Dog Point Pinot Noir 2005

Marlborough pinot. I know Martinborough and Central Otago seem to hog the limelight when it comes to NZ pinot, but I reckon Marlborough pinot has its own, very attractive character. It has a very bright, fruit driven flavour profile that manages to be luscious without any hint of "fake raspberry" confection that you find in some Australian pinots.

I reckon this Dog Point Pinot is a good example. It is quite forward and most definitely fruit driven, but what it lacks in (introduced) complexity it makes up for in deliciousness. It's all about the fruit. Bright, red, cherry-like, balancing sweet and sour with finesse. There are wisps of savoury character that frame and support the fruit: a bit of sappiness, a hint of stalk, some light caramel oak influence. Acidity is beautifully judged and fine, noticeable only insofar as it's impossible to ignore how much this wine makes one's mouth water. Most of all, though, you wouldn't want to mask the gorgeous voluptuousness of that fruit, and the winemaking is careful to help it shine. So easy to drink.

Suckfizzle Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Interesting wine, this one. It's almost like a pastiche of different wines and styles -- not to imply it lacks integrity. It's actually quite delicious in its way.

I was a bit put off by the nose, which is a predominantly meaty and stewy. It's "hot" in the sense of "overcooked," and that's not a flavour profile I tend to go for. The palate, however, is less stewed, medium bodied and has a beguiling silkiness and elegance. The wine rushes over the tongue and has an elegant lightness of touch, without sacrificing intensity of flavour. There's a greenness that almost threatens to become unbalanced, but never quite does, thanks in part to ultra fine tannins that dry the palate without feeling unripe. Most remarkable is an intense sourness that is mouthwatering and is reminiscent of pinot noir.

Clonakilla rieslings

Two Clonakilla rieslings: 2005 and 2002. I retrieved these from the cellar a little while ago and decided to have a vertical tonight. These two vintages were my preferred Clonakilla
Rieslings between the 2002 and 2006 period. We had the 2006 a little while ago and found it a bit blah. Its flavour profile struck me as too broad and its structure somewhat flat.

By contrast, I remember tasting the 2005 at cellar door and remarking on its tightness and relative austerity. The 2002, in the year of its release, was my equal favourite riesling (along with the Mesh of the same vintage). Time to reivisit both and re-evaluate my initial impressions.

We had the 2005 first. I don't think this has developed significantly since release; it still tastes very primary and pretty much as I remember it. It's one of those chalky/floral/mineral rieslings (which I love), bone dry, with a lovely caressing acidity. Much more elegant and interesting than the 2006.

The 2002, by contrast, has started to show aged characters, and they are most attractive. The nose is still quite primary, and fairly subdued, with perhaps just an edge of honeyed sweetness alongside its powdery/floral aromas. The palate is where the age of the wine shows most, characterised as it is by an intense honey flavour. It's a delicious honey flavour ("high quality honey", we agreed) that is prevented from being at all cloying by all the primary flavours that surround it, and the still-zingy acidity that underlies the wine's structure. As the wine sat in glass, the honey flavour morphed into a sort of honey on buttered crumpet flavour that we both agreed was totally delcious. I think we'll be leaving the rest of the dozen a year or so before sampling again.

Mesh Riesling 2006

Back in 2002, the Mesh Riesling was probably the nicest riesling I tasted all year. I remember having it with Chris and Dan in an Indonesian restaurant in Glebe, along with the Clonakilla Riesling from the same vintage. Both wines were different and beautiful. The Mesh, I recall, had a very distinctive fruit flavour, sort of sherbet-like, that I enjoyed a lot. It was also structured with total clarity and balance. I have six bottles of it in my cellar. I wonder how it's developing?

