WBM Trade - February 2015

XXX

February 2015

WBM Trade features 100 outstanding wines selected by our expert palates, Mike Bennie and Tyson Stelzer, who taste thousands of samples a year. Only the best appear in these pages!

WBM February 2015

06-WBM 060-067 Feb15.indd 67

67

3/02/2015 5:19 pm

WBM TRADE

WORDS ASHLEIGH EBERT

ADELAIDE’S ON THE UP

68

WBM February 2015

WBM TRADE

T

he revitalisation of Adelaide’s wining and dining culture is reaching new heights... literally. 2KW is the latest bar and restaurant in town – and it’s in a spectacular location on top of one of the city’s most prominent spots – the former Bank of New South Wales building at 2 King William Street.

The new $4.5 million space, which looks out over Government House and Festival Theatre, offers five entertainment areas including The Restaurant, Loggia Bar, The Terrace, The Cabanas and The Garden. The venue spans 550 square metres and has a capacity for 260 patrons, the restaurant accommodating 70 of those.

The menus are designed for sharing and offer the best of South Australian seasonal produce, with influences from all over the globe. There are other local references in the menu and wine list, with some cocktails paying homage to an array of proximate state icons.

James Parham, experienced sommelier, or 2KW’s “wine guy” says the wine list is eclectic. “It’s been conscientiously manicured and maintained – there’s a balance between the young and funky to more traditional wines,” James says. “The wine list is, as an overall read, professional yet slightly tongue-in-cheek, cheeky and fun.”

The venue is loyal to local producers. Wine brands represented include The Lane, Deviation Road, Pike & Joyce and SC Pannell. You can buy a West End long-neck for $14, and there’s a cocktail called The Les Burdett.

“Good if you want to make a great pitch. Like the man, a straight up drink. Just make sure you don’t cut his grass.

Rye, hints of black tea, cherry, orange,” says the menu.

The operations manager is Simon Adami and the head chef is Nick Finn. Jamie’s Italian restaurant, which opened to much fanfare last year, is a tenant on the ground floor of the same building.

WBM February 2015

69

WINE reviews

96

95

$70.00 Wirra Wirra

@wirrawirrawines The RSW McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012 Wonderful violet fragrance is energised by vibrant acidity. Layers of black fruits are propelled by beautifully poised, driving tannins.

One of the greatest RSWs to date, with a magnificent future before it. 14.5%

Reviewed by Tyson Stelzer

94

$29.00 Cherubino

94

$39.00 Tapanappa

@Tapanappa Adelaide Hills Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2013

$85.00 Alpha Crucis

@ChalkHillWines McLaren Vale Syrah 2012

The greatness of Tiers shines, even in vines just 10 years of age. I love its lemon blossom fragrance, white peach concentration, tense malic acidity and seamless French oak, but most of all I love its fine, mineral, flinty texture. 13.5%

A pretty epic wine here. Heroic in profile, bold fruit, full lush perfume and a plushness to texture. There’s sweetness of fruit and slugs of seamlessly meshed, nougat scented and flavoured oak, but with impressive length and fine balance, there’s a great feel with all things considered. 15.0%

Reviewed by Tyson Stelzer

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

94

93

$55.00 Voyager Estate

$25.00 Mitolo

@cherubinowines Porongurup Laissez Faire Riesling 2014

@voyagerestate Project Gin Gin Chardonnay 2011

@MitoloWines McLaren Vale Sagrantino 2012

This is a Riesling all about wonderful texture, mineral mouthfeel and complexity. It’s lively, spicy and long, exuding wonderfully versatile potential with sushi and sashimi. 11.5%

Really floral, light but fleshy texture, some corn notes with mouthwatering acidity, and chalkiness builds in finish. Gossamer texture makes for great ease of drinking and captivates a drinker looking for finesse from Chardonnay.

Voyager’s more tailored wine range offers great exploration of Margaret River, and this, a compelling reason to view Chardonnay through the prism of a single clone. 13.0%

It’s not like Sagrantino is going to shake the foundations of Australian wine, but done well, like here, it sure shows interest and drinkability.

This is spicy, full-bodied and firm in texture.

A growling, deep wine of structure and bold tannin. Big red lovers apply here. 14.5%

Reviewed by Tyson Stelzer

70

WBM February 2015

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

WINE reviews

93

93

$24.00 Alkoomi

92

$28.00 Tim Smith Wines

$36.00 Cape Bernier

@Alkoomi Frankland River Sauvignon Blanc 2014

@timsmithbarossa Barossa Valley Mataro Grenache Shiraz 2013

@CapeBernier Tasmania La Frontiere Cuvee Brut Rosé 2011

Built for summer. So refreshing. Passionfruit and tropical fruits jostling around. There’s not a lot of complexity to the wine, but there is great refreshment factor, purity of fruit, length of flavour and general good feel for the variety.

