Good supermarket red. I didn’t love the 2009, but the 2010 seems to be back in the groove of past vintages. #vinegeek #vinegeekapproved
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Tag Archives: Australia
More Aussie Mourvèdre
Good news from Down Under (ᔥ themercury.com.au):
[W]e’re seeing the emergence from blended obscurity of long-planted varietals like malbec and mourvedre increasingly appearing as straight varietals.
Varietal Mourvèdre makes VINEgeek very happy. Hope more of it makes it to our shores.
…
With a Name Like Stickleback…
Tuesday night I opened a bottle of Stickleback Red 2008 from the Aussie winery Heartland. It was a Costco grab that intrigued me with it’s mix of grapes: the back label says it’s a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Shiraz, 5% Lagrein and 4% Dolcetto.
Tastes more like 100% Smuckers.
This is a major dark berry fruitbomb. If that’s your thing, this wine is a bargain at around $10. It delivers a lotta JAM for your HAM…ilton. (groan)
It was way too much for my Taco Tuesday dinner, but actually worked pretty well with dessert — a super-sweet s’mores-like brownie thing. If you’re into drinking red wine with chocolate (me: not so much), this might be your new favorite wine.
I really wanted to like this because of the unusual blend, not to mention the oddity of Lagrein and Dolcetto in Australia at all, but this wine just isn’t a style that appeals to me these days.
Mourvèdre Monday #13: The Pict
Mourvèdre Monday is back after a few weeks off around the birth of my baby girl, Lucy. I’m easing back into regular blogging. Let’s get things restarted with a bang…
This is one of the priciest varietal Mourvèdres on the planet. So I’m glad to be able to include it in the Mourvèdre Monday series. (Thanks to the winery for providing a sample for review!) Let’s see what the top of the market brings to the table.
Producer: Torbreck
Grapes: 100% Mataro (that name for the grape hangs on at some Aussie and California producers)
Appellation: Barossa Valley
Vineyards: Materne ‘Quarry Block’ Vineyard planted 1927 in the Northern Greenock region of the Barossa. Head-pruned bush vines. Sandy quartz soil.
Vintage: 2006
Winemaking: Two years in new French oak. Unfiltered, unfined.
Alcohol: 14.81% on website (14.0% on label)
Price: $180 (!) according to the website, but it’s available closer to $130 at various retailers online.
My tasting notes: I don’t use the word “redolent” very often (regular readers may remember the only other use on this blog here – an $8 wine!), but it’s appropriate here. The fruit aromas are cherry and blackcurrant, but wrapped in layer upon layer of spicebox, leather shop, coffee and an Italian salumi shop. Fascinating to sniff. Once I stop trying to identify all that’s going on with the nose and taste the wine, I’m struck by the terrific balance of this wine. It’s not huge on the palate, but there’s tons going on here: currants, wet earth, black olives, oaky spice, chocolate. And it’s so harmonious; nothing overdone or out of place. Ripe tannins, good acidity and a very lengthy finish (and not hot, despite the near 15% abv). A lot of sediment in the last glass.
Overall impression: The most well-balanced and complex Mourvèdre wine I’ve encountered. Loved it. A*
*the first full A I’ve awarded on the blog so far. The Pict FTW!
Free association:
More info:
This wine was well-scored by some of the big critics: 93 pts Steven Tanzer and 92 pts Parker.
Mourvèdre Monday #9: Hewitson Old Garden 2005
For this week’s Mourvèdre Monday, we’re hopping in the wayback machine. I mean waaaaaaaaayback. I’m talking the oldest known Mourvèdre vines in the world. I’m so excited I just might wet myself.
Producer: Hewitson
Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre
Appellation: Barossa Valley, Australia
Vineyard: All the grapes for this wine come from the “Old Garden” planted in 1853. Eight. Teen. Fifty. Three. They were already calling this the “Old Garden” in the 18-freaking-80s when it was 30+ years old. The vines are dry-farmed, hand-pruned and hand-harvested bush vines.
Vintage: 2005
Winemaking: About 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $29.40 at Spec’s in Austin
My tasting notes: There’s a slight orange-ness at the edge, like Spanish-style clay roof tiles. The nose is complex and layered: Plum, mixed berries, spice, Dr. Pepper, a bit of cream from the new oak. On the palate, there is rich red fruit (esp. cherry) that stays away from being too intense/extracted. There’s a wet-earth minerality to this that I like a lot, as well. It’s smooth textured with good acidity, but not as much backbone as I expected. Not an especially lengthy finish. After a couple of hours open it starts to lose it’s gravitas and begins to taste like a mediocre Lodi Zin or something.
