Best buy wines (April/May 2012)

 

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$15 and under
2009 De Bortoli Deen De Bortoli Vat 1 Durif, Riverina, A$13
Durif is a funny beast of a grape. It has such thick, black-purple skins, it ripens so easily to high sugar levels (which translate, of course, to high alcohol), and is so jam-packed with flavour that most producers instinctively turn it into a massive, impenetrable brute of a wine. Thankfully, this durif isn’t like that: a couple of years in bottle have tamed the monster, turning it into a full-bodied but savoury red with plenty of fruit and firm but supple tannins, crying out for pasta and a rich ragu. MA

2010 Angove Butterfly Ridge Shiraz Cabernet, South Australia, A$7
At a time when the large family winery Angove has just celebrated 100 years of winemaking at Renmark and has opened a new McLaren Vale cellar door, which it expects will give its move into the premium market a push, comes this lovely reminder of their great-value Riverland wines. With each vintage, there’s usually one stand-out wine in the Butterfly Ridge range, and, in 2010, it’s this shiraz cabernet blend: supple, round, velvety smooth, rich and concentrated with redcurrant and black cherry flavours. PF

2011 Mr Mick Riesling, Clare Valley, A$15
Mick Knappstein was the Clare Valley’s shining light – steering his family company, Leasingham and the region into the modern (table wine) age. One of Mr Mick’s (as he was known) last apprentices was Tim Adams – who first worked at Leasingham in 1975. The Adams family have now “bought back the farm”. The 2011 Mr Mick Riesling echoes the style of the original Leasingham Bin 5 Riesling. It’s a streamlined wine, boasting lots of lemon, lime and exotic spice flavours with a lively acidity to carry the finish. PB

2011 Yarran Premium Wines Chardonnay, Riverina, A$12
I do wonder what the word “premium” really stands for these days, but whatever you think of its name, this newly arrived producer has good-value quaffing wines. The 2011 chardonnay is impressive in its class. Stone fruit and almond-like overtones to sniff. In the mouth, it’s soft and straightforward, round and balanced with a clean, more-ish finish. It’s best drunk young, and with just 12.5 per cent alcohol, it’s certainly not one of those domineering chardonnays. HH

2009 Incognito Merlot Cabernet Franc, Hawkes Bay, NZ$15
This is a standout wine in the “cheap and cheerful” category. It’s the creation of local wine retailer Fine Wine Delivery Company who assures buyers on its website that it is “from a top vineyard on Gimblett Road and crafted by a legendary maker of Hawkes Bay wines”. A blend of merlot and cabernet franc from an excellent Hawkes Bay vintage. It’s a fruity red with bright berry flavours, with a seasoning of spice and savoury, toasty characters. This is an attractive wine that could justify a higher price. BC

2009 Ferngrove Symbols Cabernet Merlot, Frankland River, A$15
More evidence that the excellent Frankland River producer Ferngrove is one of the most dependable of Australia’s army of small wineries. Scented with cool dusty, leafy undertones, this smooth, generous young cabernet blend delivers a plump, vibrant presence of juicy small black and red berries, dark plums supported by a hint of oak and fine tannins. It’s an early-drinking wine ready to enjoy. JO

$20 and under
2011 d’Arenberg Stephanie The Gnome With Rose Tinted Glasses Pinot Noir Cinsault Mourvèdre, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, A$20/NZ$22
This wine reminded me of the rustic-but-fruity rosé I drank by the bucketload one summer in the south of France – not the refined, pale Provençal gear, more the darker-pink stuff from the local Languedoc co-op best drunk from a chipped tumbler than a wine glass. It’s the cinsault grape, I think (a quarter of the blend, along with pinot and mourvèdre) that gives this pinkie its colour and its charm; all forest berries and a whisper of wild thyme. MA

2008 Black Jack Chortle’s Edge Shiraz, Bendigo, A$18
Bendigo winery Black Jack makes a slew of powerful reds from its estate vineyard at the foothills of Mount Alexander in the Harcourt Valley. This is the entry-level, regional shiraz produced from growers’ fruit at Harcourt and Bridgewater and made using old American oak barriques. Coal black and brambly with dark plum flavours, good depth, richness and power, smooth and approachable yet with plenty of ripe tannins to add grunt to the finish. PF

2009 Pikes The Red Mullet Shiraz Tempranillo Grenache Merlot, Clare Valley, A$15
Brothers Neil and Andrew Pike are a pair of quiet achievers with a quirky sense of humour – their logo features a large fish (a Pike, of course) and their entry-level wines are labelled The White Mullet and The Red Mullet respectively. Nonetheless, the wine is serious – a unique amalgam of shiraz, tempranillo, grenache and merlot that delivers abundant sweet red berry fruit with an underlying savoury character. A very willing partner to a decent pizza or bowl of spaghetti bolognaise. PB

