Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

I am not a fan of McLaren Vale Cabernet as a lot of them tend towards the overripe end of the spectrum. This wine is nothing like that and I would put it in the top two Cabernets from the area.

Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

There is nothing sweet at all about this wine. In fact the flavours of blackcurrant, mulberry leaf, licorice weed, crushed tomato leaf, dried thyme and spice are all savoury as hell. Well i'm not sure if hell is savoury but you get what I mean. The structure of the wine is huge and it works brilliantly with each flavour component, pulling it along and sticking them to my tongue. As with all of the 2010's from the Vales there is a little dirty pot element that is so inviting that I can't help but reach for a bigger glass.

Alcohol: 14.5%
Price: $27
Rated: 89
Drink: 2016 - 2025

Yalumba Patchwork Shiraz 2010

If you are into full bodied Shiraz, 2010 is the year to get the truck out and load up. Take a look at this high quality wine from Yalumba that comes in at under $17 bucks.

Yalumba Patchwork Shiraz 2010

Balance: Beautiful balance with all the components sitting nicely around each other. The acidity is keeping things nice and fresh with the tannins lengthening the flavours.

Length: Very long.

Flavours: Ripe fruits lead the way with blackberry compote, chocolate, blueberries, satsuma plums, spice and a hint of licorice.

Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $16.99
Rated: 85
Drink: Now - 2016

BK wines One Ball Chardonnay 2011

Expect some really fine white wines in 2011 from the Adelaide Hills as they possess a little more acidity than normal which has driven a pristine backbone through the wines, allowing beautiful flavours to hang down.

BK wines One Ball Chardonnay 2011

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $27 and brilliant value
Rated: 87
Drink: Now - 2018

Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Tight as a tiger with brilliant tannins and Italianate style flavours running wild embodies this wine.  When I say Italianate flavours, I really mean that the flavours are more savoury than you would normally expect from an Australian wine yet they are all intense in nature. Try thinking about the essence of a savoury blackcurrant rolled in brambles and a smoking pipe filled with cracked pepper that all finishes with a hint of peppermint. All these flavours are coiled up in the structure at the moment but they do emerge over the course of 8 days. This years wines by Wendouree are a little more controlled than last year but they are of higher quality as well. Just sit back and relax with something else in your hands, like the Shiraz Mataro, while you wait for this one to blossom.

Alcohol: 13.7%
Price: $55
Rated: 95
Drink: 2025 - 2045

Wild Duck Creek Estate Shiraz release 2012

Two of these wines below are the foundation for what Wild Duck Creek is all about. The third wine is made because David ‘duck’ Anderson wanted to see what he could do with the best fruit on his property.

Wild Duck Creek Estate Yellow Hammer 2010

Smooth as silk with a little bit of a dirty flavour, is what this glorious entry level Shiraz based wine is all about. The palate feels like the first time I felt silk sheest as it is so enticing and mystifying. The flavours are not big or bold but they are full in flavour and inviting. The texture and palate weight work beautifully with perfumed nature of the flavour spectrum. A beautiful wine that would work brilliantly by the glass at any café or restaurant.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $25

Rated: 91

Drink: Now – 2022

Wild Duck Creek Estate Springflat 2010

This wine is the heart and soul of the WDC range. Davis loves to make the reserve and duck muck wines but he doesn’t do those if they effect the quality of the springflat which means that the quality of this wine is hard to fault. This year’s version has a little extra tannic presence with a little more restrain than is normal. If I wanted to drink this now the enjoyment factor isn’t that high but after it is open for a while, I left it for 7 days, the wine brings a smile to my face. On the palate the flavours of melted blackberries, smoked bourbon barrels, dark chocolate, ripe plums and a mint cappuccino fill my mouth with delight and a wedge of mouthwatering acidity cleans the finish off nicely.

Alcohol: 15.5%

Price: $36

Rated:  93

Drink: 2020 – 2030

Wild Duck Creek Estate Reserve Shiraz 2010

When I opened this I sat down and read the back label and a bead of sweat started to form on my forehead. Why you ask? Well, this wine comes in at 16.5% alcohol so I was expecting a massive wine with plenty of alcohol warmth and a huge amount of sweet American oak.  Firstly, David doesn’t use any American oak for this wine so the oak flavours come through as more restrained on the flavour profile and add texture on the palate. Secondly, there is no heat what so ever in this wine which was the biggest of surprises.  Lastly, the palate has elegance about it that makes me want to go back for a second glass. I don’t because I wanted to look at this wine over an extended period. The wine drank best after day 6 which I would suggest means that it will show well with an extended sleep in a cellar.

