2014 SHAW + SMITH RIESLING - INTERLOPER

Shaw + Smith is best known for its iconic Sauvignon Blanc and excellent M3 Chardonnay. However, with Adam Wadewitz, formerly of Best’s Great Western, in charge of winemaking, it is logical that there should be a Riesling in the line-up.

This particular wine is sourced from a vineyard in Echunga, some distance from the Shaw + Smith winery in Balhannah. The 2014 is quite backward, perhaps lacking some of the more flamboyant aspects of Adelaide Hills Riesling (see earlier tasting notes on Kanta Riesling 2010).

There is clearly good potential here, and with the Shaw + Smith team behind it, this could be another star in the making.

2014 SHAW + SMITH RIESLING
Producer: Shaw + Smith
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2014
Region: Adelaide Hills, South Australia
ABV: 11.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $30.00
Date tasted: 23 November 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery yellow in appearance. Clean aromatic nose of crab apple, lime zest and talc. Dry, steely, slightly austere, tart green apple, lemon/lime. Slightly backward. Acidity provides the structure. Solid.
Score: 16/20

NV ANDRÉ CLOUET BRUT RÉSERVE - i'M FOREVER BLOWING BUBBLES

Based in the village of Bouzy, André Clouet is the source of some of the best value examples of Pinot Noir-dominant Champagne. Its Brut Réserve is a delight to drink showcasing delicate red fruits. The dosage is modest, providing for a dry, but not austere, wine that is dangerously drinkable. More please!

NV ANDRÉ CLOUET BRUT RÉSERVE
Producer: André Clouet
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: Non-vintage
Region: Champagne, France
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $60.00
Date tasted: 23 November 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery yellow in appearance. Fine persistent bubbles. Bright nose of candied red fruits, slightly floral. Dry, elegant, very plush on the palate. Red fruits follow through. Not a great deal of autolysis, but delicious and moreish. Top notch grower fizz.
Score: 16.5/20

2012 PRESSING MATTERS RIESLING R0 - UNDER PRESSURE

Tasmania is arguably the darling of the Australian wine scene at present – superb Pinot Noirs, vibrant Chardonnay, Australia’s best sparkling wines and then you have Domaine A, source of Australia’s best Sauvignon Blanc and exceptional Bordeaux-like Cabernet Sauvignon.

Riesling is another thing that Tasmania does exceptionally well. This example, from Pressing Matters, shows typical Tasmanian Riesling characters of apple and pear. Three years from vintage, it is showing some bottle development and may well be starting to enter the Riesling dip, with the vibrant primary fruit fading ever so slightly. This is a solid Tasmanian Rieslin, distinct from Clare and Edent Valley examples.

2012 PRESSING MATTERS RIESLING R0
Producer: Pressing Matters
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2012
Region: Coal River Valley, Tasmania
ABV: 11.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $25.00
Date tasted: 22 November 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery yellow in appearance. Attractive nose – straight from the apple orchard, pear, lemon citrus. Bone dry, showing a touch of development on the palate – rounded. Decent drive, but lacks ‘wow’ factor – may be entering the Riesling dip.
Score: 16/20

2015 PIKES ‘TRADITIONALE’ RIESLING - ORIGINAL

Pikes is one of the ‘big guns’ of the Clare Valley. There comes a point when Clare Valley Riesling can become a little tiresome, even for a Riesling-lover like this imbiber. The stereotypical lemon/lime profile of Clare Valley Riesling can become a touch one-dimensional.

Pikes ‘Traditionale’ Riesling 2015 is a step up from run of the mill Clare Valley Riesling, pear and apple fruits sitting alongside lemon and lime citrus with a floral twist lending further complexity. Although there is plenty to enjoy now, this wine should develop well in bottle over the medium term.

2015 PIKES ‘TRADITIONALE’ RIESLING
Producer: Pikes
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2015
Region: Clare Valley, South Australia
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $25.00
Date tasted: 19 November 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery yellow in appearance. Attractive nose of apple, pear, lemon zest and lime. Dry. Good fruit intensity in a similar realm to the bouquet. More vibrant and complex than your average Clare Valley Riesling. Good length. Should develop well, but plenty to enjoy now.
Score: 16.5/20

2012 KILIKANOON PRODIGAL GRENACHE - THE GOOD SON

Going back to the late 1980’s, Grenache was starting to witness a revival in Australia, inspired by the likes of Charles Melton with his Nine Popes. Many examples of Australian Grenache at this time suffered from being overly sweet and confected, clumsy oak handling making matters worse.

