In The Picture

Bargains – Nicolas Feuillatte at $30, Lanson Vintage Brut 2002 $50, Penfolds Grange 2007 for $479, Hill of Grace 2007 for $500

The strong Aussie dollar has an upside for those with champagne tastes

Nicolas Feuillatte is a the biggest selling champagne in France. Here’s what WineSpectator.com says:

A pale golden hue with varied tinges and a fine cordon of bubbles. Powerful aromas of grilled hazelnut, green apple, quince and fig, this is a perfectly balanced, fruity yet dry Champagne which draws its strength from Premier and Grand Cru vineyards. Complex subtle hints, with a dominance of white fruit such as apples and pears. Clear-cut and well balanced, appley in the mouth with pressed figs, strawberries, buttery truffles and a mild sensation of overflowing tropical fruit platters. Good with a variety of dishes and at its best with white meat or a Monkfish blanquette with mushrooms. Thick in texture, with intensity to the apple, citrus and dough flavors, fresh and lively!

That’s a lot of words for $30 (Kemenys).

Chamapagne guru Tyson Stelzer rates the Lanson Gold Label 2002 as the bubbly bargain of the year. Yes, $50 for a vintage champagne is exceptional value, and 2002 was one of the best.

Other bargains

Vintage Cellars still has Mount Langi Cliff Edge Shiraz 2005 and Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz 2010 for $30 the pair. Great winter reds, these.  

Kemenys has Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2009 for $22. The Hardys HRB D641 Shiraz is a better wine in my book for $20. The Mitchell Peppertree 2008 is also said to be a cracker for the same money. And Kemenys still have KIWI savvies form Giesen, Wither Hills and Villa Maria for $10.

MyCellars still has Teusner Avatar 2010 for $23 http://www.mycellars.com.au/catalog/

GSM doesn’t come any better than this, simple as that.

1^st Choice has a sale on, but it’s a long yawn. They do have a bargain tucked away on the shelves: d’Arenberg The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne 2010 for $11.40 in a mixed 6-pack.

And for those with a taste for the exotic, Dan M is offering Grange 2007 for $479, and Chambers lists Hill of Grace 2007 for $500. 

avagoodweekend all

Kim

Let's end the day on a higher note - simple beauty

Kim

Nikon’s D3200 – as good as it gets for $700?

Probably, but we're spoilt for choice aren't we?

Nikon released the D3200 with a 24 megapixel sensor, which makes it the lowest priced DSLR Nikon sells with the highest resolution of any DX camera. For the moment that is. Other upgrades using Sony’s 24mp sensor will follow soon – the D5200, the D320 ... What is just as strange is that more megapixels is hardly a priority for most of us. I have my D5100 set to M, which gives me 9mp images instead of 16.

Not that long ago, in 2005, Nikon sprang the D50 on a surprised world – the first sub $1000 DSLR. The D40 followed a year later with a price tag closer to $700, and made do without the screwdrive AF motor of the D50. It had a bigger LCD screen on a more compact body, and it forced Nikon to rsuh out a bunch of new AF-S lenses with inbuilt AF motors. There hasn't been much rushing since (see below).

Both the D50 and D40 made do with a 6mp sensor, which is ample resolution for most people. The firmware in the D40 was brilliant, and I still use mine today because the images have a certain quality that is hard to describe. Canon was pushing more megapixels, however, so a year later Nikon stuck the 10mp sensor from the D80 into the D40 and called it D40x. We lost 1/500 sec synch flash and a sweet shutter mechanism, and gained an ISO100 setting and a little more dynamic range.

Around 2010, Nikon produced the D3000, which added all kinds of fancy effects and video. The D3100 followed and now the D3200. The price is still about $700 for a basic kit, but this time you get a colour choice as well.

And lots more: compatibility with Nikon's new wireless mobile adapter, WU-1, for easy image sharing, a 3-inch 921,000-dot LCD monitor, and HD video at 24 and 30 fps with fulltime AF while recording. There’s even a microphone input jack for stereo recording, and HDMI output with CEC support. The camera can shoot up to 4 frames per second at the full 24-mp resolution, and there’s an 11-point autofocus system and a Scene Recognition system for accurate focus. What you still don’t get is an articulating screen.

