Posts Tagged Tyler Colman
From drvino.com: Australian Reisling - can it age?
Landmark Australia tutorial particpant, Tyler Colman, yesterday posted this interesting article on his renowned wine blog, drvino.com, about one of his objectives while out in Austrlaia - to find out if Australian Reisling can age or not. Read below for his verdict and comments from some of his readers who have been following the tutorial.
One question that led me to Australia is whether Australian Riesling can age. The wine is almost always released within a year of harvest so the tendency is to drink it young when it can be very refreshing. Riesling from Australia tends to be dry and is almost always bottled under screwcap now.
The youngest Riesling I’ve tasted was a tank sample of the 2009 Jacob’s Creek Steingarten Riesling. The Steingarten vineyard was originally about 1000 vines planted in the 1960s at the top of Trial Hill, a windy spot on the edge of the Eden Valley. At the outset, it was a single vineyard wine of tiny production. But now although most of the vines come from an altitude of 500 meters, it makes no claim to be site specific; the Steingarten name is a brand. The tank sample was brimming with citrus intensity but not yet really formed as a wine. The 2005, by contrast, was in a very nice spot, exhibiting more muted lime and floral character. The 1998 was oddly phenolic and, while quite solid, not as rewarding today as the 2005.
The Riesling of the trip for me was the 1984 Grosset Polish Hill. The fourth vintage of Polish Hill, it was bottled under cork (they switched to screwcap around 2000) and had mid-shoulder fill (if the bottle had shoulders, that is) and came directly from the cellar of Jeffrey Grosset (pictured right), one of only a few bottles remaining. The aromatics were muted but on the palate, the wine was terrific with a great weight and kind of oily character, great integration. The finish was spectacular and went on and on. (On a related note, his current release 2008 Polish Hill had excellent citrus character akin to the white of a pink grapefruit. The grapes were hand-picked, only free-run juice used, and the resulting wine has integrated acidity and minerality.)
Also of note was the 1973 Leo Buring DWC15 Riesling Clare Valley. Golden in color, it exhibited some of those toasty notes that mature Aussie Riesling is known to have on the aroma and still had layered complexity. It’s still in a good place now but reaching the end of maturity–good thing these were among the last bottles remaining.
The 2002 Peter Lehmann reserve Riesling Eden Valley had toasty, lightly honeyed nose with a strong attack, limey midpalate and expansive, rewarding, and lingering finish. The 1999 Pewsey Vale The Contours Riesling Eden Valley, so called because the rows of vines follow the contours of the hillside, was originally released with five years of age on it. Today it showed more maturity but still had a freshness from good acidity. The 1980 Pewsey Vale Rhine Riesling Eden, golden in color, was interesting but definitely in the “drink now” part of its bottle evolution.
Finally, 1996 Crawford River Riesling Henty was picked late, in May, and has “essentially no botrytis” according to the producer. But to me it had a lovely honeyed note that perhaps had a hint of the noble rot. Quite delicious. I also enjoyed one of the current releases from this producer. But I’ll save that along with some other young, fresh Rieslings for a future post.
As a summary comment here, Australian Rieslings are worthwhile with age and can show bottle evolution even under screwcap. The hardest part is probably not drinking them while they are young. But tasting that magical transformation from lime-fresh minerality of youth to the gently honeyed, toasty quality of mature bottles can be worth the wait.
Search for these wines on wine-searcher.com
Related: “Philip Laffer of Jacob’s Creek on Riesling, petrol, and screwcaps“
Click here for the full article from drvino.com.
From The Australian: Wine body seeks prose of praise
Pia Akerman writes today in Australia’s national newspaper, The Australian, about the Landmark Australia tutorial with comments from one of the participants from the US, Tyler Colman, who writes the DrVino blog which she describes as “viewed by many as the most influential wine blog in the world”.
IN the most extensive and expensive attempt yet to shift Australian wine’s image from cheap and cheerful plonk to high-end lesser-known brands, industry body Wine Australia yesterday began wooing the wine writers it believes will be most influential in years to come.
The luxury Barossa Valley retreat, The Louise, will be the home of 12 international writers for five days of unbelievable tastings, including the first Grange vintage, from 1955.
More than 4000 people applied for the inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial, which will showcase 248 wines, emphasising the premium labels.
Paul Henry, general manager of Wine Australia’s Market Development, said the event was the most significant investment in overseas markets in the past 18years.
“If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that we’re not best placed in the world to compete on price,” Mr Henry said. “If we do that, we will fail.
“Our story has to be significantly more ambitious than it has been to date … it has to be about regions and wines that can command a credible premium.”
Choosing the right people for the tutorial was a year-long process.
The focus is on emerging markets where Australian wines can make further inroads, as well as traditional strongholds such as Britain.
New York wine writer Tyler Colman, author of the Dr Vino blog, which is viewed by many as the most influential wine blog in the world, has made his first trip to Australian wine country for the project.
“It sounded like a tremendous opportunity to learn more about Australian wine,” he said. “In the US, Australian wine has really become characterised by two types of wines.
“One is ‘critter labels’ that you find at the supermarket; the other end is more expensive wine which tends to be dominated by Barossa shiraz.”
Mr Colman was particularly looking forward to trying some rieslings, but other centrepieces of the tastings will be a 1954 Seppelt Great Western Hermitage K72 Shiraz and an extremely rare 1955 Wynns Coonawarra Estate “Michael” Hermitage.
“We’ll have some rarities which will never be poured again because we’re down to the last few bottles,” Mr Henry said.
“In the last 18 years a lot of our export success has been about accessible, good-value-for-money wines, and this is an invitation to the world to see us for excellence and the pursuit of excellence.”
Mr Colman said there was “tremendous opportunity” for Australian wines in the US, but generating more understanding of wine diversity might be delayed by the recession.
Latest News
- Enjoyed a glass of 08 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay tonight followed by pavlova with banana and passion fruit - yum!
- 11/03/10 11:49am - Do you want the chance to learn how to #crushit and meet Gary V in Sydney? Details at www.wineaustralia.com
- 11/03/10 7:35am - Thanks @malchia - you're in with a chance to meet Gary V in Sydney (details at www.wineaustralia.com) #crushit
- 11/03/10 7:14am - Thanks for RT @TM_Wine @vineyardpaul @mikerism101 @winsordobbin @harshalsha
- 10/03/10 12:17pm - @MattReiser congratulations! Hope to meet with you later this year. How'd you find the tastings & what regions do you want to visit most?
- 10/03/10 7:47am - Can Tasmania be the world leader in cool climate viticulture? http://bit.ly/9xKgfV
- 10/03/10 3:00am - Just landed in Melbourne. It was a much nicer day above the clouds!
- 09/03/10 10:28pm - Here's a useful cheat sheet for anyone into social media marketing http://bit.ly/aHGzN5 (via @SavorEachGlass)
- 09/03/10 8:26pm - @intwines add Jasper hill to that. Not sure if their viognier is commercially available yet, but a good one to include in your tasting!
- 09/03/10 10:43am - @DaringPairings I prefer my pancakes with maple syrup or lemon & sugar. As for a daring paring...rutherglen muscat or a cheeky moscato?!
- 09/03/10 9:22am
Taken from @winehero- Enjoyed a glass of 08 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay tonight followed by pavlova with banana and passion fruit - yum!
