Great expectations: The 2021 vintage is shaping up as one to look forward to.

 

The 2020 vintage may have been a forgettable one for many Australian wine regions but 2021 is shaping up as an eminently memorable one for all the right reasons.

Drought, bushfires and smoke taint hit many parts of the country, cutting output or totally wiping out crops for many.

However, going by the, admittedly limited, new releases I have tasted from the current vintage it is looking very promising. Here are a few of them.

 

Carillion 2021 Origins Semillon ($35)

A lovely young Hunter Valley white showing lemon zest and mineral palate with a fresh citrus acid finish. Enjoy now with oysters or shellfish or tuck away for a decade. Under its Lovable Rogue label, Carillion also has produced a tasty fiano ($30) and vermentino ($30) that are worth chasing up.  Rating: 92. Find out more at www.carillionwines.com.au

Longview 2021 Juno Nebbiolo Rosato ($26)

One of my favourite Australian rose styles, this Adelaide Hills wine shows red berries and roses on the nose and palate, with a crisp, dry finish. Enjoy over the next year or two by itself or with almost any lighter foods. Rating: 93. More at www.longviewvineyard.com.au

 

Tim Adams 2021 Riesling ($24)

A wonderful example of a young Clare Valley riesling, this shows citrus and floral characters on the nose and palate, with a crisp mineral acid finish. It’s delicious now but should live for years. The companion 2021 Pinot Gris ($24) is equally delicious and the just released 2018 Shiraz ($26) also is very much worth seeking out. More at www.timadamswines.com.au

Coonawarra classics: The latest Wynnsday releases simply reinforce the high standing of Wynns Coonawarra Estate

The iconic Wynns cellar door in Coonawarra

In past years, the Wynnsday release of the latest from Wynns Coonawarra Estate took on such epic proportions that it made the latest Bond film look like an amateur home movie.

Stars of the show were always the latest releases of the John Riddoch cabernet sauvignon and Michael shiraz, with support from the latest version of Black Label cabernet sauvignon and the White Label shiraz, riesling and chardonnay,

In these Covid days, it’s a more restrained occasion but John Riddoch ($150) and Michael ($150) are still the superstars of the day, with an all-star supporting cast featuring the newest Black Label cabernet ($45) and the recently added Black Label Old Vine shiraz ($45), along with more regular appearances of a couple delicious reds from the V&A Lane vineyard, usually a cabernet-shiraz blend  ($60) and a straight shiraz ($60) and an individual selection from another outstanding vineyard.

This year, the spotlight falls on a cabernet sauvignon from the 2018 vintage from the Johnson’s Block vineyard, a rich and flavoursome drop well worth its $80 asking price. All are delicious wines showing great varietal character, with the V&A Lane duo offering a fresh, fine, cool-climate take on the traditional varieties. Incidentally, the 2018 vintage has been rightly described as one of the greats in Coonawarra but the evidence of this release suggests that 2019 is right up there too.

Those prices for John Riddoch and Michael may seem steep but, given the quality and pedigree of the wines, by almost any standards they verge on the cheap. These are world-class wines that every wine-lover should try at least once in their lives, more often if they can band together with other red lovers to taste every now and then as these wines can easily take 20 years in bottle.

And a selection of Black Label cabernets from various vintages should be a starting point for any half-decent cellar. Check out the Wynns website where they offer mixed cases and some mini-verticals of shiraz and cabernet to make the task easier.

The prices quotes are recommended retail but I have seen the Black Labels selling around the $35 mark at various big outlets, which makes them excellent value.

If your budget does not extend that far, check out The Siding cabernet sauvignon, which can be found for $12-$13 in some national chains, It’s the entry level cabernet to go along with White Label shiraz and chardonnay and the cabernet shiraz merlot blend and all offer a very good introduction to the Wynns range. I suspect once you taste those you will be looking to explore the higher-priced (and more limited) Black Labels, individual vineyard and John Riddoch and Michael offerings.

The only sad note of this year’s release is the news that long-time viticulturist at Wynns Coonawarra Estate, Allen Jenkins, is retiring. He and senior winemaker Sue Hodder have formed a formidable team over the past 20 years that has driven the estate to even greater heights

For information on all these wines go to www.wynns.com.au

 

Western wonders: Taste some of the best from the Great Southern region

Western wonders: Taste some of the best from the Great Southern region

West Cape Howe’s Cape To Cape range has always represented excellent drinking value, offering drink-now wines of flavour and complexity sourced from across Western Australia’s Great Southern region,

However, its Single Vineyard series, while costing more, offers possibly even better value, with the range of wines from the Mt Barker and Porongorup regions delivering flavoursome, complex wines with excellent cellaring potential.

