DEGUSTATION FOR DIGNITY 2016 - THE WINE LINE-UP
Wineries support Degustation for Dignity by donating wine to be served at the event, and matched to donated dishes. Matthew Jukes tastes the wine and food, and matches courses for our guests in a tasting masterclass. We thank these donors for their generous support of our fundraising event.
Download Matthew Jukes' tasting notes of all the wines at Degustation for Dignity 2015 (189kb PDF, A4 printable). Perhaps this could be your guide for choosing wines to impress your Christmas guests. Please support the winemakers that support St Mary's House of Welcome.
You can click on the bottle shots below, and new tabs will open with the winemakers' websites, where you can either purchase the wines or find out more information if some wines are not yet released.
You can click on the bottle shots below, and new tabs will open with the winemakers' websites, where you can either purchase the wines or find out more information if some wines are not yet released.
Wine Notes - 23rd September 2016
By Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com
FIZZ
2014 Stonier, Vintage Chardonnay / Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Winemaker and huge supporter of SMHOW, Mike Symons, is a very accomplished winemaker and his talent with still wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is acknowledged and adored by the millions of people who have drunk his wines over the years. One thing that only thousands of people know though, is his amazing acumen for making sparkling wines. Taking fruit only from the cooler sites at Stonier and then ageing this blend of Chardonnay and Pinot for twenty months on its lees you are privileged to taste a wine which I consider to be one of the finest in the Southern Hemisphere. I taste hundreds of bottles of Champagne every year and few have the balance and vitality of this wine. It is made in tiny quantities and only costs thirty bucks from the cellar door. There is nothing to compete with this value. Make sure that you have a large glass this evening, because this is a wine that you need to remember for parties and celebrations.
2012 Chandon, Altius Upper Yarra Cuvée, Victoria
By contrast to the Stonier Sparkler, Chandon’s Altius is a very different beast indeed. Made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, harvested from vineyards situated at over 400m above sea level, this is a very pinched, dramatic and focused wine. It is a wine for serious bubble aficionados. It is so straight-jacketed that I might need to be laced into a corset to finish writing this note. Either way, this is the future. Pulpy, sweet Prosecco is a fad. Loose-knit, bicycle pump fizzies are drab and confected and entry level Champagne is a dire waste of money and heartburn. Altius heightens the senses, bring order to chaos and also delivers finesse and breeding in the most elegant form imaginable. Make sure that your canapés are suitably noble and you will feel a wave of unrivalled distinction wash over proceedings warning you that the only way from here is down!
2015 Delatite, High Ground Pinot Grigio, Victoria
Delatite’s wines benefit from their unique positioning, which is reinforced in the name of this wine – High Ground. Great wine, whether is it white or red, is based on great natural acidity and this fundamental element is found in grapes grown in cooler climates. The higher you go, the cooler and classier the conditions and so with only 12.5% alcohol on board, this PG is a sprightly, refreshing, magical number, with grape skin raspiness and soothing, dry, perky fruit. It is effortlessly refreshing and I can see myself drinking it at beer-speed on a hot day! There is no tropical or exotic nature here, just stripped down lemony, appley aromatics making it a wonderful connoisseurs’ aperitif.
WHITE
2016 Tellurian, Fiano, Heathcote, Victoria
Two worlds collide in this one wine. I love Fiano, but only when it is on good form. I love Tellurian’s wines, too, and I am very pleased that I see them fairly regularly as they are stalwart supporters of SMHOW. So when Michelle, great pal and this year’s event organiser, told me that Tellurian had submitted Pastiche (read on) and a Fiano (as opposed to their top Shiraz) I was excited and a little nervous. How would I find it? Would it work on the night? What would the gastro-fans think? Well, I can tell you that this is a fairly rich Fiano at 14% alcohol and it manages to deliver its trademark ‘near-tropical’ nose with aplomb. The palate is bold, decisive and it has enough intent to graduate to main course duties if you wish. Usually, Fiano loiters among the starters and fishy mains, but this is a wine with character and it further underlines that Heathcote is Australia’s vinicultural secret weapon. Well done Tellurian – I am impressed.
2016 Rutherglen Estates, Arneis, Rutherglen, Victoria
I confess to being somewhat of an Arneis fan and I seek them out every year when I spend a week in Piemonte researching Barolo and Barbaresco for my annual Report. Arneis is a quirky grape made in small quantities and it is the only other white wine of note (along with Gavi) from the great region of Piemonte. I am obsessed with its pineapple husk graininess on the palate and its honeysuckle and lemon balm nose. In 2016, Rutherglen Estates absolutely hits the bull’s eye with this wine. It is a spectacular facsimile of a great Arneis and this is simply because Marc Scalzo, winemaker at Rutherglen Estates is as obsessed with this variety as I am. Well done – this is a wine which deserves to amaze your fans.
2015 Coldstream Hills, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
This wine has long been a favourite of mine. It is remarkable how this superb site manages to make great wine year in year out. The drama found here is split into two distinct halves. I find a wonderful Premier Cru Chablis appeal on the nose and the first half of the wine when it switches, grows and blossoms in to a more southerly white Burgundy finish, like a Pouilly-Fuissé. My French wine comparisons only serve to suggest ‘shape’ and ‘depth’ – nothing else, because this wine has a well-defined identity of its own. Carefully matured for nine months in old and new French oak, this is as European in shape as any Yarra Chardonnay without become too purposefully skinny or drawn out. In short, it is sublime. This is epic winemaking and the finish, the mark of greatness, is requisite and minutes’ long.
2014 Katnook Estate, Chardonnay, Coonawarra, South Australia
There is a lot of red wine made in Coonawarra, so it’s rare to see a white and even rarer to find a tiptop one. Coming from a warmer vintage, this is a rich, exotic wine which is rewarded with 14 months spent in 80% French oak with some American oak in the mix, too. There are nutty, oily, lanolin moments here building the power and core of this wine and this is thrilling because it gives us another side of the great white grape Chardonnay. Fuller framed, with moments of gingerlily, brioche and lime curd this is a main course white which could even step up to pork or veal if you get out your finest Italian or Spanish cookbooks and concentrate on herbal pestos and salsas as an accompaniment!
2015 The Magnificent Journey of Mimi Flamingo in Search of Arcadia, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
The third Chardonnay in our Degustation 4 Dignity line-up builds on the foundations of the first two. With a fuller frame, more obvious oak and extraction and an even longer finish, this is a wine to be reckoned with. It is made by Dave Bicknell, at Oakridge, in collaboration with the Vinomofo Posse. It shows a degree of unhinged genius that only this amalgam can manage. The wine is glorious with bold stone fruit and mouth-watering carpentry locked in an eternal embrace. I have no idea what is going on on the label – the critical words are 2015 Yarra Chardonnay, the rest of the story could be written in Swahili, but I will seek out one of the beautiful young things who work at Mofo and they can recount Mimi’s Journey while pouring me large glasses of this wine and feeding me just-so-spiced chicken wings. Now that’s what I call heaven!
2015 Delatite Estate, Riesling, Mansfield, Victoria
Delatite’s Riesling is not your normal Rizza. It isn’t even close because where most wines wear layers of fruity make-up, this wine is unadorned. It is pure, skinsy, green-apple-scented and virtually naked, save for a carefully placed bunch of grapes over its nethers. I love this stripped back, cool climate style which shuns slutty fruit and overt cocktail nastiness. There is no oiliness here, either. This is the gym bunny of the Riesling world, with taut buns and only the merest hint of shimmer in its gait. Drink it with fit food, like sashimi and stuff I have no idea about! Ask Donna Hay or Bill Whatsisname.
ROSÉ
2016 La Bohème, Act Two Pinot Noir Rosé, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Celebrating Dame Nellie Melba’s wondrous squawking and her tear-jerking performances of Mimi in La Bohème, this stunningly decorous wine is a rare example of a Pinot Rosé that actually works. With a tidy 12.7% alcohol on board this is a wine on its tip toes and this makes it skip across the palate rather than stagger, which is a relief. The nose is alluring with faint strawberry and red cherry tones and the palate is sleek and lissom. With just enough weight, this wine tightropes between serious starters and lighter main courses and this is very good news indeed. It lends itself to mezze, sharing, Indian food and Thai – anything where you can dip in and out of a multitude of flavours. I say this because La Bohème has white wine freshness balanced by light red wine structure. Clever, useful and, when you get it right like this wine has done, irresistible.
RED
2015 Circe, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
There is nothing more needed here than a direct quote from my 100 Best Australian Wines 2016/17 Report which features this mind-blowing wine - ‘Circe’s wines come from the scholarly academy of winemaking. These are fastidious, labour-intensive creations made with no care for man-hours and according pain. They are veritable labours of love and this is plain to smell when you lower your proboscis into the glass. This carmine-hued Mornington Pinot has stunning sheen and arresting promiscuity at the same time as being elemental while wearing its stems on its sleeve. Youthful and crammed with cherry-stone fruit this flavour plays good-cop-bad-cop with your senses, taking turns to flatter and then sock you hard in the chops. Animated, pulsating and challenging, I expect the sommelier fraternity to fight to the death for allocations. In the meantime, owner/winemakers Aaron Drummond at Craggy Range and Dan Buckle at Domaine Chandon will head back to their day jobs oblivious of the street brawl they leave behind them as we all tear strips off each other in pursuit of these rare bottles.
2014 Ten Minutes by Tractor, Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
TMbT wines are so well regarded all over the world that I hope that all of you D4D disciples realise that you have a superstar on your doorstep! The trademark, exuberant Pinot scent leaps out of the glass and if it is at all possible to smell glossiness then this wine is a benchmark example. Weighing in at a discreet 13.6% alcohol, this is not a heavy wine but it certainly is an intense one. The fruit spends 15 months in new and old French oak barrels and this seasons the sumptuous cherry fruit to perfection. The spice and herb notes are thrilling and these permeate the senses while the fruit notes seep into your consciousness. Mornington has a squadron of awesome wineries these days but there is no doubt that this is one of the leaders. Bear in mind that this is the Estate Pinot and there are even a few more rungs on the ladder above this wine and your mind is allowed to boggle away because, and I am being brutally serious, mine is, too! I am eternally impressed with TMbTs entire portfolio and I find myself opening these bottles with alarming regularity.
