Best buy wines (June/July 2011)

 

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$15 and under
2010 Yalumba Vermentino, South Australia, A$15
The heat-loving white grape vermentino that thrives in such sunny Mediterranean locales as Provence and Sardinia is now proving itself to be a winner in Australia’s warmer regions. Plantings have been frenetic over the last few years as winemakers twig to the variety’s snapping-fresh, citrusy flavours – so deliciously captured in this wine. Yalumba have big plans for vermentino, too; it will join the company’s popular, well-priced Y range later in the year. MA

NV Queen Adelaide Brut, South East Australia, A$9
Part of the rationalisation of the Foster’s portfolio has been the transfer of 17 less well-performing brands (including Queen Adelaide) to a joint venture between Treasury and VOK Beverages. The latter, an Adelaide-based company which distributes ciders and spirits for the multi-national Diego, will become the eighth largest wine company in Australia; Queen Adelaide has a smart new livery. This quaffing good bubbly is delicately fragrant with a lively mouthfeel and a fresh, clean, zesty finish. PF

2008 Apple Tree Flat Shiraz, Mudgee, A$12/NZ$18
Peter and Hannah Logan offer great inspiration to Australian wine producers. Their wines are of superb quality, modestly priced and attractively packaged. They run an outstanding cellar door where they host fabulous celebrity-chef dinners and energetically involve themselves in all promotional activities. Apple Tree Flat is their entry-level label delivering easy drinking styles such as this spotless shiraz. It’s a bright scarlet red with spicy aromas of raspberry and Damson plum. Soft and smooth, with impeccable tannins. PB

2009 Kingston Estate Petit Verdot, South Australia, A$15/NZ$17
Petit verdot is one grape that seems to be tailor-made for the hotter, inland regions of Australia such as the central Murray Valley. Ironically, its home is Bordeaux, a relatively cool region. The wines are usually dark coloured, brightly fruity and powerful, if a little unsubtle, and often with high alcohol. The Kingston is that type of wine: stewed tomato, herby and peppery aromas with a hint of sea-brine. It’s medium-bodied and bold, a touch simple perhaps, with a little alcohol heat and a lot of substance. Drink now to five years. HH

2010 Trout Valley Riesling, Nelson, A$22/NZ$15
For many years I’ve held the view that riesling is New Zealand’s best value wine. Every South Island region, and Martinborough/Wairarapa at the southern tip of the North Island, is capable of making top riesling. Sluggish demand forces them to sell it at giveaway prices. This is a classic example of the Nelson style. Medium/dry with a suggestion of sweetness balanced by tangy acidity that creates a lovely tension in the wine. Lime and rose petal flavours with a suggestion of apple. BC

Hardy’s Nottage Hill Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia, A$9/NZ$11
A fresh, vibrant, lightly oaked and carefully balanced expression of the kind of chardonnay that Australia once took to the world. Its fruity, tropical aromas of melon, banana and paw paw are underpinned by suggestions of fresh lime, wheatmeal and vanilla oak. Smooth and elegant, with a bright presence of peachy fruit and creamy oak, it finishes with lively acidity and surprising persistence. Australia’s largest winemakers continue to release wines of great value and accountability. JO

$20 and under
2010 José The Rosé, Yarra Valley, A$19
Gary Mills makes some fantastic wines in the Yarra Valley, more serious styles under the Jamsheed label and a fun range of delightfully-named, lower-priced wines such as Le Blonk Plonk, Pépé Le Pinot, and this, José The Rosé. A blend of juice run-off from fermenting vats of Yarra and Great Western shiraz, plus a dash of chardonnay for perfume, this textural, dry, savoury pink wine spent 10 months in barrel before bottling. It’s deliciously satisfying and would also go very well cooked in a bouillabaisse for supper. MA

2010 La Boheme Act Three Pinot Gris & Friends, Yarra Valley, A$20
There’s a tremendous amount of Australian pinot gris/grigio on the market. I’ve tasted more than 50 in the past few months and this is the pick of them. It’s a De Bortoli white – in tribute to the Yarra’s Nellie Melba. The grapes are sourced from the cool Upper Yarra which is the key: there’s a little riesling and gewürztraminer added, in the Alsatian way. The 2010 Act Three is fresh, juicy and textural, showing restraint and vibrance, some cut lime and green apple characters and a touch of funk. Persistent, long and dry. PF

2009 Neagle’s Rock Hope Grenache Shiraz, Clare Valley, A$20
Neagle’s Rock is one of the Clare Valley’s hidden gems created by Jane Willson, who resurrected a run-down vineyard known as Misery. A decade of loving care has seen this 50-year-old vineyard inspiringly renamed Hope as a tribute to its founder, Ali Hope. Clare grenache is finer and juicier than the more robust styles from their Barossa Valley neighbours. This succulent red offers ripe plum and dark cherry flavours with hints of star anise and dried herbs. The tannins are mild mannered and lead to a soft, spicy finish. PB

