Fesq and Company Distributor tasting August 2012

Fesq and Company is a wine distributor here in Australia.  They had a trade/corporate tasting in Sydney where many of the brands they carry had some of their wine available for tasting.  While I'm currently not a buyer or working for a wine store, I've considered myself part of the trade simply because I do review them and try to get their name out there...I'm certainly not there to drink (I don't see how you can go to these things and not spit everything to be honest).  It is always interesting to get to meet some new wineries and get an idea of what is out or coming out from each of them.

A quick list of what wineries were represented (I took some out of the list if I didn't recall seeing it there).

Best's Great Western
Between Five Bells
Bream Creek
BTW...
Carlei
Cascabel
De iuliis
Elderton
Fire Gully
Leconfield
Leeuwin Estate
Lethbridge
Misha's
Moss Wood
Pierro
Printhie
Radford
Richard Hamilton
Sons of Eden
Tim Gramp
Turners Crossing
Zilzie
Duskey Sounds
Main Divide
Momo
Pegasus Bay
Seresin
Tarras
Waipara Hills

A lot of good surprises here...and I actually have pictures!  But stupid me, I had the chance to take them with proper light but was busy tasting..and by the time I got around to taking pictures the lighting was terrible...the result is a lot of pictures out of focus because I needed to allow light in (I didn't want to use a flash with tons of people around) and I couldn't hold it steady enough.  Anyways, some are better than none I suppose..

The winery I was impressed with most was one called Lethbridge which is located in Geelong.    The winemaker's name is Ray Nadeson whose philosophy is basically, he wants to make wine he loves to drink..and while I think every winemaker wants to believe that, with the way Australian wineries change their styles to fit whatever is "in" at the time, I truly believe he is one of very few that take that approach and reflects that into their product.  The best way I can put this is, Ray makes wine for Wine Geeks...He makes wine that gets you thinking, he makes wine in a style he likes even if that isn't what Australians typically want...It was exciting to see.

Lethbridge

2011 Dr. Nadeson Riesling.
Lemon, lime, crushed rock and a bit of grass on the nose.  A young riesling so hasn't developed any aged characteristics but nice.  A big hit of acid on the palate..nice...and what is this?  Some residual sugar?  Not a typical Australian Riesling...I like it.  Nice tart, pure fruit...but I'm really liking the acid...and thing nice thing is, the acid and the sugar are really balancing each other out...It really is a lovely balance.  Don't get me wrong, I like bone dry rieslings as well but I do like the fact that you can get that lovely acidity and balance it with a bit of RS so the wine isn't like tasting battery acid.  Ray tells me the pH is below 3 and something like 13 grams of total acidity...It almost makes me laugh because definitely this needed the RS...I'm really liking this..... I'm going to guess it retails for about 25-30 AUD which makes this a fantastic buy if you can find it.

2008 Lethbridge Allegra Chardonnay.
Ray starts off by telling me this is a limited production of about 90 cases and Heston Blumenthal recently purchased about 40 for his restaurant "Dinner".  Always interesting to know but not letting it influence what I'm tasting.   Peach, citrus a little bit of nuttiness on the nose..nice but maybe a little tight...Then I taste it...a bit of minerality like a rocky peach...good citrus coming through...nice acidity....the oak is really giving it some body and complexity...I'm not sure if malo was used but it has good body but it isn't buttery....Then the wine continues to unfold and evolve.   A hint of lime, some herbs, the acidity continues to dance on my tongue and bring out more layers of flavor.  I REALLY love when you can just keep that one sip of wine in your mouth and it just keeps getting better and better.  So I'm impressed....and surprised..and wondering why the heck haven't I heard of this place before?   Full retail on this is 65, I think you can find it for as low as 50-55.  Either way, great buy.

I move on to the Pinot Noirs of which there are three...

2011 Lethbridge Menage a Noir Pinot.
This is their entry level Pinot Noir....I swish it around...looks to be lighter than a typical Australian Pinot Noir....nose of cherry, no burnt rubber, a bit of moss, rocks...nice nose.  Doesn't smell like a typical Australian Pinot...I try it...feels different..body is different...not a terribly complex wine but this feels...right.  I'm thinking, is this guy making Burg like Pinots in Australia?   The fruit is nice, not great...a bit of earth and dirt...nice cherry flavor..but as this probably sells for about 25AUD in Australia..this isn't bad...I'm not terribly excited about this wine but the style is making me VERY excited about trying the next two. 

