In The Picture

Wynns Black Label Cabernet 2010, Amelia Park Cab Merlot 2010, O’Leary Walker W'vale Riesling 2012, Chalkboard HV Semillon 2012

A lot of wines this week, and an interesting bunch

A couple of dinners with friends and some lovely wines. Cooked lamb neck for the first time, trying to remember the secret ingredients. As usual, I picked the eyes out of 3-4 recipes. Lemon zest was one, and I think red wine vinegar was the other. It was a pot roast with veggies and wine and stock. The meat needs close to 4 hours before it falls off the bone, but it adds a lot of flavour to dull parsnips.

BUY 

More Mountadam High Eden Chardonnay 2010. Yes, I know I’ve raved about this wine before but we had occasion to drink another bottle of it. It confirmed everything I said: it’s a class act and the best Aussie Chardy this side of 50 or 60 bucks. $25 at Winestar.

Vavasour Awatere Pinot Gris 2011, $17 at Kemenys

A pretty stylish wine showing more restraint than most PGs. I pretty well agree with Gourmet Traveller on this one: ‘15 per cent of the wine was fermented in three-year old French oak barriques. Intense, rich and creamy pinot gris with a tantalising mix of Nashi pear, quince and bread-crust flavours. The wine is dry with good weight and a lingering finish. This is a very classy Marlborough Pinot Gris. 5 stars. 95 points.’

Kemenys Hidden Label 2010 Riesling, $10, Kemenys

This is Knappstein Hand Picked Clare Valley Riesling under a different label, selling for $10. It’s a pretty good Riesling too if still quite undeveloped. There’s plenty of citrus fruit here and it’s ripe enough, and there’s depth and length so the whole thing should come together given a few more years.

O’Leary Walker Watervale Riesling 2012, $17, Jim’s Cellars

Another superb 2012 Riesling from one of our best Riesling areas. It has that lifted, fragrant, floral character you only see in great years. It’s a delicate wine with lovely concentration of fruit on the palate, in the citrus spectrum. Softer than I expected, and a tad shorter than usual for this label. Still, plenty of fine acidity here but I think the Jim Barry has more to offer right now. I think this wine may need longer to show its best.

Hidden Label Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 KHL 1697, $11, Kemenys

This is the Capel Vale Regional Selection Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 under a hidden label. Blackcurrant fruit and hints of cedar on the nose, soft and inviting in the Margaret River style. This is a soft, medium bodied, elegant Cabernet with good length and fine tannins. Could show a little more concentration of fruit on mid-palate but I suspect I’m being picky. It doesn’t have a long future ahead of it either, but it’s a far classier act than most of the wines in this price range. Halliday gives it 94. A tad generous perhaps.

Bremerton Cab Shiraz Malbec Merlot 2010, $17 at Dan M’s

This wine boasts and unorthodox combination of grape varieties. What we have here is glass staining purple, big fruit and plenty of oak to keep it in check. It’s all wrapped in a tight envelope, with plenty of depth and length, and it opened up over several days to show vibrant fruit and nicely integrated oak. Very well-made.

Halliday ranks the vineyard very high with 5 red stars, but only gives this wine 87 points. My first impression wasn’t that positive either, and this shows the benefit of tasting a wine over several days.

NOT CONVINCED

Vintage Cellars Chalkboard HV Semillon 2012, $10, Vintage Cellars

I rushed out to grab a bottle of this when Tyson Stelzer wrote about a scandal at the Hunter Valley Wine Show, where this $10 Semillon made by Tyrells for Vintage Cellars won the Marshall-Flannery Trophy and the Henry John Lindeman Memorial Trophy. Tyson describes ‘a crisp and zesty style of pure lime and lemon fruit, with a hint of cut grass ... a generous Semillon of impressive balance and clean fruit focus, ready to unscrew right away.’

The Wine Punter talks about ‘apples and lemons leaping out of the glass in a spray of fresh, zesty aromas, ... a veritable mouthwash of zippy acid all wrapped up in crunchy green apple and lime. It has a long finish and is dangerously drinkable. It is made for summer and seafood and with relatively low alcohol (10%), it’s got lunchtime quaffing written all over it.’

I thought I’d share these views with you since I’ve been pretty open about my dislike for young Hunter Semillons that taste of green apples and unripe lemons. And so it is here, except that the wine does have more zippy fruit than you’d expect for 10% alcohol. It finishes short, kind of crunched up, and that persistent unripe fruit taste never really quits.

The Armchair Critic Chardonnay 2010 - $17, Kemenys

‘This is the best sub-$20 chardonnay of the year,’ says Tyson Stelzer. ‘It perfectly juxtaposes the cool, mineral edge of Tumbarumba with restrained almond oak and the complexity of lees contact. It’s beautifully textured, with a lingering lemon juice tail and an exciting future in front of it. 94 points.’

Great expectations, unfulfilled once more. It’s not the first time Tyson has raved about a wine that left me cold. Nor is it the first time a McWilliams wine has left me scratching my head. The label is the brainchild of Nicholas Crampton who impressed me with his imagination and balls when I reviewed his Zeppelin label Grenache some months back (made by Kym Teusner). I’ve been less enthusiastic about other Crampton creations, and that goes for imports like Chat Noir and Les Courtilles Cotes Du Rhone.

This wine doesn’t say Chardonnay out loud when you go near it. The nose is subdued and the flavour sits at the citrus end of the spectrum, the acid rounded by oak of little distinction. It doesn’t sing, it finishes short and doesn’t beckon you to drink more of it. The best sub-$20 Chardonnay of the year? It’s not a patch on the TarraWarra Estate Chardonnay 2010 or the Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2011, both available for $1 more.

Wynns black label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, $25, Dan M

I mention the label since there are now several Wynns Coonawarra Cabernets. This is the original, and this is the 2010 model of a red I sang the praises of for the first six months of this year. The 2009 was a $50 red for $20. Sadly, the 2010 isn’t half the wine despite the great year, and it costs $25 or more right now so I can’t recommend it. I’d put it in the same class as the 2010 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Ridge Quartage, which sells for $16-17.

When I read the reviews of the 2010 several months ago, I said: buy more 2009 instead. Sometimes it's satisfying to have made the right call.
http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/05/wynnsday-2012-wynns-coonawarra-cabernet-2010.html

Yes, there’s plenty of ripe cassis/ blackcurrant fruit in the 2010, some cedary oak and a lovely soft texture. It’s medium bodied and just 13.5%, which is a rare attribute for a Coonawarra red these days. It finishes with soft, fine tannins but it’s a straightforward wine. I really don’t see it going very much further, but I have to a add the caveat that these wines have shown a remarkable capacity to surprise skeptics over the years. A generous friend recently brought 4 old black labels to a tasting: they were full of life and showed no signs of fading.

Cape Mentelle 2010 Cabernet Merlot ‘Trinders’, $21, Dan M’s

This wine always gets rave reviews, I don’t know why. Ray Jordan calls the 2010 ‘one of the very best under this label. 'Wild fruit on the nose with a lush mix of plummy fruit and a little sage bush edge. The palate is seamlessly constructed with an effortless easy finish. The tannin structure and oak integration are features. A most polished and stylish wine.’

I agree that it’s better put together than the 2009 which is simple and short and disappointing. The 2010 has a better structure and attractive fruit to fill it in. What it doesn’t have is depth and complexity. It’s one-dimensional, almost simple. Nice and clean, well-made but simple. The 2009 Woodlands Cabernet Merlot leaves it for dead.

Amelia Park Cabernet Merlot 2010

3 throphies and 3 golds (2 of them top). Ray Jordan calls it an absolute cracker and gives it 95 points, describing ‘lovely blackcurrant & fruit characters merging seamlessly into a lovely close knit wine of poise & elegance.’ Halliday gives it 94 and says it’s ‘a serious yet elegant, medium-bodied cabernet merlot, perfectly framed and balanced, the blend wholly synergistic and seamless.’

So why am I not convinced? To be honest, it was a tough decision. I can see the immediate appeal of this wine: the fruit is seductive and fairly leaps out of the glass. It’s put together like a Wolf Blass Jimmy Watson trophy winner, so I can see why it won the medals. Over several evenings, drunk with food, the wine lacked real depth and complexity. It’s fruit-driven, and the fruit is gorgeous, but I expect a little more for nearly $25. Again, not a patch on the 2009 Woodlands Cabernet Merlot.

AVOID

Fox Gordon Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $11.70, 1^st Choice

I’ve been impressed with the Viognier and the Cabernet Tempranillo from this source, but this wine doesn’t do Fox Gordon any credit, not even at this bargain price. It hails from the Adelaide Hills but tastes like any number of cheap Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs.

