AceHighWine

In a tasting last night where too many wines were overpriced and quite frankly overdone to the point of looking like caricatures of the big, bold, predominantly South Australian blockbuster style of red, this came up smelling like proverbial roses: though in reality, it was more like a hedonistic, heady flurry of white pepper and grilled meats. The effects of this wine (a blend of shiraz, grenache, mourvèdre and viognier) in the mouth were almost instantaneous - I sat up a little straighter and my chicken-scrawl handwriting jolted to life, trying desperately to keep up with the stream of superlatives being relayed synapse-to-synapse from my brain. Incredibly balanced and poised and defined by shades of pepper, meat and ripe plums whose purity, clarity and restraint shone like a beacon. Finishes clean and dry with a lingering trail of succulence. Fine, elegant and lengthy - one of the best Henry’s Sevens I’ve quaffed in recent memory. And finally, does anyone else think the name sounds like a championship winning rugby side? 18 www.henschke.com.au

There are three things I really love about the Amon-Ra: first, the name is cool, but that’s to be expected if you name a wine after Egyptian mythology’s King of Gods, and second, the artwork on the label - the all-seeing eye of Horus - is just so bold and iconic (if only the wine dripped a little more to the left, we’d have a pretty clever Polaroid on our hands).

Oh, and last but certainly not least, it’s a wee bit of a cracking drink! While it’s not the latest release of Amon-Ra, an extra year seems to have really put some razzle-dazzle into the ‘05. Intense, dense shade of purple to the eye, cedar and chocolate to smell. It drinks like a shampoo commercial: luscious, thick and silky, with outrageously clear cut flavours of plum and blackberry driven by fine, drying tannins. The mouthfeel is pure taxed-at-51-per-cent luxury and amazingly rich, dense and juicy. The flavours finish long with nut and coffee flavours weaving in and out. Quite frankly, a show-off wine that epitomises rockstar unfiltered, Barossa old-vine shiraz. 18.5

Also, the current release 2006 which was released in September: Lifted bouquet of plum with swirls of florals on the nose move smoothly into a tightly wrapped palate showing great balance between gorgeously ripe plum and toasty, chocolaty notes driven by an underlying sense of succulence. The aftertaste is deliciously juicy and long. Good wine from a cracker vintage. Will age beautifully. 17.5+ (with plenty of room to blossom).

It seems that every other month, I read online or in print, criticism about these big, bold, Barossan shirazes that smash it at shows and blind tastings because they’re just so obvious, cuddly and ripe. Sure, I enjoy the subtlety and elegance that the cooler climates offer, but surely there’s scope for appreciating both styles? Also, if Barossan winemakers suddenly started trying to craft something other than the warm-climate fruit bombs that they’re so good at, I suspect that many would be quick to criticise their efforts before suggesting that they stick to what they know. As far as I’m concerned, they know how to make good, warm-climate Aussie shiraz and I’m bloody glad they do. www.glaetzer.com

The Brothers Riebke - these guys have some of the best kept vineyards in the Ebenezer district. This Shiraz embodies their efforts and defines our gratitude for their faith and assistance in the birth and growth of Teusner Wines. Cheers guys, this one’s for you.

After a Quaff tasting looking at the surprisingly good selection of under-$15 sparkling wine available around the country, Forrie whipped out four masked reds for us to look at with very few details and then left us to come to our own conclusions. As it turned out, the wines had been sent by Kym Teusner, a young gun Barossan winemaker who together with his brother-in-law Michael Page, decided to strike out on their own and start their own winemaking venture utilising old Barossan vines (see the text off the back label above) under threat from market conditions.

And thus, Teusner Wines was born.

Opens up fairly shy (it had been out of the bottle for just a few minutes when we looked at it) with a gamey nuance to the red berry fruit aromas on the nose. Flashes of bright, powerful plum flavours fruit light up the mouth, bodyguarded by wonderfully fine tannins from start through to the long succulent finish. Looked fairly tight and firm on first tasting, but came out of its shell a few hours later with some delicious homemade beef pie. I’m a fan. Keenly priced too. 17/20. www.teusner.com.au

While we’re in the Barossa, it would be remiss not to mention at least one shiraz from the region, particularly when it comes from the hand of former Grange winemaker John Duval. Now out on his own, one of the former custodians of Penfold’s flagship wine is applying his 30-odd years of winemaking experience to premium fruit sourced from the winemaking region he calls home.

