Roussanne Beechworth 2012
Lovely floral quince brightness. Bold textural sweet depth. Very concentrated and generous.
Riesling Great Western 2012
Dense concentrated rich round, not your average riesling.
Healesville Syrah 2011
Lovely smoky ochre toasty. Wild spicy meaty character.
Garden Gully Syrah 2011
Insanely dark deep and intense, interesting celery character on the back.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Having worked in the Yarra Valley you would think that I knew the region pretty well. Well think again! For one thing it’s not that easy to get out and see a lot of other stuff whilst working, particularly when you don’t even live in the region. For another thing, the Yarra Valley is probably one of Australia’s largest regions geographically, but at the same is disparate and quite sparsely planted. There are many areas that I am still yet to explore outside of the valley floor. The other thing is that the Yarra Valley is possibly one of Australia’s most dynamic regions for wine, constantly reinventing itself with new wineries and winemakers almost every year. For me the exciting thing about this is that it is also one of Australia’s oldest regions, and was the first to gain international recognition back in the 19th century. It was re-established in the 1970s after almost 100 years of ignominy and since then has continued to evolve and develop while maintaining its boutique image. My quest for the day was to visit producers who have only had their own brand for ten years or less but are turning heads for their style and expression that is challenging preconceptions both of the Yarra Valley and Australian wine.
The best view in the valley
Filed under Winery Visits
2013 Prosecco Base Wine
Crisp and fresh but plenty of vibrant fruit. Needs a touch more bitey acid.
2013 Malvasia Istriana
Lovely bright sharp citrus pineapple guava. Freshness and texture, mouth filling and food-friendly.
2013 Pinot Bianco
A touch closed at the moment. Depth and weight, certainly not shy.
2013 Friulano
Looking a little reductive at the moment. But good structure.
2013 Friulano
Much more complete textural full wine.
2013 Picolit
Crunchy toast and marmalade.
2013 Viognier
Nice bitey tang, lots of quince, great with food.
2013 Rosé Sangiovese
Nice bright red fruits and raspberry. Nice and sharp and fresh
2013 Mudgee Clone Sangiovese
Fresh light balanced long and pretty.
2013 De Marchi Clone Sangiovese
Tighter and straighter.
2013 Grosso Brunello Clone
Darker plum.
2013 Nebbiolo (little barbera)
Good wine, but far from classic of the variety.
2013 Nebbiolo (new clones)
Very tight bright and lifted. Linear and precise, lacking flesh.
2013 Nebbiolo
Lifted floral structured finesse.
2013 Syrah Viognier
Sweet dark fruit fine long and elegant. Unrepentantly hands-off and simple approach.
Prosecco 2012
Slighter bead but finer, linear precise refined style. Not friendly punter style, brisk and lean. More interesting.
Grazia 2011
A little shy and thin at the moment. Perhaps the vintage. Good freshness but a bit lacking. Very late savoury almond notes.
Grazia 2012
More lifted aromatics, floral but also mineralic. More depth and expression, ripeness and concentration. Taken to its logical conclusion.
Viognier 2011
Intensity life but very fresh and lithe. Pinpoint accuracy, a very different expression.
Rosé 2011
Lovely colour. Depth life and plenty of flavour but dry, fresh and a bit savoury. Just a hint of sweetness at the end.
Sangiovese 2009
Darker plummier cherry fruit. Soft unctuous and just a hint if fruit sweetness, still very fine and fresh.
Nebbiolo 2008
Tight sweet dark fruit. Structure and depth, great tannins. Very young IMHO.
Syrah 2008
Purity elegance ethereal, lifted delicate expressive assured.
Vinea Marson Syrah & Sangiovese
Filed under Tasting Notes
2013 Mansfield Riesling
Nice bright crisp bright.
2013 Great Western Riesling
More subdued and less brightness of aromatics. Full focused broad and textured.
2013 Beechworth Roussanne 1
Buttercup sunflower texture brightness.
2013 Beechworth Roussanne 2
Rich bold bursting with fruit.
2012 Beechworth Roussanne 3
Exceptional purity.
2013 Cabernet Franc Carbonic Maceration whole berry vs. whole bunch
Whole berry prettier. Whole bunch more interesting.
2013 Beechworth Shiraz de-stemmed on skins
Bright intense passion fruit skin sharpness. Lovely food wine.
2013 Beechworth Shiraz 80% whole
Denser and more concentrated. Deeper fuller and power. Retaining elegance but needing to settle down.
Yarra Syrah 2012
Raw wild pepper,
Great Western Syrah 2012
Super ballsy intense.
Jamsheed Syrah
Filed under Tasting Notes
Chardonnay 2011
Nice rich golden colour. Mineralic texture flinty fresh. Great citrus elements, well maintained oak.
2012 Chardonnay
More lifted aromatics, more stone fruit freshness. Nice crunchy acidity and textural savouriness.
Syrah 2011
Wild raw pepper spicy. Bright fresh savoury dark fruits. Lively and lithe.
2012 Nebbiolo
Bright pretty floral red fruit aromatics. Brightness concentration but very tight and linear, textural and dense.
Luke Lambert Syrah
Filed under Tasting Notes
2013 Strathbogie Riesling outlying rows
Really rich and ripe, bright but still crisp acids. Lovely depth of fruit.
2013 Riesling (better fruit)
More complex nose, bolder but tighter, more subdued and long.
2013 Entry Level Pinot
Bright varietal dark fruits, classic Yarra Valley. Tight bright and straight. Good depth and length for the quality.