Tim Gramp Watervale Riesling 2010, $15, Kemenys

This wine lacks that essential zest that makes young Riesling such a pleasure to drink. It isn’t integrated, and the citrus fruit is held back by a flat and hollow base. It doesn’t sing and it doesn’t dance. That’s surprising since the Gramps know how to make Riesling, and Watervale is one of the great Riesling areas, and 2010 is a great year. Trophy and Gold Medal at the 2011 Boutique Winemakers Awards.

Scotchmans Hill Bellarine Shiraz 2010, $22, Kemenys

I didn’t know what to make of this wine. On one hand, it’s too ripe and chunky for a cool climate Shiraz, on the other hand it has some green tinges to it that don’t sit well. It struck me as disjointed, and I thought it lacked charm. It didn’t improve over a couple of days either, so it’s hard to see where it’s going. It just didn’t appeal to me.

I thought I’d try it because Huon Hooke gave it 95. That’s a big number from him. Huon’s notes read: ‘smoky, charcuterie and dark fruits, also graphite aromas, very complex, sumptuous and fascinating. Same in the mouth: fleshy and smooth, supple and sumptuous. Decadent stuff!’

Gramp’s Barossa Shiraz 2010, $15, Kemenys

Jeremy Oliver finds ‘a spicy, gamey bouquet of dark, brooding berry and plum-like fruit, cigar boxes and violets, it's both sumptuous and elegant. Deeply flavoured and velvety, with tremendous presence of fruit underpinned by firm, al dente tannins, it finishes with depth and character. How they've done this for the price, I simply have no idea! 94/100.’

Sounds good, doesn’t it? That’s why I thought I’d try it. Here’s another wine that is too big and chunky. Impenetrable colour, an unyielding monolith, and it’s almost 15%. I didn’t check the alcohol as I usually do. This is not enjoyable. Has a bitter licorice taste that runs through it. No charm, no grace, just brute force. Sledgehammer Shiraz.

I have to say I’m getting sick and tired of all these South Australian reds weighing in at 14.5 and 15% even in well-tempered years like 2010. It’s not just Barossa and McLaren Vale Shiraz, it’s Coonawarra Cabernet too – Leconfield 2010 is one that comes to mind, Mr Riggs ‘The Outpost’ is another. There are lots more.

That's all, folks!

Kim

Best cheap lenses for Nikon DX – Part 2: Tele-zooms

 55-200mm f/3.5 – 5.6, 55-300 f/3.5 – 5.6, Tamron 70-300 f/4 - 5.6 USM

The humble 55-200mm VR - sharpest Nikon tele-zoom under $1,000

I know it’s a big call but I mean it. This lens must’ve made third party lens makers weep when it was introduced 5 years ago at about $250. Yes, it’s that good. It won the TIPA 2007 Award for best entry level lens, it was American Photo Editors Choice 2007 and Best Buy. Ken Rockwell put it on his list of Nikon's dream team lenses, and photoreview.com gave it an editor's choice distinction.

'You can pay more,' KR says, 'but all you're getting will be tougher build quality, more weight, the need for bigger filters, instant manual-focus override, and lose the ability to zoom as short as 55mm.' That about sums it up.

Construction

Nikon actually improved the build quality compared with the earlier version of this lens. This one has a single inner lens tube. The ‘G’ means it has no dedicated aperture ring, and the IF stands for Internal Focusing which means the lens barrel doesn’t stretch or rotate during focusing. The build quality of this lens is better than its plastic looks and light weight suggest – my lens shows few signs of wear despite frequent use over 3 years.

Handling

The lens isn’t big, and it isn’t heavy. It weighs just 335g and the size is 100 x 74mm, and takes 52mm filters. It easily slips into a small camera bag or bum bag or pouch or backpack or a handbag even. That makes it an ideal travel or hiking lens. Because of its modest weight, the lens balances well on the smaller Nikon bodies from the D40 to the D5100.

Two switches on the barrel let you choose AF and VR or not. Vibration reduction on this lens is not VRII (red letters mean I, gold letters II) but it works well enough. This is not a great lens for manual focus work since the focus ring covers too big a range in a short turn. In AF mode, there are no complaints.

Performance

The zoom ring is weighted just right, and the autofocus motor is fast and sure in all but the worst light. It’s fast enough for shooting kids, pets and sports in action in bright to modest light (with help from the VR). The f/4-5.6 limitation is common for zoom lenses even up at the next level. To get down to f/2.8, you’re generally looking at close to $1,000 and the kind of heft that makes hiring a Sherpa a desirable proposition.

I like the way the chick looks at its mother, thinking: she wants me to eat junk food already? Apart from being razor-sharp, this lens can freeze action as well. Please click on the images to see a larger file.

An unexpected bonus is that this lens will also do duty for portraits or shots of flowers and small things - the bokeh is pretty creamy even at f/5.6. So we can add versatility to this lens’s credentials. 

Bottom Line

This is a great walk-about, kick-around, throw it in the backpack medium tele-zoom lens when you don’t want to carry heavy gear. The best part is that you can still pick new copies for around $150 - $175, even though Nikon stopped making this lens a year ago or more.

Reviews

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55-200mm-vr.htm

http://www.bythom.com/55200lens.htm

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/246-nikkor-af-s-55-200mm-f4-56g-if-ed-dx-vr-review--test-report

The Tamron is the best 70-300mm tele-zoom $500 can buy.

The write-ups for Tamron’s 60-year anniversary lens range from glowing to incandescant, and that’s how I ended up choosing this one. Nikonians said ‘The Tamron SP 70-300 f4.-5.6 Di VC USD is an extremely impressive optic and, at a going street rate of under US $500, brings a great set of capabilities and image quality, all in a light and well-built package.’ http://blog.nikonians.org/archives/2010/10/tamron_sp70300.html

‘This new telephoto optic from Tamron has proven itself to be very capable indeed,’ says Gary Wolstenholme. 'It is capable of producing images with very good resolution across the image area at all focal lengths and optical aberrations such as colour fringing and distortions are kept well within acceptable thresholds. The Ultrasonic Drive makes the focusing speed more sprightly than can be found on other Tamron lenses and the vibration correction system was effective during testing.' http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Tamron-SP70300mm-f456-Di-VC-USD-14690

Construction

SP is Tamron speak for ‘high performance spec’ but the lens is clearly designed to a price point. It’s a hefty lump which looks and feels well-built despite the plastic on the outside. Tamron’s ribbing is a bit excessive and will be hard to keep clean, but the material is decent and all the moving bits have a quality feel to them. On the inside there are 17 elements in 12 groups, including an LD (Low Dispersion) and an XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) optical element to prevent chromatic aberration (the so-called purple fringing effect).

In the past, Tamron’s in-built AF motors for Nikon bodies tended to be clunky affairs. For this lens, Tamron decided to get serious and fit a new Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) mechanism. It’s a coreless ring motor like Nikon’s Silent Wave motor. VC (Vibration Compensation) is another feature of this lens, and Tamron claims that it adds four stops for hand-held shooting, allowing you to shoot at much smaller apertures/slower speeds in poor light, or at lower ISO settings.

 photo courtesy of photozone.de

The size of the lens was a bit of a shock: Fully extended with lens hood on, it’s almost a foot long. Without the hood and zoom extension, it’s just on 6 inches or 14.5 cm. The worst part is that it’s 3 inches/80cm in diameter, which makes it hard to get even my long fingers around. The weight is 765g. To put things in perspective, Nikon’s 70=300mm is just about the same size and weight. The Tamron is a little cheaper and a little faster at f/4. Like The Nikon, this Tamron is an FX lens, which means it’ll work on a D700 or D800 too.

Handling

The fat diameter of the lens makes handling it a challenge, and it pays to make sure you get a good grip on it. The lens doesn’t look or feel comfortable on the little D5100, and I suspect it won’t be that much better on a D90/D7000. The lens hood is an exaggerated affair, so much so that turning it back over the lens obscures both the zoom and focus rings. Regardless of the body you screw it onto, you’ll look like an amateur paparazzi.

The lens diameter is 62mm so filters and hoods and caps are not too hard on the pocket. The zoom ring and focus rings have firm actions and there’s no lens creep at any angle. There is a distance scale for manual focusing but no aperture ring. Just like Nikon G lenses.

Performance

The lens works well, with no obvious flaws. Zooming in and out is even across the long zoom range, the amount of rotation needed is just right and the firmness of the zoom ring is constant. The new USD mechanism pretty well does what it says on the box and provides fast, silent and accurate focusing. Very fast, actually. Like most systems, the AF is less accurate in poor light.

