Best buy wines (Aug/Sept 2012)
Our panel – Max Allen, Peter Bourne, Bob Campbell MW, Peter Forrestal, Huon Hooke and Jeremy Oliver – recommends great-value wines from home and further afield.
$15 AND UNDER
NV Calabria Prosecco, Riverina, A$15
This Riverina producer has gone from strength to strength. As well as a range of cooler-climate varietals sourced from other NSW regions – a Hilltops tempranillo, a Tumbarumba pinot noir – the Calabria family label is now home to some terrific Italian and exotic varietals (I’ve reviewed the red aglianico here before). This latest addition nails the fruitier style of prosecco: light and sherbety, it marries some good green melon flavour with a clean, off-dry finish. MA
NV Seppelt Fleur de Lys Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Victoria, A$15
Making sparkling wine is an expensive process, so how do companies like Seppelt keep the costs down so that they can sell at these sorts of prices? The secondary fermentation (which produces the bubbles) takes place in stainless-steel tanks before the wine is transferred into the bottle under pressure. This is known as the transfer or charmat method. The NV Fleur de Lys is made from chardonnay and pinot, and is soft, round and creamy, with ripe and bright flavours, finishing fresh, clean and zesty. Delicious. PF
2009 Ram’s Leap Shiraz, Western Plains, A$15
Canonbah Bridge Wines is the brainchild of the McLaughlin family, who have farmed the Merryanbone Station near Warren since the 1880s. Half the 35 hectares of vineyard is shiraz – a variety well suited to the warm growing conditions. The flagship wines are labelled Canonbah Bridge, with the Bottle Tree range an absolute steal at around $10. The 2009 Ram’s Leap Shiraz is generously flavoured, its amalgam of dark berry fruit held in check by a slew of sinewy tannins. Perfect with barbecued lamb chops. PB
2010 Journeys End Vineyards Three Brothers Reunited Shiraz, South East Australia, A$15/NZ$15
Journeys End produces a range of rich reds spanning McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Adelaide Hills, with Ben Riggs as winemaker. This one is exceptional value for money. The remarkable 2010 vintage in South Australia is a signal for superior quality. Aromas of fruitcake, chocolate, dark fruits and earth, with a hint of jamminess, lead into a rich, fleshy palate of good density. Ample ripe tannins lend it good structure. Full-bodied with a long carry, it’s an amazing wine. HH
2010 Pukeora Estate Chardonnay, Central Hawkes Bay, NZ$15
Fine, focused chardonnay with a strong mineral, chalk character from the high limestone soils of Central Hawkes Bay. It’s very pure, with drive and energy in quite a unique style. It has power but delivers it with great subtlety. A remarkable wine at an extraordinary price. The tragedy is that a small production wine like this from a relatively unknown and isolated region will be very hard to find at conventional outlets, although it is available from the winery website www.pukeora.com. BC
2011 De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Grigio, King Valley, A$14
From Victoria’s King Valley comes this genuinely shapely and varietal grigio style – unlike most Australian claimants to this label. It’s scented with a fresh, lemon and faintly chalky bouquet of white flowers, cloves and nutmeg, with undertones of minerals and spice. Pleasingly lean, tightly focused and tangy, its juicy, lemon fruit is backed by a fine chalkiness, building intensity down the palate towards a long and savoury finish of refreshing acidity. JO
$20 AND UNDER
2011 Josef Chromy Pepik Pinot Noir, Tasmania, A$20
At a time when Australian pinot noir prices seem to be defying both gravity and the threat of financial uncertainty, it’s great to find an excellent Tassie pinot that still slides in at the $20 or under mark. This is a lovely drink, with some sous-bois complexity, sappy tannins and bright red fruit. I have seen a wide range of prices for this wine, and while $16 (the lowest I’ve found) makes it even more of a Best Buy, I’d also be happy to pay $25 (the highest price I’ve come across). MA
