2012 PAULETTS POLISH HILL RIVER RIESLING - HOW SOON IS NOW?

Much has been said and written of the 2012 Riesling vintage in the Clare Valley. While there are some very good wines, many seem rather forward and friendly in nature. It will be interesting to see how they develop in bottle as many of the region’s great cellaring wines have tended to display a pleasant austerity when young.

The 2012 Polish Hill River Riesling, from leading producer Pauletts, offers plenty by way of approachability and early drinking charm, though it should develop well over the medium if not necessarily the longer term. There’s a lovely balance of apple/pear orchard and measured limey citrus, underpinned by fine acidity. It’s the sort of wine Riesling-lovers will happily drink while young, and perhaps stash the odd bottle away for several years.

It could well be that the fruit is slightly masking the wine’s underlying structure, but one’s initial impression is that this is a wine to cellar over 6-8 rather than 10 or more years, but that is mere quibbling.

2012 POLISH HILL RIVER RIESLING
Producer: Pauletts
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2012
Region: Clare Valley
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $24.00
Date tasted: 18 May 2013

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery green. Typical Riesling nose of green apple, pear and lime citrus. Just dry, the barest hint of residual sugar providing a pleasant counterpoint to the acidity, moderate intensity, fruit profile in the apple and pear vein, with a delicate overlay of lime citrus – not as ‘in your face’ lemon and lime as some Clare Valley Rieslings. There’s plenty of early drinking pleasure here and sufficient structure to suggest that the wine should develop well over the medium term, say 7-8 years or so.
Score: 15/20

2011 LA DISTESA 'TERRE SILVATE' MARCHE BIANCO - BREAKING THE RULES

It is often said and written that Italian white wines can veer towards neutrality. While this may be true of generic wines of modest quality, it could not be further from the case for the myriad of truly outstanding white wines that are produced throughout Italian. Indeed, Italy has a fair claim to be the producer of the world’s greatest white wines, especially when one takes into account diversity and the wide palette of grape varieties.

Verdicchio is one such variety that can tend toward blandness. However, this organically grown example from La Distesa exudes flavour and possesses a texture that is beguiling. Indeed, it is this textural quality that marks out many of Italy’s better white wines.

Although it doesn’t carry official DOC status and is labelled as an IGT wine, ‘Terre Silvate’ is an excellent interpretation of Verdicchio (with a slight twist) that delivers plenty of pleasure for current drinking. Already showing nutty complexity, one could easily enjoy it alongside a seafood risotto and other weightier seafood dishes.

2011 ‘TERRE SILVATE’ MARHCE BIANCO IGT
Producer: La Distesa
Variety: Verdicchio (blended with a small amount of Malvasia and Trebbiano)
Vintage: 2011
Region: Marche, Italy
ABV: 13.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $33.00
Date tasted: 10 May 2013

Tasting Note:
Bright lemon yellow. Clean nose of white peach, grilled nuts and hay. Dry, medium bodied, lovely texture and weight on the palate, savoury pear/peach and grapefruit underpinned by a fine ripple of acidity. While it may lack a touch for complexity, this is a wine that is as much about texture and mouthfeel as it is about flavour. In that sense, it succeeds.
Score: 16/20

2007 CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE, LA FERME DU MONT - DOWN ON THE FARM

La Ferme du Mont, the label of vigneron Stéphane Vedeau, is a relatively new arrival to a region dominated by established names with a rich family history such as Château de Beaucastel (Perrin family) and Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe (Brunel family). However, in a relatively short space of time, La Ferme du Mont has made people stand up and take notice, its Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in particular, attracting glowing reviews and high scores from the likes of Jancis Robinson MW and Robert Parker.

In the past couple of decades, southern Rhône wines have pushed the envelope in terms of ripeness and alcohol levels, often exceeding 15% alcohol by volume, sometimes 16%. For those that want to be able to enjoy more than just one glass, it is a relief to see that La Ferme du Mont’s Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the excellent 2007 vintage weighs in at a sensible 14% ABV.

This is a wine that generated some controversy on release. It was highly praised, scoring 19 points from no lesser authority than Jancis Robinson MW. However, when physical stock landed a while later and eager connoisseurs pulled the cork on their new arrival, a good number were disappointed, noting that the wine was nothing like the one they had read about; light in colour, lacking depth and unlikely to improve greatly. To his credit, Vedeau intervened, putting the issue down to a bottling line problem.

