Brewery Hill Reserve Shiraz 2008

I had a late night tonight with my brother-in-law, drinking wine and eating chicken wings (hey, I'm Canadian so they're an obsession) in my kitchen. I probably should have saved a nice bottle like this for a quieter occasion, but Kieron was nice enough to babysit for us last night so I wasn't about to get stingy with the wine.

This is a noticeable upgrade from the Brewery Hill entry-level bottling I had earlier in the week. It has a more complex nose, denser fruit on the palate and a concentrated, gravelly, long finish. I probably could have put it under the microscope a bit more but from the first whiff I could tell it was quality.

An interesting tidbit from the Naked Wines website: the winemaker of Brewery Hill, Jock Harvey, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Winemaker of the Year. I have no idea who awards this prize, or when the winner is announced, but he says if he wins, he will use the prize money to produce a Shiraz/Sangiovese blend just for Naked Wines. Now that would be interesting to try.

Brewery Hill

Reserve Shiraz 2008

South Australia

Naked Wines

£11.99

3.5/5

Brewery Hill Shiraz 2008

This is the third bottle from my Naked Wines taster pack.

I don't mean to be flippant, but it basically does what it says on the tin. It's Aussie Shiraz. It's quite full-on too - really rich fruit, high in alcohol but not ridiculous at 14% - despite what the image says - my bottle says 14%, not that I really mind anyway.

Apparently 90% of Naked Wine's sales are to its 'Angels' - basically members who pay into their account and can use the money to purchase wines. When they make a purchase they get 33% cash back, so if you're an Angel this wine only costs you £5.27 instead of the list price of £7.99. Not bad value - I was wondering where the 'preferential rates' they advertise were. Now we know, and I would much rather give my money to a small, independent winemaker than a huge drinks conglomerate.

Brewery Hill

Shiraz 2008

South Eastern Australia

Naked Wines

£7.99

3/5

Peter Lehmann Back to Back Grenache 2006

I felt like drinking some Grenache the other day, after a friend of mine and I were talking about it at lunch. It's one of his favourite wines and when I was in Waitrose later in the day I noticed they had a couple on offer. They were different enough from each other that it warranted buying both and trying them at the same time.

This Peter Lehmann wine is Australian and has some bottle age, while the other one was Spanish and quite young - an interesting contrast I thought.

The Back to Back tasted like a Peter Lehmann red. It reminded me of the Clancy's blend. Reddish-brown in colour, tomato character on the nose and palate, and I thought a bit past its best. Some sourness, but also some hints at the powerful fruit it possessed at some point. If you read the Clancy's post, I praise the wine, but in truth I bought some a few months after that post and I thought it was over the hill. I feel similar about this - what would it taste like a couple of years younger?

Peter Lehmann

Back to Back Grenache 2006

Barossa Valley, South Australia

Waitrose

£5.59 (£6.99)

2.5/5

Hungerford Hill Semillon 2008

Hunter Valley is the place for Semillon, and I've been trying them, slowly, over the past couple of years. They aren't always easy to find though, so when I saw this at Oddbins I bought some.

Low in alcohol (10%), it's quite tart and it's dry. I confess I'm not very knowledgeable about this style of wine - is this because the grapes don't get any riper? Standard citrus character, plus a sort of nutty flavour in the background. Interesting, but possibly just short of pleasant.

I think this is where bottle ageing comes in, which is traditional with Hunter Valley Semillon. I'm assuming this would improve with age, because now I'm not sure I would drink it again. Hard to give it a fair score, but the one I gave was based on it's current state.

I'm aware that I'm always drinking Hunter Valley Semillon too young, and one of these days I'll blog about an older one (I've got a Tyrell's Vat 1 2002 waiting, and I tucked away a 2005 Tim Adams a couple of years ago).

Hungerford Hill

Semillon 2008

Hunter Valley, Australia

Oddbins

~£10

2.5/5

Oddbins Discount Codes

Peter Lehmann Eden Valley Riesling 2008

I wouldn't say this is my favourite Australian Riesling, but I think it expresses enough Riesling character and the price is reasonable enough to warrant some attention.

