Winetastic

Last night Gemma and I attended the Exhibition of Victorian Winemakers at the Menzies Hotel, Sydney. There was a fair size crowd in attendance, made up primarily of those working in the industry, with a few keen consumers such as ourselves thrown into the mix. There are many points I would like to discuss around the event, so my coverage will be split into three parts over the next few days. Today is Part 1: Introduction & Victorian White Wines.

The representitives for the various wineries fell into two distinct categories, those who seemed determined to ignore the presence of the younger folk with no “industry name badge” and those who were open, friendly and keen to talk about their wines with anyone who was interested. A few reps and even one winemaker completely ignored us when we approached the table, im sure times are tough for this less popular wine region and those folk are pushing for publicity and distributers at what is admittedly an industry targeted event, however at least pour a taste for those consumers keen enough to get along to the tasting as well!

Across the board, the standard of the Victorian whites was rather average. It seemed nearly every winery had a Pinot Gris/Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc on offer. Not being a fan of the latter two varieties I wont go into depth there, however I went in with an open mind on the Pinot Gris front and was left feeling rather jaded. Wine after wine, they all tasted basically the same, the better examples had some up front fruit flavours but lacked any real backbone, the rest were a bit of an acid assault to the senses. Many winemakers were really pushing the variety as “the next big thing”, I have yet to hear any consumers give it a big wrap however. As usual, most of the chardonnay examples smelled of oak, tasted of oak and had a long oaky finish.

The shining light through all of this was Delatite. We have previously given their Gewurztraminer a big thumbs up on the blog, and I am pleased to say their 2004 Riesling is just as good. Another name to look out for on the Riesling front is Paradigm Hill, they had a 2005 offering showing great finesse and balance.

Tune in again tomorrow for Part 2: A tutored Pinot Noir tasting.

A photo taken by Murray, i thought it was very appropriate, and i know he’s too modest to post it, so enjoy… Taken up in the Hunter Valley, on the Brokenwood Estate. Please click the image for a more detailed view.

Thistle Hill are an organic vinyard and winery from Mudgee, NSW. Those familiar with the climate in Mudgee will be wondering what they were thinking trying to grow Pinot there, due to the often extreme heat. However the grapes were actually sourced from the somewhat cooler region of Orange.

We started drinking this wine from a glass suited for cabernet or shiraz, big mistake. At that stage it was all pepper on the palate, with an overly dry finish. After a quick switch to an “all rounder” glass, the wine presented itself far better. Two hours later, the fruit finally emerged and the wine came into balance. I did not jot down any notes at the time, however you can read Thistle Hill’s own notes if you desire.

Be sure to give this pinot some time in the air or better still a decanter in order to allow the fruit flavours to emerge. The wine is $21 a bottle at the cellar door, however as I recall we bought some on special. I have two more bottles remaining, and two years in the suggested drinking window, expect an update in a year from now!

Score: 7/10
Would I buy this wine again?
Probably not, however if you are in Mudgee do visit Thistle Hill, very much a boutique operation and nice people to boot.

A wine applauded by the critics for presenting a good little Riesling at an outstanding price. The price is certainly right, only $14 a bottle, however the wine lacks the backbone and complexity found in the similar priced Leo Buring Eden Valley Riesling.

Lemon, passionfruit and a little cut grass on the nose, the palate presented refreshing citrus flavours, specifically grapefruit. The wine had good length and was not overly dry. There are extensive tasting notes available on the Madfish website.

In essence this is an uncomplicated crowd pleaser, drink it young and enjoy. The flavours reminded me at times of a Sauvignon Blanc, fine for those who enjoy a little cats pee in their diet, however the finish of this Riesling is not quite to my taste.

Score: 6/10
Would I buy this wine again?
I purchased 6 of these based on the praise received by many reviewers, lesson learned, taste first and trust your own palate.

Simon Gilbert Wines have become a personal favourite since discovering their fantastic cellar door nestled among the hills on the way out of Mudgee. They are producing premium tasting wines that are smooth, balanced and fruit driven and very reasonably priced.

I’ve never been really excited by a Cab Sav before, but this one is pretty good. It’s not going to win any awards or get really noticed but it’s a lovely quaffer. Dark crimson in colour, the nose displays berry and fruit hues mixed with oak. On the palate there are rich blackberry flavours, balanced with soft tannins and a subtle oak fisnish. This wine is a drink now wine which benefits from decanting, the flavours really open up. It would compliment a wide variety of food, and would be a particularly good pairing with BBQ or Italian.

