2013 DOMINIQUE PIRON BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES ‘LA CHANAISE’ - SOUR CHERRY

Beaujolais is arguably the most interesting region in France at present. The shackles of Beaujolais Nouveau have well and truly been shaken off. An ever-growing list of dynamic producers is showcasing the region’s diversity from generic Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages and the 10 crus.

Dominique Piron’s Beaujolas Villages does pretty much what one should expect from a good producer these days. Gone is the bubblegum of old, replaced by bright cherry and raspberry and whispy, earthy tannin. It’s not a particularly complex wine, but it ticks the boxes for authenticity and drinkability.

2013 DOMINIQUE PIRON BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES ‘LA CHANAISE’
Producer: Dominique Piron
Variety: Gamay
Vintage: 2013
Region: Beaujolais, France
ABV: 12.5%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $27.00
Date tasted: 17 January 2016

Tasting Note:
Bright garnet. Clean nose of cherry and raspberry, floral top note. Dry, medium bodied, savoury palate of redcurrant and cranberry. Well-made, direct and straightforward.
Score: 15.5/20

2013 GIUSEPPE CORTESE LANGHE NEBBIOLO - GET A GRIP

If there is a hipster grape variety, it would probably be Nebbiolo. There is something about Nebbiolo that attracts a certain type of drinker – haunting aromatics, delicate yet sturdy – not easy to drink, but rewarding for those who are prepared to engage with it.

Barbaresco producer Giuseppe Cortese has produced an archetypal Nebbiolo from the 2013 vintage. For newcomers to the variety, this is textbook stuff. No more than mid-garnet, aeration reveals a truly complex bouquet; floral, earthy, red fruits, woody spice and more. In the mouth, it isn’t quite as alluring or charming at this point in time, typically assertive Nebbiolo tannins making their presence felt in no uncertain terms.

That said, with food, there is pleasure to be had, particularly for those who aren’t afraid of a bit of structure and don’t mind a wine that ‘bites back’.

2013 GIUSEPPE CORTESE LANGHE NEBBIOLO
Producer: Giuseppe Cortese
Variety: Nebbiolo
Vintage: 2013
Region: Piedmont
ABV: 14.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $53.00
Date tasted: 16 January 2016

Tasting Note:
Mid-garnet. Aeration reveals a complex nose of cherry, strawberry, fennel seed, mint, sage, violet, dusty herbs, amaro. Dry, medium bodied, very savoury, earthbound, sour cherry and redcurrant, chalky tannins provide structure. Textbook Nebbiolo.
Score: 16.5/20

2015 ARCHITECTS OF WINE ‘SKIN CONTACT’ RIESLING - I'VE GOT YOU......

‘Architects of Wine’ is a project making small batch wines from leading regions across South Australia. The focus is on minimum intervention, eschewing the more technical approach to winemaking that typifies most Australian wine.

This is a wine that stands out from the crowd, but not necessarily for good reasons. The skin contact influence manifests itself not only in the slightly cloudy appearance, but muddying both the aromatics and clarity of flavour.

There is a certain amount of aromatic complexity, though it isn’t easy to identify it as Riesling, well, not as we know it anyway. In the mouth, the wine has a quinine, almost tonic quality. Tannin asserts itself on the mid-palate.

This is by no means an unpleasant wine, but it is a one glass wine that needs to be matched with an appropriate dish. In some respects it is good to be challenged by wines like this, though one questions what it ultimately offers compared to a good conventionally vinified Riesling.  

2015 ARCHITECTS OF WINE ‘SKIN CONTACT’ RIESLING 
Producer: Architects of Riesling
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2015
Region: Clare Valley
ABV: 12.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $32.00
Date tasted: 14 January 2016

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery yellow. Slightly cloudy in appearance. Acacia, grapefruit pith and wet stone. Dry and pithy, noticeable tannic grip – like licking wet stones. Quinine and bitters, tonic. Works in the right food context but lacks clarity of aromatics and flavour.
Score: 14/20

2014 BARCO DEL CORNETA VERDEJO ‘CUCU’ - THE CUCKOO

Spain’s Verdejo is often compared to Sauvignon Blanc. Indeed, some examples can resemble inexpensive Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, with their straightforward and overt tropical fruit character. Such wines are adequate and moderately refreshing, but hardly offer a point of difference.

