Best buy wines (June/July 2012)

 

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$15 and under
2010 De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, A$14
You almost don’t want to share discoveries like this. Once word gets out, demand will increase and the price will go up and then – well, to be honest, even at $20 or so, this would still be a “Best Buy”. From a particularly good vintage (certainly a welcome relief after the trauma of 2009) this is exactly the kind of juicy, bright pinot with lip-smacking red fruit and refreshing acidity that you could easily drink every day without it becoming a bore. Serve a little bit cool. MA

2010 Deakin Estate Shiraz, Murray Darling, A$8
All of us, pretty much all the time, are looking for a decent quaffing red for that mid-week spaghetti bolognese, sausages and mash or stir-fry. Here is the kind of wine that satisfies that need. It’s what the Murray Darling does best: an uncomplicated, light- to medium-bodied shiraz with satisfying flavours. The 2010 is my pick of the Deakin Estate shiraz of the past decade so the quality’s there. It has smooth red-berry characters, bright acidity and dry tannins that grip ever so gently. Approachable. PF

2010 McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Shiraz, Riverina, A$12
The news that McWilliam’s group chief winemaker, Corey Ryan, is moving back to his South Australian home state is disappointing. Under Ryan’s leadership the whole McWilliam’s range has improved out of sight – this bargain-basement shiraz a typical example. 2010 was the year the drought broke, yielding a spicier shiraz with aromas of dark plum, sweet spices and a touch of mocha. The palate is soft and juicy with flavours of loganberry and black plum and hints of graphite-like oak. Enjoy now with a spicy lamb tagine. PB

2009 Warrenmang Bazzani Shiraz Cabernet, Pyrenees, A$15
This is a candidate for the best-value red wine in Australia. Anyone familiar with Luigi Bazzani’s Warrenmang reds knows they are big, rich and generously flavoured, but this cellar-door price is scarcely believable – although it is correct. Deep and dark in colour; dense and super ripe to sniff and taste, with lots of black fruits, aniseed and a touch of minty eucalyptus. It’s a substantial wine, with concentration and tannin grip aplenty. I can easily forgive it its hint of Portiness. Drink now and for at least 15 years. HH

2009 Incognito Riesling, Waipara, NZ$14
This is the house label of Auckland-based The Fine Wine Delivery Company. They have utilised the skills of their in-house tasting panel and their significant buying power to acquire a delicious wine that could justify at least double this price. Luscious, moderately sweet riesling with ripe stone fruit, honey, tropical fruit and mango flavours that offers excellent value. BC

2010 Hardys Nottage Hill Shiraz, A$10
This isn’t a hugely complex shiraz, but for its price you get genuine elegance, style and finesse. Its earthy, faintly meaty and peppery bouquet of dark plum, berries and cedar/chocolate oak is lifted by a whiff of exotic spice. Smooth and supple, it’s long and sweetly fruited, with a juicy, pastille-like presence of berry and plum fruit knit with fresh oak and supported by a fine, dusty spine of quite firm tannins. For only $10? You have to be kidding! JO

$20 and under
2011 Smallfry Joven, Barossa Valley, A$20
Winemaker Wayne Ahrens has totally nailed the style of young, unwooded Spanish red on which this wine is modelled. A blend of mostly tempranillo and garnacha (aka grenache) with a splash of monastrell (mataro/mourvèdre) and a trickle of the Portuguese red grape, bastardo, it’s got heaps of jube-like purple fruit and a satisfying rumble of savoury spice. I tried this next to a couple of new-wave Spanish reds at around the same price and it was like a reunion of long-lost brothers. MA

2010 Torzi Matthews Schist Rock Shiraz, Eden Valley, A$18
From his 10-hectare family vineyard high in the Eden Valley, Domenic Torzi consistently produces excellent week-night wines labelled Schist Rock, as well as classy riesling and shiraz in the Frost Dodger range. This is a single-vineyard shiraz from the cool locality of Mount McKenzie. The 2010 Schist Rock Shiraz shows pure, ripe, sweet redcurrant and black cherry flavours, a hint of spice, is medium bodied yet rich, concentrated, vibrant and approachable. PF

2010 Chalkers Crossing CC2 Hilltops Shiraz, Hilltops, A$20
Celine Rousseau brings a gentle touch to Chalkers Crossing wines where she’s been resident winemaker since 2000. The drought-breaking 2010 vintage delivered shiraz with abundant pepper and spice – elusive qualities during the decade of dry weather. CC2 Shiraz is a wine of subtlety and interest. Cracked pepper and spice lift the nose which features raspberry, dark cherry and some cedary oak. It’s fruit forward with mild-mannered tannins in the background giving the ability to develop over three more years. PB

