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Best Buy Wines (Dec 09/Jan 10)

$15 AND UNDER
2008 Taminick Cellars 1919 Series Trebbiano, Glenrowan, A$12
Trebbiano is not one of the world’s most highly regarded white grapes. Widely planted, yes: you’ll find the vine all over Europe. But widely adored? Not really: when highly cropped it does lean towards the bland end of the flavour spectrum. Except in some special sites, such as here at Taminick in north-east Victoria, where vine age (the vineyard is heading for its 100th birthday) and lower yields lend the fresh-tasting, seafood-friendly wine a deliciously nutty depth and character. Just brilliant with steamed mussels. MA

2009 De Bortoli Windy Peak Nouveau Shiraz, King Valley, Heathcote and Yarra Valley, A$15
This style of summer red is rare in Australia yet it fits the climate perfectly. Its lightness of touch and vibrant fruitiness is suggestive of a good Beaujolais. Sourced from an excellent vintage in the King Valley, a hot, early Heathcote harvest and a parcel preserved from the Yarra bushfires, it is wildly fragrant, has raspberry, mulberry and brambly flavours, a juicy macerated feel in the mid-palate and gentle fine tannins to finish. Delicious, straightforward and refreshing. PF

2008 Leaping Lizard Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Western Australia, A$15
Leaping Lizard is an entry-level brand from Ferngrove. The frilled-neck lizard it features has tremendous power and speed. This wine has the same attributes delivering powerful fruit flavours, which go down the throat at a dangerous pace. It’s a two-to-one blend with the semillon asserting itself with fresh citrus aromas and hints of kiwi fruit and honeydew melon. The palate bursts with flavour pink grapefruit and passionfruit balanced with a crisp, zesty acid finish. PB

2008 Kirrihill Shiraz, Clare Valley, A$15
This is a hell of a lot of wine for $15! Assuming for a moment that you don’t mind the big, slightly syrupy, high-alcohol (15 per cent) style of Aussie shiraz, this is terrific value. Deep purple-red colour leads into a sweet, lightly plum-jam bouquet and a rich, just over-ripe and fairly viscous palate. It doesn’t have elegance or line, but has a lot of flavour and presence. Yes, it is a fruit-bomb, without the structure of a classier wine, but that’s a trade-off many drinkers will be prepared to make for the price. HH

2008 Kingfisher Bay Pinot Noir, Marlborough, NZ$14
Pale, pretty pinot noir with crushed strawberry and cherry flavours. A light but recognisably varietal wine offering terrific value at this price. The winemaker has clearly resisted the temptation to beef up the wine with extra maceration and oak. The result is a simple and totally charming drink that will give pleasure to many. Could be served lightly chilled. BC

2006 De Bortoli Gulf Station Shiraz Viognier, Yarra Valley, A$15
From the Yarra Valley comes this firm and rather well-structured young red whose spicy, slightly meaty bouquet of dark cherry, blackberry and chocolate oak is backed by hints of smoked sausages. It’s long and restrained, with vibrant black and red cherry flavours underpinned by fine, chalky tannins, finishing with fresh acids and savoury qualities. A typically elegant and restrained contemporary De Bortoli offering. JO

$20 AND UNDER
2009 Smallfry Tempranillo Garnacha Joven, Barossa, A$20
Inspired by memories of the joven (young) red wines he has relished in Spain’s tapas bars, winemaker Wayne Ahrens decided that during the 2009 vintage he’d have a crack at making the unwooded, early-release style himself. So he bought a parcel of Barossa-grown tempranillo grapes and blended them with some grenache from his own old vineyard. The result is simply delicious: medium-full red in colour, it is full of juicy fresh berry fruit but finishes dry, snappy and savoury. MA

2008 Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz, Barossa Valley, A$20/NZ$35
I can’t remember a better vintage of the Torbreck entry-level Woodcutters (David Powell’s tribute to his years as a lumberjack in the Scottish Highlands). I tasted it among a range of significantly more expensive Barossa and McLaren Vale shiraz – and it shone. As ever, it is sourced from the northern reaches of the Barossa and is matured in seasoned French oak for 12 months. It’s soft, fleshy and vibrant, features heaps of concentrated ripe redcurrant, raspberry and mulberry flavours and supple, fine tannins. PF

2008 Dal Zotto Riesling, King Valley, A$15
Otto Dal Zotto migrated from the Veneto wine region of Italy just over 40 years ago. While the classic (French) varieties are the core of the Dal Zotto range, they have more recently planted a swath of traditional Italian varieties. However, their riesling remains a highlight with fresh floral aromatics – orange blossom, lemon pith and Pink Lady apples. On the palate the wine is quite austere with a fine flow of bright fruit flavours and a ping of racy acidity. PB

