In The Picture

Will Global warming kill Australia’s wine industry?

A close look at Max Allen’s The Future Makers

This fascinating book, published in 2010, explores the effects of global warming on Australia’s vineyard areas. Among these effects are said to be

• Shorter ripening seasons bringing vintages forward and reducing fruit quality
• Shrinking water resources threatening most of our traditional vineyard areas
• Large parts of our traditional vineyard areas becoming unsustainable
• A reduction in the quantity of Australia’s wine grape crop.

It looks like Max Allen completed The Future Makers in 2009, the year of the fires that burnt across Victoria and South Australia and destroyed so many lives and homes around King Lake just north of the Yarra Valley. 2009 followed the hard drought years of 2007 and 2008. By 2009, the River Murray was reduced to a trickle, and governments were at last forced to take action to rein in the wanton waste of irrigation water.

Forget the projections, just look at the facts

‘Many winemakers will tell you that global warming not only is already here,’ Max writes, ‘but also started to make its presence felt well before the consciousness-changing 2007 vintage.’ That was the vintage when apparently most of the cynics stopped scoffing at the warnings that business as usual was no longer an option. Max quotes various winemakers who say their vintages have started earlier and earlier in every year of the last decade. Many tell Max they now finish picking at the same time harvest used to begin.

The pendulum swung the other way in 2010, producing the most ‘normal’ conditions in a decade. The year 2011 produced 4 times the average amount of rain in parts of NSW, most of Victoria and South Australia. There was widespread flooding along the major river systems, and some areas simply didn’t get enough sun to ripen the grapes fully. A picture perfect 2012 vintage followed in South Australia, and it was a good year in Victoria too, apart from March rains in some parts.

Looking ahead

Those who believe that global warming is a plot devised by bleeding-heart, Chardonnay-swilling intellectuals will point to the last three years as proof that these extremes are perfectly normal events in mother nature’s calendar. Those who look further ahead, as serious vignerons tend to, are not content to sit on their hands. Max Allen’s horror scenario is one where winemakers have to abandon their vineyards in McLaren Vale or Clare, and set up shop in Tasmania or the high country around Orange.  

A more practical option is converting existing vineyards to water conserving viticultural practices and grape varieties that can handle the hotter, drier conditions. Biodynamic and organic farming practices are designed to retain more moisture, more carbon and more microbial life in the soil. They’re no longer the preserve of hippie drop-outs, Max tells us. Many serious wineries have followed this route in recent years, among them

• Frankland Estate
• Cullens
• Woodlands
• Lark Hill
• Clonikilla
• Tamburlaine
• Meerea Park
• Mitchell
• Grosset
• Yalumba
• Henschke
• Mountadam
• Giaconda
• Kalleske
• Bindi
• Kooyong
• Oakridge

Green winemaking? You can’t be serious!

Before we get too carried away by visions of clean, green wines, let’s look at what Simon Clayfield, a veteran of the Great Western region, says to Max Allen: ‘Wine industry turning green? Don’t make me laugh. The only green thing is the vine leaf.’ A blunt reality check, but a valid one. The vineyard is only one part of the picture, wineries are another challenge altogether.

Clayfield explains: ‘Winemaking is not a lot different from other chemical engineering factories. Things go in one end and come out the other. We cut down a lot of trees to make barrels, cardboard cartons, labels and pallets. We bottle the wine in glass made in huge furnaces. Practically every drop of wine is pumped, sucked, squeezed, squashed, sometimes several times, each time requiring more energy.’ 

Quality begins in the vineyard

Many of the wineries listed above have adopted BD and organic practices to improve the quality of their wines. As Andrew Mitchell says, it’s basically going back to the old farming ways before loads of chemicals became the norm, followed by mechanical pruning and harvesting. ‘Why should we space rows of vines based on the width of our tractors?’ asks another winemaker. It’s the same trend we’re seeing in food production: the folks chasing quality are going back to the old ways, which are far removed from the chemical/ mechanical farming model that has long been the norm.

Andrew Mitchell and his compost factory

A change in the approach to quality winemaking is another driver for nurturing the soil of our better vineyards. Many winemakers are now focusing on the expression of ‘terroir’, the character of the place where the fruit came from. That means less processing, less handling, letting the fruit tell the story.

Kooyong’s Sandro Mosele says: ‘Australian winemakers have been concentrating far too long on making wine according to the twenty tenets of Croser they learned at wine school. They’re obsessed with clean juice, using cultured yeasts, chasing varietal expression. I’m not. I like the way Henri Jayer makes wines in Burgundy – wild yeasts, lots of solids, getting good texture and tannins into the wine … I want to make wines that taste of the soil where the grapes are grown.’ 

Croser-style wines were once shining examples of young Turk Aussies parading their technical prowess. Hubris made them lose sight of some core elements that make wine the really interesting beverage it is. Our Croser-trained young Turks used to scoff at the Henri Jayers and their old-fashioned ways – now our best and brightest are going back there. Interesting.

Variety is everything

Our more adventurous winemakers are also looking for varieties that are more suitable to our hot and dry conditions than Cabernet and Chardonnay. Varieties like Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne from the south of France, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Barbera from Italy, and many more. We’re lucky to have some old Grenache and Mataro (Mourvedre) vines left in South Australia where they were once seen as varieties of no merit.   

In our quest to make wines in the image of Bordeaux and Burgundy, it seems we overlooked the opportunities the old Southern Rhone varieties offered us. Many of these old vines were ripped out, but enough survived to make new style Barossa blends of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. They taste nothing like Chateauneuf du Pape, of course - they taste like Barossa reds with more interesting flavor dimensions.

The respect for gnarled old vines, and the small quantities of concentrated fruit they produce, are part of the back-to-basics drive for greater quality and authenticity in our wines. The big refineries aren’t prepared to pay for them, with a few exceptions, but some of the young Turks are. 

Big Reds and Global Warming

In a previous post on this subject, I suggested that the higher alcohol levels we’re seeing in our reds these days have more to with winemakers making wines for Robert Parker than global warming. Max Allen is of the same view. Once our reds were 12.5 – 13.5%, he recalls, now the norm is 14.5 – 15%. ‘In my opinion,’ he writes, ‘Australian reds have become more alcoholic primarily because winemakers are making them that way on purpose … they think they need to pursue a big, alcoholic red wine style to win points and impress punters.’

In my post I suggested that vine spacing, canopy shape and soil condition have a big impact on phenolic ripeness (flavor and texture), which in large scale vineyards set up for mechanisation may not develop until the grapes reach 15 Baume (14.5%) alcohol. Healthier, closer-spaced vines, and greater retention of carbon, nutrients and moisture in the soil mean that phenolic ripeness is reached at lower Baume levels.   

Max cites Coonawarra as the obvious example, a vast flat area that is perfect for broad acre farming and highly mechanized viticulture. With mechanization came higher alcohol levels and, what was in the seventies considered our best area for making Bordeaux-style reds, now makes big bronzed Aussie reds pushing 15%. By contrast, Woodlands in the Margaret makes elegant Bordeaux reds running to a perfect 13.5%. More on this here:
http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/10/chateau-chunder-still-all-over-the-shop.html

The pioneers

Australia’s wine industry has never been short of pioneers or mavericks, from Thomas Hardy to Max Schubert. The Future Makers tells the story of a new generation of pioneers who’re meeting bigger challenges than any before them. Max Allen talks to most of them in this book, but some come to life more readily than others. Most of the stories are of most interest to people like me who want to know where the industry is headed, even if the broader issues Max raises should be of pressing interest to all of us.

