Domaine Simha
The first two wines below – very much in the ‘joven’ style – were sampled at the Taste of Tasmania, the rest at the ‘cellar door’ located in the Brook St Pier on Hobart’s waterfront. Winegrapes are sourced largely from Derwent valley vineyards, managed on biodynamic principals, all hand-picked, foot-trodden, ferments with wild yeast , skin contact, aging in 600l-barrels or amphora; aging on lees even for the Riesling, etc. All the old-fashioned, now-avant-garde techniques, in other words. Production levels are claimed to be just 2-3 barrels for each wine (presumably less for the higher-priced pinots) translating to around 130-190 dozen bottles made.
There are 3 ranges of wines; first the flagship Simha wines; riesling, sauvignon blanc (called Sauvage), chardonnay, and three levels of pinot, with the whites priced from A$75-$90, and the pinots from A$80-$250. Next is the Amphorae collection at A$65, being a riesling and two examples of the same pinot picked on different biodynamic days and fermented and aged –as the name implies – in amphora vessels. I guess the exact selection available here will vary with vintage? Finally, there is the $55 Sanskrit range covering a textural chenin, a distinctly orange pinot gris, a lovely cab franc, and a sold-out gamay.
It’s quite a recently-founded estate, but on my assessment shoots straight to the very top echelon of Tasmanian – perhaps more accurately Australian – producers. Distribution largely appears to be via mailing list and a few top restaurants in Sydney & Melbourne along with boutique bottle shops. I say ‘Tasmanian’, but there’s one rogue South Australian offering, there being little chenin in Tasmania, presumably. Otherwise grapes hail from all over the state, but without especial emphasis; clearly the attitude is that the biodynamic cycle and the winemaking techniques trump attributes of the particular site, otherwise more might be made of them.
A non-refundable $10 tasting fee applies for ostensibly 6 wines, but there were some others – notably the twin Amphorae pinot – open for various reasons which I got to try. The most fascinating and absorbing line-up of wines I’ve tasted in ages. A shame they’re stratospherically priced. The website makes you buy things in unbroken half cases too, which doesn’t encourage the mix’n’match buyers of whom I’m invariably one.
- 2015 Domaine Simha Chardonnay Wild - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{screwcap} Light nose of mushrooms and a little peach; no oak influences apparent. The palate is fairly simple and translucent; light-bodied, peachy and zesty. Eve palate, but shortish finish. Simple but very gluggable. - 2015 Domaine Simha Pinot Noir OM No SO2 - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{flagon 1.9l, A$99} Bright colour (helped by the lack of SO2, presumably), bright fresh aromas of earth, compost, dark chocolate. Light-bodied and with low tannins but still surprisingly intense in its depth of flavour. Short/medium length finish. Decent wine to pour down your throat quickly. - 2014 Domaine Simha Riesling Rani - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$75, 11.5%} Floral nose, with tropical fruits apparent. The palate is floral and fruity, with immense presence somehow even though it seems only to be light/medium-bodied. The acid is medium/high, but soft and delicate. Has the integrity of a bank vault. Medium/long dry finish. Should age forever. Australia’s priciest new-release Riesling? Whole bunch pressed, wild ferment, on lees for 9 months. - 2015 Domaine Simha Riesling Amphora Lotus - Australia, Tasmania, Southern Tasmania (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$65, 12%} Lightly cloudy. Neither fined nor filtered. A youthful but not forceful nose of peaches and spice. The palate is reminiscent of a fruit punch for its variety of flavours, but it’s dry, with a distinct grapey texture, almost to the point of being tannic. There is a real structural framework here of acid and just plain wine-y-ness. The finish is medium/long and evenly balanced. I’m not sure exactly what effect the amphora aging has here, nor all the weird and wonderful lees and skin-treatment techniques used, but this is a really interesting example of riesling, well off the beaten track. 