Small Winemakers Tasting Dozens |
The Classic February Dozen | |
| AVALON TEMPRANILLO 2008Winemaker Doug GroomWinemaker's NotesThe 2008 Tempranillo was picked in early March, crushed and fermented on skins for two weeks, pressed in a basket press and then pumped straight to barrel (old French). It was left on gross lees (yeast sediment) to gain mouth feel. Yeast lees give off glycerol which is a sweet viscous alcohol. The wine has an earthy plum and cherry nose. The palate is fresh and fruity with a light tannic finish. CellarFive to eight years. Additional Notes"Tempranillo is regarded as one of the greatest of Spanish red varieties, in fact it is 10% of the world wine grape production and 40% of Spain's production. So it is significant in anyone's terms. Tempranillo means 'taken early,' it is probably the earliest picked red grape variety in common use; it also buds very late so it is a useful variety in cold, frost prone regions." I have no doubt why Doug planted Tempranillo: he's very keen on Spanish wine in general. The conversation usually works itself around to the renewed interest for whatever reason of 'vinous' Spain. At the same time he admits, up until the 2010 vintage, one that was 'normal,' he was getting frustrated with several years of extreme heat and drought, conditions that made making elegant wines very difficult, a scenario being experienced across the country. AvailabilityPlease contact me or Cellar Door. Winery DetailsPhone: 03 5729 3629 Fax: 03 5729 3635 Open: Daily 10 to 5. Address: RMB 9556 Whitfield Road, Wangaratta, Vic., 3678. |
| CABLE BAY MARLBOROUGH PINOT GRIS 2010Winemaker Neil CulleyWinemaker's NotesThe juice underwent a cool fermentation in stainless steel vats with a neutral yeast in order to capture the essence of Marlborough Pinot Gris. Following this, the wine was stored on the yeast lees, with periodic stirring for several months to impart further texture before being bottled early. The colour is light, brilliant straw; while the nose shows pear and cinnamon aromas with hints of baked apple. The generous palate coats the tongue with pear, nectarine and honey. Traces of spice linger with a crisp finish – balanced by just a touch of residual sugar and fine acidity. CellarBest enjoyed now and over the next two years. Additional Notes"The grapes are harvested from young vines at the Homestead Block, Brentwood Vineyard in Rapaura. The warm growing season has produced ripe fruit, but the cold nights of Marlborough have retained the grapes' natural acidity, serving to intensify and added lift to the flavours. The style of wine is one rich in both flavour and texture. Pear and spice reign supreme, complemented by generous mouth feel. The alcohol and acidity are perfectly balanced, making this a fantastic food wine. The dry, balanced subtlety of this Pinot Gris mean it is perfectly suited to the diversity of most Australasian food. Try it with smoked salmon, sushi, roast chicken, Gouda or even a mild blue cheese." AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone: 09 372 5889 Fax: 09 372 5869 Cellar Door Open. Address: 12 Nick Johnston Drive, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, N.Z., 7840. |
 | CHRISMONT VINO ROSSO DELLA CASA NVWinemaker Warren ProftWinemaker's NotesA blend of Merlot and Sangiovese which has a vibrant mid-red centre and bright crimson edge. The nose has an attractive 'lift' of ripe black cherries, savoury, with a touch of leather and spice. A savoury, textured palate of medium body. Layers of plum, hints of earthiness and mint. Generous and fleshy, good mid palate presence and a soft, well rounded finish. CellarDrink now. Additional NotesThis is an inexpensive wine and getting information as to it's inspiration has proven difficult. Nevertheless, the King Valley provides grateful wine drinkers with much to enjoy and think about when it comes to wines with an Italian influence. Perhaps what I found on the endless Internet is the key. "I'm looking for a red like the 'house wine' we drank in Northern Italy. Vino Rosso, was the order and it was always welcome and refreshing." This wine is not a premium red, but its is a terrific little wine, especially for this time of year. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone: 03 5729 8220 Fax: 03 5729 8253 Open: Daily 11 to 5. Address: 251 Upper King River Road, Chestnut, Vic., 3678. Web: |
