This event is run by “The Real Review” (an Oz review website) in association with their annual “Australia’s 52 Top Wineries” ranking and website publication (plus newspaper media). I had a comp ticket (subscribers’ price = $99) to their 2½-hour walk-round tasting in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, a week after the matching Melbourne event. 26 wineries (or agents) in attendance, including six of the top ten. Everyone pouring only four wines (maximum, in theory, so around 100 wines) but they were almost universally top-of-the-range cuvees. Excellent fine-rimmed Plumm glasses, plenty of serviced spit buckets, plenty of water. And a food table. Slightly too many people – 150 apparently – for the space (so some table-crowding) and I hate thumping background music, but that’s just me. Trying to do two walk-rounds to taste whites then reds was obviously doomed to failure, so I just went one winery at a time and drank buckets of water in between! I managed eleven of the attending wineries – about what I’d expect; ~20 wines/hr (w/notes!) at a non-self-serve tasting is the best I can usually manage, so 43 wines in ~eighty minutes is OK by me. Since everything poured was current release, I listed the winery prices also. The four top-ten no-shows were Penfolds (3), Wendouree (5), Hardys (7), Tolpuddle (9). I imagine the sort of people who subscribe to Real Review are not the target audience of those two big commercial wineries, and the other two are so small & sought-after that the tasting wouldn’t be of any practical benefit to them from a financial perspective. Yet they must have sent their wines in for review, or they wouldn’t have got a rating <shrug>? Disclaimer: no commercial ties (or other benefits) with anyone, although my wife’s family are friends of the owners of Pooley! Not that it gets me cut-price wine or anything…
Pooley (No 28 of the Top 52)
Nice to try some new wines since I didn’t make ‘the usual’ CD visit last January. Wines still going from strength to strength, but prices generally lifting to match. This was my first stop of the tasting and they seemed to be besieged thereafter. As the years pass they’re roping off their original plantings at Cooinda and Butcher’s into single vineyard bottlings with elevated prices.
- 2022 Pooley Riesling - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{12.5%, screwcap, $45} Fragrant youthful musk aromas. Crisp and floral on the palate. Dry, with medium/high acidity, only light/medium in weight, but good presence and a medium length dry finish. Nice wine, but verging on overpriced. - 2022 Pooley Riesling Cooinda Vale - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{12.2%, screwcap, $70} Nose is similar to the ‘estate’ bottling, with musk and flowers, although more restrained and sullen in character. There’s a little more citrus to the palate, but it’s always tight. Even palate too, light/medium weight, dry, with medium acidity. Medium length, tightly wound finish – too young too drink. Wait 8-10 years at least. - 2021 Pooley Chardonnay Cooinda Vale - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{13.1%, screwcap, $65} Youthful, struck-match aromas. On the palate, the figs and nuts chip in much more overtly. It’s phenolic in texture, not oaky. Rather Burgundian, to be honest. Medium bodied, classy chardonnay. Value-for-money is a little marginal against other local offerings. - 2021 Pooley Pinot Noir Butcher's Hill - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{13.5%, screwcap, $75} Earth and cherry, soil and dirt. There’s always been something mushroomy and elemental about this cuvee right from the start in my view. The palate turns out to be much more floral in character, with red fruit characters too. Soft oak. Very young. Medium weight, medium acid, medium length finish. Way too young – will be better at eight years old when it’s all come together.
I’ve tasted but a few of by Farr’s wines, but always been impressed. Confirmation here. Gary Farr built his reputation at Bannockburn, then following an acrimonious split years ago, set up with his son under this label. Not sure whether pere or fils makes these wines these days.
