Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arete The Chatterbox Shiraz 2010 $18–$20 Andy Kalleske Cemetery Block, Koonunga, Barossa Valley, South Australia Winemaker Peter Bate’s amazingly delicious, drink-now shiraz comes from a single vineyard in the Barossa’s Koonunga sub-region. It features highly aromatic fruit (floral and musk like) with similar richness, vibrance and freshness on the palate. The juicy, ripe fruit literally ripples across the palate, the essence of the Barossa style ¬– including the soft, almost tender tannins. In short, it captures Barossa generosity and softness while avoiding over-the-top alcohol, tannin and oak. It’s exciting to find such a pure regional style at such a modest price. See www.aretewines.com.au

Pike’s Merle Riesling 2011 $38 Clare Valley, South Australia Pikes produces two Clare Valley rieslings – a $23 blend from the family estate and contract vineyards and this flagship from the family’s “Gill’s Farm” and “Hill” blocks at Polish Hill River, a Clare sub-region. In the cool 2011 vintage Merle seems even more austere and minerally than normal. But under the austerity lies a seam of intense, lime-like varietal flavour on an oh-so-delicate, dry palate. It’s delicious now but destined to evolve for many years as that brisk, steely acidity protects the evolving fruit flavour.

Yering Station Little Yering Pinot Noir $17 Yarra Valley, Victoria Wines of this calibre, at the price, surely play a role in making pinot noir Australia’s fasting growing major red wine variety (retail volume up 21 per cent in the year to September), albeit off a small base. In the past, cheaper pinots tended to present bright fruit flavours without underlying savouriness or structure. Yering Station, one of our best pinot makers, captures all of these elements in this drink-now version sourced from its own vineyards and selected contract growers.

Port Phillip Estate Salasso Rose 2011 $18.90–$22 Mornington Peninsula, Victoria We’re not great fans of vegemite or rose, though we taste both periodically just to make sure. Vegemite remains in our yuk bin. But this year we’ve enjoyed at tastings (not yet at the dinner table) several flavoursome, soft, dry roses, including Port Phillip Estate’s Salasso. It’s made from shiraz kept on skins just long enough to pick up a rinse of attractive pink-to-onion-skin colour. The fruit flavour’s strawberry like, but checked by a pleasant savouriness on a palate’s that’s soft, fresh and dry but richly textured.

d’Arenberg The Beautiful View Grenache 2009 $99 The Beautiful View sub-region, McLaren Vale, South Australia At a recent tasting we compared five McLaren Vale grenaches – d’Arenberg’s The Beautiful View 2009, Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2009 ($30) and Blewitt Springs 2009 ($99) plus Noon Eclipse 2007 (no longer available) and Wirra Wirra The Absconder 2010 ($65). The flavours ranged from primary fruit (waiting to become wine) to the more earthy, savoury, winey and mature. d’Arenberg’s The Beautiful View (a McLaren Vale sub-region) appealed as the most complete and subtle – an exciting, if fully priced wine, with probably long-term cellaring potential.

Maipenrai Pinot Noir 2009 $30–$32 Maipenrai Vineyard, Sutton, Canberra District, New South Wales Canberra’s Nobel laureate, Brian Schmidt, made just 10 barrels of 2009 pinot with just four elevated to the flagship Maipenrai label. Maipenrai opens a little coy and guarded. But with aeration, its full-blown, savoury pinot noir aroma blossoms, evoking dark fruits, beetroot and earth. On the palate, the savoury, earthy flavours are supported by a brisk acidity – which gives life and vibrancy to the fruit – and assertive, fine-boned tannins – which add to the wine’s silky texture. The savouriness and strong tannin backbone set Maipenrai apart from many of its Australian peers and suggest excellent medium to long-term cellaring prospects. See www.maipenrai.com.au

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011 First published 30 November 2011 in The Canberra Times

Cofield Provincial Parcel Beechworth Chardonnay 2009 $36 Beechworth, Victoria There’s a stylistic salute to Rick Kinsbrunner’s legendary Giaconda chardonnay in Damien Cofield’s first vintage from the region. The salute includes the notable influence of barrel fermentation and maturation, minerality, finesse, flavour intensity and deep, smooth texture. This is a striking and lovable chardonnay, looking young and fresh two and half years after vintage. Cofield has a few runs on the board with his other wines, so this is a label to watch.

Tscharke Girl Talk Savagnin 2011 $18–20 Marananga, Barossa Valley, South Australia As cooler areas inexorably dominate production of the crisp, zesty white styles demanded by consumers, warmer areas like the Barossa seek niches to keep their whites relevant. Damien Tscharke pioneered the Spanish variety, albarino, only to find it was savagnin. In the cool 2011 vintage the variety produced a fragrant, refined version of the style, with a modest alcohol level of 12.5 per cent and comparatively low acidity. The mid palate’s soft, juicy and smooth textured with a pleasant savouriness setting it apart from, say, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay.

