New Zealand in a Glass 2013 part 4

I had no idea I'd have 4 parts to this and still have this much left :).  I think the approach of trying to talk about each wine is a bit much but let me know what you think.  I'm thinking of just sticking with highlights and adding bits more...

Matua

I don't remember being overly impressed with them last but this year they had a couple of interesting wines..

Matua Estate Paretai Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Very NZ SB but a different texture to it.  Quite enjoyable and priced right at 25RRP

Matua Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2011

Very nice acid, nice citrus peach, really good balance.  A bit pricey at 50RRP but a very good drop.  Will be looking out for them..

Northburn Station

www.northburn.co.nz

Northburn Station Bill's Blend Pinot Noir 2009.
Good acid, nice bright fruit, good balance...Not terribly complex but at 30RRP, a good buy. 

Tarras Vineyards
www.tarrasvineyards.com


Tarras Vineyards The Steppes Pinot Noir 2008
Good acid, great balance, darker fruit, good complexity.  Quite a nice Pinot...Maybe a bit of a stretch at 50RRP but a pretty reasonable buy.

Wooing Tree
www.wooingtree.co.nz

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2009
Usually pretty impressed by this but I just thought it was decent.  Same good acid, good complexity..but just overall not that impressed when RRP is 60.

Wooing Tree Sandstorm Reserve Pinot Noir 2009
Good acid, BIG tannins, you can get hints of the different layers of fruit but still relatively tight.  Not as tight as the last one I tried but still, VERY young.   Looks like it'll be fantastic in 10+ years but hard to say.  At 120RRP there are a lot of good Pinots...

William Murdoch Wines

www.murdochwines.co.nz

One of the more interesting winemakers here.  I hadn't heard of them but they make handcrafted organic wines that are made to age.  All of the wines were quite tannic,

Their Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon/France had big tannins...good complexity, nice fruit...and price nicely at sub 30RRP....

William Murdoch The Guardsman Cabernet Sauvignon Blend 2010

BIG TANNINS.  Good acidy, deep dark fruit.  Layers of complexity on this wine and it is definitely made to age 20+ years.  I would love to see this with age.  53RRP

New Zealand in a Glass 2013 part 3

Part 3 of what is hopefully just 4 parts. 

Invivo Wines New Zealand 

www.invivowines.com

Invivo Wines Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - Marlborough

Pretty typical NZ SB but with a bit more complexity.  Decent buy at 20 RRP

Invivo Wines Pinot Gris 2012

Good Acid, good fruit, a bit more to this than most Pinot Gris...for people looking for a more interesting Pinot Gris, this one isn't too bad.  

bella by Invivo - Rose SB

Well made Rose, some fruit, some acid, quite interesting.  Quite a few decent Roses coming out of NZ...it doesn't seem to be an afterthought like it is in Australia.

Invivo Pinot Noir 2011 - Central Otago

Good Acid, bright fruit...but not terribly interesting..competent . 

 

Jackson Estate

www.jacksonestate.co.nz

Quite a few interesting SB's from here.  Both of their SBs are good examples of trying to differentiate themselves from the rest of NZ SB.  I'm not sure how successful that is money wise but wine geek wise, it makes the wines infinitely more interesting..

Jackson Estate Stich Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - Marlborough

Good acid..really nice complexity..it is NZ SB but a lot more depth and unfolding layers. Good buy at 20RRP

Jackon Estate Grey Ghost Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - Marlborough

Really interesting nose where you're picking up the grass and some passionfruit from NZ SB but you can definitely tell this has had oak...Palate has really good complexity..still really nice acid but greater depth in mouthfeel...fruit still there but the oak adds so much to this wine.  I'm sure there is more to it than that but really nice SB.  At 35RRP it is probably more than what most people would pay for NZ SB..but if you're going to get SB, this one is so much more interesting...I'd rather have this than 10 bottles of typical NZ SB....

Jackson Estate Shelter Belt Chardonnay 2011

OAK OAK.  Really great use of oak in the Grey Ghost SB, really poor use of oak in this wine.  I'm not sure what happened here or what they were trying to do but this was not right.  