All cost about $30, or less if you join the winery’s Corker Wine Club or find them on special at your local bottle shop, but drink well above their price point.

In the most recent release of the range are the 2021 Porongorup Riesling (from an area fast gaining recognition as one of the best in Australia for the variety), 2019 Styx Gully Chardonnay, 2020 Karri Oak Pinot Noir, 2018 Book Ends Cabernet Sauvignon and 2018 Two Steps Shiraz, the last four all from vineyards in the Mt Barker region, with several planted 30 to 40 years ago.

It’s hard to nominate a favourite because all appeal to me for different reasons. The Porongorup Riesling, for example, offers wonderfully incise citrus fruit along with a mineral acid backbone that shows immediate attractions but holds the promise of developing deliciously in the bottle.

The shiraz is a medium-bodied example of cooler-climate shiraz, with more red berries and spice than those from warmer regions such as the Barossa or McLaren Vale, with fermentation in new French oak (15 percent) and maturation in French oak barrels (25 percent new) adding complexity without overpowering the fruit. It will easily take another five years in bottle.

Similarly, the cabernet combines French oak fermentation and maturation with cassis and blackcurrant fruit characters and fine tannins to be most approachable already although with the fruit concentration and complexity to ensure rewarding bottle maturation.

The chardonnay is a thoroughly modern style, with emphasis on melon and citrus fruit, with some oak from barrel fermentation but the crisp acid retained by not putting it through malolactic fermentation. Again, a few years in bottle won’t hurt.

Then there’s the pinot noir, not a grape often associated with Western Australia despite quite a few lovely examples being released over the years. This features 20 percent whole bunch fermentation and 20 months maturation in oak barrels, 50 percent new. The result is a delicious medium-bodied red showing dark cherry and strawberry fruit with a lovely savoury character and fine tannins _ just add duck.

The wines are stocked at Dan Murphy’s and other liquor retailers and you can find out more about them, head to www.westcapehowewines.com.au

 

Test of time: Fruits of age seen in old vine releases from Taltarni

It seems like only a few years ago that I was in the cellar at Taltarni in Victoria’s Pyrenees district tasting young reds from barrel with then chief winemaker Dominique Portet.

However, a check of my records showed that it was actually December 1982 and Taltarni had been operational for just over a decade, with its vines, mostly shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, planted in the late 1960s.

Fast forward 40 years and those vines are still producing excellent wines, with the benefit of vine age showing strongly.

The latest releases that showcase their fruit are a 2019 Old Vine Shiraz ($50) and 2018 Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon ($45), both rich, delicious wines showing complex fruit and oak on the nose and palate, with fine, lingering tannins.

While both offer balanced drinking already, they have the structure to age well for some years, particularly in light of the winery’s past prowess in producing wines that benefit from time in bottle.

Another new release that deserves to be kept for years is the 2019 Reserve Shiraz Cabernet ($75), a blend of 57% shiraz and 43 % cabernet sauvignon selected from the best barrels of each variety, with the fruit matured in French oak barrels (40% new) for 14 months. It’s a lovely example of this quintessential Australian blend.

I’m pretty sure some of those wines I tasted from barrel with Dominique are still going as he made them with a decent shot of tannin to achieve long-term cellar life, although I don’t have any left in my cellar to pronounce on that definitely.

Dominique is still making wines from his own winery in the Yarra Valley under the Dominique Portet label with his son Ben and they are certainly worth seeking out.

Not all of Taltarni’s wines are made to cellar for decades, with the 2020 Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre and 2020 Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon (both about $26) delicious drinking now and good shorter-term cellaring prospects. 

The 2018 Estate Shiraz ($40) falls somewhere in between. It’s drinking very nicely now but another decade in the cellar won’t hurt it.

And if you want a celebratory drink, Taltarni’s range of bubbles, particularly the Brut Rose, is always rewarding, as is the wonderful array from its Tasmanian offshoot Clover Hill (some of my favourite Aussie bubbles).

