2012 Best's Great Western Chardonnay

With the weather really starting to warm up all over Australia, it is time to pull the cork, or take the screwcap off, a few white wines.  Chardonnay is a variety that is going through a resurgence in popularity.  This can be attributed to them being made in a much more fruit and texture based style instead of the oak driven wines that became fat and flabby.  I think both styles have their place because of Chardonnay being a great wine to have with food ranging from basic fish and chips to more richer, creamy chicken dishes.
This is the Marilyn Monroe of Chardonnays.  Attractive, bold and classy with an underlying shyness and mystique that reveals itself after time in the spotlight.  The more you get to know her characteristics and complexities, you just want to grab some brie or camembert cheese and listen to her talk all afternoon.  This is indeed a ripper Chardonnay with richness and texture on the palate without the 'fatness' from Chardonnays of years gone by.  At just $22, this is going to be a star in the Best's line-up for a few more years yet.
www.bestswines.com

Best's Great Western 2012 Bin 0 Shiraz

Picture this if you will.  You arrive at a classical music concert and the orchestra members are tuning their instruments and it sounds like a bit of a mish mash of tones and notes.  The conductor steps onto the stage, taps his baton on the lectern, raises both his arms in the air and with the movement of his baton the orchestra produces beautiful music.  That was the first that came to my mind when I tasted this wine.  It seemed a lot like it was teasing me with snippets of what it could do with the deep, alluring colour that demanded you take in its aromas that were intense and lively.  But then, with the introduction of the decanter, everything came together beautifully.  The blue/black fruits, trademark cool climate pepper, subtle spice followed by the crescendo which was the lovely mouth feel of creamy oak and long velvety tannins.  This piece of 'music' is going to be stuck in my head for a very time.  Okay, at $85 a bottle it is not exactly accessible to a lot of wine consumers but, if an opportunity comes along like one did for me, grab it with both hands and make sure there is a wine glass in one of them.  It will be an experience that you will remember for some time.

Until next time and remember to live simply, laugh often, wine a lot.

www.bestswines.com

Orange Wine Region, NSW

It was only in the last 6 months or so I found out that wine was produced in Orange, New South Wales.  I have to admit I scoffed at the suggestion that good wines would come out of an area that I had never heard of considering I had been enjoying my 'hobby' for 30 years.  I decided to investigate this little known area.
Grape production, along with other fruits, started in the 19th century and the first commercial production of table grapes was in 1877.  It was not until the very early 1980's that the first vines for table wine were planted.  Considering the Orange Wine Region, at 600m to 1000m above sea level, is the highest wine region in Australia, I would have thought it was an ambitious project.  However, coupled with the regions terroir* this made it a true cool climate region and perfect for growing certain varieties of wine grapes and now there are about 80 vineyards and 40 plus wineries.
The most widely panted grape variety in the region is Shiraz (approx 27%) with Cabernet Sauvignon (15%) and Chardonnay (14%) a distant second and third respectively.  This was a surprise to me but a bigger surprise, or should I say shock, to read was that Pinot Noir and Riesling, which generally go hand in hand with cool climate viticulture, have very small plantings (5% and 3% respectively). Some of the wineries have also planted small areas of the newer varieties to Australia.  These include Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Zinfandel in the reds and Marsanne, Semillon and Gewürztraminer in the whites.
I have been lucky enough to taste a Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and a Riesling from Orange and they are very impressive.  Both reds had red and dark fruits on the nose and palate with some spicy/savoury characters, were medium body with nice fine tannins, balance and elegance.  The Riesling had the typical citrus notes of limes and lemon dominating with stone fruit characteristics in the background and enough acid to age nicely.  The Chardonnay, for me, had the exact opposite.  The stone fruit characters were more obvious with the citrus characters playing a secondary role, along with the deft use of oak, producing a very nice wine.  It's a real shame that these wines are not more widely available in Tasmania.
Overall, there is much to be excited about when it comes to this region.  It has lived in the shadow of the Hunter Valley and Mudgee districts for way too long and needs to start letting the rest of Australia know it exists and can produce some ripper wines.
A very good website to visit for more information, and the place I sourced some of my information, is www.winesoforange.com.au
*Terroir (pronounced tear-wah) is a French word used to (very basically) define the features of a wine growing region which includes its climate, geology, topography and soils which contribute to the individuality and renown of wines produced there (Martin 2000).
Until next time and remember to live simply, laugh often, wine alot.