There are a couple of switches on the lens, one for AF or MF, and you have to throw the switch before you can focus manually. The other switch turns VC on and off. Why do you want it off? The VC mechanism (not just Tamron’s) can compromise ultimate image quality so you’d want to turn it off when you’re shooting from a tripod or at over 1/500 – both situations where you don’t need it. You do see VC at work sometimes in this lens – the image seems to shake in the viewfinder – but it works well.

Image Quality

I tested this lens by taking lots of shots walking about, often early or late in the day, and the ratio of sharp shots isn’t as high as I expected. The AF struggles in these conditions and you’ll find the limitations of the VC as well, especially when you combine high speeds and long distances with less than optimal light. The Tamron is no worse than other lenses though.

When you help things along and use a prop or a steady shooting position, tack sharp photos are easier to produce. And the lens can freeze action nicely as the shot above shows. The best thing is that the fall-off in sharpness you inevitably see at the long end of tele-lenses is not a real issue with this lens.

I'm not dreaming of becoming a wedding photographer - it just so happens that I live near the rotunda at Balmoral, which is a popular spot for weddings. It's also a tough spot for cameras, with its extremes of light and shade on a sunny day. That's why I like using it for testing lenses.  

Please click on the images for larger versions.

The colours look a bit like the vibrancy was enhanced by editing but it wasn't - this is exactly what the light and the scene on that very sunny afternoon produced. Colour reproduction is accurate with this lens except in the bright early morning sun, where objects can take on a strange golden glow at times.

There are no obvious problems with flaring in bright light though (highlight blow-outs), or distortion (lines that aren’t straight), vignetting (light fall-off near corners and edges) or chromatic aberration (fringing or halo effects). The lens’s bokeh is pretty decent, even if it makes no claims for macro ability of any kind.

The real world

I really like this lens for its performance, IQ and value, but it’s not a practical size for my purposes. And you look like a dork flashing this huge thing wherever you go. Great for wedding shooters, maybe wildlife shooters and sports shooters too. Just not for casual walkabout shooters like me.

 

AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6 G ED - right on the money

I sold the Tamron and settled for this lens in the end. It came on the market at $400, which didn’t make it great value, but it soon came down to $300 on the street. That made me take notice since no other 55 or 70-300mm tele-zoom with VR sells for anywhere near $300. And no other 55/70-300mm tele-zoom with VR is this compact.

  Build quality is pretty decent, only the lens diameter is a stupid 58mm. Size is a modest 76.5 x 123mm and weight is just over 500g. Inside there are 17 elements in 11 groups, including 2 ED glass elements and one HRI element. The 9 blades produce lovely bokeh, it turns out. The hood has a new clip-on arrangement, which feels pretty cheap but works OK.

Compared with the Tamron, the autofocus is slower and the images are a tad less sharp and the colours less punchy. The size is right, though, and the weight: this is a lens that won't make you look like a show-off, and that won't weigh you down. And because it doesn't cost that much, you can even take it to the beach without worrying.

The only serious drawback is the AF which is slow for shooting sports, kids and fast action. Leisurely, in fact. Also, focusing isn't internal, so the length of the lens changes and the filter thread rotates when focusing. There is no full-time manual focus override either, so there are a few trade-offs for the smaller size and price. The VR works well, on the other hand, and sharpness is good up to 240mm. Beyond that it drops off a little.

Not bad in an emergency

A pro wouldn’t buy a lens like this, a cheap plastic $300 item that isn’t quite in the rank of the serious tools they like to flash at newly-weds. I just hope the pro here got photos that are as lovely as these taken from a distance. It helps to have a pretty bride, and very pretty bridesmaids, and I thank them for posing so nicely.

I wasn’t expecting too much of this lens after reading the mixed reviews that are out on this new Nikon instrument. It’s as though the majority of the usual sites decided it was a yawn long before it was time to call it a night. You know, another obvious cheap plastic lens from Nikon, so what? They churn them out like other companies produce plastic toys, and yes it’s made in China – heaven forbid.

Just hold the phone a moment. This lens may be plastic but it’s about as sharp as it gets and the colours are true.

Nikon has a history of making cheap lenses with superb optics, the 55-200 this lens replaces is proof of that. I’ve set up an image gallery for the 55-300 with a few larger photos - look in the right hand-column under pages and you'll see the 55-300 page there. Please click on the images in the gallery, and those in this review, to see larger files.
http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/26834/nikon-55-300mm-review/

The goods

This lens is designed for cropped sensor DX cameras. Here’s the short list:

• 123mm in length, and 76.5mm in diameter
• Weight is 580g
• Filter size is 58mm
• 1 HRI (High Refractive Index) Lens Element
• 2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Elements
• Super Integrated Coating (SIC)
• Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
• VR II image stabilization, which Nikon claims allows ‘handheld shooting at up to 4 shutter speeds slower than would otherwise be possible.’
• Tripod Detection Mode
• Minimum focus distance to 4.6 feet
• Rounded 9-Blade Diaphragm

Construction

Build quality is better than expected. This is quite a solid lens, much heavier than the one it replaces and about 3 cm longer. It even has a metal mount. The matt plastic finish doesn’t look or feel tacky, and the focus and zoom rings move with gentle resistance. Unlike many recent consumer lenses, the focus ring is up front and the zoom ring behind it. You really can't complain about the build quality at the price point of this lens.

Handling

The size of this lens is just on the right side of practical for travelling/walking about. Its bigger brother, the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR, is definitely on the wrong side. 20 extra mm in length, 5 more in diameter and 200 grams more heft make for an unwieldy instrument. This lens is easier to pick up and carry, and it fits into normal size slots in bags. Still, it would be perhaps be more at home on a D90/7000 than the D3000 it’s pictured on here.

Two pretty flimsy switches control AF/MF and VR. There are no normal and active VR settings. You can’t use the focus ring when the switch is set to AF, which won’t worry most weekend shooters but an override option would be nice. The extension lens barrel and focus ring move during autofocus since this is not an IF lens. Otherwise, the lens handles well and its weight and size make it easy to keep it steady on a reasonable-size body.

Performance

The first thing you notice is how smooth and silent the AF is. Its operation is carpet-slipper soft. The next thing you notice is how slow it is. I suspect it feels slower than it is because of that soft action, and the good news is that it works at the same speed in poor light. It’s fine in most circumstances but, if you’re a mad sports action shooter, you might need to look at a different lens.

The second reason why action shooters might look elsewhere is that the fastest aperture is f/4.5. Yes, lens speed is no longer so crucial with current DSLRs offering dizzy ISO settings, but you get better quality photos at lower ISOs. No problems shooting the kids’ soccer game on a bright summer Saturday, though. Except for the slow AF.

Image Quality

Photos are pretty sharp most of the time, so clearly the VR is highly effective and AF is accurate. That means more keepers. Overall, IQ is good for the money: colours are pretty accurate, but skin tones aren’t perfect – a bit orangey on the wedding shots where the sun caught the faces – but this lens is not alone with that problem. Colours are superb in the shade, and the lens is good for flowers and portraits where it delivers a decent bokeh.

Snow Leopard at Taronga Zoo

Summary

If you can get this lens for a decent price as part of a camera kit, or when the price comes down to below $400 once the initial sales drop off, this is a pretty good option. The things I liked most were its good optics, effective VR and its size and weight, both on the right side of unwieldy. The slow AF is a grumble but only if you shoot a lot of fast-moving action, but there are no consumer 55-300s with VR that aren't compromised in some way.

Test Image Gallery

Under Pages in the margin on the right - Nikon 55-300mm VR. Click on the images for a larger version.

Reviews

http://www.photoreview.com.au/Nikon/reviews/cameraaccessories/afs-dx-nikkor-55300mm-f4556-g-ed-vr-lens.aspx

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55-300mm.htm

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Nikon-AFS-DX-Nikkor-55300mm-f4556G-ED-VR-14570

User reviews

http://lens-reviews.com/Lenses/Nikon/Nikon-55-300mm-f4.5-5.6-G-ED-VR.html

 

Kemenys Hidden Labels Uncovered

Scratch the surface for some great wine bargains

Kemenys sells a range of 'Hidden label' wines at very attractive prices. These are commercial wines made under their makers' labels as well, not made for Kemenys. Some of these list reviews from people like James Halliday and Nick Stock, and with a bit of detective work on Google it's possible to find the real label. That's what we've done with 12 of these.

