Saturday, October 26, 2013

Grosset 2011 Piccadilly

Jeffrey Grosset is probably best known as Australia's pre-eminent producer of rieslings. For three decades now his Polish Hill and Springvale rieslings from the Clare Valley have been the industry benchmarks. This wine, made from chardonnay fruit grown in the cool Piccadilly region of the Adelaide Hills is less known (although it has been made for 20 years) but no less commendable. Only 600 cases were produced of this and it delicate and pristine with floral notes leading on to a crisp, linear palate with white peach and grapefruit zest. There's length, depth, great structure and bracing acid on the finish. A stunning new wave Australian chardonnay. $55. www.grosset.com.au.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Ferngrove 2013 Frankland River Limited Release Off-Dry Riesling

My personal preference is for young rieslings that are bone dry, but there is certainly a place on the Australian wine landscape for wine like this; sweeter, certainly, than the mainstream but low in alcohol and deliciously zesty in a homage to some of the off-dry rieslings of Germany, although this tastes closer to medium-sweet. It  has lashings of residual sugar, just 10.5% alcohol and zingy natural acidity, along with a faint spritz. Lovely floral aromas lead onto key lime pie and zingy lemon citrus notes on the palate with enough zest to make this a lovely wine for pairing with spicy Sichuan dishes or maybe just for sipping chilled on a warm summer day. Very enjoyable. $20.  www.ferngrove.com.au

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Peter Lehmann Lot # 2 Stonewell Road Shiraz

The late Peter Lehmann would be very proud of the wines his team, under the leadership of veteran Andrew Wigan, continue to produce across all price points. This limited-release shiraz is a triumph, particularly given it is a product of the troublesome 2011 vintage. Lot 2 Stonewell Road is the home address of one of the Lehmann winemaking team, Ian Hongell, and his family, and the fruit used in this powerful, intense and impressively structured wine has been hand-tended by the Hongels. It's a dark, rich wine, atypical of the vintage, with impressive tannin structure. It's lovely now with a steak, but will probably cellar well for a decade. $30. www.peterlehmannwines.com.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Kooyong 2011 Estate Pinot Noir



It's pretty hard to go wrong with any of the wines under the Kooyong label. The 2010s were outstanding and the 2011 estate chardonnay is just as impressive as this wine - another cracker from winemaker Sandro Mosele. This spent 10 months in French oak (15% new) and then a further 10 months in large wooden foudres to add structure and complexity. The end result is a wine of immaculate balance with bright fruit and savoury characters in delightful two-part harmony. It's an elegant offering from a cool vintage, and while it may be a tad lighter than in its 2010 incarnation it is an absolutely lovely drink in every way with good tannin structure and plenty of life ahead of it. $53. www.kooyongwines.com.au.