2010 Lethbridge Pinot Noir
Again, it looks to be very medium bodied..I'm excited....Lovely nose...strawberries, cherries, forest floor, some earthiness...maybe a touch of coffee..I'm intrigued.  I taste it...WTF.  This guy IS trying to make a very Burg like Pinot Noir...I want to give him a hug.  It is not just the body of the wine but also the mouthfeel..where it hits you in your mouth..the parts of your mouth that taste the wine....Typical Burg like acidity and mouthfeel...I'm getting earthiness...wonderful clean fruit....Cherries, coffee, a bit of truffle is sneaking in there...I would NOT pick this as Australian....There is no way I would pick this as Australian....I'm not sure this would be popular w/ many Australians because this isn't what they're used to but it is really nice stuff.  I think more than anything, I love the style and I love what Ray is trying to do with his wines...Should retail for about 35 AUD or so..which makes this a fantastic buy if you can find it. 

2008 Lethbridge Mietta Pinot Noir
At this point I'm really looking forward to trying this...if their mid range was like that...I'd love to see what their top of the line one is like...The Mietta is a LOT darker than I would have expected...it is almost a disappointment..but then again, a great Pinot can have deep color.....Nose is a bit tight...Still picking up red fruit...some earthiness...I give it a go and to my surprise, it is still in the same style as the previous two except it has much more structure.  Still a bit tight, tannins still need some time..but the fruit is very nice..very pure...definitely makes me think New World but Old World style...great acidity....good earthiness...forest floor...herbs...some bark...Really really nice wine.  I think at this point in time, I would prefer their normal estate Pinot Noir...but I can definitely see this being absolutely brilliant.  The style is fantastic....I believe this retails the same as the Allegra Chardonnay...which again makes this a very good buy. 

Below is Ray from Lethbridge.  Sorry about the poor photo quality Ray!

Turners Crossing

Another winery out of Victoria.  I found out from their managing director that they have a vineyard called Yankee Creek, which I thought was a really funny coincidence.  Paul (pictured below) is also planning on sending me some wine labeled Yankee Creek which we both think will be "a hoot" (His words not mine :)).

2008 Turners Crossing Shiraz Viognier. 
My initial reaction to this is, it doesn't stand out as an Aussie Shiraz Viognier.   Some floral notes on the nose but I'm not picking up the umami that I normally get from Australian Shiraz Viognier.  Red fruits, a touch of earth...but not picking up too much else.  Palate was clean, pure red and dark fruit with good balance and the viognier really softens the wine.  Some earthiness coming through but not a lot...  I wouldn't say this wine is striking me as overly complex but it is very nice to drink.  Strikes me as a very good cool climate shiraz that people (both wine geeks and non wine geeks) would really enjoy to drink on a regular basis.  Retail is about $20AUD which makes this an excellent buy.

2005 Turners Crossing "The Cut" Shiraz
The first thing that strikes me about this is the bottle.  Big Dreadnought bottle with a punt as deep as my hand.  Nose is deep dark fruits...this looks like a giant wine..Picking up some black pepper and mushrooms on the nose.  I take a sip...Not a giant wine...nice.  Still, big structure, tannins are still evident but I'm picking up really nice acidity.  Dark dark fruit and some earth but as it sits in my mouth, it starts unfolding.  The fruit gets a bit brighter, some spice starts coming out...some herbs.  Wonderful complexity, wonderful balance. This is definitely a wine that would appeal to the Australian "full bodied" (Aka, super giant fruit bomb crowd) because of its great structure but it is also a very lovely wine for wine geeks.   Definitely a wine for the long haul but drinking great right now.  Retail is $90 AUD which puts it up there price wise but it definitely delivers on quality. 

Misha's Vineyard
A relatively new winery out of Central Otago...they had a few interesting Pinot Noirs available...I think I tried these right after the Lethbridge ones so it was a good contrast.  I've mentioned this several times before but to me, Central Otago has been making some great pinots...they're not Burgundy like but they do have good acidity...and they are medium bodied..unlike their Australian counterparts which I can hardly call Pinot Noirs (in a general sense).  I DO know what Aussies might not like about them...they think they're too fruity (Oh the irony).  Their higher end Pinots (High Note and Verismo) were both good solid Central Otago Pinots...Maybe a bit expensive considering the numerous alternatives coming out of that region..but they were very solid. 

De iuliis
Consistent performer...They've been releasing shiraz from the Stevens Vineyard which I've always enjoyed...they do a fantastic job of representing the Hunter and that particular vineyard.  I think every vintage of their Stevens shiraz has been very good.  Medium bodied, leather, red fruit, good acidity...great Hunter.  Their limited Hunter Valley Shiraz is also always very good...I don't think you can go wrong with either one of these.

