Serious reds at seriously silly prices
I look for bargains in fine wine under $20, because most of us don’t have excess money to throw around. If you tend to buy wines like Penfolds Bin 707, Hardy’s Octavius or Wolf Blass Platinum, let alone Hill of Grace or Grange, then you’re most likely reading the wrong blog.
Bordeaux reds from the Haut Medoc – the left bank of the Gironde just north-west of Bordeaux – are traditionally made from up to 5 grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvigon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. These reds tend to cost about the same as the wines I mentioned above, but read on – we’ll get back to our $20 target.
Most chateaux in the Medoc have ditched Malbec and use very little Petite Verdot. Ch. Pichon-Lalande’s cepage (blend of varieties) is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. Others such as Ducru-Beaucaillou have ditched even the Cab Franc and Petit Verdot – D-B’s mix is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot.
In the last two decades, our young Turk winemakers have emulated the Bordeaux style with similar blends matured in small new oak barriques. Max Schubert was the first to try that in the nineteen fifties, but we had little Cabernet Sauvignon back then, and no Cabernet Franc or Merlot, so he used Shiraz and made Grange a household name. By now we have mature plantings of Merlot and Cabernet Franc from Margaret River to the Yarra Valley.
Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Barossa Quartage 2009
This blend is 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Malbec, 18% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot (some years they throw Shiraz in as well), and was matured in 85% French and 15% American oak for just over a year. The wine is a deep purple colour and the nose hints at dark berries and cedar. The palate has layers of elegant fruit in the black currant/ black berry spectrum wrapped around a tight, fine acid/tannin backbone.
It's elegant for a Barossa red because most of the fruit comes from the Eden Valley. Great length and great potential to fill out and soften over the next 5 – 7 years. http://www.thornclarke.com.au/wines/?wine=179
Ratings are around 94/100 from the usual sources and I'm in agreement. Will get better too.
$16.20 at 1st Choice Liquor, $19 at Dan M’s (in a mixed buy of 6). 1st Choice still has some 2008, a slightly richer, softer wine. Either wine is a serious bargain.
Fraser Gallop Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2010
This vineyard was established in 1999 at Wilyabrup, and the winemaker Clive Otto is ex-Vasse Felix. The label is classic undertated Medoc in style, so we can see the style the winery is aiming for, and the Cabernet Merlot delivers on that promise: fine Bordeaux nose, restrained, elegant palate with the Merlot held well in check (not over-ripe). Long finish with fine tannins, medium body, not that complex but grew more so in the bottle over several days. I think this wine will develop well for 5 years or so. 13.5%. $17 at Winestar
http://www.winestar.com.au/prod851.htm
2009 Brands Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot
This one is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot. It has a clear purple colour, and the nose shows ripe fruit in the plum/ mulberry spectrum, along with a hint of Coonawarra mint. On the palate there’s dense fruit but also a hint of an unripe edge in a hot rather than cool framework, and faint aged characters like tobacco. Already? The wine improved with breathing, a lot of breathing bordering on CPR (over two days). Hard to say how it will develop. I’ve included it here in case my palate is having an off-day or two. The wine has a trophy and 3 Gold medals to its credit, after all.
$15 at Dan M’s, $18 elsewhere.
I haven't been convinced by many Brands reds since McWilliams bought the company. It may just be me but be warned: the usually generous Halliday only gives it 90. Best grab a bottle and be your own judge.
West Cape Howe 2009 Book Ends Cabernet Sauvignon
This winery is based at Mount Barker in the ‘Great Southern’ area south-east of Margaret River. This is a straight Cabernet Sauvignon but I’m including it here because it tastes like a Bordeaux blend, and because it’s a stunning red. Riper nose than the Quartage, with hints of plums, cherries and dark berries. There are layers of dark berries on the palate, again with great length and a fine finish. You’d swear there was some Merlot in this wine. It’s richer and more approachable, but will improve for 3-5 years at least. http://www.wchowe.com.au/
Halliday gives this wine 95/100, and I'm just one point behind that.
$18.00 at 1st Choice, $22 at Dan M’s (in a mixed buy of 6), $20 at Vintage Cellars (as part of a dozen buy). Again there’s still some 2008 around which is just as good. This wine and the Quartage are as well-made and as enjoyable as reds many times dearer. Unlike some of their more expensive rivals, they both make do with 14% alcohol.
Catching Thieves Cabernet Merlot 2010
This wine is made by McWilliams from Margaret River fruit and has won 2 Trophies, one of them at the Decanter Magazine World Wine Awards 2011 as the best Bordeaux style under 10 pounds. It won the other trophy at the Cool Climate Wine Show 2011. This is elegant but typical Margaret River Cabernet Merlot in a medium size frame, not much complexity or depth but easy on the gums. 14%. $12 at Kemenys.
http://www.decanter.com/dwwa/2011/wine/catching-thieves-cabernet-merlot-2010/6763
Cute label
Kim
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