It excels in all departments, and overdelivers at the price. 12.5%

Tim Smith is a dab hand with his assortment of old vine vineyards, eking out wines of layered fruit, fine structure and length of flavour. This MGS is simply delicious. There’s loads of personality to the rich but not overly full-on fruit and the wine is dusted with clove-like spice.

Perfume is huge and so very pleasing. Pitchperfect for the blend and easy appreciation. 14.5%

It’s easy to suggest that Tasmania is making the strongest case in Australia for the production of premium sparkling wine. Another great example here, which offers pretty fruit and floral perfume, some gently sweet gulpfuls of rose water, red fruit and tangy citrus fruit, and a hint of creaminess and vanilla for some presence and complexity. Lots to like. 12.5%

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

92

92

$26.00 Cape Jaffa

92

$35.00 Henry’s Drive

@CapeJaffaWines Wrattonbully Anna’s Blend 2014

@henrysdrive Padthaway Shiraz 2010

Quixotic wine of great personality, combining Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon with slippery texture, almost muscat scents but also spice and herbal things going on. Texture is fleshy through the mouth and the wine rolls with citrus, green apples and estery banana notes, but finishes wickedly fresh. Great. 13.0%

Seeking full flavour, bold fruit expression, deep fruit and a mesh of spicy, cedary oak? Then look no further. Yes, it’s a bombastic style, but the licks of dried fruit, ripe plum and sandy, twiggy tannins all seem to gel. The salty finish does distract, but many like that amongst the fuller fruit flavours. Ducks in a row. 14.5%

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

$25.00 Tahbilk

@TahbilkWinery Nagambie Lakes Roussanne Marsanne Viognier 2013 It’s refreshing to find a Rhône-style white blend in Australia with such character, texture and vibrancy. Enticing mixed spice overlays pear, vanilla and custard apple, with a gentle, creamy mouthfeel and crunchy acidity. Engaging and versatile. 13.5% Reviewed by Tyson Stelzer

WBM February 2015

71

WINE reviews

91

91

$25.00 MC Chardonnay

by Three Dark Horses @3DarkHorses Adelaide Hills 2014

Unusually mad for a Chardonnay with carbonic maceration kicking off the ferment, which then continued on solids with some lees stirred then bottled unfiltered and unfined. Smells pretty out there – spicy, creamed corn, marzipan – lemony tang to taste with ciderous notes. Not for everyone, but the adventurous will be well rewarded. 12.5% Reviewed by Mike Bennie

91

$28.00

$25.00

Roaring Fork Wine Co

Tahbilk

Orange Chardonnay 2014

From Amaroo, near Mount Canobolas, Roaring Fork, roaring wine. Rich, full flavoured, touch of creamed corn, but a lush, unctuous style many will crave. It’s set to the more ‘old school’ style of Chardonnay but gets good balance in its bolder feel, and acidity is crisp and refreshing.

Neatly done. 12.5%

Reviewed by Mike Bennie

@TahbilkWinery Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2013 This is a wine that captures the savoury elegance of Nagambie Lakes while upholding the elegant strawberry and cherry fruits of Grenache. Tannins are firm and finely textured, promising medium-term potential. 14.0%

Reviewed by Tyson Stelzer

Wirra Wirra

91

$16.00 Shingleback

@ShinglebackWine McLaren Vale Haycutters Salmon Rosé 2014 Ahh, pretty colour with a fine, gently sweet feel. Some stickiness in texture, but the wine finishes lemony, perky and refreshing. Simple stuff, but done very well and the fruit is left mostly to its own devices while offering a good, clean, sweet hit. Fit for purpose. 11.5% Reviewed by Mike Bennie

72

WBM February 2015

Be seen in WBM Send your wine samples to: Tyson Stelzer 14 Andrea Street, Tarragindi, QLD, 4121.

Mike Bennie 15 Trafalgar Street, Enmore, NSW, 2042.

Cherubino

The Angelus McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Vineyards in the cooler parts of McLaren Vale provide poise, benchmark varietal definition and grand longevity, upholding the black depth of the region.

Wirra has unleashed one of the best McLaren Vale Cabernets in a good while. 14.0% TS

Continues a run of excellent Cabernet releases where barely a hair is out of place. Elegant wine set in traintracks of tannin.

Shows briary-black fruit and a touch of bayleaf in bouquet and palate. Sinewy but with enough giff to rip the top off a bottle now. 14.5% MB

96PTS $70.00

95PTS $110.00

Grosset

Hardys

South Australia Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Thomas Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Jeffrey Grosset ranks this among the most appealing of his recent SSB releases. It’s also brilliantly engineered for the long haul, thanks to a backbone of taut Semillon acidity. 12.5% TS

A refined and classic Thomas Hardy of elegant, understated character whose greatness is declared softly and slowly.

