Grand Cru (Perth) Tasting Group – Alternative Whites - December 2019

[Waiters Friend]

The brief for this tasting was “non-mainstream” whites. This excluded the usuals: chardonnay, semillon, riesling, chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, and there was discussion about pinot grigio / gris, Verdelho, and a couple of others. We needn’t have worried.

10 of brought along 13 bottles, and we included blends as well as varietals. Still not a mainstream variety in sight. The wines were tasted blind, and all we knew was the vintage (we taste youngest to oldest). All other parameters were open. Not surprisingly, there was lots of discussion (aka guesswork) on the grape variety, and country / region of origin.

So, here’s what we tried:

Calasole Vermentino 2018 (Tuscany, Italy) Light straw in colour. The nose shows lemon, honeysuckle, musk, lime peel, along with white fleshy stonefruit (nectarine) and is quite zesty. The palate has musk, apricots and peaches, with good acidity and some viscosity. There’s a lot of front palate, but a short finish. A slight salinity as well.

Jim Barry Assyrtiko 2018 (Clare Valley). Straw colour. Citrus, especially lemon-lime, some florals, especially jasmine, and lime cordial. Is this a Riesling? The palate didn’t dispel this initially, with high acid and more citrus, especially lemon. There’s also traces of residual sugar, and jut a medium finish.

Pandemonium Estate Savagnin 2018 (Swan Valley, WA). Straw in colour, and 11.5% alcohol. Green apple, ginger, marmalade, some grassy characters, talc, minerals and marzipan. The palate shows bracing acid, a tangy citrus palate, and very dry finish – sucking river pebbles? Some tasters considered it a little bitter or astringent on the finish. Some tasters thought this might be an Albarinho, which, given the history of Savagnin in Australia, is not surprising.

Colpasso Grillo 2018 (Siciliy, Italy). Yellow with gold tinges, and totally out of place with the surrounding wines. 13% alcohol. There’s florals, apricots, lime marmalade and honey. The palate is weighty (for a white) viscous and oily, with lemon curd, apricot and lanolin. Medium finish. Some tasters queried whether there might be a touch of botrytis, but this is unlikely in Siciliy. Well regarded by the group.

Tasca Grillo 2018 (Siciliy, Italy). Straw colour. The wine has a slight spritz on pour. There’s tropical fruits on the nose, mainly pineapple and guava. There’s also some florals and salinity. At this stage, tasters were mentioning Albarinho again. The palate has green apples, some chalkiness, and pineapple on the finish. There are traces of Manzanilla-like flor, and the wine has good length.

Olivers Taranga Fiano 2018 (McLaren Vale SA). Pale yellow in colour. Florals, with ginger marmalade, under-ripe apricot, and a touch of salinity. Also some nectarine and tamarind. The palate is tangy, with good acid, and slight viscosity. There’s also Asian spices, and a touch of honey. One taster even used the word “umami”. The wine is quite complex, and almost luscious, with excellent length. Highly regarded by the group.

Merritt Vermentino 2017 (Margaret River). Straw colour. On the nose, one taster got salt and vinegar chips, while other comments included slate, citrus, florals, and ripe rockmelon. The palate shows more of the citrus, some under-ripe nectarine, and the taste of river pebbles (again). Notable among the tasting notes is “dirty vinegar” (refer S&V chips). Regardless, the wine had no middle palate and was seen as falling short.

Yalumba Virgilius Viognier 2017 (Eden Valley, SA). Pale yellow in colour. The nose was a little shy, and showed apricots and some subtle florals. There’s lots more apricot on the palate, along with cashew and almonds, and only modest acid. The group thought this was a little one-dimensional.
Harewood Estate Gewurztraminer 2016 (Great Southern, WA). Pale yellow. Unmistakeably Gewurz – Apricot, musk sticks, gingerbread and cinnamon spices on the nose, with more apricot, ginger marmalade and gingerbread on the palate. “Great summer drinking”.

