TN: Tscharke at the API Wine Club 6/9/13

[n4sir]

A few weeks ago Damien Tscharke presented a number of his wines to the API Wine Club – all of the fruit for his wines were sourced from the family's own vineyards at Marananga in the Barossa Valley.


2012 Tscharke Girl Talk Savagnin, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 12.5% alc. Very pale straw. Very grassy, minerally and pithy, with sweet lemon and slate, almost Riesling-like at times; the palate’s spicy and grippy, with notable acidity kicking in mid-palate, finishing a little bitter with a grassy rebound.

2011 Tscharke The Master Montepulciano, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 14.5% alc. Medium to dark purple with legs on the glass. Slightly rubbery/cheesy and weedy nose, with cherries and plums, white pepper and spice; a bitter entry leads to a green, medium-weight palate that’s lacking in fruit, finishing bitter. I’ve really enjoyed previous vintages of this label (2004, 2008), but this vintage isn’t anywhere near up to that standard - that said, it’s a gold medal winner at the last Melbourne Wine Show

2012 Tscharke Barossa Grounds Collection Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 15% alc. I’m sure we were told it’s 70% Grenache, 10% Shiraz, 20% Mourvedre but I’ll have to check this up – it doesn’t sound right to have the proportions ordered 70/10/20 on the label. Light to almost medium purple. Attractive nose that’s jubey and peppery, with cherries, Turkish delight and a whiff of Earl Grey tea; a sweet entry leads to a medium-weight palate full of cherries, jubes and smoked meats, finishing smoky with fine, grippy tannins. Very good and very savoury, at times almost Touriga or Cabernet-like; the value buy of the range on tasting tonight.

2012 Tscharke Barossa Grounds Collection Gnadenfrei Vineyard Grenache, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 14.5% alc. Medium to almost dark red/purple. A little rubbery at first but it blows off with breathing, revealing cherry stones and white pepper; the palate’s spicy and slightly stalky with scrubbed cherries and a hint of blueberry, finishing very long and grippy with surprisingly thick tannins. A powerfully structured Grenache that is perhaps surprisingly Pinot Noir-like at times – it’s a huge step up on their Stonewell Vineyard Grenache that I tried at an instore the previous week.

2011 Tscharke Barossa Grounds Collection Stonewell Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 15% alc. Medium to very dark red/garnet with legs. Perfumed and pretty, the nose full of strawberries, cedar, spices and fresh garden herbs; the palate’s on the thin side, medium-weight at most with brawny tannins and some alcohol heat mid-palate, finishing sweet and jubey. A solid, interesting wine that shows all the rough edges of a tough vintage, it’s ripe but still on the awkward side, and the drinking window will be tricky.

2011 Tscharke Barossa Grounds Collection Gnadenfrei Vineyard Shiraz, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 15% alc. Dark to inky purple with legs. Like the Stonewell Vineyard Cabernet there’s lovely perfume on the nose, full of violets and cedar, blackberry, kirsch and bitumen; the palate’s very sweet and spicy with soft tannins, medium to full weight with a very hot mid-palate that continues through to the minty finish. Another solid result for the difficult vintage, but there’s too much alcohol heat for my personal taste.

2007 Tscharke MGA Fortune Shiraz, Barossa Valley (screwcap): 15% alc. Very inky black/purple with long legs. Impressive, complex nose with violets, blackberry, chocolate/paneforte, peppermint, tar, molten liquorice and shoe polish; the palate’s full-weight and peppery with vanillin oak, finishing dry with brawny but ripe tannins. One for the hedonists, a real blockbuster in the style of Grange or Kalleske Johann Georg (and accordingly priced) - it’s a big mouthful and slightly porty, but excellent for what’s widely considered a lesser vintage.


Cheers,
Ian

[tpang]

Nice write-up Ian.

I really like Damien's wines, but share your view that the 2011s show signs of the difficult vintage conditions. The 2012s are a leap back towards the norm.

[Panda 9D]

Great to see your notes on these wines, Ian. I'm still going through bureaucratic hell trying to get the next lot of his wines over here. Can't wait to get them..especially the 2012 Gnadenfrei Grenache. I only have one of the 2010s left in the cellar which I will have to make sure I don't touch for a long time.

Did you like the 2012 Girl Talk? He's using a bit of oak in it now (the 11 was all stainless I believe).

[n4sir]

Did you like the 2012 Girl Talk? He's using a bit of oak in it now (the 11 was all stainless I believe).

I like it, but it does seem to be a bit of a change of style from earlier vintages (which prompted me to ask him whether they were picking it earlier - turns out they are).

There seems to be more grassy characters and higher phenolics this vintage - I remember the earlier wines being even more perfumed when released and also slightly oily. To be honest, I prefer those early ones, although it will be interesting to see how this develops.

Cheers,
Ian