From a flavour perspective, this wine shows beautiful notes of plums, pungent vanilla bean and mixed red fruits soaked in their own juices, like the ones you have in summer. You remember when it was hot, back in 2009, when you would sit outside on a warm summer’s night with a fresh bowl of summer berries, just spooning those lovely tart mouthfuls of joy into your mouth. Well this wine offers that but you can sip this during winter and experience that bliss.

Alcohol: 16.5%

Price: $75

Rated: 95

Drink: 2023 - 2035

Wendouree Shiraz 2010

The wine from Wendouree in 2010 will live for decades so if one of your kids was born in that year you should seriously consider getting your hands on some.

Wendouree Shiraz 2010

Like all of the Wendouree wines, this wine is savoury and elegant which is a mile away from what has been the trend in South Australia during recent times.  Would that make this wine aimed towards old school wine connoisseurs? Well no I don’t think it would but I do think that people that love their wines sweet, wouldn’t go for this style.  The 2010 version of this wine is so slow to evolve in the glass that for the first two days it didn’t really show well. On day 3 the flavours of cedar, spiced plums, chocolate bits and menthol started to show themselves. Over the period that I reviewed this wine a mesmerising note of warm clay started to poke its head out from behind the wall but never did it take center stage. The oak treatment is a little more prominent than the cabernet wines yet I’m at ease with the mouth-feel that the oak creates.  When I finished writing my notes, my mate and I took the bottle down to his cave and sipped the glorious nectar while we played 8 ball. All we needed was a cigar and the picture would have been complete.

Alcohol: 14

Price: $55

Rated: 93

Drink: 2025 – 2040

Spring Wines

The weather has started to warm up which makes me think of different foods and styles of wine. Are you the sort of person that changes what they drink depending on the weather? Well I am and the below wines are perfectly suited to the warmer days.

Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2012

You have all those classic Eden Valley flavours but they are heightened by the quality of the conditions that 2012 provided. The main feature of the wine is wet pebbles or freshly quarried slate that has been suspended in lime juice for the past 12 months. When the wine settles downs and opens up the liquid reveals glorious notes of Chinese Star Jasmine and Japanese and lemon blossom which put my mouth into saliva overdrive. As the clear liquid opens up the palate length extends and extends, pushes flavours to the far corners of my mouth. It is the sort of wine that is unique and totally inviting all at the same time. This wine is specular as the structure is beautifully positions to allow this to age gracefully for a decade or so yet still allow it to be enjoyed today.

Alcohol: 11.5%

Price: $35

Rated: 94

Drink: Now – 2030

Laughing Jack Old Vine Moppa Grenache 2008

I was expecting sweet boiled lollies but what I got both surprised me and bought a smile to my face. To begin with the wines ferocious tannins standout, which is not the norm for the area, coating my tongue in a silkiness which ends totally dry. On day two Satsuma plums and dark chocolate that are rolled in spice start to emerge. These flavors are alive and dance on my tongue like an exotic belly dancer at a special event for your family. Ok so I travelled a lot when I was younger so I got to experience some events that I may have not got the opportunity, if I only stayed in Australia. The most interesting one was in Turkey where my girlfriend and I got the drink tea with an elderly man at his sons circumcision. How does that relate to the wine? Well the wine makes me feel so at ease that I would share the most intimate moments with you. This is a loving wine that I could drink now but will show off some dazzling moments with a few years under its belt.

Alcohol: 14.%

Price: $45

Rated: 90

Drink: Now – 2023

John Duval Plexus Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier 2011

It looks like the white wines from the Barossa will be of good to high quality in 2011, when you compare them to the reds of the same years and this wine is case in point. The wines lemon core, the acid line, is monumental and reminds me a bit of a Riesling from Clare but the flavours are nothing like Riesling at all. Here you get a plushness that runs from the initial attack of the wine right the way to the back palate and then finishes with the refreshing acidity. The mid-palate has an oiliness about it from the Voignier which draws me in for another sip again and again. The flavours offer lightness in the form of spring blossom and spice before they move to heavier flavours such as peach, apricot and honeysuckle. All in all this wine brings a lot to the table and in my view is the perfect beacon for the Barossa which lacks quality white wines.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $35

Rated: 90

Drink: Now – 2018