It's interesting to see what others thought of this wine. One customer on Majestic's website found it disappointing (although they gave it 3/5), and though it was expensive. On Peter Lehmann's website the average customer rating is 2/5, where 2 is 'OK' and 5 is 'excellent'.

I think I would just say this is a good 'everyday' Riesling when you can get it on offer. There is certainly nothing much wrong with it, except perhaps a slight lack of concentration. I've had far worse at this price point.

Peter Lehmann

Eden Valley Riesling 2008

Eden Valley, Australia

Majestic

£8.69 (£6.95 when you buy 2)

3/5

Pauletts Polish Hill River Riesling 2009

Tonight a Clare Valley Riesling was in order. I'm rarely disappointed by these, and this was no exception. My only regret is I haven't tried this wine after a few years in the cellar.

I prefer my Riesling with some bottle age, to enjoy those secondary characteristics, especially the petrol and honey characters. This wine was fresh, limey, bright, and acidic - good but it just seems it has more to offer.

I need to start putting some of these away instead of drinking them so young - aged examples aren't always easy to find.

Paulett Wines

Polish Hill River Riesling 2009

Clare Valley, Australia

Majestic

£10.99 (£8.79 when you buy 2)

3/5

Wolf Blass Gold Label Riesling 2005

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, but my entire immediate family from Canada is over visiting at the moment. We're currently renting a holiday home in Bournemouth, and have at least had 2 days of good weather, although that's come to an abrupt end.

I finally found a couple of decent wine shops. They are both independent sorts, and have a good range of wines. They are a bit overpriced, but that's no surprise considering the lack of competition.

The weather being warm I'm still drinking mostly whites, and was suffering from Riesling withdrawal. The Jacobs Creek Riesling I picked up from the local Tesco Express wasn't going to cut it. I saw this Wolf Blass wine at one of the previously mentioned shops, and decided to give it a try. It's made from fruit sourced from both the Clare and Eden valleys, and had some good bottle age. At £12.99 it seemed reasonable.

It's a nice wine - a predictable (in a good way) mix of lime and petrol flavours, with a good backbone of acidity. It also has a nice fatness to it. A result.

Wolf Blass

Gold Label Riesling 2005

Clare/Eden Valley, Australia

4/5

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008

Being a Riesling junkie, I couldn't not try this. Good producer (although they do make plonk as well), cool bottle, offer price...

Apparently this wine has a dash of 'Traminer' grapes in it. Interesting. Can't say I noticed it though.

I found this a bit disappointing. It has good initial Riesling character - limey zestiness and the like, but it tapers off into a disappointing, vegetal finish. Supposed 'honey' character is more like crystal sugar (although I wouldn't say it's sweet), and it's just a bit of a bore. I'm probably being too harsh - it's not bad and I would drink it again if it were offered, but you can do better at this price with a bit of nosing around.

Penfolds

Autumn Riesling 2008

South Australia

Waitrose

£6.99 (£8.99)

2.5/5

De Bortoli Windy Peak Sangiovese 2006

I've noticed that sometimes Italian varieties can be done well in other countries - noticeably Argentina and Australia, thanks to their Italian ex-pat communities. We've been drinking a lot of Chianti recently, so I thought it was a good time to try the Australian version with this Victoria Sangiovese.

This starts off with bright cherry fruit and good acidity, the hallmarks of this variety. After a bit of time in the glass it develops some earthiness, which actually slightly reminded me of an Aussie Pinot Noir. It's not all bad though (just joking), and it retains a vibrancy of fruit that identifies it as definitely New World. There is just a bit of harshness to it though, a lack of elegance that shouldn't be there for a £10 wine.

