Home
Updated - Saturday, January 14, 2012
Happy New Year!
There is a plethora of wines that I have tried over the break and the first three tastings have been added below.
Don't forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter to receive updates on what we are recommending. Just send me an email to subscribe. It is free!
Cheers,
Barry Weinman
Wines Of The Week
The best of this week's blind tastings.
Lillypilly - Noble Blend - 2008 (18.2). Restrained on the nose, this is very youthful and has remarkable lavender aromas. There is, again, that lovely balance of apricot and orange, with a freshness that makes this a delight to drink. Superb length and mouth-feel with the finish fanning out and evolving for more than a minute. Excellent wine! (Reviewed: 2 January 2012)
Lillypilly - Noble Blend - Family Reserve - 2002 (18). Richer colour suggesting more bottle age. A bigger, richer wine with more complexity and greater length. The palate is viscous and mouth-coating, with lovely acidity preventing the finish from becoming cloying. Apricot jam and marmalade fruit to close. A lovely aged wine. (This is still available from the winery). (Reviewed: 2 January 2012)
Tyrrell"s - Semillon - Brookdale - 2011 (17). Straw and lemon on a reserved and restrained nose, this has lovely poise and balance. Needs a few years to open up and show its fruit. (Reviewed: 2 January 2012)
Yering Station - Marsanne/Viognier/Rousanne - MVR - 2009 (17). Complex nose with apricot, orange peel, honey and cashew nut. Very complex, yet refined palate that is long and has well judged phenolics and viscosity. The best wine here from a textural component and European in style. Drink now. (Reviewed: 2 January 2012)
Penfolds - Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz - Bin 8 - 2010 (18). More austere than the last wine initially. This has drying tannins and acidity, though the fruit does build on the finish. Textured and long, this also needs some time to show its best. Balance the key here. With air, this shows lifted, complex fruit with menthol, mint and eucalypt. Mid-weight for the style. One panellist commented on the similarities between the Bin 2 and the Bin 389. (Reviewed: 30 December 2011)
Angove - Shiraz - Vineyard Select - 2010 (17.8). I like this wine. Bright, peppery fruit to the max. This is elegant and refined, but there is real thrust to the palate. The oak is very well handled and the tannins fine. The peppery fruit carries the palate and imbues superb length. Chewy, almost licorice fruit, with spicy fruitcake notes to close. Value! (Reviewed: 30 December 2011)
Mt Langi Ghiran - Shiraz - Cliff Edge - 2008 (17-18+). This wine was the sleeper of the tasting. It took two days on the bench for the fruit to open up, but the result was amazing. The wine developed beautiful floral and perfumed notes with great intensity and purity. One for the cellar. (Reviewed: 30 December 2011)
O'Leary Walker - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2010 (18). Excellent Clare Valley fruit on display here. A combination of cooler, minty fruit characters combined with lovely ripe fruit and tannins. This is a very classy wine. Powerful fruit dominates a multifaceted and evolving palate. There are plenty of fine tannins, but these frame the fruit beautifully. A mouth-filling, succulent wine that is a relative bargain. (Reviewed: 28 December 2011)
Leeuwin Estate - Cabernet Sauvignon - Art Series - 2007 (18.2). Cooler region fruit on a restrained and taut nose. On the palate, this really starts to sing. There are layers of fruit combined with excellent winemaker's inputs. This is very complex and very long, with the density of fruit a standout. The palate is refined and relatively understated now, with cedary textural notes dominating the finish. Give it ten years to see it blossom. The excellent fruit quality and winemaking provide superb length. (Reviewed: 28 December 2011)
Deep Woods - Cabernet Sauvignon - Reserve - 2009 (18). Nice wine this. Silky, ripe and perfumed fruit on the nose combine with red fruits/berries and a seamless, silky, textured and evolving finish. This has high class fruit and oak combined with excellent winemaking. This is a classy wine that, whilst very easy to drink, is very complex and age-worthy. (Reviewed: 28 December 2011)
Just Added
New Release - Mixed Whites
Reviewed: 2 January 2011
This was a fascinating tasting with a large variety of grapes and styles. All of the reviewed wines represent an interesting alternative to the mainstream wines that dominate the market.
The highlight for the panel was the three wines from Lillypilly. These are high quality desert wines that possess a degree of lightness and balance that makes them a delight to drink.
Shiraz
New Release
Reviewed: 30 December 2011
Another smart tasting, with over half the wines tasted making it to these pages.
Cabernet Sauvignon
New Release
Reviewed: 27 December 2011
The highlight for me of this tasting was the O"Leary Walker cabernet. An excellent wine that should be widely available for around $20.
Pre Release – Mixed
Reviewed: 12 December 2011
I had a call from my good friend John Jens asking for help. In short, he needed to assess some imported wines quickly to see if it was worth buying some of the remaining stock. No problems I said, so I threw in a few locals to keep the French honest and we were in business.
Riesling - New Release
Reviewed: 8 December 2011
You get what you pay for – well most of the time anyway.
This was a fascinating tasting. Firstly, the Yalumba range (Heggies, Pewsey vale, Yalumba) and the O'leary Walker range demonstrated that the good things in life cost a little more. All wines in both ranges were very good, it is just that the more prestigious wines, (read more expensive) turned out to be the ones the panel preferred. (Tasted blind of course).
Red Burgundy
Reviewed: 30 November 2011
When I was asked to help out at a Burgundy tasting hosted by Loren White, I was happy to oblige. The fact that I was in Adelaide on the morning of the tasting when I was asked was a minor hurdle, but I made sure that I was back in time. Loren is one of the true intellects of wine. Not only does he have a superb palate, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Burgundy (and wine in general). I would go as far as to say that he is probably the best that I know.
Recent Additions
Champagne – Non Vintage
1 December 2011
I love champagne! So this was one of the most anticipated tastings for the year.
One of the challenges of reviewing NV champagne is that there is no way of knowing how old the bottle is. Like every other wine, champagne evolves as it ages, (often for the better in the short term). To get around this, all wines in the tasting were purchased within a few weeks of the tasting.
SB/SSB
New Release
Reviewed:15 November 2011
A variety of styles, from the super textural SRS to the cheap and cheery Vat 2.
Red and White Burgundy
Reviewed: 23 November 2011
Some smart young wines on show here. For a list of stockists, contact Lamont's in Cottesloe.
Cabernet (and Rose)
New Release
Reviewed: 20 November 2011
I have been lucky enough to drink some superb wines of late which has had me questioning the scores I give. To that end, I have adjusted my points for the lower end of the range.
A Boot-full of Wine
Of Three Hills and Aussie terroir
19 November 2011
Last year I visited Erl Happ, of Happs and Three Hills wineries, in Margaret River. I was holidaying in the area, and, long being aware and admiring of Erl’s efforts to expand the varietal repertoire in the region, was keen to meet him.