| d'ARENBERG THE MONEY SPIDER ROUSANNE 2009Winemakers Chester Osborne and Jack WaltonWinemaker's NotesThe aroma is filled with flowers, yellow peach, banana and lemon alongside cashew and hazel nut. Given time to open in the glass further nuances of orange blossom, pine needle and toffee emerge. The taste delivers on the promise of the nose with green mango adding to the tropical spectrum. Ginger spice and citrus peel emerge on the back palate, providing great length to the mineral palate. It has a creamy feel and coats the mouth while holding acidity from beginning to end, delivering a very balance and complete wine. CellarWith power, elegance and complexity this is a wine lover's wine that's drinking well on release and will also cellar well for up to a decade. Additional NotesFrom the winemaking point of view: "Tasting grapes in the vineyard, Chief Winemaker, Chester Osborne, chose to pick when fully ripe to encourage varietal stone fruit characters. At the winery the grapes passed through the gentle Demoisy rubber tooth crusher before being basket pressed using a method developed at d'Arenberg to avoid oxidation. The fermentation was long and moderately cool to retain fruit characters and conducted in stainless steel tanks. Only free-run juice was used for the final wine with no malolactic fermentation." AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone: 08 8329 4888 Fax: 08 8323 9862 Open: Daily 10 to 5. Address: Osborn Road, McLaren Vale, S.A., 5171. Web: |
 | DYSON PREMIUM RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2008Winemaker Allan DysonWinemaker's NotesDry grown and maritime conditions result in Dyson Chardonnays being big, rich, robust wines with one of the features being the strong green / gold colours present in the wine. With further bottle age before release, this wine has a fine complex citrus dominated nose. A well developed palate with traces of honey and rich marmalade flavours and integrated oak dominate. A creamy texture fills out the palate with softening and citrus scented acidity still balancing.(Web). Cellar"I am very pleased with it now, but I reckon in a couple of years time it will be at it's best ." Additional NotesAllan's winemaking notes as above, taken from the Web, still apply. But there is something very interesting going on down there, and any variation or addition from of to those notes is by tasting and phone chat with Allan. Firstly there is a small proportion of Viognier in this wine. From memory it has to be more than 15% to be a requirement, legally, to be on the label. So it is a small proportion. Also, the wine was left in tank on a small layer of lees at 10°C for two years. With his preferred Burgundian yeast having it's own influence the finished wine has an incredible number of layers of flavours. "The sweet fruit richness of the Viognier balances nicely into the lees / yeasty flavours of the Chardonnay." The depth of flavours he attributes to dry grown, low yielding vines. Every mouth full of this amazing wine teased me into thinking it must have a reasonable degree of residual sugar, but no, Allan says that is fruit sweetness, not sugar. It certainly finishes dry. AvailabilityCellar Door or please contact me. Winery DetailsPhone: 08 8386 1092 Fax: 08 8327 0066 Open: Daily 10 to 5 Address: Sherriff Road, Maslin Beach, S.A. 5170 Web: |
 | JUNIPER CROSSING TEMPRANILLO 2009Winemakers Mark Messenger and Kym EyresWinemaker's NotesThe wine was fermented dry over twelve days with regular pumping over and then spent nine months in two to three year old French and American hogsheads. The resulting wine is black / purple in colour. This fresh style of Tempranillo is bursting with dark fruits such as plum, black and red cherries, blueberry with a background lift of jasmine, a hint of liquorice and dried herbs. The palate is fine and juicy with raspberry jube and liquorice all sorts flavours and backed up with fine tannins. Cellar“This is a terrific early drinking style of red wine also with medium term cellaring potential (three to five years) and perfect with something like mushroom risotto.” Additional Notes“The 2009 Juniper Crossing Tempranillo is grown in the Ferguson Valley situated north of the Margaret River wine region and is made as a bright fruit driven style with very moderate oak influence (no new oak). The 2009 vintage was one of the best vintages in the South West of Western Australia with plenty of sunshine with moderate heat for close to perfect autumn ripening. There was no problem getting the Tempranillo grapes and tannin ripe with balanced crops and canopies.” I was a little unsure if two Tempranillo wines was too much for one Dozen, then I thought, wine surprises are all part of the fun. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone: 08 9755 9000 Fax: 08 9755 9100 Open: Daily 10 to 5. Address: Harmans Road South, Cowaramup, W.A., 6284. Web: |
