Tasting : Hanging Rock Rich Reef Shiraz 2012

I've visited Hanging Rock at their cellar door once before out in the cool climes of the beautiful Macedon Ranges region and loved their sparkling so was pretty keen to try this Shiraz of theirs outside of the shadow cast by its more famed and top performing effervescent cousin.

It is in no way a "cool climate" wine with the fruit coming from their much warmer Heathcote vineyards and in turn providing a generous and honest Victorian Shiraz with still enough interest for the easily distracted oenophiles out there. 

The wine shows us a nose of ripe dark plum, stewed dark cherry, licks of vanilla oak characters and faint white pepper and I may be clutching here but as I dig deeper I do pick up some faint christmas cake. 

Yummy and fairly bold in the mouth, characters of plum again but this time with mulberry too and some more savoury characters with touches of black pepper. Drying and somewhat chewy tannins help round it out but aren't in anyway overbearing. Top stuff, especially so for around the $20 mark.

You can find Hanging Rock wines in many good bottle shops in Melbourne and for more hit their website here:
http://www.hangingrock.com.au/

Tasting : Finca de los Arandinos, Malacapa, Rioja (Tempranillo) 2012

A quality Rioja without the crazy price tag. Rioja in Spain is best known for its red wines particularly Tempranillo. This temp shows us quite a bit of spice of the sweet brown variety on the nose....red currant red cherry,some  faint nutmeg and some stalk too (but not in a "green" unpleasant way). 

Very fresh medium body style palate with red fruit again, dried leaves and spice characters too and definite fennel seed on nose as it further develops in the glass. Very approachable with a good deal of depth to boot. I've seen this knocking around a few discernible Melbourne wine dealers and its imported by Working Wine.

(RRP $19/$20) 

Cheap & Cheerful : El Nino Pinot Noir 2012

This great value Yarra Valley Pinot is showing us red cherries, stewed rhubarb, hints of beetroot and faint earl grey on the nose.

In the mouth its predictably light with characters of rhubarb and cherry again with some light spicy tonalities too. This isn't too simple at all and retains some good interest enough for wine nerds and quaffers alike. So rare to find a good Pinot under the $20 mark ,so you'd be pretty stoked with this one. 

RRP $15 website:  massoniwines.com

Wine of the Week : Cobaw Ridge Syrah 2010

A few months ago now I went out to Macedon to sample the wares and do a bit of exploring (you can read my full run down on the trip here), and one of the special bottles I took home with me was this lovely Syrah (Shiraz). It's surprisingly taken me this long to open, I don't usually have patience for this kind of thing, hence my cyclic almost non existent cellar.

This cool climate wine from the certified organic Macedon producer shows a restrained nose of dark plum and mulberry with some dried herbs and more purple fruit and prune like characters come out from hiding as the wine opens up with time.

A similar story on the palate with mulberry in the mouth again with a medium body and more savoury earthy characters, that you would expect from a cool climate Shiraz, with some white pepper and dried Chinese herbs. Nicely integrated fine tannin and a good length close the curtain on this lovely performer.

I got this beauty from the cellar door but I have seen it sold in Melbourne at the Organic Wholefoods supermarket on Lygon Street, Brunswick East as well as Aunt Maggies in Fitzroy/Collingwood (with the possibility of it being sold at all their stores).

Cobaw Ridge's website: http://www.cobawridge.com.au/

Wine of the Week : El Castro de Valtuille Mencia Joven 2012

This variety, Mencia, is best known in the Spanish region of Bierzo, but lucky for us there are now quite a few importers here in Oz stocking it in both discerning bottle shops as well as Spanish restaurants.

The wine shows such a nice nose of distinct red roses, dough, subtle icing sugar and purple fruits. 

In the palate we have ripe plum , some blackberry very chalky tannins in the mouth with a savoury almost earthy character in the back. I really like the tannin and oak profiles here, both very well integrated, a good length as well.

Its definitely got a bit of seriousness to it even though it is a "joven"(Spanish for "young").  

Cheap & Cheerful Tasting : Possingham & Summers Malbec 2013

After visiting wine fantasy land and splashing out on bottles like this...  I need to be grounded in reality once again, one in which it's OK to spend less than $40 (or even better less than $20) and still be well and truly satisfied !

A youthful McLaren Vale Malbec that has a fruit driven nose with raspberry, blueberry pastilles and some faint florals too.