2010 Cape Mentelle Marmaduke Shiraz, Margaret River, A$19
In days of yore, this was a light and simple quaffing red, not for keeping. But it’s grown up in a big way in recent times. The colour is deep and youthful; the bouquet is spicy and quite complex, with clove, nutmeg, pepper and even cinnamon notes. In the mouth, it’s intense and medium bodied, with a touch of agreeable bite and a structure that bodes well for the future. If anyone decides to put it down for a while, it’ll last at least a decade. Scrumptious stuff. HH

2011 Clark Estate Riesling, Awatere Valley, A$25/NZ$20
Made from grapes grown in Clark’s 13-hectare vineyard in the Awatere Valley where low-yielding vines give a little extra concentration. Impressively intense wine with great mouthfeel and a silken texture. Plenty of lees contact adds an extra touch of bready flavours to pure lime and mineral characters. Slightly funky with nice complexity. Good tension and length. Winner of the trophy for the top riesling at the 2012 New Zealand Royal Easter Show Wine Awards. BC

2010 Gramp’s Shiraz, Barossa Valley, A$17
One of the best value wines on the Australian market today, this fiery and assertive shiraz is artfully measured and balanced. It’s complex and alluring, with a spicy, gamey bouquet of dark, brooding berry and plum-like fruit, cigar box and violets. Both sumptuous and elegant, it’s deeply flavoured and velvety, with tremendous presence of fruit underpinned by firm tannins, finishing with depth and character. How they do this for the price, I simply have no idea. JO

$30 and under
2011 Quealy Amphora Friulano, Mornington Peninsula, A$28
Bring on the amphora revolution. This is one of a growing number of Australian wines fermented in large earthenware vessels, much as the Romans used to do two millennia ago, and as traditional winemakers in Georgia still do today. After 24 hours skin contact, the white friulano juice was pressed off and fermented and then matured in 800-litre amphorae for three months. The result is an exceptionally textural, rich but deeply savoury white wine, crying out for food. MA

2010 Crittenden Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, A$30
Here’s a medium-priced pinot of outstanding quality from the Mornington Peninsula’s Crittenden family. Second-generation winemaker, Rollo, also shows his skill with the 2010 Peninsula Pinot Gris, which is as good as it gets in Australia. The 2010 Crittenden Pinot Noir has fantastic varietal character – wonderful ethereal perfumes, intensity of redcurrant and blackberry flavours yet a lightness of touch. It’s juicy, even succulent with velvety, fleshy texture and balanced, ripe tannins so it finishes fine, supple and long. PF

2010 Tim Smith Wines Mataro Grenache Shiraz, Barossa, A$29
Tim Smith catapulted the Chateau Tanunda wines to international acclaim before departing to focus on his Barossa brand. Here he eschews the usual Rhône-style GSM blend in favour of a Bandol lookalike, mataro leads the way supported by grenache with the shiraz component well in the background. Vibrant aromatics of violets, raspberry jubes and allspice with hints of warm earth and bitter chocolate pave the way for a rich, palate of yellow plum, cloudberry and dark cherry. Gravelly tannins add a rustic touch. PB

2010 Wirra Wirra Catapult Shiraz, McLaren Vale, A$24/NZ$25
Wirra Wirra has an impressive range of shiraz, from the flagship RSW down to quite cheap fare. All are good. This is a nice, cuddly, ample style of soft shiraz designed to drink now and over the next 10 years or so. It’s deep purple-red and smells of meaty, earthy and soy sauce aromas, which translate neatly into the mouth where it’s full bodied, fruit-sweet and rich, finishing with savoury flourishes. It’s fleshy and smooth, with the generosity and warmth you’d expect of a 14.5 per cent alcohol McLaren Vale red. HH

2011 Palliser Sauvignon Blanc, Martinborough, NZ$27
Powerful and intensely fruity wine with strong, ripe tree fruit and nectarine flavours lent extra complexity with subtle support from passionfruit, red capsicum and white peach. I like the wine’s silken texture, lengthy finish and perfect balance of fresh acidity and very subtle sweetness. Masterfully made sauvignon reflecting a regional style that echoes many of Marlborough’s qualities with a nod in the direction of Hawkes Bay’s classic stone-fruit characters. BC

2011 Ferngrove Cossack Riesling, Frankland River, A$23
Beautifully textured, perfumed and focused riesling with a faintly chalky bouquet of lime, pear and apple that reveals an under-swell of rose petals and musk. Long and lean, it’s tautly wound around a fine chalkiness and a refreshing, austere acidity, delivering a shapely palate of lemon, lime and apple-like fruit that finishes with a lingering core of fruit and bath powder-like minerality. Another stellar and inexpensive release from one
of Australia’s most consistent makers of stylish riesling. JO