Rutherglen Estates Viognier Roussanne Marsanne 2009 $29.95 Shelley’s Vineyard, Rutherglen, Victoria In warm Rutherglen, Rutherglen Estate cultivates the Rhone Valley white varieties, viognier, roussanne and marsanne. Fermented as separate components in oak barrels and later blended, the trio make a full bodied but graceful, soft dry white of great appeal. Viognier gives weight, flavour and texture; roussanne boosts the aroma while mollifying viognier’s tendency to oiliness; and marsanne, say the makers, gives it longevity. It’s a delicious and unique blend, all the better for a couple of years’ bottle age.

Alkoomi Shiraz 2010 $15.89 Frankland River, Great Southern, Western Australia Merv and Judy Lange established Alkoomi in 1971 and in 2010 handed the reins of the 80,000-case estate to their daughter Sandy and her husband Rod Hallett. Alkoomi’s entry-level shiraz, made from estate-grown fruit, offers vibrant, plummy varietal flavour in the sinewy, savoury, spicy regional style. The medium-bodied wine offers an enjoyable variation on the Australian shiraz theme – quite different in flavour and structure from its cool climate peers in Canberra or warm climate versions from, say, McLaren Vale or the Barossa.

Mitolo Jester Shiraz 2009 $28 McLaren Vale, South Australia Frank Mitolo sources his Jester shiraz from McLaren Vale’s Willunga subdistrict. Mitolo writes the maritime climate contributes to, “ an even ripening period and the development of rich fruit flavours and ripe tannins”. Mitolo’s words dovetail with the tasting experience of a big, generous, harmonious shiraz full of fresh, ripe fruit flavour and soft tannins. Mitolo matured Jester in older French oak previously used for his flagship G.A.M. Shiraz.

Domain A Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $70 Coal River Valley, Tasmania From Tasmania’s pinot country comes this extraordinary cabernet sauvignon made uncompromisingly for long-term cellaring – and without a hint of the green, weedy character we might expect at this latitude. First impressions are of violet-like perfume and concentrated blackcurrant-like flavour, mingled with an assertive oak character (not surprising after 36 months in new French barrels). However, as the wine aerates, the varietal flavour asserts itself at centre stage of an amazing, if idiosyncratic, concentrated, sweet-fruited red of great elegance.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011 First published 2 November 2011 in The Canberra Times

Grosset Springvale Vineyard Watervale Riesling 2011 $36 Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2011 $49 Despite widespread crop losses to mildew and botrytis, the wet, cold 2011 vintage delivered stunning quality in some white varieties where growers kept disease at bay and processed only clean fruit. The cool growing conditions produced higher than average acidity which, when combined with fully ripened fruit, meant the sort of intense, fine flavours seen in these two brilliant rieslings from Clare winemaker, Jeffrey Grosset. The Watervale wine shows delicate lime-like flavours and minerality; the Polish Hill is more austere in structure with amazingly powerful flavours underneath the acidity. These are exciting wines capable of long-term cellaring.

Tscharke Only Son Marananga Vineyard Barossa Valley Tempranillo 2010 $25 We snuck this in towards the end of a tasting of tempranillos from across Australia. The variety seems adaptable to a wide range of climates, producing different styles in different areas. Damien Tscharke’s version, sourced from vineyards at Marananga, Western Barossa Valley, bear the regional thumbprint of full body and soft tannin, within the varietal spectrum.  The colour’s notably deeper than wines from cooler areas and the palate’s full, ripe, fleshy and round – but still vibrant and varietal. The tannins, though soft for tempranillo, permeate the fruit and complete the red wine story. This is a really high-class example of this fascinating variety.

Tulloch Hunter Valley Verdelho 2011 $12.35–$16 Tulloch Hunter Valley Vineyard Select Verdelho 2011 $20 Verdelho, from the Island of Madeira, has a long history in Australia, originally as a valued component in fortified wines. But like the red varieties shiraz and mourvedre, it moved easily into the world of table wine, principally in our warmer growing areas. Tulloch’s cheaper version captures the sappy, tropical and citrusy varietal characters pretty well in a grape-fresh, refreshing off-dry style. The vineyard selection version, from Denman (upper Hunter) and Pokolbin (lower Hunter) turns up the intensity of sweet, juicy fruit flavours and finishes a little drier. They make an interesting alternative to sauvignon blanc in the fruity, drink-now style.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011 First published 30 October 2011 in The Canberra Times

Mount Majura Chardonnay 2010 $26 Mount Majura Vineyard, Canberra District, Australian Capital Territory While by and large Canberra’s a little too warm for cutting-edge chardonnay, Mount Majura makes a delicious, age-worthy style, like the 2005 that won a gold medal in last year’s regional show. Winemaker Frank van de Loo writes that earlier picking and blocking most components from malo-lactic fermentation increases the tautness and longevity of the wine. And, in recent years, increasing the proportion of wild yeast ferments added to the texture and length of flavour. We bought our bottle at Grazing, Gundaroo, and came back for seconds such were its juicy delights.

Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee $59.90–$125 Champagne region, France Bollinger’s Australian agent, Fine Wine Partners, must hate it, but parallel importing means we can enjoy this glorious non-vintage Champagne way below the “official” price. I paid $62 for the review bottle, imported direct from god-knows-where by First Choice. And the price fell to $59.90 in six-packs. It’s one of the most delightful non-vintage Champagnes, in its own distinctive style – full-bodied, but amazingly delicate and lively. The flavour and structure reveal a high pinot component (pinot noir 60 per cent, pinot meunier 15 per cent) — but chardonnay provides the liveliness and adds to its elegance. Meunier subtly fleshes out the mid palate.

Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz 2008 $55–$60 Pyrenees, Victoria Fine-tuning in vineyard and winery over many years brings a wine to the best it can be. We see this now in the near perfect, long-living regional shirazes made at Dalwhinnie – established in 1976 by Ewan Jones and now run by his son, David. David thanks consultant and friend Gary Baldwin for a Bordelaise winemaking technique that tames the sometimes-formidable Pyrenees’ tannins. The 2008 vintage delivers opulent, ripe, black cherry and spice flavours on a medium bodied, elegantly structured palate where fruit intertwines with the burnished, persistent tannins.

Ravensworth Shiraz Viognier 2009 $24.30–$27 Ravensworth Vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, New South Wales

We loved this wine on its release in 2010 and almost a year on it’s looking even better. Over lunch at Grazing, Gundaroo, we warmed up on the juicy Capital Wines “The Ambassador” Tempranillo 2009, then moved up another notch in power and complexity to Ravensworth. It held our interest through two bottles – Sydneysiders, locals and English drinkers all impressed. It’s an aromatic, medium-bodied shiraz, featuring ripe berry and spice aromas and rich, supple, silky palate, with a long, savoury, dry finish. It’s a beautiful drink and destined for a five-star rating – just waiting to see how the wines age first. Made by Bryan Martin.

Pazo Barrantes Albarino 2009 $21.85–$22.99 Rias Baixas region, Galicia, Spain Albarino is the signature white variety in Rias Baixas. Pazo Barrantes, imported by Dan Murphy, comes from a 12-hectare albarino vineyard. It’s hand picked, gently pressed, cool fermented and matured for a short time on yeast lees to build texture. I suspect Murphy’s are a year behind on imports as the 2010 is the current release, according the winemaker’s website. I suspect, also, that it’s a style best enjoyed very young, though the 2009 still appeals for its passionfruit-like aroma, savoury dryness – accompanied by a thickening texture and phenolic bite that goes well with savoury foods.

Brown Brothers Limited Release Durif 2009 $19.90 Heathcote, Victoria Durif, a signature red of hot, dry north eastern Victoria, clearly likes the cooler climes of the Mount Camel Range, near Heathcote. In Rutherglen, durif tends to be deep, dark and tannic – truly a wine for heroes. Nothing much changes when the variety moves to Heathcote. The deep red/black colour and abundant tannins remain. But the ripe, plummy, black-cherry fruit seems more buoyant – though still reined in by those awesome tannins. Persistent as the tannins are, they’re quite soft – though there’s still nothing subtle about the wine. Is an unabashed bruiser for those what loves ‘em big.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011 First published 6 July 2011 in The Canberra Times

Widespread predictions of a dramatic, disease-driven collapse in grape production this year proved way off the mark. The Winemakers Federation of Australia estimates a total wine-grape intake of 1.62 million tonnes in 2011 – one per cent up on 2010 and marginally short of the five-year average of 1.63 million tonnes. Production remained well short of the 1.8 to 1.9 million tonne peaks of vintages 2004 to 2006.

Winery intake of sauvignon blanc of just 86 thousand tonnes (up nine per cent on 2010) underlines New Zealand’s dominant role supplying Australia’s top selling white variety.

For the first time since 2007, white production outstripped red – perhaps reflecting greater disease damage to late ripening red varieties. Intake of red grapes declined from 858,111 tonnes in 2010 to 779,283 in 2011; white intake increased from 744,901 tonnes to 839,453 tonnes.

Paralleling white’s overall resurgence, chardonnay (404,610 tonnes) shoved shiraz (322,676) aside as our number one variety. Chardonnay intake increased around 23 per cent from 329,441 tonnes. Shiraz intake plummeted 84 thousand tonnes, or 21 per cent, from 406,775 tonnes in 2010 – almost certainly a direct effect of disease.

Thick-skinned cabernet sauvignon, our second most popular red variety, proved more resilient than shiraz, its intake increasing from 227,197 tonnes in 2010 to 231,869 tonnes in 2011.

This comparative success supports anecdotal evidence of a strong cabernet vintage in, among other places, the Barossa, Canberra and the nearby Hilltops region.

Winery intake of merlot, our number three red variety, mainly a blender, increased marginally from 111,684 tonnes to 113,1190 tonnes.

Intake of pinot noir, used in production of both red table wine and clear sparkling wine, declined by eight per cent from 38,830 tonnes to 35,790 tonnes. But the preliminary estimates don’t indicate which style is likely to be most affected by the shortfall.

Volume of Australia’s surprise fifth ranking red, petit verdot, dropped from 19,789 tonnes to 17,359 tonnes. You’ll see this Bordeaux variety occasionally as a straight varietal. But it’s generally a blending component with the cabernet cousins – cabernets sauvignon and franc, merlot and malbec.