600 bottles. - 2014 Domaine Simha Chenin Blanc Sanskrit - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, $A55} Pungent wildflower aromas, syrup, machine oil. The oak isn’t obvious. The palate is medium/full-bodied, with sweet honeysuckle flavours as well as those present on the nose. It’s dense, furry and grape-like, medium/full-bodied, with low dusty tannins. Interesting wine. 250 cases. - 2014 Domaine Simha Sauvignon Blanc Raya Sauvage - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$80} Fermented on skins, aged 12 months on lees in 600l oak barrels. A touch cloudy. Still has a steely minerality and very little obvious oak influence on the nose. The palate is chewy and textural. Peachy flavours. The oak has added texture and a sweet richness but not obvious flavour. Really multi-dimensional sauvignon. 800 bottles only. - 2015 Domaine Simha Pinot Gris Sanskrit - Australia, Tasmania, Southern Tasmania (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$55} A cloudy orange colour. Unfiltered, unfined. Fermented on skins; carbonic maceration, in fact. Oak aged too. Remarkable and youthful nose of smoke, earth and peach. Less flavour than the nose suggests, but it’s all texture. Really does taste like grapes. Light bodied, still peachy, with an even palate, medium/long finish. Not like any PG I’ve had before. I’d like a longer look at this, but the price is kind-of scary. Fascinating none-the-less. 600 bottles only. - 2015 Domaine Simha Pinot Noir Amphora Beauregard - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$65, 12.5%} Beauregard and Lionheart are two sides of the same coin, being the same pinot grapes picked two days apart and handled identically in the winery (wild ferment in clay amphora). That said, the days were flower and fruit days respectively according to the biodynamic calendar, and the differences are marked. So I’ll post this note against both wines! To me, the flower wine is earthy, vaguely bacterial, and compost-like in character, with a sourness on the palate. The fruit wine is far more focussed and impressive (to me), very much more overtly fruity with red strawberry fruit. The structure is similar between them being light/medium-bodied, dry and dusty, although with soft tannins. Medium –length finish. I would really have liked two big glasses of wine and an hour or so with these offerings to be definitive about them. - 2015 Domaine Simha Pinot Noir Amphora Lionheart - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$65, 12.5%} Beauregard and Lionheart are two sides of the same coin, being the same pinot grapes picked two days apart and handled identically in the winery (wild ferment in clay amphora). That said, the days were flower and fruit days respectively according to the biodynamic calendar, and the differences are marked. So I’ll post this note against both wines! To me, the flower wine is earthy, vaguely bacterial, and compost-like in character, with a sourness on the palate. The fruit wine is far more focussed and impressive (to me), very much more overtly fruity with red strawberry fruit. The structure is similar between them being light/medium-bodied, dry and dusty, although with soft tannins. Medium –length finish. I would really have liked two big glasses of wine and an hour or so with these offerings to be definitive about them. - 2014 Domaine Simha Cabernet Franc Sanskrit - Australia, Tasmania, Tamar Valley (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$55, 12.5%} A touch pungent, even bacterial (although the bottle has seen some air to judge by the level) and distinctly spicy, with all kinds of exotic spice aromas. The palate lifts considerably, with spicy sweet fruits, integrated oak, fine-grained low/medium powdery tannins, perfectly ripe and even in its flavours and balance, medium weight, and with a long finish. Terrific wine. - 2015 Domaine Simha Pinot Noir Rama - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$85} Black cherries, dark chocolate, spice, earth on the nose. There’s real dirt here. Yet the texture is all silk, with fine lace-like chalky tannins, medium acidity, and evenness of integration of all the elements along the palate. The flavours are ripe and mild, all very fruit-spectrum pinot, but not some new-world caricature. The finish is all class, medium/long in its denouement. I imagine the Rana and Raja cuvees further up the price scale offer extra intensity, depth and focus; that’s what I’d be expecting to judge by the prices asked. This is a very nice wine, although the price is rather steep. 1500 bottles only.
After a quick vineyard and pinot winery tour with vineyard manager Matt, we adjourned to the tasting room for 4 rieslings and a pinot. No acid adjustments to the wines here, but they do irrigate. 2016 is looking very dry, needless to say. Picking time is crucial, needless to say, with the ‘R’ number broadly indicating the grams of residual sugar per litre. This is nearly as specialist as producers get; they make riesling and pinot only. The wine-lovers’ wines; very purist indeed.