2009 Maxwell Silver Hammer Shiraz, McLaren Vale, A$18
Beatles fans will make sense of the wine’s name, but that’s not necessary to enjoy it. It’s a typically warm, rich, generous McLaren Vale shiraz, from a good vintage. Savoury smoky, toasty aromas which also have dark-fruit and licorice characters, chocolate and spice chiming in when the wine’s in the mouth. The flavour is deep and the shape is round and smooth, with succulent sweet fruit – almost opulence – while it also preserves enough structure to take some ageing well. Best drinking now to 2025. HH

2010 Hunter’s Riesling, Marlborough, A$24/NZ$20
Although technically dry, the wine does reveal a modicum of sweetness that’s balanced by fine, pure, fruity acidity. It has wonderful purity and drive with an ethereal texture. I recently tasted it alongside two older vintages spanning a total of six years. The tasting clearly demonstrated an ability to gain significant depth and complexity without any of the kerosene characters often associated with mature riesling. BC

2010 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Riesling, South Australia, A$17
Jacob’s Creek is moving towards a regional emphasis with its Reserve range, so it’s unsurprising that the 2010 Riesling delivers the intense lemon-lime qualities, perfume and fine chalkiness associated with examples from the Eden Valley. Like many from this cooler vintage, its delicate perfume is lifted by scents of white flowers, pear and apple, while its long, restrained and almost fluffy palate is wrapped in a fresh, but gentle acidity, finishing with pristine and persistent flavour. JO

$30 and under
2010 Bress La Gallina Red, Heathcote, A$22
One of the most exciting trends in Oz wine right now is the rediscovery of the delights of the juicy, unwooded, drink-young red wine, an Australian answer, if you like, to the joy of Beaujolais. This is a great example: it’s a blend of tempranillo, grenache and syrah, but that doesn’t matter – you can’t really pin down any distinct varietal characters because you’re too busy just enjoying the medium-bodied, slurpy, sappy deliciousness of the whole thing, wishing you had some pizza to go with it. MA

2010 Crawford River Young Vines Riesling, Henty, A$26
This is from a family winery in Henty in far west Victoria with an impressive history, largely because of the quality of its riesling. The winemaking and viticulture are in the hands of father and daughter, John and Belinda Thomson. There’s an 11.5 hectare vineyard with riesling vines (among others) planted 35 years ago and a new block of 10-year-old vines from which this wine is sourced. It is bright, fresh and pure, with intense lemon and lime citrus flavours, is tight, lean and focused, neatly balanced, finishing crisp and tangy. PF

2010 Jim Barry The Lodge Hill Dry Riesling, Clare Valley, A$19
Jim Barry founded his eponymous winery in 1959. Following his death in 2004, second son, Peter, now leads the family team with great gusto. Sitting at 480 metres, the elevation of The Lodge Hill vineyard helps preserve riesling’s naturally high acidity. The Lodge offers succulent, fresh fruit flavours of lemon grass, lemon gelato and white nectarine with a nervy acidity that adds tension to the finish. No wonder the wine show judges festooned it with medals and trophies. PB

2008 Box Grove Vineyard Roussanne, Tabilk, A$22
Sarah Gough is a former wine writer turned PR for Brown Brothers, who in recent years has developed her own vineyard in the Nagambie district of central Victoria. This is a ripper of a wine with an exotic personality. The straw colour is youthful while three years’ age has enabled considerable complexity: honey, wax, vanilla and malt aromas with a strongly mineral tendency. It is clean, dry and delicate on the palate with fresh acidity and intense flavour that lingers on. Fascinating stuff and a lovely drink. HH

2010 Man O’War Pinot Gris, Ponui Island, A$23/NZ$25
Ponui Island is near Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. The tight-clustered pinot gris is prone to bunch-rot in Auckland’s often humid ripening period. In 2010 the season was pristine. I visited the vineyard a week before harvest and the fruit was perfectly ripe. It’s a lovely golden wine in an Alsace vendange tardive style. Peach, mango, clove and anise characters. A long and moderately luscious pinot gris in a medium to medium-sweet style. BC

2009 Cape Mentelle Trinders Cabernet Merlot, Margaret River, A$30
Scented with a fragrant, violet-like perfume of small black and red berries, dark cherry, mint, fresh cedar and vanilla oak, with suggestions of dried herbs. This young wine delivers genuine yet very affordable suppleness, charm and elegance. There’s a hint of smokiness beneath its long, vibrant palate. Deep, juicy flavours are backed by a spine of smooth, pliant tannins. Delightfully balanced, it finishes with a lingering presence of fruit and a brightly lit acidity. A wine to enjoy young or over the next six years or more. JO