2015 Ocean Eight, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
I opened a bottle of Ocean Eight Pinot Noir the other day and my pal pointed out that it was a little hazy. Yes, I expounded – it’s not filtered. This is a mark of a confident winemaker and a wine that hasn’t had any of its elemental power or ethereal fragrance ripped away from its grasp is always going to be a superior elixir. Ocean Eight Pinot is always a paler colour than most so perhaps this is more evident, but you can only leave a wine unfiltered if the fruit is epically well made. 2015 is a case in point – this is a spectacular Pinot, world class in every way, and I cannot wait to show it to my pals in the UK, because it will destroy unwitting red Burgundies who stand in its path. There is a wild nature to the nose which gives us a daring, devil-may-care angle which I rather admire. If this wine were a person I expect there would be a touch of roguishness in his character. Under the genteel demeanour a rascal lurks and is very exciting indeed. Take a sip, you will see what I mean. At once composed and serene and then cheeky, rakish and swash-buckling. This wine is very good fun indeed.
2013 Kooyong, Single Vineyard Ferrous Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Kooyong’s wines are all marked by serenity and calm. They have always possessed these qualities and this is thanks to their special terroir and also their exquisite confidence in their amazing raw materials. Ferrous is always my favourite of the single vineyard Pinots and in 2013 is a masterful creation. Long, lithe, all-enveloping and immensely satisfying – it is the epitome of the Pinot Noir grape variety while never overstepping the mark as so many Kiwi, Californian and South African versions tend to do. Even Burgundy is guilty of pushing their grapes hard to perform, while Kooyong’s impressive portfolio seems effortless, centred and composed. While Ferrous looks stunning now, this is also a wine which will evolve over another five years, so don’t rush to finish your hoard because there is more evolution to come.
2014 Pizzini, La Volpe Nebbiolo, King Valley, Victoria
La Volpe, or The Fox, was Roberto Pizzini’s stealthy nemesis. He knew that The Fox was always watching his peacock, Peaky, so he had to stay smarter than La Volpe to avoid any ‘mishaps’! Pizzini’s Nebbiolo also manages to stay smarter than most by avoiding the sour tannins which are so often found in this variety while concentrating on its gamey aromatics and tender texture. Great Nebbiolo is never ‘heavy’, preferring to lengthen the palate and deliver a long, consistent sour cherry assault on your senses. La Volpe does this in style and while the tell-tale acidity is there, you will know that this is just a warning to open it with great food only. Pop back the wine and concentrate solely on the nose and you will find faint leather and truffle notes – another illusive trait in Nebbiolo made outside of Piemonte. Complimenti Pizzini.
2015 Utopies, Shiraz, Grampians, Victoria
Utopies is a collaboration between Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond’s Circe and Nowhere Creek. Dan, erstwhile winemaker of Mount Langi Ghiran in Mount Ararat in the Grampians, used the fruit from Nowhere Creek for his top wines. Years later, Dan is living his dream to use the same exceptional grapes to build Utopies. The name alone plays on the Greek ‘ou’ meaning ‘not’ and ‘topos’ meaning ‘place’ and this plays on the ideas of both nowhere and also paradise. At 13.5% alcohol this is a sensitively balanced Shiraz and it need a lot of swirling in the glass to release is cornucopia of flavours and scents. At only one-year-old, this is clearly vinous infanticide, given that this wine has a decade to run, but we are extremely privileged to pour this wine this evening and this is thanks to Dan and Aaron’s immense generosity and also their support for SMHOW! So, with a recipe that only an unhinged winemaker would employ – whole bunches, foot-stomped, large oak, no filtering or fining, this is already one of the most passionate and most inspirational wines of the year and you should sing about it from the rafters.
2010 Brash Higgins, Omensetter Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Did Vikings drink wine? If they did then they must have had access to Omensetter. This wine is a vinous Viking – massive, hairy, powerful, unnerving, loyal, impressive and heroic. Coming from the staggeringly serious 2010 vintage and made from my favourite Aussie blend of 85% Shiraz and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is one of Australia’s most uniquely arresting wines. It tips the scales at 15% alcohol and only 2 puncheons were made but this does not taste like a musclebound beast, but more like a nimble, mixed-martial arts warrior. The tannins are refreshing, the fruit is deep and bloody, but it is not oily or dense. The nose is loaded with a warehouse full of spice and yet is it epically balanced. Brad Hickey has modelled this wine in his own image – big and powerful and yet cultured and engaging, too, and it is a mightily impressive success.
2014 Seppelt, Chalambar Shiraz, Grampians & Heathcote, Victoria
This wine is what I call and ‘inside out wine’! It wears its minerality and earth on its exterior and its fruit in its core. This means that it is the opposite of all of the commercial fruit bombs which crowd the shelves. Created in 1953, Chalambar blends fruit from two of Victoria’s most mineral-soaked regions so it is not surprising that this is the case. This is a wine for people who like detail and provenance as opposed to those who are satiated by superficial appeal. Chalambar forces you to look inside the wine to learn its secrets and, when you swirl the glass around and unlock the enigma, you are rewarded with a fascinating flavour of leather, wild herbs, mulberries and pepper. This is a delicious, demure red wine. A wine of a bygone era which we all should learn to love again. Our love affair starts today.
2014 Tellurian, Pastiche Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria
Tellurian’s Pastiche is not your normal Shiraz. It is red fruited, juicy, genial, welcoming and engaging and this is rather wonderful and a little surprising. Normally, Heathcote Shiraz is stern and backward, particularly those which spend 10 months in French oak, but the fruit is so juicy and succulent here that this wine is ready to go already and it looks splendid. Dip your hooter in and inhale mulberry and black cherry fruit, spiked with moments of cracked pepper and then wait for the mellow tannins to flood in and this ‘permission to continue’ moment will be sure to spread a smile across your face!
2014 Rutherglen Estates, Single Vineyard Durif, Rutherglen, Victoria
I have been a huge fan of this wine for some years now and as every year passes, the Durif grape seems to be mellowing and polishing its delivery in their hands. In 2014 the nose is deep, dark, profound and thrilling, loaded with black cherry, espresso, high-cocoa-chocolate and juicy black liquorice notes and the tannins are, wait for it, under control! If you flip the wine over you will see that it is a pulse-racing 15.2% alcohol, but this is not easy to sense because the balance is near perfect. Rutherglen is coming of age – I have been predicting this for the last year or two, and wineries like Rutherglen Estates are at the vanguard. Drink this with char-grilled cuisine, game and beef cheeks and you will be amazed at its delicacy and detail. Decant it for maximum pleasure and you will find that Durif is uniquely appealing, particularly if you like bigger reds. I venture that Durif will come back into fashion as an after dinner drink – stepping on the toes of Port and spirits because it is the ultimate mellower after an indulgent feast.
SWEET
2014 Brown Brothers, John G. Brown Explorer Series, Orange Muscat & Flora, Victoria
I am in danger of becoming boring when I talk about this wine. This year is my 30th in the wine business and I have sold, bought or written about (or all three) this wine in every single one of these years. It was the only wine that appeared in every single one of my annual guide books in the UK. It has appeared in my Daily Mail column every single year for the last 17. Thank you John Graham Brown for experimenting with all manner of grapes in your so-called Kindergarten vineyard. Your natural curiosity has given the world not only the finest sweetie to go with chocolate puddings, but also a wine that it not too cloying and not too tooth-rottingly sweet but a wine with amazing freshness and incredible perfume and an astounding level of sophistications. It is also a veritable bargain. I am so jealous that you can buy full (75cl) bottles in Australia, too, because we can only get tiddly half bots in the UK. Lucky you.
By Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com
FIZZ
2014 Stonier, Vintage Chardonnay / Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Winemaker and huge supporter of SMHOW, Mike Symons, is a very accomplished winemaker and his talent with still wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is acknowledged and adored by the millions of people who have drunk his wines over the years. One thing that only thousands of people know though, is his amazing acumen for making sparkling wines. Taking fruit only from the cooler sites at Stonier and then ageing this blend of Chardonnay and Pinot for twenty months on its lees you are privileged to taste a wine which I consider to be one of the finest in the Southern Hemisphere. I taste hundreds of bottles of Champagne every year and few have the balance and vitality of this wine. It is made in tiny quantities and only costs thirty bucks from the cellar door. There is nothing to compete with this value. Make sure that you have a large glass this evening, because this is a wine that you need to remember for parties and celebrations.
2012 Chandon, Altius Upper Yarra Cuvée, Victoria
By contrast to the Stonier Sparkler, Chandon’s Altius is a very different beast indeed. Made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, harvested from vineyards situated at over 400m above sea level, this is a very pinched, dramatic and focused wine. It is a wine for serious bubble aficionados. It is so straight-jacketed that I might need to be laced into a corset to finish writing this note. Either way, this is the future. Pulpy, sweet Prosecco is a fad. Loose-knit, bicycle pump fizzies are drab and confected and entry level Champagne is a dire waste of money and heartburn. Altius heightens the senses, bring order to chaos and also delivers finesse and breeding in the most elegant form imaginable. Make sure that your canapés are suitably noble and you will feel a wave of unrivalled distinction wash over proceedings warning you that the only way from here is down!
2015 Delatite, High Ground Pinot Grigio, Victoria
Delatite’s wines benefit from their unique positioning, which is reinforced in the name of this wine – High Ground. Great wine, whether is it white or red, is based on great natural acidity and this fundamental element is found in grapes grown in cooler climates. The higher you go, the cooler and classier the conditions and so with only 12.5% alcohol on board, this PG is a sprightly, refreshing, magical number, with grape skin raspiness and soothing, dry, perky fruit. It is effortlessly refreshing and I can see myself drinking it at beer-speed on a hot day! There is no tropical or exotic nature here, just stripped down lemony, appley aromatics making it a wonderful connoisseurs’ aperitif.