On the whole, Max’s writing is lively and easy to read apart from some grammatical glitches and the occasional clunker like ‘bizarrely’. Adverbs are always suspect, and adverbs like that are major crimes. Publishers no longer provide editors for their writers, it seems. The photos in the book are of very high quality, and many are taken by Max. I enjoyed reading the book and learned a great deal in the process. 

Kim

Kooyong Clonale & Oakridge OTS Chardonnays 2012, de Bortoli Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010, Richard Hamilton Shiraz 2010

How do I choose the wines I review?

That’s a simple question for most wine writers: they review the samples wineries or distributors send them. That’s why you see so many reviews of wines you’ve never heard of and can’t get hold of easily. I choose wines because:

• They’ve had positive reviews from Halliday, Hooke, Stock, Stelzer et al
• They’ve appeared on best or top lists such as Halliday's Top 100 in 2012
• They’ve won significant trophies 
• They’ve been recommended by friends who know their wines
• They’re being promoted /discounted by major outlets
• I was impressed with the previous vintage

The only other criterion is that the wines I write about are readily available and cost less than $25. Except for the Christmas selection I’ve just posted.

OK, let’s get down to the wines of the last 2 weeks. As always, the reviews are my views and often differ from those of other reviewers. Where the difference is marked, I add other views to provide a broader perspective. As always I buy the wines I review in the same shops you do. I don't review samples as a rule, which may explain the different results.

A short recap of my rating system

10 (98-99) a truly memorable wine, a likely classic

9 (96-97) an outstanding wine, a great example of its style and origin

8 (94-95) a fine wine that reflects its variety, style and origin

7 (92-93) a good, enjoyable wine of authentic character

6 (90-91) a well-made wine, a good 'drinking' wine

5 (88-89) a wine that's easy on the gums and has no serious faults

4 (86-87) a wine best used in the kitchen or in marinades for the BBQ

3 (85 and less) a wine you should avoid

BUY

Pewsey Vale Eden Vally Riesling 2007, $15 at Dan Murphys (Cellar Release)

It can be gratifying when you take your own advice and it turns out to be spot on. I've been raving about the 2006 Pewsey Vale Riesling all year, what a great wine it was and what a bargain at $19. We opened a bottle this week, and the wine has entered that lovely soft, mouth-filling phase that makes this a terrific food wine. Nuances of buttered toast, honey and kerosine keep you coming back to the glass in disbelief. What a bargain it was.

The current cellar release is the 2007, which is not quite in the same class but still lovely old Riesling at a ridiculous price ($15 for 6). Grab some while you can. Score: 8.5

Kooyong Clonale Chardonnay 2012, was $22 at Dan M’s on the day

Stunning Chardonnay, quite forward like many 2012s. Hints of white peach and cashews on the nose, and the palate adds notes of apricots after a couple of days in the open bottle. Suggestion of fine oak, terrific balance, just a lovely mouthful, elegant yet satisfying and lingering.Score: 9

Mad Fish Gold Turtle Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $14 at Dan M’s

A newish label for Howard Park’s Mad Fish range, just a notch above the plain old Mad Fish. This is fairly typical Margaret River SSB with hints of cut grass and gooseberries, already enjoyable, well made and well balanced. Good value, if not quite in the same class as the Cabernet Merlot under the same label. Score: 7.5

Mount Pleasant Florence Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $13 at Dan M’s

McWilliams is naming selected wines after family members much as Yalumba used to do with its signature series. Unlike Yalumba, McWilliams has released Jack (a Coonawarra Cabernet) and Florence (an Adelaide Hills SB) at the bargain end of the market. Who knows why, and who knows why they use the Mount Pleasant label for wines made nowhere near Mt Pleasant. Another wine company that’s grown too large and lost the plot?

This wine is nothing like my idea of Sauvignon Blanc but it’s a very appealing drink, jam-packed with tropical fruit/ripe pear flavour supported by enough crunchy acidity to hold it together. It’s more like a ripe Pinot Gris, so I’d have it with pork rather than seafood. Score: 7.5

St Hallett Gamekeepers Barossa Shiraz 2010, $11 at Winestar

Bert Werden at Winestar tells us that this wine scored 96 Points at the Melbourne Show 2012 and won a Gold Medal in the Jimmy Watson Class. I don’t think it’s that good but it’s a bargain for the money, typical sweet, warm, spicy Barossa Shiraz, well balanced, soft and ready to drink, and only(!?) 14%. By far the best of the red Gamekeepers from 2010. Score: 7.5

Richard Hamilton McLaren Vale Shiraz 2010, $17 at Dan M’s

This red won both trophies at the Visy Great Aussie Shiraz Challenge, the under $20 one and the over $20 one. Unprecedented, they tell us. I can see the appeal of this wine in a show situation because its charms are all out front: big, soft fruit, sweet and lots of it. The more you let it breathe, the more fruit you get, and that earthy McLaren Vale taste fades. A lovely mouthful, if a bit short for my liking. Good value for money, but don’t expect to hear angels sing. Score: 8

2010 Gibson Reserve Shiraz, $38 at Nick’s Vintage Direct

This wine is well over $25, but it’s almost Christmas time so please give me a little latitude here. Friends shared it with me, and I thought it was a pretty classy red. The ripe fruit had tremendous concentration with no hint of jamminess; this is not another fruit bomb. Lots of complexity and flavours ranging from ripe plum and liquorice to classy vanillan and cedar oak. Great length and balance.

It turns out that Rob Gibson was a chief winemaker at Penfolds, where one of his tasks was identifying the best sources of Shiraz grapes for making Grange. Gibson ended up with a lot of useful knowledge, and set up his own business in 1997. While 2010 was generally a great year, Gibson’s sources in the northern Barossa suffered frost damage in the spring, which resulted in very low yields with just 650 cases made. The wine spent over 2 years mostly French oak. 14.5%. Score: 8.5

Hillcrest Premium Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010, $55 at MyCellars

I wouldn’t have picked this as a Pinot Noir; it certainly shows precious little resemblance to red Burgundies. This is the bronzed Aussie interpretation, a muscle-bound specimen with tons of colour and enormous depth of flavour. With so much ripe cherry and plum fruit supported by vanillan oak, this is a Pinot to go with steak instead of duck. It’s an impressive red even if it’s off the style map. Surprising that it’s only 13.1%. Halliday gives this wine 97 points, Winefront 94. I’m with Winefront on this one. Score: 8+

DE BORTOLI Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2010, $28 at Winefront

When I look at the reviews for this wine, I get a sense of the emperor’s clothes – everybody raves about it but I don’t quite see it. De Bortoli’s is a success story, and it seems success is de rigeur. Matt Skinner reckons this wine is ‘every bit as good as the PHI,’ which is crap. Halliday, Stelzer and Winefront are out there on 94/95 points. WiningPom says ‘This Pinot is always a textbook example of what Steve Webber and Sarah Fagan can achieve with their collective Pinot scorcery and in 2010 it’s a tantalising feast for Pinotphiles.’

