2006 Rutherglen Estates Single Vineyard Nebbiolo

In its native appellation of Piedmont, Nebbiolo is renown for the production of Barolo and Barbaresco. Whether the name of the grape refers to its 'foggy' bloom - the Italian 'nebbia' - or to its 'nobile' origins is a moot point that could be argued over a glass or three of this aromatic, earthy red.

Nebbiolo has slowly started to get a foothold in the Australian wine landscape and there are some excellent examples around now despite early failures and the variety's reputation as a problematic grape to cultivate.

Aged for four years in old French oak to help balance the tannins and acid, this Rutherglen expression is crimson red to brown in colour with a bouquet of forest floor, tobacco, spice and leather. Somewhat tarty initially, the soft, medium bodied palate has loads of dark sour cherries, a hint of chocolate and oaky vanilla to bolster the firm tannic grip. The long, spicy finish is an invitation to pair with either a winter casserole or aged cheese.

There isn't the usual tar and roses complexity associated with an aged Nebbiolo but this is still a really good version of this emerging variety with the potential for a further 5-7 years cellaring. 

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 88 Points.  Website: www.rutherglenestates.com.au

2010 Zonte's Footstep The Love Symbol Savignin Blanc

You could be excused if you read this to be Sauvignon Blanc, or that it was a typo. All a bit confusing if you didn't know it was the French variety Savignin from the Jura region, a grape closely related to Traminer and not Sauvignon Blanc at all.

Most Australian producers do not use the Blanc on the label, leaving the Savignin to get people's attention and thereby lessening confusion. Pale straw in colour with citrus fruits and floral aromatics, this Savignin delivers crisp, stewed apples and minerals on the palate. It finishes soft, flavoursome and refreshing. A good example of this emerging variety to enjoy with seafood or on its own.

Until recent DNA testing proved otherwise, the Savignin grape was mistakenly thought to be the classic Spanish variety Albarino. Apart from the marketing nightmares, there was the issue of changing consumer thinking that it was neither Albarino nor Sauvignon Blanc that we were drinking.

One of the more original names for a winery, Zonte's Footstep in the Langhorne Creek wine region on the South Australian Fleurieu Peninsula, takes its name from a 19th century Zante currant vineyard that dried up with the present winery following in its 'footsteps'.

Langhorne Creek is regarded as one of Australia's oldest and possibly most underrated wine growing regions with the Love Symbol vineyard situated on a 40 million year old alluvial plain with the Savignin vines planted in maritime red sands sitting over pre-Cambrian era limestone.

That my wine loving friends makes the Heathcote Region's ancient Cambrian 'dirt' seem positively recent!

Source: Retail Purchase. Rating: 87 Points. Website: www.zontesfootstep.com.au

2009 Old Mill Estate Langhorne Creek Touriga Nacional

My first introduction to this dry, red Portuguese variety was at a favourite watering hole and as they say in the classics, the rest is history ! Bored with the usual offerings, sticking to my a b c diet, I thought I'd push the vinous education envelope and try the touriga. My only knowledge of the variety was its use in making vintage port. The truth be told, that's probably when I first experienced it, not knowing it was actually the touriga varietal.

Be warned winophiles, approach with care as there is an intense, brooding creature in the glass. A table wine of inky dark colours, concentrated dark fruit flavours, high tannins and a 14.5% alcohol content, it is initially shy on the nose but delivers a wallop to the unsuspecting novice once swirled.

Heady, tight, musky and fruity on the aromatics with plums, dark berries, spices and black tea providing an enormous structure to the palate. Yet an underlying smooth texture makes this wine so intriguing and appealing that it is difficult to ignore. A wine of contradictions, complexity, balance and length that has a considerable age-worthiness to it. No prizes in guessing this would complement hearty meat dishes. A real cracker of a wine !

Old Mill Estate was the first Australian winery to use touriga national to produce premium table wines and believed that the grape would thrive in the rugged, deep alluvial soils of the Bremer River estuary. Indeed, it would appear this variety has great potential in Australia to grow and produce quality table wines in conditions similar to the northern Douro and Dao regions of its native Portugal. 

Source: Retail Purchase. Rating: 92+ Points. Website: www.oldmillestatewines.com.au

2010 Yalumba Running With Bulls Barossa Tempranillo

Opaque, deep ruby crimson in colour with restrained aromas of spicy red fruit, maraschino cherries and mulberries. A hint of liquorice and chocolate rounds off the nose that improves with airing. The palate is medium weight with smooth, juicy, subtle oaky flavours and well balanced acidity with fine chalky tannins adding length at the tail end.

