AceHighWine

Christmas is a time of being busy, hence a lack of updates.

What’s been sitting on my “to-blog” list for a while is a recap of the highlights from a chardonnay line up a few weeks back: kind of appropriate because as the calendar makes its way into the business end of the festive season, chardonnay - along with beer and G&Ts - becomes one of my drinks of choice. Lightly chilled, the current stream of more refined, elegant and not-as-oaked chardies on the market are just as enjoyable on their own or with the lighter style of food we Australians enjoy over the summer.

I’ve also had a chance to taste most of the marquee Margaret River producers’ ‘06 chardonnays and its fair to say that while the late vintage could prove challenging for reds, it could turn out to be one of the great chardonnay vintages in recent memory.

Devil’s Lair Chardonnay 2006: Fragrant coconut on nose. A nicely medium-bodied wine with great texture. Juicy apple and stonefruit flavours with a shade of the coconut promised on the nose that finish long and juicy. An impressive follow-up to the awesome ‘05 and very much in the same stripped-back, minimalist style. 17. 2005 review

Tyrell’s Vat 47 2005: Dry and intense with a squeeze of lively acidity to give it real grunt. The palate is powered by peaches and tropical fruit that work their magic to create a tasty and succulent mouthful of flavour that finishes long with a burst of nut rounding things off. 17

Tyrells Vat 47 1996: The black sheep of the tasting, especially when you’re not expecting an older example of chardonnay to be snuck into the line up, but enjoyable never the less. Slightly polarising and perhaps offputting aromas of dry, salted fish but as a drink, an agreeable rounded ball of texture, nut, earthiness and salt with a little more nut thrown in the mix with all things nutty dominating the lengthy finish. I liked, though some weren’t as impressed. 17.5

Picardy Chardonnay 2006: Judging by the number of times I’m alone in my praise for it, I think I’m just going to have to come to grips that some people aren’t going to like Picardy chardonnay, especially when tasted blind in a line-up. This had all the same things going for it: gentle vanillin oak teases the nose, gorgeous “mealy” texture, attractice medium-weight cool-climate flavours of nectarine, pink grapefruit and stonefruit arranged neatly on a persisitent and juicy palate. Impressive length too. 17

Tappanappa Tiers Chardonnay 2006: Aromas of orange zest play the role of curtain-raiser to a mouthful of chardonnay bliss that has quickly established itself as one of the nation’s best. While the palate is a glorious combination of citrus and nut, these components are woven in such a manner to create a softly-textured and juicy flavour profile that last and last. 17.5+ 2005 review

After last year’s awesome Second Generation Winemakers (SGW) tasting, I was anxiously anticipating last Thursday’s tasting - and after shutting down my computer after a particularly shithouse day, the prospect of a glass of Picardy chardonnay or Kosovich liqueur muscat was more attractive than a five-day long weekend.

The Story So Far (in keeping with the finest traditions of the Phantom… though if the Ghost who walks crushed grapes rather than roughnecks’ heads, he’d probably be eligible for acceptance into the SGW fold): the SGW is a West Australian collective of wineries where siblings are following in the winemaking footsteps left by their parents. The magnificent seven showing wines at this tasting were Picardy, Edwards, John Kosovich, Frankland Estate, Lenton Brae, Paul Conti and Wignalls. Joining them were various gourmet food producers including Olio Bello, Cambray Sheep Cheeses, Holy Smoke and Perth’s King of Oysters, Jerry Fraser.

Try as I might, I couldn’t get around to everyone at the tasting so I can only offer some brief impressions of some of the wines tasted. As usual, the 2007 Lenton Brae SSB looked excellent, but I was also pleasantly surprised by the immense drinkability of the 2006 cab merlot: the addition of a small portion of 2007 shiraz to the final blend really helped at same richness to the palate. The cellar-door only 2007 No Way Rose also looked smart.

A brief pullover at the Wignalls stand was next on the itinerary to check out the ‘06 pinot from Albany. While this will be of little interest to Burg-hounds, the wine’s red berry fruit, suppleness and fine, grainy tannins made for a very tidy tipple from one of the Great Southern region’s pinot pioneers.

We then went south physically and geographically and moved to the downstairs tasting area, our first stop being Frankland Estate. While the hot, short and sharp vintage conditions of 2007 weren’t too favourable for riesling - a fact reflected in the lack of riesling trophies awarded at this year’s Mt Barker show - I’ve enjoyed a lot of the recent riesling releases, so was keen to have a look at Frankland Estate’s Isolation Ridge. Full of the region’s talcummy acid and citrus florals, the ‘07 was a delicious drink minus the booming acidity of previous releases. The current release of the winery’s flagship Olmo’s Reward 2004 was juicy and fine, but the real discovery was the release of a new red, the Smith Cullam 2005, Frankland Estate’s interpretation of the classic Aussie “claret” blend of shiraz cabernet: aromas of crushed blackberries and violets, powdery yet grippy tannins help deliver a mouthful of vibrant, punchy ripe fruit, but this is no haymaker - more like a controlled one-two jab-cross combo. Juicy, succulent, tightly structured, fine and long. A winner.