Jackson Estate Vintage Widow Pinot Noir 2011 - Marlborough

Good acidity, nice bright fruit...not terribly complex but a pretty good drop at 35RRP.

 

Konrad Wines

www.konradwines.co.nz

Very typical NZ style in all of these.  Acres of blah really.  Nothing bad, everything just ok.  

 

Lawson's Dry Hills Wines

www.lawsonsdryhills.co.nz

I've had a number of good things from here but this year most of it was just very ordinary.  

Lawsons Dry Hills Gewurztraminer 2010

Quite an interesting Gewurz.  Still getting that Lychee but really nice depth to this.  They've really cleaned up the finish and got a lot out of this.  One of the better Gewurztraminers I've seen out of NZ.  A bit much but not too bad of a buy at 26RRP.  

Man O'War Vinyards

www.manowarvineyards.co.nz

Tulia Methode Traditionnelle 2009

A very well made Sparkling wines.  Fresh, good acidity, good balance..I'm not sure it has the depth I really want out of a sparkling...and I really miss not having that biscuity yeasty flavor to this.  Definitely well made but at 55RRP, while probably not bad compared to the ridiculous prices Champagne sells for in Australia, it is still quite high for this.  There are miles of better sparkling wines in a competitive market place for almost half of what this goes for...

Gravestone Sauvignon Semillon 2012

Good depth on the palate, refreshing but a letdown at 32RRP.  

Warspite Bordeaux Blend 2010

This is more in a St. Emilion type blend with Cab Franc, Merlot and Malbec.  Good acidity for a red (yay), really good depth, deep dark fruits on the palate, some spice, tannins are smooth but adding structure to the wine...Really quite good.  A bit on the expensive side at 55RRP but not a bad buy at that price.  

Ironclad Bordeaux Blend 2010. 

Similar to the Warspite...a bit less acid and the tannins are a bit bigger and more apparent.  I suspect the Cabernet Sauvignon in this is what is doing that.  Good complexity, good structure, good fruit.  I'd rather drink the Warpite now, but this might be better in 10+ years.  55RRP.  

Martinborough Vineyard
www.martinborough-vineyard.co.nz

Martinborough Vineyard Savugnon Blanc 2012
Pretty typical NZ SB.  Good acidity but just very ok.

Martinborough Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010.
Good acidity, bright fruit, good complexity.  Really nice Pinot...a real stretch though at 75RRP.

Mt. Difficulty
www.mtdifficulty.no.nz

There used to be some pretty good stuff out of here..but the last few years I've not been impressed with their stuff at all.  Not sure if they have sat on their previous successes or just thought too much of themselves and raised prices to unrealistic levels..not sure..

Mt. Difficulty Target Riesling 2012
Good acid.  Nice complexity, pretty decent buy at 30RRP

Mt.  Difficulty Pinos Gris 2012.
Good acidity but just very ok.  No way I'd buy this at 30RRP

Mt Dfficulty Pinor Noir 2011 - Bannockburn
Good acid, bright fruit but not enough depth and complexity here.  Pretty simple and way overpriced at 50RRP

Mt. Difficulty Single Vineyard Long Gully Pinot Noir 2010 - Bannockburn
Good acidity, really nice depth to this.  Good structure.  A really nice Pinot but 100RRP, just way too overpriced. 

Trinity Hill
www.trinityhill.com

I've liked some of the stuff from here in the past but this year it I just was not feeling it.

Most of their line was very ordinary...

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2011.
Nice medium bodied shiraz.  Good acidity, dark fruit.  A very nice foil to what you see in Australia.  Priced well at 39RRP

I also got to try their Homage but I don't remember which vintage.  I believe it was the same one I tried last year as it was a lot softer than it was last year.  Tannins have really softened a bit and you can start seeing some of the fruit and depth in the wine.

New Zealand in a Glass 2013 part 2

Part 2.

Elephant Hill

Mapmaker

www.elephanthill.co.nz

This winemaker had a few very interesting wines last year...so I was looking forward to seeing what else they had up their sleeve...

Elephant Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - Te Awanga Hawkes Bay

Typical NZ SB but a bit better depth...Last year they had one with oak, this year they didn't..Better than a typical NZ SB but not by much.  28 RRP

Map Marker Sauvignon Blanc 2012

NZ SB.  

