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While many wine regions of Australia struggled to produce quality fruit in a problematic 2011 vintage, Margaret River was once again blessed by near-perfect conditions. With Xanadu winemaker Glenn Goodall very much at the top of his game it is no surprise that this is a standout for both quality and value. It was matured for 14 months in French oak (including 40% new barriques) before the blend was assembled, and returned to older French barriques for a further two months of maturation prior to bottling. Cassis and blackberry fruit flavours are to the fore here, along with great structure and integrated oak. A serious wine, but a lot of fun to drink. $38. www.xanaduwines.com
Talented young winemaker Ben Haines, formerly of Mitchelton but now out on his own,
started
making wines in the south of France in 2010, using fruit from
biodynamically farmed La Verriere vineyard in the mountainous Ventoux
region of Provence. This is a bone dry rosé made from grenache and syrah grapes, although there are hints of fruit sweetness. It is pale pink in colour,
wonderfully savoury - with some flinty, pebbly notes - and deliciously drinkable. More French wines are to follow from Haines, including a Rhone red. $36. www.benhaineswine.com.
You'll have to wait until May 1 to buy some of this; but if you are a Yattarna buyer I'd put in an order now to make sure you don't miss out. It's a classic cool-climate chardonnay made in a style Penfolds' white winemaker Kim Schroeter describes as "a tight, linear and restrained". Penfolds'
white wine flagship is once again made almost entirely of Tasmanian
fruit (96 per cent with 4 per cent from the Adelaide Hills) and is a seamless, stylish, structured wine that reflects the quality of the
cool-climate fruit used. It is pure, tight and textural (aided by lees stirring) and the fruit from a great chardonnay vintage in Tasmania has soaked up the 64 % new oak. The end result is flinty, chalky wine of great finesse. This has power and length and must be among the best Penfolds chardonnays of
all time. $150.
There are many regions of Australia now producing outstanding chardonnays: Tasmania, Tumbarumba, the Yarra, Mornington Peninsula and Adelaide Hills are all excellent sources - and Orange also has to be taken into consideration on the evidence of this outstanding single-vineyard wine made from fruit grown in the high country Balmoral vineyard. There's plenty of varietal chardonnay flavour here but also some real finesse. It's a bit like a vinous Billy Slater, impressively brisk with stone fruit and citrus notes, flinty mineralityy, judicious oak treatment and cool-climate racy acidity. I liked it a lot; my wife liked it even more. So we argued about who had the last glass! $32. www.swingingbridge.com.au.
Jed Wines are created by three young Australian who venture to the Argentina each year to make a range of wines in the Uco Valley. The fruit is grown in the foothills of the Andes, giving the wines an undoubted exotic appeal but what I like most about this is its balance and downright dangerous drinkability factor. This is a delightful cooler-climate malbec, soft and supple with bright red berry and cherry characters and well integrated oak. This is medium-bodied, a lot of fun and the perfect partner for a steak. If I was scoring I'd give it a 94. The Jed team also imports a range of Argentine wines into Australia with the standouts including the Colomé 2011 Estate Malbec ($50) and Tahuan Siesta En El Tahuantinsuyu 2011 Bonarda ($30). A range well worth checking out. $25. www.jedwines.com.
There are now four rieslings in the Helm portfolio, three of them using fruit from the Murrumbateman region outside Canberra and a new arrival using Tumbarumba fruit, which I was going to review until I tasted this thrilling number. Ken Helm has been making rieslings for over three decades now and has not only put the Canberra region on the map for the variety but is producing better wines each year. This is crisp, precise and linear with great acid structure and mouth-watering citrus notes on the palate. $30. www.helmwines.com.au.
A wine of beautiful balance, and impeccable poise, much like a thoroughbred racehorse, this delightful lean to medium-bodied red underlines just how under-rated cabernet franc is as a stand-alone grape variety. This is made in limited quantities by a Loire Valley producer better known for sweeter-style chenin blancs. The grapes are grown in the district of Thouarcé in the Anjou region and the wine has just 13% alcohol but beautiful bright, crunchy red berry fruit and intensity. This would be a super match with charcuterie or maybe enjoyed with roast spatchcock. Great value at $28. Imported by www.francaboutwine.com.