To me, it’s a bit on the dry side with the leafy herbaceous bits overdone. It’s on the light side too, and a bit mean and lean on the palate – it’s a knife edge with these Pinots, and I could well be wrong and it may all fall into place some day. Against such overwhelming forces, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt but give me the PHI any day. Score: 7+

NOT CONVINCED

Oakridge Over The Shoulder Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2012, $17 at Dan M’s

An affordable wine made by a winery with a huge reputation. Is this the label that David Bicknell at Oakridge makes for Woolworths? Can't remember. This is a delicate Chardonnay in the winery’s typical style, but it’s missing flavour, depth and intensity. Even over 3 days in the open bottle, the wine refused to deliver anything of substance. 12.5%. Score: 5.5

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $24 at 1^st Choice

This was disappointing given the expectations raised by the mighty Moss Wood name and the price. It’s an elegant style, well enough made with good length and flinty acid but lacking flavour and depth. At almost 2 years of age, I don’t expect the wine to fill out much. The Fraser  Gallop 2011 SSB has a lot more going for it, and even the Mad Fish Bay above is better drinking in my view despite a price tag that's $10 lower. JH gives this 95 points, I cannot imagine why. Score: 6

Rosemount Estate Chardonnay 2011, $11 at 1^st Choice

I picked up a bottle of this because I wrote a post for my marketing blog about how Southcorp and Fosters trashed the Rosemount brand in the naughties. $1.5 billion dollars is the princely sum Southcorp Wines paid Bob Oatley of Wild Oats fame for Rosemount back in 2001. Just last year, its new owners Treasury Wine Estates (just demerged from Fosters) went through a major brand repositioning exercise. Full story here: http://blog.technoledge.com.au/2012/12/12/how-southcorp-and-fosters-trashed-the-rosemount-brand/  

The good news is that they got rid of that stupid bottle with the diamond-shaped bottom. The bad news is that they almost made the iconic diamond-shaped label invisible – it’s just a shade of orange darker than the background. The other bad news is that I’m wondering whether the wine belongs into the AVOID group, but the modest price makes me think I should err on the generous side.

The label says The bright fresh flavours of Diamond Label are the perfect expression of Rosemount Estate, and the flavours are pretty fresh I have to concede. So fresh they remind me of fruit juice: pineapple and apricot. Best served well chilled on hot days.Score: 5

Yalumba Y series Viognier 2012, $10 lots of places

I keep reading what remarkable value these wines represent, and I keep hoping that I get lucky. This has a more flavour than the usual bland fare under this label, but it's a bit on the coarse and crude side. Even considering the modest price, there are better wines to be had for $10. Score: 5

DE BORTOLI Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2008, was $28 at Winestar but all gone now

Just a footnote really: This wine would’ve been much better 2 years ago, it’s dried out since then. This may give us a hint that the 2010 might go the same way, which brings up the horror scenario of the man in the desert who is starving as a snake slithers past him – how does he know which part of the snake he should take a bite out of?

DE BORTOLI Shiraz Viognier 2008, $27 at Winestar plus free magnum worth $120 http://www.winestar.com.au/prod2797.htm

Call me suspicious but, with the rave reviews listed on the link page, and the modest price of $27, why do you need to throw in what amounts to a 35% discount? You guessed it: I didn’t like it. The wine has that ‘we’ve given this the treatment’ feel to it, vibrant and slick and nervously juicy from the Viognier which never works for me. Adding a small % of Viognier is what they do in the Rhone Valley, but it doesn’t produce Rhone-style wines in Australia. Instead, it produces wines that appear highly manipulated. 13.5%. This gets 96  It gets 7 from me.

Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2009, $18 at Kemenys

The fruit for this wine is sourced from Bendigo and the Grampians (what we used to call Great Western). The last bottle I had of this wine about 9 months ago was better; maybe it’s going through an awkward stage. There are cool climate Shiraz notes with more pepper and cloves than fruit, and the alcohol is moderate at 13.5%. There was some furry heat on the finish which cleaned up a bit over a couple of days but left lingering doubts. This should be a super bargain, with JH giving it 96 points, but I couldn’t get excited about it this time. Campbell Mattinson at Winefront gives it a much more cautious 91+, which is close to my mark. These wines do tend to age well.Score: 7

  Forrester Estate Cabernet Merlot 2010, $16 at Dan M’s

I loved the 2009 for its elegance and finesse and seamless integration, but the 2010 is nothing like it. It lacks the integration, the depth of elegant flavour and the charm of its predecessor. It’s like a poor carbon copy that has faded a bit, and it confirms yet again that 2009 was a better vintage over west than 2010. 13.5% Score: 5

Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, $20 at Dan M’s

Western Australia’s treacherous southwest coastline is littered with shipwrecks, and this vineyard is named after one of them – the Ringbolt. It sank in the late 1800s in what is now known as Ringbolt Bay, not far from Cape Leeuwin. I like the story a lot more than the wines from this estate - I didn’t care for the 2010, and I can’t get excited about the 2011. It has plenty of flavour and ripe fruit and depth and length but there are green tinges and inky streaks that worry me. Over several days in the open bottle, these problems didn’t fade but announced themselves more forcefully. Shame. 14%. Score: 5

AVOID

Houghton Margaret River Chardonnay 2011, $14 at 1^st Choice

This wine wasn’t recognisable as Chardonnay, and we could find no redeeming features in it. It lacks definition, focus, flavour and all-round appeal. Yes, it’s made from Margaret River fruit, and yes people keep telling me that Houghton make some terrific wines but this isn’t one of them. Eevn the ever generous JH only gives it 89 points. 13.5%

Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc 2012, $14 at Dan Murphys 

I bought this wine to get a feel for the 2012 vintage in New Zealand, in preference to the high volume Oyster Bay and Villa Maria labels. It said it was a family winery on the back label, so I wanted to like it. Sadly, the main flavours suggest boiled asparagus and capsicum, not gooseberry and lantana. There’s also a flat patch on the mid palate where we expect to find depth of flavour; it doesn’t hang together well and I fear it never will.

Shingleback The Davey Estate Shiraz 2010

Another big McLaren Vale Shiraz, and let me confess once more that I’m not a big fan of big McLaren Vale reds. I’m also finding ripe, alcoholic Shiraz from South Australia a bit tiresome on the whole. This one gave me mixed messages: dark, ripe almost jammy fruits and spices seemed to fight with inky notes and a hot, dry finish. Finished short and hard, really. 14.5%

I didn’t know this winery, but Halliday gives it 5 stars and says it won the 2006 Jimmy Watson trophy for its 2005 Cabernet. That suggests these wines have a lot of work done on them, and perhaps that work didn’t come off in the 2010 Shiraz.