Hidden Label Clare Valley Riesling 2010, $10 – this is in fact

Knappstein Hand Picked Clare Valley Riesling 2010, was $15 but is no longer available.

95 from James Halliday. Great year. Just opened a bottle: nose is a bit closed, intense citrus fruit on the palate, shortish finish but still very young. Needs time to open up.

Hidden Label Hunter Valley Semillon 2006, $12. This one turns out to be

McWilliams Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2006 Cellar release, $16

Top Gold Sydney Wine Show 2007. More gongs since. 95 points from JH. Not my cup of tea but a super bargain if Hunter Valley Semillon from this maker is yours.

Hidden Label Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $13 – this wine is

Stella Bella Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $19

Only 92 points from JH but this is a top Margaret River winery so it should be good value

Hidden Label Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008, $14 - this wine is in fact the
Stuart Wines Cahillton Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008, $20

I don't know this wine, JH gives it 94 and says: 'Bright colour; spiced pear and grilled walnut bouquet; fresh on the palate, with vibrant acidity and nutty complexity drawing out the finish.'

Hidden Label Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010, $11 - this turns out to be Yering Station Little Yering Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010, $17

92 points from Halliday, featured in his top 100. Fresh, light and fruity Pinot Noir

Hidden Label Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 KHL 1697, $11. This is in fact

Capel Vale Regional Series Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, $18

Gets 94 points from JH, The Winefront and Andrew Graham (www.ozwinereview.com.au ) – remarkable consistency. I'm the odd man out here: this is a pleasant, medium bodied red but it has less depth of flavour than its deep red colour and the legs on the side of the glass suggest. Can't see it improve either. Still, it's a good drink now wine for $11.

Hidden Label McLaren Vale Uncut Shiraz 2010, $13. This wine is none other than

Gemtree Uncut Shiraz 2010, $17

95 points form JH, 95 from Nick Stock as well. Gold at Small Winemaker’s Show 2011.

Hidden Label Barossa Shiraz 2009, $15 - this wine is
Elderton Shiraz 2009, $22

Halliday gives this 90 points, Mattinson gives it 91+. I don't know it.

Hidden Label McLaren Vale Shiraz Grenache 2010, $13. This wine turns out to be

Paxton AAA Shiraz Grenache 2010, $17

65% Shiraz, 35% Grenache. 95 from JH and a big wrap, 91 from Nick Stock. I was closer to Nick on this, and didn’t recommend it at $17. At $13 I would – it’s a very well-made, modern McLaren Vale red.

Hidden Label Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, $18 - this is the Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, $27

95 points from Huon Hooke, 97 from Ray Jordan. 2010 was a top vintage for Coonawarra. A steal at $18, I suspect

Hidden Label Special Reserve Chardonnay 2007 KHL 2434 $30. It's a big ticket price, but it's for Hardy’s Eilleen Hardy Chardonnay 2007 $60, which is no longer available

97 points from JH, and 3 golds, but be warned – at 12.1%, this is most likely a lean, acid cool climate Chardonnay – JH talks about ‘the rapier-like acidity provides marvellous intensity and drive from start to the almost elegant conclusion.’ You've been warned. 

You can find all of these and more hidden labels are here -  https://www.kemenys.com/go.jsp#!class=Product&spn=1089812

Please note: I have no association with Kemenys of any kind. They just happen to have some of the best bargains in town. 

Kim

Stonier Chardonnay, Pewsey Vale Riesling, Metala Shiraz Cabernet, Mountadam Shiraz Viognier, Hayshed Hill Cabernet, Charles Cimicky

A BIG LINE-UP OF WINES, AND NO REAL DUDS

As I’ve said before, I don’t review wines that wine companies send me as a rule. Instead, I check what the grog shops are promoting and running specials on. I then choose what looks like a good deal, or sometimes a wine I’ve never drunk before. To fill the void, so to speak. In my knowledge, I mean. I’m just looking for the best deals, period, that’s why there is no order in this process. So here goes.

BUY

Paul Maas Chardonnay 2010

A clean, easy on the gums Chardonnay with some varietal character from the Languedoc for $7 (Dan M). What more can we ask for?

Destinations Yarra Valley Chardonnay

This was on my under $15 list, and has filled out a bit more. It’s a round, soft, easy on the gums style. Not complex, but well-made and easy to drink. Easy on the pocket too at $10.80 – 1^st Choice.

Margan Hunter Valley Semillon 2011

I’ve said a few nasty things about HV Semillon of the unripe apple style embodied by McWilliams and Tyrrells to a lesser extent. 10.5 – 11% as a rule. Takes 20 years to turn into something drinkable. This Margan Semillon is different: it’s made from ripe fruit – 12.5% - and what a difference it makes. It’s a lovely drink with good fruit richness and mouthfeel. Like minor Chablis from a good year. Not very complex, perhaps not very long-lived, but nice drinking now and over the next few years. $15 at Dan M’s.

Bellarmine Pemberton Chardonnay 2010

I gave this wine a pretty pour review 6 months ago, and I was too hard on it. Halliday gave it 96 points, and I couldn’t see it. I still wouldn’t give it 96 points but it’s far better than I said. The palate has opened up showing more depth and length. Flavour is toward the austere cool climate end of the spectrum, grapefruit rather than the peaches some of us like to taste in our Chardonnays. The oak is in the background, there’s great fruit concentration and refinement. I suspect more time will do it more good. $19, MyCellars.

Stonier Chardonnay 2010

From the Mornington Peninsula, and has a bit more to it: some of the wine was fermented and matured in French oak barriques, some in stainless steel. Then colour is bright brass, and the nose suggests white peaches and faint cashews. Lovely mouthfeel, polished, almost creamy, white peach and a hint of honey or butterscotch – almost sweet. Lovely balance and fine finish. This is classy Chardonnay! Will improve for a year or two as well. $20 at Winestar, $21 at Dan M’s.

  Annie’s Lane Watervale Riesling 2012

This was on special at 1^st Choice and Dan M’s for <$10, and this is the best AL Riesling I can remember. They’re usually pretty ordinary Rieslings but the 2012 has that little extra spring in its step, a floral quality you only find in the best vintages. Plenty of concentrated citrus on the palate and a long finish. Nowhere near as good as the Jim Barry 2012, but plenty good enough for ten bucks.

Pewsey Vale Riesling 2012

This is the third 2012 Riesling I’ve tasted ( Jim Barry and Annie’s Lane are the other 2) and all of these wines have that little extra, a floral quality that’s hard to describe and some bath powder hints. Wonderful concentration of citrus fruit here and such fine acid and length and life and ... This is the lucky country. $15 at Dan M’s. If you wait a little, the deals will come because Yalumba makes a lot of this wine.

Metala White Label Cabernet Shiraz 2010

This red from Langhorne Creek is always good value, but I don’t buy it anymore because 15% is too much of a good thing for me. Some of you like them big, that's why I mention this, and it’s just $10.75 at Kemenys.

Here’s what the pretty conservative Huon Hooke says: ‘Deep red/purple. Very good colour. Fresh, bright, young, dark fruit aromas with distinct star anise and peppermint influences. Very aromatic, perfumed. Masses of sweet fruit in the mouth, deep and lush, jubey and almost opulent. Tannins are soft and ample, but are pushed into the background by the sheer depth of fruit. Great balance between fruit and structure here. Long term. Very good indeed. Drink: 2012-2040. $23. 95/100.’

Charles Cimicky Trumps 2009

This Barossa Shiraz is on offer for $13, and the maker has a good reputation. The wine is a fruit cocktail of cherries and berries and Christmas cake, it lacks a little focus but not generosity. Plenty of flavour, good depth and length, good value.

Reschke The Vitulus Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

 I wasn’t sure where to put this wine, but then decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. Interesting label. Impenetrable deep crimson. Took a while to open up, then cassis, black currant and Christmas pudding aromas began leaping out of the glass. Very ripe fruit on the palate, and more Christmas pudding and chocolate and spicy oak. I don’t know how it hangs together, but it did. For days, in fact, improving all the time. Reminded me of that huge Captain Barossa AK Durif 2009. 14.5. Ridiculous for a Coonawarra, but it was a perfect match with a big beef casserole. Then I did some experimenting and blended some of the Rolf Binder Shiraz (see below) with some of the Reschke. The result was a triumph of wine blending. I mean it.

NOT CONVINCED

Rolf Binder Barossa Shiraz 2010

Another maker with a good reputation, but the wine didn’t excite me. There’s nothing wrong with it either. It’s more restrained and less big (13.5%) than most reds from the Barossa, which is welcome, and everything is how it should be. It just didn’t do anything for me, didn’t speak to me, didn’t leave any memories. $18 at 1^st Choice.