Tempranillo is a widely grown Spanish red grape that translates as "little early one" in reference to its short ripening period. Rioja and Ribera del Duero are the two main regions in Spain where Tempranillo dominates.

The Running With Bulls is sourced from numerous vineyards throughout the Barossa Valley and Penrice region. As a regional expression of tempranillo, this is an excellent wine with interesting fruit flavours but it may not show the real essence of the variety as its Wrattonbully cousin for example, which is sourced from different sites from the one vineyard.

Tempranillo is growing in popularity on the Australian wine landscape with its early ripening ability, potential and suitability to grow in both cooler as well as warmer environments. It will be interesting to compare its popularity to the Italian Sangiovese variety as its rival for hearts, minds - and palates - as the next big thing!

Source: Retail Purchase. Rating: 89 Points.

2010 Station Creek King Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Station Creek is a boutique winery located at Cheshunt in north east Victoria's cool climate King Valley, a region consistently producing quality traditional grape varieties as well as the emerging Italian varieties such as Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Arneis.

This pale green Sauvignon Blanc has subtle gooseberry, citrus fruits and tropical aromatics with green beans and passion fruit notes to add a little interest.

Fresh, crisp acidity on the palate with herbaceous characters give this elegant wine a satisfying and long finish.

Winemaker David Steer considers this to be his best production since the first vintage of Sauvignon Blanc in 1999.

This is definitely not the pungent Marlborough grassy fruit bomb we have come to experience nor does it have the rich complexity of for example, the Sorrenberg Sauvignon Blanc.

What it does deliver to the drinker is a refreshing, zesty dry wine that provides a different variation on the usual one dimensional Sauvignon Blanc theme. Serve this to accompany lightly crumbed fish flllets and lemon wedges. 

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 85 Points.

2008 Unsung Heroes Petit Verdot

Made by one of Australia's leading viticulturalists Geoff Hardy for a predominantly United States market from his Tractor Shed Wine range, the name reflects the underrated work of Petit Verdot, an unsung grape hero used to add richness, tannin and colour to

Cabernet Sauvignon based blends.

Petit Verdot is known as the ugly duckling of the five classic varieties permitted in the Bordeaux appellation and appears to be losing favour there as it struggles to ripen in the region's cooler climate.

This does not appear to be the case in Australia's warmer ripening conditions and our propensity to make stand alone varietal wines. The enthusiasm of winemakers has translated into increased plantings of Petit Verdot especially throughout South Australian wine regions and has highlighted the grape's suitability there and potential as a future rival to shiraz.

The fruit for this single varietal is a blend from vineyards in South Australia's McLaren Vale and Limestone Coast regions where climatic conditions are similar to both Mediterranean and Continental Europe.

Dark garnet in colour, intense and brooding things are going on in the glass. The violet, plum, blueberry and coffee aromas underline the fragrancy of the nose. The initial chewy, rich mouthfeel of plum and blueberry is slightly overtaken by the strong tannins and alcoholic heat (14.5%) on the spicy mid-palate. Silky textures throughout.

A long and pleasant finish completes this beautiful black swan. Nothing petit here winelovers!

This is a well made, tasty, powerful wine that deserves more recognition than it receives.

It would match red meat dishes very well. 

Source: Retail Purchase. Rating: 89 Points. Website: http://www.k1.com.au

2010 Rutherglen Estates Single Vineyard Arneis

Who said you couldn't drink Arneis during the cold winter months or any other white wine for that matter? We all need refreshing drinks but do we need to drink warming reds during this time? Matching this particular example from northern Victoria with either Italian fare or seafood dishes could be a pleasurable experience and a great alternative to the usual white wine suspects that pair well with these types of food.

The first Italian grape variety in the Rutherglen Estates portfolio and their fourth vintage according to the website, Arneis is the premium white wine from Piedmonte, also known under the synonym 'white Barolo' for its use in softening the aggressive tannic structure of Nebbiolo. Indeed, Arneis is the sibling white grape to the  red 'king' Nebbiolo and thrives in the chalky, sandy soils of its home in the Roero province of north-weestern Italy's Piedmonte region where it produces fragrant, harmoniously balanced wines of richness and freshness.

It's name in the old Langhe-Piedmont dialect translates as 'whimsical', 'stubborn' or 'little rascal', a reference to its capricious nature in the vineyard. Susceptible to poor yields, powdery mildew, low acidity, late ripening and easy oxidisation, this was a recipe for disaster even before the grape had been made into wine. To complicate matters further, in addition to a slew of regulatory factors impacting its growth and development as a varietal in Italy, Arneis came close to varietal extinction during the mid-twentieth century before dry white wines gained increasing popularity in the 1980's.