After petit verdot, a comparative newcomer to mainstream Australian winemaking, comes another of our great survivors, grenache. It succeeds in fortified and table wines. It’s part of the warm-climate grenache-shiraz-mourvedre trinity, and appears increasingly in its own right. Grenache intake rocketed 53 per cent from 10,497 in 2010 to 16,069 tonnes in 2011. Such a big leap suggests new plantings coming into production. But we don’t know the answer at this stage.

After grenache, production of other niche varieties falls away markedly. For example, winery intake of mourvedre, subject of three reviews today, totalled only 4,437 tonnes in 2010 and 5,296 tonnes in 2011. Like petit verdot, it’s mainly a blender – but we have some wonderful old vines in our warmer areas and it can make a marvellous wine in its own right.

And that much-talked-about “alternative” variety, tempranillo (two reviews today), seems just a blip on our vineyard radar at 2,422 tonnes intake in 2010 and 3,045 tonnes in 2011. I do, however, predict a much bigger future for this variety given the high quality, distinctiveness and easy-drinking appeal of the wines it makes.

Another niche red attracting attention, sangiovese, increased from 3,526 tonnes to 4,150 tonnes.

The white side of our ledger looks decidedly weaker than the red side – in that we have not a single big mover and shaker after chardonnay.

While intake of number two ranked sauvignon blanc grew nine per cent, from 79,053 in 2010 tonnes to 86,043 tonnes in 2011, the variety’s suited to only a small portion of Australia’s current, comparatively warm producing areas. We have neither a Marlborough nor close runner to chardonnay as cabernet is to shiraz.

Our old workhorse, semillon comes in a tad behind sauvignon blanc at 82,243 tonnes in 2011 – up on 2010’s 78,960 tonnes. Semillon’s a great partner to sauvignon blanc in blends but has only limited appeal in its own right. Despite all the talk, and unquestioned quality and uniqueness of Hunter semillon, it remains a niche regional specialty.

Perhaps the surprise among white varieties is pinot gris (or grigio) at a respectable 43,217 tonnes (down from 44,778 tonnes in 2010) – putting it ahead of pinot noir.

The great, noble riesling maintains its perennially niche position, popular taste blithely ignoring wave after wave of publicity for it. Volumes changed little, from 32,188 tonnes in 2010 to 32,720 this year. It remains Australia’s great wine bargain.

Another surprise, albeit on a small absolute scale, is the near doubling intake of muscat-a-petit-grains-blanc from 13,952 tonnes in 2011. The Winemakers Federation attributes this to growing popularity of moscato styles.

Two varieties widely used in cheaper popular blends made solid contributions to the national grape crush, even if their names seldom appear on labels. Muscat gordo blanco contributed 54,459 tonnes and colombard 58,694 tonnes this year.

Widely talked of savagnin (originally misidentified as albarino) fails to rate a mention in the federation’s estimates. But its aromatic sibling, gewürztraminer, contributed 12,116 tonnes.

That useful warm region white, verdelho, grew from 13,588 tonnes to 14,323 tonnes in 2011, while viognier (sometimes blended with shiraz) declined from 12,464 tonnes to 10,729 tonnes.

Sultana, once the sultan of our cask wine industry, continued its long-term decline, with winery intake falling from 2,575 tonnes in 2010 to 1,713 tonnes in 2011.

But chenin blanc hung in there, declining marginally year-to-year from 6,857 tonnes to 6,770 tonnes.

Anecdotally, the late, cool vintage seems to have produced some marvellous wines – intensely flavoured and high in natural acidity. This promises to be very good for regional specialties. On a large scale, though, writes WFA president Stephen Strachan, “the vintage is too big. It may seem harsh, but a harvest in excess of 1.6 million tonnes (despite the rejections) is out of step with the realities of sustainable production and the market opportunity for premium Australian wine”.

In other words, there was little rejoicing in many quarters at the bigger than expected crop. And for growers who lost everything to disease, the pain is severe.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011 First published in The Canberra Times 29 June 2011

Chateau Shanahan holds in trust eight crystal wine decanters for the son of the late Professor Tony Barnett, Chair of Zoology at the Australian National University from 1971 to 2003. Barnett and his wife Kate collected the decanters over many years.

Barnett developed an appreciation of wine as a student at Oxford University in the 1930s. He often spoke of a friendship with distinguished British wine writer, Edmund Penning-Rowsell, author of the magnificent “The Wines of Bordeaux”.

Each decanter surely represents a chapter in Barnett’s long life. We even have a hunch about which one hosted his much-talked-about, last bottle of Chateau Cheval Blanc 1947, one of the great Bordeaux’s of the 20th century.

This fragile old link to Barnett’s university life in the UK provides a symbolic connection with University House’s seventh wine symposium held on 20 and 21 May.

Just as Oxford sparked Barnett’s interest in wine, the House’s first symposium, in the 1950s, owed much to the long, traditional link between English universities and fine wine. But the interest now has a global focus and a strong Australian accent – as I witnessed at the memorable 1979 symposium and at last month’s event.