While Taltarni may have been one of the pioneers of the Pyrenees district, it is not alone in producing wines worth a try. Among the excellent producers in the area are Blue Pyrenees, Dalwhinnie, Mount Avoca, Peerick and Sally’s Paddock and several more. 

For more information on individual wineries and the region, check out

www.taltarni.com.au

www.pyrenees.org.au

www.sallyspaddock.com.au

www.bluepyrenees.com.au

www.dalwhinnie.wine

www.mountavoca.com

www.peerick.com.au

www.dominiqueportet.com

A big state: Explore WA's wine regions from your home

Millbrook Estate in the Perth Hills. Picture: Frances Andrijich

 Western Australia is a wonderful place to visit (when you can). 

Whether it’s the stunning scenery around Broome and the Kimberleys, with the Bungle Bungles and Windjana Gorge high on the to-see list, the waters around Ningaloo Reef and its majestic whale sharks, the amazing Wave Rock near Hyden, the tall trees of the timber country around Pemberton, the caves and beaches of Margaret River, the coastal country around Esperance or the National Anzac Centre in Albany, there is something for just about everyone to enjoy.

And as for wine _ from the Swan Valley, WA’s oldest wine region, through Margaret River, Geographe, Perth Hills, Peel, Blackwood Valley, Southern Forests or the Great Southern _ it’s a taste sensation.

Now, thanks to Wines of Western Australia, Wine Australia and Tourism Western Australia, you can explore the state’s various wine regions without leaving home.

The Wine Adventurer is an online and interactive wine tourism guide designed to inspire and inform international and domestic visitors to help plan trips into WA’s incredible and diverse wine regions.  

Picardy Wines in the Southern Forest.
Picture: Frances Andrijich

Eight wine regions are featured in an easy-to-navigate e-brochure that includes each region’s unique wine tourism experiences and hero wine varieties. 

Swan Valley, Perth Hills, Peel, Geographe, Margaret River, Blackwood Valley, Southern Forest and Great Southern each has a section with beautiful photography along with practical information such as driving distances, climate, harvest times, soil type as well as tips on what to eat, where to stay, what to do and must-see attractions. 

The 60-page guide features more than just wine, there is a cross section of experiences including, authentic regional dining, art and museums and cosy vineyard stays.

 The Wine Adventure can be found  at WesternAustralia.com and at 

 winewa.asn.au 

Bella Italia: The Italian influence on Australia's wine industry is very strong

The Serafino vineyards in McLaren Vale

Australia’s wine industry may have very strong Anglo-Saxon and Celtic foundations but the Italians also have played a distinguished role, and not just in the post-war years.

Early days at the
De Bortoli winery

The De Bortoli family, for instance, settled in the Riverina region at Griffith in the 1920s and steadily built up a large business, extending later to the Yarra Valley and the Hunter Valley.

They’re not alone, the Casella and Miranda families have played a large part in the area’s prosperity and influence on the Australian industry.

The original Miranda operation might now be in the hands of the McGuigan family and its Australian Vintages operation but the Miranda name continues through Lou Miranda Estate in the Barossa Valley. Originally run by the Liebich family as the Rovalley winery it gave the Mirandas access to premium Barossa fruit, it is now run by Lou Miranda and his daughters Lisa, Angela and Victoria.

Not only did they gain some excellent Barossa vineyards, including several dating back more than a century, they received some lovely old fortified wine resources. 

Meanwhile, in Victoria one of the country’s newer wine regions has a distinctively Italian character. The King Valley originally was prime tobacco growing country but changing consumer tastes and laws prompted the long-established Pizzini family to turn successfully to grape growing. Their love of things Italian prompted them to extend this to growing a goodly range of Italian varieties and the King Valley is now one of Australia’s richest sources of prosecco, sangiovese, pinot grigio and more.

And no mention can be made to the Italian contribution to the Australian industry without reference to Queensland’s Granite Belt where families such as the Puglisis and Costanzas have made a lasting mark.

McLaren Vale has not escaped either, with Vincenzo Berlingieri helping to establish Settlement Wines in the 1970s.

