Someone said on Twitter the other day that Hoddles Creek winemaker Franco d'Anna has "the Midas touch". There is no doubt that d'Anna is able to produce extraordinarily good wines from the Yarra Valley at ridiculously low prices. This is a stunning new-release chardonnay, a wine of impeccable balance that offers pristine fruit and plenty of palate interest. Made from cool-climate Upper Yarra fruit, it has an amalgam of grapefruit and stonefruit on the nose, plenty of length, good crisp acidity and slateyness on the finish and has sensible alcohol levels at 13.2%. I know I'll get slayed for saying this, but it is reminiscent of good Petit Chablis. An absolute bargain at $20. www.hoddlescreekestate.com.au.
Reach for the thesaurus. This is about as close to wine perfection as it gets. Rich, unctuous and concentrated; a classic Australian fortified. Collectors
of fine and rare wines will be captivated by a new range of fortifieds released by Seppeltsfield that have been “held in secret”
by generations of winemakers at the historic Barossa Valley cellars. The
Paramount Collection, utilising reserve parcels dating back as far as
1922, features two Australian sherry styles (now known as aperas), a
tokay and a muscat. The
parcels used in these blends were put away by winemakers over the
years and were not originally designed for sale but have now been
hand-bottled in very limited quantities. This DP64 Tokay, made from muscadelle grapes, is a blend of many vintage years but maintains an average age of 32 years. It has amazing intensity with espresso coffee, dark chocolate, prune and rancio characters. So rich that one glass is enough. 99/100. $699 in a special display box. www.seppeltsfield.com.au.
Here is one for those of you on a tight budget. I'm risking the wrath of the vinerati by selecting a sauvignon blanc as my wine of the week, but I favour pleasure over fashion when it comes to wine - and this is a decent drink at a very fair price. It's not a great wine by any means but it comes with a wallop of acidity, some bright tropical fruit flavours and refreshing crispness on the finish. I reckon if you gave this a good chill and paired it with flathead and chips you would feel very smug and self satisfied given it only costs $15. www.alkoomiwines.com.au.
Last week was Queensland Wine Week and some of the local producers kindly sent me a few samples. This was one of the revelations from a selection of wines that offered plenty of interest and hints of a quality revolution on the Granite Belt. This is as good as any sub-$20 Australian riesling I've tasted recently and its novelty value - and value for money - make it well worth seeking out. It's as bright and fresh as a daisy with fresh cut flower and citrus notes on the nose followed by some by crisp citrus peel flavours, plenty of acid backbone and length. A delightfully balanced cool-climate style dry riesling, hand-picked and basket pressed, that weighs in at just 11% alcohol but has plenty of flavour and character. $18. www.ridgemillestate.com.