The 1979 event featured luminaries and winemaking stars of the day, including Professor Helmut Becker of Geisenheim, Germany, and Max Schubert, Wolf Blass and Cyril Henschke from Australia.

Just three years in the industry, I recall meeting for the first time many leading industry figures, including James Halliday. A lawyer, vigneron, author and columnist, Halliday had already become an influential opinion maker. He returned this year as the symposium’s after dinner speaker. We’ll return to his topic later.

A generation later, University House’s 2011 symposium recognised the Canberra district’s 40th anniversary. Brian and Janet Johnston launched the second edition of “Wines of the Canberra District: Coming of Age”, delegates tasted Canberra wines at the end of day one, toured our vineyards on day two, the dinner featured local wines, selected by Nick Bulleid and Nick Stock, and speakers wove Canberra into their presentations.

Brian Croser (Tapanappa Wines) and Dan Buckle (Mount Langi Ghiran) talked, respectively, on Canberra’s two proven specialties, riesling (“the noblest white”) and shiraz (“past present and future”).

Writer Nick Stock put alternative varieties in perspective. And Libby Tassie followed up with more technical aspects of growing these varieties.

However, climate change will be long remembered as the first, last and lingering topic of the symposium – as much for the topic as for debate about the debate.

Professor Andrew Pitman, head of climate science at the University of New South Wales, presented the first paper “Climate change and its local effects in Australia”. And to the surprise of those expecting a tame after dinner talk on Canberra district wines, James Halliday concluded the symposium by questioning the extent of human-induced climate change.

Halliday declared that he was making a sales pitch for a new book, “Wine, Terroir and Climate Change”, by Dr John Gladstones. He quoted his own words from the book’s cover, “For anyone interested in the future interaction between climate, climate change and viticulture, this book simply has to be read. Dr John Gladstones’s painstaking research is the foundation for his equally carefully constructed conclusions that robustly challenge mainstream opinions”.

The packed hall fell silent. After charting his own scepticism about climate change, Halliday said he’d been mesmerised by Andrew Pitman’s view the day before that sceptics had no place on the face of the earth. Halliday then summarised Gladstones’ conclusions and said, “His views of climate change will be vigorously debated, but not by me”.

I listened in fascination as I’d begun reading Gladstones’ book the day before the symposium – turning direct to the climate change chapters towards the end.

The day before, like Halliday and probably others, I’d been irritated by Andrew Pitman’s brook-no-dissent invective. Before presenting the science, Pitman told us, repeatedly, that we simply had to believe the experts. I’m not a scientist, so I expect scientists to guide me through the complexity of climate change — especially the enormous areas of uncertainty. Instead, Pitman muddied his science by insisting on us having faith in the experts.

Much of the uncertainty relates to calculating the extent and timing of temperature rises and separating anthropogenic from natural changes.

In a Canberra Times article prompted by Halliday’s talk, astronomer Brian Schmidt wrote, “I believe that science makes progress by continually challenging itself, looking for failed predictions, inconsistencies, or alternative ways of approach a problem. Few scientists become famous by towing the party line, it is by finding fault with the status quo, and improving it that scientists make their mark. So it is no wonder that there is not unanimity in any area of science – climate change is no different. The vast majority of scientists who study climate change believe anthropogenic CO2 is leading to a warming of the Earth, but there are still some who challenge this assertion. Long may this continue – but only if these challenges are based on a fundamental understanding of the science at hand, and not some anecdotal or highly limited form of phenomenological evidence”.

Now, Halliday based much of his symposium speech on Gladstones’ book – not on anecdotal or phenomenological evidence.

After a detailed discussion of the natural and anthropogenic influences on climate change, Dr Gladstone concludes, “that warming by anthropogenic greenhouse gases has been much over-estimated. The widely publicised claims of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other greenhouse proponents have depended too much on computer models unable to encompass the complexity of real climates; on uncertain data, dubious assumptions and in some key cases biased statistical procedures; and particularly in ignoring the historical record of past climate warmth. Much of the thermometer record of warming over the last 100–150 years, which the IPCC ascribes more or less exclusively to greenhouse gases, has more likely other causes”.

He further concludes that “greenhouse gases can have caused no more than 0.2ºC of warming [over the twentieth century], which equates to only 0.4–0.5ºC temperature rise for each successive doubling of atmospheric CO2 or its combined greenhouse equivalent”.

As a somewhat confused non-scientist seeking guidance on climate change, I hope that scientists might therefore review and comment on Dr Gladstone’s research and conclusions. He might be right. But he could be wrong, too. I simply don’t know.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011

Shelmerdine Pinot Noir 2010 $26–$36 Yarra Valley, Victoria Stephen Shelmerdine writes, “Between the drought-affected vintage 2009 and rain-influenced vintage 2011, vintage 2010 is now shaping up as an absolutely classic year”. I’m not sure what “classic” means, but Shelmerdine delivers the goods in this lovely pinot from his family’s Lusatia Park Vineyard, high in the Yarra Valley. The buoyant, red-fruit perfume of pinot leads to a medium bodied palate, featuring vibrant fruit, spice and savouriness, cut by quite firm but fine-boned tannins. The wine grew in interest over several days on the tasting bench, eventually joining us for dinner on day four.

