The event was hosted by John Fordham who had previously been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division of the 2010 Australian Day Honours for his services to media, sport and entertainment management, wine journalism and the community. Guest speakers on the night were Phil Kearns and Jane Ferrari. Phil Kearns  is a former Australian rugby union player. He represented Australia 67 times and was captain of on 10 occasions. Jane Ferrari is a winemaker at Yalumba, but is also a major crusader for Yalumba, circling the world, promoting Yalumba and the Barossa Valley in general. She’s jeans, boots and a laid back straight talker, with a taste for Barossa Shiraz and an open soul. There’s no fake or frippery with Ferrari – when she preaches the Yalumba gospel, you realise that she’s doing it because she’s passionate about the place; she leaves the distinct impression that she wouldn’t waste her breath on anything she didn’t wholly believe in herself.

Wines on the night

Jansz Tasmania Premium NV Rosé

This wine is rich with the creaminess of the mousse while the Pinot contributes strawberry notes that fill the palate. The fruit flavours give length to the wine and fresh natural acid provides balance and a refreshing finish. Awesome aperitif.

Henschke Lenswood NV Blanc de Noir- Made from 100% Pinot Noir. Fantastic yeasty nose, lean on the pallet with a dry finish. A great aperitif! 19/20

Henschke Littlehampton Innes Pinot Gris 2009- Bursts out the glass with a fresh pear nose, loads of fruit on the pallet but with a bone dry finish 17/20

Henschke Lenswood Giles Pinot Noir 2008- Lovely noise, smells like Cassis with a touch of Vanilla beans. Great length on the pallet for a Pinot Noir with a soft, dry finish. 18/20

Henschke Louis Semillon 2008- A little closed on the nose. Some hints of lime and quite mineraly almost like a Riesling! Very lean and dry on the pallet with a light, crisp finish. 16/20

Henschke Louis Semillon 2002- A lot more open than 2008 on the nose displaying much more Semillon characters. Rich with more body on the pallet, definitely more oak and more length on the finish 18/20

Henschke Julius Riesling 2010- A very tropical noise that jumps out the glass. More passionfruit than lime, great structure and only a little acid on the finish. 16/20

Henschke Julius Riesling 2002- Much more of a typical Riesling than 2010 on the nose. Plenty of Lemon and Lime with good acid and length. A very long, dry finish. 18/20

Henschke Keyneton Euphonium 2007- A rich Plumy nose. Silky smooth on the pallet and well balanced. Slightly high in Alcohol at 14%. 17/20

Henschke Tappa Pass Shiraz 2007- Loads of fresh berries on the nose. Deep rich fruit flavours with grippy tannins and a spicy finish. Vinlock seal. 17/20

Henschke Mount Edelstone 2007- Great Vanillin nose, dark and rich in colour and taste. Good balance between fruit and oak. Took a while to open up! 17/20

Henschke Cyril Cabernet Sauvignon 2007- A little closed on the nose, a little Jammy. Smooth on the pallet with loads of great fruit, slightly green, medium bodied. 19/20

Henschke Hill of Grace 2006- A fantastically complex nose with different aromas every time but White Pepper and Vanilla prominent. Dark in colour with rich, concentrations of fruit. Extremely well balanced and so fantastically smooth with a long, long finish. 19.5/20

Duncan 30/06/2010

The lunch was hosted by Phil Ryan who is chief winemaker and general manger of Mt. Pleasant.

The whites

1. Mt. Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2008 – Although considered an entry level wine, I was surprised with the quality here. Lots of lime and grassy notes on the nose followed by similar characteristics on a medium weight palate. There’s a touch of herbaceous leaf character  about this one which is stylistically common in Hunter Valley semillon. I guess that’s the real difference between a semillon and a semillon/sauvignon blanc blends created elsewhere is Australia.

2. Mt. Pleasant Lovedale Semillon 2005 – Straight away I could tell there was a wine with a lot more oooomph in from of me.  After a few years in bottle, semillon tends to loose it’s fresh grassy herbaceous notes, which evolves into wines that are quite funky, pongy, and altogether unique to wine world in general. There are still lots of citrus freshness about the wine, with a soft textural palate. It finishes dry too, making it idea with light seafood dishes, especially shellfish.

3. Barwang Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2007 – Really melon and peachy on the nose. Very bright and fresh for a 2 year old white, which was surprising to me. There’s a very prominent juicy mid palate with this one, textural, and with lots of character. It is an oaked chardonnay, so beware if you are in the ABC (anything but chardonnay) club.

