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Best Buy Wines (Oct/Nov 2009)

$15 AND UNDER
2008 Angove Organic Chardonnay, Riverland, A$15/NZ$20
Angove is beginning to turn a healthy shade of green. As well as converting 40 hectares of their Riverland vineyards to certified organic practice, it also runs a 10-hectare vineyard in McLaren Vale biodynamically. And while waiting for fruit from these vineyards, it has also bought grapes from other certified vineyards to release wines under an organic label. This well-priced chardonnay has lovely lemon-fresh zestiness as well as the ripe, peachy fruit you expect to find from Riverland-grown grapes. MA

2006 Bleasdale Second Innings Malbec, Langhorne Creek, A$15/NZ$21
Varietal malbecs are rare in Australia and yet the Potts family consistently produces an outstanding quaffing red from the grape. The 2006 is a brilliant example of the style: rich and full-bodied with concentrated blackberry pastille, bramble and vanilla bean flavours and silky smooth texture. It’s oaky and has heaps of non-aggressive tannins which are in balance with the powerful fruit. The 2007 vintage was trickier, so that wine is firmer and more robust, though still with good intensity of flavour and approachability. PF

2008 Yalumba Galway Vintage Traditional Shiraz, South Australia, A$15
Yalumba’s Galway Claret (as it was then known) was first produced in 1943 and named after a former governor of South Australia. As an entry level to the Yalumba’s impressive hierarchy of shiraz, the ’08 Galway sets a high standard with bold, dark-cherry aromas with a hint of spice, dark chocolate and licorice. It is only medium weight, yet flavoursome with sweet, dark-berry fruit, mild tannins and a gentle finish. A gluggable red to partner a meat pie with a good dollop of sauce. PB

2009 Kaesler Rizza Riesling, Barossa Valley, A$15
Kaesler is a maker of heroic Barossa reds, so it comes as a surprise to find this delicious, low-alcohol, semi-sweet aperitif-like riesling made in the German kabinett style. A lot of wineries are having a go at this approach now. It adds to the riesling repertoire but hopefully it doesn’t confuse people even more about what to expect when they buy a riesling. This one has a bright, tangy lime-juice aroma and the sweetness is deftly balanced by appealing riesling fruit flavour and lively but subtle acidity. It’s a great pre-dinner sipper. HH

2007 Station Road Cabernet Merlot, East Coast, NZ$14
A brand of Constellation NZ named after the address of its Auckland winery and head office although, surprisingly, it fails to get a mention on the company website. Perhaps the wine’s price is a little too humble to feature alongside Constellation’s more exalted brands. Fleshy red with berry, plum and peaty wood-smoke flavours. It’s dry, smooth and very drinkable, offering good value at this price. Made from grapes grown in New Zealand’s East Coast, an area that includes Gisborne and Hawkes Bay. BC

2007 Deakin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Murray Darling, A$10/NZ$15
This affordable and delicious young cabernet is scented with minty, violet-like aromas of cassis, blackberries, plum and cedary oak. It’s supple and juicy, with a piercing presence of small berries, plum and lingering earthy notes tightly knit with fine, dusty tannins and restrained vanilla oak, finishing with genuine length and balance. It’s simply an exceptional wine for its price. I’d like to send a case to every UK wine critic who says Australian Riverland cabernet is industrial. JO

$20 AND UNDER
2008 Yalumba Organic Viognier, Riverland, A$14
Tony and Pam Barich are clearly doing something right at their biodynamic Riverland vineyard, the source of the grapes for Yalumba’s organic viognier. The 2007 vintage won the trophy for best white at last year’s Organic Wine Show in Sydney, and the 2008 vintage picked up one of only three gold medals at the same show earlier this year. It is a terrific expression of the grape: aromatic, full of yellow apricots and honeysuckle, with that honey theme continuing on the tongue, finishing with a good, clean, fresh dryness. MA

2007 Westend 3 Bridges Durif, Hilltops, A$20
Westend is a long-established Riverina winery which is expanding its horizons with a new cool-climate range – the whites sourced from Canberra and the reds from Hilltops – as well as vigorously improving what they’ve done for ages. Durif is a robust, tannic variety that seems perfectly suited to the warmer inland regions along the Murray and Murrumbidgee as the climate lends an approachability to the wines. This is richly concentrated with ripe, sweet blackcurrant jube flavours, velvety texture and balanced tannins. PF

2006 Mount Langi Ghiran Billi Billi Shiraz, Grampians, A$15
Mount Langi is undoubtedly one of Australia’s greatest shiraz producers – the exacting template put in place by founder Trevor Mast carefully followed through by current maker Dan Buckle. At the top is the Langi, Cliff Edge sits in the middle, offering a fabulous quality-for-dollar quotient, while at the bottom (but hardly that) is the Billi Billi – an absolute steal. It offers loads of distinctly spicy aromas, both sweet and pepper-like, with juicy, black plum fruit flavours and a good lick of textural tannins. PB