De Bortoli

Windy Peak Sangiovese 2006

King Valley, Victoria, Australia

Oddbins

£9.99

2.5/5

Oddbins Discount Codes

Wine Society Sampler

I mentioned the other day that I bought a bunch of stuff from The Wine Society. Because it's been a rather hectic past few days (not too hectic for wine though), I have managed to try a few more of these wines, but haven't managed a neat and tidy post for each.

So I'm just going to mention them here, along with a few thoughts about each one. They were tasted in various states of sobriety, but I do remember which ones we got excited about and which ones were duds. Here goes:

The Society's Claret (NV). £5.95. It's tempting to turn your nose up to a non-vintage claret, but why? Blending different vintages hopefully irons out the rough spots, and produces a consistent, affordable and drinkable product. This is relatively decent, a good mix of fruit, tannin and drinkability. I wouldn't call it thrilling, but that's OK. 2.5/5

The Society's St. Emilion 2006. £9.95. This was OK, probably about what you'd expect for a tenner. More refined than the NV Claret, but not sure I'd buy it again simply because I think there is better value out there. 3/5

Chateau Bois Joly Cotes de Castillion 2005. £7.25. This is probably what I'd go for if I were to buy a load of Claret. This right-bank appellation punches above its weight for the prices it gets. Good vintage, lots of tasty sour-cherry fruit and grippy tannin. 3.5/5

The Society's French Full Red NV. £4.95. Tastes cheap, is cheap. Not terrible, but not my thing really. 2/5

Grant Burge Benchmark Shiraz 2008. £5.95. This was delicious. It was one of the ones consumed fairly uh, late at night, but I we all loved it. Not your typical woody, boring Aussie Shiraz. This was wildly fruity with a touch of oak. Should cost more than this, but I'm glad it doesn't (and I'm hoping it doesn't sell out). Bonus half-point for great value. 4/5

Hilltop Estates Cserszegi 2009. £4.95. This idea with this was to find a good cheap aromatic white. Advertised as 'between Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer in style', this sounds like it would be right up my alley. It isn't. It's sour, dilute and just doesn't taste very good. 1/5

I've got a couple of others to try yet, and will hopefully be able to post 'normal' blog entries about them.

Sainsbury's Limited Release Clare Valley Riesling 2009

I was at a foreign (as in north London) Sainsbury's on Saturday, and I saw this on the shelf. A Sainsbury's 'Limited Release' Clare Valley Riesling. Regular price: £5. Offer price: £3.99.

I've had a couple of other wines from this line, and some have been OK, others not so good. I love Riesling, and Australia's Clare Valley is as good a place as any to get it from.

This wine is terrible. It's from the class of Rieslings that don't taste like Riesling. No petrol, no citrus, maybe some pineapple, a bit of acidity. It could be anything. It was also dilute and a bit rough.

Fine, for this price 'drinkable' is probably as good as you are going to get. But what annoyed me is the screwcap. On the top of it are painted the words 'complex' and 'elegant'. Pardon? Maybe if it was a proper Clare Valley Riesling, and not some dilute plonk. I suppose this is an (not entirely misguided) attempt at making choosing a wine easier for the customer. It's neither complex or elegant, and I'm finding this 'Limited Release' line increasingly irritating.

Sainsbury's

Limited Release Riesling 2009

Clare Valley, Australia

£3.99 (£5)

2/5

The Lane Pinot Gris 2006

Random Aussie Bloke brought this wine over. He was saving it for the next time I made General Tso's Chicken. Theoretically a good match, except that I made the chicken ridiculously spicy. A slight oversight on my part, especially since his wife is pregnant and had to eat a whole pack of Remegel in order to make it through the meal.

The wine is definitely a Pinot Gris as opposed to a Pinot Grigio. It's fat, oily, floral, apple, pear, etc. The food overpowered it (nothing could have stood up to that), but you could tell it was a top-class wine.

No idea where he got it or what it cost. Probably not cheap.

The Lane

Pinot Gris 2006

Adelaide Hills, Australia

4/5

Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling 2003

A while ago, after I disapproved of one of their Chenin Blancs, a Peter Lehman winemaker suggested I try their Rieslings. I finally found one at Oddbins that looked like it was worth trying. It was heavily discounted - it was around £11 but normally went for about £16 (which seems overpriced to me).

