Main

About SWTD

Earlier Dozens

Winemaker Profile

References

Links

AUSTINS SHIRAZ 2004

Winemakers: Scott Ireland and Richard Austin

Winemakers Notes

Dark plums and black berry fruits provide the foundation upon which the secondary flavours of black olive and liquorice complex the whole. Distinctly regional to Geelong, and Sutherlands Creek in particular, those savoury elements provide a fine counterpoint to the lifted fruit. All of this superbly sculptured by a fresh acidity. Deeply flavoured, the palate fulfils the promise of the bouquet and emphasises those facets: rich, ripe plums saturated with spice and reduced to a savoury intensity with a hint of coffee. The ‘lift’ so distinct on the nose, plays out along the palate and puts the restrained breadth of the wine into perspective. The fruit is supreme.

Cellar

Medium term plus eight to ten years.

Additional Notes

A winemaking philosophy where ‘less is more’ plays a core role and has produced a Shiraz wine “that defines the potential of the variety in the Geelong region.” “Richard and Pam Austin believe fine food calls for wines that work in unison with flavour rather than dominate. It is this focus on refinement and finesse that is the core strength of the Austins.” Recently I shared a couple of very good pizzas with Glen Brereton & co with a few wines from his new portfolio, which in fact were Victorian Shiraz wines. All were impressive, but the 2004 with a couple or one year bottle age over the others was the difference. The others didn’t go unnoticed.

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 03 5281 1799

Fax: 03 5281 1673

Open: By appointment

Address: 870 Speiglitz Road, Sutherlands Creek, Victoria, 3331.

E-mail: info@austinswines.com.au

Web: . www.austinswines.com.au

Back To Top

BELGRAVIA SHIRAZ VIOGNIER ORANGE 2006

Winemakers: David Lowe and Jane Wilson

Winemakers Notes

The inclusion of 8% Viognier as whole bunches into the Shiraz ferment does miraculous things to the wine. Tannin structure becomes silky and fine and the aromatics are more clearly defined with a spice and lift. After co – fermentation the wine was matured for 12 months in large casks, this adds spice and background vanillin. This traditional co – fermentation is an impressive process whereby whole uncrushed white bunches are included in the Shiraz ferment, stems and all. The wine almost immediately changes in colour and texture – gaining an almost silky palate feel with aromatic undertones from the Viognier. Spice and perfume mingle with plum and mulberry from the Shiraz. This wine is silky and supple on the palate with well controlled oak. A very seductive wine, best served in large glasses.

Cellar

A good medium term wine in the 5 to 8 years cycle.

Additional Notes

“2006 conditions were dry and warm, but good spring rain gave the vines a start not seen for many years. All reds for this year we consider of benchmark quality. According to wine writer Peter Bourne, Shiraz Viognier is a great food wine, its silky texture and depth of flavour from the Shiraz making it a good match for many dishes you’d usually pair with Pinot Noir. We like this one with pork sausages and a spicy plum sauce.”

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 02 6361 4441

Open: Sun. to Thurs 10 to 8; Fri & Sat. 10 till late.

Address: 84 Byng Street, Orange, NSW, 2800.

Web: www.belgravia.com.au

Back To Top

CHALKERS CROSSING HILLTOPS RIESLING 2007

Winemaker: Celine Rousseau

Winemakers Notes

The colour is medium straw still showing green tints of youth. The nose shows intense lime and floral aromas. To the palate where there are fragrant citrus flavours with clean crisp elegant fresh acid to balance the palate. The wine finish is fresh and crisp, as well.

Cellar

“Now to 2014.”

Additional Notes

It has taken a while. I saw this wine at the Haviland Wine Merchants Catalogue Tasting last year. From that Show there were two Chalkers Crossing wines in last year’s Dozens. One was the Hilltops Semillon in August where I made mention of picking up regional similarities to many of the Lindsay’s Semillon wines seen over the years. It didn’t stop there. It actually started at the Tasting with the Chalkers Crossing Riesling. Straight away those special Young Riesling characters bounced out of the glass. It’s best described in Celine’s Notes probably as ‘intense lime and floral aromas’, but it is all Young and its 2594 Postcode here we celebrate.

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 02 6382 6900

Fax: 02 6382 5068

Open: Daily 10 to 4

Address: 387 Grenfell Road, Young, NSW, 2594.