Kim

Penfolds’ £1.2 million Christmas Present - Gago gone Gaga part 2

Looks like the $168,000 designer ampoule was just the warm-up act

The company has released a one-off Penfolds Collection - a flight of Granges from 1951 through to 2007. The Collection goes on sale at Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, London, where you can also buy the Penfolds Ampoule released back in June 2012. One of the 12 ampoules is also for sale at Sydney airport, so it looks like they weren’t exactly snapped up by eager collectors. More on that ‘compelling work of wine art’ here: http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/06/penfolds-168000-ampoule-gago-gone-gaga.html

Each of the Grange bottles in the Christmas Collection comes signed by either Max Schubert, John Duval or Peter Gago (today’s custodian of the Holy Grail). The £1.2 million price also covers a set of 13 magnum cases that include the rare 2004 Bin 60A and the 2008 Bin 620 special bottlings. In addition, Penfolds will throw in one case of its icon and luxury wines every year for the next ten years.

Photo courtesy of Julia Sevenitch

Upping the Ante in the Luxury Sector

Still not tempted? How about £50,000 to spend on older Penfolds wines of your choice, plus two business class tickets to Adelaide, a VIP tour and tasting at Penfolds Magill Estate, two nights’ accommodation and dinner at the Magill Estate Restaurant. Still not rearing to go? What about a set of gold-plated steak knives? Sorry, make that diamond-studded cork screws.

‘Gago believes this is probably the finest set of Penfolds wines ever to be assembled and sold,’ Decanter reports. ‘It is certainly the most expensive. In the last two or three years, the South Australian producer’s owners, Treasury Wine Estates, have been aggressively re-positioning Penfolds icon range as a global luxury brand to capitalise on opportunities in newer markets such as China.’ So why launch this collection in the UK?

Wine writer Max Allen told Decanter that 'this is either marketing genius or end-of-empire insanity.’ Max wonders why Penfolds is focusing all its attention on China and the UK, when its core strength is the admiration of generations of loyal Australians. Let’s not forget that Penfolds’ most expensive wine, the $1000 2004 Bin 60A Coonawarra Cabernet, was released in Shanghai a couple of years ago, not in Adelaide.

Trashing the Penfolds brand again

At the release of the 2006 Grange for an outrageous $600, Peter Gago said the world of fine wine was ‘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.' If you’re confused, you’re not alone. The irony is that TWE can push the price for Grange up all it likes – the reality is that you can buy lots of recent Granges for $400 lots of places.

Sandy Mayo, Penfolds global brands business director, told Decanter that ‘it’s about harnessing Penfolds' unique history, its tradition of craftsmanship and inventiveness to up the ante in the luxury niche sector.’

photo courtesy of Lemova

What Mayo and Gago don’t seem to understand is this: Moving a great brand out of reach of its home base is just another way of destroying it, that’s what Max Allen’s talking about. The loyalty of nouveau-riche Chinese aspirants is fickle, and the cynical attempt to rip off wealthy Poms at yuletide will do Penfolds’ reputation more harm than good. TWE is screwing its fan base at home as well, pushing up the prices for it bin reds year after year, and adding more fancy labels to the 'icon and luxury' range in the $100 to $250 bracket.

Wine becomes just another 'vacuous totem of wealth'

That’s how Decanter’s Andrew Jefford sees creations like the Penfolds $168,000 ampoule, ‘like pointlessly complicated watches, tank-sized vehicles for urban use, houses which are never lived in and boats which spend the year bobbing about on their moorings.’ Andrew says he takes no issue with market forces that make rare wine unaffordable to many drinkers, but takes exception at marketing initiatives that ‘look so obviously like the fantasy of pale people who have spent too much time locked up in a room with glossy magazines.’

He takes a swipe at Penfolds, an Aussie wine company after all: ‘They [the pale people] are hilariously alien to the great Aussie traditions of piss-taking and pretension-popping.’ And he adds the same point I made above: that turning fine wine into artificially exclusive luxury goods damages the brand. ‘No First Growth or top Burgundy domain would contemplate anything this silly; they leave that kind of ludicrous marketing excess to the bubble-brained Champenois, where form regularly eclipses content.' Read the full post here http://www.decanter.com/news/blogs/expert/530747/jefford-on-monday-wine-and-pretension

The GFC and Fosters - a little history

'We all know the feeling,’ Mike Veseth writes in his Wine Economist blog in 2008: ‘A night of bacchanalian excess followed by regrets and a light wallet the next morning. Foster’s, after a 12-year bender in which it spent A$8bn in the wineries of Australia and the US, has a severe hangover. Australia’s biggest beer and winemaker on Tuesday announced A$1.2bn of write-offs, lowered profit forecasts and the departure of its chief executive.’

Fosters had never really digested Southcorp Wines, which it grabbed for $3.5 billion in 2005. Southcorp in turn had never recovered from swallowing Rosemount for $1.5 million in 2001. The barbarians were preoccupied with giant stomach aches, while Australia rode the export wave until it crashed under a glut of wine and a surging Aussie dollar. No wonder Fosters got dumped.

For Love or Money

Treasury Wine Estates is the company Fosters hived off last year before selling its beer business to South Africans. TWE has a lot of urgent work to do restoring the great brands Southcorp and Fosters trashed in the naughties, brands like Lindemans, Leo Buring, Metala, Mildara, Rothbury, Rosemount, Rouge Homme, Saltram, Seppelt, Seaview, Tollana and Wynns. Sadly, TWE has decided that milking the Penfolds brand for more than it’s worth is the easiest way to keep the money pouring into the Treasury's coffers.

As Richard Farmer reminds us, only a couple of years before Fosters decided that wine was a distraction to its beer business, it ‘realised that selling wine was not the same as selling beer ... So what to do now? Why, let's go back to pretending that we are once again artisan winemakers. Resurrect that old bloke who invented Grange. Putting him on the billboards won't cost us anything because he's long dead.’

The campaign ran under the banner To The Renegades, which proved that Fosters wasn’t just ignorant about wine but about the English language as well. Max Schubert was a company man through and though. He might’ve been a maverick but he was no renegade. And here’s an ironic twist: the tagline for the ads was ‘To those who do things for Love not Money.'

Shabby as shabby gets

Max worked for Penfolds all his life yet Penfolds didn’t seem to appreciate his enormous contribution, as Richard Farmer reminds us: ‘The loyal servant of Penfolds had always hoped his farewell would be celebrated in that old fashioned way with a good watch. A Swiss Rolex was to be his pride and joy but he just got a Japanese Citizen, and for the rest of his life there was not even a free case of his masterpiece every vintage.’

This is staggering to read given that Max retired in 1975, just before the Penfold family sold out to Sydney brewer Tooth & Co. Max had to look elsewhere for recognition, which came years later in the form of the inaugural Maurice O'Shea Award, an Order of Australia, Decanter magazine's Man of the Year in 1988, and an Australia Day Citizen Award in 1991. He died in 1994 when Penfolds was part of Southcorp Wines.

We can only wonder what Max Schubert would think of the money-making schemes the boys at the Treasury keep launching on an unsuspecting world. He was just trying to make the best Aussie red he could, and he stuck to his guns and succeeded brilliantly.

Kim

Sources and additional reading

http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/530715/penfolds-releases-1-2m-vertical

http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2012/03/penfolds-bin-release-2012-look-elsewhere-for-value.html

http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/02/03/first-they-trashed-the-grange-brand-now-a-great-mans-name/?wpmp_switcher=mobile

http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/529785/penfolds-outrages-merchants-with-slap-in-the-face-price-hikes

Special wines for Christmas 2012

You still don't have to pay silly money for great wine

Once a year, we’re allowed to break the $25 barrier and take a look at wines that sell at premium prices. I don’t mean $250 – there’s just no need to go much over $50 for ‘premium wines’. Even above $25, the law of diminishing returns is more than evident. These wines make good presents for discerning drinkers.