Would i buy this wine again?
For sure, it’s a good value wine at only $15 a bottle, and it’s easy drinking.

Back on the 16th Jan i posted some wine related trivia questions just for a bit of fun, well as promised here are the answers…

1. How many acres are planted to grapes worldwide? 20 million
2. Among the world’s fruit crops, where do wine grapes rank in number of acres planted? #1
3. How many varieties of wine grapes exist worldwide? 10,000
4. When was the first known reference to a specific wine vintage? Roman Historian Pliny the Elder rated 121 B.C. as a vintage “of the highest excellence.”
5. How many oak species are there? 400
6. How many are used in making oak barrels? 20
7. What percent of an oak tree is suitable for making high grade wine barrels? 5%
8. What percentage of restaurant wine sales do red wines represent? 55%
9. What is the average cost of the grapes used to produce a $20 bottle of wine? $2.64
10. How long does it take to harvest a commercial crop from newly replanted grape vines? 4-5 years

So how did you all do?

I love Semillon, delicious refreshing citrus fruit when young, complex toasty characters when aged and distinctly Australian to boot! Tyrrell’s make some great Semillon, the 2005 Lost Block is not their best example.

Overly acidic on the palate with only a little citrus fruit flavour, the finish reminds me of cheap champagne (sorry, sparkling wine). This is an overrated wine, possibly carried by Tyrrell’s strong reputation. Further detail and tasting notes can be found at the Tyrrell’s website.

For the price point, I would suggest the Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon instead.

Score: 3/10
Would I buy this wine again?
At least the wine was cheap, only $13. I will await the 2006 vintage and give it another shot.

A quick check of the Knappstein Website and a search of google reveals that 2003 was the last year Knappstein produced a straight Gewürztraminer. The variety does not share the popularity of other white varietals such as riesling or chardonnay in Australia, in my mind this is a damn shame.

Pale golden yellow in the glass, the wine has a floral nose of honey suckle and rose, with hints of lemon. Crisp acidity & floral notes on the palate, followed by a very long finish of honey and lemon. There is an excellent balance between the hint of sweetness, and nice dry finish.

On a final note, the Knappstein Website is a travesty against useability. Browsing the reviews of their wines requires the use of an incredibly slow javascript scroll system and popups. Furthermore, they do not maintain tasting notes or details for their Gewürztraminer, presumably because it is no longer in production. It is still available in stores however, dissappointing. Knappstein would be advised to contact a decent web developer to ensure a sound user experience on the web to match their fantastic wines.

Score: 8/10
Would I buy this wine again?
$18 a bottle, Hell yes.

This was the first straight Grenache I have tasted, selected the bottle based on the fact d’Arenberg have been making the stuff since 1927. Details of the long history and tasting notes can be found at the d’Arenberg website.

The wine is very dark in the glass, exciting and feisty on the palate, with dark fruits and spices dominating. The finish is surprisingly soft with powdery tannins. I was expecting more of a tannic backbone to the wine, it is drinking very well young.

The decision to decant this wine was taken, given the advice on the bottle for extended cellaring. However I found a lot of the excitement was simply removed after an hour in the decanter. It did seem to improve once again a couple of hours later, although my senses were surely dulled having drank half a bottle of its 14.5% goodness.

Score: 7/10
Would I buy this wine again?
I will reserve judgement until I have tasted some more grenache, however I definitely enjoyed the change from shiraz/cab/merlot/pinot.

Sometimes refered to as an ‘Earth Wine’, Grenache seems to be making a real comback in the wine market. This is mainly due to the intensified interest in shiraz (grenache, mourvedre and shiraz all come under the heading “Rhone Style”) and the winemakers rediscovering their grenache and mourvedre vineyards. This interesting offering from Tim Adams Wines was a recomendation from a staff member at our local Dan Murphy’s. It is a blend comprising of 55 per cent Grenache; 23 per cent Shiraz; 22 per cent Cabernet Franc.

This wine is a fairly dark, intense red in colour, with a strong peppery nose interwoven with berries. The initial impact upon the palate is a burst of fruits and spices in a full bodied mouthfull which is surprisingly smooth. There is only the slightest hint of some tannin, which for me came through at the back of the palate. I have read that grenanche can often taste a little simple on it’s on, for me this blend really works, it’s refined and has some complexity to it whilst remaining balanced. I think this is a versatile wine and would be a great accompaniment to a lot of food dishes though it would work particularly well with Italian.

Would i buy this wine again?
At $22 a bottle i think it’s a nice wine, and i can see myself drinking it again. I am keen however to explore the other grenache options on the market, so i don’t think it will be in the near future.