- 2021 By Farr Chardonnay - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
{13.5%, diam, $100} Nuts, malo and sweet oak. Concerto for winemaker & orchestra. Sweetly-fruited on the palate too, buttery, generous, with yellow fruit characters. Medium acid, medium/full body. There’s quite a performance going on here; the worst you’d say is it’s a bit bombastic. May age, but seems like an early drinker – I find the price a bit silly though. If you want this style well executed you should be able to get it for half the cost of this. - 2018 By Farr Pinot Noir "Farrside" - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
{13.5%, cork, $85} A little tobacco, cherry. Sweet cranberries. Surprisingly confected palate though, with sweet oak, soft cherry flavours, low/medium dusty tannin and medium/high acidity. Medium length finish, sitting a bit on the front palate. Pretty nice wine, if a touch obvious. - 2019 By Farr Pinot Noir Sangreal - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
{13.5%, cork, $105} Similar nose to the preceding ‘Farrside’ bottling; this emphasises blackberries, sweet berry and a little oak. Just a light/medium weight palate though, with fairly simple flavours, low powdery tannins, medium acidity. Fairly even medium-length finish on the palate but still leans towards an early drinker. Not entirely convincing, but again, it’s very young. Hold without fear. - 2020 By Farr Shiraz - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Geelong
{14%, cork, $100} A sort of chocolatey blueberry character, without too much sweetness. Pure, perhaps. On the palate, more dust and smoke; a far more savoury touch than you expect. Mild oak only. Very tidy medium weight wine, with medium chalky tannins, medium acid and a medium length finish.
Kinda surprised to see these Eden Velley aristocrats making the effort to attend, but then, of all the wineries I saw they were the ones who left most of their upper echelon bottlings at home! All the wines that got them the ranking weren’t there! Not even pouring Mt Edelstone? Shame.
- 2022 Henschke Pinot Gris Littlehampton Innes Vineyard - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
{13%, screwcap, $37} Meerh, look, it’s still just PG. Clean nose, bright fruit, smelling of pear. Palate isn’t over-the-top, light/medium in weight, dry, nicely balanced, with medium acid, no oak. It’s fine, but the flavours aren’t interesting, per the grape generally. Short/medium finish. Pffft. - 2021 Henschke Johann's Garden - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $64} Vibrant, jammy and spicy, oak-free fruit aromas. Medium in weight, with low medium acid and fairly nondescript tannins of a grape-skin quality. Cherry jam on palate. So-so. Maybe the least impressive red of the tasting. - 2019 Henschke Keyneton Euphonium - Australia, South Australia, Barossa
{14.5%, screwcap, $66} Both cabernets with merlot in this blend this year. Spice, smoke, blackberry and plum. Tidy wine, not too sweet or oaky but perhaps a bit prosaic. Medium weight, low/medium acid, little proper tannins. Short-medium finish. Nice enough early-drinker, no more. - 2020 Henschke Shiraz Vineyard Selection Tappa Pass - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $123} Polished nose of spice and pepper. Palate follows on, but it’s very closed. Not much fruit evident, rather medium acid, medium powdery tannins. It’s only medium weight, and the fruit flavour is all submerged at this age. Nice enough but seems like it will blossom eventually.
Far and away the quality leader in the King Valley, and always Italian-focussed, which largely reflects many of the earlier settlers in the area, along with the founders, presumably! They were a bit of a pioneer for Oz Nebbiolo as I recall.
- 2018 Pizzini Sangiovese Il Rubacuori - Australia, Victoria, North East, King Valley
{13.8%, screwcap, $141} Developed leafy aromas. The palate adds roses, a rusty water character, with a chewy, foody aspect. Savoury medium-bodied wine, even palate, low/medium dusty tannins, little oak apparent, medium/high acid, even, medium length palate. Quintessential food wine. Pity it’s so pricey! - 2018 Pizzini Nebbiolo Estate - Australia, Victoria, North East, King Valley
{13.8%, screwcap, $55} Lovely tar-and-roses nose. Even, developing palate. Very drying and savoury, not so intense or interesting as the nose. But still good. Lots of dusty tannins, medium acidity, medium/full weight; and a medium length finish. But still, I’d say ready to drink – I think it’ll just dry out further from here. - 2018 Pizzini Nebbiolo Coronamento - Australia, Victoria, North East, King Valley
{13.8%, screwcap, $140} Floral notes, with glue and liquorice. A maturing quality. Attractive palate of soft red fruit, floral notes, medium/high acid, medium chalky tannins. A full-bodied but balanced wine, dry, with a long savoury finish. Really good stuff. - 2012 Pizzini Per gli Angeli - Australia, Victoria, North East, King Valley
{375ml, 13.2%, screwcap, $125} Vin Santo style wine; oxidation mixed with caramel notes. Luscious caramel & molasses, but always structured. The medium/high acidity isn’t obvious but knits the wine together. Medium sweet, medium/full-bodied, balanced, interesting. Shockingly-priced though! Good but not worth that!