Riesling

• Grosset Polish Hill Riesling 2012, $42 at Kemenys
• Paulett Antonina Riesling 2010, $40 at MyCellars
• Pewsey Vale 2012, $15 at Kemenys

Semillon/Pinot Gris

• Meerea Park "Terracotta" Semillon 2006, $25 at MyCellars
• Tyrrells Belford Semillon 2006, $26 at MyCellars
• Neudorf Moutere Pinot Gris 2011, $28 at http://www.winestreet.com.au/?s=neudorf

Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc

• Neudorf Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $22 at Winestreet
• Seresin Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $25 at Dan Murphys
• Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe Sauv Blanc Semillon 2009, $37 at MyCellars

Chardonnay

• Neudorf Vineyards 'Nelson' Chardonnay 2010, $38 at Cloudwine
• Bannockburn Chardonnay 2010, $47 at MyCellars
• Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2011, $55 at MyCellars

Shiraz

• Turkey Flat Shiraz 2010, $40 at MyCellars
• Mount Pleasant Original Vineyard Rosehill Shiraz 2009, $25 at Kemenys
• Tyrrells Stevens Shiraz 2009, $29 at Kemenys
  

Shiraz Cabernet

• Devil's Lair The Hidden Cave Cabernet Shiraz 2010, $18 at Dan Murphys
• Yalumba FDR 1A Cabernet Shiraz 2009, $40 at Winestar

Pinot Noir

• PHI Pinot Noir 2010, $40 at MyCellars
  
• Kooyong Haven Pinot Noir 2009, $60 at Kemenys
  
• By Farr Farrside Pinot Noir 2010, $59 at Kemenys
  

Grenache, Shiraz Mourvedre

• Teusner Avatar 2010, $25 at Kemenys
• Teusner the Independent Shiraz Mataro 2010, $18 at MyCellars

Cabernet Sauvignon

• Houghton Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, $25 at Kemenys
• Xanadu Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $28 at Kemenys
• Majella Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, $29 At Kemenys

Cabernet Merlot

• Forester Estate Yelverton Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, $40 at Kemenys
• Woodlands Margaret Cabernet Merlot 2009, $40 at Winehouse http://www.winehouse.com.au/ShowWines.asp?pID=38431
• Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot 2008, $50 at MyCellars

Bubbly

• Cloudy Bay Pelorus NV, $25 at Winestar
• Arras Grand Vintage 2004, $53 at Kemenys
• Lanson Gold Label Vintage Brut 1999, $58 at Kemenys

Sticky

• Heggies Botrytis Riesling 2011 375ml, $22 at Kemenys
• Westend 3 Bridges Golden Mist Botrytis 2010 375ml, $19 at Kemenys
• Kaesler Barossa Valley Botrytis Riesling, 2011, 375ml, $28 at Half Bottles http://www.halfbottles.com.au/fortified_wine/kaesler_barossa_valley_botrytis_riesling_2011_375mL

Merry Chrismas

Kim

Constellation and Accolade – Fancy Names for Barbarians

The BRL Hardys story charts all that went wrong with Australian wine

In 2003, Constellation Brands bought BRL Hardy Ltd and became the largest wine company on earth. In 2008, BRL Hardy became Constellation Wines Australia (CWA). Changing its name didn’t change the sad state of the company’s balance sheet, and a fire sale followed: In West Australia, CWA sold the Goundrey and Amberley wineries and closed the bottling lines at Houghtons. Other wineries were closed or sold, and workers dismissed. Long-standing contracts with grape growers were cancelled.

In case you think the word barbarians is harsh label for these faceless people in their shiny suits, consider this: they also sold the original .8 acre vineyard planted to Cabernet Sauvignon by John Reynell in 1838 to Pioneer Homes, which built 41 high-density homes on it. John Reynell’s little acre was the birthplace of wine in South Australia, but don’t expect a sense of history from barbarians, or the South Australian state government or the Onkaparinga Council or the McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association.

Photo courtesy of Philip White

Hollow Bones

What CWA didn’t sell were the brands it owned, which included not just Reynella and Houghtons but the grand old names of Tintara, Hardys and Leasingham. Like true barbarians, these guys sucked the marrow out of their victims’ bones and hung onto the empty trophies. What they did to Leasingham is typical: they sold the vineyards in 2009, then tried to sell the winery, the cellar door and winemaking equipment separately.

A couple of years later, Tim Adams bought most of these at fire sale prices. CWA only kept the Leasingham name, which is a shame. Tim Adams had learnt his craft here under Mick Knappstein. Tim Adams could’ve rebuilt the old brand, but Tim now has to make do with labelling the wines he makes at Leasingham ‘Mr Mick’.

CWA somehow continued to produce wine under most of the labels it kept, until Constellation Brands sold CWA to Champ Private Equity along with its South African, European and UK operations. The labels Champ acquired include Arras, Banrock Station, Bay of Fires, Berri, Brookland Valley, Buronga Ridge, Crofters, Hardys, Houghton, Lauriston, Leasingham, Moondah Brook, Nottage Hill, Omni, Redman, Renmano, Reynell, Stave Dog Lane, Stonehaven, Tintara and Yarra Burn.

Fake Champions

Champ Equity promptly renamed its acquisition Accolade Wines. Champ owns businesses in various industries, but wine is new territory. It spouted the usual blather when the deal was announced: ‘The management team is looking forward to working with the new owners who are bringing open mindedness, fresh energy and an expansive approach to the business.’ And that clever new name? ‘Management and CHAMP consider the new name to be consistent with their aspirations for the future of the company.’

What exactly are these aspirations? Anita Poddar, Accolade’s PR Manager, shared the company’s new vision with TheShout: 'To enrich everyday moments around the world ... We want our wines and drinks to shape everyday moments into memorable experiences as well as providing fitting tributes for special occasions,’ she explained. ‘Our mission is to put consumers at the heart of our global wine business, creating distinctive brands and trusted wines. ... Our vision is about more people enjoying our wines, it's about growth in key markets and consumer-led innovation.’

I’m lost for words here, so I’ll let industry veteran Tony Keys do the talking: ‘The company is doling out drivel. It lacks direction. I doubt the new owner, CHAMP, has any idea what to do with it ... Christensen [the MD] is a smart operator. What was this embarrassing nonsense he allowed his name to be put to? It’s his job to sell wine at a profit and ready the company so that CHAMP can flog it off within five years with a big wad of dosh in the pocket. It is not up to him to enrich everyday moments around the world.’

Real Pioneers

Reynella Farm was just 12 years old when a young Thomas Hardy arrived in Adelaide from Devon in 1850. Hardy worked at Reynella Farm for 3 years before joining the Victorian gold rush and then driving cattle for a while. On his return to Adelaide, Hardy bought a property on the banks of the River Torrens, and planted vines. Bankside did so well that Thomas Hardy was able to buy the Tintara Vineyard Company in 1876, one of the best equipped wineries in South Australia.