A well polished and classy Cabernet blend that demands some time to declare its greatness. 13.5% TS

95PTS $35.00

95PTS $130.00

WINE reviews

Hentley Farm

Barossa Valley Black Beauty Sparkling Shiraz NV Achieving colour, depth and intensity while retaining finesse and softness in sparkling Shiraz is no easy balancing act, and Hentley Farm has got it spot on. It’s luscious, deep, creamy and silky, achieving depth and breadth with focus and finesse.

14.0% TS

95PTS $60.00

Galafrey

Howard Park

Porongurup Riesling 2014 Two of the oldest vineyards in the Porongurup sub-region prove why this place is the unsung hero of Australian Riesling.

It’s delicately precise, pure and high-strung. Impressive concentration rides a line of tense, cool acidity. 12.0% TS

95PTS $34.00

Grosset

Kooyong Estate

Amelia Park

Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay 2012

Margaret River Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

A magnificent vintage for Kooyong, sophisticated and impeccably crafted, uniting tension with texture, persistence and grace. A beautifully zesty and focused style of citrus energy, elegant gunflint complexity and fine lees-derived mouthfeel. 13.5% TS

Rich, fleshy and smooth with dark fruits, a choc-mocha tannin profile with a complex array of spice and bouquet garni-like herbal character. Margaret River has barely put a foot wrong in a decade; it’s great to see a wealth of wineries with great releases. 14.5% MB

95PTS $42.00

94PTS $50.00

Grosset

Knappstein

Mount Barker Dry Land Reserve Riesling 2014

Adelaide Hills Piccadilly Chardonnay 2013

Sherbetty tang! Big squeeze of lime and citrus in a cool, clear, crystalline glass of water.

Suppleness and succulence in acidity brings drinkability right up, but there’s more to this needlewidth Riesling, showing potential to develop into something more interesting. 11.5% MB

Recent releases of Grosset’s non-Reisling wines have not been outshone by their more famed stablemates. This again shows deft touch with tight, fine, flinty, light juiciness and a racy feel that comes from pristine fruit flavours and judicious oak. Super. 13.5% MB

94PTS $25.00

94PTS $62.00

Leo Buring

Port Phillip

Mornington Peninsula Sauvignon 2014

Yarra Valley Pondersa Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012

Cool Tassie ageworthy acidity is the main event here, focused, taut and well tempered by an otherwise invisible touch of residual sweetness. The standout of the 2014 Leo Buring Riesling odyssey. 12.0% TS

Spends time on lees and a portion goes to barrel. From first whiff, very complex. Smells like marzipan and white flesh stone fruit, touch floral and a squeeze of citrus. Firm texture but juiciness in the core; long too, finishing with mouthwatering acidity. 13.5% MB

That De Bortoli produce this is buried in the fine print, but they should be proud of this flagship Pinot. Fruit purity and elegance personified. Long, succulent tannins with sinewy texture holding in the dark fruit and forest floor characters that ripple through. 13.5% MB

94PTS $40.00

94PTS $26.00

94PTS $42.00

93PTS $25.00

Bird In Hand

Bondar Wines

Cannibal Creek

Capital Wines

Sangio fortunes in Canberra look bright, and Capital Wines punch high with this bright, juicy, fresh-fruited style that departs from more serious Chianti-aping.

Instead offers a near-on joven style, but with firm, al dente tannins. 13.1% MB

Tasmania Leopold DW R20 Tamar Valley Riesling 2014

Adelaide Hills Nest Egg Merlot 2012

McLaren Vale Violet Hour Shiraz 2013

Clare Valley Alpiana 2014 An all-new blend for Grosset, capturing the essence of Fiano, energised with the zest and definition of Semillon, producing a delightfully food-friendly and versatile blend of purity, freshness and beautifully textural mouthfeel. 12.7% TS

94PTS $40.00 Riorret

Gippsland Pinot Noir 2012

Up there with the most serious Australian Merlots and often praised for its more complex, potent feel. Doesn’t disappoint those expecting structure, oak potency and richness of fruit to find balance. Drive and power are calling cards, as are dusty, graphite tannins. 14.5% MB

Whole-bunch influence with soupy, juicy, bold-fruit flavours.

Touch sweet but not without acid freshness and pucker.

Suggestion of nougat and the wine feels complex, Solid debut wine. Stay tuned for production off the famed Rayner Vineyard they now own. 14.0% MB

Wonderful expression of Pinot Noir here, not trying too hard, but giving a decent picture of the region and grape. It’s a bit spicier than expected and has a core of herbal aromas and flavours, but the red and black cherry fruit finds good footing and the chalkiness of fine tannin great for structrue.