2008 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz, Coonawarra, A$20
This is produced in large licks, thanks to Wynns’ vast area of vineyards, and that effectively puts a ceiling on what Foster’s can charge for it. In top years like ’08, that’s great news. It’s a lovely wine and remarkable value. You can drink it young or cellar it for at least a decade to enjoy a wine with more mellowness. Right now, it’s rich, fruit-sweet and loaded with spice, violets, red fruits and licorice aromas, which translate perfectly onto the palate where it is bright and lively, well-balanced with soft, approachable tannins. HH

2007 Thornbury Merlot, Hawkes Bay, NZ$20
Attractive, intensely fruity red with plum and berry flavours interwoven with spicy oak. Low cropping levels have elevated fruit power and density to impressive heights. Made from hand-harvested grapes that were destemmed and crushed before being fermented and hand-plunged four times a day for a lengthy four weeks. Maturation was in a mix of French and American oak barriques for 16 months. How they can lavish that much attention to produce a wine of this quality at a fairly diminutive price is anybody’s guess. BC

2007 Innocent Bystander Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, A$20
Giant Steps’ second label features this generous and approachable chardonnay whose vibrant presence of grapefruit, peach and melon, restrained oak and pleasing mineral and charcuterie-like complexity is simply ready to enjoy. Fresh and fruit-driven, with a zesty, lemony acidity, it’s smooth and lively, with just a touch of class. JO

$30 AND UNDER
2008 Tasmanian Organic Wines Bye’s Pinot Noir, Liffey Valley, A$30
The Cairns family’s tiny, one-hectare, certified organic vineyard is 300 metres up on the eastern foothills of Tasmania’s Cluan Tier. The vineyard has been managed biodynamically since it was planted in 1999, and produces pinot with a rare delicacy and finesse. The 2008 is gorgeous: translucent aromas of fine red fruit and a juicy, ethereal presence in the mouth. It’s one of the most elegant, unforced Tassie pinots I’ve ever tried. MA

2007 Sorby Adams Jellicoe Cabernet Sauvignon, Eden Valley, A$22/NZ$26
Here’s further evidence of the quality of Eden Valley cabernet from the family vineyard of former Yalumba and Cellarmasters’ winemaker, Simon (Sorby) Adams and his wife Helen. It’s sourced from 30-year-old vines in the locality of Jellicoe and includes 14 per cent shiraz in the blend. There’s some restraint and elegance here: rich blackcurrant and brambly flavours, jube-like black pastille, a hint of smoky French oak, velvety texture and heaps of ripe slinky tannins, which are balanced by the depth of fruit. PF

2008 Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz, Hilltops, A$30
Each year Australia’s shiraz viognier king, Tim Kirk, makes a classy shiraz with fruit sourced from the Hilltops region. It’s a medium-weight style with plenty of sweet spices – licorice and star anise. Pure red berry fruit dominates the nose with a hint of perfume from the addition of a tiny quantity of viognier. The palate is ultra-clean and fine with intense yet delicious dark berry fruit flavours restrained by a tight mesh of acid and dusty tannin finish. It’s perfectly slurpable right now but it will evolve nicely for a few years yet. PB

NV Centennial Vineyards Pinot Noir Chardonnay, Southern Highlands, A$28
The cool, continental climate of Centennial’s vineyards at Bowral are well suited to sparkling wine: there’s also a very good non-vintage rosé to partner this wine. Smoky, straw-hay, faintly strawberry-like red-grape aromas and a hint of meringue from ageing on lees. The acidity is quite assertive, which makes it refreshing and gives a dry finish, and its slight austerity means it’s best served with food. It also has richness and flesh, some glycerine-like textural elements, and a long finish. Good with smoked salmon. HH

2008 Huia Pinot Gris, Marlborough, A$38/NZ$28
Huia seems to achieve flavour intensity through low cropping levels and an ethereal texture from minimal skin contact. The result is a beguiling and subtly powerful wine that’s just about as good as Marlborough pinot gris gets. Made in the style of pinot grigio with an emphasis on fruit flavour and without the tannic structure that’s a feature of many wines. Delicious now and very fresh. While the wine will probably offer good drinking for a few years, it’s hard to imagine it getting much better. BC

2007 BlackJack Shiraz, Bendigo, A$27
Smooth and stylish, this luscious and juicy central Victorian shiraz has a brambly, musky bouquet of dark berries, plum and cedar/chocolate/vanilla oak lifted by scents of violets, pepper and mocha. Long and evenly balanced, it’s deeply flavoured, with a jube-like expression of cassis, blackberry and mulberry backed by meaty undertones and framed by a pliant, supple extract. JO

