AceHighWine

The latest addition to the Quaff ($19.95, Hardie Grant) collection on the bookshelf is as good as ever - and I’m not just saying that because I’m part of the tasting panel.

Once the lovechild of the vinous matrimony between Melbournite Max Allen and Perth boy Peter Forrestal (a bit of trivia - Forrie was the founding editor of Australian Gourmet Traveler WINE), the Scarborough wine writer has been granted sole custody of Quaff and has really taken to growing the annual guide to Australia’s best value drops, both in terms of the final product and weekly updates on the Quaff website.

While a handful of horrible growing seasons has led to the much-publicised wine and grape glut of yore starting to dry up, those hunting for value will still find plenty of options vying for their wine buying dollar. According to Forrie, of the 400 sub-$15 wines recommended in the book, 50 - one in eight - are “seriously good”.

Sadly, I missed the tasting where Quaff 2008’s wine of the year - the 2007 Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling - was unearthed, but I can vouch for the objectivity of all the tastings: four seven-wine brackets, all served masked and organised by variety, and the democratic discussion of the tasting panel. It’s a real thrill to discover some of the gems studded throughout the crowded Australian wine market and their subsequent lowly asking prices - some of the value on offer in the fortified stakes (thanks must go largely to Seppelt and Morris) is just bewildering.

Regular Quaff-ers will also notice some other changes to the book including a top 20 round-up of outstanding wine bargains and a reshuffle of categories to reflect the changing industry trends. There’s also a selection of more than 100 recommended drops more than $15 to hunt for, all written in Forrie’s succinct and insightful style.

If you’re still smarting after the commercial success known as “The Festive Season”, Quaff could well be your knight in red and green shining armour - either as a gift for fellow winos or a cheat sheet to unearth some of the nation’s best value drops. www.quaff.com.au

While the Zilzie brand might have slipped off my radar, two of its chardonnay drops caught my attention at a Quaff tasting last week. For those looking for value and quality outside the established names such as your Queen Adelaides and De Bortoli, the back end of the alphabet isn’t a bad place to start, particularly when it coems to drinks that are coloured white. www.zilziewines.com

Zilzie Selection 23 Chardonnay 2007 (< $10)
Pretty, apricot-driven nose with attractive citrus oak characters and floral notes. Sweet and persistent floral stone fruit flavours help this stand out from the sea of Australian chardonnay surrounding drinkers while. 16.5

Zilzie Chardonany 2006 (< $15)
My voice was the only one singing the praises of this wine, but I still stand behind my judgment. Granted, the caramelly oak on the nose is a bit overpowering to sniff, but in the mouth it lends a nice toasty edge to the juicy melon flavours. The palate is tight and balanced while the finish is long and succulent. Tastes much better than it smells. 17.

Before I rattle off today’s tasting note, I’d like to give some big fat props and a large “coooo-eeeeeeeeeeeeee!” across the Nullabor and all the way east to the generous-of-spirit Ric Einstein for the shout-out in his excellent TorbWINE. Inexplicably, his article covering Australian wine blogs found some space to mention my little 2005 planting among other much better websites including some of my personal faves, Winorama and Wino-sapien. Ric has been a supporter since the get-go and my first ventures online and I hope to one day share a glass of red with the man!

However, the next wine probably won’t get the seal of approval from the self-proclaimed red bigot, but I suspect it’ll do just fine with everyday drinkers with an eye for value. This was cracked open a few weeks back for Friday arvo drinks (sadly, I can’t find the snapshot I took of it) and knowing full well the office’s prejudice for whites, I was interested in their reaction. My note:

Grass, apple skins and a touch of greeness on the nose. Not shy in the flavour department as the palate gets hit with a burst of crunchy tropical fruit, juicy lemon and more of those vegetative characters alluded to on the nose. Finishes with a burst of lively acidity on both the back palate and the medium-length finish. 16/20 www.oxfordlanding.com

As is often the case with Yalumba-affiliated wines, Oxford Landing is punching above its price point and delivers in the value stakes. At just eight dollars, this is a steal and many of the girls in the office were quick to raise their eyebrows in delight after their initial sip.

Yes, this is the same Bin 65 that sells nigh-on impossible volumes year after year and is often international drinkers’ first brush with the “sunshine in a bottle” style of Australian chardonnay. No doubt it’s a big seller, but as a drink, what’s it like? Will it ever capture the imagination of “serious” wine drinkers? I my mind, the answers to this question are (in no order) “probably not” and “serious bang for your buck”. The wine’s aroma is vividly defined with broad strokes of banana, pineapple and other tropical fruits with a touch of oak-derived coconutiness thrown in for good measure. In the mouth, a dab of acidity acts as the perfect binding agent for those stonefruit and coconut characters with those oaky characters lingering right throughout the finish. It’s a nice, forward drop and when you consider the meager asking prices this can be picked up for, it’s easy to see why this is such a stand out in its weight division - it certainly stood out in the blind tasting it was lined up in with every member of the panel giving it the thumbs up. Going to a friend’s for a barbie? Save the LEAS, Pierro, Voyager Estates and other Margaret River chardys for another occasion and grab a bottle or two of this on the way there. It’s sure to be a hit and at least you’re guaranteed a drop with some varietal chardonnay characters. www.lindemans.com.au

The De Bortoli (rhymes with quarterly, not BORE-toe-lee) Vat Series is named in honour of the late Deen De Bortoli, a pioneering Australian to whom winemaking giant De Bortoli can attribute much of its present day success to – not that this wine can’t stand on its own merits of course. Its bouquet consists of everything you’d expect to find in an Italian spice mix (think oregano, basil, thyme, parsley) with these flavours continuing through deliciously on to the palate with more than just a hint of freshly cracked pepper. Medium bodied and stuffed full of firm tannin, this will more than hold its own against big, hearty Mediterranean cuisine (perfect now that the cold weather’s here to stay). Still want more? Then consider that this $10 drop has the kind of succulence, juiciness and length on the finish that wines twice its price should have, but sadly don’t. A fitting tribute to a great man. www.debortoli.com.au

Wine can be pretentious, so it’s refreshing to taste wine that is pretension-free: unassuming drops that don’t pretend to be anything they’re not. Something like this very different wine. This isn’t the kind of drop that you’ll find sharing cellar space with first growth Burgundy or cases of Alsace riesling. Nor is it the kind of drink I thought I’d ever recommend on AceHighWine (I’ll have to scull half a bottle of good old fashioned Aussie claret to get the testosterone levels back up to acceptable levels after this), but in the right circumstances and with some creative food matching, the Killawarra Dusk Strawberry comes into its own. As I noted in my tasting note, this is “lolly water for grown ups”. The wine smells just like homemade strawberry jam bubbling away on the stove – little surprise considering there’s a subtle berry infusion to give this wine its flavour injection. And yes, it is a sweet wine and I doubt many guys would be seen drinking much of this as the brand’s marketing is aimed squarely at the fairer sex, particularly the funky chick-like website. So ladies, if you’re planning some kind of “pink” party, looking for a fun drink to share with friends or even looking for an alcoholic match for Devonshire tea, you won’t find too many candidates more suited to the job than this. www.killawarra.com.au

What amazing value! With a recommended retail price of a tenner (and I suspect this wine may be subject to a spot of ruthless liquor discounting) this has to be one of the biggest bargains perched on bottle shop shelves. The dark berry flavours are densely packed, encased in fine, soft tannins and mixed with some yummy oak-derived coffee characters, making this a perfect choice for barbecue quaffing. A wine that’s as easy to love as the cuddly, black and white birds who are aided by this wine’s proceeds. www.thelittlepenguin.com