2010 Foxeys Hangout The Red Fox Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, A$20
This is the entry-level pinot from an increasingly impressive winery run by the Lee brothers, Tony and Michael, at Red Hill. It’s a pretty good wine for the money, nicely balanced and soft, with plenty of drink-now appeal. The bouquet offers meaty and slightly animal pinot characters with a touch of early development, while the lean palate has some tangy bite and also a hint of attractive fruit sweetness. There’s a touch of elegance about it, and good intensity for the price. Best drunk now or within three or four years. HH

2011 Tussock Pinot Noir Rosé, Nelson, A$18/NZ$17
Tussock is the second label of Nelson’s Woollaston. Blocks of pinot noir vines from Woollaston’s own vineyards were targeted specifically for this wine, in contrast to the normal method of making rosé by bleeding small amounts of juice from the pinot noir grapes after crushing. The wine was allowed a brief period on the skins to extract a little colour. It’s delicately scented wine with bright, pure flavours of fresh cherry and spring flowers. An ethereal texture and lengthy finish offer extra appeal. BC

2010 Bethany Semillon, Barossa, A$18/NZ$22
From the excellent vintage of 2010 comes a focused, finer and leaner example of Barossa semillon whose lightly toasty bouquet of melon, lemon and dusty sherbet-like undertones reveals hints of cloves and nutty, vanilla-like oak. Long, juicy and reserved, with a pleasing lengthy core of bright melon-like fruit deftly knit with oak, it finishes tight and austere, with tangy, lemony acids and a faint herbal edge. Try to keep your hands off it for five years. JO

$30 and under
2011 Wines By KT Tinta Tempranillo, Clare Valley, A$25
Gee, Kerri Thompson’s doing a great job with the tempranillo grape in Clare. As well as making some cracking wines with the crew at Crabtree, her own label bottlings get better each vintage, particularly from the challenging season of 2011. She released a terrific pale, dry rosé, a blend of temp and mataro, last year, and has followed that up with this juicy, snappy, medium-bodied young red that totally nails the ‘joven’ style: it urges you to slurp it down with some garlicky tapas-style nibbles. MA

2010 Radford Quartz Garden Riesling, Eden Valley, A$25
Gill and Ben Radford’s tiny Eden Valley vineyard has some of the region’s oldest riesling vines – planted in the 1930s – a portion of which goes into this, along with the fruit from their 40-year-old vines and a touch from a neighbour’s vineyard. Gill wild ferments the pressings, ages them in old oak to give complexity and rests the free-run portion on light lees to improve the texture. The wine has lemon-blossom aromatics with a hint of toast and intense grapefruit citrus flavours. It has weight, complexity and a dry, firm finish. PF

2008 Padthaway Estate Eliza Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Chardonnay, Padthaway, A$30
Padthaway Estate doesn’t get much airplay yet this historic property has been producing credible wines for almost 30 years. It was founded in 1847 by Scottish pioneer Robert Lawson and his wife, Eliza. This superb blanc de blanc is made in the methode traditionelle. Delightful citrusy aromatics romp with smells of warm brioche, candied peel and almond meal. The palate is no less exuberant with intense grapefruit and white stone-fruit flavours and a thrust of chalky acidity. PB

2010 Yering Station Village Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, A$24
Yering Station has re-branded its pinot noirs, with Little Yering at the entry-level for $18, Village next-up for $24, the Yering Station for $38 and Reserve at $90. The 2010s are all especially good. The Village smells richly of meaty, savoury and inviting cherry aromas. It’s medium-bodied, with a touch of leanness to its elegant palate, a little fruit-sweetness and good balance. There’s a light tannin grip and pleasing length to finish. Drink now to five years. HH

2011 Astrolabe Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, A$23/NZ$21
Delicious sauvignon that’s an appealing medley of predominantly ripe passionfruit and red-capsicum flavours with underlying gooseberry and grapefruit. The wine has a wonderful ethereal texture and lengthy finish. A fine example of what Marlborough sauvignon should be, but seldom is. I should declare an interest – I joined the winemaking team when they did their blending trials, a fascinating process. The wine was tasted blind to avoid any suggestion of bias. BC

2011 Vasse Felix Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Margaret River, A$27/NZ$26
Another slightly herbal, funky and complex release by Virginia Willcock’s team that backs its creamy, smoky fragrance of punchy peach, melon and tropical fruit with hints of oyster shell and iodine. Tightly underpinned by a fine, dusty texture, it’s genuinely long and elegant. It reveals a pleasing balance between fruit, oak and a gentle, refreshing acidity before finishing quite briney and savoury. Distinctively Margaret River. JO

