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A cracking Chablis - available under screw cap in Australia - from Sebastien Dampt, son of renowned Chablisienne producer Daniel Dampt. This is a relatively inexpensive wine from the appellation but none the less delicious for that. This is a very pure wine, with bright acid, and palate interest has been added by six months on lees and malolactic fermentation. Lemon and other citrus notes are to the fore, along with white peach, with the chardonnay fruit looking very fresh and tense. Made from 45-year-old vines and a lovely companion for grilled flathead fillets, crustaceans and old-fashioned roast pork. Imported by France Soir. $36. www.francesoirwineselections.com.au
The wines from Mandala, a relatively new producer in the Yarra Valley, have shown immense promise over the past decade. This single-vineyard pinot noir from cool Yarra Junction (Mandala also has a vineyard at Dixon's Creek) not only confirms that potential, it underlines it in thick black marker pen, Made only in outstanding years, this has a compelling freshness and vibrancy to it; perfumed with poached cherry flavours, newly-picked raspberry notes and understated oak all coming together, this is a delightfully light-on-its-feet wine that would once have been labelled feminine - had that term not been outlawed by the police of vinous political correctness. Anyway, this is lovely, speaks of the region and will set you back around $50. www.mandalawines.com.au.
This
is a wine of remarkable intensity that is destined to be rated with
the greatest Hill of Graces. Think ripeness, concentration, balance
and a tribute to a remarkable vineyard with vines up to 150 years old in the Eden Valley. A wise wine, one that is
comfortable in its skin even in its youth, with dark berry notes, a
melange of Asian spices, cedary oak and silky tannins. It a wine that
will continue to emerge and flourish over the next couple decades. A
vinous treasure. I'm happy to score this one 99/100. $699. www.henschke.com.au.
Many years ago Howard Park had a riesling labelled simply as coming from Western Australia. It was one of the finest in the land. Then the wine was defined as Great Southern, the source of almost the entirety of the fruit. Then came a second wine, labelled as from the Porongurups, and then, in 2014, the Great Southern wine was re-labelled Mount Barker as the fruit all now comes from that sub-region. No matter how confusing those changes may have been, both Howard Park rieslings remain at the pinnacle with my personal preference, in this vintage, just going for the Mount Barker wine. It is flinty, minerally, citrusy and gorgeous, pristine, lively, zesty and delicious. You get the picture. $33. www.burchfamilywines.com.au.
It is uncanny how often winemaker Sandro Mosele hits the bullseye with the refined chardonnays and pinots he makes under both the Port Phillip Estate and Kooyong labels. I recently raved about the 2013 Port Phillip Chardonnay, which is a few dollars cheaper than this, but if you have the extra cash to splash then this is the wine I would opt for. Everything is in place here, like a catwalk model at fashion week, great cool-climate fruit, barrel-ferment adding structure and interest to the pristine grapefruit and pear notes and a great line of purity and acid. A wine that simply oozes class. $42. www.kooyongwines.com.au.
Wine show results can often be a crap shoot but the fact this wine won six trophies at the Royal Sydney Wine Show last month made even this cynic sit up and take notice. And, thankfully, the hype is merited. This wine, made in tiny quantities by Tom Carson from Block 2, rows 1-37 of the Yabbly Lake vineyard at Tuerong on the Mornington Peninsula to be precise, is absolutely stunning. Beautifully structured, wonderfully smooth with ethereal high notes, this has red berry suppleness, Asian spices and terrific texture. It is drinking marvellously in its youth for a wine made from vines that are just 17 years old and will doubtless cellar well for those with the patience. You made need to move quickly, however, as stocks are already deplenished after its trophy sweep in Sydney and four at the National Wine Show in Canberra lat last year. $95. www.yabbylake.com.
I was perfectly prepared to hate this wine. It's made from fruit grown in the unfashionable Riverland; it's merlot, which is so often unfocused and lacking in interest, and it comes with a bargain basement price tag. The one thing in its favour was that it is made by Trentham Estate, where the Murphy bothers have been known to conjour previous vinous miracles. This is not complex or challenging but it does offer a damn good return on a minimal investment. It's soft, smooth and disarmingly easy to drink. On one of those nights where you just want something affordable to accompany pizza or pasta try opening a bottle of this. You won't be disappointed. $16. www.trenthamestate.com.au