Elephant Hill Chardonnay 2010 - Te Awanga Hawkes Bay

Fermented in Oak barrels with no malo, solid chardonnay with good depth but needs more time to integrate the oak...

Map Maker Pinot Gris 2012 - Marlborough.

Fermented in Oak barrels, no Malo...really nice mouthfeel and depth to this.  Far more interesting than most Pinot Gris.  A bit on the expensive side for a Pinot Gris (30 RRP) but definitely worth giving a shot if want Pinot Gris with a bit more to it (which is normally what it lacks). 

Elephant Hill Pinot Noir 2011 - Central Otago

Good acid, bright fruit, smooth tannins, good structure.  Solid overall pinot.  Maybe a bit expensive at 45 RRP but pretty good.  

Map Maker Pinot Noir 2010 - Marlborough

Good Acid.  A bit too fruity but a nice drop.  Reasonably priced at 33RRP.

Elephant Hill Syrah 2010 - Hawkes Bay

Medium bodied, dark and red fruits, some herbs...decent acid...good structure...Pretty good buy at 35 RRP...

Elephant Hill Reserve Syrah 2009 - Hawkes Bay

A bit tight at this point but getting some very dark fruit.  Acid is decent, tannins are pretty harsh still..this needs more time.  Good complexity and depth to this.  A reasonable buy at 49 RRP but hard to say where this is headed...

Francrest Estate
www.fancrest.com
A surprise from last year, I was really looking forward to seeing these as they were quite interesting last year...They have renamed their Di's label to just Fancrest Estate.

Fancrest Estate Pinot Noir 2009 - Omhi Hills Waipara Valley
I remember this being tight last year but you could still see some fruit sticking out.  This has really changed a lot from what I remember.  Good acidity, good structure, overall good balance and depth.  Drinking quite nicely right now..one to follow to see how it develops.

Fancrest Estate Pinot Noir 2010 - Omhi Hills Waipara Valley
I don't know if this has budged from last year.  Very very tight.  Tannins are really quite pronounced.  Some fruit is sticking out but really tough through all the tannins.  Wine is showing really nice complexity and depth..Acid is good...this should be an interesting one.  The structure is there to go long haul..but without the history and reputation, I think it is a hard sell for a lot of people.  I REALLY want to see this next year and in 5+ years...

Fancrest Estate Pinot 2011 - Omhi Hills Waipara Valley
I don't know if Diane did something different in 2011 but the contrast between it and 2010 is tremendous.  Really good acidity showing through, bright fruit, very nice complexity and depth to this Pinot.  Tannins are there, definitely there, but they are adding to the depth and mouthfeel and not detracting from tasting the rest of the wine.  It is drinking very well right now and a good buy at 42RRP.  How will this be in a few years?  After having tried 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011..I have no idea...but should be interesting...

This is an interesting estate overall.  I hope Diane gets more coverage as she is making some really interesting stuff.   It looks like she has shifted her winemaking style because I don't think the change in 2011 is strictly from vintage conditions...I really want to see these in a few years..

Giesen Wines
www.giesenwines.com

Giesen Estate Sauvignon Blance 2012
Very typical NZ SB.

Giesen The Brothers Sauvignon Blance 2011
Good depth of flavor, better than a normal NZ SB.

Giesen The August Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Good Acidity, good depth of flavor, fermented in oak barrels for 9 months and the oak and really added weight and complexity to this.  Really quite nice but 40 RRP for a NZ SB is a bit high..but not too bad.

Giesen The Brothers Chardonnay 2011
Decent acidity, good depth, citrus a good buy at 25 RRP

Giesen Estate Pinot Noir 2011 - Marlborough
Good acid and bright fruit.  Easy drinking and decent buy at 25 RRP

Giesen The Brothers Pinot Noir 2011 - Marlborough.
Really nice acidity and typical Marlborough bright fruit.  Quite a bit more depth and complexity to this...craving a bit more structure though..not too bad at 40RRP

New Zealand in a Glass 2013 part 1

I have been looking forward to attending this event as it was quite a good one last year.  New Zealand Wine puts on this event in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to promote New Zealand wine in Australia...to both consumers and industry. 