2008 Shingleback Haycutters Shiraz Viognier, McLaren Vale, A$17
This is remarkably good value for a wine that has won gold medals in three international wine shows, including the 2011 Sydney International Wine Competition Top 100. It is sourced from the Haycutters Block on the Shingleback vineyard in the southern reaches of McLaren Vale. The 2008 vintage was tricky in the Vale: the Haycutters Shiraz Viognier has ripe, sweet blackberry and black cherry flavours, is smooth and seductively fleshy, finishing with a delightful approachability. PF
2010 Six Foot Six Pinot Noir, Geelong, A$19
Pam and Richard Austin first planted vines in the Barrabool Hills 30 years ago, before moving to Sutherlands Creek, north-west of Geelong, with the aim of making great pinot noir. The eponymous Austins label gets the first lick of their fruit, with the entry-level range, Six Foot Six, offering an incredible quality to value quotient. The 2010 Pinot Noir is sweet and juicy with fresh strawberry and bright maraschino cherry flavours, hints of savoury complexity and delicate balance of acid and tannins driving the finish. PB
2010 Wicks Estate Shiraz, Adelaide Hills, A$18
Born in the privileged season of 2010, this wine has jumped to a higher level, while the price remains the same. That adds up to a terrific bargain for wine drinkers. The colour is deep red-purple; the bouquet is bright and clean, with aromas reminiscent of savoury Moroccan spices and fresh earth, plus traces of licorice and plum jam. Soft and fruit-sweet in the mouth, it has an abundant fleshy texture, good concen-tration of sweet fruit, and a firm tannin grip to finish. A serious red for hearty food, and for cellaring. HH
2011 Riverby Dry Estate Riesling, Marlborough, A$20/NZ$22
Riverby is a relatively large Marlborough grape grower that sells fruit to other wineries as well as making wine under its own fairly low-profile label. It produces two rieslings a dry and medium-dry. Both are very good indeed and offer impressive value for $20. The Dry (but not searingly dry) Riesling has seven grams per litre of much-needed residual sugar to balance the wine’s fruity acidity and to develop a little tension. The wine has lovely weight and mouthfeel with a lingering finish. BC
2011 McWilliam’s Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon, Hunter Valley, A$19
A pristine, crystal-clear young semillon with everything perfectly in order for a long cellaring life. Weighing in at an appropriately lean 11 per cent, it packs a surprising intensity of primary fruit. Dusted with a lightly spicy, nutty bouquet of melon, citrus and tobacco leaf lifted by a scent of white flowers, it’s long, juicy and elegant. Underpinned by a faint chalkiness and wrapped in crisp, refreshing acids, it finishes clean and dry, with a lingering note of lemon sherbet. JO
$30 AND UNDER
2008 Freeman Secco Rondinella Corvina, Hilltops, A$30
Don’t tell Brian Freeman, but I reckon he’s seriously undercharging for this wine. Given the rarity of the rondinella and corvina grapes in Australia, the extended hang time in the vineyard (the grapes aren’t picked until May each year), the partial drying of the harvested fruit and generous maturation (two years in old oak, two years in bottle), $30 seems like a bargain to me. Even more so when you drink it: it’s just a deeply complex, gloriously savoury drink. MA
2010 Devil’s Lair Hidden Cave Cabernet Shiraz, Margaret River, A$23
Former Penfolds white winemaker, Oliver Crawford, has been quietly working away south of the Margaret River township since 2009 and has just released some pleasant surprises that showcase his work over the past three vintages. Hidden Cave is the red in a new medium-price range. Crawford has shunned the more predictable cabernet merlot blend and produced a ripper from this stellar vintage: potent redcurrant and blackberry aromatics, rich concentrated powerful flavours with a hint of cedar, sumptuous approachability. PF
2011 Head Wines Head Red GSM, Barossa Valley, A$25