Moss Wood
An iconic Australian producer.  Always a great Cabernet Sauvignon....Their Ribbon Vale series represents a reasonable value.




One other thing I'd like to mention is Bread Brasserie which provided all of the bread and cheese for the event...about 6 or 7 different types of bread...I tried most of them :).  They were excellent.

Mornington Peninsula

I had the opportunity to attend the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons event put on by Best Cellars..and while I'm not a big fan of Australia Pinot Noir, I was looking forward to the event.

I'm not sure what it is but I think lately I've been more and more picky.  If a particular wine isn't sticking out as interesting, it needs to be an excellent wine for me to notice it...  Well made but typical wine is getting rather uninteresting.  It isn't that I wouldn't be perfectly happy drinking it or drinking it with food....but certainly I wouldn't go out of my way for it...and that is starting to translate its way into writing about it.  I suppose that will start to make for some poor blog material so I'm not really sure what to do.  I could put short notes on the 100+ wines I tried or I could taste fewer wines and have longer notes...I guess I'll have to wait and see.....

I only had two standouts:

2010 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Chardonnay 
Lime Flint and Peach on the nose....Bright acidity and good use of oak...  I don't think this has gone through malo but it still has body to it...and the fruit is coming out to be very pure.  A bit of grapefruit and additional minerality showing through.  Focused, balanced and pure...that is probably the best way to describe this wine at this point.  I've had previous vintages of this and this might be the most impressive out of all of them.  I'm surprised but not surprised...impressed but I really shouldn't be, Yabby Lake has been coming out with great Chards for awhile...Retails for $45 AUD which is a pretty good buy. 

2010 Ten Minutes By Tractor Estate Pinot Noir 
Cherry, strawberry, earth and moss on the nose.  I look at the wine and I'm looking forward to trying it...medium bodied?  For an Australian Pinot?   A hit of GOOD acidity makes my mouth start to water.  What is going on?  An Australian Pinot with good acidity....I know they exist but I'm always excited to see it...Nice bright red fruit, forest floor, picking up a bit of stink (but good stink)...and it progresses....spices starting to show through, a bit of orange peel maybe?  Maybe I'm just excited about the acidity....I'm not only excited about the acidity but the I love the fact that this isn't filled with the burnt rubber/asphalt that seems to plague Australian Pinot..maybe it is because this one isn't made like a Shiraz...It isn't burg like..not enough earth/dirt/stink..but it isn't overly fruity like NZ Pinots...Most definitely a New World Pinot but with the acidity and finesse of a burg...minus the dirt...$46 AUD at retail which makes this a good buy.  They also sell three single vineyard Pinots (which make up the estate pinot).  It would really be interesting to try these...

Other notables....

Paringa Estate
A perennial favorite in Australia....It is definitely an Australian Pinot but lacks the burnt rubber so to that extent, it is well made..a good drop.  Both their estate and single vineyard are good pinot noirs...but most definitely not my favorite style wise. I would enjoy drinking these but I'd never seek them out. 

Hurley Vineyard
Their estate pinot was actually quite good..and I enjoyed the fact that they had their 3 single vineyard pinots available to taste...Their estate pinot at $45 AUD is a pretty good buy...

The more I think about it...the more I think I'm just being too picky...I'm looking through my notes and list and I see a lot of pretty good wines...but very few things I'd actually search out and buy....A bit concerned this will lead me to start bashing wines I don't like..I hope that isn't the case...

Hunter Valley - Again

I never finished my last trip to the Hunter but it wasn't all that exciting...

I had the opportunity to go out there again with some friends that were not wine geeks...We went to:
Meerea Park
Brokenwood
Tyrrells
Tower Estate

I'm not exactly sure how we only hit four places but we did enjoy our time at each of these places.  Special thanks to Meerea Park, Tyrrells and Brokenwood for spending the extra time and effort.

Meerea Park

Meerea Park 2011 Hell Hole Semillon. 
I have decided I'm not really into young Semillon.  There are some good examples but I think what I'm looking for in Semillon and what I get from a young Semillon are not consistent.  This is a very nicely drinking young semillon.  Lemon, good acidity.  I'm craving toast and depth...This is a nice summer drink but not what I'm looking for but for people that enjoy young semillon, this one is very nice. 
Meerea Park 2006 Terracotta Semillon:  I have always been a fan and this often sells out so quickly that you rarely get the opportunity to taste it.  Really good development, very nice toasty notes, a bit of honey, lemon, lemongrass.  Still has great acidity..A lot better than the Alexander Munro 2006 as far as acidity...This one will last at least another 5 years but is drinking fantastic right now.
Meerea Park 2007 Alexander Munro Semillon.  This is drinking far better than the 2006 Alexander Munro..which I thought was really good at release but every subsequent time I've had it, I've been disappointed.  The acidity is not as good as the Terracotta but it has very good development, very nice complexity to this one and overall is probably a bit better balance wise than the Terracotta..but the Terracotta is going to outlast this.  I'd probably drink these up in the next few years.