- 2013 Pressing Matters Riesling R0 - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 10.8%, A$33} Honeyed nose, and surprisingly sweet for a bone-dry wine. The palate confirms the label, in contradiction to the nose, with its dry, crunchy texture, high but gentle acidity giving a pure and steely backbone to the light citrus and talc flavours. It’s never raspy or harsh, unlike some rieslings from say Eden or Clare. Only really light/medium-body, with a medium-length finish. Should age for an age… - 2014 Pressing Matters Riesling R9 - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 10.9%, $A33} Nose of honeysuckle, roses, pot-pourri. The palate has a lovely balance of acid and sugar, just the tiniest smidgin off-dry; medium-bodied, always refreshing, and with good balance on the palate. Medium length finish. A real crowd-pleaser which will age OK in the medium term. - 2013 Pressing Matters Riesling R69 - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 10.4%, A$33} The nose is similar to the R0 and R9 cuvees so far as aromas go; with honey and rosewater prominent. The palate is luscious here, the exta sugar noticeable not so much as overt sweetness but as weight and richness on the palate. It’s not really more than off-dry, and has a great balance of sugar and acid, with gives a medium/long finish of great persistence. Lovely wine, even if difficult to match with food. Cheese is the great standby… - 2015 Pressing Matters Riesling R139 - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{375ml, screwcap, 10.1%, A$33} First vintage of this since 2010. No botrytis; more of a late-pick style. The nose is much shyer than the drier examples, although I think this is due to its youth. Honey and passionfruit, a little marmalade; has a slightly greasy texture, or at least thickish mouthfeel. It’s medium-sweet, with medium-bodied weight, lovely coverage of fruit along the tongue, and a medium/long finish. If anything, it strikes me that the acid is a bit soft to sustain it in the longer term; I would drink this inside 5 years for best effect. - 2012 Pressing Matters Pinot Noir - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 13.9%} Just the 500 cases of this made (20-odd barrels); it has a sour and smoky nose, not totally fruit-driven by any means. The palate is even and dusty, quite savoury in character, light/medium-bodied, with low/medium dusty tannins. It has sour red fruits, not obviously of single fruits; this is a multi-(20+)clonal blend. Even palate, if fairly low key. Medium , dry, savoury finish. Can’t quite make up my mind about this wine; I’d love to do a vertical of all the wines to date and see how they look.
I love the iconoclastic, thumb-at-nose attitude of this aristocrat of Tasmanian wineries. True, they are maddeningly inconsistent from vintage to vintage; certainly the Stoney Vineyard second label is a complete lottery from year to year, but even the flagship Domaine A wines have very different characters from vintage to vintage. You need to be every bit as selective as in Bordeaux or Burgundy; there’s vintages for drinkin’ and vintages for keepin’. The prices don’t generally change though, so it pays to taste before you buy if at all possible. Refundable $8 tasting fee.
- 2015 Domaine A Sauvignon Blanc Stoney Vineyard - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{diam, 15%, A$36} There is no consistency to this wine. Some vintages it’s mainstream SB, a couple of years ago it was an off-dry style, this year it’s been swathed in oak and has 15% alcohol to beef up the palate weight. Lifted sweet lychee aromas. Honeyed palate, even if dry in sugar terms, but the oak gives it a full-bodied presence, thick and syrupy, with low chalky tannins, quite some heat on the palate, and most of the weight at the tip of the tongue. It has a medium-length finish in the end; I can see this being a hit with some, especially if they’re partial to chardonnay. The actual fruit flavours are a bit hard to pin down, but it’s enjoyable enough, and could even serve as an aperitif wine. - 2012 Domaine A Sauvignon Blanc Lady A - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{cork, 14%, A$60} Honeyed, almost resin-like nose, redolent of oak. Rich on the palate, with underlying grassy, mineral flavours. Dry, full-bodied, and with good palate balance along the tongue. Carries the alcohol easily, and ends with an impressive medium/long finish. Classy wine. Seems like it should age OK in the medium term. - 2009 Domaine A Pinot Noir - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{cork, 13.5%, A$90} Deep aromas of forest floor, dark bitter chocolate. Immensely rich. The palate is a bit minty, but still offers dark liquorice, kirsch and some malty oak flavours. Big wine; full-bodied by pinot standards. Medium acid, medium/log finish. Really impressive at six years; I’m no longer confident to predict how Domaine A pinot will age. Seems better balanced than some previous iterations I’ve tried. Pricey though. - 2012 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon Stoney Vineyard - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{diam, 13.5%, A$38} Classic leafy cabernet aromas. Tight, fine sandalwood oak. Very Bordeaux-like in its herb and basil flavours, medium-body and medium-length finish. It’s OK, but just needs a little more black fruit before I’d plonk down cash for it. - 2010 Domaine A Petit 'a' - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{cork, 14%, A$45} Cab sauv and Merlot comprise 60% and 35% respectively (PV and franc the rest) in this attractive, even lush, blend. It has a beautiful plummy merlot sweetness dominating the palate, ripe, with a rich mid-palate. It’s medium-bodied, with medium dusty tannins. Medium-long finish. Lovely wine which will age up to a decade surely, and which is reasonably –priced too. - 2005 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{cork, 13%, A$85} A bit of a special via the cellar door (30% cheaper than the current-release 2006) the reason for which is obvious when you taste the two side-by-side. This is really green and eucalypt-dominated. It’s green (albeit dark green) to the point of questioning the ripeness, or the mercaptans, or something. Too much leaf and mint, with a soft back-palate, and astringent and baked to boot. Medium/full-bodied, but really just doesn’t hit te mark I’m afraid. - 2006 Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{cork, 13%, A$120} A very different creature to the 2005. This is rich with beautiful ripe cassis flavours and aromas; a touch of authentic leaf but no green, finely judged oak, full-bodied but never clumsy, with medium/high dusty tannins, an even presence right along the tongue, and a long finish which is pure class. Outstanding. Also expensive! - 2007 Domaine A Merlot - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{cork, 13.5%, A$85} Rich plum and blackberry fruits. There’s some spice too, but soft and lovely; medium-bodied weight, outstanding mid-palate richness, medium acidity, and a polished, medium/long finish. Probably the country’s best merlot, which puts the price in context a bit.