Barco del Corneta’s ‘Cucu’ is a different animal, being more in the citrus/orchard fruit realm, with notes of silica. Fruit for Cucu is grown at over 700 metres elevation on sand and red pebbles. Organic viticulture is practised.

The wine undergoes fermentation in stainless steel and large format wood, prior to a short period of maturation in seasoned wood. All in all, it is a very good example of Verdejo, but could perhaps benefit from a touch more drive and zip to carry the finish. This will be an interesting label to follow over the next few years.

2014 BARCO DEL CORNETA VERDEJO ‘CUCU’
Producer: Barco del Corneta
Variety: Verdejo
Vintage: 2014
Region: Castilla y Leon, Spain
ABV: 13.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $30.00
Date tasted: 2 January 2016

Tasting Note:
Coppery yellow in appearance – skin contact? Attractive and complex nose of white nectarine, grapefruit pith, lemon blossom and crab apple. Dry, medium bodied, softly textured, good palate weight, the flavour profile in a similar realm to the nose. Plenty to like, but could do with just a touch more drive. Nevertheless, one of the better examples of Verdejo out there.
Score: 16/20

2014 LEVANTINE HILL SAUVIGNON BLANC SEMILLON - NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Levantine Hill is one of the new kids on the block in the Yarra Valley. The valley hasn’t witnessed such a major investment for many years. In the space of little more than 24 months, a new cellar door and restaurant has been developed and the 25 year old vineyard is being reconfigured.

From a varietal perspective, Levantine Hill offers up some of the Yarra Valley’s usual suspects; Chardonnay and a Bordeaux-inspired Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend for white, and Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon for red. There is also a rosé, made from Cabernet Sauvignon. A quartet of extravagantly priced single block wines from steep sites round out the offering.

Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blends remain unfashionable in Australia notwithstanding their compatability with food and ability to age well in bottle. This example, Levenatine Hill’s second vintage release, is pretty much on the button, barrel ferment and maturation lending texture and complexity, as well downplaying Sauvignon’s overt herbaceousness. It is a well packaged wine that drinks very well now and should develop in bottle over the medium term.

2014 LEVANTINE HILL SAUVIGNON BLANC SEMILLON
Producer: Levantine Hill
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon
Vintage: 2014
Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $35.00
Date tasted: 30 December 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright silvery lemon. Guava, passionfruit, lemon/grapefruit citrus, subtle oak spice, fresh herbs. Dry, medium bodied, lovely texture. Good fruit intensity, no single character dominating; melon interwoven with delicate tropical fruit with a subtle herbaceous thread. Wood provides texture and spicy complexity. Very good.
Score: 16.5/20

2004 GIACONDA WARNER VINEYARD SHIRAZ - MEAT ON THE LEDGE

Giaconda needs no introduction. Simply put, it is Australia’s greatest small winery. Although best known for its Chardonnay, Giaconda also produces some of Australia’s finest Shiraz, albeit a very European expression of the variety.

Over a decade from vintage, the 2004 Giaconda Warner Vineyard Shiraz is singing. While it might be Beechworth in origin, the wine is a Hermitage look-a-like, with notes of hung game/charcuterie, woodsmoke and ground pepper. It has little in common with Australian Shiraz of old.

This is a highly complex and sophisticated wine that surely ranks among the best Shiraz to come from these Shiraz. It delivers enormous drinking pleasure here and now, but there’s plenty of fuel in the tank for those that enjoy their wines fully mature.

2004 GIACONDA WARNER VINEYARD SHIRAZ
Producer: Giaconda
Variety: Syrah/Shiraz
Vintage: 2004
Region: Beechworth, Victoria
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $100.00
Date tasted: 25 December 2015

Tasting Note:
Deep crimson in appearance - barely looks more than two or three years old. Complex nose of ground pepper, charcuterie/hung meat and game, camphor, woodsmoke. Dry, medium to full-bodied, meaty, gamey and savoury. Very long and persistent. In a good spot now, but has the depth and structure to develop in bottle for a further decade.
Score: 18.5/20

2010 GEVREY CHAMBERTIN VILLAGES by OLIVIER BERNSTEIN - PATIENCE

In less than a decade, Olivier Bernstein as establish himself as one of Burgundy’s leading micro-negociants. His wines are characterised by the sheen of new oak and pristine fruit picked at full ripeness. Cheap they are not, but it is fair to say that quality shines through the Bernstein portfolio.