Australian Grenache has come a long way in 25-30 years, to the extent that contemporary examples are savoury, spicy and expressive of their place of origin. When we think of Grenache in Australia, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Valley are the first regions that come to mind. Leading Clare Valley producer, Kilikanoon, has long championed Grenache.

Its Prodigal Grenache, from the excellent 2012 vintage, is a stylish example of modern Australian Grenache. It may not have the depth or complexity of the very best examples of Grenache, but there is plenty to enjoy in a sweet, savoury and spicy sort of a way.

2012 KILIKANOON PRODIGAL GRENACHE
Producer: Kilikanoon
Variety: Grenache
Vintage: 2012
Region: Clare Valley, South Australia
ABV: 14.5%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $30.00
Date tasted: 15 November 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright plum red in appearance. Clean nose of spiced plum and confit cherry, strawberry. Dry, full bodied, plenty of up-front fruit, but not over the top. Moves to savoury on the mid-palate, with spice and tar lending complexity on the finish. Australian Grenache has come a long way and this is a solid example.
Score: 16/20

2012 TB RILEY ‘GRUETZNER VINEYARD’ SHIRAZ CABERNET SAUVIGNON - TAILOR MADE

Don’t know where Apsley is? You wouldn’t be the only one. It’s a remote town in far western Victoria, not that far from the South Australian border. It is the home of Gruetzner Vineyard, a relatively cool site that has provided fruit for Penfolds Grange. Being cool and dry, it produces modest yields of small Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that have abundant tannins and good natural acidity.

Now to the maker, Tom Riley is a one-time member of the Penfolds winemaking team turned high-end tailor. Trained as a winemaker, Tom ‘saw the light’ and moving into the more lucrative of cutting the finest cloth. Thanks for us drinkers, Tom still makes a little bit of wine on the side.

Gruetzner Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon from the excellent 2012 vintage is his first effort, and it has a real wow factor. A classic Australian ‘Claret’, Riley’s take on Bin 389 is a real beauty. It sees no new oak being matured exclusively in seasoned oak barrels. The wine displays excellent fruit concentration and plenty of structure by way of fine powdery tannin.

In some ways, this is an anti-Penfolds wine, being the product of a single vineyard, no new wood and notably made without the use of ‘exogenous tannins’. This is a cracker of a wine for the cellar, but patience is needed. Leave for at least a decade.

2012 TB RILEY ‘GRUETZNER VINEYARD’ SHIRAZ CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Producer: TB Riley
Variety: Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Vintage: 2012
Region: Far Western Victoria, Victoria
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $40.00
Date tasted: 31 October 2015

Tasting Note:
Impenetrable crimson. Stern nose of dark fruit, minerals, wet earth, graphite. Medium bodied, silky in texture, blueberry, blackberry, cassis. Very ‘dark’. Savoury. Powdery tannins assert themselves on the finish. Classic dry Australian red executed with aplomb. Needs time – at least 5 years.
Score: 17.5/20

2013 TERZINI PECORINO D’ABRUZZO - ONLY FOR SHEEP

We tend to associate Pecorino with the famous ewe’s milk cheese more than wine. However, it is grown in Abruzzo and Le Marche on Italy’s east coast, producing white wines of considerable style. This particular example possesses lively stonefruit aromatics and a wonderfully textured palate. It is a food-friendly wine well suited to seafood, white meat and creamy pasta dishes.

Pecorino translates to English as little sheep, and we are led to believe that the fruit of the Pecorino vine were favoured by the flocks of sheep driven to lower pastures in Italy’s east. The sheep certainly had good taste, as it makes a delicious wine!