WHITE
2016 Tellurian, Fiano, Heathcote, Victoria
Two worlds collide in this one wine. I love Fiano, but only when it is on good form. I love Tellurian’s wines, too, and I am very pleased that I see them fairly regularly as they are stalwart supporters of SMHOW. So when Michelle, great pal and this year’s event organiser, told me that Tellurian had submitted Pastiche (read on) and a Fiano (as opposed to their top Shiraz) I was excited and a little nervous. How would I find it? Would it work on the night? What would the gastro-fans think? Well, I can tell you that this is a fairly rich Fiano at 14% alcohol and it manages to deliver its trademark ‘near-tropical’ nose with aplomb. The palate is bold, decisive and it has enough intent to graduate to main course duties if you wish. Usually, Fiano loiters among the starters and fishy mains, but this is a wine with character and it further underlines that Heathcote is Australia’s vinicultural secret weapon. Well done Tellurian – I am impressed.
2016 Rutherglen Estates, Arneis, Rutherglen, Victoria
I confess to being somewhat of an Arneis fan and I seek them out every year when I spend a week in Piemonte researching Barolo and Barbaresco for my annual Report. Arneis is a quirky grape made in small quantities and it is the only other white wine of note (along with Gavi) from the great region of Piemonte. I am obsessed with its pineapple husk graininess on the palate and its honeysuckle and lemon balm nose. In 2016, Rutherglen Estates absolutely hits the bull’s eye with this wine. It is a spectacular facsimile of a great Arneis and this is simply because Marc Scalzo, winemaker at Rutherglen Estates is as obsessed with this variety as I am. Well done – this is a wine which deserves to amaze your fans.
2015 Coldstream Hills, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
This wine has long been a favourite of mine. It is remarkable how this superb site manages to make great wine year in year out. The drama found here is split into two distinct halves. I find a wonderful Premier Cru Chablis appeal on the nose and the first half of the wine when it switches, grows and blossoms in to a more southerly white Burgundy finish, like a Pouilly-Fuissé. My French wine comparisons only serve to suggest ‘shape’ and ‘depth’ – nothing else, because this wine has a well-defined identity of its own. Carefully matured for nine months in old and new French oak, this is as European in shape as any Yarra Chardonnay without become too purposefully skinny or drawn out. In short, it is sublime. This is epic winemaking and the finish, the mark of greatness, is requisite and minutes’ long.
2014 Katnook Estate, Chardonnay, Coonawarra, South Australia
There is a lot of red wine made in Coonawarra, so it’s rare to see a white and even rarer to find a tiptop one. Coming from a warmer vintage, this is a rich, exotic wine which is rewarded with 14 months spent in 80% French oak with some American oak in the mix, too. There are nutty, oily, lanolin moments here building the power and core of this wine and this is thrilling because it gives us another side of the great white grape Chardonnay. Fuller framed, with moments of gingerlily, brioche and lime curd this is a main course white which could even step up to pork or veal if you get out your finest Italian or Spanish cookbooks and concentrate on herbal pestos and salsas as an accompaniment!
2015 The Magnificent Journey of Mimi Flamingo in Search of Arcadia, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
The third Chardonnay in our Degustation 4 Dignity line-up builds on the foundations of the first two. With a fuller frame, more obvious oak and extraction and an even longer finish, this is a wine to be reckoned with. It is made by Dave Bicknell, at Oakridge, in collaboration with the Vinomofo Posse. It shows a degree of unhinged genius that only this amalgam can manage. The wine is glorious with bold stone fruit and mouth-watering carpentry locked in an eternal embrace. I have no idea what is going on on the label – the critical words are 2015 Yarra Chardonnay, the rest of the story could be written in Swahili, but I will seek out one of the beautiful young things who work at Mofo and they can recount Mimi’s Journey while pouring me large glasses of this wine and feeding me just-so-spiced chicken wings. Now that’s what I call heaven!
2015 Delatite Estate, Riesling, Mansfield, Victoria
Delatite’s Riesling is not your normal Rizza. It isn’t even close because where most wines wear layers of fruity make-up, this wine is unadorned. It is pure, skinsy, green-apple-scented and virtually naked, save for a carefully placed bunch of grapes over its nethers. I love this stripped back, cool climate style which shuns slutty fruit and overt cocktail nastiness. There is no oiliness here, either. This is the gym bunny of the Riesling world, with taut buns and only the merest hint of shimmer in its gait. Drink it with fit food, like sashimi and stuff I have no idea about! Ask Donna Hay or Bill Whatsisname.
ROSÉ
2016 La Bohème, Act Two Pinot Noir Rosé, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Celebrating Dame Nellie Melba’s wondrous squawking and her tear-jerking performances of Mimi in La Bohème, this stunningly decorous wine is a rare example of a Pinot Rosé that actually works. With a tidy 12.7% alcohol on board this is a wine on its tip toes and this makes it skip across the palate rather than stagger, which is a relief. The nose is alluring with faint strawberry and red cherry tones and the palate is sleek and lissom. With just enough weight, this wine tightropes between serious starters and lighter main courses and this is very good news indeed. It lends itself to mezze, sharing, Indian food and Thai – anything where you can dip in and out of a multitude of flavours. I say this because La Bohème has white wine freshness balanced by light red wine structure. Clever, useful and, when you get it right like this wine has done, irresistible.
RED
2015 Circe, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
There is nothing more needed here than a direct quote from my 100 Best Australian Wines 2016/17 Report which features this mind-blowing wine - ‘Circe’s wines come from the scholarly academy of winemaking. These are fastidious, labour-intensive creations made with no care for man-hours and according pain. They are veritable labours of love and this is plain to smell when you lower your proboscis into the glass. This carmine-hued Mornington Pinot has stunning sheen and arresting promiscuity at the same time as being elemental while wearing its stems on its sleeve. Youthful and crammed with cherry-stone fruit this flavour plays good-cop-bad-cop with your senses, taking turns to flatter and then sock you hard in the chops. Animated, pulsating and challenging, I expect the sommelier fraternity to fight to the death for allocations. In the meantime, owner/winemakers Aaron Drummond at Craggy Range and Dan Buckle at Domaine Chandon will head back to their day jobs oblivious of the street brawl they leave behind them as we all tear strips off each other in pursuit of these rare bottles.
2014 Ten Minutes by Tractor, Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
TMbT wines are so well regarded all over the world that I hope that all of you D4D disciples realise that you have a superstar on your doorstep! The trademark, exuberant Pinot scent leaps out of the glass and if it is at all possible to smell glossiness then this wine is a benchmark example. Weighing in at a discreet 13.6% alcohol, this is not a heavy wine but it certainly is an intense one. The fruit spends 15 months in new and old French oak barrels and this seasons the sumptuous cherry fruit to perfection. The spice and herb notes are thrilling and these permeate the senses while the fruit notes seep into your consciousness. Mornington has a squadron of awesome wineries these days but there is no doubt that this is one of the leaders. Bear in mind that this is the Estate Pinot and there are even a few more rungs on the ladder above this wine and your mind is allowed to boggle away because, and I am being brutally serious, mine is, too! I am eternally impressed with TMbTs entire portfolio and I find myself opening these bottles with alarming regularity.
2015 Ocean Eight, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
I opened a bottle of Ocean Eight Pinot Noir the other day and my pal pointed out that it was a little hazy. Yes, I expounded – it’s not filtered. This is a mark of a confident winemaker and a wine that hasn’t had any of its elemental power or ethereal fragrance ripped away from its grasp is always going to be a superior elixir. Ocean Eight Pinot is always a paler colour than most so perhaps this is more evident, but you can only leave a wine unfiltered if the fruit is epically well made. 2015 is a case in point – this is a spectacular Pinot, world class in every way, and I cannot wait to show it to my pals in the UK, because it will destroy unwitting red Burgundies who stand in its path. There is a wild nature to the nose which gives us a daring, devil-may-care angle which I rather admire. If this wine were a person I expect there would be a touch of roguishness in his character. Under the genteel demeanour a rascal lurks and is very exciting indeed. Take a sip, you will see what I mean. At once composed and serene and then cheeky, rakish and swash-buckling. This wine is very good fun indeed.
2013 Kooyong, Single Vineyard Ferrous Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Kooyong’s wines are all marked by serenity and calm. They have always possessed these qualities and this is thanks to their special terroir and also their exquisite confidence in their amazing raw materials. Ferrous is always my favourite of the single vineyard Pinots and in 2013 is a masterful creation. Long, lithe, all-enveloping and immensely satisfying – it is the epitome of the Pinot Noir grape variety while never overstepping the mark as so many Kiwi, Californian and South African versions tend to do. Even Burgundy is guilty of pushing their grapes hard to perform, while Kooyong’s impressive portfolio seems effortless, centred and composed. While Ferrous looks stunning now, this is also a wine which will evolve over another five years, so don’t rush to finish your hoard because there is more evolution to come.
2014 Pizzini, La Volpe Nebbiolo, King Valley, Victoria
La Volpe, or The Fox, was Roberto Pizzini’s stealthy nemesis. He knew that The Fox was always watching his peacock, Peaky, so he had to stay smarter than La Volpe to avoid any ‘mishaps’! Pizzini’s Nebbiolo also manages to stay smarter than most by avoiding the sour tannins which are so often found in this variety while concentrating on its gamey aromatics and tender texture. Great Nebbiolo is never ‘heavy’, preferring to lengthen the palate and deliver a long, consistent sour cherry assault on your senses. La Volpe does this in style and while the tell-tale acidity is there, you will know that this is just a warning to open it with great food only. Pop back the wine and concentrate solely on the nose and you will find faint leather and truffle notes – another illusive trait in Nebbiolo made outside of Piemonte. Complimenti Pizzini.
