2010 Cleggett Wines Men Of Kent Cabernet Sauvignon

A unique blend of 96% red and 4% white Cabernet Sauvignon from Langhorne Creek. The name is a reference to the Cleggett ancestors who migrated from England over a century ago.
White Cabernet Sauvignon or Shalistin to use its registered name is an albino mutation of the Cabernet grape discovered by chance on the Cleggett family vineyards in the early 1990's. Cuttings were propagated and the winery is now the only producer in the world of this grape.
   
Co-fermented and aged in French oak for 12 months it pours a bright deep purple colour.

Blackberry, dark chocolate, cedar with a hint of eucalyptus and tropical fruit on the nose.
Succulent varietal flavours of cassis, plum, mint with the fine tannins carrying this elegantly soft wine to a savoury lingering finish.
Fresh, juicy, supple and approachable. Very good.

 Awarded Gold at the 2013 Royal Adelaide Wine Show.


Source: Retail. ABV: 14.5%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $25.00. Rating: 90 Points. 
Website: http://www.cleggettwines.com.au
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2013 Cirami Estate Riverland Saperavi

Owned by the non-profit Riverland Vine Improvement Committee Inc. and named after long time vine research pioneer Richard Cirami, the Estate is a collection of nursery plantings. From a single vineyard, this was a gold medal winner at the AAVWS in 2013.
  
A couple of dozen wineries presently grow the Saperavi variety on the Australian mainland in diverse climatic conditions with it seems great promise for its future.

It is one of those rare grape varieties that not only have black skins but red coloured pigment in the pulp (anthocyanin). The French use the term teinturier to describe these 'painted' or 'dyed' varieties.

 Highly acidic and powerfully tannic, this ancient native of Georgia in the former Soviet Union needs strong flavours to match its intense and serious spicy personality.

Joseph Stalin was said to imbibe in it and I could imagine Vlad the Putin now chugging back a few in the Kremlin as he reminisces about past annexations and plans for future forays !

 This was surprisingly my first adventure with the mysterious Saperavi and it was an enthralling experience.  
There is a dense, inky colour, almost black in the glass.

Brooding aromas of rich dark fruits, confectionery, cacao, star anise and smoke. 

 Difficult to drink initially, not much fun at the time. A little tight and astringent at first but the flavours persisted on the palate opening up to reveal a solid core of dark cherry and dark chocolate with complexity added by dry twigs and savoury notes of white pepper and star anise. To me the wine only revealed a little of its full potential so it could easily cellar for many years to come.
Carries the alcohol well with good balance and a persistent savoury aftertaste. 

 This powerful variety is well worth investigating and at the price, this one is excellent value.  


 Source: Retail. ABV: 15.5%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $15.00. Rating: 90+ Points. 
Website: http://www.rvic.org.au/cirami_estate_wines.php
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2010 Rutherglen Estates Renaissance Zinfandel


The Rutherglen Estates' Renaissance range is made from premium hand selected grapes that are crafted into the winery's premium selection of wines.
    
Attractive deep russet red in the glass.

 Plenty of fresh smelling spicy cherry, plum fruit flavours, pine nuts and chocolate aromas.
Blackberry and brambly fruit sweetness with smooth leather and mocha, the American oak bringing a toasty cedar note. 
The balance between the sweetness of the fruit and the savoury edginess is the key here to this flavoursome wine.
Grippy tannins and a juicy acidity to the finish
Medium-bodied but with loads of richness, complexity and a strength that is not over the top.

A quality Zin that is at the peak of its form. Excellent.  


Source: Winery. ABV: 14.5%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $35.00. Rating: 92 Points. 
Website: https://www.rutherglenestates.com.au

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2012 Sandhurst Ridge Wines Nebbiolo

Located at Marong in the Bendigo Wine Region, the boutique, family-operated Sandhurst Ridge has produced wines since the mid-1990's with its first Nebbiolo released in 2008. This is a terrific local example of Nebbiolo and like with many Italian variety wines is enjoyed better with food. It would pair perfectly with a rack of lamb.
Soft tawny colours with brownish tinges.
Dark chocolate, crushed rose petal, notes of tarry earthiness. An overlay of discrete oaky smoke too on the aromatics.
Soft and shy entry that cranks up into a brooding, seductively dry, savoury wine of intense varietal flavours and mouthfeel.
The mid-weight palate is fresh and balanced and offers up vibrant black cherry, cranberry and tar. Notes of wild mushroom and black olive make the wine really interesting. 
The palate is all about the structure, velvety texture, crisp acid and a core of lingering subtle savoury tannins. A lot to like here.  