The reds

4. Essenze Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008 – With this region receiving so many accolades and good press lately, I was looking forward to it immensely.  It was easy to see it was a young wine by the colour; bright, clear and a gorgeous ruby red. Lots of bright red fruits like strawberries and redcurrants on the nose and mid palate. It had an underlining spicy character common with good quality pinot noirs, which usually develops more the older the wine gets. There was also a touch of ‘forest floor’ character on the finish, which all helps create well rounded wine. Another good example form a very up and coming wine region in New Zealand.

5. Mt. Pleasant Rosehill Shiraz 2006 – Sourced  100% from the Hunter Valley, I already knew the pedigree behind this wine, so I couldn’t wait to try it. An interesting nose, with lots of floral, vegetal and briar characters surprisingly. It was amazing to see the difference in a top quality Hunter Valley red compared to a South Australian over-ripe full bodied wine. Although this wine was rich  full bodied style, and will live on for a decade or more, there was an elegance about it which is unique to the region. People call it leathery, or ‘barn yard’, but I though of it’s character more within the savory and black peppery style.

6. Brands Liara Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot 2008 -From the nose, you could tell this was a baby. Lots of primary fruits like blackberries and cassis. Quite a big wine on the palate, but great for those new to wine, or those wishing to put some wine away in their cellar for a few years. This wine will develop into a really complex wine over the next 5-7 years. It had a great acid balance and plenty of mouth filling dark fruits. 5 gold medal won already.

7. Maurice O’Shea Shiraz 2006 – Like the Rosehill, this wine is 100% grown in the Hunter Valley. It comes from predominantly 120 year old vines. I found it more subtle than the Rosehill, very inviting. There was a lovely mirage of light and dark fruit characters (raspberry, blackberry, mulberry). although some oak characters present, it increases complexity and provides the backbone for all great red wines. Although 14.5% the alcohol is really well disguised. Hard to fault this wine.

8. Mt. Pleasant Maira Late Harvest Semillon 2008 – As this is a cellar door only wine you might have trouble finding one. If you can find one, it’s definitely worth it. As opposed to Botrytis Riesling styles of sweet wine, this one is definitely on the lighter style less and far less cloying.  Lots of lemon curd, citrus, and ripe melon characters.

9. Mt. Pleasant Show Reserve Brandy 5 Star. This was the last bottle at the winery, so I was hugely fortunate to get to experience it. A blend of 1963 and 1973 brandies, it had huge complexity with lots of nuts, herbs, and savoury oak characters. There’s an almond finish which sparked memories of  Christmas cake, and how good it would be to try a glass with a slice of it!

DD

This event was presented by Ed Carr – master winemaker, who is Australia’s most awarded sparkling winemaker. Established in 1995, Arras produce some of the finest sparkling wines in Australia. Based in Tasmania, they source the finest fruit from selected vineyard sites in the southern and east coast regions. They believe the key to producing world-class sparkling wines begins in the vineyard, where the cooler climate of Tasmania is imperative.

The event was aimed at comparing Arras against some of the best known French Champagne houses on the market.

All the wines poured were so in disguised bottles (blind). The idea being that you make your own judgements on the wines, before discovering what they were.

The first line up ‘Bracket 1′ consisted of 3 wines.

Wine 1- Aromas of biscuit, and bread with an overall yeasty tone.  The palate was well rounded with a nice texture, creamy and dry to finish. Some lychee character too.

Wine 2 – Aromas of shortbread and floral notes. More mineral than last wine, with subtle yeasty mouth feel. Medium intensity.

Wine 3 - Really toasty aromas, with lots of aromatics. A little thin on the mid palate, but plenty of character.

Results – Wine 1 – Taittinger N.V. Wine 2 - Arras Brut Elite Cuvee 401 Wine 3- Veuve Clicquot N.V.

Overall my favourite was the Taittinger, but the Arras at roughly$50 is about $20 less to buy in retail and is great value. The 401 represents that the majority of the base wine used was from 2004 vintage and the first batch.

Bracket 2

Wine 1 - Very fine bead.  Deep and dense aromas with lots of almond character. Well rounded style, rich and powerful. Lots of nutty characters.  Mouth feel was impressive with an almost bitter sweet dry finish.

Wine 2 - Much more open, floral aromas here with citrus tones. A very approachable style with lots of mineral notes. Lots of life in this one. A little 1 dimensional.

