Separating the rewarding wines from the elusive esoterica
In later November, The Wine Companion Team publishes Halliday’s Top 100 wines, on its website and in the Australian. The team used to group them by RRP into under $20 and over $20. We’ve teased out the pick of these, not an easy task.
Price groups
This year, the folks at WC seem to have followed our lead and used street pricing – very sharp street pricing in some cases. For example, Petaluma White label Chardonnay sells for well over $20 in most places (but our tireless team came through with an $18 special and free Spiegelau glasses). Then again, $16 wines end up in the over $20 group – the Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Hunter Valley Semillon 2006 for example.
Availability
As usual, this is a problem when you invite everybody out there to send you samples. We’ve marked a few of these in the groups below.
Scoring
We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again: James and his friends are very generous with their scores, usually 2-4 points ahead of us and the guys at the Winefront (the most reliable in our view). It’s more in some cases: the Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2013, a wine that we’ve found underwhelming in recent years, gets 96 from JH and 91 from the Winefront.
Our comments
We’ve confined our comments to wines we have some experience with
BEST WHITE WINES UNDER $20
Chain of Ponds Amelia’s Letter Adelaide Hills Pinot Grigio 2012 – 93. $18 at Cracka
Margan Family Hunter Valley Semillon 2013 – 94. $15 at Dan M’s. More forward style, much to our liking
McWilliam’s Hanwood Estate Chardonnay 2012 – 90. $7.50 at Dan M’s. Bargain quaffer.
Devils lair 5th leg Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 93. $10 at 1st Choice . Always reliable, great price
Mike Press Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 92. $11 at MyCellars
Pepper Tree Hunter Valley Tasmania Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 94 $18 at Jim’s Cellars
Petaluma White Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2012 – 93. $18 in a 6-pack at McGuires Cellars, plus 4 Spiegelau Authensis glasses
St Hallett Eden Valley Riesling 2013 – 96, $18 in a 6-pack at Graysonline. This is an austere Riesling (11%) that will take years to become enjoyable. Check it before you buy unless you love those unripe searing apple acid Hunter Semillons.
Tahbilk Marsanne 2013 – 93. $11at Dan M’s. Perennial bargain that repays cellaring in spades.
West Cape Howe Mount Barker Riesling 2013 – 95. $17 at MyCellars WCH makes great Rieslings
West Cape Howe Mount Barker Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 94. $19 at the winery. Pretty austere style
Can’t find these:
· K1 by Geoff Hardy Gold Label Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 95
· McGuigan Bin Series No. 9000 Hunter Valley Semillon 2013 – 93
· Nepenthe Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2012 – 94
BEST RED WINES UNDER $20
Angoves Long Row Shiraz 2012 – 92. $7.60 at 1st Choice 90 from the Winefront. This looks like the perfect bargain BBQ red, rich and ripe and spicy, but it’s 14.5% so be careful.
Mike Press Single Vineyard Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2012 – 93. $13 at MyCellars. Gets rave reviews from most sources, but we can’t get excited about it (even after a second bottle). It’s a fruit bomb, pure and simple.
Brookland Valley Verse 1 Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2011 – 93. $11.40 at 1stChoice. We’ve been raving about this beauty for months. More elegant and stylish, fruit-driven, not complex but enjoyable.
Evans & Tate Breathing Space Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 – a McWillims cellar door special. We’d pick the Metricup Cab Merlot 2011 for $16 at Winestar instead (gets 96 from JH).
2011 Ferngrove Limited Release Malbec – 94. $19 at Cracka.
Richard Hamilton Hut Block McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – 94. $15 at WineDirect. Old vine McLaren Vale Cabernet made by the Leconfield team. Bargain.
Woods Crampton Old Vine Barossa Valley Shiraz 2012 – 95. $18 at Winestar. Gets 93 from Winefront. Made from old Barossa vines. 14%
Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Clare Valley Shiraz 2012 – 94. $17 at Cracka. Big, rich and ripe style.
Hoddles Creek Estate Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2012 – 94. $19 at Winestar. Bargain pinot, true to style (not just raspberry juice)
De Bortoli (Victoria) Windy Peak Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2012 – 92. $13 at Dan M’s. 88 from Jeremy Pringle. We haven’t tried the 2012, but past experience says Jeremy is close to the mark.
Mount Trio Vineyard Porongurup Shiraz 2011 – 94. $22 at Cracka. Another wine in the wrong price group
West Cape Howe Cabernet Merlot 2011 – 93. $15 at Winestar. We found this a bit big and inelegant for Great Southern Cab Merlot. 14.5%.
Can’t find these:
Teusner The Gentleman Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – 94. Gets 86 from Jeremy Pringle, so be careful. Dan M’s stock this label but their current wine is the 2011. Teusner wines isn’t showing this wine on its site because of some contract issue with the grower. Talk about hard to get.
Willow Bridge Estate Dragonfly Geographe Shiraz 2012 – 94
Westend Estate Richland Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – 93
We’ve left out a couple of Roses and a couple of dubious entries: Johnny Quarisa Durif and Wolf Blass Red label Shiraz Grenache
OVER $20 WHITES
There are a few under $25 here:
McWilliam’s Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Hunter Valley Semillon 2006 – 96. $16 at Winestar . Not our kind of Semillon. Stale unripe apples and wet straw. If Hunter Semillon was your vinous mother’s milk, you’ll probably love it.
O’Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling 2013- 96. $19 at Winestar. Always near the top of the Polish Hill. Gets 94 from the Winefront.
Shaw + Smith Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 96. $21 at Dan M’s. As we said above, we’ve found this label underwhelming in recent years; it gets 96 from JH and 91 from the Winefront.
Can’t find these:
Terre ‘ Terre Down to Earth Wrattonbully Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – 96. Even the winery doesn’t list this wine!!???. The 2012 also gets 96 points from JH, and is $20 at Winestar
OVER $20 REDS
Purple Hands Old Vine Barossa Valley Grenache 2012 – 96. $23 at MyCellars. This is a slick operation, and the reds are polished. This one is medium bodied for a change – 13.5%.
SC Pannell Adelaide Hills Syrah 2012 – 96. $23.50 at Eastendcellars. These guys make superb wines the old way – hand-picked, open-fermented in wax-lined concrete fermenters, wild yeast, hand-plunged, hot ferment, basket-pressed, 11 months on lees in used puncheons.
Can’t find these:
West Cape Howe Two Steps Mount Barker Frankland Shiraz 2011 – 97. Nowhere to be found except the winery where it’s $30. Shame, really. Dan Murphy lists the 2010 at $23 but is out of stock.
Best sparkling wines (Oz)
Not much here for us (7 out of the 8 wines are much more than $25) except for the old Salinger Vintage 2009 – 94. $25 at Kemenys . Be careful – it gets just 89+ from the Winefront.