Overall impression: I had really high expectations for this wine and it wasn’t quite what I expected. I imagined these ancient vines producing a robust, intense wine that would impress me with its strength. Instead, it seemed to me more like a interesting, dapper old man. Still, an enjoyable bottle that I’m glad I got to taste. I’ll be on the lookout for other vintages in the future to keep tabs on this unique wine. B
Free association:
More info:
Check out this short video from Hewitson on the Old Garden vineyard.
A collection of reviews on the Hewitson website.
Other reviews at The Wine Front, CellarTracker (avg: 89) and Cork’d.
Shiraz Tastes Good: Penfold’s Thomas Hyland Shiraz 2006
Aussie Shiraz is approaching Merlot-backlash territory in terms of becoming a wine style that some people wouldn’t be caught dead drinking (à la Sideways). Maybe that’s just in wine geek circles (not sure I have the most objective perspective on these things), but that’s where it starts, right?
But there’s usually a reason a wine style becomes popular: it tastes good. And that’s what we have here, folks. A Shiraz that tastes good. If you like wine that tastes good, give it a try.
Producer: Penfold’s, the Thomas Hyland series
Grapes: Shiraz (presumably 100%, though Penfold’s website doesn’t have current tech sheet)
Appellation: Adelaide (Australia)
Vineyards: It appears to be a blend from across the region, though no detail is provided on the bottle or website.
Vintage: 2006
Winemaking: They state on the website that there is some new oak used for this wine, but the latest tech sheet they provide is for the 2003 vintage, which states used French and American barrels were used. So who knows.
Alcohol: I failed to note it before recycling the bottle. And, again, the website let me down.
Price: About $12
My tasting notes: Nice, intense nose full of dark berry juice, white pepper and other spices, along with some stemmy/dusty notes. On the palate, the wine delivers dense dark fruit (spiced plum comes to mind) and soft, polished tannins. It may be a bit jammy, but there is some snap to it. It has decent length with an almost cinnamon gum finish.
Overall impression: I would happily drink this again. It may not be a cerebral wine, but it’s very tasty and a nice example of its type, in my opinion. B
Free association: You know what else just tastes good? Hot dogs.
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebusybrain/ / CC BY 2.0
More info:
If you like 90-point validation, this wine got a 91 point review from The Wine News.
Other reviews at CellarTracker (avg: 88)
Sylvan Springs Hard Yards Shiraz 2007 McLaren Vale
Producer: Sylvan Springs
Grapes: Shiraz (presumably 100%, but it doesn’t say so on the tech sheet)
Appellation: McLaren Vale (Australia)
Vineyard: Soils are “grey sand over ironstone gravel layer over orange permeable clay.” At least some of the fruit comes from the Blewitt Springs sub-region.
Winemaking: No new oak – the wine spent 12 months in a mix of 2-4 year old French and American oak barrels.
Alcohol: 14.6%
Price: I paid around $12 or $13 at Costco. I found the receipt: $10.99
My tasting notes: Big, wild, brambly fruit on the nose along with floral/violet and cedar notes. It’s a bit “fumey” from the alcohol. On the palate, it’s dense and weighty, hitting you with smooth-textured, mouth-filling blackberry and black currant flavors with an herbal edge. Despite the extracted fruit, it manages to feel tense, muscular – I even wrote down lean, though that’s often used to indicate lack of fruit, which isn’t the case here. There’s a very nice minerality as well and it finishes with a pleasant little sharpness or bitterness.
Overall impression: This is striking the right chord for me tonight. Give me expressive fruit, but balanced with minerality and acid, and I’m a happy wino. B+
Free association:
More info:
2000 cases produced.
This wine was scored 90 points by Jay Miller in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.
Boots Grenache 2005 Barossa
Producer: Trevor Jones (Boots label)
Grapes: Grenache
Appellation: Barossa (Australia)
Vineyards: Old bush vines
Winemaking: This wine sees some time in French oak, but just how long isn’t clear from the label or website.
Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $12-13
My tasting notes: Very light color. Bright nose of pine forest, cherries (cherry cough syrup, really) and Wint-O-Green LifeSavers. Some oak coming through as well. On the palate, this wine is silky and pleasant with cherry, herbs and a maple syrup quality. But it lacks backbone. There’s a bit of tannic grip at the end and a dry finish, but overall it feels unstructured.
Overall assessment: Not what I expected from a Barossa wine; it’s certainly not BIG and jammy. This wine walks the fine line between interesting and odd. I think I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt and calling it interesting. C+
Free association:
More info:
This wine scored an 89 in The Wine Advocate (Jay Miller).
A few tasting notes at CellarTracker.
The Grateful Palate is the importer. Here’s their page on this wine (though it appears to not be updated to the 05).