De Bortoli Windy Peak Chardonnay 2006

Onwards with cheap wine. Despite the low price (a smidge over $10), I had high expectations of this wine, mostly because my experience of De Bortoli Yarra Valley wines has been so positive of late. They seem to consistently deliver more than one might expect at their respective price points, and even the lower range wines are made with a clear idea of desired style.

This wine's a little dumb on the nose, giving subdued aromas of cool climate chardonnay fruit (grapefruit-like) and cashew. The wine's entry livens things considerably and it's only in the mouth that this wine's good generosity of flavour becomes apparent. The entry is clean and linear, and leads to a middle palate that's all about fruit supported by creamy, slightly caramel oak. The fruit flavour is relatively simple but very correct and tasty. There are supporting nutty flavours and a mouthfeel that balances creaminess with slightly coarse acidity well. Some bitter phenolics kick in towards the finish and serve to cleanse the palate. Unremarkable length.

Ok, so it's simple, not especially expressive on the nose, and finishes a bit short. It's also clearly regional, very well made, and bloody tasty. The thinking person's quaffing wine.

Coldstream Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1994

I dug up some old notes from late last year and will post a few of the more interesting ones. I had this wine with the delicious food at Oscillate Wildly in Newtown.

Really beautiful cool climate cabernet aromas of the leafy/cedary type, along with aged mushroomy characters, complex and changing in the glass over the course of the meal. On the palate, more of the same, but with a surprising amount of primary fruit flavour and vanillan oak. Tannins still a little prickly, and noticeable acidity still present, so it wasn't too late to drink the wine by any means. Not an overly structured wine, but nonetheless very much in proportion, with flavours moving through in a well ordered procession. The impression was mostly one of complexity, balance and coherence from smell to finish. Lovely wine.

De Bortoli Gulf Station Shiraz Viognier 2005

It's been a relaxing Sunday and I wanted to open something relatively unchallenging to pass the time this evening. I thought this might fit the bill, but I was wrong. It's a much better wine than that. I can't believe this quality for the price (about $16 at Dan's).

On the nose, this wine has a complex, primarily dark flavour profile with a clear but subservient line of bright, sour red fruits and lighter fragrance peeking through, perhaps also some vegetal/stalk notes, which I liked. Mostly, though, it's rich dark berries and cooked meats, showing real density of flavour. Structurally, this wine is strikingly pinot-like, with a most delicious fruit sourness at its medium-bodied core. Sort of like stewed cherries. It's intense and integrated, oak playing but a minor role in the wine's flavour. The finish dries firmly at the very end, due to the fine tannins. It's elegant, intense and delicious.

This wine is fantastic.

Lillydale Estate Chardonnay 2006

A couple of bottles of the 2005 were consumed with friends earlier this year, and fun times ensued. I chose this wine to have last night because I thought it would a) be a nice contrast to the Brand's we had earlier, and b) go well with the salmon that my other half was preparing for dinner.

It did go well with the food. We started drinking it, however, on its own, and I found the nose somewhat reticent. Light, fine aromas of white peach and grapefruit emerged, framed by wispy vanilla/oak notes. The palate expands on these flavours, and I found both palate and nose notable for their good flavour integration. Nothing stands out unduly, everything is in balance, though the wine is quite restrained, overall. There's a line of acidity that runs under the palate and is quite firm, without being coarse. With food, the wine's fruit flavours emerged more strongly on the palate, and a rather nice roundness developed, especially of the grapefruity flavours. The oak, if anything, is a bit straightforward but, mercifully, is not hugely assertive either. With some time in glass, a struck match/rotten egg note became more prominent and, for me, distracting. I left some in a glass and, this morning, found the note had receded to an acceptably low level, though it did not disappear entirely.

So, an elegant, cool climate chardonnay that seems well made and has good fruit. Perhaps it was my mood last night, but the wine, though enjoyable, didn't really get me very excited. I kept wanting it to be that bit more expressive.