2015 Utopies, Shiraz, Grampians, Victoria
Utopies is a collaboration between Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond’s Circe and Nowhere Creek. Dan, erstwhile winemaker of Mount Langi Ghiran in Mount Ararat in the Grampians, used the fruit from Nowhere Creek for his top wines. Years later, Dan is living his dream to use the same exceptional grapes to build Utopies. The name alone plays on the Greek ‘ou’ meaning ‘not’ and ‘topos’ meaning ‘place’ and this plays on the ideas of both nowhere and also paradise. At 13.5% alcohol this is a sensitively balanced Shiraz and it need a lot of swirling in the glass to release is cornucopia of flavours and scents. At only one-year-old, this is clearly vinous infanticide, given that this wine has a decade to run, but we are extremely privileged to pour this wine this evening and this is thanks to Dan and Aaron’s immense generosity and also their support for SMHOW! So, with a recipe that only an unhinged winemaker would employ – whole bunches, foot-stomped, large oak, no filtering or fining, this is already one of the most passionate and most inspirational wines of the year and you should sing about it from the rafters.
2010 Brash Higgins, Omensetter Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Did Vikings drink wine? If they did then they must have had access to Omensetter. This wine is a vinous Viking – massive, hairy, powerful, unnerving, loyal, impressive and heroic. Coming from the staggeringly serious 2010 vintage and made from my favourite Aussie blend of 85% Shiraz and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is one of Australia’s most uniquely arresting wines. It tips the scales at 15% alcohol and only 2 puncheons were made but this does not taste like a musclebound beast, but more like a nimble, mixed-martial arts warrior. The tannins are refreshing, the fruit is deep and bloody, but it is not oily or dense. The nose is loaded with a warehouse full of spice and yet is it epically balanced. Brad Hickey has modelled this wine in his own image – big and powerful and yet cultured and engaging, too, and it is a mightily impressive success.
2014 Seppelt, Chalambar Shiraz, Grampians & Heathcote, Victoria
This wine is what I call and ‘inside out wine’! It wears its minerality and earth on its exterior and its fruit in its core. This means that it is the opposite of all of the commercial fruit bombs which crowd the shelves. Created in 1953, Chalambar blends fruit from two of Victoria’s most mineral-soaked regions so it is not surprising that this is the case. This is a wine for people who like detail and provenance as opposed to those who are satiated by superficial appeal. Chalambar forces you to look inside the wine to learn its secrets and, when you swirl the glass around and unlock the enigma, you are rewarded with a fascinating flavour of leather, wild herbs, mulberries and pepper. This is a delicious, demure red wine. A wine of a bygone era which we all should learn to love again. Our love affair starts today.
2014 Tellurian, Pastiche Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria
Tellurian’s Pastiche is not your normal Shiraz. It is red fruited, juicy, genial, welcoming and engaging and this is rather wonderful and a little surprising. Normally, Heathcote Shiraz is stern and backward, particularly those which spend 10 months in French oak, but the fruit is so juicy and succulent here that this wine is ready to go already and it looks splendid. Dip your hooter in and inhale mulberry and black cherry fruit, spiked with moments of cracked pepper and then wait for the mellow tannins to flood in and this ‘permission to continue’ moment will be sure to spread a smile across your face!
2014 Rutherglen Estates, Single Vineyard Durif, Rutherglen, Victoria
I have been a huge fan of this wine for some years now and as every year passes, the Durif grape seems to be mellowing and polishing its delivery in their hands. In 2014 the nose is deep, dark, profound and thrilling, loaded with black cherry, espresso, high-cocoa-chocolate and juicy black liquorice notes and the tannins are, wait for it, under control! If you flip the wine over you will see that it is a pulse-racing 15.2% alcohol, but this is not easy to sense because the balance is near perfect. Rutherglen is coming of age – I have been predicting this for the last year or two, and wineries like Rutherglen Estates are at the vanguard. Drink this with char-grilled cuisine, game and beef cheeks and you will be amazed at its delicacy and detail. Decant it for maximum pleasure and you will find that Durif is uniquely appealing, particularly if you like bigger reds. I venture that Durif will come back into fashion as an after dinner drink – stepping on the toes of Port and spirits because it is the ultimate mellower after an indulgent feast.
SWEET
2014 Brown Brothers, John G. Brown Explorer Series, Orange Muscat & Flora, Victoria
I am in danger of becoming boring when I talk about this wine. This year is my 30th in the wine business and I have sold, bought or written about (or all three) this wine in every single one of these years. It was the only wine that appeared in every single one of my annual guide books in the UK. It has appeared in my Daily Mail column every single year for the last 17. Thank you John Graham Brown for experimenting with all manner of grapes in your so-called Kindergarten vineyard. Your natural curiosity has given the world not only the finest sweetie to go with chocolate puddings, but also a wine that it not too cloying and not too tooth-rottingly sweet but a wine with amazing freshness and incredible perfume and an astounding level of sophistications. It is also a veritable bargain. I am so jealous that you can buy full (75cl) bottles in Australia, too, because we can only get tiddly half bots in the UK. Lucky you.
Reviews by Matthew Jukes. Friday 2nd October 2015.
Whites
2011 Blue Pyrenees, Sparkling Vintage Brut, Pyrenees, Western Victoria
Using all three Champagne varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, this vintage creation is a ripe, creamy, momentarily tropical-scented wine with a really juicy core and a lush, long finish. Drink it ice cold wearing little more than trunks or a bikini (not both
please) and you will be transported to dream-boat desert island holiday mode in just one sip!
2010 Brown Brothers, Patricia Chardonnay, Victoria
This is one of the most impactful and memorable wines ever included in a Wine Rules event. The Patricia label is an important one at Brown Brothers because it denotes the top of the tree creations at this world famous winery. 2010 Patricia Chardonnay is a towering wine which still looks youthful and tense at five years of age. This alone is impressive. That the flavours are so complex and well integrated into the stunning oak barrel nuances is yet another testament to the skill of production and quality of raw materials used by this terrific family unit. This is benchmark, cool climate Aussie Chardonnay and you must find a way to taste this wine at your earliest opportunity, rewarding it with a perfectly roasted chicken or top flight main course fish dish.
2012 Chandon, Sparkling Blanc de Blancs
It never ceases to amaze me just how strict, straight-jacketed, pristine this wine is. Made from 100% Chardonnay and kept linear and focused during its growing and making, Chandon’s vintage BdeB is a tight, citrusy, elegant sparkler with noble pretensions and more
than its fair share of distinction. I raise my glass (obviously not just one!) to Dan Buckle and his team - if only Blanc de Blanc Champagnes could be this reliable, impressive and delicious.
2015 Delatite, Pinot Gris, Mansfield, Victoria
Delatite’s PG tread the boards between a Grigio and a Gris style. What this means is that on the one hand it is perky and refreshing (like a Grigio) and on the other it is fairly rich and textural (like a Gris). These two names obviously refer to the same grape variety, but they
imply ‘style’ and so if you are drinking this wine you can expect a crunchy, apple-skin themed flavour but with more depth than expected! This is great news because this shape of wine is ideally suited to Japanese food and spicier Vietnamese and Thai dishes – so now you can navigate through these cuisines with confidence!
2014 Delatite, Riesling, Mansfield, Victoria
Australia specialises in genuinely dry Rieslings and across the nation you make an enviable array of versions. This fascinating version focuses on delicately lemon-scented fruit and a long, lithe, powdery body which reminds us of the minerality of the terroir in the Delatite
vineyards. For this reason it is not an oily, Germanic wine but a modern, lifted, piercingly clean style suited to keen aperitif drinking, oysters and shellfish. At the top of its game, now that the racy acidity has softened a touch, this is a bright, engaging wine.
2015 La Bohème by De Bortoli, Act Three Pinot Gris and Friends, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Act Three is a very considered wine. On the face of it, the deco label and PG and Friends title might make you think that this is a relaxed, convivial diva but it is much more than that. With determined drive on the palate and a full, dry palate, this is a floral, mildly exotic wine
with a touch of sweetness balancing the raucous acidity. It’s rare to find a wine that is both steely and silky! See how it charms the smoked salmon while at the same time keeping the creamy wasabi, with its hidden kick, in its place. Genius!
2014 Rutherglen Estates, Renaissance Viognier Roussanne Marsanne, Rutherglen, Victoria
A few years ago, we at Wine Rules were treated to a fully mature version of this tri-varietal white blend and it was intense, perfumed, oily and imposing. This year we have the same wine, but in youthful form and it is a thriller. VR&M are natural bed-fellows (three’s not a
crowd here) and their complementary scents, flavours and finishes serve to enhance each other magically. I have no doubt that this is Rutherglen Estates’ finest vintage of this lusty white to date. Flashes of nutmeg and ginger overlay great power coupled with respectful
restraint. Granted there are expressive apricot and peach blossom notes straining to be unleashed but for now they are under control and behaving perfectly. This is a truly amazing main course white wine.
2012 Stonier, Reserve Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
2012 was a fantastic vintage in Mornington and winemaker Mike Symons used these favourable conditions to extract every single ounce of elegance and beauty from his vineyards and then he poured it all into this wine. When I tasted ’12 Reserve Chard, with the Degustation for Dignity team in attendance, the room was collectively struck dumb – it is the sheer finesse and completeness of flavour which is arresting. I absolutely love the awesome freshness balanced with the incredible depth of meadow blossom fruit and latent
power. Classy, mouthfilling and with beguiling density, this is one of the finest wines I have tasted this year and it has a long life ahead of it.
2014 Tamar Ridge, Sauvignon Blanc, Tasmania
There is no doubt that Tamar Ridge is one of Australia’s most elite wineries. A long-serving trailblazer for Tassie’s pinsharp climate and maverick winemaking this wine takes Sauvignon to a new level and it also tackles Marlborough head on. Australians take note. There is no need to drink fruit cocktail Kiwi Savvy any more with this baby on your shelves. It appears that I have matched a Tasmanian oyster with cucumber gel and finger lime to this wine, but in reality it matched itself. Look out for cleansing cucumber and racy lime on the nose and palate of this wicked wine. With perfect freshness, a long, smooth palate, surprising intensity this is a winner.