Alex Head entered winemaking via biochemistry studies, then working at Sydney’s Ultimo Wine Centre, importer World Wine Estates and Langton’s fine wine auctions. With a clear view in his head (pun intended), Alex sought to craft his wines in praise of traditional Barossa Valley. 2011 was a cool year and this delicious, subtle spicy Rhône-style red reflects the season. It’s dangerously drinkable with fresh raspberry, hints of clove and five-spice with slinky tannins and a refreshing acid lift. PB
2009 Lake Breeze Bernoota Shiraz Cabernet, Langhorne Creek, A$19
Bernoota is reliably one of the bargains of Australian wine. Produced by the Follett family on their 130-year-old property at Langhorne Creek, the wine has trademark regional peppermint – which seems more subdued than usual this vintage – as well as dominant cabernet cassis flavour. It’s full bodied, smooth and surprisingly elegant in the mouth, with freshness and brightness. The palate has good persistence, with a clean and firm finish. It drinks well now and should continue to do so for at least 12 years. HH
2010 Giesen The Brothers Chardonnay, Marlborough, A$25/NZ$23
Made from a blend of fruit from two vineyards, one with stony soils that produce wines of lightness and elegance, and a second with heavier soils, giving weight and intensity. A delicious chardonnay with impressive weight, richness and an appealing fruit and alcohol sweetness that is nicely balanced by fruity acidity. Quite a ripe style, with peach and other stone-fruit flavours, plus a seasoning of bran biscuit and bread-crust characters. A complex wine with a very lengthy finish. BC
2010 Westend Three Bridges Durif, Riverina, A$22
Durif continues to revel in its recently adopted home of the Riverina. This is typically firm, dark, deeply layered and earthy, delivering a powerful punch of true varietal expression. Wild and meaty, its smoky, chocolaty bouquet of black-berry and dark plum is steeped in spice. Polished and clean, its powerful, densely packed palate of fiery, dark fruit and smoky mocha and coconut oak is framed by a firm cut of drying tannins, finishing with meaty nuances of prunes and currants. Leave it as long as you can. JO
IMPORTS $25 AND UNDER
2008 Domaine du Météore Les Leonides Faugères, Languedoc (France), A$22
This is an exceptional value red from the little-known (in Australia) appellation of Faugères in the hot south of France, from a domaine that takes its name from a vineyard planted on the floor of an ancient meteor crater and names its wines after constellations. A blend of grenache, syrah, mourvèdre and carignan, this wine is bursting with ripe Mediterranean fruit, from blackcurrants to the citrus tang of dried orange peel. A heady accompaniment to cassoulet. MA
2008 Illuminati Ilico, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Italy), A$14
Illuminati is situated at Controguerra close to the Adriatic Sea in the north of Abruzzo. It is a family company with more than 120 years of history and in excess of 100 hectares of its own vineyards. In recent years, it has been a prime mover in lifting the profile of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The 2008 Ilico has restrained savoury aromatics, is soft, round and fleshy, with dense black cherry flavours, smooth texture and a gently gripping finish. It’s pleasantly approachable especially with a hearty bowl of spaghetti bolognese. PF
2009 Herdade do Esporão Monte Velho Tinto, Alentejano (Portugal), A$20
Barossa-born winemaker, David Baverstock has been making wine in Portugal for almost 30 years, the last 20 vintages with Herdade do Esporão in south-western Portugal. This estate dates back to 1267 and was re-planted 40 years ago, primarily with indigenous varieties including the trio blended here – trincadeira, castelão and aragonês (aka tempranillo). This is a robust red with lots of dark-berry fruit aromas, hints of licorice and cardamom pods. The palate is bold, its tannins well defined and assertive but not harsh. PB
2010 La Guardiense Sannio Fiano DOC, Campania (Italy), A$20
