar to the Bozeto but a bit more developed, a bit more elegant, greater complexity. A very good Rioja.
I already had this opinion but even the lower end Sangiovese and Tempranillo stuff tastes so much better than the Tempranillo and Sangiovese they make in Australia...I know they're trying new grapes but so far, any decent Temp/Sangio in Australia is 40+ and everything else seems to be bad..And the 40+ Temp/Sangio isn't exactly great..it is just decent.
New Zealand.
Some good stuff from NZ. Bunch of really nice Pinot Noirs. Both Craggy Range and Pyramid were nice...
Pyramid had some interesting whites...I'm not sure they were great, the semillon was very different, interesting, but for 43 on special (normally 53) I'd much rather get a Vat1. Both their Riesling and Pinot Blanc were nice. You can definitely get a feel for their style...Maybe it is their Terroir...Either way, they're nice but expensive...I don't imagine they sell for nearly as much in NZ or anywhere else...Pyramid had a decent Pinot, I don't think this is their better Pinot and quite overpriced at 70 RRP (selling for 57). You can pick this up for 30 USD. You can pick up their Calvert Pinot for 35-40. Based on how I see NZ wines priced in Australia, take NZ RRP and multiply by 2 which makes it a 105 AUD wine. What a joke.
Craggy had some good stuff. I think their Riesling was really good. Te Muna Riesling. Really really nice acidity, had a great tart feel and balanced by a bit of sweetness but not too much. Really quite good. I'll be looking for more in the US although it doesn't look like Te Muna makes it to the US. I'll give the Fletcher one a try either way. Te Kahu Merlot was good value although a bit expensive here. Their GG Syrah was pretty decent..a bit young. The 2009 Le Sol, I could hardly get anything from it was so tight. I've had this before with some age, really good. This one was just way too young and I'm not a good judge of what it will do later based on what I taste aside from the fact that I can tell it has good structure so I would guess it would become something quite nice.
Ata Rangi was good...Their main Pinot is actually very Burg like...I'm not sure everyone would like it but it was pretty good. Their Crimson Pinot was more fruit forward..fairly decent.
Matua Valley was ok. A lot of big Pinots but nothing I was too impressed with. For what they're trying to get, there are dozens of other Pinot Noirs from Central Otago that are better and cost less.
Mount Edward and Sato (Sato makes the Mount Edward Pinot Noir) were good...I think what Sato wants from his high end one (RRP 115) is a bit much...I'd rather just get a Felton Road Block 3 or Block 5 for that...
The US stuff was ok. Decent Cabs...Viognier was nice. Really nice Petite Syrah from Stags Leap.
Stags Leap cab was good..not great. The Chateau St. Jean Cab was just far too tannic...I'm not sure what was wrong w/ it..
Didn't spend too much time in the Australian section....
I did try stuff from Pressing matters..their Rieslings were actually pretty good. They had R0 and R9 which represents how much residual sugar there was in there...The R0 was good..the R9 was very good.
I've been wanting to try Scarborough in the Hunter for awhile so I tried their stuff here. Really nice Shiraz...great acidity for a red. After trying a couple of big reds there, this was really nice and cheap too for what you get. I need to go here next time I'm in the hunter. Good Semillon as well and actually a pretty good Chardonnay. Of course, at this point my Palate was getting pretty tired so it could be the acid was really refreshing and it is not as good as I thought but I think it was. Not super Huntery on the nose but definitely had that leather, earthiness, low alcohol and acidity that I like from the Hunter...
Also tried some Cherubino stuff at the end..but my palate was definitely gone and after the Hunter Shiraz..just too big at that point....Well made, but I couldn't get anything from it...
Tried a few other random things from Mclaren Vale and Barossa...a lot of nice wines but they're still quite big...I definitely think they're a bit more balanced and definitely they're toning down the super over the top..but you can just see it in your glass...The stuff literally coats the sides of your glass...
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