Clairault Wines Estate Chardonnay 2013

I’ve never heard of these guys but it was an eye opener to taste their wine. The grounds of the winery are beautiful and look like they have been constructed with precision in mind.  

 Clairault Wines Estate Chardonnay 2013

 Oh so refined and restrained with flavours just poking their head out before running and hiding. This is built for cellaring and is beautifully woven together. There are hints of white nectarines, brown pears and just ripe peach with grapefruit and freshly ground spice. Whoever is growing this or putting this together should be given an award as the price of this wine is low but the quality is up there with the top in the country. Love it and bought a 6 pack for the cellar.

 

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $38

Rated: 94 +

Drink: start in 2019

 

Deep Wood Estate Winery Harmony Rose 2014

I have never tried a wine from this estate but was keen to try them as they were just around the corner from the house we were staying in Dunsborough. The winery is fantastic with a real sense of beauty and style about it.

Deep Wood Estate Winery Harmony Rose 2014

This is a mix of Shiraz and Tempranillo and was fermented on Chardonnay lees. This sounds all good but has resulted in a really sweet rose style wine with a big up front flavour that fades very quickly. The palate is a little hot and confusing but I do get some strawberries and herbs.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $15
Rated: 81
Drink: Now

Echo Beach Cabernet Merlot 2011

I'm reminded of the song from Martha and the Muffins when I drink this wine. Here are the first few lines.

I know it's out of fashion
And a trifle uncool
But I can't help it
I'm a romantic fool
It's a habit of mine
To watch the sun go down
On Echo beach, I watch the sun go down

From nine till five I have to spend my time at work
The job is very boring, I'm an office clerk
The only thing that helps pass the time away
Is knowing I'll be back at Echo Beach some day

Echo Beach Cabernet Merlot 2011

Typical Margaret River nose in a medium bodied style that has those lovely leafy blackcurrant notes mixed with bay leaves, plum and spice. Lovely and lovely is the two words that come to mind. Great value booze.

Alcohol: 14%
Price: $16
Rated: 84
Drink: Now - 2016

Echo Beach Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012

The Echo Beach label comes as a result of the hardship that the Australian wine industry is going through at the moment. This style is the quintessential Margaret River blend with torte flavours and mouthwatering acidity. What is better is the price as it is cheap as chips.

Echo Beach Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012

The wine is crisp with flavours of lemon grass, tinned passionfruit, ripe melon and lemon cordial. The easy flavour roll along nicely along my palate and slip down without much effort. There is tortness running along the middle of the wine up until about the mid-palate before the wine fades away. The complexity level is really good for a wine at this price so if you enjoy this type of blend then get some now.

Alcohol: 12.1%
Price: $17
Rated: 83
Drink: Now - 2015

Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay 2011

The Margaret River is producing some of the best value and best quality Chardonnay in Australia. This estate only produces single vineyard wine with an emphasis on the traditional French varieties. The Parterre label is the crème of the crop for Frasor Gallop and epitomises what the estate can do best.

Fraser Gallop Parterre Chardonnay 2011

Forget about the aromas as the wine has so much power it is a little overwhelming. Think flavour, acid, texture and balance and you will be about right. For the first three days I struggled with the wine but on day four the elegance came through and I was on the right track. On the back label they say to keep it for 5 to 7 but I say 7 to 10 before you open them. This is the sort of wine that is very French with moment of Australia thrown in, with a price tag so cheap it is scary.

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $30
Rated: 93++
Drink: 2019 - 2027

Woodlands Margaret 2010

Best value Cabernet in Australia?

Woodlands Margaret 2010

This took so long to open up, I had almost written it off. On day one it was like looking at a new born baby and trying to work out, with some accuracy, what type of employment they will end up enjoying. When the wine did open up all the colours of the rainbow opened out with a few love birds chirping in the background.  This wine reminds me of a life less stressed and hectic as everything seems to slow as I sip the savoury nectar from the glass. The palate weight is pitched at medium body and the flavour spectrum combines the 3 components perfectly.  Now all it needs is time.

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $45
Rated: 94
Drink: 2022 - 2033

 

Carpe Diem Vineyards Sangiovese 2009 + Bangers and Mash

The biggest surprise of 2012 goes to finding this little winery that churns out high quality regional wines with a difference. These guys focus on all things Italian with a Margaret River twang woven into the fabric of each wine.

