Best buy wines (Oct/Nov 2012)

 

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$15 and under
2010 De Bortoli La Bossa Merlot, Riverina, A$9
The De Bortoli wine company features in the $15-and-under section of Best Buys on a regular basis (and, for that matter, on the $20-and-under and $30-and-under pages, too). Could it be Australia’s most consistent producer of value wines? The latest range to hit the shelves is La Bossa, named after Giuseppina, childhood sweet-heart and wife of Vittorio De Bortoli. This is my pick of the wines (the range also includes a moscato and an unwooded chardonnay): a light, snappy, pizza-friendly red with savoury tannins. MA

2012 Innocent Bystander Moscato, Victoria, A$13/375ml
There are a great number of Australian moscatos on the market at present as their sweetness seduces the masses. Few are as well made or as stylishly presented as the Innocent Bystander, bright and pink in its clear half bottle with a crown seal. There are some delightful strawberries-and-cream aromatics, spicy, rose-petal varietal characters and plenty of mid-palate sweetness. The Innocent Bystander has some zippy acidity and so its finish tastes fresher, more vibrant, cleaner and crisper than other moscatos. PF

2010 Peter Lehmann Art ’n’ Soul Shiraz Grenache, Barossa Valley, A$14/NZ$12
This is a soft, cuddly wine just like its creator Peter Lehmann. Yet, like the man, there’s an underlying core of power and focus accompanied by richness and generosity. Rich, ripe shiraz from old vineyards around the Barossa form the backbone with 22 per cent juicy grenache to flesh out the wine. It’s bottled fresh without any (unnecessary) oak influence. The aromatics are of ripe blood plums and black cherries with a whiff of raspberry coulis. Fresh and flavoursome, it would be perfect with pork and fennel sausages. PB

2012 Waterwheel Sauvignon Blanc, Bendigo, A$14 
It is always a source of wonderment that any small winery, with its relatively high costs, can sell wine so cheaply, especially in the distribution chain. This is therefore a bargain: the colour is pale and the aromas are clean, fresh, fragrantly varietal and inviting. The sweetness level is up a bit but it’s a good commercial style and will find a keen market, with its clean, pure fruit, attractive balance and moderate 12.5 per cent alcohol. Enjoy it young. HH

2010 Babich Lone Tree Merlot Cabernet, Hawkes Bay, NZ$15
Soft, smooth red at a cheap and cheerful price but batting above its weight thanks, perhaps, to an above-average vintage. Appealing berry and plum flavours and a bone-dry finish without the often annoying sweetness of some reds in this price category. The wine has an honesty and integrity that I find appealing. It’s detailed, technically correct and offering great value even at its full retail price. BC

2010 Deakin Estate Merlot, Murray Darling, A$9
Ripe and punchy, this generous, firmish, deeply ripened and handsomely oaked merlot has an earthy, floral perfume of blackberries, raisins and prunes backed by a hint of menthol. Its sweetly fruited and marginally raisined presence of ripe berries, plums and currant-like flavour is framed by a firm, drying extract, finishing with richness and concentration. JO

$20 and under
2011 Pindarie Bar Rossa Tempranillo Sangiovese Shiraz, Barossa Valley, A$20
One of the things I love about Australian winemakers is their what-the-hell, let’s-give-it-a-go attitude when it comes to blending grapes. This red is a juicy, medium-bodied mélange of 70 per cent of the Spanish grape tempranillo, 25 per cent of the Italian sangiovese and a smidge of the French (or, indeed, Australian) shiraz: the cool 2011 vintage has imbued the wine with a refreshing quality – in some vintages it can exhibit really luscious black fruit, but this year it’s more in the slurpy red-fruit spectrum. MA

2012 Jim Barry Watervale Riesling, Watervale, A$19
My panel and I tasted this blind in the toughest of company – alongside three Grossets and three Leonays – and all of us loved it. The 2012 vintage was exceptional for riesling in the Clare. This is sourced from one of the country’s finest vineyards, the Florita in Watervale: considering that, and its quality, this is a bargain. The 2012 Jim Barry Watervale Riesling has gentle lemon-blossom aromatics, fresh, clean lemon zest and lime-juice flavours, tight structure and crunchy, zingy acidity on a bright, dry finish. PF

2010 Xanadu Next of Kin Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, A$18
Xanadu wines have undergone a phoenix–like rebirth in the careful hands of Glenn Goodall. His 2010 Reserve Chardonnay and 2009 Reserve Cabernet are right on song but this modestly priced Next of Kin offers all the attributes of classic Margaret River cabernet. 2010 delivered another sunny summer that the Australia’s western coastline revealed in this lifted and vital red. It carries seaweed-like aromas with black fruits, mocha and spice. The deep and sweet blackcurrant flavours are carried by soft cedary tannins. PB