E-mail: chalkers@dragnet.com.au

Web: www.chalkerscrossing.com.au

Back To Top

CHATEAU PATO DJP SHIRAZ 2005

Winemaker: Nicholas Paterson

Winemakers Notes

The DJP Shiraz displays deep colour, spice and dark fruits on the nose. There is a lot of depth of flavour, a good spectrum of plums, blackberry and earth with supportive tannins derived from the skins and from fermentation in oak. This wine is developing slowly and shows all of the potential to age well over the long term.

Cellar

10 to 15 years.

Additional Notes

Intimate knowledge gained over the years of the vineyard proves to be the success in the quality of the Chateau Pato Shiraz wines. Different soil types throughout the block produce parcels of fruit which are treated individually in a way so as to allow them to best “express” themselves in the finished wine. This simply means whether they are fermented in oak or in stainless steel. The detail of the winemaking is reflected in that intimacy gleaned from the vineyard since establishment in 1980 both by Nick’s father, David and now, himself. The DJP being a dedication to his father, a fine legacy. In Halliday’s 2008 Wine Companion Chateau Pato gets the top rating five star treatment for “Outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality.” And for this wine, 94/100. With just 500 cases produced it borders on being a ‘National Treasure.’

Availability

Cellar Door or please contact me.

Winery Details

Phone: 02 4998 7634

Fax: 02 4998 7860

Open: By appointment.

Address: 67 Thompsons Road Pokolbin, NSW, 2321.

E-mail: hunterwinecountry@bigpond.com

Back To Top

d’ARENBERG ‘THE FERAL FOX’ PINOT NOIR 2007

Winemaker: Chester Osborn

Winemakers Notes

This wine shows the hallmarks of a well structured Pinot Noir. The colour is bright red, akin to most good Pinot Noirs. The nose shows inviting strawberry, plum and many different spices, including cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg; as well as the more savoury edges of earth and forest floor. The taste is immediately silky with spicy, sweet glycerol, strawberry and plums growing in intensity to a lush, rich full texture, which in turn leads to lovely, spicy fruit structural tannin, which finally gives into a very long, spicy, strawberry and plum glycerol end. After time the whole wine will become one silky glycerol, textured, spicy, lush fruit wine with totally integrated tannins.”

Cellar

Drink now and over the next three years.

Additional Notes

As should have been expected when answering the phone a couple of weeks ago, I was speaking to Jacki Osborn. It was her ‘regular’ yearly call, and I very much appreciate her obligation to all causes including these Dozens. This Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir is the result.

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 08 8323 8206

Fax: 08 8323 8423

Open: Daily 10 to 5.

Address: Osborn Road, McLaren Vale S.A., 5171.

E-mail: winery@darenberg.com.au

Web: www.darenberg.com.au

Back To Top

di LUSSO ESTATE BARBERA 2005

Winemaker: Drew Tuckwell

Winemakers Notes

The grapes were machine harvested, crushed and then fermented in open concrete vats. The temperature was allowed to rise to 30° C and then cooled to prolong the fermentation. The wine was pressed from the skins and then transferred to barrel for malolactic fermentation and maturation. About 40% of the wine was matured in new French oak. The wine was blended, fined and underwent a light filtering prior to bottling in October 2006. The wine displays an intense ruby red colour. It shows youthfulness and freshness. The aroma is typical of sour cherry, raspberry fruit with hints of richer plums and spice. There is underlying earthiness and very well integrated cedary oak with hints of smokiness. On release this wine is clean, fresh and has a fine acid backbone; fine but good tannin length and elegant balance.

Cellar

“With bottle age (mid term, five years) it will develop more complex secondary characters of cigar box, dried herbs and aniseed.”

Additional Notes

It was probably three years ago when I first heard of di Lusso Estate after a tour of Mudgee by a spirited and scrupulous Sydney wine tasting squad of wine lovers. A group with vast experience and as they say ‘dedicated to the task.’ di Lusso was one of their highlights of the region. Thanks Phil. The imagination is fully engaged with a wealth of Italian varieties produced here, and this Barbera is a really good example of what di Lusso is all about. Splendid and marvellous. More about Barbera and di Lusso’s interpretation on the Notice Board.

Availability

Cellar Door or contact me.

Winery Details

Phone: 02 6373 3125

Fax: 02 6373 3128

Open: Daily 10 to 5.

Address: Eurunderee Lane, Mudgee, NSW, 2850.

