Today I drove for 2 h 45 down to Somerset, stood and watched a game of rugby in the coldest conditions I can recall, and then drove back again.

Even though I’ve never been as cold (and I was wrapped up well), I don’t regret the journey, because it was a chance to see my older [...]]]>

Today I drove for 2 h 45 down to Somerset, stood and watched a game of rugby in the coldest conditions I can recall, and then drove back again.

Even though I’ve never been as cold (and I was wrapped up well), I don’t regret the journey, because it was a chance to see my older son play for his school in a cup final. He was playing fly-half, a position which suits him well because he’s a really good kicker, and at the age of 15 is already 6′ 2″.

The first half was one sided, and the opposition ran four tries, all converted, to go into half time with a comfortable lead. My son’s school looked like they were going to be thrashed, but they rallied, and in the last third of the game, scored three good tries, all in the corner after some attritional forward play.

Now back home, I’m warming up with a rich but well defined Shiraz from Australia’s McLaren Vale. It’s the Mt Hillary 2009 McLaren Vale Shiraz, made by Gemtree Vineyards (£14.95 Berry Bros & Rudd). What I like about this is that it’s unashamedly warm-climate Aussie Shiraz, but it’s got great fruit definition and vitality – it’s not one of those dead fruit wines bolstered by American oak. Still quite tannic and grippy, with the potential to develop nicely in bottle. And very drinkable now.

Some great wines on show today at the Australia Day tasting in London’s Saatchi gallery. Great venue for wine tasting: lots of natural light, and big airy spaces. Couldn’t have been better.

I didn’t taste everything, by any means (in fact, I was only there a couple of hours). But what I did taste impressed. Some [...]]]>

Some great wines on show today at the Australia Day tasting in London’s Saatchi gallery. Great venue for wine tasting: lots of natural light, and big airy spaces. Couldn’t have been better.

I didn’t taste everything, by any means (in fact, I was only there a couple of hours). But what I did taste impressed. Some of my highlights?

Biggest surprise, and new discovery, was Shobbrook Wines. Natural wines from the Barossa, with amazing presence, purity and elegance. They’re all great, but two Mouvedres stood out. The Nouveau was just beautiful. A little cloudy, with deliberately high carbon dioxide levels, this was utterly beautiful, showing sweet, elegant, pure fruit. And the Ebenezer Mourvedre 2010 had staggering elegance and pristine black cherry fruit, carrying its ripeness effortlessly. Supple, with an amazing mouthfeel.

Stonier are on fire at the moment. I love the regular Pinot and Chardonnay (both 2010), which are some of Australia’s best value wines. Particularly thrilling, though, is the 2010 Lyncroft Chardonnay, which is elegant, expressive, fine and intense. Brilliant.

Tamar Ridge, from Tasmania, are also over-performing at the moment. Their Devils Corner range is really good, and represents superb value. The Kayena Vineyard series of wines aren’t much more expensive, and they are consistently fine. In particular, the 2010 Pinot Noir is superbly balanced and elegant.

Leeuwin Estate is also in good form at the moment. This Margaret River star is best known for its Art Series Chardonnay, which is now quite expensive, but the 2008 is utterly fabulous. Prelude Chardonnay is almost as good and less than half the price. Art Series Riesling 2010 also impressed a great deal, with delicate transparency.

Finally, don’t miss the Yabby Lake 2010s. Particularly the Block 6 Chardonnay and Block 2 Pinot Noir.

Caught a glimpse of this new wine label from D’Arenberg, for a celebratory sparkling wine they are releasing.

It’s very funny indeed. (For those who don’t get the joke, see this link.) I hope Pernod Ricard, who own Champagne Mumm, can see the funny side too.

This is a serious Bordeaux-style red from a small producer in Margaret River. ‘Evoi’ is, apparently, the ecstatic scream of joy uttered by the Maenads, who were the female followers of Bacchus. The producer website is here.

Evoi The Satyr 2009 Margaret River, Australia 14% alcohol. Intense aromatic nose of blackberry, spice, olives, some meaty notes and [...]]]>

This is a serious Bordeaux-style red from a small producer in Margaret River. ‘Evoi’ is, apparently, the ecstatic scream of joy uttered by the Maenads, who were the female followers of Bacchus. The producer website is here.

Evoi The Satyr 2009 Margaret River, Australia
14% alcohol. Intense aromatic nose of blackberry, spice, olives, some meaty notes and hints of tar. The palate shows lovely combination of sweet dark fruits with savoury, gravelly, tarry notes. Fine and expressive with lots of potential for development. Still primary and intense. 92/100

UK availability: £30 from Auswineonline.co.uk

I’m a hypocrite. I go on all the time about how I love balance and elegance; I sing the praises of low alcohol, lightweight reds. And then I come across a couple of big, 15% alcohol Barossa reds that I find really delicious. I think it is because Ben Glaetzer can do big but still [...]]]>

I’m a hypocrite. I go on all the time about how I love balance and elegance; I sing the praises of low alcohol, lightweight reds. And then I come across a couple of big, 15% alcohol Barossa reds that I find really delicious. I think it is because Ben Glaetzer can do big but still get definition and balance in his reds.