Mountadam Shiraz Viognier 2007

This is one of those wines that appeared out of nowhere at 1^st Choice. Sadly, it’s not quite in the same class as the stunning 2010 Chardonnay. This is a lively enough wine, with appealing cool climate Shiraz fruit and that Viognier lift, but it lacks substance. It hides its 14.5% very well too. Like a big man who dances like a young boy. It dances on your tongue, but it doesn’t leave enough of an impression for the money. $22 at 1^st Choice.

Domaine de Mont Redon 2007 CDR

This is a famous domain in the souther Rhone, and this is a well-made wine from a good year. What I missed were those dusty, slaty characters that make these wines so good with food. It tasted more like a modern Aussie red, really, so clean was it.  It was soft and easy on the gums, but it was also over $20 at Cremorne Cellars.

Maverick Twins GSM 2009

Here’s another really well-made wine, and moderate in alcohol for a Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre. I’m so tired of every South Australian red weighing in at 14.5 – 15% alcohol. This one is 14%, and it’s elegant to boot, like the 2008 Twins Cabernet I reviewed some months ago. Like the Mont Redon above, this wine needs a bit more earth and pepper and spice, that’s what we expect from this style. It’s also over $20.

Hay Shed Hill Margaret River Cabernet 2010

Good Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon is smooth and seductive, and I often think I can taste some Merlot in it. The fruit this wine is made of is deliciously juicy and morish, full of ripe cherry/ berry fruits. There’s elegance and length as well as flavour, and not much oak in evidence despite 18 months in French barrels. What’s wrong with it? It’s one-dimensional, it’s fruit-driven, it lacks complexity – and it’s $23. For that money, the Woodlands Cabernet Merlot 2009 offers a lot more. 14%.

DON’T BUY

Yalumba FDW [7c] Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2009

Yalumba sure has a way with labels and names. Anybody there ever heard of company style and branding? FDW stands for Fine Dry White, would you believe, and 7c is secret code for a special batch of Chardonnay made from Bernard clones 76 and 95. There you go! Halliday gives this wine 96.

Mathew Jukes in the UK says ‘... Yalumba is a modest operation and if they are to release a specialist Adelaide Hills Chardonnay it is always going to be a mind-blowing, top flight creation. The structure and density of this creamy, succulent Chardonnay are a wonder to behold. At this rate the Adelaide Hills is not far off being as well populated as the Côte de Beaune with stunning, seductress-shaped Chardonnays.’

Sadly, my mates Reg and John confirmed my view of great expectations unfulfilled. The wine is already 3 years old but the seams are still showing. All the right elements are in there, from stone fruit and nectarines to biscuits and cashews, but they’re not quite happy together. And for $25 (MyCellars), we expect that these conflicts have been resolved.

Happy Drinking

Kim

The best cheap lenses for Nikon DX – Part 1

You don’t have to pay big dollars for quality glass

In the last decade, Nikon has produced a lot of lenses for its DX sensor cameras, not the right kinds of lenses for some of us sadly. The primes are a strange line-up, with a 35mm and 40mm but no wide lenses for DX sensors of any kind. I simply don't get the 40mm f/2.8 macro lens: it's slower than the 35mm F/1.8, and 40mm is far too close for most macro work.

Nikon has yet to produce a single wide prime lens for DX sensors. We also need a good, compact 50-150mm and an 18-135mm replacement, but we're not likely to get these anytime soon. We got a cheap, compact new 85mm prime, but Nikon already had one. We're left to wonder if Nikon has lost the plot of late.

The greatest of Nikon's lenses aren't the latest, it turns out - in many cases, the older ones have more to offer for less money.

AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX

Heaven only knows why it took Nikon almost a decade to make a ‘normal’ lens for the DX format. Quality fast primes tend to cost 2 or 3 times what Nikon asks for this one – not much over $200 street - so perhaps it’s Nikon’s way to apologise for taking so long to make it for us.

Photo courtesy of Photozone

Build

The lens is small and light at 200g. It’s not as small as a pancake lens, but it only protrudes about 5cm from the body, which makes a nice compact go-anywhere package when it’s mounted on a small-body Nikon. Build quality is typical budget Nikon, which means high quality plastics. The surprise at this price point is a lens mount made of metal, and a well-damped, rubberised focus ring at the front that’s not too small. There’s even a tiny lens hood made of light metal.

Handling

What you don’t get in this G-type lens is a distance scale, or any kind of scale in fact. The Silent Wave Motor does what it says and works fast enough. Manual override is an option at any time, and the focus ring is smooth enough for the job. The minimum focus distance is 30cm, good enough to let you get close to flowers and animals that aren’t too small. The lens doesn’t extend or rotate when focusing, so graduated filters aren’t a problem. The lens takes 52mm filters, same as Nikon’s 18-55 and 55-200mm kit lenses. There is just one switch on the side of the lens for choosing AF or MF.

Image Quality

It’s a very sharp lens, and fast enough at f/1.8, but both sharpness and bokeh improve when stopped down to 3.5/4. There are no obvious optical issues to complain about, but you’ll find the serious testers have a few nits to pick with it. Nothing too serious, mind you. The bokeh can be attractive if you work at it - the lens uses seven rounded diaphragm blades to help with that.

 
Good bokeh here, and accurate rendering of subtle colours.

Please click on these images to see a larger file.

Bokeh isn't perfect but the bird of paradise is razor sharp - click on it for a larger image.

Summary

This is a great lens to take anywhere because it's so small and so lightweight, and because it doesn't cost and arm and a leg to replace. It's also a great lens if you just want to get back to basics and use simple tools so you can focus on composition and position. As Photozone concludes: ‘... given its affordable price, the lens performs on a very high level and is a welcome addition the limited range of lenses that can be used as normal primes on DX cameras.’ http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/422-nikkor_35_18g?start=2

Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED

This lens is one of Nikon’s ‘mistakes’ as someone on a forum put it, because it delivers far more than it needs to at the asking price. The 18-70 was first shipped as a kit lens with the D70 back in 2005, and is still a current model that sells for about $450 on its own. The best part is that it’s easy to find good second hand ones on eBay for less than $200, because millions of these were sold in kits. At less than $200, this is one of the great bargains in Nikon land.

 

Optics

Optically, this lens is typical of kit zoom in that it shows a fair bit of distortion at the wide (18mm) end, despite 3 extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements and one aspheric element. In normal shooting, distortion is not that big a deal and easily corrected with editing software. On the plus side, the lens has it’s pretty sharp across the zoom range, and a bit faster than most zooms at the long end: f/3.5 but f/4.5.

Handling

The lens is an Internal Focusing (IF) design that uses Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for fast, quiet auto-focusing. That means it will work on all Nikon DX bodies. The zoom ring is well-weighted, and you can switch from auto focus to manual at any time, and back again. On my smallish Nikon D5100 the combo is very easy to hold steady, and I don’t tend to long for the VR it hasn’t got. That’s right: it’s back to good technique.

Build

What I like most about this lens is the compact design: at 75.5 mm x 73.0 mm, it’s no longer than the 18-55mm kit lens Nikon ships with its entry level bodies. It’s heavier at 400g but its build quality is much better, and it balances better on a D3200, D5100 or D700 body. It takes 67mm filters, as do a couple of other Nikon lenses that we’ll look at in this review.

Image Quality

Simply superb for a kit lens. Thom Hogan’s take on this lens: ‘Considering the price, superb performance. This is a far better lens than you'll ever expect for US$300. Far better. Good enough that it stays in my kit for when I want to go light.’

AF-S Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED DX

This another older lens that first saw the light of day as a kit lens on the Nikon D80. It has been replaced by the AF-S Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR that came with the D90, a lens that was greeted with yawns, shrugs and ho-hums. It was just another cheap plastic zoom, the kind Nikon does so well. It wasn’t that cheap at the time, mind you, at US $300 when bought with a camera kit or US $400 plus on its own.

photo courtesy of Thom Hogan

Handling

Why didn’t Nikon just add VR to the 18-135, given its more useful zoom range? Dunno. Like most of us, I was looking for a single walkabout lens for my old walkabout D40x. The 18-200mm was simple too long and too heavy, the 18-105 too short (zoom wise) and too lumpy. Yes, it’s longer, bigger and heavier than the 18-135, and that makes the old lens a

Build

The plastic mount is a concern. It often needs an extra twist to connect properly, indicated by the F - -  in the screen (no lens). This is a common problem, I believe, and can be annoying. However, build quality is not a problem: I bought this refurbed 18-135 from Adorama a couple years ago, and it became my most used lens since the D40x it sits on is the camera I grab or throw in the back of the car most days. The lens still works fine, and the zoom action is as steady and smooth as ever.