Wine 3 - I noticed this had the largest bead of all 3 arising my suspicions that this might be the Ozzie one.  Great aromas that reminded me of the last 2 wines put together. Although more ‘still wine’ like in character, there were lots of positives here .Yeasty, bready characters dominated. Very drinkable.

Results Wine 1 – Louis Roederer Vintage 2004 Wine 2 - Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2003 Wine 3 - Arras Grand Vintage 2003

Overall the most disappointing was the Moet & Chandon. The Roederer was interesting, but I felt needed another 6-12 months to soften out a little. The Arras was impressive and was very complex for a $75 wine. Great looking packaging too.

Bracket 3

Wine 1 - Probably the most aromatic of all the wines tried. The palate was full of surprises every time you tried it. Lots of nutty characters especially almonds. A great acid structure, but you would hardly even feel that there was any acidity in this wine. Remarkably easy to drink.

Wine 2 – I found this one far fruitier on the nose. It hadn’t the same punch as the last one, but there was a great deal of finesse about this wine. Lots of citrus characters that came through after  a second or two on the palate. Lighter style and hard to fault.

Results Wine 1 – Arras E.J. Carr Vintage 1999 Late Disgorged Wine 2 Dom Perignon Vintage 2000

Overall both were a pleasure to try, but at almost $100 less retail price less  the Arras it’s definitely worth seeking out. They have however only made 50 dozen, so you won’t see it everywhere. If you like your sparkling wines with lots of character and  which  evolves by the minute in the glass, then this is the one for you. The Dom Perignon whilst a touch expensive is a very good wine and will aged gracefully.

He showed us 2 ranges of his wines, entry level Marlborough Park, and his namesake Tomich Hill.

Marlborough Park Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – Soft, dry, easydrinking style. Surprisingly un-passionfruity, as many around these days are. Clean with  a nice acid structure. Snow pea character finish. 88/100 happy to recommend. RRP $14

Tomich Hill  Chardonnay 2008 – Lean and dry with some pear and apple characters. Hard to fault at this price. not much oak at all used here. 87/100 RRP $13

Tomich Hill Riesling 2008 – Inviting flowery nose, with lime, and citrus palate. Very drinkable, and not sweet like a lot of people think Riesling is.  Made with 2/3 Pewsey Riesling clone, and 1/3 GM 98 (German) clone.

89/11 RRP $18 (Gold medal – London International wine show)

Tomich Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – Steele dry character, great with a summer salad. Well rounded with lemon and citrus notes. Very easy to sip this all day. 91/100 RRP $20. (Rated 94/100 by James Halliday in 2009).

Tomich Hill GSR 2008 – The GSR stands for Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Very interesting sweet spicy nose that leads to a palate of soft sweet lemony fruit characters. Perfect with Asian food. 88/100 RRP $19

Tomich Hill Pinot Gris 2008 -A very medium bodied style, unusual for a Gris from Australia. Lots of pears and apple characters. The finish is a little short, but would go well with food. 87/100 RRP $ 26

Tomich Hill Pinot Noir 2007 –  Lots of sweet cherry berry characters underlined a beautiful savoriness that screams out to be drank with food. Better than I had expected.   Happy to recommend this one for sure. 93/100

Tomich Hill Syrah 2007 – Only 200 cases made of this beauty. Violet aromas on the nose. Medium bodied and supple with beautifully crafted black fruit characters underlined with white pepper. Not unlike a French Syrah from the Rhone Valley. Classic cool climate style. Great with food.  Better get some before it’s all gone! 95/100  RRP $40

Visit his website for more news http://www.tomich.com.au/

If you haven’t heard of these wines, well I hope this blog will give you a greater understanding of what a marvelous winery they have been for over 25 years. Dalwhinnie is located near the tiny village of Moonambel in the heart of the Pyrenees region of Western Victoria, Australia and is a super premium producer of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. At 595 metres above sea-level Dalwhinnie is the highest and most remote of the Pyrenees district vineyards. Surrounded and sheltered by the highest range, this unique bowl of vines is a world unto itself, located in a naturally undulating trough which falls away from the hills, forming an amphitheatre nestled into the ranges.

At the tasting I attended lately I was lucky enough to try a whole host of Chardonnays, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Each one was a masterpiece in its own right.