 | KRINKLEWOOD SEMILLON 2009Winemakers Liz Jackson & Rod WindrumWinemaker's NotesThe fruit was crushed with only the premium free run juices being used. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks under cool conditions, and the wine was bottled early with minimal filtration to retain freshness of the primary fruit characters. Very pale straw with a luminous green hue, this wine has a bouquet of subtle tropical fruit flavours accentuated citrus and floral notes. It is a finely structured Semillon displaying ripe citrus flavours, a tight acid line and refreshing finish. Cellar"Crisp and low in alcohol, it is perfect to enjoy now or is suitable for cellaring for up to seven years." Additional Notes"We believe 2009 will join the 'best vintage' list for Krinklewood. Consistent warm temperatures throughout the growing season produced generous volumes overall. The Semillon berries were picked at optimum ripeness in the cool of night on February 1st and 2nd at 10.4 ° Baume." I had only recently been reading about Krinklewood in said book and a day or so later I saw it listed in Paul Stenmark's Winestock Portfolio and couldn't resist the chance. I will have to check out their other wines, but a good Hunter Semillon is a most suitable starting point. As the label says: "Krinklewood is a family owned Biodynamic Vineyard located in Broke Fordwich, Hunter Valley, NSW. The fruit for Krinklewood Wines is Estate grown to reflect it's Terroir," or soil and conditions of climate where the vines plant their feet. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail Winery DetailsPhone: 02 9986 1644 Fax: 02 9986 2154 Open: W/E & PH 10 to 5. Address: 712 Wollombi Road, Broke, NSW, 2330. Web: |
 | MICHELINI BARBERA 2009Winemaker Greg O'KeefeWinemaker's NotesWith medium red colour with vibrant cherry tint, this wine displays cherry and dark chocolate notes on the nose and lovely fullness on the palate with savoury finish. This wine makes for an ideal luncheon style wine. CellarBest enjoyed within 2 - 3 years of vintage. Additional NotesAnother carriage on the Italian Varietal Train seemed like a good idea after the Marzemino, Sangiovese and Teroldego in recent Dozens. The Buckland Valley in North East Victoria is described on the Michelini Website as being "perched between the snow capped peaks of Mt. Buffalo and the pristine crystal clear waters of Devil's Creek," and describes this evocative location with "the Alpine winters and cool summer's nights, characteristic of this secluded valley, provide ideal conditions for maturing premium grapes." Planted also at 250m are the better known: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot, but the Italian heritage invested here almost by way of chance is more than fascinating. 'Chance', also, as described on the Website was that "Orlando Wines, Barossa Valley approached Emo Michelini (Founder), in the early 1980s to discuss the possibility of developing a vineyard in the Valley as a source of fruit from cooler climes as blending material for their existing warmer sites." Prior to this the Michelinis, like many Italian families in the Buckland and other Valleys were growing and curing tobacco. Wine tastes much nicer. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone: 03 5751 1990 Fax: 03 5751 1410 Open: Daily 10 to 5. Address: Great Alpine /road, Myrtleford, Victoria, 3737. Web: |
 | O'DONOHOE'S TOM'S DROP (Organic) SHIRAZ 2007Winemaker Michael O'DonohoeWinemaker's NotesPerhaps we are different with the stands of weeds beneath our vines. They sap the vines of some moisture and grape bunches are smaller than normal. The grape berries also are smaller in size. But flavours are intense and perhaps these weeds create unique wilderness and give us more complex wild yeast. We don't pretend to fully understand. Liquorice, spice and mulberry with complementary savoury oak flavours give layered persistence. Cellar"Medium term five to eight years." Additional NotesI can honestly say that I was not surprised at all when Michael told me of his frightening last phone bill. You simply can't have a five minute or less conversation. Having said that I do enjoy the conversations and probably more so of late as he details what he does with his grape growing and winemaking. The Dozens have only had his Mourvedre Shiraz, but the way he has been talking up the Shiraz, it seemed like a good idea to ask him if it could be included in this Dozen. As the wines drifted into the 'lock up' this past week, I grabbed a bottle to show a household of 'ex pat' South Australians what a Riverland Shiraz can taste like. They were genuinely lost for words, something I forgot to tell Michael just now, when he told me he has entered both wines into the International Wine Challenge in London this week. Cheers. AvailabilityCellar Door or please contact me. Winery Details :Phone: 0414 765 813 Fax: 08 8583 2228 No Cellar Door. Address: PO Box 460, Berri, South Australia, 5343. Web: www.tomsdrop.com.au |