The lens doesn’t have VR, which is no big deal for me. The manual focus ring is not well-weighted but I never use it on this lens. There’s a switch for A and M.

Optics

Optically this lens is far from perfect – there’s distortion and vignetting and more, but SLR GEAR got it right when it wrote: ‘... the exceptional sharpness of the Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IF-ED AF-S DX will doubtless find it many fans.’ It’s as sharp as a tack, and that makes up for many sins. Photozone said: ‘All-in-all a good consumer grade lens and maybe the current value king in Nikon land. If you´re shopping in this lens class, there are probably no reasons anymore to consider third-party alternatives.’

Image Quality

The D40x I most use with this lens actually has the D80 sensor inside it. I have to say that the IQ never ceases to amaze me. It’s become my benchmark for assessing the IQ of other cameras – if they can’t beat a 5-year old camera with a cheap kit lens, what does that say? I wrote a piece on the remarkable IQ of this combo here: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/06/superb-image-quality-with-old-nikon-dx40-and-cheap-18-135.html

You can buy any number of these lenses used or refurbed for about $250 in the usual places, i.e Adorama or eBay.

In part 2 of this survey, we look at longer tele zooms http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/08/the-best-cheap-lenses-for-nikon-dx-part-2-tele-zooms.html

Kim

The Boutique Wine Awards 2012

You really want to like these wines but ...

The Boutique Wine Awards is a competition open to Australian and New Zealand wineries crushing no more than 250 tonnes of grapes a year for their own brand. This year, the show produced trophy winners in all 14 categories – many more than usual apparently. Some of you may have read the story in the Sydney Morning Herald a few days ago. The writer, Huon Hooke, was also the chairman of judges. http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/top-drop/small-bunch-big-winners-20120806-23pkb.html

I’ve made my views on wine shows pretty clear on this blog: they’re a very poor guide to wine quality, there are too many of them already but their number is growing every year. We could argue that this one is necessary to give the smaller guys the recognition they deserve, and it’s anything but new: this is the 17^th year.

Over and under $25

A couple of caveats: I tasted these wines the way I don’t usually taste wines for this blog: in a Dan Murphy’s Store, going up and down the line-up with my partner. Our views are almost always identical, even though she’s ‘naïve’ due to her untrained palate. To my mind, that’s a valuable asset since it means she’ll call the wine as she finds it in the glass without making allowances for label, variety, area, winemaker or price.  

I’ve concentrated on those wines that come in under our $25 limit, which is about half. We did not taste the bubbly or the Stanton & Killeen Grand Rutherglen Muscat NV. Of the other $25 + wines, the Gladstone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 from Wairarapa was a fair Pinot but didn’t excite us, and the Topper’s Mountain Red Earth Child blend of Petit Verdot, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Tannat tasted just as unconventional as it sounded (plenty of life and lift and flavour here).

 The Butler Crest Shiraz 2010 from Margaret River was a soft and pleasant cherry/ berry style, while the Willunga 100 The Tithing Grenache was profound for this variety, and produced a riot of flavours. The Native Point  Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from the Tamar Valley in Tasmania showed refreshing gooseberry fruit, but was too simple a wine to justify the $30 price tag.

I have to say that I didn’t see a lot of trophy winners among these wines, not on first impressions at least.

The under $25s:

Mr Riggs Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

A big, plush almost opulent Cabernet from Coonawarra, with rich and ripe cassis and blackberry fruit but well put together with good depth and length. Smooth and velvety on the palate enhanced with subtle oak handling, hiding its high alcohol well. Already drinking well but has the structure to improve for 5 years or so. 15%. It was the wine of the show, but the question on my mind is: why do judges encourage winemakers who make 15% Coonawarra reds, when they should take them aside and give them some advice and guidance?

$26 at Dan M’s, $25 direct from the vineyard, $20 at Nick’s

Leogate Estate Semillon 2010

Typical unripe, blunt young Hunter Semillon that is lean and mean and green to boot. Not my glass of wine, and probably never will be. This unripe apple Hunter Valley Semillon style is a lot like Vegemite: unless you were fed it from early childhood, you will never understand the attraction. 11.5%. $24 at Dan M’s.

Winter Creek Riesling 2010

Unripe Eden Valley Riesling that lacks the lift, the spring in the step we love in young Rieslings. There’s length and plenty of fine acid but it’s blunt and closed at present. It will improve over the years, but it will always be a Twiggy of a wine. Now I happen to love Riesling, but 12.5% is a better starting point in my view. 11%.

$27 at Dan M’s, $24 ex-vineyard

Seville Estate Chardonnay

Seville Estate is one of the oldest Yarra Valley wineries, and the 2010 vintage was the best in years. This wine combines citrus fruit and white peach flavours with a touch of barrel ferment complexity, some faintly nutty French oak and a hint of minerals. It’s an elegant ‘Chablis’ style of Chardonnay that will improve over several years. If you like that style, this wine has class and finesse in abundance. 13%.

$27 at Dan M’s, $25 at MyCellars

The Alchemists Merlot 2010

From a new estate in the Margaret River, this is a well-made medium-bodied Merlot in the soft plum spectrum. Lovely soft impact on the palate, and nice mouth-feel but fades a little on the finish. A bit more oak would’ve helped to give it more authority on the finish. I’m a sucker for a good Merlot, but this one disappointed. 14%.

$22.70 at Dan M’s

Willunga 100 Shiraz Viognier 2010

Big, soft, spicy Shiraz. Mulberries and cloves here, and a spicy lift from the Viognier. Rich fruit, nice drinking without that touch of hardness which often spoils McLaren Vale Shiraz. Very well made. 14.5%.

$21 at Dan M’s

Tallis Wines Dookie Hills Viognier 2010

The Dookie Hills lie on the eastern fringe of the Goulburn Valley region, near Shepparton and north of the Strathbogie Ranges. There were thriving vineyards here late in the 19th century, so Richard and Alice Tallis planted vines here in the year 2000. This Viognier goes for stone fruit elegance instead of big flavours and hides its alcohol level well. It’s hard to know how it will develop at this stage but it’s an interesting drink behind an interesting label. 14.5%.

$20 at Dan M’s

Kim

Wine Tasting on an Olympic level

Plenty of Aussie Gold, but the French reign supreme

It was the second time this year that we’d gathered Peter Bourne’s table in his Pyrmont rooms with those lovely old honey-toned timber floors. We had no less than 32 wines competing for top honours on this occasion, eight groups of four contenders for medals. Some of them were well-known champions like Chateau Latour, Chateau Haut-Brion and Chateau La Mission Haut Brion. They faced fine Burgundies from Meursault, Clos de Vougeot and Corton.

There were the usual outsiders, this time a South African Chenin Blanc and an orange wine, a 2005 Ribolla Anfora made by Josko Gravner in clay urns fired in Georgia. An exotic number indeed but an acquired taste, somewhere between dry Sherry and a dry botrytis number. Oxidation is part of the formula. The Chateau Doisy-Dane from Graves was all gooseberries and lovely French finesse, and the white Hermitage grew on me with its less obvious but better integrated flavours and soft and round texture. 

There was a lot of local talent on show as well, with John L bringing a group of Tyrrells whites from the nineties, three Vat 1s and a Vat 47. These were all multiple winners of Aussie Gold, and in magnificent condition. A bit on the austere side for me, including the 1993 Vat 47, but I’ve long had reservations about Hunter Semillons. After Ray C’s magnificent LP Grand Siecle Champagne, the 2005 Meursault premier cru Genevrieres was my favourite among the whites.

Top left: Ray makes a strong point. Bottom left: Chris explains port to Doug and Colin. Just click on any of the images to see a larger file.

The red Burgundies were a different discipline, with the Vougeot and Corton lovely mature examples shadowed by the Chard Farm from Ottago which was right there with them on the finish line. Wonderful stuff, and more wonderful generosity from those Front Benchers with well-stocked Cellars.

John brought a whole bracket of Wynns Black label Cabernets from the nineties, because I’d had so much to say on my blog about the bargain 2009. These four were champions – classic cassis Coonawarra Cabernets, medium to big-bodied, mouth-filling, smooth as silk, astonishing in their evenness. Such quality for so little money, and I thought the nineties hadn’t been the best decade for Wynns in Coonawarra. Not from this sample.