Award-decorated family winemaker Anna Pooley finally returned to the fold since 2013 to take over the winemaking reins. Some styles are thus changing. Also changing is the cellar door; there’s a limited selection of wines now available (just 6, and not the visitor’s choice) and a token $5 charge too to keep the freeloaders away (refundable with purchase). Clearly a lot of the wines are selling themselves nowadays. They’ve also build themselves a winery with the intention of processing everything in-house; there’s evidently a feeling that sub-contracting a lot of the work to Alcorso’s Winemaking Tasmania wasn’t preserving adequately the distinctions between different batches of grapes in the finished bottlings (shall we say) and that doing it themselves was the only solution.
- 2013 Pooley Sauvignon Blanc - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 12.8%, A$27} Embracing Loire philosophies, this sees some barrel ferment and lees contact. There is a real peachy quality to the aromas, but mild oak too. It’s dry, light/medium-bodied, and flavoured with a little orange citrus too. Medium length finish. Good wine in a non-mainstream style (at least compared to general expectations of SB in this country); seemingly a first release…? - 2014 Pooley Pinot Grigio - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$27} Grassy, watery, floral nose. Dry, crunchy, mildly-flavoured – perhaps that should read ‘bland’ – palate; perhaps there’s just a little bit of peach flavour, not much else. Light-bodied, short-finishing, the ultimate in forgettable wines. Punters love it! - 2015 Pooley Riesling - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 12.5%, A$32} Youthful, bright honey and lime aromas. Rich, mineral-textured palate, with a touch of sugar, but ostensibly dry; the sugar is there to balance the medium/high acidity. This gives it a silky textured mouthfeel, and culminates in a medium length finish of great interest. Good for eight or so years. - 2013 Pooley Pinot Noir Cooinda Vale - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, A$50} This was just plain Pooley pinot in the old (pre-2012) days, but as the range has expanded (especially to a Tasmania-wide ‘Pooley Pinot’) it’s been more specifically tied to its original source, being the original 1985 estate plantings at Campania. It has a tart and cherry nose, with smoke, peat and earth. It’s just light/medium-bodied, with elements of jam, spice and pepper on the palate. It has an even presence on the palate, and a medium length finish, but I find it lacks great depth somehow. It’s a legitimate style, and a good wine irrespective, but I prefer the Butcher’s Hill on most occasions. - 2013 Pooley Pinot Noir Butchers Hill - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 13%, A$50} Cherry/plum, dark chocolate and earth. It’s medium-bodied, youthful, with low/medium chalky tannins, medium acid, spicy and savoury all at once. There’s a dry, medium length finish which is very satisfying in its integrity. Very good wine. Will see ten years easy. - 2012 Pooley Pinot Noir Clarence House Vineyard - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, 13.5%, A$40} From a neighbouring vineyard. Developing nose of spice and hints of compost. Has a lovely even mid-palate; the plummy fruit has richness and depth but isn’t jammy or alcoholic. Medium/full-bodied, with medium chalky tannins, moderate oak, and a classy medium finish. - 2011 Pooley Cabernet-Merlot - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (5/01/2016)
{screwcap, $A36} The blend is 55/45. It’s showing some development, along with leafy green characters, and some telltale white pepper. Not really unripe on the palate, but savoury and gentle. They’ve resisted the urge to bolster up the fruit from this tricky year with more than it can handle, resulting in an even but understated palate. Probably just as well the merlot is there to flesh it our just a bit, but it still isn’t great merlot. This wine can be pretty nice in good vintages; this is OK drinking for the shorter term but that’s all.
cheers
GG