 Source: Winery. ABV: 13.3%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $28.00. Rating: 91 Points. 
Website: http://www.sandhurstridge.com.au




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2015 Cassegrain Edition Noir Sangiovese


Based in Hastings River near Port Macquarie on the northern New South Wales coast, Cassegrain sources its Sangiovese grapes from the state's Central Ranges.
Its Edition Noir range of wines are produced from small parcels of high quality fruit allowing winemakers John and Alex Cassegrain to make limited quantities wines of distinction. Wine matured in French and Hungarian oak. 

Dark ruby colour in the glass.
Dark cherries, plums, goji berry, metal shavings and vanilla smoke. More lifted fruit-driven aromas than savoury ones.
Smooth mid-weight wine of earthy tomatoes, cherry and raspberry. Delivers a sturdy palate of red fruits, lively acidity and chewy tannins. Soft, lean, rustic and a bit edgy. Cries out for food, not something you'd chug back by itself.  

It is lovely drinking Sangiovese but a little too warm through the mid-palate and towards the tail end, which affected the overall rating.  


 Source: Retail. ABV: 14.5%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $28.00. Rating: 89 Points. 
Website: https://www.cassegrainwines.com.au
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2015 Grove Estate The Italian

The Italian is a blend of Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Barbera from the Grove Estate Vineyards near Young in the Hilltops Region of Southern New South Wales. Established in 1989 by a partnership of families, the company contracts most of its winemaking to Long Rail Gully Wines near Murrumbateman and has a passion for red Italian grape varieties including Zinfandel. 

Cool climate, estate grown blend of these three premium Italian varieties that displays crimson colours with a purple hue.
Pretty perfume of rose petals, strawberry, cherry and tar aromas.
It's a light- to mid-weight framed wine with stewed prunes, black cherries and smokey savoury herbs across the palate.
Subdued dusty tannins, clean fresh acidity. Soft and juicy texturally. Loads of fresh, soft mixed berry flavours, which is what you would expect from a cool climate region. A lingering savoury finish. 
Has lots of potential with cellaring, this is a food friendly blend of finesse and flavour. Very Good.


 Source: Winery. ABV: 14.0%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $26.00. Rating: 90 Points. 
Website: http://www.groveestate.com.au
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2013 Brokenwood Tim's Paddock Pinot Noir

Bought this wine on a whim as I had never tasted a Pinot Noir from Beechworth before. The first vintage from a single vineyard enterprise with the blurb saying from "very ripe fruit." Well, that's good news ! 

 The wine didn't give me the impression it was a Pinot Noir in terms of its varietal profile, more a medium-bodied dry red. Not supple, fine or delicate as you might think from a cool climate region but sappy and weighty. 

 It's a wine of vivid purple appearance.
Woody herbs, stalks, forest floor, undergrowth, gamey flavours and dark cherry form the complex nose.
A little sappy, draping the palate with earthy, sour cherry and other berrylike flavours. Surprisingly thick. Supple tannins and the wood oak nuances did add something but this wine lacked any real interest.

 Maybe it was this particular bottle. The wine was neither flawed nor overripe but not what I was expecting from such a region and didn't go a refill.


Source: Retail. ABV: 13.0%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $15.99. Rating: 86 Points. 
Website: http://www.brokenwood.com.au
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2013 Sellicks Hill Wines Greco

The transportation of grape vines throughout history with the migration and settlement of people is a subject that fascinate me. 

 Greco Bianco or simply Greco is a case in point. The oldest white grape variety in Campania, Greco or its ancestor vine was thought to have been introduced there by an ancient Greek people, the Pelasgians from Thessaly in the eighth or seventh century B.C.
The variety is used in the production of the DOCG wine Greco di Tufo, a reference to its hillside community home of Tufo in the Avellino province and additionally is a permitted component of several other southern Italian DOC's. 

 Plantings of Greco are still small in Australia with Fiano clearly ahead in the stakes. Only a handful of producers are giving the variety the respect it deserves and Sellicks Hill Wines in McLaren Vale is one of its ardent supporters having the region's currently only Greco fruit since 2011.