Meerea Park 2010 XYZ Chardonnay.  Better than expected with good citrus and peachy notes.  Old French Oak and no Malo...seems very in line w/ the style of Chardonnay we're seeing today.
Meerea Park 2011 Alexander Munro Chardonnay.  A slight step up from the XYZ.  Slightly more oak (using some new oak) and still no malo, this used to be one of my favorite Chardonnays in the Hunter and is still one of the better ones...but there are so many really good Chards coming out of the Hunter now..

Meerea Park XYZ Shiraz 2010.  A good solid Hunter.  I believe they also add a bit of Viognier which is definitely not obvious at all.  Leather, Earth, almost typical Hunter but softer.  Relatively good value but this butts up right to the Aunts...

Meerea Park "The Aunts" Shiraz 2010.  Very well made Hunter Shiraz.  This is always very good each year.  Most years it seems to use some American oak, sometimes as the majority.  Soaking up that American oak gives it a bit of vanilla on top of the leathery notes you normally get from the Hunter. 

Meerea Park Hell Hole Shiraz 2009.  Almost every year this is my favorite out of Meerea Park.  Great Acid, very Hunter in its characteristics, red fruits, leather, earth, hint of herbs, smooth tannins...  It is basically everything I'm looking for in  a Hunter Shiraz..  It ages beautifully but is approachable early on. 

Meerea Park Alexander Munro Shiraz 2010.  Their Flagship wine which is excellent every year.  It is made for the long haul so the tannins are quite evident.  The fruit is darker and bigger than the Hell Hole.  I consider this to be more like a Hunter Shiraz made to be similar to a Barossa.  Very hard to evaluate at this stage but looks to be very good.  As typical from their Alexander Munro line...this will go 20+ easily and is made to drink probably after 8-10 years.


Brokenwood

Well known for their Cricket Pitch (low end) and Graveyard Shiraz (high end), Brokenwood makes a very wide variety of different things to try.  We tried a large variety of different things here so I'll concentrate on the ones of note. Brokenwood tends to use at least some American oak in their Shiraz..which is not really typical for Hunter Shiraz..it being a bit more delicate than SA Shiraz but it definitely adds something different and I can see why people really enjoy their wine.

Brokenwood Nebbiolo 2010.  Not very typical of this grape variety.  I don't know if I'd call it a good Nebbiolo but it was a decent drop.  Nice medium body, a bit of cherry, decent acidity...lacked the tannins I'd expect from a Nebbiolo...Overall a decent version out of Australia but if you can get Barolo, Barbaresco or just Nebbiolo from Italy, it'll likely be a bit better than this.

Brokenwood Verona Shiraz 2009.  A block right across from the Graveyard vineyard, a very good Hunter Shiraz.  Good Acid, medium tannins, getting leather, earth and a bit of vanilla and a bigger mouthfeel.  American Oak somewhere?  A quick look reveals they use 50/50 American/French oak.  Good overall wine, maybe a bit on the expensive side.

Brokenwood Hunter Valley Shiraz 2005.  There is often some declassified Graveyard fruit in these which is always a plus.  Very nice Hunter Shiraz with that plushy vanilla and big american oak coming through but not too big as it has integrated nicely into the rest of the wine.  Overall a very nice wine and a good example of what these wines will become. Price was insane though (80?).  Their recent vintage release is currently at 40 although you can find it for 30 or around there if you look.

Brokenwood Wade Block 2 Shiraz 2007.  Made from McLaren Vale fruit...This is a fruit bomb.  Big, glass coating, thick fruit bomb. Big fruit and lowish tannins...but decent acidity which is a nice change of pace and to some might pop this out of the fruit bomb category.  Definitely an enjoyable wine but one you'd only have with meat or dark chocolate or on its own. 

Tyrrells

I think Tyrrells has become THE best producer, overall, in the Hunter.  They make fantastic Semillon and fantastic Shiraz.  They also make a very good Chardonnay and surprisingly enough, a pretty decent Pinot Noir as well.  Not only that but they have a huge range within each grape variety.  They have very low end stuff you'll find at the store for 10 or less...and they have top notch stuff that competes w/ the best Australia has to offer...and generally several steps in the middle....They'll have similar wines at the same price point but made in a very different style from each other...each giving you a sense of place and personality.
I think they're quite busy on the weekend but if you happen to visit them during the week, you'll get to spend more time talking to them and if you're lucky, you'll get to do glass to glass comparisons of their different offerings.  I always enjoy getting to see wines side by side to have a point of reference...and especially for my friends, I think it was a great learning experience and we even got to taste some of their higher end stuff which has further cemented Tyrrells, in my mind, as the best overall producer.