2008 Hoddles Creek Estate Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, A$19
Hoddles Creek has established itself as a maker of delicate, subtle Yarra chardonnays that don’t try too hard to be in the heavy-hitters’ league, but which do offer great value for money. This is very much in that groove: light-bodied, very sparingly oaked,  with the emphasis on primary fruit and ready drinkability. Those who go for big, rich, oaky chardonnay might be underwhelmed, but this is an easy-drinking style that doesn’t make too many demands on its audience. It’s a commendable approach. Drink it young. HH

2008 Clark Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ$17.50
First vintage of a new label from 10-year-old vines grown in the Awatere Valley, which enjoyed better than average weather conditions in the 2008 vintage. Fresh, tangy wine with regional tomato leaf, mineral, green capsicum and nettle characters plus a hint of passionfruit. Pure, focused wine with good concentration and balance. This is better than the other label at Clark Estate, Boreham Wood Jane’s Sauvignon Blanc, although it falls slightly short of the intensity of 2008 Boreham Wood Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. BC

2007 Bleasdale Bremerview Shiraz, Langhorne Creek, A$18/NZ$20
Polished, pristine and deeply flavoured, this very traditional Bleasdale red has a spicy, peppery and marginally confectionary bouquet of dark plum and berries backed by fresh cedar/chocolate oak, cloves and licorice. It’s smooth and creamy, with a lingering core of vibrant fruit underpinned by long, velvet-like tannins and seasoned, smoky, vanilla oak plus a hint of bacon. It finishes long, with a touch of minerality. JO

$30 AND UNDER
2008 Pinga Tempranillo Et Al, Central Victoria, A$26
Dom and Krystina Morris champion the tempranillo grape from their winery in Bendigo. This exquisitely labelled red wine, with its image of a twirling eel, takes tempranillo and blends it with a little cabernet and a splash of shiraz (the “et al”) to produce a thoroughly slurpy, black-purple wine full of deep red jubey fruit flavours, supple but insistent tannins and an overlay of finely-ground woody spices. Absolutely perfect for washing down tapas-style dishes – chorizo and black-olives roasted in a hot oven, please. MA

2006 Lake Breeze Bernoota Shiraz Cabernet, Langhorne Creek, A$20/NZ$25
Greg Follett and his winery have attracted a great deal of attention over the past five years because of this good-value shiraz cabernet blend. My tasting notes commented on its juicy, fresh, redcurrant and cedary oak characters and medium body. When its identity was revealed I thought it was showing less concentration than usual so I tried it over dinner. With roast Barossa chicken it was transformed: smooth, velvety and deeply concentrated with attractive, neatly integrated flavours. PF

2008 Ferngrove Diamond Chardonnay, Frankland River, A$25
Kim Horton and his talented winemaking team at Ferngrove keep hitting the mark. Their latest Diamond Chardonnay is fresh, bright and flavoursome – a wine that’s all about the fruit and not heavy-handed winemaking. It smells of pink grapefruit, ripe nectarines with a hint of honey-like richness and a whisper of spicy oak. It’s elegant, restrained but not austere, with a refreshing palate that has sufficient weight and complexity to match freshly steamed marron served with garlic aioli. PB

2007 Voyager Estate Girt By Sea Cabernet Merlot, Margaret River, A$24
You don’t see too many cabernet merlots of this quality at this price. The bouquet is of serious cabernet: blackberry, blackcurrant and cedar, with fruit to the fore and oak tucked into the background. It has excellent flavour concentration on the palate and is deep and rich yet elegant and finely textured. It drinks well now but has a long future, of at least 15 years. A nice farewell present from ex-winemaker Cliff Royle – something to remind us of his distinguished tenure there. HH

2007 Craggy Range Merlot, Hawkes Bay, $A40/NZ$30
Deep, dense merlot with layers of red and black fruit flavours interwoven with classy French oak. This is the best example to date of a wine that always delivers plenty of punch for the price. Powerful and stylish, it can occasionally show excessive tannins when young, although this is perfectly balanced. It will cellar well but is approachable now. Trophy winner in the 2009 Tri-Nations Wine Challenge, a prestigious event that compares the top wines from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. BC

2007 Oliver’s Taranga Vineyards Shiraz, McLaren Vale, A$30
Close to an essential McLaren Vale shiraz of the more rustic, earthy and meaty kind, this is a ripe and richly concentrated wine. Its smoky bouquet of dark, briary plum, blackberries and cassis reveals meaty, charry undertones of dark-chocolate oak backed by clove, nutmeg and cinnamon. It is velvet-smooth and fine-grained, with pure, smoky, chocolaty flavours of liqueur cherries and licorice, finishing long and savoury, mineral and meaty, with just a hint of spirity warmth. For drinking now or later. JO