2012 Grey Sands The Mattock

Bob and Rita Richter have a small vineyard on the west Tamar in northern Tasmania.  They have 18 different grape varieties growing on their 3.5 hectare vineyard and three of those have been used in this blend.  Constisting of Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, this wine has an amazing dense, glossy purple colour. It begins with a lovely floral lift, quite plummy and very inviting.  The palate is medium bodied, full of red and blue fruits and finishes with a touch of sweet, creamy oak and fine tannins.  I described it on social media as "wanting to let people know how good it is but was too polite" (a bit like Bob and Rita actually).  At $30 a bottle is very good value for money and is a very versatile wine to say the least.  You could have it with sausages, eggs and chips or osso bucco or with a block of good hard cheese.  This beauty should cellar for 6-8 years and is definitely worth stocking up on for the rest of this winter and the next one and the next one.... Until next time and remember, live simply, laugh often, wine alot.
www.greysands.com.au

2012 Yarnbomb by Corrina Wright Shiraz

For those who don't know, and I have to admit I had no idea until I looked it up, Yarnbombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk (thanks Wikipedia).
Corrina Wright is the winemaker at Olivers Taranga in McLaren Vale and is highly respected in the industry.
I read about this wine on Twitter and it was getting some good reviews so I decided to buy a bottle to check it out.
Initially it seemed a little bit reticent to show itself on the nose but, with a bit of a swirl and rest in the glass it really opened up.  Blue fruits, chocolate and a touch spicy on the nose leads to a similar palate.  Mouth-filling, medium to full bodied with the tannins obvious but the fruit carries them nicely.  This is the type of wine that, for me, is perfectly pitched as a quaffer or one to be enjoyed with food.  At the mid $20 a bottle it is also very well priced.  Available exclusively at Dan Murphys or BWS bottleshops.
Until next time but remember to live simply, laugh often, wine alot.

2012 Bowen Estate Coonawarra Shiraz

The Bowen family have been in the Coonawarra district for about 40 years and it continues to evolve.  Doug and Joy Bowen's daughter, Emma, is now involved in the winemaking.  They only produce a Chardonnay, Shiraz and, of course, Cabernet Sauvignon.  The vineyard is in the prime terra rossa soils of Coonawarra and perfectly display the terrior of the region.  The red wines are made so as to show true varietal characteristics with plenty of flavour but with a lovely elegance and approachability.  This wine fits this descriptor perfectly.
This colour of this wine is dense, deep and inky.  The nose has brilliant blue/black fruit and licorice aromas with a terrific violet lift (you could be mistaken for thinking there was a touch of viognier included).  The nose flows through to the palate being silky smooth with a subtle vanilla oak touch and that slight pepper characteristic you expect from cool climate shiraz.  An outstanding wine which I'm glad I bought 6 of.  It is around the $30-35 mark but is regularly found discounted to below $30.
www.bowenestate.com.au
Until next time but remember to live simply, laugh often, wine alot.

2009 Kay Brothers Block 6 Shiraz

The Block 6 Vineyard was planted in 1892 from selected shiraz cuttings collected from the Hardy's Tintara vineyard.  Originally there were 12 acres but, the very small quantity of grapes hand picked from Block 6 is now gathered from only 4 acres.  The wine is still produced the same way it was from the first wine made in 1897.  All grapes are hand picked and fermented in the original open top fermenters at the winery.
It's also interesting to note that this is a single vineyard wine made from fruit grown on vines that are 122 years old and it is only $70.00 a bottle.  That may sound a lot of money for one bottle of wine, and it is but, this would have to be one of the cheapest single vineyard wines on the market.  I know of others that are $600 a bottle.
When I opened the bottle (under screwcap) the wine was closed and displayed little of what was about to reveal itself.  With a little time in the glass, it opened up with lovely aromas of dark fruits and slightly spicy characteristics.  The medium to full bodied palate was pretty amazing.  Dark fruits were obvious again and a savouriness melded in beautifully with the silky smooth tannins.  The length on the finish was something to behold.  To try and describe it would not do it justice.  A truly magnificent wine.
www.kaybrothersamerywines.com
Until next time and remember, live simply, laugh often, wine a lot.