I've already previous gushed over Tyrrells VAT 1.  It is THE best Semillon in the world in my opinion.  It ages beautifully and will age for a LONG time and just has such complexity, depth and great acidity.  I don't think they drink great young...they definitely need time...but with age they are absolutely stunning.

Tyrrells VAT 1 Semillon 2005.  Still a young one but showing a bit of honey and toast as well as fantastic acidity.  To be honest, I was expecting a little bit more development which leads me to believe this one will go on for 20+ more years..especially w/ a screwcap.

We also got to try
Stevens Semillon - one of my favorites.  Consistently very good, great acidity and development.  Superb value.  This and the Meerea Park Terracotta are very similar, I believe they're from the same area but right next to each other.
HVD Chardonnay 2011
Vat 47 Chardonnay 2011
Both were able to show different styles of winemaking as well as showing off the fact that the Hunter is coming out with great Chardonnay, especially lately.

Tyrrells Brokenback Shiraz 2010.  A very typical Hunter but actually quite a bit better than I would have expected for a 20 dollar bottle.  This includes from the 4 Acres vineyard because it wasn't of sufficient quality to make the 4 Acres.  I have heard people say this is a good example of what is going on in the Hunter in any given year...but to be fair to everyone else, this year's Brokenback is probably exceptional compared to previous years.  Very Hunterish...great acidity...an utterly fantastic buy with tremendous value.  Even my non wine geeky friend that does not like Shiraz really liked this...

Tyrrells Rufus Stone Heathcote 2009.  A cooler climate shiraz, this also represents great value.  Bigger than a Hunter Shiraz, cleaner, but not huge like the McLaren Vale, the Rufus Stone line has always been a great value buy. 

Tyrrells Rufus Stone McLaren Vale 2009.  A fruit bomb style but not quite a fruit bomb.  Probably the biggest crowd pleaser out of these last 3.  Big fruit, lowish tannins, lowish acid..but not huge alcohol. A really good buy and I can see people drinking a lot of this.

And now...to the two wines that basically made me rush through everything else...

Tyrrells 4 Acres Shiraz 2011.  Cherry, raspberry, red fruits on the nose.  I'm getting something I always say "herbs" on but I guess when I have to describe it, no one specific herb.  A tad bit of "green" which most people call forest floor.  It could be stalks were included in this, I'm not sure.  Either way, getting a bit of leather, not a very STRONG sense of the hunter but it smells a bit more like an aged Hunter..which I find odd and interesting because this is not an aged wine.  On the palate I get a gush of bright but light red fruit with fantastic acidity..no green in the palate, a little bit of leather, but as the wine is in my mouth it keeps evolving.  Raspberry, truffle, a hint of thyme, all backed by very pure fruit and wonderful acidity.  It FEELS like an aged Hunter...but the fruit is telling me there is no way this is an aged Hunter.  Layer upon layer upon layer while I'm waiting for it to end so I can spit...a stupid smile comes across my face and a nod...this is good.

Tyrrells Johnnos Shiraz 2011.  This is supposed to be the best Johnnos they have released...I look and it has lower alcohol than the 4 Acres...Smells a bit tighter, it looks like it is bigger..odd.  Having this after the 4 Acres was a bit odd..at first I thought, this is missing some acidity..but it wasn't..it was just the 4 Acres had more.  The fruit is a bit darker, but very nice.  I think a bit more oak is showing through..definitely a different wine but starting to see a few things poke through.  I stop, spit..and give myself some time because I feel like the 4 Acres is influencing my tasting....Next mouthful gives me a much better idea of what I'm looking at.  Darker reds fruits, a bit of leather, a bit more oak, still great acidity, none of the herbs I got from the 4 Acres....Lower alcohol but definitely bigger mouthfeel than the 4 Acres...I'm about to spit and then it starts to gush...Layers, spice, layers, different red fruits, layers, spice, leather, earth....Wow..

Which is better?  I'm not sure...Two different Hunter Shiraz showing off their sense of place.  These ARE Hunter...no doubt.  They easily compete w/ the best the rest of Australia has to offer.  They are nothing like what the rest of the world thinks of as Australian Shiraz.... 

