Wine Focus for April 2017: Wines of Australia

[Jenise]

A nice tasty faux-filet steak on the table was, however, a reason to open my one remaining bottle of Australian wine, which in its 24th year turned out to be a real winner. I doubt if I will ever have another Oz of this maturity and quality.

Early in this thread Margaret River was called out for being a regional exception to the Parker problem, but there are actually many and the Coonawarra is one of them. Wynn's is a great winery and the John Riddoch cab is maybe the best thing they do. Not surprised to hear you heaping praise on it.

[David M. Bueker]

Go figure...

2005 Yalumba Viognier Y Series - Australia, South Australia (4/10/2017)
Believe it or not, but this wine is still alive. It still has some floral and peachy elements that mark it as Viognier. It is taking on some deeper tones and honeyed elements that indicate complete maturity, and perhaps the start of a downslope, but it's surprisingly tasty for a 12 year old $10 wine.

Last year I had a friend give me a glass of Moscato from Jacobs Creek. It had been opened 4 days and was 10 yrs old. Nothing wrong with it!

2006 Picardy Chardonnay from Pemberton, Western Australia. Flawed bottle--oxidized. Was a decent wine four years ago with a hint of vanillin but not overly oaked. Will try a Cabernet Sauvignon from Padthaway next.

I need to confess that I hardly ever drink Australian wines these days. When I first started to dabble in wine, I drank quite a few - Penfold's Bin 389 was something like $12. But since then it seems the wines I actually see in US shops fall into the mass produced jammy crowd pleasers or something expensive for special occasions. So I checked out a couple of the larger shops in my area with well chosen selections with an eye toward finding something not mass produced, with character, but also not going to break the bank.

2014 Lion's Tooth of McLaren Vale, Dandelion Vineyards (Shiraz 95%, Riesling 5%):

This looked to be a promising candidate. The label claims the inclusion of Riesling is reviving an old tradition (pehaps like the Viognier in Cote Rotie?); the handpicked Shiraz is fermented (with stalks) on top of Riesling skins in an open top fermenter with twice daily punchdowns. Basket pressed, mostly old French oak for 18 months, bottled unfined/filtered.

The color is dark ruby with some violet tints. On the midweight palate there is some brambly fruit, dare I call it zinberry, with a little prune and tar. It is also a bright wine, with good acid balance, but the overall feel is a velvety smoothness. Not crazy, gobby ripeness, but just very suave. Quite pleasurable, I am tempted to try the GSM blend from the same producer. Oh, I tried to detect the lactic note that Jenise mentions above, but couldn't really find it. 14% abv, $18.

[Jenise]

Joe, you get points for looking for and finding a "not the usual suspect" wine that fits the objective of naming an Australian theme better than any wine I've come up with, though that's a fault of the marketplace in my area reinforcing the problem vs. my efforts to get around it. I like that you found this wine "suave".

Re that sour thing--it's so weird to me that no one else gets what I find so unmistakable. Btw, only ever encountered it outside of Australia once: on a Washington syrah made by Australian John Duval. That suggests it's winemaker-intentioned, not terroir. But then--why is it only in McClaren Vale wines I otherwise find it? Like I said before, I've picked it out blind many times--otherwise you would be right to suggest it's me finding what I expect.

[Robin Garr]

d'Arenberg 2014 "The Hermit Crab" McLaren Vale Viognier-Marsanne ($17.99)

An aromatic white blend of Viognier (74%) and Marsanne (26%), with a portion of the Viognier spending time in French and American oak barrels to add tannic backbone, this is a fresh and aromatic wine. Clear, bright straw color with glints of gold, it offers typical Viognier floral scents at first, quickly joined by notes of peach and musky melon and a whiff of spice. Full-bodied, 13.3% alcohol, but structured with crisp acidity, its flavors follow the nose, stone fruit, orange peel, and a lemon-squirt of acidity in a very long finish. It's a complex and interesting wine, a great buy for fans of aromatic whites. U.S. importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, Calif. (April , 2017)

FOOD MATCH: The name suggests seafood, and it would serve well with lobster, crab, and other sweet, rich seafood. We enjoyed it with a fresh kale salad in a light vinaigrette, built up to dinner-salad status with bulghur, avocado and slices of Parmigiano.

WHEN TO DRINK: The sturdy screw cap will keep it clean and fresh, but it's not a wine for long-term cellaring. I'd enjoy this one over the next year or two and watch for succeeding vintages as they become available.

VALUE:
I paid a few bucks more than the $15 U.S. retail reported by Wine-Searcher.com. Shop around if you can find a better price, but it's certainly a reasonable value into the upper teens.

WEB LINK
This info page on the d'Arenberg website features the 2016 Hermit Crab, but you can find links to download tasting notes on the 2014 and other vintages.
Importer Old Bridge Cellars has a good Hermit Crab fact sheet at this link.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Compare prices and find vendors for d'Arenberg McLaren Vale "The Hermit Crab" on Wine-Searcher.com.

[Robin Garr]

d'Arenberg 2012 McLaren Vale "The Stump Jump" ($9.99)

A typical Australian (and Southern Rhône) red blend of Grenache (46%) Syrah (39%) Mourvedre (15%), this is a very dark reddish-purple wine, shading to clear garnet at the edge. Juicy raspberries, the signature scent of Grenache, predominates in the nose at first, but there's other ripe fruit there too, blackberries and plums, carrying over on the palate with a full, medium-bodied mixed-fruit flavor framed by tart acidity, brisk tannins and warm but not overbearing 14.3% alcohol. U.S. importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, Calif. (April 7, 2017)

FOOD MATCH: Fine with a hearty meat-and-tomato sauce over spaghetti, and worked as well after dinner with bites of buttery, creamy cheeses.