A medium body on the palate with blueberry and cassis characters with small amounts of spice and liquorice. As with most of my skint/cheapie wines its an easy going wine and one to quaff, but with that said I think this one will be much more serious given time.

(RRP $14) http://www.possumswines.com.au/

Wine of the Week : Livio Felluga Friulano 2011

Wow. This is an amazing wine. Made from 100% Friulano from Friuli, Italy.

On the nose is pear , citrus, baked white cheese and peach. Digging deeper it shows some honey and nut complexities too.

A rich medium to full body with pink grapefruit and lemon as well as a subtle almond character. This really has lovely texture and the length is exceptional.

(RRP varies between $40-57) Imported by Arquilla.  arquilla.com

Livio Felluga website:
http://www.liviofelluga.com/?lang=en

Cheap & Cheerful Tasting : Rocca Ventosa Montelpuciano 2011

So its early in the week and again I've spent too much on the weekend indulgences, so I'm a little skint.. time for a budget wine. For under $15 this Italian red was excellent. The variety, Montepulciano, is one of my favourite easy drinking cheapies (and is luckily widely available here in Oz) and this is no exception.

A seductive nose of macerated cherry, some dried cranberry and coconut.

Fresh in the mouth, very smooth soft mouth coating texture helped by the light to medium  tannin structure. Black cherry and some more ripe red berry fruit too and faint liquorice.


Soft plush and easy going... A great one to quaff, a definite crowd pleaser. Perfect for going to a house party where someone will steal your wine as well as be impressed by your choice!! ;)
(RRP: $13) Imported by Domaine Wine Shippers and available at many independent bottle shops.

Montepulciano on the vine in Abruzzi. Image from Wikipedia.

Wine of the Week : Pierre-Marie Chermette, Les Griottes, Beaujolais 2013

This organic Beaujolais has great expression of fruit and very true to the varietal, Gamay.

Star bright ruby in colour with distinct purple high lights. Very lifted and pretty nose of strawberries and some faint mulberry and leafyness. 

Palate of fresh red fruit and some red berry compote, blueberry subtleties and hints of mushroom. Acidity is lively and gives a good backbone that holds it together. Youthful , feminine and vibrant. 

If you like light red wine with a touch of refinement this one is for you.

(RRP $30-35) (I've seen this in a few boutique bottle shops in both Sydney & Melbourne)

Wine of the Week: Savaterre Pinot Noir 2012

Savaterre Pinot Noir 2012

Awesome wine !! Bags full of character from this Organic Beechworth Pinot.

Nose of red cherry, mushroom, forest floor and dried leave characters from the whole bunch ferment (grapes fermented with stalks and all).

Velvet smooth texture on the palate with under-ripe red cherry, brown spice, leafy-ness and real earthy tones with subtle mushroom again. Super fine tannin keeps it in balance with an excellent length to boot. This has real depth and complexity!

Could do with a few years to be even better I reckon. Lovely stuff to cellar or to have now if your like me and couldn't wait. Recommend decanting.

Savaterre wines ain't exactly cheap but this is no pay for the hype type wine. Its the real deal and worth it. 

(RRP Approx $70 ) http://www.savaterre.com/

Also worth trying from the range are the Shiraz and their knock-out Chardonnay.

NB. Savaterre vineyards are farmed using Organic principles and thus proclaim to be Organic, but are not yet certified.

Tasting : Lovely Chardonnay Import

Louis Latour, Chardonnay 2011, Macon Lugny Les Genievres, Burgundy (France)

This is a bargain for good white Burgundy and such a nice wine to boot.

A light to medium intensity nose of lemon, under ripe stonefruit and some subtle dairy like characters.

The palate is medium in body yet is quite delicate...it's soft and creamy with butter flavours as well as textures, stonefruit too with lemon again and hints of raw nuts.

Perfect match for Salmon (or other pink fleshed fish), creamy pasta and lemon chicken.


(RRP $25) I've seen this sold at quite a few Melbourne bottle shops, so not hard to find. Imported by Craggy Range Australia.

WINE OF THE WEEK: Adam's Rib 'The White' Chardonnay Viognier 2010

Castagna Adam's Rib 'The White'  Chardonnay Viognier 2010, Beechworth, VIC

This is a great full bodied style white from this Biodynamic vineyard in Beechworth.
An intense nose of pear, butter, cheese rind and subtle honey.