2011 Kalleske Clarry’s GSM, Barossa Valley, A$18
This label represents a perennial bargain, even in the difficult 2011 vintage. The colour is deep red with a purple tinge; the aromas are intensely spicy, meaty and rich, with a vegetal edge. It has a Rhône-ish accent to it. The palate is of medium weight, intense and lively, loaded with flavour and flesh, although the tannins are a trifle edgy. A good wine at a keen price, and loaded with personality. Drink over the next 12 years. HH

2011 Main Divide Pinot Gris, Waipara, A$20/NZ$20
This is Pegasus Bay’s second label – a happy hunting ground for vinous bargains.  Rich and quite concentrated pinot gris with strong brioche yeast lees and nutty oak characters slightly dominating pear, honey and caramel flavours. Quite a complex wine in a medium-dry style. Clearly a pinot gris rather than pinot grigio style – the latter term is seldom used on New Zealand wine labels even if the wine style conforms to the Italian model. BC

2010 Maverick Breechens Road Shiraz Blend, Barossa Valley, A$18
A charming Rhône-inspired red whose musky fragrance of violets, iris, small berries, fresh cedar/chocolate oak and suggestions of charcuterie meats has a sweet, heady, viognier-like lift of spice and perfume. It’s generous, smooth and elegant, with a restrained presence of small dark berries and plums, smoky, chocolatey oak and a fine, pliant backbone. It finishes long, dry and savoury. JO

$30 and under
2011 Ducks in a Row Nero d’Avola, Heathcote, A$25
Ducks in a Row winemakers Glenn and Amanda James-Pritchard have an exceptional range of wines out at present, from a multi-layered, textural 2011 white called Pandora’s Amphora, made from vermentino, fiano and moscato giallo fermented in an amphora, to this bright, gluggable young red made from nero d’Avola grapes grown on the Chalmers family vineyard in Heathcote. Bursting with red berries and a sprinkling of spice, it’s tangy, mouthwatering and crying out for some hearty Sicilian cooking. MA

2010 Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy Teroldego, Langhorne Creek, A$30
Here’s another indigenous Italian grape variety for us to wrap our minds around. Teroldego has been known in the Trentino region of north-eastern Italy since the 15th century and is related to lagrein from Alto Adige. There’s some planted in the Alpine Valleys as well as at Geoff Hardy’s Langhorne Creek vineyard. This wine has wonderfully lifted floral aromatics, dramatic bramble and wild red-berry flavours that are rich and multi-layered. There’s a softness, immediacy and approachability, too. PF

2011 Tar & Roses Tempranillo, Heathcote, A$24
Narelle King fled the world of accounting to join veteran Mitchelton winemaker, Don Lewis to create the Tar & Roses brand. Their wines are Mediterranean inspired – as revealed by their take on the indigenous Spanish variety, tempranillo. Showing lifted aromatics of raspberry pastille, chinotto and fresh licorice. The sweetly savoury palate is medium weight (and all the better for that) with blood plum, black cherry and dusty spice flavours. A mesh of cedary tannins and refreshing acidity complete the (Iberian) picture. PB

2010 Mandala Shiraz, Yarra Valley, A$28 
This shiraz has surprising density and structure for a Yarra Valley wine, albeit from the warm side of the valley at Dixon’s Creek. It has a deep red-purple hue and a nutmeg touch to its spicy aromas, laced with a trace of fresh earth. The palate has a lot of flesh and depth, with liberal tannins, and the structure is balanced by delicious fruit sweetness. It’s drinking well now but has a lot of potential for cellaring, too. Drink now to 2025. HH

2011 Neudorf Moutere Pinot Gris, Nelson, A$32/NZ$30
Rich, creamy textured pinot gris with succulent pear, tree fruits and asian spices that build on the finish. Texturally perfect with seductively layered flavours that include a suggestion of bush honey and wild flowers. Always a leading New Zealand pinot gris, this is one of the best vintages I’ve tried. It got an emphatic consumer’s thumbs-up when I offered it to a group of students in my wine course. BC

2010 Passing Clouds Graeme’s Blend Shiraz Cabernet, Bendigo, A$30
A stylish, smooth and gentle blend that’s spicy, faintly dusty fragrance of violets, cassis, blackberries and fresh chocolate, cedar and vanilla oak reveals nuances of musk, menthol and white pepper. Finely crafted, it’s long and polished, presenting a seamless and elegant marriage of briary, small black and red berries, cedary oak and a fine, pliant, loose-knit extract. From a near-perfect Bendigo season. JO