What else can I say except they make one of if not the best Semillon...and some of if not the best Shiraz in the Hunter...and then past that, their mid range wines are fantastic...Good Good...

Hunter Valley May 2012 Part 1

I think the Hunter is severely underrated..and when I say that, I'm referring to Australia. The rest of the world barely knows it exists...which is a shame because with the current trend for wine, Hunter Shiraz is actually more in that vein of what wine geeks are looking for.  This isn't to say other regions don't make great wine..they do...It is just that Hunter Shiraz ticks all of the current wine geek boxes (not to mention good aged Semillon is impossible to find outside of Australia).

Capercaillie
I've wanted to come here for awhile..Overall very solid wines but to me they're mainly crowd pleasing wines...I tried a majority of their range but I'll just comment on the ones I think are worth making a statement about.
Capercaillie 2008 The Clan:  A Bordeaux blend made from several different regions (I think the majority is from SA) although I'm not sure which regions those are.  A solid performer, not quite the structure I'd want from a Bordeaux blend but I can see a lot of people enjoying this wine.  A bit hot Alcohol wise (or maybe I'm mixing this up).  16% and showing every bit of it.  But again, I think people, in general, will enjoy this..
Capercaillie 2008 Ceilidh Shiraz:  This is also not Hunter fruit (since 2008 was a really bad year).  I was told this was also 16% but it hides it much better than the Clan.  It doesn't feel too heavy but still, it is very much a SA Shiraz...Clean..Lowish acid...This wine is also lowish tannin so it completes the fruit bomb description although it isn't too much of a fruit bomb.  This is another crowd pleaser....but not what I'm looking for..not from the Hunter anyways...
Capercaillie 2007 Ghillie Shiraz.  Only made in the best Hunter Years and only from Hunter fruit...This is their flagship wine.  Very well made, good acidity, maybe a bit bigger alcohol wise than I want from a Hunter but seems like 2007 is typical of that.  Getting a bit of the Hunter nose but not a lot...A little bit of leather, red fruit..dark fruits...It is oddly very clean tasting.  My wife actually enjoyed this one quite a bit...it is definitely a wine most wine geeks would like. It is almost like they cleaned out most of what the Hunter is while still maintaining some of the Hunter.  Maybe a good intro for non wine geeks to the Hunter?  Could be...
Overall:  Not currently what I'm looking for...but I can see this place been incredibly popular with a lot of people...especially on wine tours, etc.  You can't really go wrong here as all of the wine was made very well and I'm very certain most non wine geeks would love the wine here....

http://www.capercailliewine.com.au/


McLeish Estate: 
Another one I've wanted to go to for awhile...I've had their wine before...Their semillon has always been pretty solid...They had a lot of different things to taste and my wife really enjoyed herself here.

McLeish Estate 2011 Semillon:  A pretty good young Semillon.  Good Acid, not too much development yet (and there wouldn't be) but a very nice tasting young semillon.  Lemon curd, a bit of grass...very clean tasting at this point...

McLeish Estate 2009 Semillon:  Apparently this has been very highly regarded but to me it looks like it is dying.  Some development as far as toast and honey goes...but where is the acid?  It can't be gone in a few years...I've actually had older McLeish Semillons so I know this isn't right....It might've been fantastic before, but for anyone that has it, I'd drink up.  There is no way this goes the long haul...it just does not have the right structure to age like a proper Hunter Semillon....

McLeish Estate 2007 Semillon:  I've tried this before but trying it right after the 2009 confirmed exactly what I thought about the 2009.  This is still a very good semillon...Great development with nutty toasty notes..a bit of honey, lemon and most importantly, it still has acidity.....My only issue is the price.  It might be worth it but at $40, it is competing with Vat 1, Thomas and other very established Semillons....That said, it is an excellent wine.

McLeish Estate 2003 Semillon.  This one is WEIRD.  I don't want to call it bad because that isn't what strikes me at first.  I wouldn't guess this is semillon. The wine isn't poorly made, it has some lemon and toast characters but there is some really odd flavor coming from this wine.  The person working there told me there were brushfires that year and that smoke is coming out into the wine...Apparently this is a member favorite....The wine is not bad...I just have no way to assess this one it is too weird...

McLeish Estate 2010 Chardonnay.  A good Chardonnay for non Chardonnay drinkers...not oaky at all...decent acidity and it actually comes across as a little bit sweet.  My wife really likes this one.  I think it is just ok.

McLeish Estate 2010 Reserve Chardonnay:  This wine has a lot more structure to it than the first one.  A good overall Chardonnay with a bit Peach, citrus fruit and a bit of cashew (which is coming across a lot of Hunter Chardonnay).  Good overall wine.