Rich and opulent on the palate, very creamy and rounded with white nectarine,pear again and some definite nutty characters there too. Yummy stuff. Great on its own but would be optimal with food.. I'm thinking most poultry and french lentils with pork sausages.

(RRP $35) http://www.castagna.com.au/

TASTING: Savaterre Shiraz 2012

Savaterre Shiraz 2012, Beechworth, VIC

An intense nose of earth, blackberry, pepper, subtle smoke and barnyard. Smells very savoury and old world in style and you can really tell this has been whole bunch fermented (stalks and all).

Savoury again in mouth but not overtly with dark plums and some blackberry showing alongside blackberry bush and pepper and again some earthy characters. Mouth coating dry tannins even this out nicely. Great food style. Needs decanting( 2hours if you can).

http://www.savaterre.com/

Note: Farmed using Organic principles, but not certified.

|| WINE OF THE WEEK ||

Knight Granite Hills The Gordon Cabernets 2008

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Showing a vibrant nose of cassis, eucalyptus, dark plum some faint dark berry compote and brown spice. 

On the palate its showing deliciously medium intensity blackcurrant , plum again and some slight minerality too. It really does have a good balance between savoury spice and really pleasing dark fruited juiciness. Ripe, drying and somewhat chalky tannins balance out this wine leading to a nice length of palate to boot.  

I'm having this with basic garlic and rosemary sausages and baked vegies. But I think it would be perfect for rosemary roasted lamb.

I picked this bottle up on my recent trip to Macedon Ranges, read the full round up here.

http://www.granitehills.com.au/ 

Macedon Ranges Cool Climate Wine

I had a beautiful day trip out of Melbourne on the weekend to the Macedon Ranges, the coolest grape growing region on mainland Australia.


While there are close to 50 vineyards not all of them have cellar doors, and I was a little picky about where I wanted to go as well, so I ended up doing about half a dozen cellar doors. Below are just the highlights.

So it's a quick hour drive out of Melbourne and your there. Though this time my girl, Sarah, was insistent on stopping in on the Lancefield farmer's market, which is small but worth the stop even if its just to pick up some local cheese and olives to go with the later bought wine!

Curly Flat 

We started the day at the top,so to speak, Curly Flat. Probably one of the most lauded vineyards in the Macedon Ranges. I've had their wines before but not for a while and never from their cellar door. I can find some of the premium wine cellar doors can be quite pretentious but not so here. Take a seat at the long table or by the fire and let the very welcoming Curly crew come to you.

The performers line up at Curly Flat.

We tasted the entire range they had available. The entry level Williams Crossing Chardonnay 2013 was great (Sarah preferred this to all the other whites in fact!). And as for their entry level Williams Crossing Pinot...Wow....certainly doesnt taste "entry level" or "bottom rung" to me...fantastic. So if the fruit that ended up as the Williams Crossing didn't make the cut for their "Curly Flat" label, what did ? Enter stage left, the 2011 Curly Flat Pinot Noir , a show stopper now with a real bright future (could cellar well for 6 + years)... this was the wine of the day with real complexity, a nose of cherry, orange pith, forest floor characters and subtle spice with the palate following on with beautiful cherry and cranberry balanced well with earthy savoury elements and fine tannin, amazing length too!
Curly Flat's, entirely new oak (a rarity in the Pinot world), Limited Release Pinot Noir was very interesting too and was good to see some experimentation.

Knight Granite Hills

Next up and a bit further north was Knight Granite Hills (aka Granite Hills). They had quite a big selection here, the drops that pulled me in were their lean, zippy and mineral driven Riesling and a peppery Shiraz. But it was their Cabernet (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc) blend that nailed it.

The vineyards at Cobaw Ridge.

Cobaw Ridge

Next up was Cobaw Ridge...
Interesting cool climate wine? Tick! Biodynamic & Organic? Tick ! And above all else, quality? Tick!
Cobaw Ridge, what a pretty site..amid this picturesque landscape these guys have plantings of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz & Lagrein (Northern Italian varietal). Just recently certified Biodynamic and Organic these wines are in classic cool climate style. I really dug all of these wines, although the Lagrein definitely needs food in my opinion to really show its full potential. I took home what was my favourite, the 2010 Syrah.

Having a look at the progress of the Biodynamic Syrah.