Imports $25 and under
2011 Château de Bellevue Sauvignon Gris, Bordeaux (France), A$25
Adelaide Hills winemaker Tom Munro (who mans the vats at Whisson Lake vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley) has started importing some excellent wines made by friends of his in Bordeaux. This gorgeous white comes from an organic vineyard in St Émilion and is made from the rare sauvignon gris grape - indeed, Bellevue is the only vineyard in the region to grow it. Really fine, lively and dry, it has an intense ripe green taste, like candied citron. Try it with poached river fish such as trout with sorrel sauce. MA

2009 Château Labatut Cuvée Prestige, Bordeaux (France), A$15 
While the great wines of Bordeaux continue to fetch astronomic prices, the less highly rated reds of the region are struggling to convince wine lovers of their worth. Here’s an example of a fine family-owned Bordeaux Superieur revitalised since 1985 by manager, Vincent Levieux. It has a mature 30-year-old vineyard planted to merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. This drop has power and structure softened by ripe redcurrant and blackberry flavours, velvety texture and a supple gravelly finish. PF

2010 Le Sorelle di Suavia Soave DOC, Veneto (Italy), A$15
Thirty years ago the Tessari family stopped sending their grapes to the local wine co-operative, to concentrate on making their own wine. It was a wise decision, as this juicy, fresh soave confirms. The indigenous white variety, garganega forms the wine’s backbone offering aromas of pink grapefruit, wild nettles and hints of dill. The palate is crunchy-apple fresh with a finely detailed structure, a soft creamy texture and a zap of acidity to complete the deal. PB

2009 E Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge, Rhône Valley (France), A$25 
As regular as a metronome, this entry-level red from one of France’s greatest houses is a rip-snorter in 2009. And it’s great value. It’s made in big licks and is widely distributed. There are meaty, earthy, cedar and spice aromas of considerable complexity, plus a hint of animal-hides. The tannin-driven palate also has spice and dark-fruit flavours and is deep, satisfying and quite complex, especially given its modest station. It finishes with drying, papery tannins and remains bright and youthful. Drink now to 12 years. HH

2010 Richemont du Chateau de Sours, AC Bordeaux (France), NZ$25
A Bordeaux red sealed with a screwcap endears itself to an Australasian audience and some are touting 2010 as perhaps the greatest Bordeaux vintage, so far. This is not exactly a first-growth red but then it has a more humble price than the most exalted labels from Bordeaux – and it’s got a better closure. A gutsy Bordeaux with firm tannins that need to be mellowed with a medium-rare steak or a year or two in bottle – preferably both. BC

2011 Umani Ronchi Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Casal di Serra DOC, Abruzzo (Italy), A$25  
Given plenty of opportunity to develop richness and flavour, this creamy and textural verdicchio has a generous, pulpy presence on the palate that culminates in a dry, savoury and refreshing finish. Its aromas of melon, peach, apple and lemon rind reveal nutty, leesy undertones, while its palate is smooth and mouthfilling. Backed by slightly funky, wild and meaty complexity, its generous presence of bright stone-fruit flavour finishes with plenty of length and brightness. JO

Imports $25 and over
NV Sanchez Romate Fino Perdido, Jerez (Spain), A$40
Ever since I visited the sherry bodegas of Jerez in southern Spain in the mid 1990s I have been labouring under the belief that fino – the lightest and driest of the region’s sherries – should, at its best, be almost water-white, crisp and clean. Turns out this style of fino is a relatively recent introduction that coincided with the advent of modern winemaking technology a few decades ago. With this deeper yellow, rich and nutty, but still bone-dry, wine, Romate show us the older, perdido or ‘lost’ fino style of yesteryear. MA

NV Mumm Blanc de Blancs Mumm de Cramant, Champagne (France), A$199
This blend is made in the style that was known as Cremant – a term no longer allowed in Champagne. It is bottled under less pressure than usual to produce greater softness, creaminess, lightness, and elegance in the bubbly. This Mumm has been sourced from grand cru vineyards in Cramant since 1882 and so, for many years, was known as Cremant de Cramant and then Mumm de Cramant. Here it is called Blanc de Blancs for the first time: gently yeasty, soft, fine and creamy, builds with intensity and power. PF

2010 Abbotts and Delaunay Alto Stratus Carignan, Vin de France, (France) A$40
Australians, Nerida Abbott and Nigel Sneyd, took a modern approach to ancient Languedoc vines when they created the Abbotts brand. They’ve moved on, leaving Laurent Delaunay to carry their inspiration forward. Alto Stratus is pure carignan and, as it’s not the mandatory blend, steps out of the Minervois appellation to carry the Vin de France moniker. It’s robust but not harsh with earthy, minerally flavours of deep black fruits with hints of tar and warm leather. Open it and wait – it will evolve over several days. PB