Overall it was good...although I think a lot of the wineries from last year that I really enjoyed were not here...Specifically Surveyor Thomson, Pasquale, Auntsfield and Bridge Pa....But even with their absence, there were many interesting things going on. 

One thing I saw from last year and taken one step further this year was that everyone was trying to make a different Sav Blanc.  They were all very much NZ Sav Blanc but with different selections of fruit and use of oak.  There is no doubt people are trying to differentiate themselves from the oceans of Sav Blan coming out of NZ.  What I mean by that is you can take 10 different NZ Sav Blanc from 15-25 dollars and they all taste very similar..no distinguishing terroir, not even a difference in style...yes, one might have more passion fruit...one might have more gooseberry..but are they really any different?  Not really..

The one thing that annoys me when I look at this show is the pricing of NZ wines...They are actually higher in pure numbers in AUD than in NZD.  To give you an example..

A wine that might be 38 NZD is 44 AUD.   Yes there is WET and a bunch of other worthless junk that goes into it... So 38NZD is about 30AUD...so somewhere in there is another 50% of taxes and shipping?  Keep in mind NZ producers get WET back as well so the number is way out of wack..I don't understand it...

Akarua
www.akarua.com

Akarua Brut Sparkling (NV)
Akarua Rose Brut Sparkling (NV)
Both of these were just ok.  Very much like an Aussie sparkling which means they weren't very good.

Akarua Pinot Noir 2011.
Good Acidity, bright fruit, good complexity, solid showing but a bit on the expensive side (48 AUD RRP).  Overall a pretty good wine. 

Akarua Rua Pinot Noir 2012.
Good Acidity, fruit was ok.  Pretty bland overall but solid.  On the expensive side for what you get (32 AUD RRP).  

Allan Scott Family Winemakers
www.allanscott.com

Allan Scott Blanc de Blancs Sparkling (NV)
Allan Scott Cecelia Sparkling (NV)
Allan Scott Les Joues Rouge Sparkling (NV)
I'm considering not mentioning any of the Sparkling, they just were not that good.  There is a typical lack of depth with AU/NZ Sparkling wine...I'm not saying it is terrible...they're just not very good..

Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc 2012
Very typical NZ SB.  I have nothing against SB, I think it is fine...but this tastes like every other sub 20 dollar NZ SB.

Allan Scott Pinot Noir 2011 - Marlborough
A solid effort out of Marlborough.  Good acidity, bright fruit, maybe too much..but solid performer at 22 AUD RPP.

Scott Base is their Central Otago line.

Scott Base Riesling 2009 Central Otago
I didn't enjoy this.  Not enough acidity, it was very flat.
Scott Base Chardonnay  2010.
A bit over oaked, some fruit, not sure where this is headed.
Scott Base Pinot Noir 2011
Good acidity, some good complexity, bright fruit.  Reasonable for its price of 30AUD RRP. 

Bespoke Wine Company

www.bespokewines.co.nz

They represent several different wineries in New Zealand..they're still searching for distribution but they do have a fairly solid line up (Pinot wise anyways).

Bespoke has their own label (this is new from last year) called Fifth Bridge.  Through their interactions with other businesses they are able to acquire fruit from different places and when they find suitable quality, at the right price, they make their own wine.

Fifth Bridge Pinot Gris 2009 - Central Otago

Not a good start.  Not too impressed with this Pinot Gris..

Fifth Bridge Pinot Noir 2010 - Central Otago..

Well made, good acidity, good use of oak.  Solid fruit.  RRP of 25 AUD makes this a pretty good buy.  

Charcoal Gully Estate Sallys Pinch Gewerztraminer 2011

Just very blah...some lychee..but not much...This is just blah..

Charcoal Gully Estate Sallys Pinch Pinot Noir 2011

Good acidity, solid fruit.  Nothing really standing out here.  Nothing bad, nothing great...

Ceres Composition Pinot Noir 2009

Really good acidity followed by solid fruit coming in from behind the acidity..quite nice actually.  I think they've had some balance issues when they first release their wine but I've been pretty impressed.  Price a bit too high for a relative unknown but still very solid at 44 RRP.  

