Archive for September 23rd, 2010
Masterclass: Chardonnay
Beyond varietal character
Steve Webber from De Bortoli hosted the penultimate session of the 2010 Landmark Australia Tutorial, reviewing the grape variety that for many has evolved more than any other in Australia over the last decade - Chardonnay.
Anyone knowing Steve would expect nothing less than a confronting start: “I want my Chardonnay to taste of the dirt that it has been grown in, not simple varietal character. I just think that there are more interesting things to reflect in wine: texture, feel, and dare I say it, ‘minerality’…”
Steve, accompanied on the panel by Virginia Willcock of Vasse Felix, presented 14 blind wines that he felt were taking Chardonnay to a new height. “Wines with detail” as Steve likes to call them…
In terms of capturing ‘detail’ and place, Steve highlighted the importance of getting acidity right in the vineyard; moving towards more hand-picking; improved fruit-handling; larger format oak…
The Wines: Chardonnay (tasted blind)
1. 2006 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Chardonnay
2. 2006 Oakridge 864 Chardonnay, Yarra Valley
3. 2007 Tyrrell’s Winemaker’s Selection Vat 47 Chardonnay, Hunter Valley
4. 2007 Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills
5. 2007 Yering Station Single Vineyard Coombe Farm Chardonnay, Yarra Valley
6. 2007 Gembrook Hill Chardonnay, Yarra Valley
7. 2007 Voyager Estate Margaret River Chardonnay
8. 2008 De Bortoli Estate Grown Chardonnay, Yarra Valley
9. 2008 Penfolds Reserve Bin A Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills
10. 2008 Domaine Epis Macedon Ranges Chardonnay
11. 2008 Freycinet Vineyard Chardonnay, Tasmania
12. 2008 Yabby Lake Block 6 Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula
13. 2008 Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, Beechworth
14. 2008 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay, Margaret River
Masterclass: Single Vineyards, Sacred Sites and Regional Blends
An extraordinary and rare tasting experience
If the participants thought yesterday’s Historic Tasting was a privilege, Brian Walsh from Yalumba guided everyone through 17 wines, including an extraordinary and extremely rare 1942 Mt Pleasant YT Light Dry Red Shiraz from the Hunter Valley, made by Australian winemaking legend Maurice O’Shea.Â
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The masterclass explored the question of single vineyards, sacred sites and regional or multi-regional blends as wine making choices in Australia.Â
Brian Walsh opened with a somewhat philosophical proposition: “This is not a religion and accordingly there is no one truth. I am not going to defend or support single vineyards, sacred sites or blending as the “appropriate” approach to fine wine. My point is that anyone attempting to make a fine wine shares a single commonality: the pursuit of excellence. Ultimately, fine wine doesn’t start in the vineyard, it starts in the brain.”
Not usually a blog with tasting notes, Paul Henry offered the following note on the 1942 Mount Pleasant ‘Maurice O’Shea’ Dry Red Shiraz: “Slight camphor, cedar and menthol notes; earthy tones and ox blood meatiness. Fine, long and ‘jus’ reduction finish. Still slippery and viscous. Epiphany - a wine to stand in the presence of!”
The Wines: Single Vineyards, Sacred Sites and Regional Blends
1. 2004 Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling, Eden Valley
2. 2004 Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling, Eden Valley
3. 2004 Grosset / Hill Smith Mesh Riesling, Eden Valley
4. 2006 Hardy Wine Co. Eileen Hardy Chardonnay, Tasmania, Victoria & New South Wales
5. 2008 Seville Estate Chardonnay, Yarra Valley
6. 2008 Giaconda Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, Beechworth
7. 2007 Thomas Wines KISS Shiraz, Hunter Valley
8. 2006 Wynns Alex 88 Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra
9. 2006 Wynns John Riddoch Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
10. 2001 Voyager Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Margaret River
11. 2002 Yalumba The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz , Barossa Valley
12. 1992 Yalumba The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Barossa Valley & Coonawarra
13. 1991 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, South Australia
14. 1991 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley
15. 1975 Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, South Australia
16. 1955 Hardy Wine Co. St Thomas Burgundy Shiraz, South Australia/Victoria
17. 1942 Mount Pleasant TY Light Dry Red Shiraz, Hunter Valley
Masterclass: Pinot Noir
Pinot to rival the best in the world
Tom Carson from Yabby Lake on the Mornington Peninsula joined participants at Yering Station for a Pinot Noir journey. The tasting aimed to demonstrate that Australian Pinot Noir can rival the best in the world.