Gotta say, Cullen has been a bit hit-and-miss for me over the years, given its reputation. Has embraced the whole organic, biodynamic, hippy thing, which I think has given mixed results. The only winery here today who brought just the two wines – why go to the effort, then? I got the impression the pourer (a junior with the NSW agent?) thought the same, especially since the ‘orange’ wine was clearly polarising the punters.
- 2022 Cullen Wines Amber Wine - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
{12.5%, screwcap, $39} Sauvignon and Semillon 60/40. Orange/amber colour. Oxidative, nutty nose. Ultra-textured palate, with skin-tannins. Sherry-like in too many ways; seems largely fruit-free as far as varietal characters go. Medium chalky tannins, medium weight. The oxidation dominates everything. Perhaps food will help. I’m not convinced. - 2021 Cullen Wines Diana Madeline - Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River
{13.5%, screwcap, $160} Quite fragrant blackcurrant and herbs. A contrast with the palate, which is dominated by high chalky tannins and an astringent finish. The fruit flavours carried over from the nose disappear quickly under the tannic assault, despite the otherwise medium-bodied character of the wine. Medium length finish. I’m not sure this is really balanced enough to age properly, I must say.
Not listed in the top 52, but here at the tasting nonetheless. They have a massive range of wines on their website, mostly focussed around Eden, Barossa, McLaren Vale. Lots of marketing effort, but relax, the wines are good anyway. They’d snuck an extra wine onto the table too.
- 2022 Dandelion Vineyards Riesling Wonderland of the Eden Valley - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
{11.5%, screwcap, $60} Citrus – all I wrote! Rather too watery-textured on the palate, lightly-flavoured, to justify the price I think. Light/medium body, dry, but with low/medium acid and a short/medium finish. One for the shorter term. - 2021 Dandelion Vineyards Grenache Treasure Trove of McLaren Vale - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
{14%, screwcap, $40} Big jubey fruit. Little oak. Dark-tinged jam fruit on the palate. Medium/full weight, low/medium acidity, medium chalky tannins. Youthful and vibrant, very much fruit-driven but not structure-deficient. Medium length finish. Still, I think it a bit for the shorter term. - 2021 Dandelion Vineyards Lion's Tooth of McLaren Vale - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
{14%, screwcap, $40} Fragrant and spicy shiraz; all red fruits here. The 8% Riesling in the blend manifests more as a weird kind of sweetness to the flavours on the palate; not actual sugar, but still a bit jarring, although no more so that the typical cote-rotie blend with viognier, it must be said. Medium /high chalky tannins, medium acid. Tannic finish, medium/full in weight, medium length. You could do a lot worse for the money, to be fair, although I wouldn’t really seek this out. - 2021 Dandelion Vineyards Moonrise Kingdom - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
{14.5%, screwcap, $120} A blend of shiraz, grenache, petite syrah. All fruit, black and inky on the nose. Iodine, plum essence too. Softer and ‘redder’ on the palate, with skin tannins replacing oak, seemingly. Medium/high chalky tannins. Not savoury but hardly too sweet either. Carries the alcohol well. Medium length finish. - 2019 Dandelion Vineyards Shiraz Red Queen of the Eden Valley - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $250} Intense blackberry fruit, pure and focused. The texture is all ink and iodine, but there’s an essence-like purity to this that overcomes all reservations about the level of extraction here. Medium/full in weight, medium powdery tannins, medium acidity. Beautifully balanced along the palate, long even finish. Lovely stuff.
The only producer other than Pizzini showing table wines with even a modicum of age on them, these nevertheless remain the current releases. This may partly explain the eye-watering prices, but then the wines are also very, very good. The entry level wines perhaps not so much, in my experience, but these flagships are outstanding.