In lieu of revisiting that vintage of the Mesh, I picked up a bottle of the current release, 2006, at Dan's the other day. Overall, I found it disappointing. Maybe my memories of the 2002 are a little overblown. Anyway, as a wine, it shows that Eden Valley delicacy, the spectrum of flavours tipped squarely to the floral/mineral side, rather than full on citrus juice as per some Clare rieslings. Well balanced, though without the clarity of structure that I find interesting in top rieslings. The acidity, too, was linear and well balanced, but it didn't have much distinctiveness. It would be interesting to contrast this wine with the 2005 Drumborg. Two different styles, but what's instructive is that the Drumborg has some key things that the Mesh lacks -- most of all, it has a clear personality. There's nothing wrong with the Mesh, it just didn't call out to me in a memorable way.

Leasingham Bin 7 Riesling 2000

Somewhat ironically, the riesling I've had most success in cellaring (at least in terms of least bottle variation) is a cheapie: Leasingham's Bin 7. I cracked open a 2000 last night from my stash that has not been raided since near to the wine's original release.

This wine is drinking so well right now. I most love riesling when it has developed a range of aged characters but has not lost the elements that make young riesling so much fun to drink (zingy acidity, cleansing primary fruit flavours). The wines seem to me most complex and rewarding at this stage. The Bin 7 had all this going on, showing complexity and balance across its flavours of lime, honey and toast. The wine's acidity brought everything together, being present and wonderfully linear without any harshness. Just a gorgeous, balanced aged riesling that we drank extremely quickly.

I have a 2001 in the fridge that I'm looking forward to trying.

Update: the 2001 was consumed and turned out to be significantly more developed than the 2000, and less interesting overall. It's losing its acid, fast. I'll be drinking my last two 2001s shortly.

Kooyong Estate Pinot Noir 2004

Mornington Peninsula pinot.

The nose of this wine is strikingly expressive. It's not a wine that sneaks up on you. On initial sniffing, the dominant notes were of caramel oak and spices, with sour red fruits emerging after a few minutes of swirling. Distinctive, savoury and quite beguiling.

My first sip of this was disappointing, the palate not echoing the intensity of the nose. There is a slight hole in the middle palate, and the entry is not as explosive as you might expect, but the finish is what's extraordinary here, with great intensity and complexity flavour. The oak is very much present, but the fruit's sour deliciousness stands up well, creating a distinctive and more-ish flavour profile. The wine's mouthfeel is also notable in its velvet luxury.

Charles Melton Rose of Virginia 2007

This is the first wine I've tasted from the notoriously difficult 2007 vintage. I've had the Rose of Virginia quite a few times and always look forward to revisiting this wine.

When we first opened this wine, it felt a little one-dimensional, with a very attractive but simple floral fruitiness at its core. Over the course of half an hour, the wine rebalanced and opened up to greater complexity. This is a very well-judged wine. On the nose, there's a nice duality between seductively sweet, lifted floral notes and a subtle meaty savouriness. The palate echoes and amplifies this structure, with an entry that is predominantly fragrant/floral, leading to a middle palate that is quite full (owing partly to some residual sugar). The back of the palate is most engaging, with the fruitiness whisked away by more of that savoury meatiness and quite a dry, lightly tannic finish. Refreshing acidity supports the wine and prevents it from being at all cloying.

Really nice wine.

Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Red 2006

This wine is seriously cheap. I think we paid about $11 for it at Dan's. The reason I'm writing a note is that it's the sort of wine that the Australian industry has historically done so well at: multi-region, multi-varietal blends in a mainstream style.

The blend is shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and pertit verdot, with the latter contributing its distinctive aroma and flavour of what I experience as darkish bubblegum fruitiness (Hubba Bubba grape flavour, to be exact). The region is listed as "South Australia", but a little digging on the Wirra Wirra website reveals a blend of Fleurieu Peninsula and Adelaide Hills fruit.

Basically, this is an easy wine; full of flavour, totally unchallenging; but what makes it interesting (and a repeat buy) is that it's not corporate-tasting at all. In fact, it has some personality in its flavour profile, as well as enough structure to reward a bit of contemplative tasting if in the mood. It has a reasonable intensity of flavour (none of that horrible, lolly water taste one sometimes gets from low end wines) and goes well with food (rump steak last night). Basically, a perfect quaffing wine.

I'd much rather drink this if on a budget than a Rosemount Diamond Label, Yellow Tail or equivalent mass produced thing.