There is a downside to cramming so many pixels onto an APS-C / DX sensor, as Ken Rockwell explains: ‘… the D3200 has higher linear resolution than any other DSLR ever made in any format: 255 pixels per millimeter. (The 36 MP D800 only has 200 pixels per millimeter in its larger FX format.) Since the diffraction limit at 255 lpmm is f/6.3, any shots made at f/6.3 or smaller will have their resolution completely limited by lens diffraction, not the camera.’ You have been warned.

The D3200 is simply one more step in the evolution that began with the D40. The image quality coming out of the new Sony bodies using this sensor is said to be superb, and the D3200 should do even better given that Nikon is better at getting the best out of Sony sensors than Sony. Then again, you could buy a second-hand D40 for next to nothing and get great images out of it too.

Click on the image to see a larger file

DPReview sums its preview up this way: ‘In terms of how you use the camera, the D3200 isn't a dramatic step forward for Nikon, but it fits comfortably into a series that has consistently offered some of the best beginners' DSLRs, so it's hard to blame Nikon for not wanting to change the recipe more than it has to.’

DX lenses - wake up, Nikon!

Along with the D3200, Nikon announced the new AF-S 28mm f/1.8G lens for about the same money. Very odd since it’s clearly designed for an FX body. Another recent Nikon lens is the AF-S 50mm f/1.8G, which is also meant to go on FX bodies to replace the superb old 50mm f/1.8D. To make up a full threesome, Nikon then added the AF-S 85mm f/1.8G, a small portrait lens for FX bodies.

Sure, you can use all of these on a D3200 or D40 since they have built-in AF motors, but the Field Of View will be screwed up by the 1.5 DX crop factor. So what has Nikon given us DX shooters of late? Very little by way of prime lenses. We’ve had the superb AF-S 35mm f/1.8G  (a great bargain at $200ish) since 2009, and it seems Nikon’s DX lens engineers have been asleep at their CAD screens ever since.

Nikon guru Thom Hogan agrees: ‘2009 was the last big push in DX. In the 2008/2009 time period we got the 16-85mm, 18-105mm, 35mm, 10-24mm, redesigned 18-200mm, and the strange 85mm Micro-Nikkor.' The only prime DX lens Nikon has released since then is the AF-S DX Micro 40mm f/2.8G, a lens I can’t imagine any Nikon shooter asking for.

What makes me say that? 40mm is too close for serious macro work (or micro as Nikon calls it) – you need 135 or more mm for that, and 200 + for live critters or you’ll scare them away. The only use for this lens is food photography, which is a highly specialised pro niche. For general work, the 40mm competes with the faster, cheaper 35mm. So Nikon has given us a pretty useless lens here since we already have the superb AF-S 60mm f/2.8G ED ($600) and the fair quality AF-S DX Micro 85mm f/3.5G ED VR ($500).

What we DX shooters really need is a prime lens in the 16-24mm range, and an ultra-wide prime around 10mm. Right now, the only way we can go wider than 35mm is with zoom lenses. As Thom Hogan concluded in the same post: ‘Lately it really feels like the wrong folk [at Nikon] are designing the wrong lenses for the wrong cameras.’ Is anyone at Nikon listening? http://www.bythom.com/

KIM

Mothers Day is looming and bargains are hard to find

Penfolds Kalimna Bin 28 for $22, cheap Mount Langi and Torbreck, $10 Savvies from Wither Hills, Villa Maria & Giesen, $50 Taittinger

It’s been lean pickings these last 10 days, except for some good prices on champagne:  

• Piper Heidsieck Brut NV for $36 at Kemenys
• Nicolas Feuilatte NV for $38 at Kemenys
• Mumm Cordon Rough for $43 same place
• Taittinger Brut Reserve for $50 at Dan M’s (online only)
• Lanson Vintage 2002 for $60 at Dan M’s (it was on spec at $50 but no more)

Are you a fan of Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna? The just released 2009 is $22 at Kemenys (front page), suggesting that Penfolds’ $30 + ticket prices are hitting some resistance out there. Real people buy real wines for $25 or less, that’s what this website is about. Even at $22, I wouldn’t buy the Bin 28. For one, it no longer comes from Kalimna. For another, it’s not that great. If you want superb Northern Barossa Shiraz, go for Teusner (Riebke) or Kalleske (Moppa) or Maverick. You’ll save money as well. OK, the Kalleske is $23 (Dan M’s online).