- 2018 Levantine Hill Estate Melange Traditionnel Blanc - Australia, Victoria
{13.5% screwcap, $80} Developing matchstick, grass, lychee. Semi-mature palate, structured and interesting, with medium acidity and low dusty tannins, not oak-derived. Medium body, even palate, medium length finish. Impressive. - 2018 Levantine Hill Estate Chardonnay Katherine's Paddock - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13.5%, screwcap, $125} Polished nose of figs, grapefruit, sandalwood. Medium-bodied palate, semi-mature, with a dancing quality on the tongue. Ticks all the medium boxes, oak isn’t overdone, the wine is a lovely mix of creamy texture, citrus, oak, with a medium-long finish. This and Oakridge were the whites of the tasting for me. - 2017 Levantine Hill Estate Pinot Noir Colleen's Paddock - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13%, screwcap, $200} Beautiful nose of strawberry and deli meats. On the palate no green, no jam, just subtly aging, perfectly judged pinot fruit. Low-medium chalky tannins, medium-high acidity. Medium weight overall, with a medium-long, gentle, dry finish. This is really excellent, although the price is a bit confronting. - 2017 Levantine Hill Estate Syrah Melissa's Paddock - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13%, screwcap, $200} Savoury red fruit perfectly balanced with spiciness and some dusty earth. No fruit bomb, but a proper wine. The palate is all about potential still, with subtle low/medium powdery tannins and medium acidity. Long finish. Immensely satisfying.
A name I’d heard of, but the wines are largely new to me. Loads of flavour, very much ‘Barossa from Central Casting’; I wasn’t hugely impressed, in context.
- 2021 Hentley Farm The Stray - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $35} Explosively jammy nose. Similar palate, with stewed roasted jam flavours. Medium acid, low/medium chalky tannins. Not much oak. Medium-full body, bit it sits on the front of the tongue a bit. Medium length finish. This is OK, but nothing special. - 2021 Hentley Farm Shiraz The Beauty - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $70} Some viognier in this gives the nose the classic apricot lift over black fruits. The palate is still a bit raisin-like though, with low/medium acidity, medium/high powdery tannins, despite little sensation of oak or oak flavours, such it the power of the fruit. Medium/full body, medium long finish of a little warmth. I though this way better balanced than the following ‘Beast’ cuvee. - 2020 Hentley Farm Shiraz The Beast - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{15%, cork, $95} Turning it up to eleven here. Ink and iodine. Black fruit (and colour!). Fumey, warm, raisin-like palate, with low acidity, full body, medium chalky tannins. Too ripe. Medium length finish but I reckon the unbalanced core of this will cruel any change of beneficial evolution. - 2020 Hentley Farm Shiraz Clos Otto - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.8%, cork, $260} This is better. Spice, plums and blue fruit. Attractive. Big fruit on the full-bodied palate, but with structure to match, even if the acidity is on the low side a bit. Fine dusty tannins from French oak. It’s very rich, if never quite sweet; in the nature of an aperitif wine, but there’s enough presence on the tongue to keep it interesting. Medium/long finish, not too warm. Best before it’s ten, based on my past experience with this style.
Kiwi proprietor/winemaker Stephen Cook was pouring his own wines made from grapes sourced from contract growers. A virtual winery in that sense. Vast range of tiny quantity Single Region (R) or Vineyard (V) shiraz wines from a single variety specialist. Good stuff – and just clinging on to the value-for-money stakes in the way that, say, the Torbrecks, Powells, Ringlands, Penfolds of the Barossa don’t any longer…
- 2020 Eisenstone Wines Shiraz Marananga SR804 - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $85} Spice and red fruit. Extracted sort of palate, with a mass of sweet Barossa red fruits, soft spicy oak with reticent tannins, low/medium acid, medium/full weight. Lots of weight on the front palate. The least convincing of the line-up here, hard to fathom given the pricing. But then perhaps that is the manifestation of a small region and a single vintage. - 2020 Eisenstone Wines Shiraz Marananga SV904 McDonald Vyd - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $115} Rich spice and warm chocolate, without being too sweet. Red & blue fruit on the palate; this is more even along the tongue. Medium/full weight, with medium acid and medium powdery tannins. Well-judged balance of fruit and oak. Good stuff, and way better than anything, say, Penfolds has to offer at this price. - 2020 Eisenstone Wines Shiraz Ebenezer SR802 - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $85} The balance here shifts to black fruit rather than red. Less spice, more chcocolate. Rich and sweetly-fruited palate, medium/full body, medium chalky tannins, low/medium acid. The structure supports the blackcurrant and blackberry fruit to the point of a medium/long evenly satisfying finish. - 2019 Eisenstone Wines Shiraz Ebenezer SR802 - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
{14.5%, screwcap, $75} This is hardly distinguishable from the 2020 vintage except for a bit more spice and a looser-knit quality overall. Hints of dark chocolate and soy amid the black fruits. Medium/full weight, medium chalky tannins, medium acid. Stops just short of over-ripe. Medium long finish. Impressive.