Folding Hill Pinot Noir 2009 - Bendigo Central Otago.

Really nice acidity follow with nice red fruits, good complexity, good balance.  Very nice wine.  This was my favorite from them last year as well.  On the more expensive side at 48 RRP but a pretty good buy considering the quality. 

 Craggy Range

www.craggyrange.com

I think most people are familiar with Craggy Range..they're one of the biggest producers out of NZ and they export all over the world.  They have a huge range of products for many different grape varieties....

Avery Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2012.  

I was expecting a typical SB but this one was actually quite nice.  Good acidity but really nice depth and complexity which I don't normally see from NZ SB.  Some good minerality coming through...nice SB...a bit expensive for SB at 32 RRP but quite good.

Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Immediately you can tell this has spent some time in oak.  The sharpness of NZ SB is dulled a bit against the oak...I don't believe this has any new oak but it has still imparted really nice depth and complexity and mouthfeel to this SB.  As far as which is drinking better now, the Avery is...but I'd like to see this in a year or two....  32 RRP for an oaked SB isn't too bad..

Te Muna Riesling 2012.

This might've been my favorite wine of the show.  Razer sharp acidity, really nice depth, a bit of residual sugar...I really like this.  I'm not sure what it is giving it its extra depth when I'm tasting it but I take a quick look...Oak barrels...Most riesling does not ferment in oak barrels but this one did (no new oak) and I think it really added another layer of depth to the whole thing.  With its 9+g of acid, sub 3 ph and 9.x grams of residual sugar, this is a fantastic blend of basically everything I like in a riesling...and at 34 RRP this is quite good....It isn't widely available yet..but should be soon. 

Kidnappers Vineyard Charddonay 2011

Out of Hawkes pay, this was actually a bit of a disappointment compared to the Riesling and SB...Nothing really wrong with it...Maybe my expectations were too high...I'd like to try this again and see...

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot  Noir 2011 - Marlborough

Good acidity, fruit was nice but really nothing special here.  A very ordinary effort..nothing wrong with it..but for 55RRP, way overpriced.

Craggy Range Calvert Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 - Central Otago

A much better effort...really good acidity...deep red fruits...good depth and complexity....a bit more structure to this.....I'm shocked at the price though..80 RRP is nuts...Is it a good Pinot?  Yes...Is it worth 80 dollars?  Nope...

Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard Merlot 2010

This was another just very ordinary effort.  Capable, nothing wrong...but at 43 RRP..just no way.

Craggy Range Te Kahu Merlot Cabernet Franc 2010

A fairly popular low/mid ranged Bordeaux blend that is relatively popular on the export market as well as Australia...Relatively good structure, dark fruit, herbs...but something is not quite catching my attention on this one.  Capable and reasonable at 34 RRP.  

Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Vineyard Syrah 2010

Nice medium body, decent acidity, smoothish tannins....You can definitely see the effort here to separate themselves from the Australian market...Reasonable buy at 43RRP

Craggy Range Sophia Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2010.

This is one of their flagship wines which also gets a lot of coverage overseas.  They really should've decanted this as it was just a monster of a wine.  HUGE tannins...I'm not sure I can feel my teeth.  You can see it has really good structure  and somewhere in there is some fruit...some mocha coming through...a hint of herbs..but really the tannins are too big it is hard to get too much from this wine.  Having had previous vintages, this should be very good.  In Australia it is quite reasonable at 85 RRP...but it generally sells for around 50 elsewhere. 

Summer of Riesling 2013

I was lucky enough to attend a Riesling event at the Beresford Hotel.  It has a combination of stuff from Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria and the US.

Overall there was a fantastic selection of Rieslings even though it was a bit more Australiancentric than I would have liked.

Most of the German and Austrian Rieslings were ok.  Prices were actually quite good overall. 

I think as I have more and more Riesling...my palate is moving more towards some RS +  good acidity....Australian Rieslings tend to have very good acidity but with the whole bone dry thing, I think a lot of them fall short.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of VERY good bone dry Rieslings in Australia..they age fantastically well...but so many of them end up just being a battery acid mess lacking in any real complexity and void of any fruit...just because it tastes like petrol doesn't mean it has developed properly.

