Taminick Cellars (Booths) Shiraz 2003 (Reco)

Dark blood red with minor fade at the rim. Hot nose, as expected, quite lifted with some licorice. More licorice in the mouth, broad palate, well structured and shows good balance despite the 15% abv. Good enough to look like good value in the high teens.

Hickinbotham Sav Blanc 2005 - Recommended

Attractive wine, balanced, not too ripe. Nice herbaceous notes running through the palate. Maybe a touch of sem in here?

Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling 2002

Looks quite youthful for a 4yr old; light pale gold. Lemon fruits on the nose together with early kero notes, otherwise a touch subdued. Palate could be accused of being dilutive but did open up a fraction over time with more lemon, some citrus and a touch of acid burn. Perhaps this wine is in the riesling 'hole' right now but I suspect not. That said, worth leaving for another 2 years before reassessing but recent experience with 2004 and 2005 vintages suggests this label looks best b/w 1 and 2 years.

Craggy Range Sophia Merlot 2004

Similar to the 2003 in colour but has a more pronounced purple twinge. Bouquet is noticeably ripe, almost sugary when compared to the previous wines. Not strictly varietal. Palate is ripe as expected, almost to the extent that I can’t help but feel this is disjointed. Furry tannins are prominent. Needs 2 years cellaring to start showing its best but has potential.

Tasting Notes - Summerfield Merlot 2001

Dry red style that is ageing well. Quite a bold interpretation with some grip and heat. Well settled red berry nose and touches of licorice - almost shiraz like. Nice gamey notes kick in late to bolster complexity. Got a few years left but unlikely to aspire to greatness. QPR mixed at the original price tag of $38, leaves it just shy of a "Reco" tag.

Craggy Range Te Muna Road Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Pale lemon; young in appearance. Modest nose but not under-ripe, good balance. Balance again sums up the palate nicely, almost tending to a dry white style and one needs to search for the varietal characters. Fairly tight, clearly well made, and should drink will into 2007 with ease.

Morris Botrytise Semillon 1985 (Recommended)

I picked this wine up at cellar door about 5 years ago for ~$25 and must admit I wasn’t expecting too much when we opened for Christmas lunch. Quite dark in the glass, medium chocolate brown, not quite of tawny port appearance but close. Classic apricots on the nose and a touch of spice. Unmistakeably botrytis semillon. Palate is relatively light weight for the style but given the age I can’t be too harsh. More spice and a tight, tingly acid like streak runs right through the palate. Not sure what’s driving this note but it keeps the wine very focussed. Well worth a look but drink soon.

Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2002

Medium red with a little fade. Funky nose, red berries starting to mellow out, some herbal notes, shows its 4 years of age in a good way. Softer in the mouth but a slight letdown on what the nose suggests. Fruit is clearly moving into a secondary phase. I wonder if this was picked too ripe and the fruit now feels heavy and a little flabby. Drink ‘em if you got ‘em.

Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2003

Slightly darker red that the 2002. More linear nose with less priminant fruit. Herbal notes more obvious but the don’t dominate. Well structured with some noticeable tannin, outweighing the fruit at this stage. The fruit does persist through the palate but the strength is mild at best. Not sure if it will get any better. Plenty of better $42 / 3yr old merlots around the traps.

Craggy Range Sophia Merlot 2003 - Recommended

Colour as per the 2004 Gimblett Gravels. Soft fruits on the nose, no herbal or under-ripe traits. Elegant yet has presence. Fruit steps up in the mouth – I can almost taste (sense?) the extraction. Nice inter-woven oak. Looks very balanced and drinkable now but should push on into 2008 nicely.

Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2004

Red in colour with purple tinges – nice. Well balanced nose, subtle plum and berry that fills the aromas out nicely. Again the mouthful highlights a sturdy structure. Has the tannin of the 2003 but is better balanced with more fruit weight. Should get better over the next 18 months. Good wine for the appreciator of the style but I struggle a little at $40+.

Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Sem Sav Viognier 2006

Unusual blend, could be accused of a left over grapes job, but it appears to work quite well. Clearly sauvignon blanc based on the nose with a herbaceous, grassy edge, but more generic dry white to taste. Not a bad thing as it is quite competently made for a low to mid teens dollar wine? The Viognier is used well, not so much as a flavour additive but more in texture. The classic soft, viscous palate weight fills the wine out nicely. A touch spirity on the finish. Beats the Jacob’s Creek chardonnay hand down in the two horse race that is Qantas economy class.