McLeish Estate 2009 Shiraz.  Nose tells you it is Hunter right away.  Leather, a little pepper, some dirt, red fruit, a bit of crushed rock.  Good Hunter acidity, smooth tannins...Really nice red fruit.  A very well made Hunter.  I'm not sure the structure for the long haul is there but so what?  It is drinking great right now...Not so Hunterish that it'll scare away newcomers but it is definitely a Hunter Shiraz..  A really good buy here at $22.

Mcleish Estate 2008 Reserve Shiraz.  This is made from fruit sourced from the McLaren Vale.  The person working there seemed to really love this wine...It was a McLaren Vale Shiraz.  I wouldn't call it made in the Hunter style...it was pretty good but not quite what I'm looking for at this point.  To be honest, at the price point they want, there are some places in the McLaren Vale that I'd rather buy from directly.  That isn't to say this wasn't a good wine..it was...Big fruit, lowish acid, low tannins...tasted good.  McLaren Vale Shiraz..

International Wine Fair 2012

This is an event put on by Vintage Cellars and is really there to highlight some of the stuff they are importing into Australia. There were a few Australian wine producers at the event but a vast majority was all stuff from outside of Australia.

Most of the international stuff was from France, Italy or New Zealand..with a bit of Spain and Germany. Also represented were Argentina, Austria, USA, Chile, Portugal and South Africa.

I think the most exciting part about coming here was seeing that finally a retailer is bringing in stuff from overseas and the prices are actually reasonable...There were still some things I thought were ridiculous (double the price of what they go for overseas) but some of the stuff was priced quite well...even competitive with overseas pricing..(at least the by the dozen price was good).

Some general highlights and impressions...

Maison Champy. Had a variety of things ranging from their Bourgogne and various village Burgs from Beaune, Volnay, Gevrey Chambertin..up to their Vosnee Romanee Les Suchots 1er. Good lineup, all of the villages were showing nicely and are definitely more of a drink now type of wine...The 1er Cru had great structure, great acidity, still very tannic, fantastic length...

There were quite a few good Chablis available. This style of Chardonnay has started to become very popular in Australia...Seeing a good number of quality Chablis in the 20-40 dollar area was definitely a nice thing.

Another big plus was seeing some value Nebbiolo as well as some Barbaresco and Barolo. Seeing some decent Barolo that isn't 100+ should really help its popularity in Australia.

There was a good sprinkling of Rioja, stuff from the Rhone which was encouraging as well.

One other surprise was seeing the Chalkboard series from Vintage Cellars..basically their own label with grapes sourced from different regions. Nothing too special but the few I tried were fairly decent..and with most being under 15 AUD, not a bad deal at all....

Glenguin School House Block 2009

Glenguin is a small winery located in Broke (Hunter Valley). Most of their wine is a few hundred cases each so definitely a very boutique Winery. I believe most (or maybe all) of their wine is still made by Rhys Eather of Meerea Park. The actual winery itself is own and operated by Robin Tedder MW.

Glenguin School House Block 2009 Shiraz.
I believe this actually has a small amount of Viognier (although it doesn't list it). I get a little floral as well as that umami (savoriness) that I associate with Shiraz Viognier. Really nice red fruits on the nose, a bit of leather and flowers. Decent acidity, this is still a very young wine. Red fruits on the palates that gives away to some leather, and salty/savory. Relatively silky tannins.. To be honest, I'm not much of a Hunter Valley Shiraz Viognier fan....I much prefer Canberra SV but this represents the Hunter very well, I think most people (Wine geeks and non wine geeks) would like this wine.

Sydney International Wine Competition Top 100 Tasting 2012

Sydney International Wine Competition is a competition where the wine is judged with food. It is mainly Australian wine but there are a number of New Zealand entries....There are also some entrants from Portugal, Italy, Spain and I think France. After the competition they have what they call their "Top 100" tasting which consists of any of the wines that won a Blue Gold medal...they also nominate the Top 100 out of this bunch (So you get two little stickers instead of one).

The tasting itself was fairly well run. They gave you a tasting note/score sheet that listed all of the wine and left you room to score and to write notes. They also had sheets with instructions (although no one took them) that basically said, get a taste, move away, spit when you're done, score (if you want)... The tasting glass had a little line so you knew about how much to pour (25ml..or close to 1 fl oz). There were also plenty of spit buckets all over the place so it was a pretty good setup for getting through a lot of wine. I think the only downside is they didn't have much in the way of something to clean your palate. They brought out some bread at some point but they would've just been better off with water crackers.

