Winetastic

Keith Tulloch Wine believes “The art of winemaking is a focus on excellence with a passion and commitment to create wines with personality, without compromise…”

The Tulloch family have been an integral part of the Hunter Valley since 1896, there are only a few families in Australia which can claim to have a history spanning over a century. Keith Tulloch, a fourth generation winemaker, worked for Lindemans and Rothbury before establishing his own boutique winery back in 1997. Having heard good things from other wine makers in the region we decided it was time to go and have sneaky peak! The Keith Tulloch cellar door is located on Hermitage Road and offers tasting from the first floor veranda overlooking the picturesque vineyards of the Hunter and the Brokenback mountain range. This setting alone makes this cellar door a must visit if you are in the Hunter.

The wines at Keith Tulloch are all refined and elegant bringing out the best the Hunter Valley has to offer. The semillon is young, with a juicy freshness and a lovely crisp balance that indicates patient cellaring will reap plenty of rewards. A taste of the merlot reveals a rich and fruity flavour with a lovely mouthfilling fine tannin that again will age nicely. Sipping the shiraz viogner allows you to discover a highly perfumed, silky drink young wine tasting of fully ripe dark berries leading into a plum, almost cherry finish. I haven’t even come to the highlight of the tasting yet!

The standout wine, without a shadow of a doubt, is the Kester Shiraz… Sourced from old dry-farmed Hunter Valley vineyards, the grapes used in this wine are fermented with a trace of Viognier in open vats for four weeks, are plunged by hand and then allowed to mature in fine french oak barrels for twenty months. The almost intoxicating nose is made up of dark berry, dark chocolate and liqorice with a subtle hint of earthiness. The palate consists of ripe berry fruit, a hint of oak and spice with a velvety richness of tannin that leaves you sure you are drinking a premium Hunter Valley shiraz. If you can resist the urge to drink this wine then cellaring for ten to maybe even twenty years holds so much potential.

I held out much hope for the Mount Pleasant Rosehill Shiraz 2004 after the overripe and tarry number from the previous year. Sadly I cannot help but feel that once again, you would be better off with a $12 Philip Shiraz instead.

Inviting aromas of cherries, blackcurrant, nutmeg and clove. The robust palate is filled with rich dark fruits and berries, chocolate, pepper and cedar oak. Definitely full bodied, not overly “huntery” and a touch warm on the finish.

This is a wine that belies the vintage, since most Hunter Shiraz from 2004 is far leaner and “classically hunter” in style. Although better than the previous year, I am left yearning for the Rosehill wines of 2000 and 2001.

Score: 88/100
Price: $30
Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 15%
Would I buy this wine again?
No, pick up some OP&OH Shiraz from 2003 instead

Just after Christmas Gemma and I inexplicably found ourselves at the Boutique Wine Center inquiring after any new releases. Although there was nothing released in the previous two months, we were lucky enough to taste some unreleased 2007 reds from Meerea Park (all of which look superb), including the Meerea Park Shiraz Viognier 2007 which is available as of today.

Showing perfumed aromas of cherry and clove, there is an intense and fruity front palate followed by some spices that lead to a tangy and savoury finish. The fine/approachable tannins and pure fruit make this an excellent drink-now proposition, or you can wait a few years for some further complexity to develop.

This is the best Shiraz Viognier Meerea Park have produced to date, though my score is the same as the 2005 vintage since I am marking a little harder these days…

Score: 91/100
Price: $20
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 14%
Would I buy this wine?
Yes, you should be able to find it for around $17-18

Ernest Hill are a boutique producer from the Hunter Valley. They make several Shiraz wines that typically sell out rather quickly via their mailing list, however they also have some good quality whites and a range of dessert wines. On the white front today we have the Ernest Hill “Rosalie Joan” Verdelho 2008.

Quite aromatic with lime zest, rose petals and hints of lychee. The palate is dry with just a hint of sweetness, showing lemon, lime and fresh pineapple flavours, a little honey and a riesling-like acidic backbone. A serious white wine, decent length too.

Bravo Ernest Hill for showing us that Hunter Verdelho can be more than tropical cordial. The lychee/rose petal aromas remind me of Guwurztraminer, accordingly the wine pairs rather well with a spicy thai curry.

Score: 91/100
Price: $20
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 13.1%
Other Opinions: Ernest Hill
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, we have a couple more bottles to enjoy this summer

Following swiftly on the heels of the very good 2006 vintage is the Meerea Park Shiraz 2007, a blend of 60% Hilltops and 40% Hunter Valley Shiraz.

Showing vibrant ripe berry and plum aromas, this medium bodied red has soft tannins, cherry and plum flavours supported by spices and a little leather or earth on the finish. Very easy drinking, finishes a touch short but what do you expect for $12?

I am probably being a points miser this time around, it really is a great BBQ wine and punches well above its weight. For what its worth, Gemma liked this wine even more than I did. You can buy some at Dan Murphy’s.

