Hofer Family Wines Aged Release Riesling 2005

 

Riesling is one of the best value varieties on the shelves. The quality available in Australia is exceptional particularly as it ages well too. For those who have yet to venture into the world of aged Riesling, this is a good starting point.

Meerea Park Terracotta Semillon 2005 & 2007

This was a great opportunity to put two different vintages alongside one another. And given the chance to do the same regardless of the wine or variety, I recommend you do the same. It gives you a much better sense of place and understanding how the wine has evolved. Where it has been and where it could go to.

The 2005 was bottled in July of that year and has developed beautifully. Easily my preferred wine of the two. Though saying that, it still has plenty of gas left in the tank and will continue to comfortably age for at least another decade.

A light and bright appearance with a touch of golden sunshine. Flavours are soft and generous delivering lemons and even pear. The aged Semillon characteristic of kerosene is sprayed through just enough to have an impact but certainly not enough to overpower. Acid has settled beautifully but still delivers some vibrancy. A bloody nice drop and handy value at $27.

The 2007 was bottled in July of the same year and whilst it has moved into the next phase of development, it still has a long time to go to get near the 2005. Aromas are fresh and the flavours linger. Lemony acid is still tight and seems unwilling to chill out at this stage. The longer the wine was open the better it drank but this wine was clearly made to age and age it will. Should you choose to drink now, an oily dish such as fish and chips will be the match you are after.

Who: Meerea Park
What: Semillon (11.5% alc)
Where: Hunter Valley
When: 2005 & 2007
How: $27

www.meereapark.com.au

Bent Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I last looked at this wine 12 months ago and it is continuing to grow in strength. The palate structure seems to be crying out for more time, and if you have the patience, hold out. If not, load up!

The wine was held back on release from winemaker Glen Robert, and when part of the aging is done for you, jump in and see why.

Glen's Bent Road winery is a gem tucked into the country side at Ballandean in Queensland's Granite Belt region. His operation is hands on and nothing is done without care - Glen prides himself on a well made product and the hands of his work are clearly evident here.

This Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 is the flagship of Bent Road Winery. The wine was hand picked, temperature controlled for fermentation and aged in a mix of new and used French oak.

A nose of dark chocolate, stewed dark fruit and fig are present. The palate is a bountiful mix of full flavour and a smidge of acid which says the journey ain't over for this guy just yet.

The long smooth finish is delicious with it edging on some powdery tannin grip. And when you get powdery tannin, you know it is time to sit up and take notice.

Check out his handy work on the web, or if the area, make an appointment. A great host, a passionate winemaker and fantastic wine.

Who: Bent Road Wine http://www.bentroadwine.com.au/
What: Cabernet Sauvignon (14% abv)
Where: Granite Belt
When: 2005
How: $28

Follow them: www.twitter.com/WinemakerGlen
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Alternative Variety night @SwirlSniffSpit Tuesday 20 March

Another extraordinary night of wines put together for this edition of Swirl Sniff Spit. Props to The Vinsomniac for his research and excellent presentations during the night, and also to Brad Hickey from Brash Higgins for making the effort to attend and share his wines.

The evening showcased a delectable range of wines, many varieties of which have not been seen by most in the room - me included!

In an industry where everyone is looking for a point of difference and a way to stand out from the pack, there were plenty of examples on show.

A quick run through some of the magic....

Fox Gordon Princess Fiano 2011, Adelaide Hills: Green pea/snap pea on nose. Grassy. Zesty. Love it, and represents super value for around $15. Check out my 2010 post here.

Yalumba Y Series Vermentino 2011, Riverland: For a wine available readily for around $10, you'll be hard pressed to find quality like this at that price point. Serve super chilled with a bucket of seafood - ooh la la! Check out my previous post here.

Holm Oak Wine Arneis 2011, Tasmania: Savory and peachy characters. Plenty of fans in the room enjoyed this but I found it a little too tart and acidic for my palate. Would go well with food, a creamy pasta or even fresh seafood.