This is a refreshing, crisp dry white wine that doesn't really challenge the nose in terms of aromatics. It came across on the palate as light and citrusy, slightly herbaceous with the merest hint of pear and almond, some of the characteristics in its varietal flavour profile. But unfortunately, that was about it.

A good introduction to this variety, perhaps an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc for those looking for something a little different, but to me it was one dimensional and lacking in complexity or aromatics. I will look forward to reviewing other examples of this increasingly popular variety. 

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 82 Points. Website: www.rutherglenestates.com.au

2008 Rutherglen Estates Single Vineyard Sangiovese

Ruby red in colour. Intense sour cherry aromatics with tight layers of plum and cinnamon flavours integrate with fine, silky tannins to produce an elegant, food-friendly Sangiovese from 'little Italy' in Victoria's north east wine region.

This classic Tuscan varietal that forms the primary component of Chianti (Hannibal Lecter's favourite wine!), Brunello di Montalcino and the 'Super Tuscan' wine blends, takes it name from the Latin sanguis Jovis, 'the blood of Jove (Jupiter)'. It is Italy's most widely planted red grape variety and was introduced into Australia in the late 1960's.

The warm, juicy, earthy, dried herb characteristics persist on the palate and make this medium-bodied wine such a satisfying experience for either drinking now or medium term cellaring if patience is one of your virtues. Its fourteen months ageing in Hungarian oak hightens both the savoury fruit notes and the wine's length.

Prior to its recent, unfortunate closure the Rimefire Winery near Toowoomba in Queensland with its Tuscan-like terroir, produced one of my favourite Sangiovese varietals. The baton has now been passed on to this Rutherglen interpretation!

Try this impressive Sangiovese with tomato-based pasta and pizza dishes where the acidity and moderate alcohol levels would complement the food. 

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 88 Points. Website: www.rutherglenestates.com.au

2006 Sailors Falls Estate Pinot Gris

Nestled in the undulating hills near Daylesford north of Victoria's Macedon wine region, Sailors Falls Estate is a boutique family owned winery with an attractive bed and breakfast on the property.

The 1.2 acres under vines contain pinot gris, pinot noir and small amounts of gewurztraminer that are all dry grown according to contract winemaker Owen Latta at Eastern Peake Winery near Ballarat. The pinot gris itself has been produced at the Eastern Peake Winery since 2004.

Pinot gris and its Italian counterpart pinot grigio were rare grapes in Australia 15 years ago. Now however, both are no longer officially considered alternative grape varieties and are ineligible for the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, such is their mainstream status.

This pale straw green cool climate wine exhibits pear and blossom aromatics. Honey, cinnamon and juicy pear enliven the dry lingering minerality and acidity of the palate.

It opened to reveal that it had not lost any of the honeyed, spicy, almost peppery characteristics that come with age in the bottle. A delicious white to take to your favourite Asian restaurant.

Pinot Gris tends to be consumed as a young wine and I was quietly surprised that this had cellared so well.

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 86+Points. Website: www.sailorsfallsestate.com.au

2008 Galafrey Muller Mount Barker Muller Thurgau

Muller Thurgau is a rare white grape on the Australian wine landscape, grown only in cooler regions such as Tasmania, the Snowy Mountains zone, Mudgee and Mount Barker in Western Australia's Great Southern Wine Region.

We all remember the German wine Liebfraumilch from our younger drinking years? You wouldn't want to or can't? Well, that was the Muller Thurgau grape in that watershed swill. Thank Bacchus and Dionysus things have changed for the better, that's all I've got to say!

The Muller Thurgau variety has been grown at the family-owned Galafrey Winery since its establishment in 1977, the oldest in the Mount Barker Region. Winemaker Kim Tyrer says that Mount Barker's cool climate made Muller Thurgau good to grow and popular owing to its uniqueness and approachability with food.

First bred by botanist Professor Hermann Muller from Thurgau, Switzerland in 1882, it was originally thought to be a cross between Riesling and the French table grape Silvaner. The grape was named after him in 1913. However, first botanical then only recent genetic analysis has discovered that it was a hybrid of Riesling and the obscure Madeleine Royale grape and not the original hybridised grapes. Also known as Rivaner, Muller Thurgau is believed to be the oldest successful new breed to be disseminated throughout the world.

The grape is widely grown throughout central and Eastern Europe but it was in Germany and England of all places, where the grape was responsible for kick-starting the redevelopment of each country's post war wine industry.