Most of my exposure to Oakridge has been to the more humble wines in its range. But these are excellent. It looks like I saved the best til last, but that was inadvertent; I didn't actually check the official ranking until after the tasting.
- 2020 Oakridge Chardonnay 864 Funder & Diamond Vineyard Drive Block - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13.6%, screwcap, $96} Polished yellow fruit, oak, nuts. Really classy wine, right up with the best of burgundy. Spicy palate, with some malo character evident. Full-bodied for chardonnay. Medium acidity, long finish. It’s pretty full-throttle, but my, how it all hangs together. Think RR gave it their No 1 chardonnay from the years’ tasting – no argument from me. - 2021 Oakridge Pinot Noir 864 Aqueduct Block Henk Vineyard - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13.4%, screwcap, $96} Pretty rose aromas and strawberry fruit with a dash of oak seasoning. Even, medium-bodied palate, with real medium chalky tannins. Although the general presence on the palate is gentle, there’s real structure behind this. Really deserves some time – this is way too young. - 2021 Oakridge Cabernet Sauvignon 864 - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13.8%, screwcap, $96} Essence of currants on nose and palate, with fine medium dusty tannins and medium acidity. Medium/long finish with no hole in the mid-palate. Just top-notch medium weight cabernet which deserves ten years’ cellaring. Outstanding. - 2021 Oakridge Cabernet Sauvignon Original Vineyard - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{13.7%, screwcap, $74} Seems an odd bottling, this, when it’s so clearly inferior (although not by much) to the 864/Winery Block bottling. Black aromas & flavours; chocolate, iron, cassis, earth. A bit fumey on the palate, with a hint of raisins or sunburn that is absent from the previous bottle. Fuller-bodied though, with medium powdery tannins and medium acidity. Medium/long finish – there’s nothing wrong with this, and time will help, it just lacked the wow factor of the previous wine.
Bit awkward when you make the Top Wineries list for your legendary fortifieds but no-one really cares about your table wines; I guess that’s why they brought their flagship dry red as an ‘unofficial’ taster! And maybe this is why the other fortified specialists in the top-20 didn’t show – All Saints, Seppeltsfield for example.
- 2019 Morris Durif CHM - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
{14.9%, screwcap, $60} Fresh, stewed plums on the nose. An equally plummy and fresh, if slightly hollow, palate of medium weight, with low/medium chalky tannins and lowish acidity. Flavours offer no surprise. A comfy sort of wine, with a short/medium and fairly fumey finish, betraying the alcohol. Not quite convincing, although in the context of today’s tasting that’s hardly surprising. Still, I think this is an early drinker, and fairly costly at that. - NV Morris Old Premium Rare Tawny - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
{500ml, 20%, screwcap, $120} Lots of brandy, and caramel on the nose. Super ripe palate, much fresher than the nose. Raisins and dark caramel. Does perhaps sit on the tip of the tongue. About medium dry for me. - NV Mick Morris Old Premium Liqueur Topaque Rutherglen - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
{500ml, 18%, screwcap, $120} Sings of cold tea, in the nicest way. Syrupy texture, with burnt caramel, toffee, honey too. There’s a lightness of presence which is both surprising and refreshing. Plenty of acid, perfect structure and bottled age. - NV Morris Muscat Cellar Reserve Grand Liqueur - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
{500ml, 17.3%, screwcap, $80} Back in the day, when this was around $50, it was the bargain of the Morris portfolio. It delivered most of the experience of the Old Premium at barely half the price. It has molasses, fruit cake, rich sweetness, and is close to fully sweet. The balance of sweetness and acid is still perfect, the finish long. Fabulous wine. - NV Morris Muscat Old Premium Rare - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen
{500ml, 17%, screwcap, $120} Motor oil consistency. You can feel and taste the passing of decades here. Takes the ‘Grand’ bottling to the next level, but I can see some finding the trade-off of freshness for the extra thickness and concentration and sweetness of the Rare bottling not worth making. And I might almost be one of them. That said, this is still a wonderful experience, even if I might turn to the Grand for regular quaffing!