2013 TERZINI PECORINO D’ABRUZZO
Producer: Terzini
Variety: Pecorino
Vintage: 2013
Region: Abruzzo, Italy
ABV: 13.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $30.00
Date tasted: 30 October 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright golden yellow. Interesting nose of white peach/nectarine, yellow plum. Dry, medium bodied, lovely texture. Flavour profile is the same as the nose – stonefruit. Only downside is a slight suggestion of oxidation – perhaps not a pristine bottle. Still plenty to enjoy.
Score: 16/20

2014 PALACIOS REMONDO ‘LA VENDIMIA’ - HARVEST SONG

Alvaro Palacios, Decanter ‘Man of the Year’ is Spain’s reigning superstar. With interests in Priorat, Bierzo and Rioja, he fashions an eclectic set of wines, l’Ermita being the most famous, ranking alongside Vega Sicilia as a Spain’s greatest wine.

In Rioja, Palacios heads up the family estate Palacios Remondo. While Tempranillo generally takes centre stage in Rioja, Palacios prefers to showcase Garnacha. ‘La Vendimia’, aka ‘the harvest’ is a 50:50 blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo. This is not a super-complex or intellectual wine, but a wine that cries ‘drink me’. Juicy is the best word to describe it.

The 2014 rendition of ‘La Vendimia’ benefits from gentle aeration, so there’s no harm to decant if drinking now. It should flesh out in bottle and continue to drink well for another 2-3 years.

2014 PALACIOS REMONDO ‘LA VENDIMIA’
Producer: Palacios Remondo
Variety: Tempranillo et al
Vintage: 2014
Region: Rioja, Spain
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $33.00
Date tasted: 28 October 2015

Tasting Note:
Mid-ruby in appearance. Open nose of macerated red fruits (strawberry, cherry), aniseed. Lively and vibrant, initially sweet-fruited moving to savoury on the mid-palate. Quite soft and gentle, fine tannins providing texture. Juicy. Good length.
Score: 16.5/20

2015 HAREWOOD ESTATE RIESLING - WALK THE LINE

Westerm Australia’s remote Great Southern region is the home of some of Australia’s finest Riesling, Frankland Estate being its shining star. Unlike Clare and Eden Valley Riesling, the fruit spectrum moves from the citrus grove to the apple and pear orchard. This is certainly the case for the Harewood Estate Riesling 2015.

This is a delicate Riesling, medium in body, bone dry. Initially it’s quite reticent, slowly unfolding in the glass. It grows on one and should develop well in bottle. There’s plenty to like here and, as ever, the price is wallet friendly.

2015 HAREWOOD ESTATE RIESLING
Producer: Harewood Estate
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2015
Region: Great Southern, Western Australia
ABV: 12.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $25.00
Date tasted: 26 October 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale greenish yellow. Alluring aromatic nose of grapefruit, green apple and pear. Dry, medium bodied, linear acidity provided the structure. Straight out of the apple/pear orchard – definitely not Clare or Eden Valley Riesling. Delicate and restrained, zesty grapefruit acidity drawing out the finish. Grows on one as the bottle slowly empties.
Score: 16/20

2014 SC PANNELL TEMPRANILLO TOURIGA - JUKEBOX IN IBERIA

It would be an understatement to say that Steve Pannell is on a hot streak. Put simply, the man can do no wrong. Winemaker of the year, 2014 Jimmy Watson trophy-winner, the plaudits keep coming. Pannell is deservedly credited with producing wines that are bright, fresh and suited to the contemporary Australian palate.

One such wine is the Iberian-inspired Tempranillo Touriga. Medium in body and savoury in character, this blend is perfectly suited to McLaren Vale’s warm climate and even better suited to the Australian outdoors lifestyle and summer of endless barbecues.

This is a wine that took out the trophy for Best Red Blend at the Royal Victorian Wine Awards, a signpost, if ever, that Australian wine has entered a new era. It is the sort of wine that merits good food and good company, so fire up the barbie and get that marinated leg of lamb on!

2014 SC PANNELL TEMPRANILLO TOURIGA
Producer: SC Pannell
Variety: Tempranillo et al
Vintage: 2014
Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $28.00
Date tasted: 24 October 2015

Tasting Note:
Mid-ruby in appearance. Open nose of dark cherry, plum, sarsaparilla, floral notes. Medium bodied, The nose flows through to the palate which is medium in body, fine and supple. Savoury in character; a food style well suited to contemporary Mediterranean cuisine – BBQ butterflied leg of lamb would be a perfect match.
Score: 17/20