2013 Tamar Ridge, Reserve Botrytis Riesling, Tasmania
There is no mystery as to why this wine is so phenomenally delicious. Tamar Ridge knows
exactly how to make sweeties having done this for aeons and the results don’t shy away in
the glass but leap gazelle-like up your hooter rewarding you with stunning, quince and
greengage freshness overlaying and lemon meringue palate. Magical, mesmerising and
mouth-watering – who could ask for more?
Reds
2014 Brash Higgins, NDV, Nero d’Avola Amphora Project, McLaren Vale, South Australia
I have no idea how Brad Hickey manages to augment the flavour of this daring and pioneering red wine year on year. Unless you are a genuine Nero d’Avola aficionado you will not be able to understand just how shockingly good this wine is. Nero is a swaggering, unruly, Southern Italian red grape famous for making head-banging, espresso-scented wine with little charm but maximum impact. Brad’s version is indeed explosive on the nose, loaded with dark berries, plums and liquorice, but the palate is honed, masterful and
elegant. I love the powdering tannins and heroic length of flavour, too. This is an essential wine in every serious red wine lover’s cellar because it shows you a fruit character and delivery never seen before.
2014 Circe, Single Vineyard Shiraz, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
With the use of 40% whole bunch fruit (involving stems as well as grapes) this wine is way beyond most mortals’ true comprehension of aromatic complexity and cosmic grace and yet anyone remotely interested in epic red wine will drop to their knees when they sniff a glass of this stunner such is its astounding beauty. I will go so far as to say that it will encourage you to reassess just how amazing your very own olfactory system is and then it might inspire you to use it more often! Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond have taken their bunches of Shiraz grapes and treated them like a rare and wondrous gemstones. Polished, set perfectly and with no gaudiness or showiness in sight, this is one of the most complete Shiraz I have ever seen out of Australia. It is both delicate and malevolent. I cannot say any more because I have to go and lie down in a darkened room.
2010 Delatite Estate, Tempranillo, Mansfield, Victoria
Food and wine-matching is not an exact art – it is a passionate, evocative, sensual pursuit perfected by few but attempted by all. When I tasted this wine in the company of a wine blogger, a sommelier and a talented chef we all came to the same conclusion in a blink of an
eye – we must use this wine at Degustation for Dignity and we would therefore have to ‘create’ the perfect dish to show its attributes off to a tee. The guests at our wonderful event will determine if we are right! With plush, ripe, smooth, redcurrant and plum notes, and no trace of oak or the medicinal tang so often associated with Spanish Rioja (the world’s most famous wine made from the same grape Tempranillo) this is a fully mature, honest Victorian ‘Temp’ which highlights Delatite’s talents and ambition.
2014 Deus ex Liquida, Grenache / Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia
God, emerging from this heavenly liquid. Now there’s an image. What has God been wallowing in? Obviously His palate is acute and all-powerful and what we didn’t know is that He is also partial to amazingly ostentatious McLaren Vale reds. With hilarious intensity and a shimmeringly beautiful chassis, this Grenache-based potion really does make you believe faithfully in a higher power! McLaren Vale is home to some of the finest Grenache vines in the world (and yes the Southern Rhône is included in this sweeping statement). Deus ex Liquida augments its heady, cigarbox and mulberry scent with dark, swarthy, stormcloud-laden Shiraz. The results are Biblical – think thunderbolts raining down on your palate and you are halfway there!
2012 Fowles Wine, Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz, Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria
Once they have shot their lunch I do hope that these ladies manage to fashion it into seriously high quality meat pies because this is what I want right now to combine with this classic, raspberry and lavender-scented Shiraz. Pungent, full, dark and swarthy, but with the
most amazing humidor and wild herb scent, this is a gastronomes delight such is the broad repertoire of pies (joke!) that this wine would adore. On a more serious note I cannot think of a finer dish than roast lamb with anchovies and rosemary to seduce this wine – but I do
not want to hear of any ladies opening fire on unsuspecting sheep, so I suggest they take a day off and allow us men to take care of the cooking.
2013 Katnook, Founders Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia
Katnook will not mind me mentioning the fact that Founders Block is not one of the more expensive wines in their portfolio. I rarely talk about price when explaining my thoughts behind wines because I feel that it is more about the flavour, how a wine makes you feel
and what you should do with it! However, I have made an exception here because the epic balance and freshness in this bright Coonawarra Cab nothing short of captivating and it is done with so much value and style I am truly astonished. Class and refinement combined with a stunning price tag is a very rare commodity.
2013 Ocean Eight, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Mike, Mike, Mike – how do you do it? Mr. Aylward take a bow because this vintage of your heart-breakingly stunning Pinot Noir has finally come of age. Forgive this analogy, but the leggy, teenage model, who showed so much coquettish promise has finally become a fully fledged, jaw-droppingly beautiful temptress. That is not to say that her proportions have increased at all. At 13.2% alcohol this wine is still slim and exquisitely balanced. It is just that there is more exoticism on the nose, detailed with Turkish Delight and true
sophistication. The palate is just that bit more intense and the finish a tiny bit longer and fully. Wow, wow, wow.
2013 Pizzini, Pietra Rossa Sangiovese, King Valley, Victoria
Welcome to the club Pizzini. We have been waiting for you and we have a place laid at our table. So often the Tuscan grape Sangiovese flounders when it leaves Italy’s shores. Pizzini is an expert in harnessing this tricky grape’s true character and then delivering it in a
measured, accurate and honest manner. Pietra Rossa wears the trademark cranberry and cherry tang off to perfection. This, however, is a wine that it not too acidic unlike legions of Chiantis and yet it manages to retain its slim frame and nervy, edgy flavour-balance. Top
marks chaps – this is a rare and alluring Sangiovese and it is a delightful and unique wine in our line-up.
2012 Port Phillip Estate, Balnarring Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
I am over to moon to have the famous Port Phillip Estate involved in our Degustation for Dignity event because the Pinots made here are extremely impressive indeed. With a deeper, darker fruit profile than many, this foresty, briary take on Pinot Noir reminds me of
some of the evocative wines of Burgundy’s famous Côte de Nuits. With lovely depth and concentrated wild cherry flavours coupled with bold oak and refreshing tannins, this wine is a masterful, commanding Pinot with intention and attack. It is just starting to drink well
now and in common with the great wines of France will age slowly for a very long time!
2014 Rutherglen Estate, Single Vineyard Sangiovese, Rutherglen, Victoria
By contrast to the light, tangy, cranberry-scented Sangioveses which are very popular in Australia (probably because they taste like Chianti) this is a rich, intense wine with more heft and intensity and therefore this wine more resembles a Super Tuscan, bristling with
energy, brawn and power. At 14% alcohol this is no shrinking violet, in fact there is little violet to be seen here, replaced as it is by dark chocolate, sour cherries and juicy black plums. Make sure you deploy this wine for main course duties only, with pasta with wild
boar ragout being the optimum dish!
2014 Tellurian, Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre, Heathcote, Victoria
Tellurian’s GSM is a perfumed fellow with juicy raspberry and plum notes crowding the nose. It initially seems light and innocent, but do not be deceived because this is a veritable iron fist and a velvet gauntlet! Bigger more structured on the palate and energetically
youthful, too, this 2014 is bristling with punchy, forest fruit notes and combative, mouthwatering tannins. You can drink it now if you wish (artisan cheese would be the go) but I would allow it to slumber for 6-12 months and then aim for main course game dishes or top
level charcuterie.
2013 Tellurian, Pastiche Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria
I believe that Pastiche is a ‘second label’ or a more immediate drinking wine in the Tellurian portfolio but, By Golly, this wine has grown up over the last few years and in 2013 it is a very accurate, savoury Heathcote thoroughbred Shiraz. The attack of fruit on the palate is
delightful and the Heathcote signature spice and wild herb aromatics are all present and correct. Purple in colour and glossy in sheen this is a fabulous wine which sings loud and proud of its region and the skill of its creators.
2013 Ten Minutes by Tractor Estate, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
TMbT is one of the truly great estates in an increasingly crowded Mornington Peninsula wine scene. The reason for it fame is far more than just having one of the catchiest names around. With amazingly perfumed fruit and trademark velvety texture it is impossible not
to fall for this wine’s charms. What’s more impressive is that the calibre of oak used here is of the highest quality imaginable and this means that there is an underlying feeling of class and build-quality which invades every one of your taste buds. Fine and fresh but also deep and brooding this is an elite Pinot Noir which shows the true essence of the variety and also reminds us that this is the most sensual grape on the planet.
Whites
2011 Blue Pyrenees, Sparkling Vintage Brut, Pyrenees, Western Victoria
Using all three Champagne varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, this vintage creation is a ripe, creamy, momentarily tropical-scented wine with a really juicy core and a lush, long finish. Drink it ice cold wearing little more than trunks or a bikini (not both
please) and you will be transported to dream-boat desert island holiday mode in just one sip!
2010 Brown Brothers, Patricia Chardonnay, Victoria
This is one of the most impactful and memorable wines ever included in a Wine Rules event. The Patricia label is an important one at Brown Brothers because it denotes the top of the tree creations at this world famous winery. 2010 Patricia Chardonnay is a towering wine which still looks youthful and tense at five years of age. This alone is impressive. That the flavours are so complex and well integrated into the stunning oak barrel nuances is yet another testament to the skill of production and quality of raw materials used by this terrific family unit. This is benchmark, cool climate Aussie Chardonnay and you must find a way to taste this wine at your earliest opportunity, rewarding it with a perfectly roasted chicken or top flight main course fish dish.
2012 Chandon, Sparkling Blanc de Blancs
It never ceases to amaze me just how strict, straight-jacketed, pristine this wine is. Made from 100% Chardonnay and kept linear and focused during its growing and making, Chandon’s vintage BdeB is a tight, citrusy, elegant sparkler with noble pretensions and more
than its fair share of distinction. I raise my glass (obviously not just one!) to Dan Buckle and his team - if only Blanc de Blanc Champagnes could be this reliable, impressive and delicious.