Ben Glaetzer Anaperenna 2010 Barossa Valley
15.1% alcohol. Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon. Beautifully packaged. Powerful, rich, intense and spicy with well defined sweet blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Massive concentration: this is richly textured and intense, combining power but also nice freshness, with good acidity and firm tannins. Fantastic aromatics and lovely purity of fruit – this is how to do the blockbuster style. 94/100

Ben Glaetzer Bishop Barossa Valley Shiraz 2010
15.1% alcohol. The backbone of this wine is dry grown Shiraz vineyards in the Ebenezer district of the Barossa, and it’s aged in French and American oak. Very deep coloured, with a sweet nose of spicy blackberry fruit with some cherry freshness and sweet vanilla oak. Rich, spicy and bold on the palate with well defined fruit. It’s rich yet well balanced with nice spicy oak well integrated with the deep fruit. Great example of its style, retaining balance. 92/100

UK agent: Enotria wine

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Impressive stuff from Yalumba who have pioneered this variety in Australia. They also do an excellent cheaper Viognier in their Y series which is almost as good. But this version, from their home in the Eden Valley, is quite serious. A really good expression of this variety.

Yalumba Viognier 2010 Eden Valley, Australia 13.5% alcohol. Complex nose [...]]]>

Impressive stuff from Yalumba who have pioneered this variety in Australia. They also do an excellent cheaper Viognier in their Y series which is almost as good. But this version, from their home in the Eden Valley, is quite serious. A really good expression of this variety.

Yalumba Viognier 2010 Eden Valley, Australia
13.5% alcohol. Complex nose of peach, pear, nectarine, coconut and vanilla. The palate is beautifully textured with pear and melon fruit complemented by spice and lychee notes. Rich textured yet dry with real intensity of flavour and lovely fruit expression. 91/100 (£10.99 Waitrose)

I have just written up the fabulously stylish Picardy wines from Western Australia’s Pemberton region. You can read the full review here.

They’re just so elegant, and probably my favourite is the Shiraz:

Picardy Shiraz 2009 Pemberton, Western Australia Initially tight on opening, this really blossoms after about an hour. A really elegant, almost Pinot-like Shiraz with smooth, [...]]]>

I have just written up the fabulously stylish Picardy wines from Western Australia’s Pemberton region. You can read the full review here.

They’re just so elegant, and probably my favourite is the Shiraz:

Picardy Shiraz 2009 Pemberton, Western Australia
Initially tight on opening, this really blossoms after about an hour. A really elegant, almost Pinot-like Shiraz with smooth, sweet fresh berry and cherry fruit on the nose. The palate is fresh and a bit grippy with some spicy notes. Restrained, fruit-driven and balanced, with a hint of meatiness and some iodine notes. Very stylish. 94/100 (£22 www.auswineonline.co.uk)

Now lest you think I am one of the anti-flavour elite, let me say that there is a place for big wines, and that I enjoy big wines from time to time. There’s nothing wrong with a robust, tannic beast that needs 10 years to settle down. [I have less sympathy for over-ripe, oaky wines, but that's another issue.]

But it’s thrilling to see that Australia can make fine wines with elegance, balance and ageability, yet which still have an Australian character to them.

Impressed with these wines from Barossa producer St Hallett. The Faith Shiraz is riper and quite seductive, but with lovely fruit purity. The more expensive Scholz is deeper coloured, but less intense – it’s an elegant, expressive example of Barossa Shiraz with lots of personality.

St Hallett Faith Shiraz 2009 Barossa, Australia Very appealing sweet berry fruits [...]]]>

Impressed with these wines from Barossa producer St Hallett. The Faith Shiraz is riper and quite seductive, but with lovely fruit purity. The more expensive Scholz is deeper coloured, but less intense – it’s an elegant, expressive example of Barossa Shiraz with lots of personality.

St Hallett Faith Shiraz 2009 Barossa, Australia
Very appealing sweet berry fruits with nice spicy freshness and silky smooth liquer-like texture. Smooth and ripe with lovely rounded character. Fruit rather than oak to the fore, with freshness and definition. 90/100 (£9.99 Co-op)

St Hallett Single Vineyard Scholz Estate Shiraz 2009 Barossa Valley, Australia
14.5% alcohol. From a vineyard in the north of the region, with silt red clay loams over red clay. Deep vibrant purple/red colour. Fresh, elegant sweet cherry and blackberry nose with some floral notes, as well as hints of cinnamon and olive. The palate is supple, expressive and quite elegant with sweet black cherry fruit and some spiciness. Fresh style. 92/100

This is the new face of Australian wine. Wines from distinguished sites, naturally made, with personality, elegance and a sense of place.

It’s from Jamsheed, a small producer making wines from privileged terroirs in Victoria, and this Silvan Syrah comes from the Yarra Valley. More specifically it is from vines planted in the 1990s on red [...]]]>

This is the new face of Australian wine. Wines from distinguished sites, naturally made, with personality, elegance and a sense of place.