Crittenden “Oggi” 2016 (Mornington Peninsular, Vic). A blend of Fiano and Arneis which is golden in colour, and the oxidative winemaking is evident from the start. The nose shows sherry-like flor, caramel and marzipan. The sherry reference was so strong that one taster ordered a glass of Manzanilla from the bar and passed it around to sniff. There’s no obvious fruit reference in this wine – the palate shows saltiness and sherry-like nutty characters. It’s like a Jura wine, and demands food.

Salomon Undhof lindberg Gruner Veltliner 2015 (Kremstal, Austria). Pale yellow in colour. Initially, struck match, then lemon, frangipani, honeysuckle and old mandarins on the nose. The palate is fresh, with apricots, but also showing signs of development, with mandarin peel. The level of acidity was questioned, but the majority went “OK”.

Yalumba Virgilius Viognier 2013 (Eden Valley, SA). Pale yellow. The nose has some honeysuckle, and butter. Primary fruit has disappeared. The palate is more interesting, with almonds, grapefruit, white stonefruits, and faint apricots. Lots of secondary development, but the wine is surprisingly well-balanced.

Tahbilk 1927 Vines Marsanne 2012 (Nagambie, Vic). Amazingly pale straw in colour. Some honeysuckle, lemon pith / zest and a touch of lime. Still quite primary. There’s a little lanolin on the palate, but the wine at 7 years old is too young. Wonderfully balanced and will go another decade easily.

This was a fascinating tasting, because of the range and variety of wines on offer, and how wide the parameters were. The group discussion was equally wide ranging as a result, and we went down a few vinous rabbit-holes on the night.

Alternative whites 2019.jpg

In case you're wondering about the $9 price tag on the Virgilius, that's another story

Wine of the night was the Olivers Taranga Fiano 2018. Thanks to all who contributed.

Cheers
Allan

[Ian S]

Bravo folks - always interesting to see these grapes and especially interesting to read what Aussie winemakers are making of them.

Now to get you onto Nosiola, Timorasso, Erbaluce, Loureiro, Bical, Maria Gomes etc...

[Wizz]

Bravo folks - always interesting to see these grapes and especially interesting to read what Aussie winemakers are making of them.

Now to get you onto Nosiola, Timorasso, Erbaluce, Loureiro, Bical, Maria Gomes etc...

Mmmm, Nosiola. I served one blind to a bunch of Chardonnay nerds a couple of months back, and the crowd went quiet

Foradori is the only one I've seen in Australia.

[paulf]

Coincidently, I did a mini tasting of alternative whites at my local bar/bottleshop last night too. It is something I've done for staff and regulars for a few years and I'll pick a different theme every year. This year I was up in Rutherglen over Grand Final weekend and picked up the first releases from Stanton & Killeen of their Arinto and Alvarinho. I threw in an Arneis from Rutherglen Estate for what was a very specific little tasting.

I didn't write any notes, but almost everybody preferred the Alvarinho. It reminded me of some of the more serious Vinho Verde Albarinhos I've tried, with nice fruit depth, a touch of sweetness and some prominent but well balanced acidity. Perfect for summer.
Most had never heard of Arinto, let alone tried it, so that was a fun exercise, and it is a very good wine. Arneis is probably my original Alternate White favorite, so I always tend to like these.

I would have enjoyed the lineup above far more than say a Chardonnay tasting I think. It's good to see some of the different options available now, and I am looking forward to seeing more.

[Mark Carrington]

An interesting & excellent report.
Plenty of Alpine varietals worth exploring.

[Michael McNally]

The group discussion was equally wide ranging as a result, and we went down a few vinous rabbit-holes on the night.

Love a vinuous rabbit hole!

Cheers

Michael

[JamieBahrain]

The line up looks like what's in my refrigerator. Hard to keep track of all these obscure white grape varieties. They all turn up in HKG and all soon end up on sale and cheap offer. Matched five of the varietals.

Virgilius is lovely IMO.