2015 Delatite, Pinot Gris, Mansfield, Victoria
Delatite’s PG tread the boards between a Grigio and a Gris style. What this means is that on the one hand it is perky and refreshing (like a Grigio) and on the other it is fairly rich and textural (like a Gris). These two names obviously refer to the same grape variety, but they
imply ‘style’ and so if you are drinking this wine you can expect a crunchy, apple-skin themed flavour but with more depth than expected! This is great news because this shape of wine is ideally suited to Japanese food and spicier Vietnamese and Thai dishes – so now you can navigate through these cuisines with confidence!
2014 Delatite, Riesling, Mansfield, Victoria
Australia specialises in genuinely dry Rieslings and across the nation you make an enviable array of versions. This fascinating version focuses on delicately lemon-scented fruit and a long, lithe, powdery body which reminds us of the minerality of the terroir in the Delatite
vineyards. For this reason it is not an oily, Germanic wine but a modern, lifted, piercingly clean style suited to keen aperitif drinking, oysters and shellfish. At the top of its game, now that the racy acidity has softened a touch, this is a bright, engaging wine.
2015 La Bohème by De Bortoli, Act Three Pinot Gris and Friends, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Act Three is a very considered wine. On the face of it, the deco label and PG and Friends title might make you think that this is a relaxed, convivial diva but it is much more than that. With determined drive on the palate and a full, dry palate, this is a floral, mildly exotic wine
with a touch of sweetness balancing the raucous acidity. It’s rare to find a wine that is both steely and silky! See how it charms the smoked salmon while at the same time keeping the creamy wasabi, with its hidden kick, in its place. Genius!
2014 Rutherglen Estates, Renaissance Viognier Roussanne Marsanne, Rutherglen, Victoria
A few years ago, we at Wine Rules were treated to a fully mature version of this tri-varietal white blend and it was intense, perfumed, oily and imposing. This year we have the same wine, but in youthful form and it is a thriller. VR&M are natural bed-fellows (three’s not a
crowd here) and their complementary scents, flavours and finishes serve to enhance each other magically. I have no doubt that this is Rutherglen Estates’ finest vintage of this lusty white to date. Flashes of nutmeg and ginger overlay great power coupled with respectful
restraint. Granted there are expressive apricot and peach blossom notes straining to be unleashed but for now they are under control and behaving perfectly. This is a truly amazing main course white wine.
2012 Stonier, Reserve Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
2012 was a fantastic vintage in Mornington and winemaker Mike Symons used these favourable conditions to extract every single ounce of elegance and beauty from his vineyards and then he poured it all into this wine. When I tasted ’12 Reserve Chard, with the Degustation for Dignity team in attendance, the room was collectively struck dumb – it is the sheer finesse and completeness of flavour which is arresting. I absolutely love the awesome freshness balanced with the incredible depth of meadow blossom fruit and latent
power. Classy, mouthfilling and with beguiling density, this is one of the finest wines I have tasted this year and it has a long life ahead of it.
2014 Tamar Ridge, Sauvignon Blanc, Tasmania
There is no doubt that Tamar Ridge is one of Australia’s most elite wineries. A long-serving trailblazer for Tassie’s pinsharp climate and maverick winemaking this wine takes Sauvignon to a new level and it also tackles Marlborough head on. Australians take note. There is no need to drink fruit cocktail Kiwi Savvy any more with this baby on your shelves. It appears that I have matched a Tasmanian oyster with cucumber gel and finger lime to this wine, but in reality it matched itself. Look out for cleansing cucumber and racy lime on the nose and palate of this wicked wine. With perfect freshness, a long, smooth palate, surprising intensity this is a winner.
2013 Tamar Ridge, Reserve Botrytis Riesling, Tasmania
There is no mystery as to why this wine is so phenomenally delicious. Tamar Ridge knows
exactly how to make sweeties having done this for aeons and the results don’t shy away in
the glass but leap gazelle-like up your hooter rewarding you with stunning, quince and
greengage freshness overlaying and lemon meringue palate. Magical, mesmerising and
mouth-watering – who could ask for more?
Reds
2014 Brash Higgins, NDV, Nero d’Avola Amphora Project, McLaren Vale, South Australia
I have no idea how Brad Hickey manages to augment the flavour of this daring and pioneering red wine year on year. Unless you are a genuine Nero d’Avola aficionado you will not be able to understand just how shockingly good this wine is. Nero is a swaggering, unruly, Southern Italian red grape famous for making head-banging, espresso-scented wine with little charm but maximum impact. Brad’s version is indeed explosive on the nose, loaded with dark berries, plums and liquorice, but the palate is honed, masterful and
elegant. I love the powdering tannins and heroic length of flavour, too. This is an essential wine in every serious red wine lover’s cellar because it shows you a fruit character and delivery never seen before.
2014 Circe, Single Vineyard Shiraz, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
With the use of 40% whole bunch fruit (involving stems as well as grapes) this wine is way beyond most mortals’ true comprehension of aromatic complexity and cosmic grace and yet anyone remotely interested in epic red wine will drop to their knees when they sniff a glass of this stunner such is its astounding beauty. I will go so far as to say that it will encourage you to reassess just how amazing your very own olfactory system is and then it might inspire you to use it more often! Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond have taken their bunches of Shiraz grapes and treated them like a rare and wondrous gemstones. Polished, set perfectly and with no gaudiness or showiness in sight, this is one of the most complete Shiraz I have ever seen out of Australia. It is both delicate and malevolent. I cannot say any more because I have to go and lie down in a darkened room.
2010 Delatite Estate, Tempranillo, Mansfield, Victoria
Food and wine-matching is not an exact art – it is a passionate, evocative, sensual pursuit perfected by few but attempted by all. When I tasted this wine in the company of a wine blogger, a sommelier and a talented chef we all came to the same conclusion in a blink of an
eye – we must use this wine at Degustation for Dignity and we would therefore have to ‘create’ the perfect dish to show its attributes off to a tee. The guests at our wonderful event will determine if we are right! With plush, ripe, smooth, redcurrant and plum notes, and no trace of oak or the medicinal tang so often associated with Spanish Rioja (the world’s most famous wine made from the same grape Tempranillo) this is a fully mature, honest Victorian ‘Temp’ which highlights Delatite’s talents and ambition.
2014 Deus ex Liquida, Grenache / Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia
God, emerging from this heavenly liquid. Now there’s an image. What has God been wallowing in? Obviously His palate is acute and all-powerful and what we didn’t know is that He is also partial to amazingly ostentatious McLaren Vale reds. With hilarious intensity and a shimmeringly beautiful chassis, this Grenache-based potion really does make you believe faithfully in a higher power! McLaren Vale is home to some of the finest Grenache vines in the world (and yes the Southern Rhône is included in this sweeping statement). Deus ex Liquida augments its heady, cigarbox and mulberry scent with dark, swarthy, stormcloud-laden Shiraz. The results are Biblical – think thunderbolts raining down on your palate and you are halfway there!
2012 Fowles Wine, Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz, Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria
Once they have shot their lunch I do hope that these ladies manage to fashion it into seriously high quality meat pies because this is what I want right now to combine with this classic, raspberry and lavender-scented Shiraz. Pungent, full, dark and swarthy, but with the
most amazing humidor and wild herb scent, this is a gastronomes delight such is the broad repertoire of pies (joke!) that this wine would adore. On a more serious note I cannot think of a finer dish than roast lamb with anchovies and rosemary to seduce this wine – but I do
not want to hear of any ladies opening fire on unsuspecting sheep, so I suggest they take a day off and allow us men to take care of the cooking.
2013 Katnook, Founders Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia
Katnook will not mind me mentioning the fact that Founders Block is not one of the more expensive wines in their portfolio. I rarely talk about price when explaining my thoughts behind wines because I feel that it is more about the flavour, how a wine makes you feel
and what you should do with it! However, I have made an exception here because the epic balance and freshness in this bright Coonawarra Cab nothing short of captivating and it is done with so much value and style I am truly astonished. Class and refinement combined with a stunning price tag is a very rare commodity.
2013 Ocean Eight, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
Mike, Mike, Mike – how do you do it? Mr. Aylward take a bow because this vintage of your heart-breakingly stunning Pinot Noir has finally come of age. Forgive this analogy, but the leggy, teenage model, who showed so much coquettish promise has finally become a fully fledged, jaw-droppingly beautiful temptress. That is not to say that her proportions have increased at all. At 13.2% alcohol this wine is still slim and exquisitely balanced. It is just that there is more exoticism on the nose, detailed with Turkish Delight and true
sophistication. The palate is just that bit more intense and the finish a tiny bit longer and fully. Wow, wow, wow.
2013 Pizzini, Pietra Rossa Sangiovese, King Valley, Victoria
Welcome to the club Pizzini. We have been waiting for you and we have a place laid at our table. So often the Tuscan grape Sangiovese flounders when it leaves Italy’s shores. Pizzini is an expert in harnessing this tricky grape’s true character and then delivering it in a
measured, accurate and honest manner. Pietra Rossa wears the trademark cranberry and cherry tang off to perfection. This, however, is a wine that it not too acidic unlike legions of Chiantis and yet it manages to retain its slim frame and nervy, edgy flavour-balance. Top
marks chaps – this is a rare and alluring Sangiovese and it is a delightful and unique wine in our line-up.
2012 Port Phillip Estate, Balnarring Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
I am over to moon to have the famous Port Phillip Estate involved in our Degustation for Dignity event because the Pinots made here are extremely impressive indeed. With a deeper, darker fruit profile than many, this foresty, briary take on Pinot Noir reminds me of
some of the evocative wines of Burgundy’s famous Côte de Nuits. With lovely depth and concentrated wild cherry flavours coupled with bold oak and refreshing tannins, this wine is a masterful, commanding Pinot with intention and attack. It is just starting to drink well
now and in common with the great wines of France will age slowly for a very long time!
