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Ken
Helm has been making rieslings in the Canberra region for close on 40
years now. He was a pioneer of the variety so when he describes his
2015 Classic Riesling as “an extraordinary wine from a spectacular
year” there is more truth than hype in play. From a year Helm
describes as “Nulli
Secundus” - none
better, this is a wonderfully aromatic example made
from grapes sourced from the Helm estate and neighbouring vineyards
within the Murrumbateman valley. Fresh floral aromas lead on to lime,
grapefruit and Granny Smith apple flavours, hints of slatey
minerality, river pebbles and a gram or two of residual sugar. The
finish is brisk and clean and this was superb with a dish of
pan-fried blue-eye trevalla. $35. www.helmwines.com.au.
A gloriously gluggable trans-Iberian blend of the Spanish grape tempranillo and Portuguese variety touriga nacional that is full of youthful enthusiasm and offers tremendous drinking pleasure at a wallet-friendly price. McLaren Vale maestro Steve Pannell makes several wines more serious than this - but few that can match it for vinous joie de vivre. It is a juicy, fruit-driven red this, with some attractive savoury/deli notes. The previous vintage of this wine won several trophies and sold out, so it may pay to be quick off the mark this time. I'll give it 94 points and a bonus point for being such fun to drink. $28. www.pannell.com.au
Margaret River produces some outstanding sauvignon blanc/semillon blends and if your penchant is for enjoying them when they are at their freshest and most vibrant then this is a wine that you should make the effort to track down. It is a crisp as the water from a mountain stream, as pungent as newly-baled hay and fruitier than an old-style English comedian. Imagine vibrant lifted aromas that leap out of the glass; lime citrus notes alongside hints of passionfruit and guava; and then throw in some brisk, refreshing acid. This blend of 55% sauvignon blanc and 45% semillon was been entirely fermented in stainless steel and is hopefully a harbinger of good things to come from the 2015 vintage out west. Drink now. It's spectacular value, too, at $20. www.rosabrook.com.au.
If you haven't heard of Levantine Hill, you've probably been living under a rock for the past couple of years. The brainchild of Elias and Colleen Jreissati, this is an operation set up to make benchmark wines. With former Yarra Yering winemaker Paul Bridgeman at the helm and a plush cellar door soon to open at Coldstream in the Yarra Valley (chef Teage Ezzard is also on board), everything about Levantine Hill screams quality. I caught up for lunch with the Jreissatis during the week, so this wine was not tasted blind, but it could not fail to impress with its quality. A classic blend of Bordeaux grape varieties from a superlative vintage, this is the epitome of wine elegance. Think cassis and dark berries, gentle oak and impressive structure. Medium-bodied and impeccably balanced, this is remarkably good (and extremely French in style) for a wine made from such young vines. It shines with food and I'm happy to score it 95. I can't wait to see subsequent releases. $125. www.levantinehill.com.au.
Kevin Judd made his reputation at Cloudy Bay, where he was largely responsible for the global success of that brand. Nowadays, he combines his career as a world-class photographer with making far smaller amounts of wine under his own Greywacke label, named after the rounded greywacke
river stones in the soils of his vineyard. Judd makes wines with soul and a sense of place and this is elegant with sweet fruit and spice and lots of length. Concentrated, taut as a violin string and potentially very long lived. $45. www.greywacke.com.
An absolutely cracking single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon from Shottesbrooke in McLaren Vale. There are several other wineries in the region with higher profiles but Hamish Maguire and his team go about their business with a minimum of fuss and fanfare. This blew me away with its generosity and balance. Great fruit and some deft winemaking - including smart oak treatment - has produced a cabernet that is both varietal, regional and extremely drinkable. It carries its 14.5% alcohol lightly and is more understated and stylish than some of its brash and outspoken McLaren Vale cohorts. Enjoy a bottle (or two) of this with a winter casserole. It is worth every penny of $40.
I
f you like your red wines with plenty of personality; wines that reflect the soil in which they are grown and the sun that ripens the fruit, then you've come to the right place. The Canute family's wines are made with love and attention to detail, none more so than this flagship old vines shiraz. Estate-grown and made, it is a little bit gnarly, full of flavour and unmistakably Barossan. Winemaker Christian Canute describes it as "a new world wine made in a old world style" - hence, perhaps, the cork closure. There is plenty of muscular grunt here but also balance. Match this with a slab of steak for a primeval feast. From a great vintage, it needs time to open up after the cork has been removed. I'll score it 94/100. $85. www.rusdenwines.com.au.