 | THISTLE HILL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009Winemaker Michael SlaterWinemaker's NotesMaintaining the unique character of this noble grape variety was the main consideration throughout the winemaking process. Picked at optimal ripeness and fermented using simple ferment techniques and then run into barrel for malo lactic fermentation. The wine was matured predominantly French (20% new) and 2-3 year old French and American Hogsheads (300ltr) for 18 months at which time the final blend was brought together, given a light fining and filtration and then bottled. The colour is a darker purple and deep red with rich tones. On the nose the fruit is generous and aromatic with elements of raspberry and mocha. The palate is generous and complex with a soft full texture. The mouth feel is full and round with a silky element. The tannins are present but soft and approachable. Finishes with subtle complexities and sophistication. Cellar"Six to eight years." Additional Notes"Thistle Hill sits at around 600m on the Hill End side of Mudgee, which is the cooler side of the appellation. Established in the mid 1970s, Thistle Hill Estate is Certified Organic and has been pesticide free in it's farming and production since day one," in the care of the Robertson family. It's a shame David can't have a 'second coming' and see what is happening with the new regime, and as well in the national grape growing community. I'm sure he'd approve. It's also timely, as Glen Brereton spoke about Thistle Hill late last year, and it sounded like a good thing. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone 02 6373 3546 Fax: 02 6373 3540 Open: M to S 9.30 to 4. Address: 74 McDonalds Road, Mudgee, NSW, 2850. |
 | TIM ADAMS CLARE VALLEY RIESLING 2010Winemaker Tim AdamsWinemaker's NotesOnly the first five hundred litres per tonne of free-run juice was used to make this premium Clare Valley Riesling. Following crushing, de juicing and juice clarification, fermentation proceeded for two weeks at 12 to 140 C. The wine has been protein and cold stabilised to normal standards. Minimal sulphur dioxide has been used in the production of this wine. The use of only the very best 500 litres per tonne has resulted in this wine being very intensely flavoured and aromatic. The wine has very lifted Riesling character with citrus aromatics of lime, lemon and grapefruit. The palate is seamless with moderate viscosity and brisk acid finish. Cellar"Riesling wines from the Clare Valley are most enjoyable when young and zesty, or matured beyond five years." Additional NotesLooking through Paul Stenmark's Winestock Portfolio and spotted I Tim Adams Cabernet Malbec. This wine jumped out at me 'radar-like' due to the Malbec component, and the more than once heard belief that the great red wines of Clare often feature Malbec in their make-up. "Tim Adams wines focus their attention on making wines exclusively from Clare Valley grapes selected for their authentic varietal and regional characters." There's a start for May. My immediate concern for February was that there was no definite Riesling, and what better than a Tim Adams. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. Winery DetailsPhone: 08 8842 2429 Fax: 08 8842 3550 Open: Daily 11 to 5. Address: Warenda Road, Clare, S.A., 5453. |
 | YABTREE SHIRAZ 2007Winemaker Joel PizziniWinemaker's NotesThe grapes were crushed and the juice fermented on skins in an open-top oak vessel and hand plunged three times daily for seven days before pressing. The wine has deep, vibrant ruby colour with aromas of spiced blood plums, blackberries, wild red berries and savoury French oak. The palate brings together smooth, textural, harmonious tannins with the mouth-filling flavours of blackberries, black pepper and aniseed. Cellar"It can be cellared confidently for five to eight years." Additional NotesWhile driving back from a visit to Victoria last year I stopped at the 'bottle shop' at Jugiong having noticed the sign on my way down. I bought several bottles of Riesling and few mixed reds from areas in southern NSW, including a Cabernet Sauvignon from Gundagai. I kept the empty bottle for a few 'reasons of reference,' one being I enjoyed it. Perhaps a couple of months later, I heard the proprietor of Yabtree, Jim Wolfenson interviewed by, I think, Margaret Throsby, and was one of the most interesting interviews I have ever heard. His career in Global Finance, one thing, but there was so, so much more. Totally engrossing. As far as wine goes the quote that's to the point is: "I really just wanted to be able to produce a few hundred bottles of decent red to share with my family and friends." A four hectare block of Shiraz is a lot of friends! Highly regarded local viticulturist, Simon Robertson describes the vineyard as "just the right distance from the Murrumbidgee and has just the right slope to provide the fruit with reflected sunlight, a feature more typically seen in the wine producing valleys of Germany, France and Italy. The extra light intensity, without any extra heat, really harnesses the power of photosynthesis, enabling the grapes to ripen earlier and reach full fruit maturity at a lower sugar level." The Cabernet I mentioned was also 13.5% alcohol, a fact that adds an interesting aspect to alcohol levels. AvailabilityAvailable to Retail. No Cellar Door. Wine is made in the King Valley. Stockists: Please contact Winestock: 02 9331 3671 |
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