It is a lovely wine indeed, and everything a good Eden Valley Riesling should be. It's citrus and petrol on the nose, and all minerals, lemon and a touch of kerosene on the palate, with good acidity. Delicious stuff - I need to work out the best food match for Aussie Rieslings, any suggestions?

Peter Lehmann

Wigan Riesling 2003

Eden Valley, Australia

Oddbins

£11

4/5

Jacob's Creek Riesling 2008

I guess it's either informed or snobby to avoid the entry-level Jacob's Creek wines. I can't say I regularly drink them, and to be honest they are getting to be a price where they have to start performing a bit better. The regular price of this is £6.99, which is my bread-and-butter price range. You can get some very nice wines in this range if you know what you're doing and take advantage of special offers.

Of course I didn't pay £6.99, I paid £5.19 (it's a big difference, price point-wise believe it or not). Jacob's Creek produces some good Riesling, from the award winning Reserve Riesling to the legendary Barossa Valley Steingarten Riesling. Why not try the entry-level wine? It's not too bad - it's not the type of Riesling that I love, but it's appley and crisp. It approaches plonk as it warms up in the glass though - you may want to keep it numb.

Not worth £7, but not too bad for a fiver.

Jacob's Creek

Riesling 2008

South Eastern Australia

Waitrose

£5.19 (£6.99)

2.5/5

Brown Brothers Tarrango 2008

My brother-in-law brought this over last night, and said it's his wife's favourite wine. It's a red, and is to be served chilled. It was about £5 (on offer) from Waitrose.

I think Brown Brothers may be a bit looked-down-on in Australia, or by Australians (need to check with Random Aussie Bloke). They market some cheap and cheerful wines here in the UK (one of which I've enjoyed before), and perhaps they don't exactly project a premium wine image.

Who cares. This stuff is really enjoyable. It's like cherry juice. Better not get carried away, it's 13% alcohol, which you'll be feeling right away. My only criticism is this - if I want something light, chilled and refreshing, I'd go for a white or a rosé. Why bother with a red?

Brown Brothers

Tarrango 2008

Victoria, Australia

Waitrose

£4.42 (25% off)

3/5

Shelmerdine Pinot Noir 2009

Following my post about the 2008 vintage of this wine, I ordered a case of 12 from Waitrose Wine Direct whose website indicated they had it back in stock. However despite advertising it as 2008, and all the packaging materials, invoice, etc also indicating this, I instead received 12 bottles of the 2009.

First of all, any self-respecting wine merchant should realize that vintages are important, especially to people who spend more than £10 a bottle. I fully understand rolling over to the new vintage of a wine when the previous one is exhausted, but it certainly should be advertised as such. If I was ordering plonk, I wouldn't care. But this isn't plonk. Also, the 2008 vintage of this wine won a blind tasting competition, while the 2009 was possibly subjected to drought, bushfires and smoke-taint.

Waitrose Wine Direct's returns policy says that only full cases can be returned, so I decided to buy a bottle of the 2009 in the shop. If I liked it, I would keep the case of 12. If not, I'd send it back. It turns out I didn't like it. I felt it had a sour taste and it was possibly my imagination, but I thought I could detect a peaty, smoky flavour to it. It could have been the oak and not smoke-taint though. Either way, it's going back.

Shelmerdine

Pinot Noir 2009

Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia

Waitrose

£12

2.5/5

Shelmerdine Pinot Noir 2008

This wine placed No. 1 in this month's Decanter magazine Victoria/Tasmania Pinot Noir tasting. It averaged a score of 18.4 (one tenth of a point from being rated a 5 star wine). It was also one of the cheapest, at £11.99 (or £11.34 online) from, who else, Waitrose.

I'm always on the lookout for good, affordable Pinot Noir. It's rare, and because of that I don't drink it very often. I'm not partial to cheap Pinot - it's either thin and watery (French) or overripe (New World).

