The enterprising firm, which organised this tasting, was the first in Belgium, which I know of, to go big on Southern Hemisphere wines, particularly Antipodean, building up a wide and good selection of boutique wineries. Lately, however, the emphasis seems to be moving towards Spain and Austria where their portfolio has also become impressive. In this Spring tasting, there were only two Australian and no New Zealander wineries represented and one of these, the excellent Rocky Gully and Frankland Estate, had already been on show in the Autumn. Spain and Austria were, however, well represented, including encores of the superb Nigl estate and some of the Spanish. Hard though it was, I decided to miss the Frankland and Nigl tables in order to make new friends amongst the wines.
There is one fly in the ointment. Full pricing seems to be the policy here and I noted very little decent QPR.
Primo Estate with Virginia Vineyard and Joseph, South Australia http://www.primoestate.com.au/page.php?section=29 .
An enthusiastic and knowledgeable representative of the estate presented the wines. He explained to me that the estate was founded by an immigrant from Marche, Italy, and that his son, now in charge, still takes a lively interest in Italian techniques and prefers a more elegant and less block-busting style than many Aussies. Certainly the wines here were more digestible than some of the fruit and tannin bombs from the Spanish tables, impressive though some of those were.
Virginia Vineyard Riesling/SB/Chardonnay 2005 – (€8) was refreshing and showed Riesling aromatic, Chard roundness and SB tartness on the finish; I thought that these elements clashed somewhat; 13.5/20.
Primo Estate “La Biondina†Colombard 2008 – (€13), made from 92% Colombard and 8% SB, showed nice crisp aromas, including an acceptable hint of cat’s piss, and fresh acidity against a round background; 15/20.
Joseph Pino Grigio d’Elena 2008 – (€19), made in the Italian style, was my favourite of the three whites with nice meaty and floral aromatics and roundly refreshing fruit; a very nice PG; 16/20+.
Primo Estate “Virginia Vineyard†red 2006 – (€12), made from 44% Shiraz, 42% CabSauv, 11% Merlot and 3% others, showed cedary notes on its red fruit aromas and nice tangy fruit on its medium weight palate; 15/20.
Primo Estate “Zamberlan†CabSauv/Sangiovese 2006 – (€19), 70% CabSauv and made by the Ripasso technique, showed some soft yet bright leathery damson and good mouth-fill with noticeable touches of wood; 15.5/20++.
Primo Estate “Shale Stone†Shiraz 2006 – (€20) showed even more wood than the previous of a creamy sort but there was nice bright fruit, good acidity and tannins and I am hopeful that the wood will integrate; 15/20 now.
Joseph “Moda†Cabernet-Sauvignon/Merlot 2007 – (€35), 80% CabSauv and 20% Merlot with the Cabs undergoing the Amarone technique, was the outstanding wine in this line-up with full body, rich complex fruit as befits the technique, mild hints of toffee and differentiated from, and IMO preferable to, most Veronese Amarones by some lively acidity and classy Cab style tannic structure; 17/20.
Joseph Sparkling Red (€36) is made from Shiraz, CabSauv and Merlot wines by a sort of Solera technique whereby a base of old wine is topped up by new Moda (click on link for more details). This is an intriguing concept but the result was not really to my taste; there were oxidative notes exuding from the plush and round body and fruit and a bitter tang on the finish; perhaps a fresher bottle of this would grow on me; 13.5/20 for this one.
Joseph “La Magia†Botrytis Riesling/Traminer 2008 (€19 for 375ml) showed nice aromas of marmalade and a musky, rich and toffee tinted palate; I would have preferred more minerals and acidity to balance the sweetness; attractive, nevertheless, but was put into the shade by the Chamber’s Muscat which the representative kindly pointed me towards (see below); just 16/20.
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Rolf Binder “Hales†Shiraz – Barossa Valley 2006 (€12). I usually like this wine but this time I found too much confected boiled sweet though I liked the tar undertow; 14.5/20.