Here are some of the highlights from the show:

Gaelic Cemetery  Riesling 2012.  Very good depth to this.  Hasn't started developing too much but it has a very nice mid palate, good length, quite a  nice drop.  Just a touch of RS is really helping to soften this a little bit...it is nice.  Retail on this is stupid though..Something like 45AUD.  Made by the same winemaker as Pikes...I can see the similarity in style but even as expensive as Pikes Merle is...it is still cheaper than this...and a better wine to boot.  Good wine, worth drinking but probably 10-15 dollars too much...

Lethbridge Dr. Nadeson Riesling 2011....I love this guys stuff and this is no different.  Some RS mixed with high acid content and low ph makes for a very interesting Riesling...a bit of sweet and a bit of sizzle...It looks an importer may start bringing his stuff in the US..I'm actually excited about seeing that happen...

Tunkalilla Riesling  2010 from Willamette Valley in Oregon.  I was really surprised with this one...really nice development on the nose..good complexity..you can smell that it has a bit of residual sugar...Citrus, lemon, some herbs...looks interesting.  On the palate it just smacks you in the face...REALLY strong acidity...but it it all balanced out by the RS...17-18g of sugar which isn't too high but it strikes a very interesting balance of RS and Acid..I think I actually like this better than the Lethbridge...with 9.9g of acid (which is high) and a ph under 3....

Weiser Kuenstler "Enkircher Ellergrub" Kabinett 2011.  This is the same wine I tried at Sepia..although because they've kept them too cold, I'm not getting as much from the nose.  Still, the wine had great depth and great balance.  It was still one of my favorites but I didn't get the same wonderful nose from before...I do like some of the new world style Rieslings..but German Rieslings have it down when it comes to integrating RS into the wine...such great balance and oneness and the minerality tends to really show through a bit better...

I was a little disappointed there weren't any German GG's there and I felt the foreign section was a bit smaller than it should have been..but overall it was a great showing...

Royal Sydney Wine 2013

I've been attending this show each year for the last four or so years..and each year they have their own set of issues...but after this year I'm not sure I'll be attending another one...

The good:

They had a lot of snack foods available which were included in the cost of the ticket (which was more expensive this year but it was well  worth having the snacky food in the middle.  This was a HUGE improvement over previous years.

They had people pouring the portions (Much more on this in the bad section).  Making sure people weren't pouring themselves full glasses of wine was very welcome.

They tried to make it so everyone could get a taste of the Trophy winners.  They limited everyone to three tastes within the Trophy room.  I think four would've been a better number but I can appreciate what they're trying to do here.

The different classes/tutorials were all open so you could attend multiple tutorials if you wanted..this was a very good idea.  They also mixed it up a bit and did ones different from previous years...

They also had a couple of  vendors selling other stuff..one of them was Sweetness Patisserie.

http://www.sweetness.com.au/

So a lot of very nice sweet snacky treats to buy at the end of your tasting.....Their Marshmallows and Rocky Road are YUM. 

The bread in the snack section was provided by Brasserie Bread.  This is the second time I've had their bread and it is excellent.

http://www.brasseriebread.com.au/


The BAD:

I'm not sure what happened but they were missing a LOT of the wine.  It wasn't the popular stuff or the award winners..but the NON award winners were nearly non-existent.  I'm sure many of these wines don't get too much attention during the show but let's face it, we're there to try different wines and honestly, I could care less if a wine wins a Trophy, Gold or any other award....

If you're going to have people pouring, you need to have enough people.  There just weren't enough people pouring and it was rather frustrating seeing them run back and forth all over the place...That plus  half the space to try (because they were on the other side of the table, half as many people could be near the table) was probably not a good combination. 

Also, if you're going to have them pour..DO NOT HAVE THEM POUR HALF A GLASS.  Maybe this is the new trend and I  am the one that doesn't get it.  But this is a tasting event...you should have enough to taste and move on...this IS NOT a DRINKING EVENT.

If you're going to split up the wines into categories..that's great...But don't end up with a few random ones that for some reason weren't in their spot and ended up in random places in other portions of the hall.  There were 3 categories that were basically lost and I have no idea why..it is just poor planning...especially since there was more than enough table room in the hall..there were plenty of empty spots...