IMPORTS $25 AND UNDER
2007 Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay, Burgundy (France), A$15
A recent taste-through of all the wines exclusively imported by Vintage Cellars yielded plenty of bargains, such as the vibrant, refreshing 2007 Con Class Exceptional Verdejo Spanish white. But the wine I kept going back to was this wonderfully authentic chardonnay from Mâcon, with its tangy, lemon-rind-and-almond complexity and really satisfying, surprisingly long, dry finish. This is classic, unpretentious, everyday drinking white burgundy at an amazing price. MA

2007 The Killer Pinot Grigio, Venuto (Italy), A$15
Expect to see more of these wines: it’s been developed in the Veneto region of Northern Italy to the specifications of the Woolworth’s group. This includes sealing it under screwcap: a bonus for Australian consumers. It was originally labelled The Killer Stiletto but that had to be dropped for copyright reasons. This is an expressive Italian pinot grigio: fragrant with complex, savoury, nutty, grassy characters, lightly honeyed, long, deep and ultra dry. A bargain. Exclusive to Dan Murphy’s. PF

2007 Masi Valpolicella Bonacosta, Veneto (Italy), A$25
Masi is one of the Veneto’s most illustrious producers, its Amarones famed for both their quality and their longevity. However, its Bonacosta is much more a drink-now style, made from a classic blend of the region’s three major red grapes – corvina, rondinella and molinara. Red cherry and ripe plum flavours intermingle with sweet cinnamon spice and a touch of aniseed and clove. Gentle on the palate with soft, silky tannins, this just slides down the throat with pleasure and (frightening) ease. PB

2007 Les Églantines Touraine Sauvignon, Loire Valley (France), A$23
The Touraine is a big source of well-priced sauvignon blanc, less famous and less expensive than Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. This is a complex, mineral style that is far removed from the pungent, fruity wines of New Zealand. The aromas remind me of oxidative juice handling and high-solids fermentation, both techniques that result in less-fruity but better structured wines. This is still youthful, tight and restrained, with savoury, malty characters, while the varietal fruit is there but in a subdued way. Drink over the next couple of years. HH

2005 Vergelegen Mill Race Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Cape Town (South Africa), NZ$20
A blend of 45 per cent merlot, 46 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 6 per cent cabernet franc and 3 per cent malbec. On my last visit to South Africa the wines of Vergelegen were the best I tasted at any winery. This historic property uses state-of-the-art winemaking methods to good effect. A thoroughly modern South African red with bright, fresh berry and plum flavours seasoned with classy oak after 18 months maturation in French oak barriques. BC

2006 Casa Santos Lima Quinta Das Setencostas Alenquer DOC, Estremadura (Portugal), A$15
This is a deeply flavoured, finely structured and tightly balanced blend of castelão, camarate, tinta miúda and preto-martinho. Dark and chocolaty, with a strong scent of red berries, plum and cedar backed by nuances of briar and spice, it’s long, fine-grained and very approachable. It’s piercingly intense and vibrant, the palate underpinned by pliant, dusty tannins, before finishing with savoury notes of cloves and licorice. Good cellaring potential for at least the short term. JO

IMPORTS $25 AND OVER
2004 Jacques Puffeney Arbois Savagnin, Arbois (France), A$73
This relatively obscure grape has had an identity crisis in Australia – what growers thought was the Spanish white grape, albariño, is in fact the French grape, savagnin. This is the real thing, from the best producer in Arbois, in eastern France. It has a disarming but alluring fino sherry character when you smell it (some of the wine is aged in old barrels under a layer of flor yeast), but tastes wonderfully fresh, with chardonnay-like almond kernel and lemon pith complexity. A stunning accompaniment to Comté cheese. MA

2006 Castello di Gabbiano Bellezza, Tuscany (Italy), A$55
This is made from sangiovese matured in 100-per-cent-new French oak for 16 months and evolved from the collaboration of Beringer winemaker, Ed Sbragia, and Gabbiano’s Giancarlo Roman. In 2006, Bellezza is hauntingly perfumed, has vibrant, intense blackberry, sour cherry flavours with savoury overtones and a hint of cedar. There is impressive richness and concentration, well-integrated oak and tannins, velvety texture and impeccable balance. Will be improved by cellaring. PF

2005 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Petite Chapelle, Rhône Valley (France), A$159
This legendary Rhône producer was purchased by the Frey family, owners of the Château La Lagune in Bordeaux. La Petite Chapelle is made from parcels of syrah from the famed Hermitage vineyard. It’s aromatic with lots of sweet cinnamon spice, dusty cedar and violet-like floral notes overlaying a core of dark berry fruit. The palate is only medium-weight but very intense with lovely poise and style. It’s both soft and harmonious with a delightfully fragrant finish. PB