Fiano is a native Italian grape that’s gaining popularity throughout the world, including Australia, where several good fianos are now produced. Its home is the central Italian region of Campania, where this one originates. It’s fresh and youthful, with lightly spicy aromas plus pineapple, and a trace of reduction. It’s slightly floral and reminicent of pinot gris. In the mouth, it’s grapy, faintly sweet and nectarine-like, with a fairly short, sharp aftertaste. At 13.5 per cent alcohol, it’s an attractive general-purpose, well-priced wine. HH
2010 Domaine de Fondreche Fayard Ventoux, (France), NZ$25
Grenache-dominant red from the southern Rhône. A heady mix of spice and perfume with wonderful purity and energy. This is quite a big and concentrated red with a generous 14-per-cent alcohol content but there’s nothing heavy or blockbuster about it. A perfectly poised and elegant wine that is agreeably accessible without food, but serve it with a medium-rare fillet steak or lightly seared lamb fillets and the wine takes on a completely different dimension. BC
2010 Peramor Verdejo Rueda, Castilla y León (Spain), A$22
From Rueda within Spain’s Castilla y León region comes this charmingly smooth, deeply flavoured and finely balanced verdejo whose dusty bouquet of citrus, melon and stone fruit overlies a scent of green olives and minerals. It’s round and juicy but gentle and restrained, with a generous expression of lemon, pear and melon flavours underpinned by a chalky, pithy texture and tightly wound around a lively finish of citrusy acids. It would work perfectly with a wide range of cuisines. JO
IMPORTS $25 AND OVER
2010 Marcel Deiss Pinot d’Alsace, Alsace (France), A$30
Larger-than-life biodynamic vigneron Marcel Deiss produces rich, powerful white wines that are often blends of many different grapes. This is a mélange of all the pinots (blanc, noir, meunier, gris, etc) but is remarkably balanced and harmonious. It’s also super intense, like a big round blob of ripe, honeyed, spicy grape syrup gently squeezed between two slices of dry, lemon-washed slate. If you’re feeling indulgent, some foie gras would be an awesome match. MA
2006 Pio Cesare Barolo, Piedmont (Italy), A$99
The world’s greatest nebbiolos come from the mountain village of Barolo in Piedmont. These profound wines invariably need cellaring and benefit from hearty, robust fare. This is a well-priced Barolo from a family who owns more than 50 hectares of prime vineyard land in Piedmont and have been part of the wine scene there since 1881. This is a complex, brooding and powerful wine, offering truffley, gravelly, tarry flavours, velvety smooth texture and an intriguing tannin whack. See it transformed at the table. PF
2010 Mac Forbes Blaufränkisch, Carnuntum (Austria), A$36
Mac Forbes is a busy man – making chardonnay, pinot noir and his Hugh cabernet in the Yarra, riesling from the Strathbogies and Italian varieties from the King Valley. Where he finds time to make wine in Austria, who knows, but he has been since 2004. A grüner veltliner, and this – a head-turning blaufränkisch. Bold blueberry defines the nose with delicate spices and earthy hints. The palate is bright and fleshy with boysenberry and blue-berry flavours, the finish marked more by acid than its modest tannins. PB
2010 Albert Mann Pinot Blanc Auxerrois, Alsace (France), A$30
This blend of pinot blanc and pinot auxerrois, a local Alsace specialty, is a wine with some difference that gives lovers of Alsace whites a nice alternative to the staples, riesling and pinot gris. Its smoky, buttered-toast aromas have spiced-peach and honeydew melon notes, and a trace of almost gewürz-like spice. Soft and fruity in the mouth, it’s just off-dry but beautifully balanced and very more-ish. A wine of real character and charm. Drink it now and over the next three years, with most fish dishes. HH
2007 Callejo Ribera del Duero, Crianza, (Spain), A$34
Made from 100 per cent tempranillo that’s been aged in French barriques for 12 months. I was intrigued by a statement in Spanish on the back label which translates to “selection of table grape berry by berry” but their web site confirms that the crop was badly affected by hail and was rigorously sorted as a result. It’s all the more amazing then to find such a lovely wine. It’s pure and relatively youthful tempranillo with violet, licorice, spice and red berry flavours. Truly impressive wine offering remarkably good value. BC