Imports $25 and under
2008 Durandal Bordeaux Superieur, St-Émilion (France), A$22
This wine is produced by the Malet Roquefort family of the grand-cru estate, Château La Gaffelière in St-Émilion, and offers a whole heap of claretty goodness at a fraction of the price of the posh stuff. A blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, it starts off with heaps of dark, small black berries and some gravelly but sweet oak tannins before moving on to that wonderfully savoury finish that makes claret such a wonderful accompaniment to juicy roast beef. MA

2009 The Killer Pinot Grigio, Delle Venezie (Italy), A$10
This wine is imported by Dan Murphy’s and was made for them in the Delle Venezie region in north-east Italy. There’s a marketing spin around some great stiletto heels that is obviously designed to appeal to a different demographic than me. However, I liked the wine when I tasted it blind and believe it’s an appealing example of cool-climate pinot grigio – supple and restrained, in the savoury, minerally spectrum with dried herb flavours, good balance and a lingering dry finish. It’s sealed by screwcap and it’s cheap, too. PF

2009 Fiore Nero Chianti DOCG, San Gimignano (Italy), A$22
Poggio Scalette is one of Tuscany’s great names with their main vineyards at Greve, in the heart of the Chianti hills. However, they travel a little further afield to San Gimignano, to source the fruit for this refreshing chianti. It’s a blend of 80 per cent sangiovese, the balance canaiolo and malvasia nero. It’s a bright, fresh red with rich, round fruit flavours of dark cherry and Damson plum with a light dusting of warm spices. Fine silken tannins drive the finish of this complete and impeccably mannered wine. PB

2009 Bodegas Carchelo Jumilla DO, Jumilla (Spain), A$21
Jumilla is a reborn wine region just south of Valencia, where the monastrell grape (mourvèdre or mataro) reigns supreme. This bright, medium-bodied red is excellent value. The colour is medium-deep red-purple and the floral, raspberry and plum aromas are ripe and correct, with traces of pepper and spice. Tightly structured and slightly angular, it has a wash of gripping tannins towards the finish giving good backbone and adding to its length. It’s an excellent food wine and should drink well for at least five years. HH

2008 Artazuri Navarra, Navarra (Spain), NZ$10
Dense, ripe red fruit flavours showing surprising intensity for a wine at this price level. This is a serious red that’s very drinkable with juicy flavours and lively acidity. Just the thing for pasta and a rich meat sauce. Great value. The fact that it is sealed with a screwcap is remarkable when you consider it’s from Spain, the home of cork, where many of the regulatory bodies insist that a wine has a cork if it wants to bear the local appellation on its label. BC

2009 Gunderloch Fritz’s Riesling, Rheinhessen (Germany), A$20
Bright and breezy riesling, scented with an estery perfume of peach and apricot backed by a delicate spiciness and delivering a long, tangy palate of freshness and focus. Underpinned by a fine chalkiness, its mouthfilling presence of citrusy fruit culminates in a racy finish whose bracingly crisp acidity neatly punctuates its marginal sweetness. From the Rheinhessen and weighing in at 13 per cent, it’s an earlier-drinking wine that reflects the modern movement in Germany towards drier and rather more alcoholic rieslings. JO

Imports $25 and over
2009 Alberto Longo Le Fossette Falanghina, Puglia (Italy), A$38
Move over viognier, falanghina’s comin’ to get ya. The falanghina grape is one of a few in Italy’s south, like greco and fiano, that combine an amazingly heady, sun-kissed perfume with rich texture and a minerally, almost chewy finish. This is a seriously impressive and deeply satisfying, full-flavoured white wine that would taste great with suitably gutsy, rustic, Pugliese seafood antipasti; slow-cooked octopus, perhaps, or grilled swordfish or garlicky mussels, all drizzled with a rich and glossy Pugliese olive oil. MA

2009 Lucien Albrecht Reserve Pinot Blanc, Alsace (France), A$34
Pinot blanc is an early-ripening mutation of pinot gris that has high (often piercing) acidity and is well-known in Alsace but is generally a bit too bland to be popular. Lucien Albrecht is a historic, family-owned winery, based in Southern Alsace since the 15th century. This 2009 wine is something different, a pinot blanc that has personality and distinctive flavour. It has fragrant floral aromas, bright green appley flavours, is vibrant, tight, lean and finishes with zesty natural acidity that lingers. PF

2007 Tenuta di Capezzana Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC, Tuscany (Italy), A$46
In the Bonacossi family’s hands for almost 100 years, Capezzana has flourished – as has the status of the Carmignano region, to the north of Florence. Barco Reale is 70 per cent sangiovese, 20 per cent cabernet sauvignon and a balance of canaiolo. It’s an intensely savoury red with lots of dark fruit flavours, an earthy complexity with hints of forest floor and porcini mushrooms. A fine tannin backbone defines the wine, carrying it to a long-lasting finish. PB