The Wine.  Overall I was pretty disappointed with the entries this year.  It could've just been my palate but I did find some good wines there so I'm not sure that was it...


Wine Highlights:

Tyrell's Vat 1 Semillon 2005.  This has been highly touted for a long time but it hadn't really started that transition to an aged Semillon the few times I've had it in the past.  This time however, was different.  Wonderful honey, toast, lemon, grass and  herbs on the nose.  First sniff after tasting a few others and I was sure this was going to be good.  Palate still had WONDERFUL acidity...but at the same time you really got that slightly petrol, nutty toast, honey, with a touch of lanolin.  Very complex and obviously still changing....Big acidity but still some fruit and stuffing to balance it out and keep it going....This one is going another 15 years at least....

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Semillon 2006.  I'm not sure what happened here.  I tried this because it was there...and in previous tastings the acid was on its way out..not a great amount of development compared to previous AM Semillons....but maybe it was just asleep.  Good acidity, great development...There were other Semillons in the same league as this at the time...but I think I was just surprised that  this one was so different from previous ones I've had...

Tertini Reserve Pinot Noir 2009.
I finally got to this after wading through several full full bodied Pinots...and what a relief.  Medium bodied, red fruit, good acidity, wonderful complexity...Fruit was quite bright but  still had some earth and herbs...One of the better Pinots  I've had in Australia and the best one at the show...

Briar Ridge Dairy Hill Shiraz 2010.  Pepper, herbs, leather and earth on the nose.  Medium bodied with very good acidity.  True Hunter but clean fruit and silky tannins.  This was quite nice.

Pepper Tree Tallavera Limited Hunter Valley Shiraz 2010.  Another very Hunter Shiraz.  Medium Bodied, very good acidity, wonderful complexity.  Bright red fruit, leather, wood and earth.  I'm not sure why they don't have this available when you go to their Cellar door but this was very nice.


Other notables:

Thomas Braemore Semillon, 2009, 2008, 2007...Still one of my favorites...great depth early on which makes it enjoyable young...and develops into a very typical aged Semillon....2008 looks like it'll go for awhile...

Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2011.  Not as good as previous years..but still solid.  I think this is just too young...

Overall..the disappointment of not having everything available and slow rate of tasting because it required servers made for a really mediocre time.  The food was a good touch and the change in the tutorials was nice as well....Not sure I'll be coming back next year though...

Samuel's Gorge Shiraz

I've been a bit sick lately so I've tried to lay off the alcohol...but I did have a chance to try:

Samuel's Gorge Shiraz 2004.

Several years ago when I went to visit the McLaren Vale (thanks to my wife who planned the trip for me), we went to a place called Samuel's Gorge.  I hadn't heard of it before but what really impressed me was that all of his wine (he only makes a few) was very well made. I also liked that the winemaker (who looks like a bit of a hippy) was there talking about his wine..he seemed very passionate about it...I think the only thing I didn't like was there were just too many people and it was a bit crowded in the space that was there.  What struck me most was that he actually had a relatively good Australian Tempranillo....most of which is pretty bad in Australia although it has vastly improved in last few years. 

Forward to 2013 where I had been lucky enough to acquire a Samuel's Gorge Shiraz from 2004 which was a fairly good year for that region...

Big dark and red fruits on the nose....smells a little overripe but not too bad.  I'm not sensing a ton of alcohol and starting to pick up a little herbiness but not too much....It is very clean..but in the sense that it is fairly straightforward..all the good smells, none of the bad..but not too interesting..

Very dark fruits, blackberries, boysenberries and a little raspberry coming through on the palate...A pinch of prune....Definite hints of overrippeness but pretty typical I think for this region.  There is actually decent acidity but not good acidity...I would say good acidity considering this is McLaren Vale...I don't think I'd classify this a fruit bomb..I think it is a wine that can compete overseas (which this does).  I'm not quite sure this is the style I'm looking for as far as what I really enjoy right now..but there is no doubt this would be popular with a lot of people...popular with those that are non wine geeks and still geeky enough for those that are....


There are a lot of events coming up in the next month or two....Riesling, Pinot and more!