Lark Hill Winery Gruner Veltliner 2011, Canberra: This vintage has already sold out and the winemaker was kind enough to share this from his personal stash. A runaway early leader in the Wine of the Night for mine. Pear and fresh apple juice characters. This wine was fresh and finished with a tad of almond meal. A seriously good version of this Austrian variety.

K1 by Hardy's Gruner Veltliner 2011, Adelaide Hills: Pears and pear skin. Restrained mid palate due to light fruit weight. A watery, clean finish. Many happy campers with this.

Crittenden Wines II Tributo Savignin 2010: A sherberty nose. Flavours of savory herbs, spice and a crisp minerality and drying finish on the palate. Yum!

919 Wines Petit Manseng 2010, Riverland: Wow! This was a complex piece of work. Honey, spice, floral notes with a slash of apricot and stone fruit flavours. Lovely soft texture and super length.
Only small quantities of Petit Manseng in Australia, four coming from South Australia's Riverland, and one each from north east Victoria and Griffith.

Brash Higgins NDV Nero d'Avola 2011, McLaren Vale: On skins for two weeks. Wild fermented and only 114 cases made (less than 30 available as I write this). Lavender on nose - stunning!! Orange peel and raspberry jam flavours. Drinks like young Gamay. Serve with slight chill and drink now to five years. $37. Did I say how outrageously fantastic the nose was?!?!

Madeline's Nangkita Primitivo 2008, McLaren Vale: Has an appearance of stewed plums in the glass. Cigar, fruit cake and spice characters all going on here. Gentle soft finish.

Mount Majura Graciano 2009, Canberra: Bright in the glass. Spice and cigar notes shining through. A fistful of pepper and balanced acid profile. Load this up with some food and you're happy.

Chalmers Wines Aglianico 2005, Heathcote: Cherries, raspberries and earthy goodness. Some fruit cake elements in there too which I enjoyed. Smooth finish. An eye opener for a variety I looked at for the first time.

Hand Crafted by Geoff Hardy Teroldego 2010, Langhorne Creek: Rhubarb and raspberries leap from the glass along with wild flowers. Some serious kick here on the palate with a handful of dry herbs and flavours which follow through from the nose. The palate is also edged with a brush of pepper. Finish with a dry tannin grip. Matured in 4-7 oak for 18 months - I loved it! Wine of the night, hands down!

Oliver's Taranga Sagrantino 2009, McLaren Vale: A great way to finish off the night with this heavy weight. This wine is the first vintage of Sangrantino made by the winery and it is a mighty fine effort. Violets, black fruits with a tiny herby touch, charred oak and a bucket load of tannin. A big chunk of pork will match perfectly.

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Leeuwin Estate Art Series Riesling 2005

This Riesling has aged nicely. A lovely golden colour in the glass is followed up with a nose of lemons and limes.

Margaret River is not your typical region for Riesling, however this drop always excells.

The palate is filled will citrus flavours backed up by a good core of minerality and clean acid. The wine possesses a great fruit intensity coupled with a delicate softness leaving a delicious finish and length.

A very satisfying drop which can be picked up at some big chain liquor stores for around $20.

Leo Buring "Leonay" Watervale Riesling 2005

A very tidy example of great aged Riesling. Although an '05, I felt it was perhaps a little further on than that, and gee it drinks well.

Straw in colour with a slight greenish hue, laced with bounds of lemony, citrus goodness on the nose. The fruit and acid have married together nicely resulting in a delicious wine with flavours of textured lemon and toasty elegance.

Finish is clean and persistent leaving a touch of spice and a mouthful of happiness.

An impeccable aperitif!

Riesling Night @SwirlSniffSpit Tuesday 15 November

The monthly gathering of Brisvegas' Swirlers, Sniffers and Spitters was again a magnificent evening. The focus was Riesling, and wow, what a line up!

One of the great things about these gatherings is the diverse range of wines presented, but also, the diverse number of people being brought together through their love of wine.

We covered Australia's east coast to west coast, warm climate to cool. A few Germans even made the list, and according to @breebos, "The sexiest vineyards in the world!"

Knappstein Handpicked Clare Valley 2011: I had a look at the 2009 recently http://tiny.cc/26ty6 and this wine sadly is not a patch on it. This latest vintage had some lemony notes on the sniff, but was short on flavour and lacked some punch.