2009 Domaine Pichot Coteaux De La Biche Vouvray Sec, Loire Valley (France), A$38
Great Vouvray is a world apart from chenin blanc grown anywhere else in the world. This ‘sec’ is actually off-dry but finishes clean and ostensibly dry. It has an exquisite array of aromas, from honey to green apple to chalk and mineral nuances. The delicate fruit and light sweetness are balanced by fresh, clean acidity and it’s spritely and quite zesty across the tongue. The balance is outstanding and very more-ish. This vintage it has moved to screwcap, which will keep it fresher for longer. HH

2008 Telmo Rodriguez LZ, Rioja (Spain), NZ$29
Made by a revolutionary producer who specialises in native Spanish varieties and the recovery of abandoned or forgotten vineyards, LZ is a blend of tempranillo, graciano and garnacha from ancient terraced vines. Attractive sweet fruit with plum, berry and floral flavours. Fermented and matured in concrete vats to accentuate fruit character. Truly dry but not astringent. Enjoyable with or without food. Not a complex wine but highly drinkable. BC

2010 La Spinetta Toscana Vermentino, Piedmont (Italy), A$40
Surprisingly complex but disarmingly vibrant, this perfumed young vermentino marries juicy, translucent flavours of pear, apple, melon and grapefruit with nutty, creamy yeast-derived flavours and textures, culminating in a faint sweetness balanced by a bright, but gentle acidity. Backed by hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and lifted by the waxy scent of yellow flowers and suggestions of wheatmeal, it leaves a savoury impression and a fine, lingering chalkiness. JO

Wines to cellar
2005 Stoney Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Tasmania, A$35
This, the ‘second wine’ of Domaine A, already has a few years under its belt, but is showing no signs of becoming the slightest bit tired. I sipped from a bottle over a couple of days and it got better and better, indicating it still has a very good future ahead of it. Much more akin to a classically proportioned red Bordeaux than your typical ballsy Aussie cab, it has fine blackcurrant, cedar and earth aromas, balanced generosity of fruit and a fine, powdery finish. Lovely. MA

2009 Thomas DJV Shiraz, Hunter Valley, A$30
Andrew Thomas is making some sublime Hunter semillon and shiraz. This is the second vintage of his DJV Shiraz and comes from low-cropping old vines on two sites. He adds (nine per cent) semillon verjuice at the beginning of fermentation to help the flavour profile and balance its acidity naturally. The 2009 has brambly aromatics, is juicy, succulent and fleshy, with rich, ripe and concentrated dark plum and mulberry flavours: elegant, even charming. Approachable now and will improve with up to five years cellaring. PF

2009 Ashton Hills Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, A$67
Stephen George, flies well under the radar, seeking no fame or outlandish fortune. His Ashton Hills Vineyard was planted almost 30 years ago, producing high quality, individualistic wines. The Reserve is the top of the range, its light colour and equally light body belying its depth and intensity. It’s been carefully crafted with well-integrated red berry fruits, exotic spices and a deep, savoury complexity. A pleasing acidity frames the picture while a silken texture flows seamlessly to a graceful finale. PB

2009 Tyrrell’s Wines Stevens Single Vineyard Shiraz, Hunter Valley, A$38
Traditional Hunter shiraz is a great style and one of the best ageing reds in Australia. With medium body and moderate alcohol (13 per cent) it expresses true regional character, with spices and dark fruits which will build leathery, smoky and earthy complexities in time. The palate is smooth, fleshy, round and soft-tannined – a style that used to be termed ‘Hunter Burgundy’. One-third new oak is employed, and is barely noticeable. Smooth, fine texture and very good length complete the picture. Enjoy it young or cellar up to 25 years. HH

2009 Te Mata Coleraine, Hawkes Bay, A$92/NZ$75
A dense, powerful red with classic cabernet sauvignon characters dominating to give the wine a cassis, floral and sweet mint character with plenty of classy oak of course. Slightly higher percentage of merlot and less cabernet franc this year. Lovely juicy fruit gives accessibility although the wine’s spine of ripe, fine tannins suggests it will age magnificently. Coleraine doesn’t get much better than this. This wine should put a gleam in the eye of collectors. BC

2008 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, Margaret River, A$96/NZ$112
A finer, leaner and more focused Art Series Chardonnay that retains much of its youthful character. A slightly reserved bouquet of grapefruit, lime juice, ginger and cinnamon backed by suggestions of minerals, grilled nuts and waxiness with intensity and perfume. Smooth and supple, it’s exceptionally long and fine, revealing a core of crunchy, freshly sliced fruit that slowly moves down the palate, finishing with brightness, brittleness, zesty acids, true emphasis and first-rate persistence. JO