The Galafrey Muller is not a complex wine, made more for its quaffability than for anything else. It lacks the distinctive bouquet and acid associated with Riesling yet does have its own varietal character.

In the glass it is pale yellow in colour with musky, apple and nutmeg aromas predominating on the nose. Citrus and passionfruit notes on the palate with a mild acid backbone make this an easy dry medium bodied wine to drink with light fare.

A unique, enjoyable and somewhat nerdy variety to take as an alternative white wine to impress or confuse your friends !

Source: Retail Purchase. Rating: 86 Points. Website: www.galafreywines.com.au

2007 Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Roussanne

Roussanne originates from the Northern Rhone valley in France and with marsanne and viognier makes up the trifecta of major white wines in this region. All three have the potential for age-worthiness.

It is one of the varieties permitted in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Crozes-Hermitage, Hermitage and Saint-Joseph DOCs.

Like a chardonnay, Roussanne is golden in colour. It is interesting to note however that when mature, the grapes acquire a characteristic pinkish-brown colour which is the reason for the name of the strain.

This wine has pear and golden apples on the aromatics with a full bodied, honey and lemon zest component on the palate. An oily texture and smokey notes boost the entire fruit profile.

The non-irrigated Roussanne vines, many of which are over eighty years old at the Rosewood Vineyards in Rutherglen, produce low yields with wonderfully concentrated and unctuous flavours.

Australian winemakers do things their own way and some make Roussanne as a stand alone varietal wine while others blend it with Marsanne and/or Viognier.

Drinking well now and would go well with a variety of seafood or vegetarian dishes. 

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 87 Points. Website: www.rutherglenvic.com/wineries/winery

2008 Mt. Franklin Estate Daylesford Dolcetto

The vineyard of this family run business near Daylesford in central Victoria is planted on volcanic soil left behind after the eruption of Mt. Franklin about five million years ago. According to the winery website, the volcanic soils offer the vineyard a mixture of rich dark fertile soil peppered with mineral rich volcanic rock.

The Daylesford Wine Region has its own unique identity even though theoretically, it is part of the wider Macedon Ranges Wine Region to the south-east. In viticulture terms, it is a cool/cold climate region with some parts at 800 metres. Grape growing and wine making go back to the 1850's with the settlement of migrants from northern Italy who were escaping the yoke of Austrian occupation and Italian-speaking Swiss migrants from the Ticino canton in Switzerland who were fleeing poverty and rural deprivation.

Italian grape varieties such as Arneis, Nebbiolo, Pinot Grigio and Dolcetto reflected that early heritage in the district. To this present day, a wonderful diversity of architecture and institutions survive from that colonial and multicultural era.

The Dolcetto grape variety predominantly grown in Piedmonte in Northern Italy produces a finely flavoured dry red wine and not the sweet wine as its name, translated as 'little sweet one', implies. Unfortunately, in Australia Dolcetto still appears to suffer from that perception hanging around its neck. However, it is claimed that Australia does have the oldest current plantings of Dolcetto with vines dating back to the 1860's. One could reasonably assert that these vines may well exist in the Daylesford Wine Region.

Twelve months maturation in oak barrels has produced a finely balanced, medium-bodied wine with soft tannins, low acidity and a persist, opulent berry flavour. Deep purple in colour, this Dolcetto is stunning to the eye.

Intense spicy fruit, plum, aniseed notes and almonds on the nose take your breath away. The rich volcanic soils must have contributed in making this wine such a de-licious fruit bomb.The only caveat is that Dolcetto should be consumed while young. Why would you want to cellar this mouthwatering libation anyway and allow the youthful fruit flavours to fade?

Dolcetto can be enjoyed at room temperature while slightly chilled, gives the wine another dimension. Pairs well with Italian food and even some Asian dishes. 

Source: Winery Sample. Rating: 90+ Points. Website: www.mtfranklinestate.com.au

2010 Turkey Flat Vineyards Rosé

Rose has well and truly come in from the cold and Turkey Flat has been in the vanguard of the revolution. Like Riesling some years ago, rose did not enjoy a good reputation mainly because it was associated with wines that had a sweet cordial type nature.

From vineyards that date to the mid-1800's, Turkey Flat has some of the world's oldest shiraz grapes. The winery is located at Tanunda in South Australia's Barossa Valley.

The grape varieties that go to make this reliably favourite and unique rose wine are grenache and shiraz with smaller amounts of cabernet sauvignon and the Italian variety, dolcetto.

A vibrant pink/crimson in the glass, fragrant aromas of Turkish delight, perfume, herbs and red berries greet the nose. The palate is dry, crisp and well balanced with soft tannins and hints of spice and musk.