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Clare Valley 2010: Nice fuller mouth feel and an extra year in the bottle has been a plus. Limes and citrus on the nose which follow through to the palate. Good acid. A nicely balanced wine. Tick!

Karra Yerta Eden Valley 2010:  Sometimes the best things are kept simple... Limes and minerality. Clean, crisp, and steely. Yum!!!

Karra Yerta Eden Valley 2005: The difference on the nose between these Karra Yerta wines was amazing. The '10 was clean and fresh, whereas the '05 was similar to the 06 http://tiny.cc/7jmud and had a massive kerosene hit. Wonderful toasty characteristics on a palate with so much gas left in the tank thanks to a good acid profile. It's best years are ahead of it. A clear winner for me here!

A visit to the cooler climate of Canberra and @breebos made the call that this region could potentially be Australia's best Riesling producing region. Have a look at these and you'll understand why...

Capital Wines "The Whip" Canberra District 2011: Crunchy apple, good acid backbone which will sit pretty for many years. Palate had more depth than nose. Tidy finish. Delish!

Lark Hill Canberra District 2011: I really liked the aroma of the nose here. Some touches of white pepper. Crisp and nicely balanced. A delight!

These two were very impressive!!

Bests Great Western Grampians 2011: Very easy to see why this wine is so popular. Very approachable and easy drinking. A little more sweetness than others thus far on the night. Floral, apples with good length. Damn fine.

The Story Henty 2011: A most unique wine on the sniff. Grassy, herbs, lemons. Clearly a point of difference which makes it stand out. Once again, good acid balance and length.

Two very different styles of Riesling here. The Estate is made in the traditional method as we know it, whereas the Artisan is made very much like some Chardonnay - barrel ferment, wild yeasts, time on lees. The first time I have come across this style in a Riesling which made me very curious!  

Xabregas Estate Great Southern 2011: Off dry style. Clean and crisp. A easy drinking style made well.

Xabregas Artisan Great Southern 2010: Crisp and dry. An amazing celebration of flavour on the palate. Once again, a point of difference which separated the punters on preferences between the two. Something I reckon I can easily go back to. Very enjoyable.

Semillon Night @Swirlsniffspit Tuesday 18 October

Semillon was shown in all forms from sparkling, to fresh, to bottle aged to delectable dessert wines. Some notes from this fabulous night....

Sparkling

St Agounant Blanc de Blanc 1999. Spends an amazing 10 years on lees which adds a wonderful depth and complexity. Made in the same style as Champagne. Soft, supple and well textured.

Bimbagen NV Clean and fresh. Touch of citrus on the nose. Very much a drink now style.

Young Semillon

Scarborough Green Label Hunter Valley 2011. Clean with crisp, crunchy acid. Needs food I reckon.

Murray Street Vineyard Barossa Valley 2010. I was pretty keen on this. I was ready to take a leaf out of the @thewinepunter 's book and make the early call of "the wine of the night!".
Clear development already taking shape. Lovely mouth feel and texture. Soft citrus, honey and some melon characteristics. All this for $20... Time to go shopping!

Queensland Semillon

Both of the Queensland wines came from the South Burnett region which is 2.5-3 hours north west of Brisbane. The climate is similar to the Hunter Valley - warm days and cool nights. Not surprisingly, semillon has performed well here for many years too.

Clovely Estate Left Field 2006. Bottle age has been it's friend developing some lovely toasty characteristics. Softer mid palate but lovely length. Very nice.

Barambah First Grid 2008. Needs some time to settle. Acid kick dominant at present. Has potential.

Aged Semillon

Peter Lehmann Margaret, Barossa Valley 2005. This was devine. Texture and fruit superb. Lemon curd is what I was getting. Powers through to the very end. A beauty!

Meerea Park Alexander Munro 2005. A very attractive lemony/lime thing going on here. The acid was prominent and crawls back onto the palate when you think it's gone. More time needed but will be a crowd pleaser hands down in years to come.