Kemenys always have good deals, without running ‘specials’. Like the Clifford Bay Savvy 2011 for $13, and the Taltarni 3 Monks GSM 2005 for $10. Mature, easy on the gums, super bargain https://www.kemenys.com.au/go.jsp#!class=Product&spn=1084972

K’s is running another $10 sale:

The Wither Hills is the pick of these 3, but I’d rather spend 3 more dollars on the Clifford Bay from the same shop. Much better wine altogether. The real thing, not tricked-up lolly water.

Vintage Cellars still has that odd couple, the Mount Langi Shiraz 2005 and the Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz 2010 for $30 the pair. And Goundrey Unwooded Chardy for $20 a pair. It’s not a great wine but it’s a great drinking wine. Mouthful of grapes, fresh fruit, nicely done. Better than any Kiwi savvies for the same money.

Kim

Gallipoli – without words

The Gallipoli art prize – a silent affair

This weekend there was a tiny notice in the SMH about the Gallipoli Art Prize and an exhibition of the entrants at the Gallipoli Club in Loftus St near Circular Quay. We went to see the paintings, and there’s not much I to add. We were the only visitors there last Sunday, which is strange. Please click on the images to see a larger file.

BEN HOLGATE Everyman

AEK PHAKITI
The Reflective Soldier

AEK PHAKITI - The Reflective Soldier

DAVID J CURNO - Am island, am sea, am father, farm, and friend

Peter Gardiner - They Wore Feathers (Uncle Jim)

Judy Uehlein Nelson - The Ephemeral poppy

Here's a larger selection (23) of the works entered for the prize in the Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/nsw/2012-gallipoli-art-prize-20120423-1xgvp.html

And here's where you can see the originals - The Gallipoli Memorial Club in Loftus Street down by Circular Quay in Sydney http://www.gallipoli.com.au/index.html

Kim

 

Parawa Estate Ingalalla Grand Reserve 2007

Designer wines in Hyperspace - $1100 a bottle? Why stop there?

You’ve heard of designer fashion: outrageous creations, handmade and priced for a market where money doesn’t matter. Exclusive is the keyword here, the more exclusive, the higher the price tag. We saw it in wine with Opus One and Super Tuscans like Ornellaia. Designer wines for American brain surgeons and merchant bankers with too much money who wanted something new to impress their friends.

Peter Simic, Editor of Winestate magazine, has taken a leaf out of their book to make Australia’s most expensive wine, a wine that leaves Grange eating its dust – pricewise – and even trumps Penfolds own designer effort from last year: a $1,000 re-birth of the famous Bin 620 Coonawarra Cabernet from the sixties. Simic's wine comes from Parawa Estate on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, a place said to have a similar climate to Burgundy. Sadly, the website is as silent as certain orders of monks who aren’t allowed to speak  http://parawaestate.com.au/ .

Who or where on earth is Parawa?

Simic has been in the wine business for a few decades. He knows how the game is played. That’s why he has shrouded his audacious gambit in so much mystery – an essential partner to exclusivity, which he has taken care of by producing just 2400 bottles in 5 years. The story goes that the wine will only be made in exceptional years, unlike the 2007 Grange that Penfolds has just released (and raised the price on). http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/04/penfolds-2012-icon-and-luxury-collection-the-headline-says-it-all.html

Dea Elmi at Vinix, a helpful source of information here, says that the next Ingalalla will not be released until 2015 – presumably from the 2010 vintage. Dea has also supplied a picture of the label, except that it’s from a different wine that is also shrouded in mystery.