Next door to Frankland Estate (at the tasting, not in real life) were the Kosovichs of the Swan Valley who always seemed to have a crowd tasting their gear, but somehow managed to pin down Arch for a yarn and taste. An ‘06 pinot from the family’s southern holdings looked the goods and pleasantly varietal with even a hint of stalkiness with the restrained cherry fruit. Similarly, the ‘06 cabernet was also drinking awesome - being a warm region, the Valley didn’t suffer the same problems as the state’s more southerly producers during last year’s late vintage, as reflected in the deliciously gulpable mouthful of ripe blackcurrants and berries. Of course, being the weak soul that I am, I couldn’t not have a glass of the deliciously nutty and supple liqueur muscat and with that, the tasting was brought to an impromptu end - the fortified is such a ball of flavour that to try and taste table wine after a sip would have been taking the piss in a big way.

Sadly we didn’t get around to tasting the wares of Edwards, Paul Conti or Picardy (though we did get to their last tasting about a month earlier and its safe to say the Pannells are still on point like a needle), but such is life when you need to be elsewhere in an evening. Still, I guess that means they’ll be on top of the to-taste list next year - and we WILL be back in 08, and the year after, and then the year after that…

Last night was spent at Burswood’s swanky new restaurant-bar (A)Lure for Scoop magazine’s spring wine tasting. I’m not the kind of person to eat or drink at top-end eateries and bars on the regular, but (A)Lure certainly looked like it had all the style of Melbourne’s finest watering holes-cum-eateries: impressive wine lists including plenty of ultra-premium Champagne and Aussie icon reds, an extensive beer list and the essential deep house soundtrack muzak. If only the restaurant didn’t overlook the pool and sometimes barren-looking riverside car parks - and if somehow we could have gotten the Danny Green and Otis Jackson fight piped into the private dining room at the back of the restaurant!

I arrived a little earlier than the scheduled start time to help open bottles and pour but was pleasantly surprised to find that all that had already been done: it’s amazing how much faster a tasting is to set up when almost every wine submitted is under screw cap. Apart from not having to wrestle with waiter’s friends and being on target with your pours, there’s the added benefit of not having any idea what you’re about to taste which makes for a completely objective tasting. Sometimes when pouring flights of wine, you can’t help but notice a familiar-looking logo or swatch of colour on a bottle neck and prejudicing your thoughts accordingly.

This wine was one that I was a little on my own in my appreciation for - admittedly not that uncommon as I am a fairly generous marker and the antithesis of a points miser, at least when it comes to scores between 16 and 18 using the 20-point scale. Surrounded by blatantly toasty and caramel-licked chardonnays, this looked out of place on the night, but when I learned the wine’s identity this morning via email, it made perfect sense. Throughout his time at Moss Wood, Bill Pannell was always one to stick to his guns and do things his way and his Burgundian-skewed winemaker son Daniel has followed closely in his footsteps.

Closed nose. Subtle citrus fruit sprinkled with vanilla. The oak influence has imparted a distinct mealiness which I found very attractive and appealing, though at this stage it did dominate the mouth a little. Lots going on on the multi-layered palate, but never approaching chaos. The wine finishes succulent and long with bursts of citrus right through the finish. Right up my chardonnay alley and styled unmistakably according to the Picardy house style. Due for release later this year in September when the wine will no doubt soak up a little more of the oak, I suspect my credit card details will once again be making their way to a little boutique winery in Pemby for more punishment… www.picardy.com.au

The rest of the night was spent with fellow tasters at the bar with many a cleansing ale. Perhaps too many some might argue: Hoegaarden, Hoegaarden Forbitten Fruit ($7 a bottle! Can you believe it?) and the wonderfully bright, floral and hoppy Knappstein Lager made for quite the nightcap.

Alluring varietally correct nose of sour cherries, fennel, hints of snapped twig, earth and rhubarb – a great combination of fruit and forest floor. Stunningly juicy palate full of all the flavours on the nose with and undercurrent of sour cherry helping the wine along. Fine, chalky tannins line the side of the mouth while a touch of grip on the back palate ushers the wine along right through to its long, persistent finish. The flavour lingers in the mouth like strong mouthwash: if Listerine put out something that tasted remotely close to this, Australia would have the best dental health in the world. Last year while tasting Picardy’s 04 Tete De Cuvee, winemaker Dan Pannell told me that he believed the regular ’05 pinot noir was even better than the winery’s best pinot from the ’04 vintage. Quite a claim considering the pedigree of the Pannell’s pinot, but all alliteration aside – you can’t help but agree with Mr Pannell’s point-of-view when the wine in the bottle tastes this good. This will thrill lovers of the Picardy style while introducing many others to the wonders of this Pemberton venture. www.picardy.com.au