Very likeable. 13.5% MB

93PTS $110.00

93PTS $28.00

93PTS $32.00

Clare Valley Block 5 Enterprise Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Serious from the get-go.

Prestigious, rich and complex.

A mellow flow of ripe dark fruit tinged with black olive, subdued with fine, firm tannin, richness of spice and a feel of plushness yet structure. Plenty in the tank for decent cellar time. 13.5% MB

94PTS $85.00 Arete

Adelaide Hills Road Less Travelled Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Spice, savouriness, doughyrichness, bright fruit. Sweetness of fruit then builds into nougat, oatmeal finish. Great balance between winemaking and fruit purity, deftly handled by winemakers intent on a complex style. Delicious. 12.0% MB

Canberra District The Foreign Minister Sangiovese 2013

93PTS $25.00 WBM February 2015

73

WINE reviews

Coriole

Chandon

South Eastern Australia Vintage Brut 2010

Pemberton Sauvignon Blanc 2015

The Diletti family is really pedal to the metal with its suite of wines. This is a mouthwatering, matchsticky funk-imbued Chardonnay, with fine, transparent stone fruit character and a brisk, cool trim of citrussy acidity. Great energy, great drinking. 13.0% MB

This vintage leaps out from a line of Australian fizz for its finesse, sophistication and elegant yet determined persistence. Primary fruit is softened by the creamy texture of extended lees ageing. Class act. 12.5% TS

There is elegance, subtlety and gently floral fragrance here, with a shape defined evenly by refreshing acidity and phenolic grip that provides texture and definition, making for a versatile style with umami-rich Japanese cuisine. 13.0% TS

Often lacking in Australian Sangiovese, is proper tannin.

Best examples do find those chewy, tense traintracks, and this shows it in spades. It’s savoury-leading in perfume and flavours, but also thrills with red fruits and briary, herbal character. Better than a ‘pizza wine’. 14.0% MB

93PTS $30.00

93PTS $41.00

93PTS $35.00

93PTS $25.00

d’Arenberg

Deviation Road

Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2012

Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2013

Can’t escape thinking about Zoolander’s famous line “you can dere-lick my...”. Bold, pretty musky perfume, with a palate offering plush lashes of savoury purple fruits, gentle sweetness and a dusting of spice. Good balance and length with a touch of class. 13.5% MB

Deviation Road seems to have hit a higher gear with recent relases, and with this 2012 Pinot Noir offers a pure at heart, plums and cherries-driven, juicy, gently sweet wine. A tinge of cool herb character weaves through the wine and there’s an even, balanced feel, all up.

13.5% MB

The 21st release of this wine; you sometimes forget the trajectory of Grosset away from Riesling wines. This finelywrought Pinot Noir shows with sappy fruit character and tacky texture, brisk with spice and finishes moreish with a washy, fruit-driven finish. Pretty delicious. 13.5% MB

93PTS $30.00

93PTS $45.00

93PTS $74.00

Porongurup Diletti Chardonnay 2012

McLaren Vale Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2010

Kooyong Estate

Levantine Hill

Grosset

Majella

McLaren Vale Sangiovese 2013

Higher Plane Wines

South by Southwest Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2012 The warm 2012 season was a blessing in the cooler southwest of Margaret River, producing a South by Southwest of a magnitude that lands it much further north than its bargain price might suggest. It’s deep, black, well structured and ageworthy. 14.0% TS

93PTS $22.00 Majella

Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2012

Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Strawberry and red cherry fruits, beetroot, brambles and a hint of charcuterie unite seamlessly in a tangy and finely textured vintage. Tannin grip and acid tang promise good potential in the cellar. 13.5% TS

The wine spends 12 months in new French oak, but testimony to the quality of fruit, the blackfruited core of the wine is up to the task. The wine is chewy in texture, tight, framed with spicy oak and finishes tarry and firm.

Serious feeling, in a great way.

13.5% MB

An intense vintage for Majella with a lot going on: blackcurrant, black pastilles, cassis, mint, eucalypt and dark chocolate. For all this, it retains focus thanks to prominent acid drive and firm, finely integrated tannins.14.5% TS

The unexpected here – Coonawarra and Riesling showing cracking form. It’s a tense, cirtus-meets-apple flavoured wine of great refreshment and easy appeal.

There’s a touch of chalky tension and a lick of fruit sweetness for interest too.

Good drinking. 11.5% MB

93PTS $48.00

93PTS $80.00

93PTS $33.00

93PTS $17.00

Mayhem & Co

Primo Estate

Primo Estate

Has a lot going on. Peaches and cream but some serious nuttiness and saline character. There’s a funky kind of feeling, but the wine stays mighty refreshing. Nice touch with the briny finish too.