E-mail: sales@dilusso.com.au

Web: www.dilusso.com.au

Back To Top

ICELY ROAD CHARDONAY 2006

Winemaker: Barry Kooij

Consulting Winemakers: Jon Reynolds and Bob Shields

Winemakers Notes

The grapes were picked in stages to ensure they attained optimum ripeness and fruit intensity. After clarification, a portion of the juice was fermented in new three year ‘air seasoned’ tight grained French oak barriques with the balance fermented in stainless steel tanks. Both barrel and stainless steel portions were given extended yeast lees contact and partial malo – lactic fermentation (10%) and stirred regularly to add complexity and give the wine mid – palate weight. The wine was then blended, stabilised and filtered prior to bottling. The wine is brilliant pale straw in colour. Upfront fruit characters of sweet fig, melon and citrus, balanced with a delicate background occupy the nose. The palate has exceptional finesse with a long soft creamy mouth feel and nutty complexity balanced by crisp grapefruit acidity.

Cellar

“This wine will continue to develop further complexity over the next 5 years.”

Additional Notes

I had seen and liked their Riesling last year by way of my ongoing flirtation with the Orange / Riesling combination. Again, I was struck by the quality of another of the Mayfield Vineyard’s wines with its Icely Road Chardonnay. Part of the secret is the 860 to 930 metres altitude of the vineyard and the ability to “experience extended, gradual ripening. These conditions prevent high levels of transpiration in the vines and allow the grapes to develop more colour and flavour whilst retaining their natural acidity, sugars and esters.” Good vineyard practice really pays off when the quality of the winemaking makes up the other part of the secret in total.

Availability

Limited availability at Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 02 6365 9295

Fax: 02 6365 9294

Open: Thurs-Sun 10 to 5.

Address: Icely Road, Orange, NSW, 2800.

E-mail: sales@mayfieldvineyard.com

Web: www.mayfieldvineyard.com

Back To Top

‘KYWARRA’ CABERNET SAUVIGNON MERLOT 2005

Winemaker Charles Svenson

Winemakers Notes

The wine is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon (Canobolas-Smith Vineyard), 30% Merlot (Habitat Vineyard) and 10% Cabernet Franc (Ibis Vineyard). The wine had eight weeks on skins, lightly pressed and matured for 18 months in 50% two year old American Hogsheads, 25% in two year old and 25% new French Barriques. Ripe berries early subside into plum, tobacco, rhubarb and lingering soft tannins.

Cellar

“Will age gracefully for 5 to 10 years.”

Additional Notes

Charles, Charlie or as his sons call him, Chuck, is an energy force I met in about 2000. The venue originally, and many times since is Canobolas-Smith in Orange. The whole eight pages of this publication would easily be filled with C. Svenson interests and exploits, and that would be done well before I said or recorded a word. Such word impudence on my part would suggest a friendship has formed, and that is true. The point is, this is an early wine from him and it shows very good form from one who is burning to make great wines in the coming years. Many are interested in his progress and this now includes the Dozens. A good thing is that he has invested his passion in Orange and with his long term view, so necessary for the journey to making great wines, it adds nicely to the developing fabric of the region.

Availability

Telephone me on 0418 491 502 and I will ask “Sir, can we please have some more.”

Back To Top

LILLIAN MARSANNE ROUSANNE 2006

Winemaker: John Brocksopp

Winemakers Notes

The blend is Marsanne 74% and Roussanne 26%.

The wine is light and bright straw with hints of lime green. Very fragrant in the fresh pear, sweet plum blossom spectrum of aromas; it evolves to additional notes of leatherwood honey as the wine airs out in the glass. On the palate the fresh pear becomes an intense ripe fruit and together with a rich clean texture retains a refreshing mouth feel right through the wine to the finish. The fruit lingers in the mouth. The Marsanne grape drives the aromas plus the up front impact on the palate. The Roussanne provides the texture and elegance of the body and finish.

Cellar

Medium term, three to five years.

Additional Notes

“First planted in1993 the vines are grown in the valley of the Lefroy Brook just south of Pemberton in the wine region of the same name. The soil is brown, free draining gravelly loam, derived from granite. The climate in the summer season is made up of mild days and nights and as the vineyard is surrounded by forest, the shaded forest air is transported through the vineyard by the cool afternoon sea breezes off the Southern Ocean. The nights are much cooler during the ripening season than for example Margaret River. Similar conditions in fact to those famous areas in France – Burgundy and Northern Rhone.”