A century later, Thomas Hardy and Sons was one of the most respected winemakers in Australia, alongside Penfolds, Lindemans, Orlando and Yalumba. As the first wave of corporate raiders descended on Australian wine companies, Hardys was buying back the farm: in 1976 it bought the UK-owned Emu Wine Company, which owned Houghton and Morphett Vale. In 1982 Hardys bought Chateau Reynella, which became its headquarters.

Speculative Madness

Walter Reynell and Sons had fallen into the grubby hands of Rothmans of Pall Mall in the 1970s, and now it was back where it belonged: with the family that changed McLaren Vale from the cereal bowl of Adelaide to a vignoble famous for producing big-hearted Aussie reds. All should’ve been well, but an attack of hubris spoilt all of the wine.

Exactly what happened is hard to piece together today – I vaguely remember Hardys buying vineyards in France to take on the froggies on their home turf. The usually reliable internet is no help at filling in the blanks, except for this insight offered by David Farmer: ‘The deregulation of our banking system in the 1980s led to a period of speculative madness by bankers and borrowers, particularly from the small banks of South Australia. A few poor business decisions by the Hardy's board heralded the end ...’

The Ultimate Constellation

A shotgun marriage of very strange bedfellows followed, with the huge Riverland co-op Berri-Renmano (nickname: the oil refinery) holding the gun. ‘Blue bloods trying to be nice to farmers from the Murray,’ David Farmer wrote, ‘and how humiliating this must have been for the sailing hero Jim Hardy.’ The new entity was called BRL Hardy and it didn’t look back, not for quite a while at least. By 2003, it’s share of the Australian market by volume was 24%, and its share of all Australian wine sold in Britain was 25%.

Together with Orlando-Wyndham’s Jacob’s Creek and Southcorp’s Rosemount, BRL-Hardy’s designer label Banrock Station muscled its way into UK and US supermarkets, helped by the low Australian dollar and the idea of sunshine in a cheap and cheerful bottle. In 2003, US wine giant Constellation Brands bought BRL-Hardys (along with Robert Mondavi) to become the world’s biggest wine company.

The Fake Pinot Scandal

Most people and most companies seem to arrive at a point in their lives where they think they can do no wrong, and Constellation’s moment was about to come. The US wine market has long been a fashion market. I remember a trip in the nineties when the only red wine Americans would drink was Merlot. It wasn’t until the movie Sideways made them see that Merlot was passé, that Pinot Noir became the new red.

Soon there wasn’t enough Pinot to feed the new frenzy, so Gallo and Constellation turned to France for supplies. Between 2006 to 2008, they bought 18.5m bottles of Pinot Noir from several Languedoc wine producers, selling it under a number of brand names in the USA. It turned out that the wines they were selling as Pinot Noir were made from Shiraz and – you guess it – Merlot. Californian consumers launched a class action suit against the two giants which was settled out of court in 2012. Needless to say, both companies claimed they were duped by their French suppliers.

Stuff hits fan

By 2008, the Global Financial Crisis added more challenges for mega wine companies. Constellation decided to cut its losses – it had spent AUD$1.9 billion buying the Australian and UK operations (primarily distribution) in 2003. Over the next two years, the Sands brothers at the helm of the supertanker Constellation sold 80% of their holding for AUD$ 230 million.

What you see may not be real, Chen Wenling

Philip White wrote later: ‘... this writer sees no joy other than cruel ridicule in any of this: in their retreat, the Sands brothers clumsily butchered the main bits of their “premium” involvement, the grand old wineries of Chateau Reynella and Tintara. At the former, they last year destroyed a heritage-listed vineyard at least the historical equivalent of Grange or Hill of Grace to make a quick $5 million in a rude housing malignancy; the latter, Tintara, the last winery to survive in the main street of McLaren Vale, they mothballed.’

Another Marriage of Convenience

Just a few months ago, there followed a masterstroke of breathtaking courage, a high-wire act unequalled in the history of corporate asset stripping: Accolade Wines entered into a marriage of convenience with Treasury Wine Estates (TWE, owners of Penfolds, Lindemans, Leo Buring and other hallowed brands), signing reciprocal bottling and packaging contracts that meant Accolade Wines would bottle wines for TWE in the UK, and TWE would bottle wines for Accolade Wines in OZ.

Accollade Park, the firm's giant bottling and packaging plant at Bristol, UK

‘Our decision to enter a reciprocal bottling agreement with TWE underpins Accolade Wines continued success in Australia and globally,’ CEO Troy Christensen told the press. He added that ‘this agreement is important for the thousands of people in Australia and globally who rely on our business including employees, customers, grapegrowers and other suppliers.’

Weasel words. While Christensen signed the deal, Accolade closed its bottling line at Reynella and gave some 175 employees their marching orders. In other words, these barbarians will do anything to cross a few names off the payroll and save a few bucks, even if it means making a deal with their biggest enemy. PR manager Anita Poddar said the company had offered assistance to the redundant employees with counselling, financial guidance and job support.

How nice. Have a Merry Christmas, fellas. Remember, we want our wines to shape everyday moments into memorable experiences as well as providing fitting tributes for special occasions.

A pox on their houses

That’s how I finished my last piece on the barbarians that ran Southcorp and Fosters, and I can't think of a better line http://briard.typepad.com/get_the_picture/2011/09/how-fosters-and-southcorp-trashed-australias-greatest-wine-brands.html

I found a post on Philip White's wonderful Drinkster blog, from a fellow called Adam who sums it up this way: 'This is atrocious - I will now be boycotting Penfolds/Fosters brands AND Accolade for the rest of my life. The way they broke it to the hard working employees was shameful. All about the $$, never about the people, the history or the wine. Embarrassing for Penfolds to be a part of this mess, we'd expect it from Accolade. Goodbye, some of my favourite reds, I will never look your way again.'

In 1985 James Halliday wrote that ‘we have already reached the situation where the biggest 65 wine companies produce 98 per cent of the nation’s wine and the remaining 450 companies the remaining 2 per cent.’ A quarter of a century later, 55 companies produce 92 per cent of the nation’s wine and 1872 account for the rest.

Our hopes and aspirations lie with those 1872 wineries whose owners understand what wine is about, who get their hands dirty in real vineyards and in real cellars to make wine for real people. Bless them all.

Kim

Many Thanks to Philip White, David Farmer and Tony Keys for providing essential background information for this story.
http://drinkster.blogspot.com/2012/08/treasury-beds-champs-accolade_8.html

http://www.glug.com.au/index_industry.php?sec=industry&art=10015

http://www.thekeyreport.com.au/the-report/  

Footnote: Accolade CEO Troy Christensen leaves abruptly

Accolade Wines is searching for a new CEO after announcing the abrupt exit of Troy Christensen. Christensen left the business today, on the same day that Accolade announced the news. A brief statement by Accolade's majority owner, Australia-based CHAMP Private Equity, said Christensen was leaving 'by mutual agreement'. No specific reason was given for his departure, which follows a management shake-up of the group's key UK and Europe business over the summer.

http://www.winebiz.com.au/dwn/details.asp?ID=9944

Best Value Wines of 2012

I mean real wine, not cheap confections

What you won’t see on this list are labels like Oxford Landing or Yalumba Y series, Tyrrell’s Lost Block or Old Winery, or Jacobs Creek in its various forms. They tend to creep into the BEST lists of Halliday, Stock et al for reasons that are beyond me to explain. There’s no reason I can think of to drink these industrial concoctions.