http://www.vinix.com/myDocDetail.php?ID=6117&lang=eng

Even more curious is a post by Jesse Lewis at Good Drop describing a Parawa Estate The White Mist Arneis 2010 he bought at auction for 3 bucks a bottle last year. He says: ‘I can’t find any information on the winery at all. Their website is non-existent and no direct results appear in a Google search. I’m wondering whether the winery has folded before releasing their first batches of wine and sold all stock at auctions.’ What a delicious contrast! Thank you for that, Jesse. http://gooddrop.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/parawa-estate-the-white-mist-arneis-2010/  

The picture on Jesse’s post is a lot more interesting than the Parawa Estate label:

The wine

Simic has taken exclusivity to extremes, as the Ingalalla Grand Reserve will not be available in Australia at all. Apparently Singapore, HK and China are the target markets, which explains why the label looks like the top of a trinket box in a Chinatown 2-dollar shop. The reasons for Simic's China focus are outlined in this story by Cameron England: China laps up fine Australian wine http://m.news.com.au/SA/pg/0/fi1366925.htm;jsessionid=2FD9E4AB7833A3491C658F9531EE3C3A

For the same reasons, Penfolds released the $1000 Bin 620 2008 in Shanghai last year (demoting Grange to second rank in the process, as one of my friends pointed out). Simic has also been to the US of A to show off his rare marvel, since there's still a big luxury goods market there – I assume that the WM mentioned in this post stands for Winestate Magazine or PS. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/846147

I know the actual product isn’t important in Haute Couture but the wine appears to be a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet, Petit Verdot and more that has spent 4 years in a mix of new and seasoned French oak. That got me thinking: the only thing missing here is a superstar winemaker and, with that much oak to soften the wine, Wolf Blass came to mind. Has Simic brought Wolfie out of retirement and hired him as a consultant?

Reaction from our vinaristocracy

The Australian talked to Grange custodian Peter Gago, who said expensive wines had to earn their place at the top of the market. ‘I don't think that to be the most expensive wine in a market should be an objective, but a consequence,’ he told the Australian. ‘Grange has achieved its pricing status over six decades.’ Now we’re talking about pedigree, which Grange has in spades. Parawa has none.

Andrew Caillard at Langton's fine wine auctions told the Australian that, to launch a wine at such a high price without any track record suggested a ‘cynical attempt to cash in on the [fast-growing] Chinese market. Anyone can make a wine and say “that's $1100,” but I think it makes a comedy of Australian fine wine.' To help us keep things in perspective, author Blair Speedy informs us that ‘a bottle of the latest release Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet 2008 costs $2922.’

What else can I add? Comedy? Mockery? Ingalalla? Ornellaia? Who cares? I can't think of an ending for this little post - what about Ingalalla takes the cake?

Kim

Penfolds 2012 Icon and Luxury Collection - the headline says it all

ST HENRI 2008 is the cheapest red here, and it's nudging $95. Mind you, it’ll come down to seventy something once it’s in the retail channel. One of the luxury brand managers at Penfolds found a gap in the range, so they created a new bin number to plug it: Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 at a cool $250. The gap didn’t last long: another Penfolds luxury brand manager said mine’s as just good as yours and cranked the price of the Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon up to $250 as well.

Pennys/TWE have been doing this for a while now: last year, they invented Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz, and the year before it was Bin 23 Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir. These wines aren't part of the 2012 icon and luxury goods collection on offer from Penfolds on May 3. They're part of Penfolds' much humbler Bin Reds range, rubbing shoulders with Bin 407 and 389 - once called the poor man's Grange but now a cool $75.

Tyson Stelzer says the Bin 169 is the stand-out in this year's creations by haute couturier Peter Gago and his team, but you can only buy it direct from Penfolds – no discounts there for obvious reasons. Tyson says: ‘On paper, Bin 169 is to 707 what RWT is to Grange, single region in 100% new French oak rather than a multi-region blend in American oak. But the comparison strictly ends here because the style and aspiration of this wine hark to a more lofty place altogether. Bin 169 is baby Bin 620 – masterminded simultaneously, from the same region in the same vintage.’