Chardonnay

1997 – Unbelievably well structured for such an aged wine. Starting to exude those rich buttery texture with tropical overtones. There is some viscosity on the palate, but you’d expect with a wine of this age. Wow

1998 – Broader palate, and more Burgundian (Chablis) in style. Lots of lovely citrus notes with a clean mineral finish. A little less oaky in style, but with great length of finish. A slight honeycomb finish, which comes with age, makes you long for more.

1999 – Another wine you’d think was a a $100 Burgundy. Even longer palate than the 1998 with more apparent honeycomb too. A touch of marzipan on the mid palate gives even more complexity.

2000 – Orange peel fruit characters with a marzipan undertone to finish. Not my favourite, but still showing great varietal character for a 9 year old wine.

2001 – The most powerful nose off all the whites I tried. More primary fruit characters than any of the other previously tasted here. Rich ripe melon, with citrus undertones. A really zing to finish.

2002 – Less palate weight here, but more mineral character. Soft easy drinking with a beautiful acid structure that will keep your mouth watering long after you try it. Hard to fault

Cabernet Sauvignon

1998 – Lots of briary fruit characters, with a cherry beery finish. Some obvious aged characters of savory spice and leather combine to create a beautifully crafted wine. Very inviting, well balanced fruit and acid structure.

1999 – More Bordeaux in style. Obvious ‘terrior’ characters like a good Margaux. Great concentration of primary and secondary fruits like the 1998 but finishing dry with gentle oak. My personal favourite.

2000 – Another you’d have trouble saying wasn’t a Margaux wine. Lots of dusty oak characters with all the finesse you’d enjoy spending $100 on a good Bordeaux vintage. Excellent.

2002 – This one had more primary fruit characters to enjoy. Blackcurrant, cassis, and spice all there with a dollop of cherry. A touch of leafiness brought out the Victorian character of this splendid wine.

2005 – Very drinkable now for such a young wine. The prominent nose and palate makes it easy to identify it’s a young wine. One for the cellar, but very elegant and hard to fault.

2006 – A bit of a monster this one. Very young but with oceans of blackberry, cassis and mocha characters that will age beautifully. Lots of tannin and fine acid backbone which denotes a well crafted beauty.

2007 – A little easier to drink than the 2006 surprisingly, but still a baby. The fruit characters taste even riper in this one. I’d love to put some of this one away for 5 -10.

Shiraz

1998 – Great depth of character that you’d expect from a wine of this age. More complexity that you count, tar, leather, cooked blackcurrant, spice, etc, etc.  Great drinking.

1999 – Youthful nose of blackberries and spice, and even a little closed amazingly. Dry style but warming and inviting. I recommend about 2 hours in a decanter before drinking.

2000 – A full bodied wine to remember. If you like them big, this is the one for you. Amazing length, and an abundant of spicy, dry tannins to get your teeth into. Savory finish that goes on and on.

2001 – True blue Ozzie Shiraz here. Blackberry as you’d expect dominates the palate, but then blueberry fruits kick in to refresh. Smokey, savory length balanced perfectly with soft integrated tannins.

2003 – Quite well developed for a youngish wine. More barnyard, liquorice and leather characters than you’d expect. Great with food this one.

2004 – Rich, with a very long leathery finish. A little young still to show it’s true potential, but lovely aniseed, licorice and cassis characters.

2005 – More approachable than the last 2 tried, even though it’s younger. Beautiful acid structure supported with fine integrated tannins that will enabler it to age on and on. Great complexity. Best Shiraz for me here.

2006 – Very soft and drinkable, but more closed than the 2005. Worth putting away for a few years for sure. More cherry berry that any of the others. Great structure. Worth every penny.

All in all an awesome experience, one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of going to. I cannot speak highly enough about the value these wines hold once they are cellared for a few years. Grab one today and you’ll see.

Cheers,

Denis

We started off on Friday morning, hoping for the best with Sydney traffic, but fearing the worst. We traveled via Castle Hill to pick a friend, then took the M2 road to Windsor, Richmond. The road then changes to the Bells Line Rd, and brings you through the Blue Mountains all the way to Mudgee via Lithgow on the number 86 road. It was my first time going this way, and I have to say a lot more picturesque then the usual Western Highway route, via Katoomba. All in all total it took 4 hours.