 The best value in Aussie whites has long been found in our Rieslings. This is even more obvious in a near perfect vintage like 2012, where even humble labels like Annie’s Lane shine like stars on a black night sky. I bought this wine for $10, and some of our best 2012 Rieslings can be bought for $13 - $18. Andrew Mitchell coined the famous phrase that ‘the Clare valley is blessed with the unpopularity of Riesling.’ I’d extend that to include the Eden Valley also.

One reason why Riesling is not as popular as it should be is that wine writers keep telling us to drink it with delicate seafood dishes. I suspect the citrus fruit in young Rieslings makes them say that, but ripe Riesling fruit is too perfumed and intense in a vintage like 2012. Riesling is a much better match with chicken dishes, especially roast chicken.

 

Sauvignon Blanc anybody?

So what do you drink with seafood? Sauvignon Blanc. Yes, I know of the ABSB movement (Anything But SB), but there are some good ones of the grassy, gooseberry kind. Young Semillon that blends citrus and green apple characters with searing acid can also be a good match for seafood. Or a Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc of the kind Margaret River does so well, unless it’s a big-flavoured fish or fish dish when a Chardonnay may be a better bet.

Finding good Chardonnays under $20 is a tough ask, but Hoddles Creek, TarraWarra, Bellarmine and Nugan Estate make wonderful exceptions. Closer to $10, things get tight. De Bortoli’s Windy Peak Chardonnay 2011 is one of the few bright spots here, and McWilliams Hanwood Chardonnay 2009 provides another one at around $8. Montes from Chile makes a drinkable Chardonnay in that ballpark as well.

Reds are no easier

No single variety stands out for value, but finding good Pinot Noir for any sort of reasonable money is just about Mission Impossible. Since you can buy a Margaret River Cabernet for as little as $11, we might just forget about the fickle Pinot Noir. Good Grenache blends aren’t hard to find either if you like reds in the Rhone style (vaguely). We have an abundance of Shiraz styles, mostly on the robust side, from the Hunter to Heathcote to the Barossa, the Clare and McLaren Vale.

I’ve resisted the temptation to list the great bargains that came and went, and have stuck to wines you can still buy if you know where. As I’ve written elsewhere, 2011 was a tough year for reds in South Australia but there are still plenty of 2010s in the shops. You can even find some of the great Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Black label of 2009 – a much better red then the 2010 – at Dan M’s and 1^St Choice, but no longer for $20.

New Varieties

In recent years, we seen wineries explore the potential of new varieties from countries like Italy and Spain – Fiano, Vermentino, Savagnin, Barbera, Sangiovese and Temperanillo. I’ve yet to be impressed or surprised, and suspect we need better clones and more time to work out where to grow these varieties and how to make them into good wine. Pinot Gris is the only one that’s made it so far, but it tends to work better in cooler areas and NZ.

Lavernia e Cienfuegos Creative Agency

Not just my opinion

Wine is a pretty subjective substance, so I’ve included the views/reviews of others where they depart strongly from the mainstream. I’ve also added other reviews where they’re helpful, for example when it comes to styles I don’t like such as Hunter Semillons or McLaren Vale Shiraz, or blockbuster reds of 14.5% alcohol and more.

A quick reprise of my simple scoring system:

10 (98-99) a truly memorable wine, a likely classic

9 (96-97) an outstanding wine, a great example of its style and origin

8 (94-95) a fine wine that reflects its variety, style and origin

7 (92-93) a good, enjoyable wine of authentic character

6 (90-91) a well-made wine, a good 'drinking' wine

5 (88-89) a wine that's easy on the gums and has no serious faults

4 (86-87) a wine best used in the kitchen or in marinades for the BBQ

3 (85 and less) a wine you should avoid

BEST VALUE WHITES

Annie’s Lane Riesling 2012 - $12, Dan M’s

This is often discounted down to $10, which makes it a stupendous bargain. Classic Clare Riesling from a great year with that terrific fruit intensity and crisp citrus edge, well balanced but a little more forward than some - a wine to enjoy over the next 3-5 years. Next time it comes down to $10, back up the ute. Score: 8+

Jim Barry Watervale Riesling 2012 - $13.75, Kemenys

Vibrant, zippy Riesling with intense citrus fruit, hints of minerals and a fine acid backbone. Classic Clare. 12.4%, enjoy for the next 7 years. 8+

Hidden label Watervale Riesling 2010 - $10, Kemenys

This is Knappstein Handpicked Riesling under a Hidden label. Typical 2010 Clare Riesling, with restrained citrus fruit and minerals, long, fine finish, long future too. 12.5%. 95/100 from JH. Real bargain. Score: 8

Pewsey Vale Riesling 2012 - $15, Kemenys

Another great 2012 Riesling at a bargain price, proving that it was a great year in Eden Valley as well. Almost Germanic delicacy to the fruit, lovely length typical of the area. This is one of the best Rieslings of 2012, and ridiculous value. Back up the ute! Score: 9+

Clifford Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – $13, Kemenys

Herbaceous, flinty gooseberry style. Flavour, depth and length. The 2011 is now perfect drinking. Summer drinking, serious bargain. Score: 7 +

Hidden Label Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011 - $13, Kemenys

This is Stella Bella under a Hidden Label. A fairly big wine with more to it than most SSBs, ripe fruit with grass and gooseberry notes balanced by a strong finish. Score: 7

Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Gris 2012 - $15, Kemenys

The 2011 was a pretty good wine until it rushed into flabby maturity (as most PGs do). Best to drink them 6 -15 months after vintage. I’m taking a punt on the 2012.

Montes Chardonnay 2011 - $8.50, Dan M’s

Recognisable as Chardonnay, even sports a touch of complexity. A surprisingly well-rounded wine for the money. Score: 6 +

De Bortoli Windy Peak Chardonnay 2011 - $11.50, Dan M’s

Not a lot of complexity here, just a well-made, easy drinking commercial Chardonnay. Great value. Score: 6

Nugan Estate Frasca’s Lane King Valley Chardonnay 2009 - $17, Dan M’s

Despite almost years under its belt, I think this medium bodied Chardy needs another year or two to lose those grapefruit characters and hints of sour milk. There’s white peach trying to come out when the oak fully settles down, then it should really sing. 13.5%. JH is a little more enthusiastic and gives it 94 points. I’ll give it 7+.

Hoddles Creek Chardonnay 2011 – $19, Winestar. Score: 8.5

Terrific Chardonnay, oozes quality wine making. Campbell Mattinson sums it up this way: Long, complex, giving and finessed to perfection. Meal, nectarine, and lime flavour before a spicy, slatey, stony finish. Hoddles Creek Estate is no longer a “new” story so there’s no call for surprise, but this still managed to bowl me over. Rated : 95+ Points; 13.2%

Tahbilk Marsanne 2012 – $12, Dan M’s

Fresh and crisp when young, ages into a golden, round, honeyed treasure. 6++

Vintage Cellars Chalkboard Hunter Valley Semillon 2012

Trophy for the Best Current Vintage Semillon and the trophy for Best Current Vintage Dry White Wine at this year’s Hunter Wine show. Not my style but here’s what Tyson Stelzer says: Assembled by the legendary crew at Tyrrell’s exclusively for VCs, this is a crisp and zesty style of pure lime and lemon fruit, with a hint of cut grass. The 2012 vintage has made for a generous Semillon of impressive balance and clean fruit focus ...