I'm a convert to the rose revolution that at present is justifiably gaining wide popularity and appears to know no end. With very few if any rules that regulate its production, rose wine can be made from a variety of red grapes. As long as rose retains some sweetness on the aromatics and a drier, more savoury palate with hints of spice, there will be no dissidents!

An engaging and quaffable wine that is very refreshing. Serve it slightly chilled and enjoy during the warmer months with spicy foods or just on its own. 

Source: Retail Purchase. Rating: 88 Points. Website: www.turkeyflat.com.au

1989 Henschke Hill of Grace

When you ask one friend to dine, give him your best wine! When you ask two, the second best will do! 
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The Henschke Hill of Grace had to be included from the cellar as it is renown as one of Australia's most iconic wines. Made from 100% Shiraz grapes from pre-phylloxera material brought from Europe by early settlers in the mid 1800's, it is grown in the cool climate of South Australia's Eden Valley Wine Region.

Crimson/brick-red in appearance with a sweet, earthy nose. Tar, leather, green-bean, some vanillin oak, plum jam and violets complete the delightful aromatics.

The palate had sweet, spicy and jammy characters, was slightly sappy with rich chocolate, violets and a chewy fine grained tannins on the mid-palate. Powerful yet full of finesse. Very well balanced and complex. No oak monsters reside in this stunning example of classic Australian wine.

The 1989 Hill of Grace held up exceptionally well, presenting fantastic secondary fruits and tannin balance leading to a long finish. If you do decide to enjoy older wines such as this revered one, I would suggest decanting a few hours before hand to enable the wine to open up thereby maximising enjoyment and pleasure.

Remember, you are not just tasting and drinking the wine itself, but experiencing history, geography, geology, winemaking techniques and even the winemaker's psychology in the glass!

The 1989 vintage has been unavailable at the cellar door for some time, but you may be able to obtain it from wine auction houses such as Langton's.

The vintage itself in 1989 was described as great with average to good yields, giving it a comparative vintage rating of 5/7. 

Source: The Cellar. Rating: 94 Points. Website: http://henschke.com.au/

2004 Moorabool Ridge Semillon

The Geelong Wine Industry dates back to the early 1840's when Swiss migrants planted vineyards in the local Barrabool Hills. They arrived with the knowledge and experience of viticulture and the region burgeoned after the 1850's gold rush to become one of the largest and most important wine-growing centres in colonial Victoria. 

That prosperity was savaged when the dreaded phylloxera louse decimated vineyards in 1875 leading to the death knell of the region's wine industry. That industry was reborn approximately a century later with plantings established in the historic Moorabool Valley sub-region of Geelong with the boutique family Moorabool Ridge winery itself established in 1990. 

The winery's location low down in the corner of a bank of the fertile Moorabool River and its unique micro climate suited the planting of Semillon, a variety rare to this region of Victoria.

Semillon is a versatile white grape variety that has had a history of producing good wines over long periods. It has had a remarkable history in Europe and while not considered an alternative variety in Australia, we have somewhat undervalued that status. Moorabool Ridge owner Tim Harrop says "It is strange, it remains hard to sell to bottle shops, they say people do not buy Semillon, its poorly understood and there are few good examples of it. Pubs won't take it for the same reason."  

He continues "I hoped we could produce something special that would save us from chasing the latest fashion in whites. Second I needed a variety I could blend with Chardonnay, would perform as a straight varietal and could produce a high quality late picked noble effected desert wine. Hence a range of market points with one variety." 
According to Harrop many people were sceptical at first about both the choice of variety and the chances of selling both the grapes and the wines but opinion has changed as have the quality of grapes and wines.

Harrop reflects "Having to try my own produce I was a first surprised and then entranced by it. It is the red wine drinkers white. Why? It has complexity, depth and a complex changing character that is so typical of reds and seldom found in whites. It has become even more intense and complex as it has aged. I have sampled it with Hunter, SA and WA Semillons and it is heavier and more complex than all of them and I think that it must be the cooler climate and longer ripening season we have."

The 2004 Semillon is an attractive pale gold in colour. Floral scents compliment lifted lemon and honey aromas. Some burnt toast nuances in there too. The complex palate is dry, zesty and minerally with lemon and honey throughout. A medium bodied and fruit-driven wine that is not sweet by any means. Has a long clean citrus aftertaste. Smooth, almost oily texture and very easy to drink. Sure to have the oomph to still go another few years. A real find.

Source: Winery Purchase. Rating: 92 Points. Website: http://www.mooraboolvalley.com.au/ridge