Availability

Available to Retail. Very limited, only 400 cases produced.

Winery Details

Phone / Fax: 08 9776 0193

No Cellar Door.

Back To Top

MURRAY STREET THE BAROSSA 2005

Winemaker: Andrew Seppelt

Winemakers Notes

This wine was made from vines ranging in age from 5 to 90 years and is made up of: 49% Shiraz, 34% Grenache, 10% Cinsaut and 7% Mataro (Mataro = Mourvedre). A combination of bush vines, Rod and Spur and permanent pruning styles. All vines are dry grown and organic principles are employed where possible. Vinification over 7 to 10 days in open topped small batch fermenters and basket pressed. Malo – lactic fermentation in oak. Simple approaches allow the vineyard and regional characters to dominate. The colour of the finished wine is purple / red with a dark red brick edge. On the nose dark berry fruits and cocoa aromas followed by hints of winter spices, star – anise and bay leaves. The palate is ripe dark fruits and chocolate fudge. Full and rich with a lingering spicy and well structured peppery finish.

Cellar

Eight to ten years with ease.

Additional Notes

“On any given year we pick and ferment Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro, Cinsaut and a host of other grape varieties to build a wine that best expresses the Barossa for that year. For 2005 the wine is Shiraz dominant, but I am amazed, yet again, at the positive difference small percentages of things like Cinsaut and Mataro can make. To be a little sentimental – I invite you on a journey back to the Barossa in 2005.” “Murray Street Vineyard’s passion is to produce wine that honours the past and helps define the future of winemaking in the Barossa Valley.”

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 08 8562 8373

Fax: 08 8562 8414

Open: Daily 10 to 4.30

Address: Lot 723 Murray Street, Greenock S.A., 5360.

E-mail: info@murraystreet.com.au

Web: www.murraystreet.com.au

Back To Top

PEEL ESTATE VERDELHO 2007

Winemaker: Will Nairn

Winemakers Notes

The pale straw colour leads into a clean varietal nose showing the hints of mango and passionfruit so typical of this great WA variety. The palate is soft and clean with buckets of tropical fruit flavours in a medium – bodied package. There’s a touch of classic Peel chalkiness which rounds up the back palate a treat and leads to quite a dry finish.

Cellar

“This wine has a lovely mouth feel and balance and could be an interesting cellaring prospect over four or five years.”

Additional Notes

I decided to try and broaden the base a little and see what happened if I made an approach to a forthright character in wine. Along with the Icely Road Chardonnay, which I thought was a little beauty, this Verdelho was included in a mixed case of wine purchased from Tim and Louise at Glebe Liquor.

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 08 9524 1221

Fax: 08 9524 1625

Open: Daily 10 to 5.

Address: Fletcher Road, Baldivis, W. A., 6171.

E-mail: peelwine@iinet.com.au

Web:www.peelwine.com.au

Back To Top

YERING STATION CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005

Winemakers: Tom Carson, Darren Rathbone and Caroline Mooney

Winemakers Notes

92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot. The nose boasts of sweet blackcurrant, mulberry, chocolate, mocha and cedar. Medium to full bodied, the palate is lively with sweet raspberries and violet undertones. The mid palate is round and supple, the tannins are fine and ripe. Deliciously ripe and fabulously structured, this is a classically elegant Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cellar

“Optimum drinking now to 2015.”

Additional Notes

“The Cabernet Sauvignon was de-stemmed and crushed into open stainless steel fermenters: roto-fermenters or closed fermenters. Extended maceration for 28 days of some selected parcels to improve tannic structure, while the Merlot was fermented separately in an open fermenter and plunged gently. Maceration with frequent plunging of the cap by hand or pumping over. Pressed to barrel for malolactic ferment, followed by several rackings. 16 months ageing in French oak barriques with a further 12 months bottle ageing.” Glen Brereton keeps bobbing up here and it’s good to see him back selling ‘smaller’ producers, generally. This wine he described as a “gem” but thought its pedigree was perhaps a little large for the Dozens. I reminded him that the main rule here, that apart from being good, the wines have to be interesting.

Availability

Available to Retail.

Winery Details

Phone: 03 9730 0100

Fax: 03 9739 0135

Open: Daily 10 to 5.

Address: 38 Melba Highway, Yarra Glen, Victoria, 3775.

E-mail: info@yering.com

Web: www.yering.com

Back To Top