His village level Gevrey Chambertin, from the 2010 vintage is a precocious youngster. It has shed some of the puppy fat of youth, but is in a transitory phase from youth to adolescence. It displays a complex array of red fruits, but remains tightly coiled, sinewy tannins asserting themselves. There is quality here, but this is a wine needing another 5 years in bottle to strut its stuff.

2010 GEVREY CHAMBERTIN VILLAGES by OLIVIER BERNSTEIN
Producer: Maison Oliver Bernstein
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2010
Region: Burgundy, France
ABV: 13.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $100.00
Date tasted: 24 December 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright cherry red. Attractive nose of cherry, pomegranate and redcurrant, spicy oak. Dry, medium bodied, quite tightly coiled. Sour red fruits follow through from the nose, but you get the sense the wine is holding back a bit at present. Leave for 4-5 years.
Score: 16.5+/20

NV EL SIERRA MAESTRO FINO - I SHOULD LIVE IN SALT

El Maestro Sierra is a lesser known Jerez-based bodega founded in 1830. It was originally established by Jose Antonio Sierra, a cooper who made barrels for Gonzalez Byass. He eventually succeeded in his mission and established the bodega as one of the region’s leading almacenistas, supplying wine to larger houses.

These days, El Sierra Maestro bottles under its own name, and its Sherries are worth hunting down. At under $30 for a 750ml bottle, the Fino represents exceptional value for money. It possesses an intensely briny/saline personality overlaid by fresh sourdough. There’s lots to like here.

NV EL SIERRA MAESTRO FINO
Producer: Bodegas El Sierra Maestro
Variety: Sherry
Vintage: Non-vintage
Region: Jerez, Spain
ABV: 15.0%
Closure: Natural cork
Retail Price: $27.00
Date tasted: 24 December 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright lemon yellow. Attractive nose of freshly baked sourdough, ozone, brine/fish rope, honeyed/nutty notes. Bone dry and limpid, saline, suggestions of brioche/sourdough. Finishes long and fine. Delicious and exceptional value for money.
Score: 17/20

2014 THICK AS THIEVES ‘THE SHOW PONY’ - A HORSE WITH NO NAME

For many, Sauvignon Blanc is a ‘take it or leave it’ grape, its herbaceous personality being somewhat devisive. Introduce it to wood, and it can be a more interesting customer, the barrel fermentation lending texturing and toning down its more extreme traits.

‘The Show Pony’, from one-man show Thick as Thieves just about gets it right. It possesses a delicate, citrus-laden (grapefruit, lemon) palate, grassy/herbaceous notes emerging over time with air. It’s not a super complex wine, but refreshes and would be a more than able dinner table companion to simply grilled fish with a green salad.

2014 THICK AS THIEVES ‘THE SHOW PONY’
Producer: Thick as Thieves
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2014
Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria
ABV: 12.4%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $26.00
Date tasted: 18 December 2015

Tasting Note:
Pale silvery yellow in appearance. Grapefruit pith, lemon zest, slightly herbaceous. Dry, medium bodied, round shouldered and compact, citrusy, becoming more grassy/herbaceous with aeration. A very solid wine, the barrel ferment lending texture.
Score: 16/20

2013 KELVEDON ESTATE PINOT NOIR - HIGH FIDELITY

Kelvedon Estate is a small Swansea-based vineyard producing small volumes of estate-bottled Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Most of its fruit is contracted, with all of the Chardonnay fruit sold to the House of Arras, and Pinot Noir sold under contract to Bay of Fires.

With demand from prestigious premium labels, it is no surprise that the estate wines are pretty classy. Kelvedon Estate Pinot Noir is a very impressive modern Australian Pinot Noir, with a relatively modest price-tag.

There is real quality to be had here, with depth and structure that should support medium term cellaring.

2013 KELVEDON ESTATE PINOT NOIR
Producer: Kelvedon Estate
Variety: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2013
Region: East Coast, Tasmania
ABV: 13.9%
Closure: Screw cap
Retail Price: $40.00
Date tasted: 19 December 2015

Tasting Note:
Bright ruby. Clean nose of cherry, plum and smoky oak. Dry, initially fruit-driven but with good structure, depth of flavour and balancing acidity. Cherry, plum, raspberry and pomegranate interwoven with spicy oak. Impressive intensity and length. Has the structure to develop well in bottle.
Score: 17/20