Imports $25 and under
2010 Carpineto Chianti Classico DOCG, Tuscany (Italy), A$20
Sometimes I’m suspicious of cheap Chianti: over-cropped sangiovese can make for particularly vacuous and unsatisfying drinking, whether it’s grown in Australia or in its homeland of Tuscany. But there’s no need to be suspicious of this very good-value example: a blend of 80 per cent sangiovese and 20 per cent canaiolo, it has exactly the right (medium) weight on the tongue, dark cherry fruit and dusty tannins you want in an everyday Chianti. MA

2011 Norton Lo Tengo Malbec, Mendoza (Argentina), A$12
Norton is a large Argentinian winery, established in 1895, with almost 700 hectares of vines in five vineyards in Mendoza. This budget-priced label celebrates the tango which is as proudly Argentinian as Mendoza malbec. The 2011 Lo Tengo Malbec is soft, round and fleshy with blackberry and mulberry pastille flavours, an appealing mouthfeel, lush texture and a soft, integrated finish that is immediately approachable. It’s straightforward and satisfying and extraordinarily well-priced. PF

2009 Von Buhl Dry Riesling QbA, Pfalz (Germany), A$25
This organic producer has its main vineyards along the Rhine River in the villages of Forst and Deidesheim. Miniscule yields and highly selective hand-picking deliver pristine fruit to the winery, where natural yeasts carry the ferments to near dryness. The Pfalz’s proximity to the relatively (in German terms) warm Alsace region gives a clear lead to the Von Buhl style – dry yet richly textured with lemon curd and ripe apricot flavours, and a vital, piquant finish. An underlying earthy minerality adds interest. PB

2010 Le Chat Noir Hautes Vallées Shiraz, Pays d’Oc (France), A$16 
There are some great bargains in French wine these days, and this keenly priced shiraz from the Limoux region in the Languedoc is amazing value for money. It has a bright, deep purple-red colour and fragrant aromas of violets and blueberry, as well as raspberry and spices. There’s a lot happening in the glass for a wine of its price. It has a deliciously soft, slurpable texture and the fruit is balanced by ample, but appealingly supple, fleshy tannins. It’s moderate in alcohol too, at just 13 per cent. Best enjoyed young. HH

2009 Tormaresca Neprica, Puglia (Italy), A$20/NZ$22
A blend of negroamara (40 per cent), primitivo (30 per cent) and cabernet sauvignon (30 per cent). Each variety is harvested and fermented separately. The parcels are blended before spending eight months in stainless-steel tanks. The wine does not receive oak age. It has more depth, richness and development than anticipated. The scented aroma suggests violets, anise and dark berries, with prune and dried fruit characters more evident on the palate. Smooth-textured wine with appealing sweet fruit and fine tannins. BC

2010 Kings Ridge Pinot Gris, Oregon (US), A$25
Intense, varietal and perhaps a shade sweet for most Australian palates, this is a spicy and fractionally herbal expression of brightly lit Oregon pinot gris that packs considerably more punch than most examples of the local variant. To a degree it’s upfront and tropical, with a candy floss-like aspect to its juicy, pear-like varietal fruit, but it’s long, ripe and intense, with a lively acidity that wraps it up with freshness and focus. JO

Imports $25 and over
2010 Plageoles Mauzac Nature, Gaillac (France), A$43
The Plageoles family have spent years identifying, propagating, planting and making wine from old grape varieties in the Gaillac region of south-west France that were (are) in danger of being swamped by the better-known cabernet and sauvignon from nearby Bordeaux. This wonderful fizz made from the local white mauzac grape is naturally, gently sparkling: bottled before the end of fermentation, it has lovely, almost saké-like rice-water purity and a fine, refreshing dryness. MA

2009 Andreola Dirupo Valdobbiadene Prosecco, Veneto (Italy), A$35
Andreola is a family company established in 1984 with 30 hectares of vines in the hills of the Valdobbiadene area of Italy’s Veneto, the heart of the region that produces prosecco. The wine is made predominantly from glera (prosecco) grapes with five per cent each of two local indigenous varieties: bianchetta and perera. The 2009 Dirupo Brut has complex aromatics suggesting dried herbs and wild flowers, is soft, round and creamy, with delicate balance, and a clean, refreshing zingy finish. PF

2008 Boscarelli Vino Nobile di Monte-pulciano DOCG, Tuscany (Italy), A$65
Montepulciano is one of Tuscany’s most famous hill-top cities; its principal grape is prugnolo gentile – a local clone of sangiovese. (Confusingly, montepulciano is also the name of a red grape grown on Italy’s Adriatic coast.) This is a blend of 90 per cent prugnolo gentile, six per cent malvasia nera and four per cent mammolo. Deep savoury aromas of sour cherry, tobacco leaves with a trace of fresh aniseed lead to a palate packed with dark berry fruit, restrained by a girdle of fine yet firm tannins. A big wine. PB