This wine does live up to its recommendation, however. It's all about restraint, and quite Burgundian. On the nose there are notes of sour cherry and citrus peel, and good strawberry/cherry fruit on the palate. Good acidity - it would be a good food wine, although we had it on its own. Good tannins as well.

I reckon this wine will sell out everywhere because of the Decanter tasting. We cleaned out our local Waitrose (all 8 remaining bottles), and there is currently one bottle available online. If you're a Pinot Noir fan, get some while you still can.

Shelmerdine

Pinot Noir 2008

Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia

Waitrose

£11.99

4/5

Petaluma Picadilly Valley Chardonnay 2005

The Piccadilly Valley is located in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. Petaluma was started in 1976, and the grapes for this Chardonnay come from 7 different vineyards nearing 30 years of age.

When I drink a Chardonnay, this is what I want it to taste like. Toasty, honeyed flavours, smooth, buttery texture and a hint of spicy oak that's well integrated with the fruit. I bought this from Sainsbury's, which can sometimes offer more than the usual half-price plonk for an offer. If your local branch has a fine wine section, it's worth checking out for good deals such as this one.

Petaluma

Piccadilly Valley Chardonnay 2005

Adelaide Hills, South Australia

Sainsbury's

£12.99 (£15.99)

4/5

David Franz 'Old Redemption' Tawny Port

I don't think I'm supposed to call this port, it being Australian and all, and I respect (and agree with) the rules. Port is from Portugal, and this is fortified wine. I'd also be happy with 'tawny'.

I think this is a wonderful wine. I picked it up for about £16. It's just as good as any 'proper' tawny port I've tried (admittedly not many). It's perhaps not as sweet as this one, but just as complex.

This is the first Australian fortified wine I've tried. Differences between Port and the Aussie version can include grape variety, ripeness levels at harvest time, and the fortifying spirit used. I couldn't find much information at all about this wine unfortunately, and would love to hear from anyone who can supply information regarding all these details. The main difference I noticed was in the nose - this had an fruity, alcoholic, spirity note to it. Perhaps it is the same thing that Jancis Robinson called 'commercial rum essence' in this informative article.

The producer is also of note - David Franz is the son of famed Barossa Valley winemaker Peter Lehmann. Look on their website for a biography. Sadly this wine isn't included in the history, but I imagine the base wine for this has been around longer than David's winery has...

David Franz

'Old Redemption' Tawny Port

Barossa Valley, Australia

Thorold Wines

~£16

4/5

Ballast Stone 'Estate' Riesling 2007

I had this wine a couple of days ago while we were dining out at Bar Shu, a renowned Sichuan Chinese restaurant. Food writer and Chinese chef Fuchsia Dunlop is a consultant there, and since I own and cook out of two of her books, I have been wanting to try it for a long time.

The wine was a bit of a random choice, but it was between that, a New Zealand Gewurztraminer and an more-expensive Alsace Pinot Gris. I chose the Riesling as I thought that if it was half-decent, it would be quite neutral and food-friendly. I had never eaten at the restaurant before, and still didn't know what I was going to eat (aside from the starter I was munching on).

This Riesling is from a cool-climate, maritime region in South Australia called Currency Creek. I'd never heard of it and was a bit nervous about the choice until it arrived. It had at least 4 medal stickers on the bottle, and the first whiff of its rich, petrol-tinged aroma assured my I'd made a good choice. It very much resembles a Clare Valley style - bone dry, tart but with that good petrol character.

The wine was £28 in the restaurant, and I was shocked to see it for a little over £7 at a couple of UK wine merchants, although that was for the 2002 and 2003 vintages. This is a bargain - if Riesling was more fashionable this would be going for well over £10.

If anyone has every tried this wine, I'd like to hear what you think of it, the region, and any other wines you may have tried from there.

Ballast Stone

'Estate' Riesling 2007

Currency Creek, South Australia

4/5