I’d normally leave the quote at that, but I do enjoy Tyson’s skill with words so let’s have a bit more: ‘Just two prized Penfolds blocks unite in a wine that enunciates the very definition of cabernet fruit purity of monumental proportions, while retaining the utter refinement of Coonawarra regional accuracy. At once bright and focused yet simultaneously powerful and intense; classic Penfolds tannins meet the genteel calm of French oak; ultra-fine yet devastatingly firm, with a finish of relentless endurance.’

Good stuff, isn't it? The words I mean, the wine is another story: as Grange custodian Peter Gago said at last year’s release, ‘the world of fine wine is a completely different "beast" to the rest of the wine market... It sounds horribly condescending to say it's more than just a wine ... It's not - it's just a wine.' Read the rest of the story here http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/03/penfolds-bin-release-2012-price-hike-a-slap-in-the-face.html

Who drinks these $250 bottles? Wine writers, wine merchants and sommeliers who get free samples. And the Chinese, apparently, in growing numbers. Affluant Aspirants. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/china-laps-up-australian-wine/story-e6frea83-1226341139271 The rest of these wines are bought by fancy restaurants and investors, so they can display them in their leather-bound wine lists and their humidicrib display cabinets.

MAY 3 UPDATE

The Grange in this release has gone up to $625, and that’s for the very ordinary 2007 vintage, but never fear: Dan Murphy's will knock the price down to $500 or so, and Costco will flog Grange as well this year, maybe for less than DM. Bad marketing move, boys: Costco and Grange go together like McDonalds and cordon bleu cuisine. 

Dan Murphys retains the services of Andrew Caillard who rated the St Henri higher than the Grange or Bin 707:

St Henri comes from the better 2008 vintage. Dan M lists it at $70. However, Andrew's real standouts are the RWT ($130) and the Bin A Chardy ($70), which he rates at 97. http://danmurphys.com.au/guides/penfolds-grange-release-content?utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=edm&utm_campaign=20120503_PenfoldsIconLuxuryEDM&SI_LINK=B2

The St Henri and the Bin A look like real bargains compared to the rest of this collection, don't they? Mm, as you know, this blog is about the best wines you can buy for less than $25, so this collection is not for us - we can admire it from a distance, of course. Nothing wrong with that. If you're looking for a Penfolds red under $25, Kemenys has a special on the Bin 28 Kalimna (which no longer comes from Kalimna).

There's better value to be had elsewhere for the same money, mind you: Kalleske's Moppa Shiraz 2010, Teusner Avatar 2010 or the super bargain Riebke Shiraz 2010 (for $17) are all hand-made from old Barossa vines. And only a few weeks ago, I bought a case of Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Kemenys for $238 including delivery.

The fine wine world is a different beast indeed: Tyson informs us in passing that first growth Bordeaux reds from great years now fetch more than $2,000. Here’s the media release from Penfolds http://www.tweglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SC3789_Penfolds_Lux_2012_MediaRelease_FA_HR.pdf

KIM

 

 

 

Mount Pleasant Elizabeth 2005 - must do better

 Mixed Business - Margan, Montes, Mount Pleasant, Meerea Park, Villa Maria, Yering Station and Zilzie. Mostly whites. 

BUY

Margan 2009 Chardonnay

This is a mouth-filling Chardonnay, and still building flavour at 3 years of age. It’s not an in-your-face number, and shows some restraint despite its full figure. White peach and cashews are mere suggestions. The wine has depth and length and will improve for a few more years. Still, it’s perfectly enjoyable with white meats or mild cheeses right now. About $14 at Chambers.

Montes Classic Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Perfect deep purple-red. Dusty, smoky Cabernet nose. Interesting smoky bacon/ oak characters on the palate, and a suggestion that there's more than Cabernet here - a drop of Merlot? The wine opened up more after a couple of days in bottle - there's a lot of flavour here in a medium to full-bodied frame. Great depth and length and astonishing value for $8.50 at Dan M’s. 14%.