IMPORTS $25 AND UNDER
2007 Cefalicchio Rosso Canosa, Puglia (Italy), A$25
The Rossi family started converting their 100-hectare farm to biodynamics in 1992. They are now fully-certified biodynamic; members of the inspirational Return to Terroir group of international vignerons; and use solar power to run the winery. This fabulously wild and super-tasty red is a blend of two-thirds nero di troia, a grape that produces particularly deep-purple-coloured wine, and one-third montepulciano: lots of ripe, intense, almost prune-like black fruit and earthy, savoury spice. A joy. MA

2007 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Valley (Chile), A$15
This is a good example of why the South Americans are challenging all comers in the tussle for budget-priced wines. It’s from Chile’s Central Valley, with 70 per cent aged in old American oak barriques for eight months before bottling. There are delightful floral fragrances of dried herbs, red berry flavours with a savoury edge and a soft, supple finish. Often young reds are better the day after opening, suggesting that they would age well. Not with this wine: so drink up. PF

2006 Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône Belleruche, Rhône Valley (France), A$23
At the top of the Chapoutier range sits their awesome Hermitages and somewhere towards the bottom is this deliciously quaffable Côtes du Rhône. It’s based on grenache and syrah with sweetly spiced nose – cinnamon and quatre-épices while the palate delivers lots of Morello cherry flavours with an underlying aniseed character. Look out for the just-released ’07, it’s a suitable follow-up to the 2006 currently on the shelves but in very limited supply. PB

2007 Château du Cléray Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie, Loire Valley (France), A$25
Muscadet is definitely a wine for drinking, not tasting! Made from the melon de Bourgogne grape (nothing to do with muscat!), it has a palish colour, both chalky/mineral and wet-wool aspects to its aroma, and a tangy, lip-smacking acidity. This one is perhaps less austere than some, with better softness and less sulphur. It’s balanced, properly dry and very enjoyable, especially with a simple omelette made with onions, bacon and mushrooms. HH 

2008 Loosen Bros Dr L Riesling, Mosel (Germany), NZ$25
This relatively inexpensive Mosel riesling offers typical purity with wonderful slate/mineral characters and knife-edged acidity without a trace of hardness. Made in a medium-dry style with a suggestion of sweetness on first impression that is balanced by exquisite acidity to give a nearly dry and lingering finish. It’s a lovely combination of excellent vintage conditions handled by a masterful winemaker with a light touch.  BC

2006 Zuccardi Q Malbec, Mendoza (Argentina), A$25
A typically plush, smooth and juicy Argentinean malbec stacked with deep, arresting flavours of dark plum, blackberry and licorice. Backed by some earthy, meaty hints of reduction, cinnamon-like spice and some polished smoky mocha oak, it delivers a sumptuous mouthful of ripe, bloody, jube-like flavour underpinned by pliant, loose-knit tannins. Very generous, true to type and ready to enjoy, it finishes with a note of black jellybeans and a touch of spirit. It should develop over the next two years. JO

IMPORTS $25 AND OVER
NV Fleury Carte Rouge Brut, Champagne (France), A$100
Jean-Pierre Fleury was the first grower in Champagne to adopt biodynamic methods when he started converting his estate in 1989, becoming fully biodynamic in 1992. Like Cefalicchio in Puglia, Fleury is a member of the Return to Terroir group, and a producer of beautiful, characterful wines. This Champagne is a classic blanc de noirs style – a white sparkling wine made from pinot noir. As well as the very fine, brioche and yeast aromas and creamy, dry, mouthfilling texture, there’s a lovely core of wild strawberry. MA

2005 Stags Leap Ne Cede Malis, Napa Valley (US), A$140
This outstanding Napa winery has a small  block of 70-year-old petite syrah, carignan, mourvèdre, grenache, peloursin, syrah and viognier, which are co-fermented each year, aged in old oak, and released as a massale (or field) Rhône blend. The dominant variety (about 75 per cent) is petite syrah (or durif as we know it) and the blend certainly shows the density, power and concentration of this grape but gets floral fragrance from the viognier, a ripe brambly lift from the carignan and fleshiness from the grenache.  PF

NV Laurent-Perrier Brut L-P, Tours-sur-Marne (France), A$70/NZ$100
Just why this prestigious Champagne house is often overlooked remains a mystery. Quality is the keynote, with individual character and personality to the fore. Chardonnay dominates with pinot noir at the heart and a small quality of pinot meunier to give roundness and fruitiness. Glacé fruits and jasmine greet the nose with hints of pink grapefruit. The palate is long and fine with intense white stone-fruit flavours, hints of warm brioche and honeysuckle. The bright acid finish gives a sense of energy and vitality. PB