The white board with the audit trail, and Peter relaxing after a hard night's uncorking

The locals put up a real fight against the French, the 1996 Zema Estate and 1980 Balgownie doing us proud against a fine 2000 St Emillion and a great 1990 Hermitage.

Peter M also brought the Bordeaux Allstars I mentioned up front, and they walked away with the big prizes. 1982 was a ripe, soft year and the wines are sheer, velvety bliss. Can you imagine what you’d pay for these at auction?

And then came the Ports, with a 1994 de Bortoli’s Noble One on the side. By this time, we’d all completed the equivalent of a heptathlon, so cellarmaster Peter M didn’t open all of them. The Lindeman’s LBV and the Taylors were gentle old thing, but the Reynella was still punching hard.

The Aussies might’ve come away with fewer golds than usual but the competition from the French was the strongest ever. There were plenty of spit buckets but I didn’t see a lot of wine wasted on this wonderful night.

Kim

 

 

 

Wynnsday 2012 - Wynns gets the Penfolds treatment

TWE is hellbent on creating more luxury goods

Wynnsday has come and gone, and the news that John Riddoch Cabernet is now $130 RR seems to have passed everyone by. Treasury Wine Estates, the outfit Fosters hived off before it sold its beer business to the South Africans, has ended up with Australia’s most hallowed wine brands – from Penfolds and Lindemans to Wynns and Rouge Homme. The guys running TWE understand that brands are worth money and, in the last couple of years, they’ve decided to squeeze their brands for all they’re worth.

They’ve been busy building a lucrative sub-Grange luxury portfolio in the $100 - $300 range. There’s very little competition here apart from fancy French grog, so this is not a dumb move given the work Penfolds has done to establish the brand in Asia-Pacific. The 2012 Penfolds Luxury & Icon release earlier this year included these wines

2010 Penfolds Reserve Bin A Adelaide Hills Chardonnay $95.00

2008 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz $95.00

2009 Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay $130.00

2009 Penfolds Magill Estate Shiraz $130.00

2009 Penfolds RWT Barossa Valley Shiraz $175.00

2009 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon $250.00

2008 Penfolds Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon $250.00

Bin 169 was a new creation altogether, while the prices for the 707 and RWT were cranked up to keep the newcomer company. No doubt St Henri and Bin A will be pushed over the $100 barrier with the next release. That makes seven Penfolds premium wines in this exulted bracket, and more can be created at the drop of a cork given Penfolds’ resources.

Wynns has been given the same treatment just now. TWE’s brand managers have cranked up the price of John Riddoch and Michael to $130 (from $90 last year), and raised the Glengyle 2009 to $70 (up from $50) to fill the void. The V&A Lane reds were pushed up as well, to $60, so the new line-up looks like this:

John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 - $130)

Michael Shiraz 2009 - $130

Glengyle Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 – single vineyard - $70

V&A Lane Cabernet Shiraz 2010 - $60

V&A Lane Shiraz 2010 - $60

Black Label Shiraz 2010 - $40

Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - $40

There’s only one problem with TWE’s well-manicured plans for pushing the top of the Wynns range into the luxury class: the sheer volume of wine made at Coonawarra. The vast estate has some 800ha under vines, or 2000 acres by the old measure. That's BIG. Even though the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is an absolute blinder, even after a year of heavy discounting, there’s still some left in the retail channel. The RRP of the black label Cabernet may be $40, but you can buy it for $25 now, and it will come down to $20 or less. That makes it one of our super red wine bargains.

At the top of the line, John Riddoch and Michael are already discounted to less than $90. So it goes. This is the second time the owners of the Wynns brand have tried hard to push the prices for the top wines up. They tried the same caper in the nineties, at a time when this illustrious estate was showing signs of neglect. The old vines were no longer able to give their best.

At the same time, Southcorp bought Rosemount for a ludicrous amount of money. The resulting indigestion caused enormous ructions, and there was talk of a reverse takeover. John Riddoch and Michael weren’t made in the years 2000 - 2002. After that time, winemaker Sue Hodder and vineyard manager Alan Jenkins embarked on a huge project to get the vineyards and the winery back into shape. Details here: http://gourmettraveller.com.au/winemaker-of-the-year-2o1o-winners-sue-hodder-allen-jenkins-wynns-coonawarra-estate.htm

Now the guys at TWE think they can squeeze the Wynns brand for all the money it's worth. Luxury goods more appeal, and more generous margins. We understand that.

Kim

Good Pinot Noir under $25 – Mission Impossible? NO

Among many disappointments, a few great bargains emerged

Pinot Noir is the grape made famous by the red wines of Burgundy, most of all from the Côte d’Or. The great wines of this region can be sublime, but let’s be clear that even Burgundy makes a lot of crook Pinot Noirs, and that includes wines exceeding $100 a bottle. Here you’re dealing mostly with hundreds of merchants who buy small amounts of grapes from thousands of tiny vineyard holdings. As a result, Burgundy has always been a lottery, even for the fairly knowledgeable.

Then there’s the grape variety. Pinot Noir has long been the prima donna of varieties, the fickle diva with the huge reputation and the fragile voice. Pinot Noir’s performance in the new world is even less predictable. The Kiwis forged to an early lead years ago, and they still make some great Pinot Noirs - sadly at prices approaching or exceeding $100.

Curiously, the Aussies beat the Kiwis in our sub $25 survey here. And a couple of months ago, a PHI Pinot Noir 2010 showed me that the Aussies have caught up: you’d be hard pushed to get a better Pinot Noir for $42 (MyCellars) anywhere. Benchmark Pinot. There are at least five basic styles of Pinot Noir down under:

1. The raspberry cordial style
2. The more focused cherry/raspberry light fruit-driven style with fine acid length
3. The light translucent style with gamey, earthy, meaty, cedary and spicy notes
4. The balls and all big-bodied stewed fruit style that lacks finesse and Pinot character
   
5. The style that combines the elements of 2. and 3. with more body, structure and potential for improvement. 

In part 4 of our survey, the St Clair is an example of style 1, and the Paringa Estate an example of style 4. The benchmark PHI is an example of style 5 at its best and, within our $25 range, the TarraWarra is a good example of that style.

That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate other styles of Pinot Noir. 5 wines stood out among the 25 reviewed over a period of several months, and I’ve given them numbers to denote the style they represent.

• Foxey’s Hangout The Red Fox Pinot Noir 2010 (2)
• Innocent Bystander Pinot Noir 2010 (3)
• TarraWarra Pinot Noir 2009 (5)
• TarraWarra Pinot Noir 2010 (5)
• Frogmore Creek 42° South Pinot Noir 2009 (5)

It comes down to food matching as well. Style 2 will suit a light pasta dish or mushroom risotto, style 3 might go better with small game birds and style 5 can stand up to a duck Confit or Cassoulet. The 42° South 2008 was my favourite until now but sadly its all gone. We’re in luck, though, as the 2009 isn’t far behind. The Tarrawarra 2010 is perhaps the top wine here at this time, with a balanced combination of essential ingredients and the capacity to improve for several years.

One thing that astonished me was the number of down under Pinot Noirs which, at the tender age of 2 years (and even 1), looked like spent forces. I mean, you’d worry about cellaring them for another month, let alone a whole year. The Innocent Bystander and the Red Fox are in better shape, but are best consumed over the next twelve months. The other 3 are more robust.

Among the biggest disappointments were the Kiwi Pinots as a group. Looks like you have to spend more than $25 to get a decent one - over here at least. Kiwis will probably take me to task for picking the wrong Pinots but we only get a small selection this side of the Tasman, and these are the ones that fit the budget:

• AnaHera East Pinot Noir 2007 (still full of body, but not much else)
• Kumeau River Village Pinot Noir 2009 (loolywater)
  
• Palliser Estate Pencarrow Pinot Noir 2010 (ordinary, lacks charm)
  
• Wither Hills Pinot Noir 2009 (lacks charm and Pinot character)
  
• Spy Valley Pinot Noir 2010 (lacks balance and Pinot charatcer)
  
• St Clair Pinot Noir 2011 (lollywater)
  

The biggest disappointments from our shores were:

• Tamar Ridge Kayena Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 (complete disaster)
  
• Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2010 (lacked charm and Pinot character)
  
• St Hubert The Stag Pinot Noir 2010 (feeble)
  
• Stonier’s Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2010 (feeble)
  
• Paringa Estate Peninsula Pinot Noir 2010 (big, blunt, lacking charm)
  

This last group is also the most expensive, with  most dipping only briefly under the $25 mark (St Hubert is the exception). By contrast, just one of my final five is over $20, and that’s the 42° South Pinot Noir at $22. If price is no guide, the business of picking a good Pinot becomes even more of a lottery.