2014 Rutherglen Estate, Single Vineyard Sangiovese, Rutherglen, Victoria
By contrast to the light, tangy, cranberry-scented Sangioveses which are very popular in Australia (probably because they taste like Chianti) this is a rich, intense wine with more heft and intensity and therefore this wine more resembles a Super Tuscan, bristling with
energy, brawn and power. At 14% alcohol this is no shrinking violet, in fact there is little violet to be seen here, replaced as it is by dark chocolate, sour cherries and juicy black plums. Make sure you deploy this wine for main course duties only, with pasta with wild
boar ragout being the optimum dish!
2014 Tellurian, Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre, Heathcote, Victoria
Tellurian’s GSM is a perfumed fellow with juicy raspberry and plum notes crowding the nose. It initially seems light and innocent, but do not be deceived because this is a veritable iron fist and a velvet gauntlet! Bigger more structured on the palate and energetically
youthful, too, this 2014 is bristling with punchy, forest fruit notes and combative, mouthwatering tannins. You can drink it now if you wish (artisan cheese would be the go) but I would allow it to slumber for 6-12 months and then aim for main course game dishes or top
level charcuterie.
2013 Tellurian, Pastiche Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria
I believe that Pastiche is a ‘second label’ or a more immediate drinking wine in the Tellurian portfolio but, By Golly, this wine has grown up over the last few years and in 2013 it is a very accurate, savoury Heathcote thoroughbred Shiraz. The attack of fruit on the palate is
delightful and the Heathcote signature spice and wild herb aromatics are all present and correct. Purple in colour and glossy in sheen this is a fabulous wine which sings loud and proud of its region and the skill of its creators.
2013 Ten Minutes by Tractor Estate, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
TMbT is one of the truly great estates in an increasingly crowded Mornington Peninsula wine scene. The reason for it fame is far more than just having one of the catchiest names around. With amazingly perfumed fruit and trademark velvety texture it is impossible not
to fall for this wine’s charms. What’s more impressive is that the calibre of oak used here is of the highest quality imaginable and this means that there is an underlying feeling of class and build-quality which invades every one of your taste buds. Fine and fresh but also deep and brooding this is an elite Pinot Noir which shows the true essence of the variety and also reminds us that this is the most sensual grape on the planet.
tasting notes by matthew jukes on saturday 15th november 2014
2012 Art of War, The General Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Ignore the lack of much-needed parental guidance requirements on the label and concentrate on the epic fruit in the glass – this is one of the most raucous and expressive Shiraz in the country, with its plum and dark chocolate fruit and combative, macho tannins. You must cook up a carnivorous feast to stand any chance of surviving an appointment with The General. Winemaker: Kym Teusner Online: $30.00 each, minimum order of 6 bottles www.vinomofo.com |
NV Bisou Bisou, Blanc de Blancs, Yarra Valley, Victoria
With green apple crispness and vibrant tangy fruit, this awesome-looking fizz should be the first wine you serve for your friends when they walk in the door because, of course, Bisou Bisou means Kiss Kiss. Once the formalities are over you can get down to the real business of enjoying this titillating, vivacious little number. Online: $15.00 each, minimum order of 6 bottles www.vinomofo.com |
2012 Blue Pyrenees, Shiraz, Pyrenees, Western Victoria
I love the blueberry and cinnamon nose on this spicy, bold wine. This is a structured red with dusty tannins and balanced oak and even though it tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol the fruit is red-tinged and not black. 2012 is a superb vintage and this will age slowly for up to a decade, but you are welcome to open a bottle now because the balance is already superb. Winemaker: Andrew Koerner Cellar Door: $20.00 www.bluepyrenees.com.au |
2014 Brash Higgins, R/SM, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Winemaker Brad Hickey is an informed maverick, breaking the rules for all the right reasons with this wine. Picking this ‘field blend’ of Riesling and Semillon, basket-pressing the fruit and then co-fermenting it, this is a unique vinous offering which asks serious questions of your senses. In answering these you discover the mind-bending truth that there are more wine flavours out there than you ever thought possible. So hand your palate to Brash Higgins wines and they will do the rest. Winemaker: Brad Hickey Cellar Door: $37.00 www.brashhiggins.com |
2010 Brodie Estate, Pinot Noir, Martinborough, New Zealand
A rogue New Zealand Pinot in our line up shows not only how important the Martinborough region is in the greater scheme of things but also just how different these wines are to the offerings from Victoria and Tasmania. Silky, mouth-coating and expressively oaky, this is a rich, decadent Pinot with a passion for game, in particular duck and venison! Winemaker: James Walker www.roguewines.com.au |
NV Brown Brothers, Pinot Noir / Chardonnay / Pinot Meunier, King Valley, Victoria
This wine is one of the reasons why I look forward to doing this event every year because not only is it Australia’s most awarded sparkling wine, it is also not sold in the UK, and so I get to enjoy several glasses during my visit! The class, complexity and elegance in this glass is astounding. It’s nice to see Pinot Meunier in the blend bringing genuine Champagne credibility to an already magnificent creation. Winemaker: Cate Looney Cellar Door: $25.00 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2014 Brown Brothers, Explorer Series Chenin Blanc, Victoria
With some spritz on the palate you can immediately sense that this is a bright, forward-drinking, crowd-pleasing wine with no pretensions whatsoever. The grassy, citrus and green melon fruit is engaging and light-hearted and it will refresh you in an instant. Winemaker: Geoff Alexander Cellar Door: $14.10 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2014 Brown Brothers, 18 Eighty Nine Sauvignon Blanc, Tasmania
This brand new creation from Brown Brothers shocked my palate back in May when I tasted a very early sample and I was so moved with its impact and energy that I felt compelled to mention it in my annual 100 Best Australian Wines initiative. It’s important to acknowledge that Australia, no matter which way you cut it, is not true Sauvignon territory. But Tasmania’s cool climate, coupled with the unquenchable enthusiasm from the Brown Brothers wine wizards has meant that this delightful creation should by all rights prevent you from buying a single bottle of Marlborough Savvy this year! Winemaker: Tom Wallace Cellar Door: $18.80 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2012 Brown Brothers, Ten Acres Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria
The trademark Heathcote leather and spice notes are all over this new wine from Brown Brothers and it shows jut how exciting Heathcote can be in the right hands. Drink it with big, bold meaty dishes with gravy and herbs and you will be in seventh heaven. Winemaker: Chloe Earl Cellar Door: $30.00 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2010 Chandon, Les Trois Rosé, Australia
The three rosés mentioned in the name of this wine refer to grapes sourced from the wonderful cool climates of Tasmania, Yarra Valley, and Whitlands Plateau. The ‘layering’ of flavours in this impossibly pale rosé is typically astute given that most wines of this style have only one theme on the go. In addition to the wild strawberry and cherry blossom notes, the faint aromas of patisserie and hazelnuts give this astounding creation beguiling weight and thrilling food-matching possibilities. Winemaker: Dan Buckle Cellar Door: $55.00 www.chandon.com.au |
2012 Coates The Iberian, McLaren Vale & Langhorne Creek, South Australia
This fascinating red wine is made from no less than seven varieties hailing from Portugal, Spain and the South of France. It is no surprise that the beautiful climate in South Australia suits these lusty grapes well and so the name, the Iberian, referring to the mass of land on the southern side of the Pyrenees is a clue to the flavours inside the bottle. Spice and leather joust with heady red and black fruit notes making for non-stop action in the glass. Winemaker: Duane Coates www.roguewines.com.au |
2013 Coldstream Hills, Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Coldstream Hills wines always show restraint and composure unlike some of the bigger, bolder brands on the market. This means that you should avoid swamping this wine with ungainly dishes and excess spice and stick to high quality plain grilled fish or crustacea. This allows the wine to work its magic, subtly charming your taste buds and wooing your senses. Winemaker: Andrew Fleming Cellar Door: $34.99 www.coldstreamhills.com.au |
2013 Delatite Estate, Pinot Gris, Mansfield, Victoria
The top PG at Delatite is a very seductive wine which draws its energy and depth of flavour from subtle use of oak barrels and wild yeasts. This build flavour gently in the wine and gives it a succulence and creaminess which reminds me of some of the wines from Alsace in France. An intellectual and thought-provoking wine, this is a wonderful creation. Winemakers: Andy Browning and David Ritchie Cellar Door: $25.00 www.delatitewinery.com.au |
2013 Delatite, High Ground Pinot Grigio, Mansfield, Victoria
It’s so nice to see a bright, light, 12.5% PG on the market instead of a rich, oily style because this grape needs freshness and lift on the nose and palate to perform at its highest level. High Ground is a floral, refreshing wine with trademark Victorian freshness and it is this lust for life which makes it so remarkable. Winemakers: Andy Browning and David Ritchie Cellar Door: $20.00 www.delatitewinery.com.au |
2009 Delatite, Estate Shiraz, Mansfield, Victoria
The use of both French and American oak barrels as given this wine a savoury and also sweet component to its Shiraz fruit and this makes the nose complex and dark. You need a hearty carnivorous dish with this mighty wine but not because it is a heavyweight. It is the density of flavour rather than the alcohol which demands respect. Winemakers: Andy Browning and David Ritchie Cellar Door: $30.00 www.delatitewinery.com.au |
2012 Delatite, High Ground Shiraz, Mansfield, Victoria
I love the fact that Victorian Shiraz shows more earthiness and spice than it does alcohol and sun-baked fruit notes and this means that these red wines can be refreshing and able to be drunk with so many more dishes than expected! High Ground is an expressive, summer pudding scented wine with crunchy minerality where you might expect to find tannin! This is why it is so appealing. Winemakers: Andy Browning and David Ritchie Cellar Door: $25.00 www.delatitewinery.com.au |
2013 Devil's Corner, Pinot Noir, Tasmania