2008 Keller Trocken Riesling, Rheinhessen (Germany), A$40
This comes from one of Germany’s warmer regions, the Rheinhessen, where drier-style riesling should be easier to make than in colder places like the Mosel. It’s a lovely drink: the fragrance is floral, herbal and faintly honeyed with a hint of struck-flint adding to its complexity. In the mouth it’s intense, steely and very fine, with just a trace of sweetness, finishing perfectly clean. It’s a seamless, harmonious riesling with nothing out of place. Drink it now and for five or six more years. HH

2006 Artadi Viñas de Gain, Rioja (Spain), NZ$50
Deep wine with a bright ruby hue. Repeated exposure to Rioja Reserva during my formative wine years nurtured a view that Rioja is a big and rather jammy, oxidative red wine often smothered in American oak. This wine surely breaks that stereotype. It is a supremely elegant and powerful red with layers of dark fruits and exotic spices. It’s a wine with poise and energy and I love it. While wonderfully accessible now, it promises to release even more interesting flavours with additional bottle-age. BC

2007 Maison de Grand Esprit La Belle Voisine Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru, Burgundy (France), A$220
Scented with a heady perfume of rose petals, black and red cherries, plums and blackberries, this sumptuous and mouthfilling Burgundy reveals a luscious, juicy presence of ripe, plump fruit tightly knit with sweet vanilla oak and backed by nuances of smoked bacon, cloves and walnut. Underpinned by a slightly firm, fine-grained astringency, it’s long and perfectly focused, finishing quite savoury and finely balanced with a lingering core of pristine flavour. JO

WINES TO CELLAR
2009 Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Riesling, Heathcote, A$36/NZ$36
Think Heathcote, think shiraz. The region does such a great job, it’s tempting to wonder why anyone would bother with whites. Jasper Hill’s not immune to this thinking: the Laughton family’s Georgia’s and Emily’s Paddock shirazes are modern Australian classics. But I reckon that in great vintages (and ’09 was a cracker), the riesling can also be one of Jasper Hill’s top wines: amazingly complex aromas of jasmine and musk and lemon pith, with layer upon layer of tangy minerality. Will age beautifully. MA

2005 Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon, Western Australia, A$85/NZ$100
This is a stunningly good cabernet, the best vintage yet of the Howard Park flagship. Over the years, its composition has changed both in terms of its grape varieties and its regional make-up. Called Abercrombie – a Burch family name – from this vintage, it is ultra-concentrated with ripe blackcurrant, black cherry and brambly flavours with a hint of tobacco leaf, all impeccably balanced with fine sweet tannins. It’s multi-layered, complex, elegant and plush. PF

2007 Port Phillip Estate Rimage Syrah, Mornington Peninsula, A$43
Port Phillip Estate have just opened their fabulous new winery and tasting facility at Red Hill. Equally fabulous is their top shiraz (their tête de cuvée). But it’s a valid statement, for this is no brawny South Australian shiraz but a graceful, spicy red in the mould of the St-Joseph appellation of the Northern Rhône. Clove and white pepper dominate the nose with soft cherry and mulberry fruit flavours and a whisker of savoury oak complexity curbed by a joyous interplay of vibrant acid and silky tannins. PB

2007 Shaw + Smith Shiraz, Adelaide Hills, A$38/NZ$48
For an almost-accidental wine, which was not in the plans when Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith started out, this shiraz has developed into a very impressive wine. The ’07 is more powerful and structured than the finer ’06, and has a distinctly meaty note to its spice and super-ripe blackberry aromas. It’s rich, full-bodied and profound, with lush fruit and plush texture, its oak immaculately interwoven with the fruit and grape tannins, resulting in a beautifully balanced wine with at least a 15-year cellaring future. HH

2006 Fromm Clayvin Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marlborough, A$75/NZ$61
This is Fromm’s top pinot noir label from a vineyard that has produced many great and long-lived wines over the years. The vineyard draws its name from the clay soils formed from the nearby Wither Hills. The vines are densely planted at 4000-5000 per hectare and cropping levels limited to a miserly 5-6 tonnes per hectare. Dense wine exhibiting an appealing array of cherry, berry, floral, spice/anise and classy oak flavours. Richly textured red with a lingering finish. Assured cellaring potential. BC

2006 Rosemount Estate Mountain Blue Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon, Mudgee, A$50
A terrific example of what this wine is all about. Its rather meaty, earthy aromas of brambly blueberries, plums and mulberries are backed by spicy, seasoned new oak, briar and fresh white pepper. Smooth and quite oaky in its youth, but with the depth of fruit to handle it with ease, it’s bright and focused, with a grainy, bony undercarriage of fine, drying tannins and a length of flavour that finishes savoury and sour-edged, with great persistence. JO