Cumulus Wines Rolling Chardonnay 2005 (Reco)

The best white you’ll get on Qantas economy class for a while I’m tipping. Well made cool climate style that is a bit riper that expected, but notwithstanding shows a lot of balance and class for a chardonnay that surely trades for no more than $18. Oak plays a supporting roll. The depth of the stone fruits is impressive, as is the well structured and powder dry finish.

Tobacco Road Unwooded Chardonnay 2004

A frequent criticism of Australian no-oak chard is its (general) inability to produce notiable wine that sways the drinker away from Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc based wines. As inoffensive as this wine is it’s unlikely to sway the accepted opinion. Fruity nose of pineapples and a citric edge, safe but kinda boring. Similar to taste although the fruit gets a bit sweeter and perhaps a touch flabby, initially, before the tightness from the citrus kick in mid palate. Non-descript finish and gets a little dilutive on the finish.

Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (Recommended)

Region: North Coast
Appelation: Napa Valley (Rutherford)

To be honest I've no idea what 1999 was like, vintage wise, in Napa and even less idea as to how well a Grgich would typically age. I had high expectations even if purely based on price alone (~USD $60). Medium blood red, quite transparent, and no noticable fading at the rim.

Impressive bouquet of classic cassis, feels dusty, quite powerful and liquored. A mild woody note as well.Steps down half a gear to taste - no bad thing - although the cassis continues to drive the fruit profile. Tannins are forceful but not abrasive and the fruit does tighen a touch through the palate. A little pongy on the finish but blows off in time.Over the next hour progressively opened up and some sweeter berry fruits began to shine. Really good stuff that should hold for another 3 - 4 years.

Mayer Big Betty Shiraz 2005 – Recommended

This is good stuff. I always find it interesting to read scribes that claim the Yarra Valley is famed for the quality of its shiraz yet we rarely cross paths with decent examples in the small producer space (Warranmate being a recent exception). Medium blood red with some lightening at the rim. Good lift on the nose; pepper (mild), cherry and quite ripe cherries. Fresh and lively. More pepper in the palate along with riper than expected red berries and cherry. To be honest perhaps a smidgeon too ripe (14.2% on the ABV meter) as the wine finishes a touch sweet and thick but in reality I’m being too critical. It’s a good cool – medium climate style that offers a bit more simple fruit stuffing than the classics of the genre (say Craiglee or Knight Granite Hills) and should work well for those looking for a much needed alternative to the SA ball-buster.

Brindabella Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Recommended)

In some ways this wine is quite the opposite of what one would expect from a Canberra cab – rich fruit, soft structure and sweet berries – and that is precisely why this wine is a good story. Simply it’s a decent, friendly drink now cabernet sauvignon for around $20. Ripe nose, generic berries, not overblown. More of the same to taste although some more typical cab / herbal notes kick in mildly on the back palate. Finishes a touch short. No matter, this drinks very well right now.

Rugged Ranges Shiraz 2005 (QPR Reco)

Sub $10 wine made by the well regarded Master Wine Makers crew. Goes nicely. Generic red berry nose with tangy, musk-like notes, tough to pick the exact character. Less happening to taste as the fruit falls away relatively quickly but still a very serviceable dry red wine. Well structured style although sunshine in a bottle it ain’t. Won’t disappoint as a cheapy mid-weeker (early midweek?).

Paracombe Cabernet Franc 2004 (Adelaide Hills)

I’m not sure if Adelaide Hills cab franc should ever hit 15% but I think these guys pull it off. Light blood red in the glass. Lots of lift in the bouquet with well defined berries, a smidgeon of herbs, and a fraction of alcohol sweetness. Soft palate early but the heat is more evident on the finish. Berry fruit is a bit more generic and sweet. Some alcohol sweetness evident but doesn’t really detract. Some spice on the finish, along with a slightly ragged edge. Nearly but not quite.

Cathcart Ridge Chasselas 2000 (Great Western)

Chalk one up for the stats – a rare tasting of an Australian grown Chasselas. This grape is a Swiss variety that Great Western / Seppelts had historically used as part of their sparkling base. Medium gold in colour, perhaps looking like a chardonnay at 3 – 4 years of age. Strange nose, tough to pick any dominant character.

In fact, reminds strongly of a gueze beer (spontaneous fermentation, wild yeast) from Belgium – slightly sour citrus and fruit, almost like you may experience in a winery cellar. Palate doesn’t really catch fire. More slightly pongy, sour gueze notes early but then fade fairly quickly as the wine loses its primary fruit and mellows out. I reckon this wine would have looked a lot better 2 years ago, and in this case 6 years is a stretch.