Score: 88/100
Price: $12
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 14%
Other Opinions: Meerea Park
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, its a great value every day drinking wine

The Mountain X Hunter Shiraz 2006 is the inaugural release and the brain child of Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattison of The Wine Front. It is a blend of 95% Hunter Shiraz (good start) and 5% Yarra Pinot - a throwback to a traditional hunter blend of yesteryear. The winemakers are Rhys Eather (Meerea Park) and Franco d’Anna (Hoddles Creek) respectively.

Stylistically modern Hunter Valley - showing fruity aromas of cherry, blackcurrant and some licorice. The palate is initially juicy and intense with tangy dark fruits and berries, a dash of spice and a dollop of vanilla oak. There are just enough super fine and approachable tannins to pull the finish into the savoury realm.

If you plan to drink up now, I suggest 2+ hours in a decanter, otherwise it should improve in the cellar over the medium term. A successful first release, there is something here for hunterists and non-hunterists alike. Since I don’t mind giving this lot a plug, you can buy the wine from the Boutique Wine Center, Boccaccio or North Sydney Cellars.

Score: 91/100
Price: $30
Closure: Diam
Alcohol: 13.5%
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes I will, $30 is a reasonable price for a low production, hand picked and unique wine.

Meerea Park have been through a (pardon the pun) purple patch recently, especially with their red wines. The 2003, 2004 and 2005 vintages were very good to exceptional and the 2006 vintage of “The Aunts” Shiraz is no exception. There is one big difference this year, your favorite Aunts now come dressed in a bright red frock.

A clean and modern hunter nose of cherry, dusty earth, aniseed and hints of clove and nutmeg. Medium bodied with a solid backbone of fine tannin, blackberry fruit, balancing acidity and a goodly dollop of spicy oak. Good length, needs time.

I suspect the score will increase somewhat as the wine ages, this particular bottle was enjoyed very soon after the wine was released a couple of months ago, however I was very slack in writing up the tasting note. As a little side note, we now have more bottles of The Aunts Shiraz in the cellar from various vintages than any other label.

Score: 91/100
Price: $26
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 13.5%
Other Opinions: Meerea Park
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, quickly becoming a mainstay in our cellar.

This new release Meerea Park Shiraz 2006 is a blend of 60% Hilltops and 40% Hunter Valley fruit and is their first stab at the “budget wine” market. It will not be available at the cellar door, however you should be able to find it quite easily at Dan Murphy’s etc.

Deep crimson with jammy aromas of blackberry, blueberry and clove, this medium bodied red shows dark fruit flavours of blackberry and cherry, grippy drying tannins and a dash of oak on the savoury finish. NB: The wine was very recently bottled when these notes were taken.

The verdict? I like it, good shiraz fruit at a snappy price. Alternate dippings between a case of this regional blend and Mount Pleasant Philip 05 would be enough to make any New South Welshman swell with pride at the top notch budget booze we have available this year.

Score: 90/100
Price: $15
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 14%
Other Opinions: Meerea Park, Winorama
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, great value for money

Philip is a staple around our house, many a bottle of the 2004 vintage was sacrificed last year in the ongoing war against the liver. No doubt the trend will continue with this shiny new release of Mount Pleasant Philip Shiraz 2005.

Ripe dark fruits dominate the nose, with raspberry, typical hunter earthy/leather aromas and a little alcoholic heat (that faded after an hour in a decanter). This medium bodied Shiraz exhibits intense blackberry and dark cherry flavours, backed up by spicy oak and fine tannin on the slightly earthy finish. Full flavoured with decent length, its regional, varietal and very gluggable.

Compared to previous vintages, this release is similar to 2003 and a small step above the more restrained 2004. Oh and don’t let the outdated bottle photo fool you, Philip is now sensibly sealed with screwcap.

Score: 90/100
Price: $14
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 14.5%
Other Opinions: So hot off the press not even a Google search can reveal one
Would I buy this wine again?
Yes, everyday drinking doesn’t get much better than this.

I have a confession to make, I don’t like Chardonnay. Perhaps it was the $10 over-oaked examples at backyard bbqs that made me turn my back, or maybe the flabby unoaked styles from warmer climates? At any rate I have finally found a Chardonnay I would actually spend money on! Surprise, surprise (or perhaps no surprise), it comes from Meerea Park in the form of the Alexander Munro Chardonnay 2007.

Lemon, nectarine and a hint of vanilla waft out of the glass, zesty citrus and tart stone fruit flavours are complemented nicely by well managed vanilla oak. Great balance between fruit sweetness, acidity and oak flavours on the persistent finish.

Although I really enjoyed it as a young wine, at $35 I guess you are missing the point if you don’t let it age for a while, those in the know recommend 5-8 years from vintage.

Score: 91/100
Price: $35
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 14%
Other Opinions: Meerea Park, Winorama, Winorama (Twice!)
Would I buy this wine?
Yes, will be interesting to see where it goes in 5+ years time.