A pleasant punch in the nose of really ripe raspberries, coal dust and woody spice. The flavours are large scaled and deeply fruity without being mawkish and held in place by good comfortable acid and fine graphite, perhaps stemmy, tannin. Once more Grenache looks so at home in the warmth of the Barossa. Maybe it will get richer and less fruit sweet with time but it’s still toothsome now and great value too.
14.50% alcohol. Screwcap. $19.99 at Murphy’s.
93 points.
Not the most fashionable of labels but the evidence in the bottle looks like a proper Cabernet just ripe enough to balance some gravelly savoury flavours. Not incredibly concentrated but enough weight of red fruit with some background blackcurrant to keep it interesting. Smidgen of regional mint and oak. Good firm tannin and firmer acid. Tastes like it’s made without unnecessary artifice from not too ripe grapes. Hooray. Good value.
13.50% alcohol. Screwcap. $18 at Dan’s.
89 points.
Italians seem to traditionally put their family name first, so perhaps it’s an azienda agricola run by Davide Carlone making wine from the only slightly obscure, in Italian terms, Croatina variety in the hills around Novara. Half the fun is learning the label code which in Italy can verge on the dastardly. Anyone for Montepulciano? Nonetheless, this is spotlessly clean, really fresh and delicioso. Loads of deep perfumed dark cherry fruit to smell and drink. The perfume is almost floral and old Catholic Church incense smelly but mercifully doesn’t cloy. All this richness and some real depth is put firmly in its place by brilliant Ital acidity and tannin. Classic Piemontese stone and earth notes add the food suggestions. Pasta, mushrooms and even non Piemontese pizza.
13.50% alcohol. Diam! $30 from Boccaccio.
94 punti.
Over three or four days this made me wish there was more Aussie Touriga about. There’s just something just so right about this Lusco Fusco. Twilight it seems in Portuguese. In Praise of Shadows indeed but wine like this and they will have to step out into the sun. Straightforward chunky bitumen scented blackberries cut by ripe skin tannin, whole berry freshness and firm ripe acidity. Repeat, right grape, right place.
12.80% alcohol…ripe and justifies another glass. Screwcap. Sorry, forgot how much it cost and google ain’t no help.
94 points.
Only the second white post on this odd indulgence of a blog and it’s a tricky one. Despite a long and abiding love of Riesling, it’s always been a swerve toward the dry thanks to the amazing value of some great Australian versions. At lower price points which suit every day drinking sugar can also be used to bolster thin fruit, only increasing prejudice. So what of a premium Riesling from the beautiful Otways that seems to chase all the texture, feathery acid and sugar balance of a serious German? First taste and the fruit’s all citrus and cut apple with a sweet acid tang that provokes the usual dry prejudice. There’s a nice touch of toasty waxy development too. Given an hour or so it did seem to become more of a whole which resisted being broken down into its components. Somehow the fruit, sugar and fine mouthwatering acid all worked together and demanded another delicious sip. Really a good tilt at that Germanic lightness of being. Perfect for hot February nights.
7.40% alcohol. Screwcap. $32 on the Heroes’ website.
93 points if I were pretending to know more about the great Germans.
Six years on and this is still bound, gagged and perhaps enjoying it. Light extraction and perfumed delicacy prevail, almost to the point of wishing for a touch more concentration? Both smell and taste are as if all the fragrance and bone china fruit of Pinot have been chiseled away from anything faintly hinting at the robust. There’s still hints of lanolin reduction that take a day to breathe away to leave a very poised wine. It carries long on fine acidity and super silky tannins. If the fruit and my faculties hold on, this will be worth a look in a few more years yet.
13.40% alcohol. Screwcap. $40 in 2014 from those generous blokes at Boccaccio.
93 points
Attempting to reduce the pile of cardboard boxes, it’s another cellar dweller. Opens without any shyness, gleefully showing off dark spicy blackberry and enough oak not to spoil the overall impression. Builds nicely with bright squishy berries filling the end to give some depth and meaning. All this is tucked tidily into place by some woody stem tannin and fairly firm acidity. The supporting flavours of tarry sweet earthiness seem typical of the Grampians. So good to drink a Shiraz that’s not too ripe and shows its origins with generosity and a warm heart. A story worth telling.
13.50% alcohol. Screwcap. About $25 on release.
94 points
Well, it doesn’t say Dolcetto on the label anymore since the DOC got an upgrade to DOCG to reflect the quality and a special place. Probably has done little to generate brand recognition and has only encouraged the wine swots, guilty. The Piemontese themselves just get on and drink it with lunch and dinner. It’s said 2015 was perfect for the little sweet one and this bears it out, though there’s nothing faintly sweet here. Over three days it stood firm with dark, almost tart, cherry and bitter chocolate fruit and not a hint of oxidation. The texture dries and puckers enough to suit those of us who like Nebbiolo. Delicious if you get a ragu on.
14% alcohol. Cork. $30 after taking advantage of Rathdowne Cellars generous 20% off 3 bottles end of year.
94 Punti.
These 2002 red Burgundies seem to have a delicious balance of ripeness and freshness judging from a sadly small sampling. The colour’s holding up well with a still clear red. Smells of perfumed wild strawberry and cherry mix with sweet earthiness battling the sort of very expensive oak only the Burgundians seem to be able to choose. A good mouthful reveals the same ethereal fruit and earth with fine ripe acidity. Only towards the end does that luxury barrique impose its tannins. Perhaps a bit too much so? Prefer the natural transparency of the Chevillon.
13% alcohol. Cork. $130 from Como Wine some time ago. Aghast to see what it would fetch in a Hong Kong auction.
95 points.
Cognitive Bottle Therapy 