Bangers and Mash

I wanted to pair this wine with a food that my dad used to eat when he was growing up. It would be brilliant if I went through the process of how to make your own sausages but I am going to cheat for this recipe. Go out and find the best butcher in my area, Barossa Fine Foods is the only one for me, and buy whatever you like.  For this meal I bought some duck and veal sausages which paired brilliantly with an indulgent mash.

Indulgent mash which you may need to only eat every now and again

1 kilo waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into segments

300 g butter

100 g cheddar cheese, grated

Slowly cook the potato in hot but not boiling water. This may take an hour to an hour and a half depending on the potato type and the size of the segments but it is important to not heat the potatoes quickly as that releases the starches which results in a gluey textured dish. Once the potatoes are cooked drain the water and fold in butter while the potatoes are hot.  Mix in cheese and serve with sausages placed on the bed of potato.

Carpe Diem Vineyards Sangiovese 2009

How should I describe this wine? Well I’m not sure as it feels familiar with the wine being medium bodied and savoury yet there is something else. It could be this textural element that combines with the wonderful flavour of plums, sour cherries, spice and an element that makes me feel like I could crunch down on the wine. Maybe that it, the wine feels like it should be served with a fork and a spoon.  That would look rather funny though. I’ll put it out there that if you grab a bottle of this, you will feel like you have discovered something special.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $27

Rated: 89

Drink: 2014 – 2021

Woodlands 2012 Vintage Roundup

Woodlands Vintage Roundup 2012

With vintage 2012 now put to bed, its time to look back over the last 4 months and the wines it produced.

While 2012 showed a second ‘la nina’ pattern (wet cold conditions) in the east, Western Australia had another warm dry vintage.

In the winery we we able to pick both Woodlands vineyards at optimum ripeness, with only the last four to five tonnes being picked with rain approaching.

In terms of vintage weather, at Woodlands we do not believe ‘the hotter the better’. Very hot early vintages in Margaret River can ripen sugar before tannin, leading to rough astringent tannins. Our 2012, in comparison to warmer vintages such as 2007 and 2011, has softer finer tannins as a result of the summer being warm and dry, but never too hot.

With all the wines now resting in barrel, we now turn our attention to bottling our 2011 wines, and trying to stay out of the infamous Margaret River rain!

 

Image from Margaret River wine

Carpe Diem Vineyards L'Attimo Riserva Speciale Nebbiolo 2009

One of the most rewarding parts of writing for an overseas wine magazine is receiving a lot of samples from wineries that I have never heard of. When a Nebbiolo from Margaret River came across my desk I was intrigued so I had to find out some information about the winery.  The husband and wife team have been making wine in Conegliano, which is a sub-region of Veneto, for a while now but they moved over to Margaret River in 2001.  The region of Conegliano is renown for its Prosecco wine and an education system that has produced many top tier oenologists. If you have never tasted a wine from Carpe Diem then you are missing out on something special. 

Carpe Diem Vineyards L'Attimo Riserva Speciale Nebbiolo 2009

I had to let this sit for 24 hours before tasting it as it is so bound up like a ball.  Once it opened up there was a gorgeous flow of dirty roses wrestling with roasted meat unfurling in front of me.  There was hints of spearmint, sarsaparilla, green herbs and armpit sweat but it was the tannins that was most alluring. These tannins are some of the best in the country, right up there with Castagna and Sutton Grange. They spread out on my tongue, proving texture while holding the flavours in my consciousness and uplifting my mood.  Its the sort of wine that brings a smile to your face. This is a very serious Nebbiolo and requires major cellaring to show if full potential. 

Alcohol: 13.8%

Price: $80

Rated: 91+

Drink: 2017 - 2032 

Woodlands Chardonnay 2012

Andrew Watson from Woodlands explained that "Today marks the last day of Chardonnay for Woodlands Vintage 2012.  Crops appear to be similar to last year - Woodlands was just under 7 tonnes per hectare, whilst the region generally has been returning around the 10 tonnes per hectare.  This increased crop may explain the lower sugar levels this vintage - most wineries have been reported picking fruit at 12.5% maximum, rather than higher levels being easily reached in other vintages.  Natural acidity looks ideal, and there was no disease reported either - it looks to be another classic Chardonnay vintage for Margaret River.

Our Chloe was picked yesterday - one half crushed and the other whole bunch pressed.  Disaster was averted when the forklift broke down with one press loaded to go - many thanks to the boys at Mako forklift servicing!

Once the juice settles it's time to think about yeast - with all the yeast around (wild, cultured and otherwise) a mystery message appeared on our whiteboard yesterday."