Overall, the tasting was a bit of a disappointment wine wise. A few really great whites...some good reds. It was definitely a good opportunity to try some reds I hadn't tried but overall most of the reds were pretty ordinary. I should know better than to think most of these types of shows would have the type of wine I really like...they tend to have a few here and there and then a lot of stuff that is decent. This is contrary to the regional shows where you get to try a good number of really great wine.

One other thing I want to comment on....There is a Pinot Noir Class, then a Lighter Bodied Red, Medium bodied Red and Full bodied Red. For everyone else this would be

Lighter Bodied Reds - Beaujolais, Valpolicella. Actual LIGHT bodied wines.
Medium bodied Reds - Pinot Noir, maybe a Hunter Shiraz, maybe a Nebbiolo or anything that is a bit lighter than a Full bodied Red.
Full Bodied Red - Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Grenache (although you can argue it is medium bodied because of the low tannins), etc, etc.

Now, you can get medium bodied wines of different varieties..but medium bodied is lowish alcohol, lighter mouthfeel.

For this show..

Lighter Bodied Red = Full Bodied Red
Medium Bodied Red = Higher Alcohol, getting into Fruit Bomb territory
Full Bodied Red = HIGH Alcohol, BIG BIG FRUIT. STAIN YOUR TEETH FRUIT. BIG.

I guess it is all relative..but pretty funny. To be fair within their own classification, it was pretty appropriate. The thing I find most odd with this is, except for maybe some of the normal (light bodied) wines, none of the reds are probably appropriate for food...or at least not anything except a big steak...Just seems a bit...well, stupid.

Highlights:
Mistletoe Reserve Chardonnay 2009. This has been cleaning up at shows. This won a trophy at this show. Forgetting about awards (because I could really care less), really nice attack on this wine. Good acidity that tingles your tongue. Really great citrus, cashews, good use of oak. Great balance, great length. The Hunter has been making some great Chardonnay lately and this is one of them...
Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2010 - As I mentioned for the Sydney show. This wine is still going strong. Seemed to show a bit more acid this time around but an EXCELLENT Chardonnay..I think I appreciate this more and more each time I try it. Too bad it is so expensive...
Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling 2005. Again another great showing. This is a great Riesling..I don't care how much anyone says shows don't matter, this one always does well..
Lawson's Dry Hill Riesling 2010. Great QPR. Really good acidity and development for only a 2008. A bit of honey, slight petrol notes (not a lot), nice long finish. Surprised by this one.

Reds:
McWilliams 1877 2008. A cabernet sauvignon/shiraz blend...This was a pretty big wine. Good acidity, big tannins, the fruit was still big as well. A slightly better wine than the 2009 (to me anyways) but that could be because of the additional age. Seems like the structure is there, tastes good now as well but it is a pretty massive drink right now.
McPherson Basilisk 2010. A blend of Shiraz and Mouvedre. A cooler climite shiraz. A bit of Pepper and red and dark fruits on the nose. Decent acidity, maybe a tad of menthol a bit of pepper, dark and red fruits. Fine tannins, decent length. This is a pretty good blend.
Anvers "the Warrior Shiraz 2008. BIG bottle. This bottle (along w/ some of the Italian ones) weigh at least twice as much as a normal bottle. This was a pretty big wine out of the "medium Bodied reds category". A lot of dark fruits on the nose, smells a bit sweet actually. I'm thinking McLaren Vale (and yes it mostly is). Good acidity but big fruit. Nice silky tannins. Big but a bit more restraint than I expected. My understanding is it has some Adelaide Hills fruit, maybe that is where this is coming from. Pretty good wine overall.
Penny's Hill Cracking Black Shiraz 2010. Big Fruit bomb. Fun to drink. Actually has decent acidity which makes this a bit more enjoyable. This is a sub 20 dollar wine but drinks like one more than that. Really good QPR, showing quite well (at least the bottle I tried).

There were several other reds that were good...some were fairly well known. Kilikanoon Oracle, Yalumba Octavius..both were quite good but not much of a highlight. The were both fine but I expected more...the Pinots were pretty ordinary...

I think the only wine that still confuses me is the Coolangatta 2006 Semillon. It has been doing very well in all of the shows...Nose on this wine is great..like an aged Semillon. It is definitely missing acidity though and seems a bit flat for a semillon. Other than that it is fine but I haven't figured out if it is just me or the particular judges. All of the semillon I have tried that I thought was great (older Tyrrells VAT1 and Mt. Pleasant Lovedales) had that good acidity as well as the development...This one has the development but no acidity..it is weird....Actually, out of the 3 main Semillons there (First Creek, McLeish and the Coolangatta), I thought it was the weakest out of the 3...*shrug*.