Dopff au Moulin Pinot Blanc 2011 - $13, Dan M’s

Different. More fine minerals than fruit, good length, good with food like quiche or light, creamy pasta.

McLaren Escarpment, SA

BEST VALUE REDS

Foxie’s Hangout The Red Fox Pinot Noir 2010 - $19, 1^st Choice

Won 3 trophies at the Victorian Wines Show in 2011. A fruit-driven style, with cherries and raspberries aplenty, balanced by some savoury flavours and gentle tannins. Not the most complex Pinot but lovely drinking. A bit hard to find now but worth looking for. Score: 7.5

Mount Langi Billi Billi Shiraz 2009 - $12.50, Kemenys

Vibrant, fruit-driven style, red berries, warm spices and pepper; well- balanced, medium-bodied palate, long finish. 14%. Punches well above its weight. Score: 7

Zeppelin Big Bertha Barossa Shiraz 2009 - $13, Winestar

These Zeppelin wines are big and soft Barossa reds made by Kym Teusner and Corey Ryan. Ready to drink, great with barbies. 14.5%. Score: 7

Hidden Label McLaren Vale Uncut Shiraz 2010 – Kemenys, $13

This is Gemtree under a Hidden Label. Not my style, but here’s what JH thinks of this wine: Deep, dense purple-crimson; this is a notably intense and complex Shiraz from the start of the bouquet through to the finish and aftertaste; spice, licorice, blackberry, blood plum and dark chocolate powder all have their say while leaving space and air, giving the wine finesse and elegance. 14.5%. Drink by: 2025. 95/100.

Teusner The Riebke Shiraz 2010 - $20, Winestar

Terrific Shiraz from old vines, from a great maker and a close to perfect vintage. Can't believe there's any left. 96 from JH, and I agree: 9

Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz 2009 - $17.50, Kemenys

A stylish cool climate red from the Grampians, medium- bodied with dark fruits, pepper and spices. Complex flavour, good depth and length with fine tannins and a long finish. 13.5%. (96 from Halliday). Score: 8

Yalumba The Scribbler Cabernet Shiraz 2009 - $14.75, Kemenys

Barossa and Eden Valleys. Elegant, vibrant, fruit-driven style. Not too big. 13.5%. Score: 7.5

St Hallet Shiraz Grenache 2010 - $12, 1st Choice

A Shiraz Grenache at the elegant end of the spectrum, good flavour and balance, not bad for the money. Great if you like the style but not the usual blockbusters. 13.5%. Score: 6+

Teusner Shiraz Mataro 2010 – $18, MyCellars

Outstanding example of this blend from the Barossa, made from old vines, great flavour, perfect with roast beef or hearty casseroles. Grab some while you still can. Score: 8.5

Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - $8.50, Dan M's

Refined, polished Cabernet of authentic flavour and medium body. Nice drinking for the money. Score: 6+

McWilliams Hanwood Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 - $6.65, Kemenys

Medium-bodied, elegant Cabernet of surprising refinement. well balanced, long palate with gentle cassis fruit and fine tannins. A real surprise at this price. Score: 6

Hidden label Margaret River Cabernet 2009 - $11, Kemenys

This is Capel Vale regional selection under a Hidden label, which saves about $7. Typical medium-bodied Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon from a great year, polished black current fruit, soft tannins, easy drinking. 14%. JH gives this 94, and I’m not far behind with a score of 7. Ridiculous value.

Seppelt Grampians Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - Dan M Cellar Release, online - $14.90

A real sleeper: medium bodied, soft and gentle, mature Cabernet, easy on the gums. Only source is DM online
http://danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_916389/seppelt-cabernet-sauvignon-2005

Hidden Label Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - $18, Kemenys

This is the Leconfield 2010 under a hidden label, for a saving of $7-10. Rich, ripe, opulent cassis fruit, real depth, length and great balance with polished tannins. 14.5%. If you like the big Coonawarra cassis style, this is a great red. Score: 8.5

Amberley Secret Lane Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2010 - $15, Winelistaustralia

I can’t believe there’s some of the 2010 left out there – this is the red bargain of 2012. It has won a gold in virtually every capital city wine show (and several trophies), an almost unequalled feat in terms of consistency. It’s a joy to drink: medium bodied but rich and supple, stacked with cassis and blackcurrant fruit, dried herbs and slate, all in perfect balance. http://www.winelistaustralia.com.au/wineShow.php?d=e501&pid=2459

Balnaves Of Coonawarra The Blend 2010 – $18, Winestar

53% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc. I found it a bit too plush and lacking complexity, but others rave about it. Halliday talks of quite exceptional colour, absolutely full to the gills with juicy cassis blackcurrant fruit, fine, ripe tannins and quality French oak in abundance. It's way better than the 2009 and, indeed, one of the best 'The Blends' to date. 95 Points; Alcohol: 14.5%

Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 - $25, Dan M’s

A stunning Cabernet even for $25, would make a great Christmas treat. Lots of cassis fruit but perfectly balanced with cedary oak, medium body, fine tannins, so well balanced it will improve for years. My score: 9. JH’s score: 96.

Wynns Coonawarra Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 - $26, Dan M’s

For just a dollar more, Dan Murphy offers the Cellar Release from 2006. All the same gorgeous attributes, but ready to drink now and over the next couple of years. Stunning value. My score: 8.5. JH’s score: 95

Bubbles and Sweet

Lindauer Brut NV - $12, Kemenys

Don’t know this one but Huon Hooke likes it: Light yellow with a faint brassy tint. Collar of mousse. Rich, complex, pinoty nose, smoky and meaty, red fruit aromas, complex and shows some maturity. Same in mouth: has some richness and breadth, a wine of mellowness and some developed character, with evident liqueur sweetness which is in fine balance with the flavour. Lovely drink. Rating: 91/100.

Chandon NV - 17.50, Kemenys

This is always a good value bubbly with a fine mousse, very well made and refined, some yeasty/bready characters, good length and a clean finish. Score: 7.5

Brown Brothers Pinot Noir Chardonnay Pinot Meunier - $19, Dan M’s

A very fine wine, where all the elements come together in harmony. A touch more complexity than the Chandon. Has won a bunch of trophies and gold medals. Score: 7.5

Leasingham Bin 8 KS Riesling 2008 - $8, Dan M

If Riesling has never become popular, late picked Riesling has become virtually invisible. JH encapsules the style perfectly: Elegant, intense, direct throwback to the Vickery spatlese wines of the early 1970s; sweet pure lime juice offset by perfectly balanced acidity; great length and certain to age over 20+ years. 10%. 95 points. Super bargain, but try it first.

Deen de Bortoli Vat 5 Botrytis Semillon 2008 - $10.50 for 375ml, Dan M’s

Great value sticky, not the most complex wine but lots of sweet flavour and plenty of botrytis apricot character. Not a lot of acid here so don’t keep it too long. Score: 7.5

Kim