WHEN TO DRINK: No rush, but it's not really intended as a long-term ager and won't gain value with time. I'd drink it up over the next two years or so.

VALUE:
My local price matches the $10 U.S. retail reported by Wine-Searcher.com, and it's an excellent value for that price.

WEB LINK
Here's a Stump Jump fact sheet on the d'Arenberg website.
You'll find similar information on this Stump Jump promotion sheet on the importer's website.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Find vendors and check prices for d'Arenberg McLaren Vale "The Stump Jump" on Wine-Searcher.com.

[Jenise]

2006 Picardy Chardonnay from Pemberton, Western Australia. Flawed bottle--oxidized. Was a decent wine four years ago with a hint of vanillin but not overly oaked. Will try a Cabernet Sauvignon from Padthaway next.

Sad! But did you just keep it too long, or would this chardonnay preternaturally oxidized (I recognize that Aussies make a lot of long-haul chardonnays, so I wouldn't presume.)

I think I kept it too long. It probably wasn't intended for long-term cellaring.

[Jenise]

So I took two Australian wines on a camping trip this weekend. Both cabernets. The 05 Shirvington from McClaren Vale is a pretty high end (price wise, anyhow) model that was sweet, charcoal-y and low acid. Probably higher alc too but I didn't look. Cloying overall, and I couldn't finish a glass. Sigh. The 05 Bleasdale 'Frank Potts' from an area around Adelaide called Langhorne Creek which is higher elevation, was much more interesting once the cabbage-y nose blew off. It, for once, of all the reds I've opened so far, doesn't taste Australian, nor does it taste 'international' to resurrect a once-popular term that one doesn't hear so much anymore. It's clearly cabernet with red berry flavors, great minerality and a touch of mint.

[David M. Bueker]

Shirvington...ugh.

[Jenise]

We had friends over for a BBQ yesterday and I served the remaining half bottles of these two wines. Both had filled out and improved quite a bit. And where the Shirvington is still too modern-Aussie and wouldn't make my hit parade, the more traditional Frank Potts was truly delicious and in that style we're saying we wish there was more of.

2002 Henry's Drive Cabernet Sauvignon, Padthaway, Limestone Coast, South Australia
Labeled as 14.5% abv. The cork broke off and I pushed part of it down into the bottle and poured the wine through a tea leaf strainer. The wine was an umber color with semi-transparency. This has changed profile over the years. It is still fruity with suggestions of black cherries and raspberries and with underlying savory and spice notes. It strikes me as more interesting than in its youth even giving off a slight echo of Bourbon. Better on the first night open. If you have any left from this vintage, I would recommend drinking them this year. Not bad considering its age, it is a holdover from when I was buying Australian reds. Note adapted from my CellarTracker Note.
P.S. I got a chuckle from one review I came across on CellarTracker suggesting that Henry needs some driving lessons.

[Jenise]

P.S. I got a chuckle from one review I came across on CellarTracker suggesting that Henry needs some driving lessons.

That's funny!

Australian wines are not completely absent from the shelves here but the choice is not at all adventurous. In the Caen branch of the large Nicolas wine chain (shops in most French towns + Brussels and London) one or two wines from the huge Treasury Wine Estates multinational were available. Koonunga Hill is, I think, the Penfolds entry level label and Riesling and Shiraz were on offer. I would never have bought either but for this thread. I chose the former (price €12) because of the two I thought it the less likely to be smothered in new American oak and to show high alcohol. Having drunk it, I'm convinced that it was the right choice.

2013 Penfolds Riesling Autumn Riesling Koonunga Hill - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley (4/22/2017)
Nose almost a caricature of Riesling with fragrant fruit, flowers and a generous dab of petrol. The medium bodied dry, but not bone dry, palate was more bland and a bit lacking in tension and minerality but well balanced between white fruit, fragrances, spice and acidity with a surprisingly "tannic" finish (acid and tannin additives?). Contains 6% Traminer and has a plus point, for me, namely 12% alcohol only. Just about good.

Posted from CellarTracker

Never seen this Riesling in AB Tim. The Bin 51 Eden Valley is usually nicely featured in some stores.

Never seen this Riesling in AB Tim. The Bin 51 Eden Valley is usually nicely featured in some stores.

I don't think that you are missing much, Bob. Although quite good, at €12 it is less good QPR over here than some entry level Alsatians including Nicolas' own one and some lieux-dits (I've even had a minor GC at c.€10). I doubt if I will buy any more.

2014 Tahbilk Roussanne Marsanne Viognier, Victoria Aust.

The Roussanne has seen some oak I believe. This vintage is in a much better place than the 2012 listed above which I might have held on for too long?

Light gold reflections, attractive nose with citrus, orange, lime, fragrant.
Initial entry thought is honeysuckle, apricot, hint of almonds on the finish, peach. Inviting!
Very crisp and refreshing, I served quite chilled. V gd acidity, long finish..." lovely balance of near-tropical fruits" from across the table.
Very fruity, lovely wine with pork or chicken scallopini. Lots of character and pear and apple on day 2. Must buy more.

The Roussanne has seen some oak I believe.

Six months in French oak, but the wine normally handles it well.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L