OVER TO YOU

Mount Pleasant Elizabeth 2005, Aged Release

The wine’s bright brass colour gives no hint of its age, nor does the nose suggest Semillon right away. Viognier? Ripe, round, juicy fruit on the front palate, a pleasant change from the green apple flavours the McWilliams Mount Pleasant team used to serve up. Then the lady vanishes, leaving us completely in the dark about the end of this story. A very short story with no finish. I can see why McWilliams released this now (it has nowhere to go), but I can’t see why gold medals adorn the label, or why it's signed by Maurice O'Shea. $16 at Winestar or Kemenys.

I have to declare a bias here: I think Hunter Semillon is overrated. Yes, I’ve tasted a few great old Semillons from Lindemans and Tyrrells over the years – but never a great Mount Pleasant. Old Hunter Semillons can be something special at 20 years of age or more, but they often miss the mark and they’re definitely an acquired taste. I prefer old Rieslings, simple as that. Check other reviews here http://www.winestar.com.au/prod3017.htm

Yering Station Chardonnay 2008

I expected more from this wine. The fruit is shy even after 4 years. The oak is well-judged and classy, and adds a nice creamy mouth-feel. The wine is long and elegant and perfectly balanced but lacks depth and flavour for a >$20 bottle. A bit too refined. Other reviews are better than mine, as usual.

Huon Hooke says, ‘Toasty and cashewnutty aromas, fine oak and classy barrels at that. Quite complex, concentrated and long. Clean and dry, too. Nice savoury wine. Balanced and lovely. Terrific value for money. Rating: 92/100.’

JH says: ‘Light straw-green; an immaculately balanced chardonnay, fragrant and pure; white peach fruit, a hint of mineral and subtle barrel ferment French oak combine seamlessly, giving the wine both elegance and length. Rating 95. Drink by: 2016. 13%.’

Meerea Park Old Vine Hunter Valley Chardonnay 2011

The first impact is quite intense, but right away there’s a character that doesn’t belong to Chardonnay. It’s an aged fruit character, even though this is a 2011, and it’s almost in the orange rind spectrum. There's oak there as well, in mid-palate though? The wine is made from ‘old vines’ which is an interesting idea for Chardonnay. Maybe that accounts for the pungent fruit character. This wine too pulls up a bit short, but nowhere near as short as the Mt Pleasant. Not sure what to make of it.

Zilzie Pinot Gris 2010

Pretty dry for a Pinot Gris, pretty delicate really and lacking a little in fruit expression. Good length and fine acid but lacking depth. On par with other whites I’ve tasted from the Adelaide Hills, in the sense that they’re a bit too elegant and lack flavour. $13 at Jim Cellar’s.

AVOID

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2011

This wine makes everything I said about the Marlborough Men losing the plot and trashing their own brand sound too feeble http://tiny.cc/81h8cw . This is the archetypal, sweet concocted lemon acid lollywater Savvy that’s gone off-the-rails. Better still, off the cliff. Repulsive stuff that embodies all that is wrong with the current version of this style. $10-14 at the usual places.

Alkoomi Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Haven’t come across Alkoomi wines of late so I grabbed this one. Sadly, it’s the perfect foil to all that awful Kiwi Savvy we’re drowning in: a hint of gooseberry on the nose, tropical fruit salad on the palate and that awful sweet and sour lemon acid. About $13 at Dan M’s.

KIM

 

TEUSNER AVATAR – GSM Master Class

Do Barossa reds get any better than this?

If Penfolds made a wine like this, they’d create a fancy new bin number and charge $150 for it. I paid $25 for the Avatar 2008 at Winestar late last year, and the 2010 is $23 at MyCellars today. Rocky O’Callahan says 2010 was as good as any vintage he has seen in 40 years, so don’t hold back – buy all you can. It's a 50/25/25 blend, easy to like young but good for 5-7 years for sure.