2013 Chardonnay Hoddles Creek
Tight flinty finesse.
2013 Chardonnay Seville
Deep and haunting, hustle and flow.
2013 Lusatia Park Chard
Full bold restrained nose, denser ripeness.
2013 Woori Yallock Chardonnay
Bright citrus nose, wonderful minerality and elegance, great structure and length.
2013 Field Blend (Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc)
Bright and wild, energetic and fresh but structured and savoury.
2013 Pinot Noir Coldstream
Classic Yarra Valley pinot noir notes. Ripe fruit sweet core, bright light straight. Awesome black cherry concentrated.
2013 Pinot Noir Woori Yallock
Ethereal there but not there, floats and ebbs on the palate, depth and concentration yet elegance and finesse.
2013 Pinot Noir Woori Yallock Middle of Row
A little wilder and more savoury, more whole bunch stalk.
2013 Pinot Noir Woori Yallock Middle oak ferment 4 weeks skins
Much bolder denser texture and dry tannins.
2013 Wesburn Pinot Noir
Darker fruit, more intense but still very light tannins, intensity brute.
2013 Yarra Junction Pinot Noir
Bright fresh vibrant balanced.
2013 Yarra Junction Pinot
Wonderfully bright fresh fruits. Intense but light structure.
2013 Syrah
Intense wild savoury full dark fruit with oodles of freshness.
2012 Hugh Cabernet merlot
Perfect placement.
Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2010
Bright tight and fresh yet dark intense and savoury. Fresh full of fruit and life, yummy savoury spicy mealy edge, contained and linear yet explosive.
Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2011
VERY light in colour, almost Bandol rosé/Beaujolais nouveau. Very shy retiring savoury nose. Tight light and a little sharp, delicate structure and subtle elegance, quite early in fact.
Woori Yallock Pinot Noir 2012
Quite closed for now and yet to express. Softer and more delicate with plenty of dark fruit notes. All the elements there.
Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir
Filed under Tasting Notes
Back in 2007 renowned Australian wine commentator and educator Campbell Mattinson published a book entitled “Why the French Hate Us – the real story of Australian Wine.” I’m very ashamed to admit that I haven’t actually read this book but I have certainly heard wonderful things. It is on my pile of shame. The interesting thing is that it isn’t just the French but Europeans in general who hate us, without even understanding Australia that well. I had more producers in Europe than I can count expressing interest in working vintage in New Zealand and Chile than this big brown land, and even more reducing Australian wine to simple fruit driven mass-produced and marketed brands. The simple fact is that Australia produces a minute amount of wine compared to giants like France, Italy and Spain, less than single regions in North & South America, and yet we are the fourth largest exporter in the world. Clearly we are doing something right. In truth the world hasn’t even seen the best wines and regions that Australia has to offer as they are still being discovered. Something that has recently been discovered is that the pre-Cambrian soils in the Heathcote region of Victoria are the oldest in the world. Another reason to hate us.
Pre-Cambrian Heathcote soils
Filed under Winery Visits
2013 Fiano
Bright apples, smoky salty sulphurous. Light bright crisp body, a little texture. Long and fresh, light.
2013 Pinot Grigio carbonic
A bit of colour. Crisp fresh thin light and yet to express.
2013 Pinot Grigio
Fresh light and clean, nice fruit.
2013 Nebbiolo Rosé
Bright tight strawberry, a touch savoury. Full and dense, textured and slightly sweet with a touch of green.
2013 Sangiovese Rosé
Cherry cherry sweet fruit.
2013 Nebbiolo on 15% temp skins
Very tannic and acidic, lacks a bit of fruit sweetness.
2013 Nebbiolo second pick
Fuller riper juicier, better balance depth and character.
2013 Sangiovese
Nice brightness of dark cherry fruit. Dark and soft but a little sweet and simple.
2012 Nebbiolo
Tight focused wonderfully long, great black cherry fruit sweetness.
2011 Nebbiolo
Slight savoury but very bright fresh juicy. Fresh light acidity, quite tight.
Galli rooster
Filed under Tasting Notes
2012 Nebbiolo
Bright juicy black cherry sour plum, a little spice and menthol. Juicy full and ripe, dense and sweet dark fruit, softness but structure. Juicy bright pomegranate.
2012 Emily’s Paddock
Dark juicy black fruits with hints of spice and rosemary. Very supple long and precise, complete focused, bright fresh, wonderful acid brightness and integration.
2012 Georgia’s Paddock
Darker juicier deeper plum aroma, slightly smoky. Bolder and more forward, riper earthier profile, more mellow but fuller at the sane time.
2013 Lostesso Fiano
Nice texture and depth, lacking salt, but textural and energetic.
Jasper Hill barrel
Filed under Tasting Notes
Something that surprised me on my trip was when I met people who had been to Australia had not been to my hometown of Melbourne. Of course I am biased but I couldn’t understand why, considering it is consistently voted as the most livable city in the world, has a rich and diverse culture and history, is the home of sport, nightlife parks, and most importantly cuisine. When I thought about it I realised that Melbourne doesn’t have astounding attractions like Sydney, beaches like Perth or the Gold Coast, opals like Cairns or Uluru. It is hard to know what to do in Melbourne if you aren’t familiar with it and you are unlikely to find those hidden gems that are the hallmark of Melbourne. It is also quite spread-out and not easy to get around without a car. The best thing to do is to know someone there. The real problem though is that the climate is very different this far south and the weather can be a bit disappointing and certainly not what you expect of Australia.
Beechworth post office
Filed under Winery Visits
A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.
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