Yealands Estate Pinot Noir 2009 $17–$22 Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand In Australia we can make pretty good regional shiraz and cabernet for around $10. But the starting price for half decent pinot seems to be around $20, and exclusively the domain of cool growing regions. This puts Marlborough, New Zealand, in a dominant position to capture the emerging pinot noir market. Yealands is one of a growing number of producers there putting out the genuine article at a fair price. From Marlborough’s Awatere Valley, it captures much of pinot’s unique perfume and flavour. It’s medium bodied and savoury with a structure as much dependent on high acid as it is on tannin.

Running with Bulls Vermentino 2010 $17–$19 Barmera, Murray River, South Australia This Italian white variety from the coasts of Liguria, Sardinia, Tuscany and Corsica is attracting some attention in our hot inland regions, like Barmera. “The conditions are perfect for a variety like vermentino, which thrives in the heat”, writes Yalumba, owner of Running with Bulls. Yalumba’s version preserves the freshness of the grape and adds a little texture through skin and yeast-lees contact. It’s a simple, savoury and appealing wine to quaff with basic food – to me a more sympathetic approach than the Chalmers’ more highly worked version.

Running with Bulls Tempranillo 2010 $14–$19 Barossa and Wrattonbully, South Australia Shhhhh! Don’t tell the editor but this is actually a review of two equally good but different tempranillos under Yalumba’s Running with Bulls label – one from the warm Barossa, the other from somewhat cooler Wrattonbully. The Barossa version presents heaps of blueberry and plum-like varietal fruit flavour in the aroma and flavour. But firm, savoury tannins move in very quickly, giving an authoritative red-wine grip and finish. The Wrattonbully wine seems more savoury and earthy from start to finish, without fruity high notes – a tight and grippy red to enjoy with roasted red meat.

Dandelion Vineyards Lion’s Tooth Shiraz Riesling 2008 $27–$30 McMurtrie’s Vineyard, McLaren Vale, South Australia The Dandelion label presents wines from mature single vineyards in the Barossa, Eden Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale. Lion’s Tooth, from the very hot 2008 vintage, comes from Nat McMurtrie’s McLaren Vale vineyard. Dandelion Partner, Zar Brooks, says hand picked shiraz was “naturally fermented in open fermenters on top of some riesling skins for seven days”. After a good aeration, this deep and brooding red began releasing its sweet, ripe-dark-cherry aromas. The ripe black-cherry flavours carried through to a deep, layered savoury and fruity palate – a rich and sturdy but not plump style.

Penfolds Reserve Bin 09A Chardonnay $71.25–$90 Adelaide Hills, South Australia Penfolds “white Grange” project of the early nineties produced the company’s flagship white, the multi-region Yattarna Chardonnay, and this superb sidekick from the Adelaide Hills. Putting the two in a Burgundy context, we might compare the oh-so-refined Yattarna with Montrachet and the more robust Reserve Bin A with Meursault. In 2009 the style seems a little less powerful than the 2008 – the aroma combining “struck match” character with intense grapefruit and nectarine-like varietal notes. The intense palate presents the same flavour characters, all tied together by lean, taut, brisk acidity. It’s a complex, distinctive wine to enjoy for many years.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011

In 2000, renowned French “flying winemaker”, Jacques Lurton, established an 11-hectare vineyard on Kangaroo Island. His business at the time made wine around the world, with Lurton and his winemakers, including Australians, hopping from one country to another.

In 2007 Lurton sold out to his brother and partner to concentrate on his own French and Australian brands. By then, says Lurton, he’d experienced 60 vintages across 25 regions in 10 countries.

An oenology graduate from the University of Bordeaux, Lurton worked initially for his father, a major vineyard owner in Bordeaux. But in1984 he visited Australia for a vintage with McWilliams in Griffith, New South Wales. Then in 1985 he joined Brian Croser at Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills – developing friendships with influential Australian winemakers, including Croser and his then business partner, Dr Tony Jordan.

The Australian connections endured. Over the coming decades Lurton employed 10 Australian flying winemakers, and visited Australia at least once a year from 1984.

In Canberra last week he said because of the strong connection “I decided to make my own investment and, ideally, live half of my time here”. With the help of McLaren Vale based David Paxton, Lurton eventually selected Kangaroo Island.

He subsequently planted 11 hectares to cabernet franc, grenache, shiraz, malbec, viognier, semillon and sangiovese, and established a winery on a site, “about in the middle of the island”.

By the time Lurton parted the flying winemaker business in 2007, he’d acquired from cousins in Bordeaux a six-hectare merlot vineyard, La Martinette. And in the Loire Valley he’d established long-term relationships with sauvignon blanc growers in Touraine and Pouilly.

Therefore the Jacques Lurton brand (see www.jacqueslurton.com) now includes two Loire sauvignon blancs, Touraine Sauvignon and Pouilly Fume; one Bordeaux merlot, Domaine de la Martinette; and a range of Islander Estate Vineyards wines from Kangaroo Island.