I had arranged to meet my friends at Logan wines on route. They are situated 20 minutes drive east of Mudgee on the main road. It’s not hard to spot, as the sign posts are large, and the winery is situated on quite a steep hill. The cellar door is immaculate with a large tasting area, and ample seating outside for those beautiful relaxing evenings sipping a glass of his Sydney wine show gold medal sauvignon blanc. The landscape is breathtaking with panoramic views in all directions. I was lucky enough to meet chief winemaker and owner Peter Logan. We started sampling his entry level range called Apple Flat. Made with Mudgee fruit, I reckon these are probably the best $10- $12 wines I tried over the trip. Next up were the Weemala range. These wines are sourced from both Mudgee and Orange Regions. There’s a couple of beauties here too, with the pinot gris being my pick of the bunch. They were all priced at roughly $15 a bottle. Lastly we tried the Logan Series range. All the fruit for these wines is sourced from Orange nearby. Again all outstanding value at about $30. I was surprised to see a moscato on the list, but was impressed by the quality. The rose for me was outstanding too. All in all well worth a visit.

Next we made the short drive to new winery Optimiste. I met Charlene a few weeks before at the store, and was impressed that such a new winery could create such interesting wines. She invited me up for a glass of wine, so being Irish I had to oblige. To my great delight I quickly discovered that there wasn’t any cellar door, but rather a cross country trip across 3 fields to get to their house! I was pretty unsure where to go so asked a friendly farmer for advice. It turned out that friendly farmer was none other that Chris, Charlene’s husband. He greeted us warmly and showed us where to go. At the house we tried their Marquis (Bordeaux blend of cabernet, merlot and petit verdot). Very well crafted, rich and powerful character with lots of class. They also produce a shiraz, cabernet, chardonnay, and straight petit verdot. All in all a fantastic experience, and with a cellar door being built in the next few years, definitely worth a visit.

We stayed at Kirima Cottages outside the town. Affordable, quiet, and would recommend. The next day the rain started, and never stopped for the day. The was a farmers market on, but was hard to get around due to the bad conditions. There was lots of shopping for the girls though, and many great cafes for lunch. Mudgee reminds one of a Sydney suburb with a real country feel. We had a winery tour organised through Mick and Jen Mudgee winery tours. Mick was a true blue Ozzie and made the day relaxed and fun info@onthebus.com.au.

Our first visit was to Oakley wines. Unfortunately the cellar door was packed and service as a result very poor. We sampled the Wild Oats and Robert Oatley range and finally Montrose wines. I enjoyed the Montrose range most, but didn’t speak to anyone about the wines so left without buying any.

Next was Robert Stein. His rose was exceptional, made with cabernet sauvignon. There was also a semillon riesling blend that certainly leaning a bit leftfield. Very interesting vintage ports, and heaps to try.Again the cellar door was full, but the ladies looking after us were first class. There was an interesting port there that you could but in a 10 litre flagon too!

Next off to Farmers Daughter wines. There wasn’t too many to choose from but all in all good affordable wines and a good service.

Then off to Pieter Van Gent, who practices the ever problematic task of bio dynamics and organic vines. The cellar door was so busy that the opened another out the back, where we were lucky enough to be looked after by Philip Van Gent (Pieter’s son). There almost a hippy esk vibe to the winery, and with everyone working there walking around with red hands, it was easy to see they were all working hard at vintage. Their wines were the pick of the day, especially the Muller Thurgau (original German variety) and 2004 cabernet which was aged for 4 years in barrel. A great range of ports (including a white port) finished the winery tour that day in the best possible way.

Mick, our driver was kind enough to stop off at Mudgee brewery for half an hour, so we could sample the local brew. Just what any wine lover needs after a day of sampling – a cold crisp beer.

The next day we had just enough time to go to Peterson’s winery. we had tried his 1998 sparkling ‘Rhiannon’ which is aged for 7 years on lees before final bottling. Exceptional quality and a must try. Their line up was impressive to say the least. Great wines with a definite Mudgee character. I particularly like their shiraz’s. Colin is another legend of a winemaker and a great guy to boot. His medal for ‘bulls..t artist of the year’ behind the counter needs no explanation.

Then back to Sydney unfortunately, via the High Valley Cheese and Wine Factory, which was great too. Next time I’d like to try Di Lusso Estate, with their Italian varietals, Huntington, Lowe Family, Andrew Harris, Frog Rock, Clearview, Louee, and of course Cooks Lot, who are doing great things there too. A great weekend away anytime of the year, and wineries there that are improving with age.

Cheers, Denis

Over the weeks, months and years ahead, we’ll bring you all the latest news and goings on from Red Bottle. We also aim to bring you the very latest reviews from the wine, beer and spirits world. We hope you enjoy our blog, and find it a fun filled, educational read.

Cheers!