There’s a heap going on here, yet the overall feel of a classy Chardonnay is retained. Much interest. 12.5% MB

A deep and powerful Angel Gully of ripe black fruits, dark chocolate, liquorice and black olive intensity set against a backdrop of gamey complexity.

This is a McLaren Vale Shiraz of stature and drying grip.

14.5% TS

Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2013

93PTS $40.00 74

Cherubino

Castle Rock

WBM February 2015

McLaren Vale Joseph Angel Gully Clarendon Shiraz 2012

93PTS $80.00

Zamberlan McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon Sangiovese 2012 Impeccable control and varietal focus for a rich and concentrated style, this is classic modern McLaren Vale Cabernet of body and depth. It’s built around great definition of energetic, crunchy black fruits, well-focused acidity and tightly-framed tannins. 14.5% TS

93PTS $35.00

Coonawarra Riesling 2014

Shaw + Smith

Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2014 The 25th release is a pure and pretty vintage for Shaw + Smith, driven by concentrated lime, lemon and crunchy granny smith apple fruit, riding a tight acid line supported by gentle phenolic grip. 12.0% TS

93PTS $25.00

WINE reviews

Pikes

Clare Valley The Merle Riesling 2014 Shows the flex of complexity, intensity, concentration and length expected from a reserve wine. It’s all blossoms and citrusKERRIGAN in the bouquet, The + BERRY wines have been in the making for decades. Made by more of the same to taste Michael Kerrigan and Gavin Berry these wines represent the pinnacle of two careers with a juicy, almost mineral water-minerality coursing spent crafting wine from some of the most respected vineyards of Western Australia. through too. 12.0% MB

The KERRIGAN + 94 BERRY wines are made from the highest quality grapes selected PTS $40.00 PTS $35.00 94 from the finest vineyards; our interpretation of the best of Western Australia.

Wolf Blass

Brown Label Classic Langhorne Creek Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 Retro reborn. Say what you will about the retro brown label, but there’s no denying this compelling, modern blend of South Australia’s richest Shiraz regions. It’s rich, dark, glossy, polished, generous and seductive. 14.5% TS

95 Points Kerrigan + Berry Mt Barker Margaret

River Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 94PTS $50.00

A relatively late release by WA standards, and at four years of age it upholds impressively vibrant, bright Cape Jaffa aromas and flavours. A cabernet of Limestone Coast Epic Drop well-defined varietal integrity, well Shiraz 2012 structured and ageworthy.

Cape Jaffa is finding mojo.

Maybe to do with its focus on biodynamic farming of vineyards and a bit of freewheeling in the winery. So juicy and fresh, dusted with spice, bound by chalky tannins and finishes with a lick of briny acidity. 14.5% MB

95 Points 93PTS $35.00 93PTS $35.00 Kerrigan + Berry Mt Barker Great

De Bortoli Southern Riesling 2013

La Bohème Act Two Yarra Valley DryOld Pinot Noir in a happy place on a great vines site furnish a backbone of high-strung Rosé 2014

acidity and a pronounced, finely mineral

mouth feel. A riesling of excellent drive A flattering and elegantly seamless harmony and fruit-focused roséand withpersistence, a long, enduring dry and sophisticated finish.energy, it’s magnificent now and will live long.

Delicate watermelon and rose Reviews by petal nuances hover over a core strawberry and raspberry Tyson Stelzer fruit and savoury notes of sweet tomato. 12.5% TS

93PTS $22.00

93PTS $39.00

www. ke r r i g a n a n d b e r r y.co m . a u

WINE reviews

Shaw + Smith

Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2013

Barossa Valley William Randell Shiraz 2012

Tolpuddle

Tasmania Pinot Noir 2013

Turkey Flat

Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Big end of the red wine spectrum but manages its broad shoulders with balance and a flair for lovers of powerful wines. It’s all chocmilk, choc-raspberry, tobacco and wood scents. Bold, full and powerful with coursing tannins and a velvety flow finishing long and mouthcoating. 14.5% MB

Though the wine might be set to more herbal characters and a light, sinewy frame, there’s actually a bit of depth to flavour, finesse in the barely-ripe feel to cherry fruit and a flick of interesting lemony/thyme freshness in the very long finish. Texture is sappy and complexity is set to finesse.

Watch this vineyard. 12.5% MB

93PTS $45.00

93PTS $60.00

93PTS $75.00

93PTS $40.00

Vickery

Vinoque

Battle Of Bosworth

Break Creek

McLaren Vale Shiraz 2012

Tasmania Cuvee Traditionelle 2008

2013 brings a generosity, depth and intensity to the classic black-fruited, spicedriven style of Shaw + Smith Shiraz. Density is neatly scaffolded with fine, textural, softly gravelly tannins.