Partly because of his Bordeaux background, Lurton selected cabernet franc as a flagship variety, originally to pair it in a blend with sangiovese. He says, “I’ve worked with cabernet franc in the Loire Valley and, in Bordeaux, at St Emilion and also a little bit in Pomerol. It makes fragrant, fresh and elegant wines and they age well”.

As well, he adds it’s tough variety and easy for grape growers to look after. Aptly for Australian growers, it resists heat well, he says, citing its success in Bordeaux’s searingly hot 2003 vintage.

He says cabernet franc originated in Navarra Spain. But it’s now widely planted in south-western France, including Bordeaux, where it’s used mainly as a blending variety — as it is here in Australia.

Kangaroo Island cabernet franc appeals to Lurton because it “avoids the herbaceousness” of the cold-to-marginal Loire climate and cooler Bordeaux vintages.

Lurton’s first flagship Kangaroo Island red in 2004 included a fairly high proportion of sangiovese with the cabernet franc. But observing how the sangiovese matured more rapidly than the cabernet franc, Lurton wound back the sangiovese to just six per cent in the just-released 2005 and even further in subsequent years. There’s also a smidge of malbec in future vintages, he says.

For trademark reasons he also changed the name from Islander Estates Yakka Jack (named after a local soldier settler) to The Investigator, after Matthew Flinders ship, an early white visitor to the island.

In Canberra for the launch last week, Lurton lined up The Investigator 2005 ($60) with three French cabernet francs – giving us a snapshot of very different styles, two from the Loire, the other from St Emilion, Bordeaux.

St Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Malgagnes 2006, from a biodynamic vineyard at Bourgueil, Loire Valley, showed cabernet franc’s gently plush, ripe-berry elegance – an otherwise alluring, elegant wine, marred by a touch of brettanomyces (a spoilage yeast).

Chinon Clos de L’Echo (Couly-Dutheil) 2005 bounced in like a heavyweight after the elegant Bourgueil. Densely coloured and opulent of cabernet franc, it showed traces of herbaceousness despite its fifteen per cent alcohol. Lurton attributed this to alcohol extracting unripe tannins from the seeds and skins. But the herbaceousness was a minor blemish in an otherwise delicious, albeit big, wine.

Le Petit Cheval St Emilion Grand Cru 2003, second wine of legendary Chateau Cheval Blanc, supported Lurton’s views on cabernet franc in hot years. His cousin, Pierre, runs Cheval Blanc and in the severe heat of the vintage found little but cabernet franc suitable. The blend ended up at 95 per cent cabernet franc, five per cent merlot – a big shift from the usual 60:40 ratio.

What a wine, though: limpid and complex, combining fully ripe cabernet franc berry character with age and oak – a fragrant, soft, elegant and delightful drink with a distinct Bordeaux stamp, despite the heat.

And finally, to Lurton’s The Investigator 2005 – a limpid, bright, youthfully coloured wine, featuring fragrant, ripe-berry varietal character, soft, gentle palate and elegant, persistent tannin structure. It’s an exciting wine indeed, based on one quick tasting. We’ll review it fully after we can put it to the full-bottle test.

The Investigator and other Jacques Lurton wines, including Old Rowley, reviewed today, are distributed in Canberra by Bill Mason’s Z4 group.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2011

Marchand and Burch Chardonnay 2009 $70 Porongurup, Great Southern, Western Australia This glorious chardonnay results from collaboration between Howard Park owner, Jeff Burch, and Canadian-born Burgundy winemaker, Pascal Marchand. It’s from a mature, south-facing (and therefore cool) vineyard at Porongurup, in Western Australia’s Great Southern region. It’s not an area noted for chardonnay, but this one’s so powerful, bright, delicate fresh and balanced, it simply blows away all preconceptions. Its delicacy and purity come from hand-sorting fruit, gentle, whole-bunch pressing and a short period of settling before being racked to oak barrels for a spontaneous primary fermentation.

Jeanneret Watervale Riesling 2010 $25 Watervale, Clare Valley, South Australia This is the finer and more delicate of two 2010 Clare rieslings just released by Ben Jeanneret. The rich and juicy Big Fine Girl ($19), blended from across the valley, offers delicious value. But the Watervale wine, from Barry Marssons’ vineyard on Watervale’s western slopes, captures the racy acidity, brisk, lime-like flavour and delicate, long dry finish of this distinguished Clare sub region. It delivers big drinking satisfaction at a modest price.

Chandon Vintage Brut 2007 $39.59 Various cool regions in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia Chandon’s 22nd vintage bubbly, blended from over 40 base wines, continues the soft, subtle, creamy style established with the first in 1986. The blend of 54 per cent chardonnay and 46 per cent pinot noir, aged on yeast lees in bottle for about 30 months, combines the delicacy of chardonnay, the body and structure of pinot and the texture of prolonged ageing. It’s a smart wine and miles ahead of where we were with bubblies twenty years ago. But, alas, it doesn’t yet have the jaw-dropping WOW factor of the best Champagnes.

Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2008 $25 Margaret River, Western Australia Vasse Felix – founded in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity and now owned by the Holmes a Court family – remains one of Margaret River’s most exciting producers, across its whole range. But on a recent visit, three cabernet based blends, made by Virginia Wilcock, really won our taste buds. The $25 cabernet merlot blends introduces the refined, elegant style – combining bright berry flavours with a tease of oak, gentle mid palate and edgy cabernet finish. Step up to the $39 cabernet 2008 (with its touch of malbec for more power and authority; and complete the picture with the profound Heytesbury cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, malbec ($80).

Moppity Vineyards Estate Shiraz 2009 $24.99 Hilltops, New South Wales It’s easy to love shiraz from the neighbouring Hilltops region (Young). A tad warmer than Canberra, the area produces slightly fleshier, though still medium bodied styles – featuring pure, berry and spice varietal flavours, generous mid palate and soft tannins. The wines tend to reveal their charm up front as youngsters, like this one from Jason and Alicia Brown’s Moppity vineyard. Brown says it’s sourced from the estate’s original vines, planted in 1973 – the vine age no doubt contributing to the wine’s depth and complexity. It’s simply scrumptious.

Mount Pleasant Old Paddock and Old Hill Shiraz 2007 $40 Mount Pleasant, Hunter Valley, New South Wales In 1921, legendary winemaker Maurice O’Shea planted shiraz on the Old Paddock Vineyard, not far from the vines planted 39 years earlier on the Old Hill Vineyard. The venerable old shiraz vines from the two vineyards produced this wonderful, idiosyncratic red. The colour’s limpid and crimson rimmed; the aroma combines ripe, dark berries with the Hunter’s distinctive earthiness and savouriness – characters reflected on the generous, finely structured, tannic but soft palate. A gold medallist in the 2009 Hunter Valley wine show, this is one to cellar for many years.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010

Alkoomi Frankland River Riesling 2009 $18 Frankland River, Great Southern, Western Australia In three days based in Denmark, Western Australia, we covered all too little of the vast Great Southern region and none of Frankland River, one its five sub-regions. The Denmark Liquor store, however, helped fill the gaps with its wide range of local wines, including this lovely dry riesling from Sandy and Rob Hallett’s Alkoomi. It delivers crystal-clear citrus varietal aroma and flavour and fine, delicate, finish – the perfect after work (or travel) refresher.

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2007 $82.50–$100 Margaret River, Western Australia If $90–$100 retail, or even $82.50 a bottle cellar door seems out there for chardonnay, even a world-class drop like Leeuwin, how about $20 for a generous glass at Leeuwin’s restaurant? It’s worth it for a wine of this calibre – a luxurious drop, big on nectarine-like varietal flavour and backed by the complexity of high quality oak, and all the textural and flavour nuances it brings. Should’ve bought the bottle we decide after four glasses! (Erroneously rated four-stars in my Canberra Times review. This was a production error, the actual rating is five-stars).

Voyager Estate Girt by Sea Cabernet Merlot 2008 $24 Margaret River, Western Australia Voyager Estate’s ‘Girt by Sea’ is to Margaret River what Majella’s ‘The Musician’ is to Coonawarra – a richly flavoured, finely structured, medium-bodied red built to drink now but without losing regional identity. ‘Girt by Sea’ reveals Margaret River’s greatest winemaking strength – blending cabernet sauvignon and merlot to produce a harmonious red, based on ripe berry aromas and flavours and backed by fine, savoury tannins – a delicious luncheon red. It’s sourced from Voyager’s ‘north block’ vineyard and the vines are up to 15 years old.

Glenpara Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2006 $25 Barossa and Clare Valleys, South Australia In 2007 Foster’s sold its historic 185-hectare Seppeltsfield property to a group of investors led by Clare Valley based Kilikanoon Wines. Seppeltsfield now offers table wines under its Glenpara label – in this instance one of those rarest of all beasts, a red with bottle age. The blend of grenache, shiraz and mataro (aka mourvedre) provides juicy, earthy, spicy, soft and satisfying current drinking. The bottle age moves it out of the primary fruit spectrum square into satisfying real-red territory.

Rochford Pinot Gris 2009 $28–$33 Macedon, Victoria The hot, dry 2009 vintage kept pinot gris yields in Rochford’s Macedon vineyard to less than 2.5 tonnes per hectare. This partly explains the richness of fruit flavour that, in combination with great textural richness, gives an impression of sweetness. Yet the wine carries a barely-detectable five grams a litre of residual sugar. This is true, cool-grown pinot gris – with a light rinse of bronze-pink colour, clear varietal flavour, silky, slightly oily texture and very fresh, lively acidity.

TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir 2009 $22 Yarra Valley, Victoria and Tumbarumba, New South Wales Clare Halloran makes very fine, graceful Yarra Valley pinot noir. But faced with a shortage of good grapes in the severe heat and savage bush fires of 2009 she looked beyond TarraWarra for suitable fruit. The resulting one-off blend combines Yarra pinot (55 per cent) with material from a single vineyard in Tumbarumba (45 per cent). It’s in Clare’s pale-coloured but punchy style – delicately perfumed, with deep berry, savoury, gamey varietal flavours and fine but grippy structural tannins. It’s a joy to drink now and should hold for three or four years.

Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2010