Imports $25 and under
2009 Marqués de Riscal Próximo, Rioja (Spain), A$10
While I honestly don’t know how this wine can be so gloriously cheap – yes, the Aussie dollar is strong at the moment, but we also have high wine taxes – I am very glad indeed that it is. Ten bucks is a piffling sum to pay for such a satisfying mouthful of red. Dark glowing purple in the glass, it delivers a big hit of rich, black and pulpy fruit and fairly firm but seductively supple tannins. Appropriately meaty, paprika-and-garlic-drenched tapas would be a fine match. MA

2010 Wolfberger Riesling, Alsace (France), A$20 
Wolfberger is a large co-operative with 800 growers/members which has operated in Alsace for over 100 years. It has access to more than 1300 hectares of vines and produces an array of regional varietals – notably riesling, pinot blanc, pinot gris, gewürztraminer and pinot noir. Happily, it has bottled some of this riesling under screwcap for the Australian market. This wine has restrained aromatics, savoury mineral flavours, a hint of lime juice, some mid-palate honeyed sweetness and a clean, crisp finish. Terrific value. PF

2009 Rocca delle Macìe Chianti Vernaiolo DOCG, Tuscany (Italy), A$25
The Zingarelli family has owned Rocca delle Macìe for 40 years, extending its wine interests to over 600 hectares across Tuscany. But Rocca delle Macìe is at the centre of the Chianti Classico zone, to the east of San Gimignano. Vernaiolo derives from the Latin word vernale meaning ‘of spring’ and indeed this delicious sangiovese-based blend with merlot and canaiolo is a delightful, early-drinking red. Its sweet red fruits, fresh tobacco and dried herbal flavours call for a simple pasta dish with a tomato-based sauce. PB

2010 J P Chenet Merlot, Languedoc-Roussillon (France), A$8
It beggars belief that even a huge winery can get 750mls of wine into a bottle, ship it to Australia and put it on the shelf at this price. Yet there’s a whole range of J P Chenet wines in Woolworths outlets. It’s a very quaffable red, and good value at the price, with typical Old World savouriness rather than grapy character. It’s lean and light-to-medium weight with a forward-developed style. The mellow red-fruit flavours are accompanied by gentle tannins that leave the finish clean and dry. HH

2009 Kerpen Riesling, Mosel (Germany), NZ$22
From a small (six hectares of vineyard), quality-focused Mosel producer with vines in all the right places, including Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Domprobst and Himmelreich and Bernkasteler Bratenhöfchen. This is not a single-vineyard wine but a blend of several. Moderately sweet Mosel riesling from a good vintage and offering excellent value with attractive stone fruit and mineral characters. Good weight and richness with sweetness balanced by crisp acidity. BC

2010 Fritz’s Riesling, Rheinhessen (Germany), A$22 
Richly flavoured and crafted along a line of steely acid, here’s a German riesling for those who prefer a drier Australian style. Scented with white and yellow flowers, peach, pear and apple, it also reveals a hint of spice and toasty development. It’s taut and racy, with intense lemony and stone fruit flavours extending long and persistent towards a crisp, crunchy finish. Its faintest hint of sweetness is tightly balanced by a fresh, bracing acidity. JO

Imports $25 and over
2008 Biondi Outis, Sicily (Italy), A$37
Produced from a close-planted vineyard of local white grapes (carricante, minnella, malvasia, cataratto and moscatello) located 800 metres up on the slopes of Mount Etna, this is an exceptionally complex and robust white wine. A slightly cloudy, pale-gold colour leads on to perfumes of stone fruit and volcanic dust and a mouthful of dried apricot and pine kernels. Try it with the earthy richness of yabbies, tossed with pasta, garlic, white wine and rosemary. MA

2010 Florian Mollet Sancerre, Loire (France), A$30
Marlborough sauvignon blanc has its seductive fruit sweetness to thank for the success it has enjoyed as Australia’s most popular white. At the opposite end of the flavour spectrum stands sauvignon from Sancerre with its tight steely structure, mineral flavours and crunchy, dry acidity: a cerebral white likely to appeal to more experienced wine lovers. The 2010 Florian Mollet is a well-priced Sancerre with mineral aromatics and a vibrant juiciness in the mid-palate. It is tightly structured, finishing long and dry. PF

2009 Franz Haas Manna IGT, Alto Adige (Italy), A$60
The most elevated Haas vineyards are planted at 800 metres – with the snow-covered Alps in the background. They have the perfect micro-climate to slowly ripen an assortment of white varieties. Manna is a complex combination of riesling, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and gewürztraminer. It’s a svelte, light-footed blend with an incredible depth of flavour (honeysuckle, lemon pith, white nectarine and a sprinkle of exotic spices) and an evocative textural richness. The finish is extremely long and super-fine. PB