Woodlands joining vintage diary

Woodlands is one of the oldest vineyards in the Wilyabrup sub-region of Margaret River. They first started making wine in the late 70s but prominence came in 1981 with their first release of the Andrew Cabernet. Due to family commitments the Woodlands brand stopped for sometime but they have truly burst back onto the market. Two years ago I drank copious amounts of their Margaret River Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc Merlot blend which are both highly drinkable and sophisticated wines at ridiculously low prices.

Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011

I love it when a region embraces a particular style of wine and really makes it their own.  That is definately the case with this blend in Western Australia. In terms of this style compared to the straight varieties from the Adelaide Hills or the Hunter valley, I would say that this style is a little more reserved, sophisticated and in many examples provides additional texture when compared to the Adelaide Hills versions.  Whereas the Hunter Semillons need decades to show their potential when the western Australian blend looks good from the beginning and will age in the medium term.

Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011

The wines magnus opus opens with snow peas and lemons before letting the big band action of guava, violets, spice and apple crystals blows you away. This is the sort of wine you sit back in a large arm chair and let the waves take you to a place in the cosmos. On the journey into outer space there will be a brilliant textural component that seduces your taste buds, with a waxy type of character, before a zippy acidity takes over leaving your mouth dripping with saliva.

Alcohol: 13%
Price: $18
Rated: 90
Drink: Now - 2016

Laurance of Margarat River Shiraz 2009

What a beautiful bottle!

Laurance of Margarat River Shiraz 2009

This wine is like ying and yang.  The tannins are light yet add a lovely texture and food friendly dryness to the wine but I had to ask where is the flavour? It was as if the wine had gone to sleep but never awoken.  How do I score it? It get points for colour, not much for smell (there was a little spicy cinnamon and cedar) yet the tannins give it something extra. So 84 is for a wine that never got out of bed.

Alcohol: 13.8%
Price: $30
Rated: 84
Drink: ? 

Chalice Bridge The Quest Merlot 2008

If South Australia has been having problems with climatic events in the 07, 08 and 09 vintages, Western Australia would be classified as having a dream run.   As Chalice Bridge are one of the primary vineyard holders in the Margret River, it is great to see them putting out such quality wine under their own label.  The Merlot is grown on a mix of gravel and loam soils which is common throughout the region. 


Chalice Bridge The Quest Merlot 2008

What a little surprise packet this was.  I have never thought Australian Merlot was of a high quality but with a savoury profile of olives, twiggy mulberries and spice plum I was rather intrigued.  All of the flavours burst from the bottle inviting me to take a sip so I go back again and again.  Everything works well as it is only medium bodied with very good length on a finely boned tannin structure.

Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $26
Rated: 88
Drink: 2013 - 2020

Cullen Cabernet Merlot 2008

Cullen has converted all of their vineyards to bio-dynamic practices and they make some brilliant wild ferment wines.  This is one of them.  I normally keep my hands off my Cullens, as they are the Diana Madeline, but I get the feeling I could be trying a few of these while I wait. 

Cullen Cabernet Merlot 2008

What a lovely wine and 12% alcohol to boot.  You have to sit quietly to hear the voice of the wine but when you do oh baby does it talk.  Very similar to my wife last night in fact. When she got home she was absolutely stuffed so she lay on the floor in front of the fire watching TV.  She was half a sleep yet awake and watching whatever was on the box.  As soon as we went to bed she wanted to tell me the stories of the day.  For about half an hour I don’t think she took a breath.  Now, back to the wine…if you listen well enough this is what the wine will do. At 39 bucks it is good value for a Margaret River Cab and I would drink this all the time if I could. Love it.

Alcohol: 12%
Price: $39
Rated: 87
Drink: now - 2020

Woodlands Nicolas 2007

The vines for the Nicolas were planted in 1973 on gravelly loam soil on a south facing slope.  Loam soils generally allow for greater drainage forcing the older vines to work hard for their crop resulting in lower yields and great concentration of flavour and structure.  Woodlands have been growing grapes for a while but it was only recently that they started to turn those grapes into wine themselves.  

Woodlands Nicolas Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Oh baby! So refined and reserved yet every time you take a sip you are shown another aspect of its make up.  There are tannins galore lurking under the twigs, autumn leaves, blackcurrant, coco and black pepper.  There is even a little bit of a meaty component adding interest to this pearl of a wine.  You could sit with this for days to take in its beautiful glow. Everything seems controlled and in need of a long sleep in the cave. 

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $110
Rated: 95
Drink: 2017 - 2034