The John Duval Entity Shiraz 2005 ($47) is a ball of generous Barossan character with buckets of ripe plum and chocolate flavours: the fruit and oak characteristics are at ease with one another - largely due, I imagine, to Duval’s decision to use French oak rather than the American barrels normally favoured in the region. The wine’s juicy, medium bodied texture is as much a part of the wine’s appeal as the judiciously managed and lingering flavours that impress without overwhelming. This is Barossan shiraz that’s been put through finishing school: classy and refined, but still true to its roots.

At the same tasting, I also had the pleasure of looking at the John Duval Plexus 2005 ($36): A blend of grenache, shiraz and mourvedre (usually shortened to GSM), it’s black fruit bouquet is similar to that of the Entity, but imagine the richness levels knocked up a notch. The wine’s flavours sit firmly in the black fruit spectrum and feel considerably thicker than the Entity. Again, oak input has been kept to a minimum but some telltale coffee flavours lurk on the finish. Flawlessly made using deliciously long fruit, this is a winner from go to “sh#t, who drank the last of the Plexus?”

Speaking of which, perceptive readers may have noticed that the bottle of Entity featuring in the photo above is conspicuosly much emptier than the two cabernets to its right. I’m sure you can guess why. www.johnduvalwines.com

Now Peter Lehmann is a man I can respect. Not only has the Barossan produced some of Australia’s most memorable shiraz wines, he is also a poker aficionado and has interwoven his two passions with much success: just look at the appointment of the Queen of Clubs as the unofficial “face” of his Barossa winery!

While the warm-climate Barossa Valley is regarded as a sureshot for shiraz, the region’s winemakers have admitted that Barossan cabernet is not quite as reliable a prospect. But in 2002, Mother Nature blessed South Australia with growing conditions reminiscent of the now-legendary 1998 vintage and the results have been pleasing for both drinkers and winemakers. In fact, Peter Lehmann chief winemaker Andrew Wiggan has proclaimed the 2002 vintage as the greatest Barossa cabernet vintage in his 30-year career.

The 2002 Peter Lehmann Mentor (69 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 13 per cent merlot, 10 per cent shiraz and eight per cent malbec) is blessed with lifted notes of black cherry mashed with chocolate biscuits infused with subtle aromas of leather, meat and cigar. Flavours of chocolate-licked cherries and blackcurrants flow freely through the wine, aided by fine, you-won’t-know-they’re-there tannins. Elegant and confidently medium-bodied, this is a refreshing contrast to the powerhouse style of shiraz the region is renowned for. Immensely satisfying straight out the bottle: there’s no need to decant this or to let it breathe – simply yank the cork, pour and enjoy. And if you do so in the company of good friends and an even better poker game, more’s the pleasure. www.peterlehmannwines.com

Brilliant, translucent ruby colour that sparkles in the glass. Attractive, bright perfumed fruit on the nose with a dab of earthiness: with air time, those confected raspberry grenache notes start to reveal themselves. Soft in the mouth, gorgeous tannin structure, very juicy and supple. A very satisfying gulp of raspberries and dark juicy plums fleshed out with sprinklings of spice that finishes long and true. A trim and taut middle-weight winner that carries its 14.5 per cent alcohol with ease, this beauty was a pleasure to drink the moment I yanked out the lightly wine-pecked cork. www.yalumba.com

Considering Mr Lehmann’s love of poker (look at the artwork and names of his wines), I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to review a Peter Lehmann wine on the site, but like catching your straight card on the river, better late than never! The flagship in Peter Lehmann’s vinous armada, the unfathomably long Stonewell is classic Barossa. Waves of lush tannin gently lap against the mouth, leaving sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit washed up on the tastebuds. Eventually, the tide does carry these ripe flavours back out to sea, but not
until they’ve soaked right into the palate. A titanic wine. www.peterlehmannwines.com.au