Leeuwin Estate “Celebratory Blend†Shiraz - Margaret River 2005 (€22); again I normally like Shiraz from Leeuwin and again I found too much confected boiled sweet on this quite full bodied and structured wine; 14.5/20.
And the best for last –
Chambers Rosewood (Victoria) Rutherglen Muscat (€11 for 375ml), amber coloured, was a revelation of complex and deeply rich flavours and aromatics with Oxford marmalade, raisins and fine molasses; 17.5/20 QPR!!
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Further notes from December 2, 2008
Rocky Gully and Frankland Estate, West Australia
This fine range was presented by co-owner Judi Cullam. This is an estate where “sense of place†(= terroir), harmony and elegance are prized.
Rocky Gully Riesling 2006 (€11) is designed for refreshing drinking in its youth and succeeded in that aim with its aromas of flinty white fruit and its crisp and fragrant juiciness; 15.5/20.
Frankland Estate “Isolation Ridge†Riesling 2007 (€16) was on a higher plane with richer and more complex aromas of white fruit and flowers impregnated with subtle minerality and a rounder, softer and more generously mouth-filling body with “gras†and crispness; 17/20.
Frankland Estate “ Cooladerra Vineyard†Riesling 2007 (€16) was aromatically more subdued right now and showed a crisper, more mineral and acidic style than the previous while retaining harmony and balance; this is a wine for the more tangy molluscs and crustaceans, prepared simply, whereas the previous calls for richer preparations; 16.5/20++.
I sensed that Judi Cullam was not convinced by her Rock Gully Unwooded Chardonnay 2007 (€11), which she had produced to meet explicit demand; it showed nice peachy aromas but was somewhat bland on the palate; 13/20.
Frankland Estate “Isolation Ridge†Chardonnay 2007 (€15) was another matter; it was wood aged with a total new oak component of less than 10% and showed complex aromas of tropical fruit and minerals and a full, richly burnished but harmonious palate with a fine clean finish; 16/20++.
Frankland Estate “Isolation Ridge†Shiraz 2004 (€18) showed aromas of peppery damson and was harmonious with medium-full body, dark fruit and pepper flavours and a classically linear shape; 16/20+.
Frankland Estate “Olmo’s Reward†2001 (€23), a Bordeaux blend dominated by Cabernet franc and Merlot, showed nice tangy fresh red fruit with some attractive leather and spice; 16/20.
TN: Euro-centric palate tastes Primo Estate, Frankland, etc.
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Daryl Douglas
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Billy Bolonski
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- Location: Sydney
Billy Bolonski wrote:Damn that seems expensive.
It is!!
Transport of relatively small quantities from boutique wineries is no doubt expensive but I also suspect the importer of deliberate high pricing as part of an effort to establish the quality credibility of these wines in an initially sceptical market. It seem to be successful amongst the Dutch speaking part of the Belgian population who don't need much persuading to spurn things French.
For a Euro-centric palate like mine, the Primo Estate/Joseph range, mostly €10-20, is not really competitive with French, Italian and Spanish wine I can get in the same price bracket but some of the Frankland Estate wines are a different story. Their Isolation Ridge and Cooladerra Vineyard Rieslings, in particular, measure up very well to similarly priced or dearer dry Rieslings from Alsace and Austria.
The Chambers Muscat is outstanding value against any European competition.
Eboracum
Yes, La Biondina would have been well worth buying at €7-8.
Of course, shipping a bottle of La Biondina costs the same as shipping a bottle of Grange, so it is scarcely surprising that it is relatively expensive here.
On its showing at the tasting, I would not buy the Joseph sparkling Shiraz at any price.
Of course, shipping a bottle of La Biondina costs the same as shipping a bottle of Grange, so it is scarcely surprising that it is relatively expensive here.
On its showing at the tasting, I would not buy the Joseph sparkling Shiraz at any price.
Eboracum