Tom’s focus was on an emerging generation of new Australian Pinot winemakers, many of whom have been ‘informed’ by working in Burgundy, and have returned to home to harness what they have learned in defining a distinct Australian expression. Beyond the new up-and-comers, the second half of the Pinot review also revealed the classics. A fascinating view of our current reality and our future potential.
The Wines: Pinot Noir (Blind Tasting)
1. 2008 Mac Forbes Woori Yallock Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley
2. 2008 Mayer Close Planted Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley
3. 2008 Farr Rising Geelong Pinot Noir
4. 2008 Allies Garagiste Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
5. 2008 William Downie Gippsland Pinot Noir
6. 2008 Stefano Lubiana Estate Pinot Noir, Tasmania
7. 2008 Curly Flat Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges
8. 2008 Yabby Lake Block 2 Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
9. 2002 Paringa Estate Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula
10. 2002 Bass Phillip Premium Pinot Noir, Gippsland
11. 2001 Freycinet Vineyard Pinot Noir, Tasmania
12. 1997 Mount Mary Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2002
13. 1997 Bannockburn Serré Pinot Noir, Geelong
14. 1997 Bindi Original Pinot Noir, Macedon Ranges
15. 1997 Coldstream Hills Reserve Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley
Masterclass: Pinot Noir, presented by Tom Carson
Landmark Australia Tutorial 2010: a recap of day 3
Taken from corkd.com, Jon Troutman, one of the 2010 Landmark Australia Tutorial participants writes about the standouts for the Historic masterclass:Â
In a day that started with breaktaking tastings of Australian Semillon and Australian Cabernet Sauvignon (blind), it was the third and final Master Class tasting truly stole the show. Day 3 of the Landmark Australia  Tutorial featured a Master Class session of Australia’s most historically significant wines. The 1955 Penfolds Grange Hermitage kicked off the tasting line up of 20 wines spanning 55 vintages of Australia’s modern day wine industry. Led by esteemed Australian wine authorities James Halliday, Andrew Caillard MW and Dr. Tony Jordan, the session served as a timeline of country’s greatest viticultural achievements.
While the entire line up of wines proved nothing short of mind-blowing, there were a couple of bottles that really sang to me for a variety of different reasons. The 1986 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz from Hunter Valley again challenged the notion that even top notch Australian wines don’t age as gracefully as their French counterparts. I wouldn’t hesitate to put this wine up against the top 20+ year old bottlings of Chave or Jaboulet Hermitage. Stewed black cherries, black pepper, leather and top soil aromas give way to a rich palate of black fruits, solid tannin structure and acidity that keeps the wine fresh. At nearly a quarter decade old, this wine still has at least another 25 years ahead of it.The 1996 Three Valleys Shiraz from Barossa Valley is a wine that represents the glory days of Barossa Shiraz during the late 90’s and early 2000’s. This is right up Parker’s alley, with creamy black fruits, big doses of oak, candy-like richness and ripe tannins that carry on for a minute plus. You don’t have to like this wine (I didn’t really), but it represents a certain style of Australian wine that is undeniably appreciable.If you’re thinking that my prior note is representative of all high end Barossa Shiraz, you’ve clearly never tasted the 1998 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz. Pure black fruits, iron and sage leaf jump out of the glass, with a medium-full bodied palate of cassis, sour plums, spice and black pepper covered figs on the finish. Balance is the name of this wines game, and it just was crowned MVP. Eye opening juice for sure, this wine made me rethink the way I view Barossa Valley as a whole.
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- Navneet Singh: Some #classicclare #clare wines for a quite dinner @Skillogalee http://t.co/9MW0wbBL Age ability of these wines amazing!! #apluswine
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- 09/05/12 9:44pm - HunterValleyTourism: RT @stevebgeorge: Check out this Australian wine story from #HunterWine http://t.co/heqsw2TH #apluswine #bloodyhorrified ;-)
- 09/05/12 3:53pm - Louise Radman: Lookin 4wd 2 @StHallettWines old block release in #melbourne tomoz hope 2 see all the perfume n power of 09 vintage! #apluswine
- 09/05/12 3:14pm
- Navneet Singh: Some #classicclare #clare wines for a quite dinner @Skillogalee http://t.co/9MW0wbBL Age ability of these wines amazing!! #apluswine