The Devil’s Corner range from Tamar Ridge is nothing short of a triumph. This wine and its Riesling sibling made my 100 Best Australian Wines list for 2014/15. This is unprecedented for an inexpensive range. This Pinot is practically the only entry level wine from Tasmania that delivers the true essence of both the variety and its vineyards. These days you are more likely to see wines at double the price with little of the charm and authenticity that Devil’s has in spades. Winemakers: Tom Wallace Cellar Door: $22.00 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2013 Fowles Wine, Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Riesling, Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria
I have long been a fan of this raspy, lime-pith Riesling with its chalky minerality and lemon balm mid-palate. While many would drink this as a palate-electrifying aperitif, I prefer to employ its latent power to cut through tricky dishes. Asian fusion, perfumed Vietnamese, creamy coconut curries and any dish with the dreaded caper involved will bow at its feet. While this estate is justly famous for its red wines, the Rieslings are utterly thrilling, too. Winemakers: Victor Nash and Lindsay Brown Cellar Door: $34.95 www.fowleswine.com |
2012 Fowles Wine, Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Shiraz, Strathbogie Ranges, Victoria
The peppery nose and fine, lithe blackberry-soaked palate mark this out as a true Victorian Shiraz, bursting with life and freshness. This style of Shiraz is wowing the world with its freshness and herbal tang and it presents a totally different message to the dark, brooding wines over the border in SA. Winemakers: Victor Nash and Lindsay Brown Cellar Door: $34.95 www.fowleswine.com |
2011 Kooyong, Meres Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
2011 was the most challenging vintage in the last ten years in Mornington, not least because of the unwelcome thunderstorms which played havoc with Pinot bunches. Only a handful of wineries made truly awesome wines and Sandro Mosele at Kooyong showed us all why his wines are so rare and sought after because he not only nailed the wines, he also gave us aromas and flavours which enchant the senses. With delicate wild cherry nuances and refreshing, tangy acidity this is a beautiful creation worth treasuring. Winemaker: Sandro Mosele Cellar Door: $75.00 www.portphillipestate.com.au |
2014 La Bohème, Act Two Pinot Noir Rosé, Yarra Valley, Victoria
De Bortoli’s La Bohème Pinot Rosé is an essential fine dining wine particularly if you are partial to spicy, curried or wasabi-spiked dishes. Seemingly elegant on the nose and demure on the palate this innocent looking rosé hides a core of steel which allows it to marshal complex flavours with ease. I love this wine so much that I have already listed it in my Daily Mail column in the UK as my Wine of the Week. Winemaker: Steve Webber Cellar Door: $20.00 www.debortoli.com.au |
2012 Ocean Eight, Verve Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
This is categorically one of my favourite Chardonnays in Australia. The finesse and control of the nose and palate are amazing and the slimness and poise throughout the experience are nothing short of mesmeric. Minerality and purity are the watchwords here while oak and power are discreet handled and reverent. Winemaker: Mike Aylward Cellar Door: $50.00 www.oceaneight.com.au |
2012 Ocean Eight, Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
The 2012 vintage Mornington Pinots are marked with an incredible purity of red fruit and Mike Aylward wines are even more intense, scented and hypnotic than the norm. With a seductive palate and incredibly long finish this is one of the finest Ocean Eight wines I have tasted. Its tender 13.2% alcohol means it can be drunk equally accurately with delicious main course fish dishes as it can with an imperial roast chicken. Winemaker: Mike Aylward Cellar Door: $50.00 www.oceaneight.com.au |
NV Pirie, Sparkling Pinot Noir/ Chardonnay, Tasmania
The only difference between the NV and the vintage Pirie wines is one of style. The vintage is noble, rich and complex and this non vintage wine is not lesser in any way, it is just lighter, more immediately gluggable and more citrusy. This is an aperitif style whereas the vintage is foodier. This is an everyday wine whereas the vintage is a special occasion wine. Both are stunning and this is testament to the skill and determination of the team at Pirie – hoorah! Winemaker: Tom Wallace Cellar Door: $30.00 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2009 Pirie Vintage Sparkling, Tasmania
It never ceases to amaze me just how beautiful the wines from Pirie are. This 2009 vintage, made from Chardonnay and Pinot, shimmers in the glass like a ravishing diva and, as you know, the mark of a great wine is spectacular length of flavour and this wine lingers for minutes. There is no need to drop cash on over-priced and underwhelming Champagne with this wine on the shelves Winemaker: Tom Wallace Cellar Door: $58.00 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
NV Rococo, Premium Cuvée, Yarra Valley, Victoria
Made from older vintage wines, blended together, with oak ageing, too, to give it depth of flavour and added class, Rococo is a heady, exotic sparkler with a mouth-filling flavour and a distinguished air. I sense a nod to some of the famous prestige Champagnes when I taste this wine and I am very impressed with the results. Winemaker: Steve Webber Cellar Door: $22.00 www.debortoli.com.au |
2013 Rutherglen Estates, Renaissance Viognier / Roussanne / Marsanne, Rutherglen, Victoria
The combination of these three magical, scented and structured white varieties results in a remarkably full-bodies white wines, with enough power and intensity to complement roast pork, chicken and even milk fed lamb dishes. With a luxurious texture and heady perfume combined with youthful energy, Renaissance is a wine which will soften over two or three years and my hot tip for the perfect food and wine matching experience would be a Christmas turkey with all the trimmings. Winemaker: Marc Scalzo Cellar Door: $32.00 www.rutherglenestates.com.au |
2013 Rutherglen Estates, Durif, Rutherglen, Victoria
The liquorice and plum nose on this punchy red is fascinating and it makes you think that the palate is going to be monstrous and overbearing, but in fact you are rewarded with delicious, mouth-watering spice and crunchy tannins which don’t scour the palate, they send you straight back for another sip. Durif is an expressive grape and in the right hands it gives us all wines that work amazingly well with flame grilled steaks – this is one such wine. Winemaker: Marc Scalzo Cellar Door: $24.00 www.rutherglenestates.com.au |
2012 Seppelt, Original Sparkling Shiraz, Victoria
I love this style of wine but I never get to see it in the UK which is such a shame because with over 150 years worth of practice, Seppelt, not surprisingly, nails this style perfectly. With a haunting red cherry and cranberry nose, sleek savoury palate and a hint of strawberry juice on the finish Original is a legendary creation and while most people would drink it with main course I, controversially, adore it with chocolate. Winemaker: Adam Carnaby Cellar Door: $26.99 www.seppelt.com.au |
2013 Seppelt, Chalambar Shiraz, Grampians / Heathcote, Victoria
This is the sixtieth vintage of Chalambar and it already looks amazing in spite of its youth. Granted the tannins are grainy and cheek-sucking but the juicy, liquorice-tinged fruit more than balances them out and it is clear that this is a very important wine indeed. Lay it down for two or thee years and you will have a true classic. Winemaker: Adam Carnaby Cellar Door: $26.99 www.seppelt.com.au |
2011 Stonier KBS Vineyard Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
It is an extraordinary to be able to taste this wine, not least because of its rarity, coming as it does from founder (Kevin) Brian Stonier’s own vineyard. Winemaker Mike Symons manages to capture the true essence of the Mornington Peninsula in this phenomenally regal wine. The oak, which is very much in evidence, is subtle, restrained and yet all-encompassing and the fruit shows wild honey, nectarine and jasmine notes which entrance the senses. Winemaker: Mike Symons Cellar Door: $55.00 www.stonier.com.au |
2012 Tamar Ridge, Pinot Noir, Tasmania
Tamar Ridge continues its transformation with the help of an arty label and an even more evocative Pinot nose and flavour. Succulent, sexy and aromatically enthralling, this is a gorgeous wine just setting out on a five year life and I expect it to gather even more fans as it does so. Winemaker: Tom Wallace Cellar Door: $30.00 www.brownbrothers.com.au |
2014 Tellurian, Viognier, Heathcote, Victoria
This evocative Viognier sits at the greengage and apricot blossom end of the spectrum, as opposed to the powerful peach and honey styles which too often appear on the market. It is this sophistication which marks it out as an elegant, honed creature, but this doesn’t mean that you have to hold back on your cooking with this wine because it is remarkably persistent. It will also age well, so there is not hurry to guzzle this fabulous wine. Winemaker: Tobias Ansted Cellar Door: $27.00 - available early 2015 www.tellurianwines.com.au |
2013 Tellurian, Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvèdre, Heathcote, Victoria
This heroic, triumvirate of red grapes makes fabulously glossy, fruit-driven wines and my favourite trick is to chill them a few degrees to heighten the blueberry and mulberry notes at the same time as slimming down the finish. This means that you can drink the mighty GSM blend with dishes such as Peking duck, rogan josh, Moroccan tajines and even a humble pepperoni pizza! Winemaker: Tobias Ansted Cellar Door: $34.50 - available early 2015 www.tellurianwines.com.au |
2012 Ten Minutes by Tractor, Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
This is a very fine wine indeed with distinguished fruit, epic oak control and a very long finish indeed. I love the way that the message is delivered with such subtlety and control. Nothing is rushed and everything is silky, generous and memorable. Even though this is a fairly young wine it is already into its stride such is the impeccable balance on display. Winemakers: Jeremy Magyar, Richard McIntyre, Martin Spedding Cellar Door: $46.00 www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au |
2013 Ten Minutes by Tractor, 10X Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
I have always been a massive fan of the 10X cuvee at TMbT and the newly released 2013 continues its run of over-delivering with flavour while retaining its competitive price point. The nose is remarkable with dense red berry and cherry notes and a dusting of spice and the palate is still tense with well-balanced oak and also refreshing acidity. This looks great already, but I know that by the middle of 2015 it will have blossomed into a true beauty. Winemakers: Jeremy Magyar, Richard McIntyre, Martin Spedding Cellar Door: $32.00 www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au |
2013 Willunga 100, Grenache, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Grenache is McLaren Vale’s secret weapon grape and this budget offering shows us exactly why. A staggeringly beautiful nose of strawberries and cream s followed by a sleek, sultry palate and a boisterous, ebullient finish. Willunga 100 shows many estates, whose wines are twice the price, how it’s done! Winemakers: Tim James and Kate Day Cellar Door: $22.00 www.willunga100.com |