14.0% TS

Clare Valley WVR 192 CB Watervale Riesling 2014

Yarra Valley Nebbiolo Rose 2014

Turkey Flat has refined its wine style in recent years, though the hallmark full-flavoured hit of rich, Barossa fruit still gets delivered. The year and the additional attention to detail delivers Cabernet that’s oak laden and potent, but filigreed with sandy tannin and frisky acidity.

Feels classy to drink. 13.5% MB

Winemaker Phil Lehmann has breathed life into the great Riesling name of John Vickery with this pure, driven, electric white wine of immense, coiled, pent-up energy and fine lines of citrus and green apple fruit intensity. So well formed, such a delicious wine. 11.5% MB

Nebbiolo is surely one of the great grapes for rosé-style wines in Australia. This from the sexy sublabel of De Bortoli drinks with fine sandy tannins, savoury fruit profile, a burst of red currant and a hit of clove. Great texture and length delivers a great experience. Slot it into a rosé repertoire. 13.7% MB

An unnerving ability to produce fine varietal wines of McLaren Vale, Battle Of Bosworth has released a smooth, richly-fruited Shiraz of lustrous texture, evenkeeled fruit, acid and oak balance with good length of flavour and quiet complexity. Nail on head.

14.5% MB

Rich, foamy, moussey, very bakery orientated and with a powerful presence in the palate. An inkling that the wine has been left to mature on lees but released at a tipping point for freshness; clever work. The perfume is impressive too: bold with nougat, maripan and baked apples. Go forth. 12.5% MB

93PTS $24.00

93PTS $25.00

92PTS $25.00

92PTS $39.00

Briar Ridge

Chain of Ponds First Lady

Dirty Three

Hunter Valley The Briar Vineyard Blend 2014 Gwyn Olsen has taken a run at a serious field blend. Indicative of site and vintage using the wealth of a single plot of vines.

Compelling blend of Semillon, Verdelho, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Pepper-dusted, quince, ripe apple and tonic water-like freshness. 13.0% MB

92PTS $30.00

Domaine CHANDON

76

Thorn-Clarke

Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Holgates Road South Gippsland Pinot Noir 2013

A pure, fruit-focused and compelling expression of High-tensile acidity and prominent cashew nut French oak Gippsland Pinot. It’s pretty, declare a Sauvignon built for the appealing and immediate, laced together with silky and long haul, closer in style to the long-lived wines of Sancerre than soft tannins, making for an approachable style to enjoy right easy-going Aussie Sauvignon.

It’s persistent and tightly honed. away. 13.7% TS 13.0% TS

Dodgy Bros

McLaren Vale Sangiovese 2014 This is out of the box. Sangiovese with 13 percent Merlot and 30 percent whole bunch used in ferment. It’s compelling in sweet spice with glossy texture and a fistful of spice. Length is decent, some tannins give a kick and it is set to a more fresh, fun drink with some subtle complexity. Yeah!

13.5% MB

92PTS $35.00

92PTS $45.00

92PTS $22.00

Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2013

Yarra Valley Brut Rosé NV

Dominique Portet

Guthrie

Heemskerk

Dan Buckle has been applying the screws to wines beyond the cherished sparkling folio at Chandon with solid results. An evenly poised, cherry-fruited, dark choc-mocha tannin-filled wine that shows supple but with architecture to ensure greater interest beyond drinkability. Hearty Pinot Noir. 13.0% MB

A full-flavoured sparkling rosé that celebrates the red cherry and strawberry character of Upper Yarra Pinot and the complexity and texture of two years of lees age, producing a style of body, richness, fruit sweetness and elegant appeal. 13.0% TS

A Sauvignon that finds a wonderful harmony between the primary crunchy fruit notes of grapefruit and pear, and the fine, mouthfilling texture of clever skin, barrel and lees work is a rare thing. Bravo! 12.5% TS

This is an impressively coiled, focused and backward style at five years of age, with time on lees building lovely mouthfilling texture without yet developing nutty or toasty character. Patience. 12.0% TS

92PTS $31.00

92PTS $28.00

92PTS $22.00

92PTS $60.00

WBM February 2015

Adelaide Hills The Little Tasmania Chardonnay Pinot Things Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Noir Coal River Valley 2009

WINE reviews

Leo Buring

Clare Valley Leonay DW R18 Watervale Riesling 2014

Majella

Coonawarra Shiraz 2012

An impressive result for an opulent season, capturing the intensity of the vintage in slippery, succulent, expansive generosity but upholding the acid drive to keep the finish controlled. 12.5% TS

Black plum fruit, blueberry, mixed spice and liquorice unite in a full-bodied and intense Majella toned with heightened acidity that demands time to tone down. Dark chocolate oak provides well-gauged support.