Of the 2010, Gary Walsh at the Winefront says: ‘Spice, light earthiness, subtle old nutty wood, choc-mint-licorice. It’s medium to full bodied with a richer palate than Joshua, more earth and tannin, more broody and less crisp and pretty. Added viscosity and depth too, yet a similar cranberry/raspberry freshness and superb length. SUCH GOOD TANNIN here (it’s worth shouting about). Exemplary. Probably worth 95 points.’ http://www.winefront.com.au/teusner-avatar-2010/

We had the 2009 a few months ago, and it was a knock-out too. This weekend, we drank the Avatar 2008 with the remainder of a lamb shanks casserole that had lasted four days – like good wines, these dishes get better with age. It was a perfect union. This Avatar is a velvet glove stuffed full of ripe dark berries, sweet Grenache spice and Shiraz pepper, earth and leather and licorice. They all blend into a seamless wine with fine mouthfeel and perfect balance. Great depth and long finish with fine tannins. Richness harnessed, power tamed, and such elegance you’d never guess its 14.5%. Oak takes a back seat. Kym Teusner is a genius, and we are very lucky punters.

PS: Kemenys still have Teusner's stunning Riebke Shiraz 2010 for $16.90

Kim

Good Pinot Noir under $25 - Mission Impossible?

Part One – after the first six contenders, the answer is YES

Le Chat Noir 2010 Pinot Noir

I’ve already written about this wine but it goes well with this story. The label is the best thing here. The wine itself is a joke, from the rusty water colour and a nose that speaks of nothing much to a gushy, mushy mid-palate of ill-defined flavour. There’s no discernable Pinot character and no structure or length to speak of. If it ever showed potential, it must have been a while ago. Whatever its best was, it’s well past it. I used some of it in a chicken paprika, and it didn’t turn out as well as usual. $15.

Ana Hera East Pinot Noir 2007

Ana-Hera is Maori for Angel and this wine comes from vines grown on the gently sloping terraces of Central Otago. Sadly, you won’t hear angels sing when you taste this wine. It’s big for a Pinot, even after 5 years, with mid red colour. The nose doesn’t really suggest Pinot, nor does the flavour. There are elements that don’t seem to be on speaking terms with each other – plums and sharp edges and hot alcohol. Lots to chew on here, didn’t improve in the open bottle. $16 at Dan M’s.

Palliser Estate Pencarrow Pinot Noir 2010                                

Billed as THE bargain Pinot from Martinborough ($18). Trophy and Gold medal winner. Good colour for a Pinot Noir, Pinot nose with some off notes and indifferent palate with some hot, muddy overtones, and a pretty ordinary finish. Not in the least convincing. A bad bottle? I didn't see chemical faults tough. $16 at Dan M’s.

Kumeau river Village Pinot Noir 2009

Light red colour with brown tinges. The nose is better with classic, sweet fruit and that slightly off Pinot character. There’s more of that sweet fruit on the palate, and it’s warm and friendly but there’s little else to add interest or complexity, and a big fade-out on the finish. A simple wine, and a disappointing one given its maker and price. $19 at Dan M’s

De Bortoli Gulf Station Pinot Noir 2010

Very similar to the Kumeau River in colour, with a bigger nose. Not exactly Pinot, sadly, just bigger. The wine has a tad more weight, but isn’t as warm and friendly as the Kiwi. Quite charmless really when we get through the mid-palate, with the fruit a little hard and flat rather than sweet. Good length and depth but not really distinctive Pinot and not really my idea of an engaging red.

This wine's had some good reviews, like this one from TS. Just for a second opinion:

‘Blimey! Has such pinot purity ever paraded at $13 (Dan M’s)? With no less than eight pinots in its carnival of love, there’s no operation on earth that hits every price point as thrillingly as De Bortoli. Steve Webber is the ringmaster and he’s pulled all manner of roses, violets and cherries out of his hat here.’ Tyson Stelzer

Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir 2010

From the guys at Giant Steps, Yarra Valley. This is a better proposition altogether, with lighter colour than the last two, but with real Pinot character – that slightly dank, earthy aroma and a taste of sweet fruit with a hint of damp leaves. Fairly true to style and quite attractive, there’s lovely gentle flavour but no potential for improvement. Drink it now or very soon with light pink meats, veal or poultry done the oriental way. $19 at Dan M’s.

KIM