It’s from Jamsheed, a small producer making wines from privileged terroirs in Victoria, and this Silvan Syrah comes from the Yarra Valley. More specifically it is from vines planted in the 1990s on red soils in the south of the region, made from low yields and the PT23 clone. Winemaker Gary Mills uses 100% whole bunches (I’m a fan of whole bunches, usually), wild yeasts, and a 40 day extended maceration. The wines spends 1o months in used French oak and is then bottled unfined and unfiltered with just 35 mg/l SO2 at bottling.

Jamsheed Silvan Syrah 2010 Yarra Valley, Australia
13.7% alcohol. Rich, sweet, ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit dominates the nose. It’s lush with some liqueur-like characters, but it also has a fresh peppery edge. The palate is smooth, sweet and pure with cherry and berry fruit, but also some nice spicy, peppery grip. Olive and pepper complexity alongside the sweet, pure fruit, and after a while, some subtle green meaty notes emerge. Fantastic stuff. 95/100

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Just on my way back from the Institute of Masters of Wine Australian Shiraz Masterclass. It was led by a distinguished group of Aussie winegrowers: Tim Kirk (Clonakilla), Julian Castagna, Prue Henschke, John Duval and Ron Laughton (Jasper Hill).

Julian Castagna flanked by Prue Henschke and Ron Laughton

The line up of wines, was – on [...]]]>

Just on my way back from the Institute of Masters of Wine Australian Shiraz Masterclass. It was led by a distinguished group of Aussie winegrowers: Tim Kirk (Clonakilla), Julian Castagna, Prue Henschke, John Duval and Ron Laughton (Jasper Hill).

Julian Castagna flanked by Prue Henschke and Ron Laughton

The line up of wines, was – on paper at least – quite stellar. Sally Easton MW had chosen them, and she did a great job. But on the day I found several to be quite disappointing. Sometimes wines just don’t show their best.

The Clarendon Hills Astralis 2004 and Torbreck Runrig 2006 were just too ripe, sweet, big and soupy.  Bird in Hand Nest Egg Shiraz showed just simple fruit; Henschke Hill of Grace 1986 was on its last legs (very dry finish, quite evolved); Hill of Grace 2006 was all simple open fruit and five spice; Rockford Basket Press 2005 was simple and too alcoholic; Paringa Estate Reserve Syrah 2007 was a bit monolithic and oaky despite nice acidity and bright fruit; and Dahlwhinnie The Eagle 2005 was prematurely evolved, although it did show nice complexity.

But let’s be positive. There were also some wonderful wines. Tim Kirk’s Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2009 was thrillingly elegant, and the 2005 was also beautiful. Julian Castagna’s Genesis Syrah 2008 was elegant, complex and nicely meaty. Brokenwood Graveyard 2009 is just a baby, but it’s really pure and linear with lovely acidity. Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock is fresh, expressive and delicious and Penfolds RWT 2008 shows lovely purity of fruit and real definition.

Tim Kirk and John Duval

The chat was good too. Prue had a mini rant about ‘green’ tannins. She thinks that this is a problem with much French Syrah. She says that when she tastes most lesser French Syrahs she thinks that the winemaker hasn’t been tasting in the vineyard. She also thinks green tannins never resolve with age and that these wines are only for people who have a personal preference for them – everyone else ‘should avoid them like the plague.’ I bet she wouldn’t like many of the northern Rhone Syrahs that I love. I disagree with this Aussie idea that tannins have to be tamed in the vineyard. That’s what elevage is for.

This led to a discussion about tasting grapes in the vineyard. There has been a big change, says John Duval, whose wines fit comfortably into the elegant new-Barossa style. 40 years ago winemakers didn’t go into the vineyard, he recalled. Now they walk the rows tasting the fruit. In his view, it is one of the factors that has contributed to rising alcohol levels. Winemakers say they are looking for ripe fruit flavours; for physiological maturity. Tim Kirk suggested that by time you get the flavours you want in the grapes, it’s probably too late. You have to then pick the vineyard, and in the delay between the tasting and the picking the flavours can be lost and the sugar levels can rise. Prue, however, was very keen on tasting and waiting for ripe tannins in the grapes, and Julian Castagna says that he doesn’t do any analysis of his grapes until the taste is right.

The issue of alcohol is indeed a thorny question, and it was raised by the audience. Old Australian classics used to have much lower alcohol levels; one of the wines in this tasting was 16% and another was 15%. Prue doesn’t think it’s necessarily a problem.

Tim Kirk raised an interesting point about the wrong steer that Australian Shiraz took a few years back. He thinks that American critic Robert Parker has a great palate, but that he has a preference for ripe wines, and the sorts of wines that he gave high scores to in Australia were very ripe, rich styles. The wines got stratospheric scores, and sold for high prices, so more people made wines in this stylistic direction. It was a big mistake.

So, a very interesting tasting and discussion that gave much food for thought. And 24 rather diverse wines. A treat for a Monday morning.