 Owner and self-proclaimed "vineyard dude" and "one man band" at Sellicks Hill Wines, Paul Petagna learnt the art of making wine himself with help from his Italian father-in-law and some winemaking friends at the Vale. Paul says he makes the wines on-site in a galvanised shed, affectionately known as 'The Shed' using organic and sustainable winemaking techniques. The decision to plant Greco was "because both my in-laws came from Campania and one of the most common whites in their village was Greco," he recalls fondly. It's history repeating itself. People migrating, settling, memories of home and growing grapes for wine.    

The 2013 Sellicks Hill Greco pours an attractive light yellow/copper colour into the glass.
The aromas were fairly muted initially then really open up. Citrus, stone fruits, green leaf. Fresh, clean and tangy nose. Perfumes continue in the mouth with peach, green apple, pineapple and herbal notes. It's very much a mineral- and acid-driven dry white wine. Silky/oily mouthfeel armed with zippy, racy acidity that goes down easily. A lingering finish showcases lemon pith, dry minerals and a hint of almond. Delicious.
In a region crying out for a signature white variety other than the ubiquitous Chardonnay, Greco appears to be well-suited to McLaren Vale's Mediterranean climate, according to Paul Petagna holding its acid extremely well and versatile enough to accompany diverse dishes and flavours.
Real interest and personality here, fun to drink and an impressive example. Recommended.
Source: Sample courtesy of Sellicks Hill Wines. ABV: 13.0%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $30.00.       Rating: 92 Points. Website: http://www.sellickshillwines.com


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2015 Eldridge Estate of Red Hill PTG



A rarity on the Australian landscape, inspired by the Passe-Tout-Grains Pinot Noir/Gamay early drinking red and rosé wines of Burgundy. Both varieties of this 50/50 blend are tank fermented together at Eldridge Estate on the Mornington Peninsula. A minimalist creation. Unfined, unfiltered and low in sulphur.

There is immediate appeal. Senses working overtime. Visually, it glows a deep bright cherry colour with mauve tinges. The colour of Charles Melton's Rose Of Virginia comes to mind. 


It's fresh and fragrant with cherry, sweet spice, forest floor and rose petal on the nose. 
The palate has crispness and crunch. Blood plum, raspberries, cranberry fruit flavours with a slight herbal, almost peppery edge adding interest. The red fruits give the palate a soft, succulent character that is framed by refreshing acidity and supple tannins. Long savoury aftertaste. 
The PTG is dry and light-bodied but there's a firmness and intensity for it to be classified as a rosé per se. Perhaps an insanely drinkable rosé on steroids might suffice as a description ! 

Will stand up to a chill and as a match to chilli dishes. A great find. Recommended.
Source: Winery. ABV: 13.0%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $32.00. Rating: 92 Points. 
Website: https://eldridge-estate.com.au
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2015 Clonakilla Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

An early drinking quaffer from Clonakilla's 40th vintage, the winery renown for its classy cool climate wines, in particular for the ethereal and iconic Shiraz Viognier.

 Clear yellow with lifted lemon and lime aromas. 
A tightly textured refreshing palate displays vibrant citrus, gooseberry, green pea flavours and racy mineral undertones. 
Bone-dry wine marked by a brisk line of cleansing acidity. Light to mid-weight and tightly knit.
Different from the SBS blends out west. No ageing needed here. Drink now.

 Source: Winery. ABV: 12.0%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $22.00. Rating: 89 Points. Website: http://www.clonakilla.com.au

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2015 Chalmers Heathcote Rosato

The Chalmers have long been in the vanguard of the alternative new wine order as it were and this Rosato is another example of that foresight and creativity. The make up for each year's Rosato changes with this vintage a 40/60 blending of oak barrel fermented Aglianico and tank fermented Sagrantino from premium Heathcote fruit. 

 The wine pours salmon pink/orange blush in the glass. 
Fragrant aromas of redcurrant, cranberry, cherry and dried herbs.
Palate is dry, compelling and drinkable. Soft flavours of red fruits, savoury spice and candied orange peel. A textural palate enhanced by citrus acidity and grippy tannins. A long savoury aftertaste.

 A truly outstanding Australian-made Rosato. Loads of interest, complexity and rather delicious to drink.      

Source: Retail. ABV: 13.0%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $25.00. Rating: 94 Points. Website: https://www.chalmerswine.com.au


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