14.5% TS

92PTS $40.00

92PTS $30.00

Pedestal

Port Phillip

MAJELLA The Malleea by Majella Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2010

Maxwell

McLaren Vale Four Roads Old Vine Grenache 2013

Promising to rank among the longer-lived Malleeas.

A vintage of black fruits becoming secondary, dark chocolate and liquorice, carrying good structure of wellfocused acidity, fine tannins and persistence. 14.5% TS

Big whifs off candied fruit and raspberry with a sprinkle of cinnamon/clove spice.

Slippery in texture, curious and good lick of graphite-like savouriness, some choc-berry things going on and feels, all up, like a ripper drink. 14.5% MB

92PTS $80.00

92PTS $24.00

Robert Stein

Shadowfax

Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Mornington Peninsula Salasso Rosé 2014

Mudgee Third Generation Chardonnay 2014

A spicy and complex barrel-fermented SSB that sustains the crunchy citrus, blackcurrant bud, grass and gooseberry character of lively fruit and seamlessly overlays the hazelnut cream and cashew nut complexity of barrel fermentation. 13.0% TS

Shiraz grapes. Whole-bunch pressed with a wild ferment.

The wine hangs out on lees for a few months. It’s a dedicated approach to rosé wine. Shows with very sticky texture but a dry finish. Load of spice with bright, crisp red fruits. It’s serious and seriously delicious. 13.5% MB

A cuddlier, sweeter, riper style of Chardonnay, a calling card that Mudgee does well for those seeking some flesh to their whites. Flush with stone fruit and melon, creamy nougat complexity. Juicy. Old school but fresh. Will mellow to buttery. 13.0% MB

Carignan, Mataro, Cinsault, Grenache and Mondeuse Noir.

You wouldn’t read about it, but there’s layers of complexity among the slurpy lighter weight and savoury wine.

Wildly aromatic, offers amaro and green herb and spice notes with a mesh of wild berry fruit set behind. 13.0% MB

92PTS $25.00

92PTS $24.00

92PTS $25.00

92PTS $26.00

Soumah

The Yard

Krinklewood

Shaw + Smith

Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2013

A warm, dry season has expressed itself in a more plump and generous style, ripe for immediate drinking.

Layers of complexity unite the savoury nuances of beetroot with silky, fine tannins.

12.5% TS

92PTS $45.00

Bimbadgen

Yarra Valley Ai Fiori Rosé 2014 Channybearup Vineyard Pemberton There’s everything to like about Sauvignon Blanc 2014 rosé with personality, structrue and a feel of class. This is super Pretty apple blossom fragrance spicy, bold and juicy, shows hovers over a crunchy granny fine, chalky-crisp fringes and is smith apple and lime juice palate, very savoury to drink through accented with Sauvignon’s to a firm, dry finish. Much spicy complexity and edgy more packed into this rosé than acid profile. Fruit depth meets expected, and satisfaction in the flesh, persistence and tangy genial feel. 12.6% MB varietal definition. 13.5% TS

92PTS $24.00

Bundaleer

92PTS $25.00

Geoff Merrill

Werribee Minnow 2013

Wild Red Hunter Valley 2013 Arguably the leading biodynamic winegrower in NSW and producing some exacting wines from within its broad Hunter Valley stable. This is a Shirazbased wine that shows juicy, savoury and gently nutty with a core of firm red fruit. This offers a lot for the price. 13.5% MB

92PTS $20.00

Howard Park

Orange MCA Series XIV Fumé Blanc 2014

Flinders Ranges Sparkling Shiraz NV

Jacko’s McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010

Great Southern Mount Barker Riesling 2014

The cool climes of the Orange region define a taut and tense barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc of considerable energy and tension. The multi-faceted spicy dimensions of this variety are drawn out through wild fermentation in barrels.

12.3% TS

A sparkling Shiraz that celebrates the fruit character of a family vineyard on the southern edge of the Flinders Ranges. It strikes a compelling balance between finely structured tannins and lively acidity. Value. 13.5% TS

A luscious and polished Shiraz in an appealingly approachable style at four years of age.