2008 Poderi Lorenzo Alutto Barbaresco Rabajà, Piedmont (Italy), A$120  
This winery is sensibly changing its name from Ca du Rabaja to the proprietor’s name. Its top wine is the great Rabaja cru, the vineyard being directly in front of the winery. It’s a beautiful wine in a fine-boned, aromatic and elegant style. There’s a leathery trace to the intense red-berry bouquet and it’s full bodied and fearsomely tannic if drunk without food. But the tight, concentrated spicy flavour comes into its own with protein. Impressive wine with high potential. Best from 2014 to 2028. HH

2009 Domaine Taupenot-Merme Morey Saint Denis, Burgundy (France), NZ$70
Burgundy with a screwcap, and a good one at that. Tight, taut and delicately perfumed wine with red cherry, fennel, violets and spicy flavours. Although relatively soft by Burgundy standards the wine needs time or food to mellow its fine tannic structure. A pure and rather pretty wine that can be cellared with confidence or enjoyed with a rich red meat dish. BC

2011 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett, Leistenberg (Germany), A$46
A profoundly textured and long-term riesling that’s perhaps too chalky to enjoy in its youth, but able to reward a decade in the right cellar. Its perfume of pear, apple, chalk and minerals is lifted by a fresh aroma of white flowers. Long, linear and focused, it delivers a core of white peach, pear and faintly tropical fruits that extends towards a fresh, finely balanced finish of lingering fruit, bony acids and a powdery lick of slate. It’s so harmonious you hardly notice its kabinett level of sweetness. JO

Wines to cellar
2008 Tim Adams Reserve Cabernet Malbec, Clare Valley, A$39
Clare Valley’s most famous reds may well be shiraz (think Wendouree, Jim Barry The Armagh, Tim Adams’ own Aberfeldy among others), but I believe the best Clare reds – and certainly the most cellar worthy – are made from sturdy, licorice-dark, tannic cabernet, especially if it’s been blended with the fragrant density of malbec. This is a cracking example of a classic style from an opulent vintage: it’ll age gracefully for 20 years or more. A cellar-door-only wine: worth making the trip up to Clare for or ordering online. MA

2010 Saltram Mamre Brook Shiraz, Barossa, A$38
A recent 50-year vertical tasting of this Barossa favourite showed the quality of Peter Lehmann’s winemaking in the 1960s and 70s, the disappointments of the 80s and the early 90s and the revitalisation of the brand since then. Under Shavaughn Wells, the wines have never looked better – and 2010 is a standout vintage: voluminous, bright, juicy and vibrant with redcurrant, mulberry and dark plum flavours, a hint of vanillin oak, all at full throttle, soft and fleshy with gentle firmness to finish. Cellar for 10 years. PF

2009 Shelmerdine Merindoc Vineyard Shiraz, Heathcote, A$68
Stephen Shelmerdine flies well under the vinous radar yet he’s been influential in all levels of Australian wine. In 1995 Shelm-erdine planted the Merindoc vineyard in the foothills of the Heathcote region. Sergio Carlei has crafted a wine of depth, intensity and grace built around a core of dense, brambly fruit. The tannins add structure without weighing down the wine – with dusky spices, bitter chocolate and hints of black truffles adding character and complexity. Enjoy now with a rare steak or cellar for a decade. PB

2010 X by Xabregas Spencer Syrah, Mount Barker, A$48
The new crop of shiraz from Xabregas are all outstanding (check out their riesling range, too). This is a big, bold, statuesque shiraz with great cool-climate spicy charm as well as serious structure, which bodes well for aging. Sweetly ripe blood-plum, blackberry and ironstone aromas with a twist of black pepper and a subtle hint of mint. It’s full bodied and brooding, with depth and generosity, finishing with ample powdery tannins. Brilliant stuff, I’d love to see it in a decade. HH

2009 Carrick Excelsior Pinot Noir, Central Otago, A$110/NZ$85
A vineyard selection from older vines grown in the winery’s own Bannockburn vineyard produced Carrick’s flagship wine. Purity and power with mineral, red cherry, dried herb and lifted spicy flavours. The wine is firmly structured thanks at least in part from the use of a percentage of whole-bunches in the ferment. The extra stem tannins should ensure that the wine develops well gaining extra complexity with bottle age. I recommend at least four year’s further bottle age with a maximum of 10-12 years from vintage. BC

2009 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, A$89
A majestic, polished and very sophisticated cabernet of world standing. Deep aromas of violets, cassis, blueberries and dark chocolate/cedary oak reveal smoky undertones of peat and graphite plus a whiff of musk and vanilla. Very dark and perfectly ripened, it’s long and mineral, perfectly knit with assertive fine-grained oak and framed by polished and loose-knit tannins. There’s a faint suggestion of dried herbs throughout the palate, but its ripeness is exemplary. Remarkably balanced and stable. JO

This article is from the October/November 2012 issue of Gourmet Traveller WINE.