I was lucky enough to get a winery tour from the winemaker,Alan Cooper, and have a look at their Shiraz's at different stages of the ferment and a sneaky taste of the Chardonnay about to go into bottle any day now , is looking fresh in its youth, nice and zippy but already with enough body to taste great already.
Will be keeping an eye on these guys for sure.

Hanging Rock

Its all about the sparkling here for me. Yes they had other tasty wine, especially so in their value range. I really liked the full style Hanging Rock Poppet Head Chardonnay 2012 especially so for the bucks. But the Sparkling eclipsed everything... 9 years on its lees (wiki lees and why its important) and deliciously similar to a classic biscuity and yeasty champagne style (am I allowed to say that? Eeek!).

A mention must be made to another one of my favourite Macedon producers Mount Monument- which I was unable to visit this time around as their cellar door is in North Melbourne.

Stand out wines:

• Curly Flat Chardonnay 2011
• Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2011
• Cobaw Ridge Syrah 2010
• Knight Granite Hills "The Gordon" Cabernet blend 2008
• Hanging Rock NV Sparkling

Full tasting notes on some of the above wines to come on this blog in the coming week.

|| WINE OF THE WEEK ||

|| TASTING ||

Rochford Isabella's Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 , Yarra Valley, VIC

On a recent trip to the Yarra Valley I stopped by Rochfords cellar door and while there were a few nice drops this was the standout I opened it this week to have with a rustic lentil pie, yummy stuff!

It has a  nose of cassis, coconut characters from the well integrated oak and very subtle dried herbs like thyme.

On the palate its full and dense and more savoury than expected...more earth with the black fruit noticeable later and some slight tarriness on the finish which is not unpleasant at all. A serious wine, an awesome winter warmer for that roast lamb or, for the vego's, roast vegetables with rosemary.

(RRP Approx $40- $50) Rochford Wines

TASTING: Domaine Francois Feuillet, Pinot Noir '09, Nuits St. Georges, Burgundy

Domaine Francois Feuillet, Nuits St. Georges, Cuvée Marcel Gerbeaut 2009

Region: Burgundy, France
Variety: Pinot Noir

Fantastic wine, very impressive stuff. A complex and lifted nose of mushroom, earth, red cherry and leafiness.

A refined palate with cherry and earthy characters and very subtle white pepper, displaying complexity again in the mouth. A light to medium tannin structure balance this wine perfectly. Great length too. Exceptional.

Imported by Negociants Australia.

|| TASTING ||

Quealy Musky Creek Pinot Noir 2010, Mornington Peninsula, VIC

A stand out Pinot for me from the stellar 2010 vintage (was a great year for Mornington Pinot). Smacks of refinement and not just that but it packs a bit more power than some of its other regional counterparts.
A complex nose of bright red fruit, such as red cherries along with spearmint and orange zest.

In the mouth its light to medium bodied with cherry again some light spice, the savoury elements and subtle leafy characters adds to the complexity without at all being "stalky". Has a little more tannin and structure than most Aussie Pinot's.. Lovely.

(RRP approx $36) Quealy

|| TASTING ||

Dourosa 2009, Douro, Portugal
(Touriga National, Tinta Rouriz, Touriga Franca)

A rich blend of these three native Portuguese varieties has an amazing colour of bright but deep ruby with definitive purple highlights.

Blackberry and blueberry fruit on nose with light spicy oak, the fruit here has great intensity.

The palate follows and is surprisingly fresh for such a big wine. Black fruit, nice oak with gentle spice and a little prune later as the wine breathes. A little heat from the alcohol on the back palate, which was not unpleasant and not surprising from the Douro. All in all a good full bodied style and a fantastic winter warmer !

(RRP Approx $21)

|| TASTING ||

Krinklewood Wild Red Shiraz 2011, Hunter Valley, NSW 

Mondays can be tight with the wallet, after the weekends shenanigans, so a little compromising is usually needed when it comes to the nights "easy drinker".
So I'm looking for a bottle under $20 and find a decent Organic & Biodynamic shiraz that fits the bill...

A medium bodied Shiraz blend made up of Shiraz, Cabernet, Tempranillo & Viognier from the Hunter with dark red & black berry fruit on nose with distinct earth and leaves. The palate is firm and full with seductive dark berries & savoury depth provided by a nice handling of oak. A fresh but full savoury style shiraz... And great value too!

(RRP $16-17 Approx) Krinklewood

More tastings to come as fast as I can sniff and sip.. Updated weekly.