Dark berry/cherry/plum fruit is seamlessly integrated with spicy dark chocolate oak and finely textured tannins finishing long and even. 14.5% TS

Howard Park’s first standalone Mount Barker Riesling is a gently exotic and spicy release providing a contrast to the cool, incisive acidity of Mount Barker; at once approachable and generous, and simultaneously firm and high-strung. 12.0% TS

91PTS $29.00

91PTS $20.00

91PTS $28.00

91PTS $33.00 WBM February 2015

77

WINE reviews

Kalleske

Barossa Valley Rosina Rosé 2014 Cherry pip bursting out of the glass. A sweeter-feeling style but balanced well with acid freshness and a clip of herbal spice. Lengthy enough to suggest a wine of seriousness, but its joyous perfume and pretty fruit makes drinkability the core offering. 12.0% MB

Coonawarra Merlot 2012 Impressively lively and crunchy Merlot of red- and blackcurrant fruit and notes of dried herbs backed by slightly furry tannins and pronounced acidity. It carries itself with integrity, promising a strong future, sustained as much by acidity as tannins. 14.5% TS

McHenry Hohnen

Metala

Margaret River Rocky Road Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2013

Langhorne Creek Shiraz Cabernet 2012

Much joy from Margaret River’s best known coupling of white grapes, especially when handled deftly by a hot winemaking team. Summery and crisp lemon/lime Spliceimbued wine that feels refreshing, cool and bright. Fine chalky texture. 12.5% MB

There’s a dynamic berry fruits definition and a lively, fragrant, leafy lift here, demonstrating the balance and calibre of this vintage in Langhorne Creek, even at this affordable price.

Impressive. 14.0% TS

91PTS $19.00

91PTS $28.00

91PTS $20.00

91PTS $23.00

Paxton

Punt Road

Chapel Hill

Ad Hoc

Electric pink makes the wine look like it’s plugged into a nightclub market, but manages to step back from its loose image and show a wild strawberry, lightly creamy wine that finishes cranberry fresh and apt for urgent summery drinking.

Paxton is firing. 12.5% MB

A classic floral and elegant Yarra Valley Cabernet of lifted rose bud perfume and gentle yet well-defined red- and blackcurrant fruit. Tannins are fine and supple, carrying confidently through a gentle finish. 13.0% TS

Great density of glossy blackberry and black cherry fruit is set against a backdrop of dark chocolate liquorice bullets. It’s just what you want from McLaren Vale Shiraz at a great price. 14.5% TS

91PTS $20.00

91PTS $29.00

90PTS $16.00

McLaren Vale Shiraz Rosé 2014

Ferngrove Wines Western Australia Leaping Lizard Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Hewitson

Parson’s Nose McLaren Vale Shiraz 2013

Nocton Vineyard

Avant Gardening Frankland Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2013 Dark berry compote, spice, satsuma plum and dark chocolate unite in a generously fruity and appealingly approachable style supported by finely textured tannins. Value for money quaffer. 13.5% TS

90PTS $21.00 Silent Way

Lu Lu Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Tasmania Coal River Valley Merlot 2012

Victorian Highlands Pinot Noir 2013

Lively, floral and tangy, this is a well balanced WA SSB driven by lemon, lime and grapefruit which coalesce in a refreshing style of impressive line and length. 13.0% TS

A gentle and appealing quaffer from a single vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, this is a soft, early-drinking Sauvignon of lemon and guava fruitiness, integrated acidity and good persistence. 12.5% TS

It may seem counterintuitive that there is such potential for Bordeaux varieties in southern Tasmania’s Coal River Valley.

This is a gentle red-fruited Merlot of dried rose petal and red berry character. Finely structured tannins define a drying finish. 14.2% TS

Silent it is not, but gentle it is. This young single vineyard in the Victorian Highlands, just outside Macedon, has yielded a light and friendly Pinot of fine tannins and a finish of integrity and balance.

13.0% TS

90PTS $15.00

90PTS $23.00

90PTS $30.00

90PTS $25.00

Ferngrove Wines

78

Majella

Leaping Lizard Western Australia Cabernet Merlot 2012

Leaping Lizard Western Australia Sauvignon Blanc 2014

South Australia Three Brothers Reunited Shiraz 2012

Journeys End

Oxford Landing

Excellent varietal Cabernet displaying WA elegance, lifted rose bud fragrance and a well-assembled palate of blackcurrants and leaf supported by vibrant acidity and finely integrated tannins.

Value. 14.0% TS

Crunchy and tangy with a grippy mouthfeel, this is a fresh and lively WA Sauvignon picked at the right moment when lemon and pear come into focus, accented with nuances of passionfruit.

13.0% TS

A primary, fruity and uncomplicated South Australian Shiraz of black plum and mixed spice appeal. Oak barely makes its presence known, and with soft tannins it’s ripe for immediate drinking. 14.5% TS

Zesty, fresh and fruity, driven more by crunchy acidity than by subtle residual sweetness, this is a quaffable Sauvignon that strikes the right balance between tangy citrus and varietal green pea notes. It’s well made and great value.

10.5% TS

89PTS $15.00

89PTS $15.00

87PTS $11.00

87PTS $9.00

WBM February 2015

Ferngrove Wines

South Australia Sauvignon Blanc 2014