Finally, there’s another angle to consider: there’s better value for your $20 – 25 to be had with other grape varieties. We make a lot of good reds that are arguably better value and of more consistent quality, and ultimately more satisfying than the few good Pinot Noirs on offer for that kind of money. And, if you have to buy 5 Pinots to find one that’s any good, it’s a long odds game. 

Kim

The four parts in the series:

Part 1: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/04/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible.html

Part 2: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/05/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible.html

Part 3: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/06/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible-part-3.html  

Part 4: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/08/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible-part-4.html

Good Pinot Noir under $25 - Mission Impossible? Part 4

The last six in this often unrewarding endeavour

Stoniers Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2010

See-through mid-red with brownish edges. The nose is fairly Burgundian and the flavour hits a few of the right notes. It’s a lightweight, though, with fairly simple sweet fruit and a touch of decay. I can’t see it going anywhere, in fact it might’ve been better a year ago. I’m not sure where other reviewers found the excitement here – this is just under $25 and just not worth the money.

Parringa Estate Peninsula Pinot Noir 2010

This has all the basic ingredients of colour and flavour and some Burgundian notions but it’s a bit blunt and in your face. Like Big and unsubtle. 14.5%. Lacks the charm and elegance I look for in Pinot Noir. I suspect that some might like this for the big flavour but it didn’t convince me. It’s all head and shoulders, all front. Just crept in under the $25.

Spring Vale ‘Melrose’ Pinot Noir 2011

From the east coast of Tassie, and a year younger than the Stonier’s, the colour is much the same light red. The nose is similar too, but the palate packs a tremendous punch of concentrated fruit. The problem is that it’s like hitting a stock cube in a sauce that hasn’t dissolved – too much, and it has an artificial flavour to it as well. It tastes as if someone’s added grape extract to it. The wine is unbalanced as a result, and I can’t see it sorting itself out.

St Clair Pinot Noir 2011

I’ve had some excellent Sauvignon Blancs under this label, and I can’t imagine what made these good people want to bottle this Pinot under it. This is Pinot lollywater. Sweet nothing, and nothing to commend it. A complete waste of money and drinking time, and it will do the reputation of NZ Pinot Noir no credit at all.

Mayas del Limari Reserva Pinot Noir 2010

A young enthusiast at Vintage Cellars talked me into trying this wine. It comes with an intriguing label and has a good red colour. There are hints of Burgundy on the nose but the flavour is big and hot, and it kind of falls apart from here with muddled flavours and a finish that lacks conviction. I’ve had better wines from Chile.

Paliser Estate Pencarrow 2010

Had this in the first round and wasn’t impressed, but other reviews made me think I'd been too hard on it. This bottle was a little better but I still can’t see what the fuss is about. Colour is good, nose is not quite there, flavour is straight up-and-down light red and not really Burgundian. Body and weight are spot on for a Pinot, but the lacks the essential character and charm I look for. And it’s simple. Can’t see a big future here.

TarraWarra Pinot Noir 2009

I ran into this one by accident: I ordered more of what I thought was the 2010 from Dan M’s online, and this arrived instead. The 2010 is one of the few stand-outs in this difficult terrain, but 2009 was the year of the horrendous fires in Victoria, the worst of them around Healesville and Kinglake just up the road from the Yarra Valley. That explained why the label said half the fruit had come from Tumburumba in NSW.

The wine turned out to be a perfect match with a duck Cassoulet, in fact very similar to the 2010 in body and structure – medium with good depth and length. The flavour spectrum runs from cherry fruit to gamey, meaty and earthy notes. Breathtaking value at $20. Tarrawarra has built a strong reputation for consistent quality, and Clare Halloran the winemaker clearly isn’t leaving anything to chance. Here’s an interview with Clare http://www.tarrawarra.com.au/videos-and-posts/winewriter-sally-gudgeon-asks-who-is-clare-halloran

There’s most likely no way of knowing whether you’ll get the 2009 or 2010 if you order some at Dan M’s online. The good news is it doesn’t matter since they’re both lovely Pinot Noirs.

Kim

Other parts in this series:

Part 1: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/04/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible.html

Part 2: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/05/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible.html

Part 3: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/06/good-pinot-noir-under-25-mission-impossible-part-3.html

Final wrap-up: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/08/among-maa-few-great-bargains-emerged.html

Bargain winter reds – Kalleske, Two Hands, Teusner, Glaetzer, d’Arenberg, O’Leary Walker, Fox Gordon, Thorn-Clarke

Grab them while you can

I apologize for the dominance of South Australian labels here. I suspect this is where the best value is to be found in big soft, cuddly winter reds. I haven’t tasted all of them, and with those wines have added James Halliday’s or Huon Hooke’s ratings (JH, HH). There are plenty of choices, and here are some obvious ones:

1^st Choice specials until August 15 or sold out

• Fox Gordon 8 Uncles Shiraz 2010 - $11.70 14%– not too big, soft and earthy
• Fox Gordon Cabernet Temperanillo 2009 -$13.50 14% - Cabernet with an exotic twist
• Shotfire Barossa Quartage 2010, Bordeaux blend with ripe cassis fruit. $15.30. $14%.
• Kalleske Clary’s GSM 2011 $16.20 - $14.5 – soft and easy on the gums
• Two Hands Gnarly Dudes 2010 - $20.70. 14.5 – Robert Parker style, ripe and juicy
• Glaetzer Wallace 2010 - $16.20. 15.1% - too big for me but many like this
• Annie’s Lane reds – Cab-Merlot and Shiraz 2009/10. $10. 14-14.5%.

Kemenys

• Richard Hamilton Hutt Block Cabernet 2010, $13, 14% 94JH – elegant McLaren Vale
• D’Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz 2009 - $14. 14.4%  94JH – robust McLaren Vale
• Yalumba The Scribbler Cabernet Shiraz 2009 - $14.75. 13.5. 94JH – nice, clean red
• O'Leary Walker Shiraz 2010 $17.14.5% - Clare/McLaren V Blend 2/1, big, ripe, lush
• Scotchman’s Hill Shiraz 2010 95 HH (rave review)

Teusner

Yes, these wines deserve a special bracket of their own. The 2010 reds from this winery are among the best Barossa reds you can buy, regardless of price.

• Teusner 'The Independant' Shiraz Mataro. MyCellars - $18. 14.5%.
• Teusner Avatar GSM 2010 – MyCellars - $25. 14.5%.
• Teusner ‘The Riebke’ Shiraz 2010. Winestar - $17. 14.5%
• Teusner ‘The Gentleman’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - $19 ex Vineyard. 14.5%
  

A few strays

Today is the first of August, or Wynnsday - the day when Wynns releases a bunch of Coonawarra reds http://danmurphys.com.au//guides/wynnsday-out-now-content. There are still a few pallets of the magnificent 2009 black label left out there, so I put it at the head of the list here:

• Wynns Coonawarra black label 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the great bargains of 2011/12 at $20 and even less. It’s now $30 if you can find it, but Winelistaustralia still has some for $25 in a case.
• Hardys HRB D646 Shiraz 2008, elegant, polished Shiraz, perfect focus and length. Still available at MyCellars - $20. 14% 94.
• Woodlands Cabernet Merlot 2009. 13.5%. $22.80 at Dan Murphys (online). Next best thing to a decent Pomerol.
• TarraWarra Pinot Noir 2010 – this is the bargain Pinot that has emerged from my search for drinkable Pinot Noir under $25. Unlike most Aussie Pinots, it has Burgundian character and flavour, and the structure to improve for several years
• Ballewindi Pinot Noir 2011 – Vintage Cellars Buyers Own Brand, made by Sandro Mosele at the outstanding Kooyong Estate. $20 at 1stChoice.
• Hereford Shiraz 2010 - $13 at Dan M’s. 13.8. Lovely bistro red, for pizza and pasta. Goulburn Valley and Heathcote Shiraz. Vibrant fruit, lively palate, well-made.

And a few whites to break the monotony:

• Annie’s Lane Riesling 2012. Great year. Plenty of zest here. Sweet fruit. $10. 12.5%
  
• Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2012 - $12.50. Kemenys. 12.4%. Stunner
• Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay 2011 $20 1^stChoice. 13%. Great pedigree, Chablis style
• Cape Mentelle SSB $16- Kemenys. Not my cup of tea, but this wine has many fans, and the price is super sharp
• Jacobs Creek Steingarten Riesling 2007 $21.60 1stChoice – loved by Riesling purists, super sharp price.