The bottle in question here was the first of a case bought in the United Kingdom. On this evidence, it is undoubtedly not just a good bottle, but an outstanding one. Six years out from vintage it bursts with floral and sweet fruit, balanced by a lovely spicy savoury mid-palate. What impresses one most is the elegant proportion of the wine. This is not an assault on the senses, but an elegant seduction. On this showing, those with a case or two of La Ferme du Mont’s 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the cellar have good reason to be smug.

2007 CHATEAUNEUF DU PAPE ‘COTES CAPELAN’
Producer: La Ferme du Mont
Variety: Grenache et al
Vintage: 2007
Region: Southern Rhône, France
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: N/a
Date tasted: 18 May 2013

Tasting Note:
Deep plum red. Attractive nose of kirsch, strawberry, dark plum, stewed cherries, white pepper, lavender and violets. Full bodied, ripe and sweet fruited initially but quickly moves to savoury with sour cherry/pomegranate on the mid-palate. Tannins are inobtrusive, fine and slightly chalky and the acidity is subsumed within the weight of fruit. Plenty of class on show here. Although this wine will undoubtedly flourish with further bottle age, it is by no means closed down or going through a surly phase. Lives up the hype it received when initially released.
Score: 18.5/20

2010 DOMAINE CHARVIN CÔTES DU RHÔNE - MY BABY BROTHER

A combination of the excellent 2010 vintage and one of the region’s best Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers, Domaine Charvin, has resulted in a basic Côtes du Rhône that stands out from the norm for this huge appellation. Dark fruited, savoury and with noticeable structure, it is a wine that is capable of developing with a further couple of years in bottle.

While it will never develop the complexity or possess the class of its bigger and more glamorous brother, the Chateauneuf-du-Pape, there’s plenty of pleasure to be had for a relatively modest price (particularly given that this is from a leading small estate, not one of the region’s large negoce).

2010 CÔTES DU RHÔNE
Producer: Domaine Charvin
Variety: Grenache et al
Vintage: 2010
Region: Southern Rhône, France
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $30.00
Date tasted: 3 May 2013

Tasting Note:
Bright garnet. Attractive bouquet of macerated plum, raspberry, cherry and dark spices. Dry, noticeable sandy tannins (even after a decant), quite dark fruited suggesting a generous amount of Syrah in the blend, fruit characters much the same as the nose, savoury
Score: 15.5+/20

2010 CERASUOLO DI VITTORIA, AZIENDA AGRICOLA COS - I'M TOO SEXY!

One tends to associate the Mediterranean with full bodied, spicy, sun-baked wines that reflect the region’s warm climate. However, the wines of Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a DOCG in Sicily’s south-east, very much counter this preconception.

This particular wine is from one of Sicily’s leading estates, COS, a producer that is associated with the natural wine movement. While it practises biodynamic viticulture, uses clay amphorae for certain cuvées and keeps sulphur dioxide additions to a minimum, there is nothing eccentric about the wines of COS. They merely seek to provide the best possible expression of their origin by respecting nature and intervening only when necessary.

The COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a 60/40 blend of two indigenous varieties, Nero d’Avola and Frappato, possesses the appearance, aromatics and palate of a wine with cooler origin than Sicily’s south-east, such as Piedmont or Burgundy. Sicilian it is, however, and it is an excellent representation of its type, with alluring aromatics and an elegant red-fruit infused palate. Having recently seen the same wine with bottle age, one has sufficient confidence to suggest that it is capable of developing additional complexity in bottle if cellared for 4-6 years.

2010 CERASUOLO DI VITTORIA CLASSICO
Producer: Azienda Agricola COS
Variety: Nero d’Avola (60%), Frappato (40%)
Vintage: 2010
Region: Sicily, Italy
ABV: 13.0%
Closure: Diam
Retail Price: $48.00
Date Tasted: 11 May 2013

Tasting Note:
Translucent cherry red. Alluring perfumed nose of strawberry, raspberry coulis, floral notes, chalky mineral edge. Dry, elegant and savoury, tannins initially prominent but recede with air. Sweet fruited up-front, characters much the same as the nose, quite delicate in texture but with good depth and length. Will develop well over the short to medium term, say 4-6 years.
Score: 17+/20