A little earlier, Steve (Serafno) Maglieri had arrived in the district and with help from his father, Giovanni, planted the first of what has grown to about 140 hectares of vineyards. The Maglieri label was sold to Mildara Blass, now part of Treasury Wines, but the Maglieri family continues at Serafino, producing traditional McLaren Vale reds such as shiraz, grenache and cabernet sauvignon under the Black Label range, Sharktooth Shiraz and Sharktooth Chardonnay, from an individual vineyard where the tooth of a giant prehistoric shark was found, several Italian varietals including sangiovese, fiano, vermentino, nebbiolo and primitivo under the Bellissimo label and some special releases of syrah under the Terremoto (Italian for earthquake, a nickname given to Steve Maglieri) label.

Their Black Label range includes McLaren Vale stalwarts shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, the 2019 vintages of which have just come on the market and are worth chasing up as very good representatives of these two varieties..

I don’t have the space to list all the wines Serafino produces, just go to the website www.serafinowines.com.au and check them out. If you can’t find something to your taste, you’re very picky.

Clare fair: It produces some of Australia's best rieslings but there's more to the Clare Valley than that variety

Vineyards at the Mitchell Clare Valley winery

South Australia’s Clare Valley is one of my favourite wine regions. Not only is it physically beautiful, it produces some of the country’s best wines, notably its rieslings.

Producers such as Jeffrey Grossett, Jim Barry, Pikes, O’Leary Walker, Tim Adams, Taylors, Petaluma, Kilkanoon, Kirrihill, Claymore, Mitchell and Knappstein are among many from the region making absolutely delicious rieslings. They generally are fresh and crisp when young, showing lovely floral, citrus and mineral characters in their youth, maturing gracefully to show toast and honey flavours, with refreshingly crisp finishes.

It’s no surprise that there are numerous older Clare rieslings in my cellar. As far as I am concerned, it is only challenged by rieslings from the Eden Valley and Western Australia’s Great Southern region, particularly Frankland River and the Porongurups, for the title of the country’s most consistent producer of the variety. An honourable mention must go to Tasmania, where an increasing number of wineries are turning out very tasty examples.

However, there’s more to the Clare than this aristocratic grape. It’s long been a great area for reds, particularly cabernet sauvignon and shiraz.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s red wine lovers were rightly wowed by the cabernet malbec blends coming from Leasingham under its Bin 56 label and the winery still produces very good examples of the style. Its Bin 49 cabernet sauvignon also raised eyebrows, with the Bin 61 shiraz showing the region was also very well suited to the variety. Wendouree also has been making a cabernet malbec  blend for many years among its stable of sought-after reds.

Tim Adams, who worked at Leasingham with the legendary Mick Knappstein, still rates the blend as one of his favourite Clare reds and makes a very useful example under his own label.

Mind you, when you get wonderful drops like the Jim Barry Armagh shiraz and Tim’s own Aberfeldy shiraz it’s hard to ignore the claims of this variety to be rated among the Clare’s best.

That’s notto say Clare relies solely on established varieties. Jim Barry’s assyrtiko is one of the best examples of this variety I have tasted outside of its Greek home, while tempranillo, sangiovese and fiano have shown great promise.

Individual vineyards have not had prominence in the Clare but that has changed in the past decade or so, with those shiraz patches and Jim Barry’s Florita riesling vineyard gaining recognition for their outstanding qualities. Florita was recognised over many years as the source of some of the best rieslings produced under the Leo Buring and Lindemans labels and it was a no-brainer for Jim Barry to snap it up when it came on the market.

Although much younger the wines coming from the Gaelic Cemetery vineyard established by the Pikes in 1996 are well worth seeking out, particularly the Premium Riesling and Premium Cabernet Malbec.

Tim Adams has not limited his individual vineyard wines to the Aberfeldy shiraz, a few years ago introducing the Skilly Ridge Riesling and Schaefer Shiraz. The latest vintages of both have just been released, the 2015 Schaefer Shiraz ($40) and 2019 Skilly Ridge Riesling ($30), and they represent some of the best Clare has to offer. Try independent fine wine outlets or the winery.

For more information go to

www.clarevalleywine.com.au

www.timadamswines.com.au

www.jimbarry.com

www.grosset.com.au

www.leasingham-wines.com.au

www.pikeswines.com.au

www.petaluma.com.au

www.olearywalkerwines.com

www.mitchellwines.com

www.taylorswines.com.au

www.kilikanoon.com.au

www.kirrihillwines.com.au

www.knappstein.com.au

www.claymorewines.com.au