2010 David Reynaud Crozes-Hermitage Georges Reynaud Les Bruyeres, Rhône Valley (France), A$56
Whether it’s Georges or David who’s the producer is not clear from the label, but it doesn’t really matter: it’s a very attractive medium-bodied syrah with intense cool-grown pepper fragrance and a lean, sinewy structure. Not being a fruity or opulent style, it comes into its own with food. There’s a hint of whole-bunch in its aromas, and it can seem a little skinny by itself, but it certainly doesn’t lack fruit or generosity when served with a meaty dish. Excellent now up until at least 2025. HH

2009 Kerpen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese, Mosel (Germany), NZ$55
This was one of my top picks in a tasting of 16 wines from this producer. All the wines were of a very high standard although in my view those from the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard stood out for their purity, drive and intensity. I also liked the 2009 vintage wines which showed good acidity and were more ‘traditional’ than the super-ripe and slightly syrupy wines from 2010. This earned a tick in every box, particularly for complexity, intensity and length. BC

2009 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy (France), A$50
Deeply flavoured and quite assertive for its village, this firm but finely balanced young pinot has a dusty, floral perfume of black and red cherry, blackberry, cassis and raspberry tightly knit with sweet but faintly charred oak, undertones of dried herbs and a hint of charcuterie. It’s medium in weight, long and persistent, with deep berry, cherry and dark plum flavours supported by powdery, drying tannins. An exercise in restrained power, with plenty of scope for development. JO

Wines to cellar
2009 Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Bendigo, A$45
This is, quite simply, one of the best young Australian cabernets I’ve tasted for a long time. It is a classically proportioned wine, with an intense core of glistening dark blackcurrant fruit surrounded by an intricate frame of sturdy, intricate tannins. You can see glimpses of complexity and subtle nuance locked up in this structure but at the moment they are tantalisingly just out reach. Clearly, patience is required: the best wines from this vineyard drink superbly at 20 to 30 years of age. MA

2009 D’Arenberg The Beautiful View Grenache, McLaren Vale, A$99/NZ$115
Recently, with troubled export markets and the global financial crisis, it’s been a time for caution in the wine industry. Not so for Chester Osborn who has been quietly buying up McLaren Vale vineyards planted to old-vine grenache. 2009 The Beautiful View Grenache has wonderful generosity and incredible depth. It is vibrant, juicy and fleshy, with bright floral aromatics, intense brambly, blackcurrant flavours and a dry, long, complex finish that lingers. Cellar for five to 10 years. PF

2009 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Fleurieu Peninsula, A$47
Brian Croser is the man behind the iconic Australian winery Petaluma – now part of the Lion Nathan Group. He moved on to create Tapanappa with the Bizot family of Bollinger fame and the Cazes family from Château Lynch-Bages. Croser chose an ultra-cool, maritime site called Foggy Hill to plant pinot noir for this deliciously drinkable red, which expresses itself with fresh floral aromas of redcurrant jelly and crushed strawberries with a touch of wild herbs. The palate is sweetly savoury, the finish long and ethereal. PB

2010 Graillot Syrah, Heathcote, A$53
Rhône Valley winemaker Alain Graillot, famed for his Crozes-Hermitage, has released two Aussie shirazes made from Heathcote grapes. This particular drop (the other is called No 2 Syrah) is the premium-positioned wine and a succulent wine it is, too. Aptly named syrah rather than shiraz (as it’s a Rhône-like style), the wine is a deeply red-purple colour, soft and fleshy, with smoked-meat and charcuterie-like accents. There is plenty of Heathcote sweet fruit finishing with a savoury dryness leaving you wanting more. Best drinking from 2014 to 2030. HH

2010 Te Mata Coleraine, Hawkes Bay, A$90/NZ$80
An iconic Bordeaux-style blend of cabernet sauvignon (58 per cent), merlot (36 per cent) and cabernet franc (six per cent) – the highest proportion of cabernet sauvignon in the past decade. A dense, savoury red with a fantastic long and layered texture plus berry, floral and herb characters. Vibrant wine with great potential. Although very accessible now, the wine promises to age at least as grace-fully as the best of its predecessors in the past 30 years. Elegant, powerful red that thoroughly deserves its cult status. BC

2009 Clarendon Hills Piggot Range Syrah, Clarendon, A$300
A sumptuous, long-term shiraz of style and structure. Deeply layered and profoundly concentrated, its rather closed aromas of blackberry, cassis, plum and cedar/chocolate oak slowly unfold to reveal a wild, floral perfume and a hint of briar. It is dense and dark-fruited but genuinely seamless, powerful yet finely balanced with a firm, ultra-fine undercarriage of dusty tannins beneath its juicy, smoky and savoury palate. It finishes with a lingering minerality and drive of flavour. JO