2009 Saint-Albert Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, Madiran (France), A$36/500ml
This delicious sweet wine, made from local varieties petit manseng, gros manseng, courbu and arrufiac in the Madiran region of southern France, tastes a bit like a Jurançon and is similarly produced from naturally dried rather than botrytis-affected fruit. It has an exuberant peachy aroma, not as complex as a botrytis wine perhaps but with a controlled sugar-level and lip-smacking, more-ish, bitter citrus-peel flavour. It’s not ‘sticky’, hence you can drink more of it without feeling over-loaded. HH

2007 Beronia Reserva Rioja, Rioja (Spain), NZ$36
A blend of tempranillo (90 per cent), graciano (five per cent) and mazuelo (five per cent). Beronia is a large winery harvesting grapes from 860 hectares of mostly grower vineyards. The wine was fermented in stainless-steel tanks before being matured for 18 months in a mix of American and French oak barrels. It was given 20 months bottle-age before release. A fairly traditional Rioja style with vanilla from American oak balanced by strong, sweet fruit. It’s silken-textured and mellow with a pronounced licorice character. BC

2009 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley (US), A$50
From a warm spring and hot summer, this gentle, supple pinot from one of the Willamette Valley’s finest producers is soft, smooth and already approachable, with a fragrant red-fruited and lightly floral bouquet. Underpinned by silky tannins, it slowly opens in the glass to unfold sweet flavours of red cherry, strawberry and ripe plum, knit with fresh, smoky oak and revealing an undercurrent of dried herbs. It’s medium in weight, easy to drink and ready to open. Do so over the next two years. JO

Wines to cellar
2010 Wedgetail Valley Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, A$24
Guy Lamothe’s own estate-grown 2010 chardonnay is very good – nutty, wheatmealy, richly textured and satisfying – but I prefer this expression of the grape, made from bought-in grapes grown biodynamically on another vineyard on the other side of the Yarra Valley: it’s leaner, more restrained, and has a lovely tangy, refreshing quality. In his typical self-deprecating way, Lamothe describes the Estate wine as “old-fashioned” while this is more “contemporary”. MA

2005 First Drop Votum, McLaren Vale, A$150
A look at the price tag will suggest that Matt Gant and John Retsas are serious players though they invariably have a fun way of promoting their virtual winery. A single vineyard at Willunga shows how good cabernet sauvignon can be from the McLaren Vale in an excellent vintage: concentrated almost beyond belief, pure bramble, blackcurrant and mulberry flavours, satiny smooth texture, and slinky, ripe tannins to ensure long life. Cellar well for 10 years or more. PF

2009 Best’s Great Western Bin 0 Shiraz, Grampians, A$70
Best’s Great Western is one of Australia’s vinous jewels – established by Henry Best in 1866. The Thomson family have owned it since 1920 with fifth-generation Ben Thomson the current CEO with his winemaking dad, Viv, trying to stay in the background. Bin 0 Shiraz is an Australian classic – medium bodied yet intensely flavoured with dark plum and black cherry flavours, a good dollop of oak and an underlying ironstone minerality. It’s enjoyable now but would happily respond to a decade or two in a cool cellar. PB

2009 Marchand & Burch French Collection Premier Cru Gevrey-Chambertin Fontenys, Burgundy (France), A$135/NZ$135
Howard Park owners Jeff and Amy Burch and Burgundy winemaker Pascal Marchand produce a range of wines under their French Collection label. This has a powerful, spicy bouquet with intense flavour and a caress of powdery tannins. Graceful and seductive, with detailed flavours that tease and fascinate, and a long, seamless aftertaste. Best drinking from 2014 to 2029. The screwcap is an added advantage. HH

2010 Kidnapper Cliffs Syrah, Hawkes Bay, NZ$65
The second vintage of a new label from the Gimblett Gravels district of Hawkes Bay earned the same lofty score in the high 90s from me in both years. 2009 and 2010 are both outstanding vintages. Dense and powerful syrah with bright dark fruit, spice, cracked black pepper and a suggestion of floral flavours. I also detect new leather, licorice and star anise. Rippling with energy and showing obvious cellaring potential. BC

2009 Hurley Vineyard Garamond Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, A$75
Something of a combination of the Lodestone and Hommage releases of the same vintage, but offering more poise and finesse. It has a wild, meaty bouquet of red and black cherries, plum and balanced newish oak reveals hints of briar, underbrush and a measured stalkiness. It’s long, with a refined presence of sweet, small red fruits underpinned by a fragile spine of silky tannins, finishing with fresh acids and a lingering savoury quality. It’s finely balanced but will flesh out further, delivering more richness and depth. JO