Dessert Wines

Punt Road Botrytis Semillon Yarra Valley 2010. Oh I love this drop and I was salivating more than Pavlov's dogs when I saw this on the list.
All elements in sync here. Man it's good! There's citrus and honey, jammy mandarin. Acid beautifully balanced. Drink with caution, or you'll guzzle it too quickly!!!

De Bortoli Black Noble. The best things need little introduction. Chocolate, nutty characters. Lucious length. This is brilliant deluxe, and then some! Be wary, it's addictive.

Swirl Sniff Spit 16 August - Cabernet Sauvignon night!



Cabernet night at Swirl Sniff Spit - Era Bistro 16 August 2011

Another brilliant night and a superb line up of wines. Some belters and even a rabbit pulled out of a hat!
Some wines which caught the eye...

Yalumba Menzies 2007 - Coonawarra. Smooth as silk. Superb drinking. Comment was made, "Menzies has never failed me." Nickos was right. The best was saved til last :)

Murray Street Vineyards - Barossa. Top fruit, spice and oak. Finish is loooong and sensational! Not on the list, but special guest winemaker Andrew pulled this one out. Did I say sensational?

Dalwhinnie Moonambel Cabernet 2008 - Grampians. Seductive nose. Palate weight spot on. Smidge of mint. Elegance!

Wise Lot 80 2009 - Margaret River. Great example of the region. Super nose of oaky goodness. Black fruits. Wonderful mouth feel. Yum.

Bent Road 2005 - Granite Belt. Poor soils. Dynamite used to clear site before planting for crying out loud! Juicy fruit, savoury. Soft, long finish. Giddy up!

Blue Pyrenees 2009 - Stood up to many of the more expensive types well - under $20. Very approachable, simple bottle of deliciousness!

A brilliant night - great company and great wines. Thanks to the @swirlsniffspit crew and @erabistro!

Next month.....Grenache!

Sub 10ners

The monthly get together for our local wine crew was on Friday night. These nights are generally themed to a particular variety or region which is a great opportunity to see what's going around and what people are keen to share. Friday's theme was slightly different however. The challenge thrown out there was to bring your best wine for under $10!


Many labels crossed my mind when I was considering my contribution. Would I be crafty and buy a dozen of something from the myriad of online auction sites for a mere nine bucks? Perhaps I could be the life of the party with a cask. No chance! I even cast my mind back about 12 months when I dug a Wyndham Estate  Bin 444 1998 out of my cellar. How this wine escaped me for that long I don't know, however, I even recall picking it up for a neat $9.99. Plenty of sunsets have passed since that day but two things that haven't changed are the price and quality. I still recall the nose on this wine blowing me away and the colour and texture were superb - all this for a sub 10ner!

Back to Friday.....here are a few of the better wines we had a look at:

Tyrrell's Old Winery Verdelho 2010. Hunter Valley fruit. Lovely tropical fruit on the nose. Colour was light golden. Palate refreshing with touch of spice and honey, pineapple notes. Finish was crisp but hard due to acid.

Rosemount Show Reserve Shiraz 2005. This was heavily discounted last year by Dan Murphy's and one of the crew pounced! He loves this wine and it's not hard to see why. This is a great representation of McLaren Vale for a smidge of the price. Dark fruit and palate length superb. Plums, chocolate. Juicy tannins. A great representation of the Vale and a ripper for the money. Bang for buck!

Angove Long Row Shiraz 2008. This was an absolute belter! A beauty! Not a complex wine by any stretch, but it's simplicity is the clincher. Good colour with black fruits, pleasant touch of spice, pepper and a hint of toasty oak. Tannins are simple and smooth. 15% abv but you wouldn't know. This ticks all the boxes and appeared to be the favoured wine on the night. A comment was passed that you'd pay double and still be happy. Well I paid $8 and I can't tell you to give it a crack yourself, I just insist!

Wyndham Estate 555 2009. This is a well balanced wine and man, you wouldn't think it would be $9. Blackcurrants, smooth, dusty like tannins. The fruit on the palate was more dense than the Angove Shiraz, but it had a rustic elegance to it. Always a reliable label and an easy go-to wine. Yum!