We’ve picked out some of the more familiar wines, and looked at them through our harsh filter
Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2016 – $8.50 at Kemenys. Scores 89 Halliday points, and offers OK if bland drinking at this price. I prefer the Viognier in this range.
Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2016 – $15 at Dan M’s. I bought some more of this at $13.30 a week ago; that price comes around once a month at least. Australia’s greatest Riesling bargain gets 94 points from James, same as our score. I suspect I’ll end up with 3 dozen of this wine, it’s that good and that cheap.
De Iuliis Semillon 2016 95 – $18 at Kemenys. Gets 95 points from James H, and scored a trophy in the Sydney Show. Scores 93 points with the Winefront where CM says: ‘Light and crisp and yet penetrating. Just a hint of texture. Citrus and hay. Flickers of lemongrass and fennel. Picture perfect young Hunter sem. Excellent buying.’
West Cape Howe Mount Barker Sauvignon Blanc 2016 – $17 at Winestar. 92 points seems a mean score from Halliday for one of Australia’s best savvies, better than just about any savvy that comes out of the Adelaide Hills IMHO.
Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2015 -$20 at at Summer Hill Wine or Winestar. I’ve been buying this frustrating Chardonnay for years, and the 2015 is right in the groove: white peach and almonds in a bright setting with crisp acid. It’s frustrating because you tend to keep it for a few years only to find that you should’ve drunk it young. It’s best in the first couple of years, before it develops petrol and other odd aromas and flavours. 95 points from Halliday, 92+ from Gary Walsh, 91 from Mike Bennie and 92 from me.
Willoughby Park IronRock Riesling 2015 – $23 at Winestar. One of the gems of the great Southern, made from mature vines on their Kalgan River vineyard. Scores 97 with Halliday.
West Cape Howe Cabernet Merlot 2014 – $14 at Nicks. A brute of a wine in my book, a wine that’s missed out on the final polish, but James likes it for 94 points and says: ‘the value transcends belief.’ At this price, that’s hard to argue with if you like your reds big and chunky. 90 points from us.
Hewitson Miss Harry Red Blend 2014 – $20 at MyCellars. One of our favourite GSMs, an OTT blend of 48% Grenache, 18% Shiraz, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Carignan , 9% Cinsault. More finesse than usual in this Barossa blend, a touch of elegance and class. Scores 96 with Halliday, 93 with us.
Innocent Bystander Syrah 2015 – $20 at MyCellars. Scores 95 points with James, and has won plenty of bling besides:
- Trophy – Champion Wine of Show – Yarra Valley Wine Show 2016
- Trophy – Best Red Wine of Show – Yarra Valley Wine Show 2016
- Trophy – Best Shiraz of Show – Yarra Valley Wine Show 2016
- 97 Points and top gold, Yarra Valley Wine Show 2016
- Gold, Perth 2016
- Gold, Melbourne 2016
I love the 2014, and expected a repeat if not an improvement given the perfect vintage. I recommended it and ordered a case sight unseen . When I opened the first bottle, it was a big letdown. A couple of subscribers had the same experience.
I let the wine settle down for a few weeks and opened another bottle of it now. It’s much better but I’m still not as excited about it as I should be, but at least it’s a lively, fruity, slightly spicy Shiraz. 92 points.
Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot Noir 2015 – $20.50 at Aus Wine Centre. We fingered this months ago as a top Pinot Noir reflecting the great 2015 vintage around Melbourne, and scored it 94 points. Gary Walsh’s score is the same, Halliday’s is 96 points. Hard to get now but we found some more at a good price.
West Cape Howe Book Ends Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 – $22 at MyCellars where the freight is free for subscribers on any quantity (promo code BWU20). Long a favourite of ours, it seemed to dip a little in the last couple of vintages but the 2014 is right back on form, big, bold and intense. Scores 93+ points with Gary Walsh, 94 with us, and 96 with James.
A.T. Richardson Chockstone Shiraz 2014 – $25 at Winestar. I haven’t tasted the wine yet, and what do we make of this? Halliday’s score is 97 points, while Mike Bennie’s 86 points are at the opposite end of the scale.
James says: ‘The colour is superb, the bouquet extremely complex, built around the surging black fruits, earth and licorice of the full-bodied palate, which gains yet more depth from the ripe, but persistent tannins.’ Mike says: ‘Palate is simple, fruit driven, transparent, then finishes with bitter cedary character and a lemony twist. Feels very ‘worked in winery’.’
Over the Top
Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2016 – $30 at MyCellars or $222 for a 6-pack at the Daily Drop. This wine from Henty in southern Victoria is only made in good years they tell us, and the 2016 scores 97 points with James H, who says: ‘It is literally loaded with power in the fashion of a fine, dry Rheingau riesling. It is utterly irresistible now, and will become even more so with extended cellaring.’
I’m mystified. This is not a great Riesling. Given its cool southern origins, I expected a lean, long wine of great finesse and perhaps searing austerity but at least fine line and length. Instead we have a wine that is short, that promises great things on the nose but fails to deliver them. Sure there’s some nice fruit there but I can say the same about 2016 Rieslings half the price. 92 points. Not convinced at this price.
Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling 2015 – This has been a class leader among Great Southern Rieslings for a few years now, steely and stubborn in its youth, and rewarding those who give it time. Scores 97 points with James H. and 94+ points with Mike Bennie at the Winefront who talks about glorious acidity and a ‘light line of citrussy tang in pools of succulent, appley fruit. Overall, the wine is trim and taut in the palate but feels like it softens and becomes supple through the finish. Amazing texture really, inviting, yet structured. This really drives home the prestige of this wine.’
Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 – $29 at MyCellars where the freight is free for subscribers on any quantity (promo code BWU20). This red has been a favourite of ours for years, and of the judges at Canberra’s National Show who keep giving it trophies for the best red. It’s Margaret River elegance in a bottle, polished as a hubcap, smooth as an old crooner. You could wish for a touch more depth and the odd hair out of place, but that’s about it. Scores 96 points with James H, and a fairly mean 93+ points with CM at the Winefront.
A by Arras Premium Cuvée – $20 at Dan M’s. I know nothing about this wine, and suspect it’s made for Woolworths. James gives it 94 points and calls it a ‘slimmed down version of Arras.’ Gary at the Winefront gives it 89 points and says it ‘smells faintly, but definitely, of cheezels. Light bodied, gentle sweetness and crisp acidity, lemon and sweet green apples the flavours, fine bubbles, some savoury flavours in the mix and a pretty good finish, albeit a bit coarse and tangy. Slight bitter lemon character in the aftertaste.’
Kim