2007 Château de Lagarde Côtes de Bordeaux St Macaire Cuvée Prestige, (France), A$32
This is a barrel-aged sauvignon blanc semillon blend from the home of that style. Its medium-light yellow colour is starting to show some development, and the bouquet has toasty barrel aromas adding complexity to the honeydew melon and stone-fruit scents. The palate has more depth and length than usual from these varieties, and the lingering finish is clean and dry. It’s a very good wine of character and style. The blend is 50/50, made from organically grown grapes. HH

2007 Francois Villard Les Terrasses du Palat Condrieu, Condrieu (France), NZ$110
This wine was star of the show for me at a recent viognier seminar featuring many great examples from France, Australia and New Zealand. It possessed a level of power, complexity and finesse that elevated it above all other contenders. Wonderfully elegant wine with layer upon layer of mineral, floral fruit and exotic spice flavours. The memory of this wine makes me quietly salivate although I’m struggling to articulate exactly why I liked it so much. It certainly has the X-factor. BC

2006 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Olivets, (France), A$65/NZ$59
A very stylish and contemporary blend of grenache and shiraz whose deep, briary blackberry and plum-like flavour is backed by typically spicy and earthy complexity, with pleasingly meaty undertones. Rather floral and heady, with complex reductive notes and a touch of black jellybean, it’s long, smooth and supple. It finishes quite savoury, with a pure, lingering core of vibrant fruit, a hint of spirity warmth and a persistent, spicy note of blueberries and licorice. JO

WINES TO CELLAR
2005 Jinks Creek Heathcote Shiraz, Heathcote, A$35
Winemaker Andrew Clarke produces a number of regional shirazes each year, from vineyards as far afield as east Gippsland and the Yarra Valley. This shiraz has a splash of dolcetto blended in for good measure. The wine is a dense, deep, glowering purple colour, with oodles of sweet, creamy black fruit and bold but balanced oak framing more dense-textured black berries and a supple, fine, tannic finish. Drink now with char-grilled rib-eye, or cellar for another five to 10 years to pick up even more complexity. MA

2006 Wirra Wirra RSW Shiraz, McLaren Vale, A$60/NZ$65
This is the quintessential McLaren Vale winery at the top of its game. The focus on quality of its late owner, Greg Trott, infects all that happens here. The inspired winemaking of Sam Connew and Paul Smith produces a flagship shiraz that is typically McLaren Vale with its riotous aromatics, opulent, ultra-concentrated blackberry and dark plum flavours, velvety texture, seamless integrating fruit, oak and tannins – but with a degree of finesse and elegance that isn’t always captured by the region’s best. PF

2007 Capel Vale Whispering Hill Shiraz, Mount Barker, A$48
The Capel Vale product range has been refined and revamped. However, the changes are more than cosmetic with Gourmet Traveller WINE 2009 Winemaker of the Year finalist Larry Cherubino casting his magic spell over the wines. This has a wonderful amalgam of density, intensity and style. Dark plums and sour cherries are lifted with hints of allspice and vanilla bean. The palate is tight and concentrated with lots of goodies just waiting to reveal themselves. Drink from 2012 onwards. PB

2006 Elderton Ode to Lorraine Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot, Barossa Valley, A$50/NZ$63
Lorraine Ashmead is the mother of the current generation of Ashmeads, Allister and Cameron. She ran the business after the untimely death of her husband Neil, hence this tribute wine. It’s a rich, typical, generously flavoured Elderton red with liberal use of heavy-toast oak and sweet, ripe, fleshy texture across the palate. It has suppleness as well as structure, medium to full body and good length. It drinks well now but will live and develop further complexities for at least 15 years. HH

2008 Te Whau Vineyard Syrah, Waiheke Island, NZ$75
Dense yet supple syrah with an attractive array of red and black berries, cracked pepper, new leather, bacon fat and classy French oak flavours. The texture is even more impressive with fine tannins that seem to have silken coating of alcohol and glycerol to give a remarkably smooth backbone to this generous red wine. This is the best Waiheke syrah I’ve tasted, by a narrow margin from Passage Rock Reserve. The lingering finish is almost infinite – I’m sure I could still taste it the following day. BC

2006 Arrivo Nebbiolo, Adelaide Hills, A$60
A very convincing nebbiolo from this emerging Adelaide Hills label. Youthful and alluring, with perfume, depth and delicious fruit artfully backed by meaty, savoury qualities and subtle complexity. It’s floral and minty, powerfully scented and cherry-like, with a vibrant presence of spicy red fruits and earthy nuances underpinned by fine, firm chassis of drying tannins. Long and supple, with the tightness, focus and savoury qualities of a Marcarini, it has all the elegance to age with grace and charm. JO