2009 Maison Louis Jadot Côte de Nuits-Villages Le Vaucrain, Burgundy (France), A$60
One of the challenges facing Australian makers of pinot noir is to develop structure and texture as well as ethereal flavours and perfumes. Maison Louis Jadot has had no such issues in the creation of this stylish example. Scented with iris and red flowers, cherries and fine cedar and vanilla oak backed by dark plum, it underpins its bright fruit and charcuterie-like complexity with a dusty, firm and fine-grained back-bone. It has the shape and balance to give many a premier cru a run for its money. JO
WINES TO CELLAR
2010 Greenstone Vineyard Sangiovese, Heathcote, A$65
I remember tasting the first, 2007 vintage of this wine when it was a couple of years old and thinking how firm and solid it was – and then watching over the next couple of years as the tannins loosened to reveal soft, earthy fruit. This is even better wine at a similarly young age, because while there are plenty of tongue-hugging tannins, there’s also already lots of dark, seductive fruit. I think it’ll age well for at least 10 years. In the meantime, try it with a big juicy bistecca. MA
2009 Grant Burge Filsell Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa, A$37
Grant Burge is a fifth-generation Barossa vigneron. His Filsell vineyard (originally planted in 1920) is the source of fruit for his flagship Meshach Shiraz and is a major contributor to this wine. There’s more Eden Valley material than previously, which gives it vibrancy and some lifted floral notes. Alcohol is lower and the oak handling is more restrained. The 2009 Filsell is bright, powerful and concentrated with brambles, chocolate and fruit-cake flavours, seamless fleshy texture, and a balanced finish. PF
2009 Tyrrell’s Wines Vat 9 Hunter Shiraz, Hunter Valley, A$91
Hunter reds have been deemed ‘unfashionable’ by the style-makers; well they should try this vinous gem. One sip and it’s easy to see why shiraz has been referred to as “Burgundy” in the Hunter Valley for 150 years. This is no blockbuster rather a soft, gentle earthy red with fresh raspberry fruit flavours, some smoky spices and a modest tannin profile. The oak is large format and sits well in the background leaving the sweet, earthy flavours to shine. Drink now and for the next 20 years. PB
2010 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz, Pyrenees, A$65
This is one of the best vintages yet for Dalwhinnie shiraz. The bouquet is subdued but dark fruits lurk, with a multiplicity of dry spices, deep and latent. It has delicious flavour and ample weight, with marvellous balance between primary fruit and savoury complexities. It’s a superbly structured wine, deep and rewarding, with flavour that builds, then lasts on the aftertaste. The tannins are a feature, providing backbone and sumptuous mouth-feel, supporting the flavour as a canvas supports a painting. Drink now to around 2040. HH
2010 Bilancia La Collina Syrah, Hawkes Bay, A$105/NZ$95
Owners and winemakers Warren Gibson and his wife Lorraine Leheny had big ambitions when they planted their tiny, terraced, hillside vineyard with syrah. Their vision was entirely justified judging by the string of truly impressive syrah viognier wines that have emerged under the La Collina label. Big, dense, rich syrah with attractive sweet Christmas cake, dried fruits, licorice, mixed spice, floral, wild herb and classy oak flavours. Full-bodied wine with mouthcoating intensity. Wonderful now but with potential to develop. BC
2010 Main Ridge Estate Half Acre Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, A$70
Everything you would expect of this great vineyard from this terrific vintage. Heady, floral and spicy, its deep aromas of red and black cherries, fresh and faintly smoky cedary oak and lifted by musky hints of red rose petals and spice. Deeply flavoured and supremely elegant, its gentle presence of translucent cherry and berry flavour, fine-grained oak and dusty, pliant tannins culminates in a tightly focused, fresh and savoury finish of exceptional length and harmony. JO