Tasting Notes - Yarra Valley Showcase - Sauvignon Blanc

Overall
One of the best brackets of the 2 day session. All wines were quite serious styles that are clearly directed into the upmarket segment. Nice barrel and oak work on a number of these.

Punt Road 2007
Sourced from the Valley floor. Medium yellow in colour, not unlike the bracket of 2006 chardonnays. Nice green tinge as well. Nose showed nice balance; some sweetness, but held in check. Tight and tart early in the mouth; good acid, citrus flavours but more lemon than lime. Dry finish. Serious style but not overly punter friendly.

Oakridge 2007 (Recommended)
Very similar in appearance to the Punt Road. Sweet powerful fruit and oak dominate the nose. Some 'heat' in the aromas. Tart fruits provide some structure. No tropical fruits, rather mineral notes and subdued citrus. Long and linear, and again quite serious.

Yarra Burn 2007 (Recommended)
Includes 7% semillon. Appearance as per the previous 2 wines. Unique aromas of spice, garlic, sherbet. Perhaps some fish oil too? Very different but I like it. Same again to taste although the fruit profile is tight. Again, remarkable garlic and fish oil.

Debortoli 2006 (Recommended)
100% barrel fermented, lots of solids and working, 50% malo.
Darker yellow / gold. Oak very apparent to smell; quite lifted and deep scented, dominates perhaps but provides for a refreshing change. Palate shows the oak again but matches quite well with tight fruits that get progressive sweeter. A bit ITT for mine but has appeal and is memorable. Big points for the style.

Dominique Portet 2007
As expected a more mainstream style with hints of tropical fruits early before giving way to lime and talcum powder; zingy feel. Fruit quite subdued to taste; maybe some low oak or barrel ferment taking an edge off the fruit. Slightly hard, liqueured finish. Nearly but not quite.

Shelmedine 2006 (Recommended)
Sourced from a mature Woori Yallock vineyard planted in 1985. Darker in colour, not unlike the Debortoli. Nose is very un-yielding and gives me nothing to work with. Good structure; sweet fruits early, oak hints; palate then builds nicely although the fruit never strays from the 'simple' mode. Some noticeable acid on the finish.

PHI 2006
Subdued, mild oaky character on the nose; seems appropriate. Some sweetness drives appeal. Tight lemons to taste; a little sour; some acid burn. Oak remains medium strength but doesn't really sit well with the sour fruits.

Gembrook Hill 2006 (Recommended)
This could be Victoria's best savvy based on the last 3 or 4 vintages. 50% barrel ferment and 9 months on lees. As crazy as it sounds this was in some ways the most mainstream of the bracket. Mild sweet gooseberry, kinda like warmer / Margaret River climate fruits. Nevertheless good presence. Same again to taste; some Kiwi style, tropical fruit at the edges, and some acid to drive the finish.