Centennial Vineyards
A decade plus since my last visit and the Tuscan-style complex here seems unchanged. Except, all the reds bar pinot have gone from the vineyard; soil, weather not suitable. Big mistake, then. Seems a shame that most of the wines they sell are therefore from Orange; central highlands rather than southern. Quiet cellar door on a weekday; there a massive range of wines for tasting; 7 sparklers, ten whites, two rosés, ten reds, two sweets. Ten bucks buys you 8 tastes; I got a couple of freebies on the grounds it was quiet and I was taking notes. Quite miserly pours (may depend on server) into basic XL5 glasses… Who still sells wine with 99 cents at the end of the price tag, btw? That quirk aside, prices are reasonable for what the wines are.
- NV Centennial Blanc de Blancs - Australia, New South Wales
{A$54} Clean, almond meal nose, faint lychee, subtle, with a hint of yeast. Light and pure palate, with spring-water freshness and a grassy dryness. Medium-sized, quite aggressive bubbles. Not a lot of autolysis effect despite 47 months on lees, apparently. Light/medium weight, and sits a bit on the front palate. Adds up to less than the sum of its parts, somehow. - NV Centennial Limited Blanc de Noirs - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{A$45} Pale and yellowing in the glass. A mead note to the aromas; other wise earth and mushroom Large furious bubbles. All very front palate. Seven years on lees, but it seems to have lost freshness anyway, despite plenty of fizz to the texture. Short finish. Not attractive. Freshly opened bottle too, so I have to assume this is typical. - 2023 Centennial Riesling Estate - Australia, New South Wales
{screwcap, 11%, A$29} Eleven is the alcohol, three is the g/l of sugar. Earth, minerals and tobacco. Browning apple & pear. Better on the palate; juicy and even a bit floral in flavour, with a musk character. Light body, medium acid, medium length finish – and dry too, despite the tiny bit of sugar. - 2021 Centennial Albariño Single Vineyard Reserve - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$33} Lovely seashell nose, hint of tropical fruit salad. Light/medium bodied palate, also tropical in flavour, although not sweet at all. Medium acidity. Finishes medium length with an orange/citrus twist on the palate. Tidy, and ready. - 2021 Centennial Chardonnay Winery Block - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, A$33} Another wine with a dirty nose – I was beginning to wonder about the glass, which I was rinsing between wines. Oaky and toasty nose, but not buttery. Medium weight palate tastes a bit sweaty. Cool climate grapefruit flavours, with a tropical twist, medium acid, even palate, but rather short finish. - 2022 Centennial Reserve - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$34} Spearmint nose, hint of currant. And bay-leaf, as the tasting sheet suggested. Medium weight, spicier on the palate. Even palate. Decent blend of red grape flavours, if perhaps a bit simple. But OK value, to be fair. - 2018 Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$50} Nicely varietal overall, with some mint seasoning the herbs. Spicy blackberries on the palate too, with a hint of black pepper. Medium weight, low/medium oak, soft dusty tannins. Ready to drink, and a bit pricy for what it is, to be honest. - 2021 Centennial Shiraz Limited Release Single Vineyard - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, A$50} Vineyard at 880m I Orange. Blackberry, spice. Liquorice, hint of blueberry. Despite medium acid, the palate is very soft, with practically undetectable dusty tannins. Medium weight, medium length, but a bit too smooth and cordial-like, despite avoiding sweetness. - 2019 Centennial shiraz Viognier Single Vineyard Reserve - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$33} Mild cherry with a little bit of pear mixed into the blackberry. Loose, easy, open palate, low dusty tannins, medium acid, medium weight. Not gloopy or sweet, but the viognier seems unobtrusive, which I always think helps. Reasonable value but still not special. - 2022 Centennial Shiraz Reserve - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$33} All cool-climate white pepper aromas and flavours, with a savoury dryness, low/medium powdery tannins and soft oak. Even palate of medium weight and just a little cherry fruit. A more distinctive wine than the Limited Release bottling (from 2021) but a bit more extreme too. Medium length finish.
First visit for me to this boutique operation in the Southern Highlands. They’ve suffered savage recent vintages; rain and mud and heat and fire and smoke have decimated earth, vines, grapes; they’re largely dependent just now on their ‘regional range’; distantly-sourced grapes but beautifully made onsite otherwise. Fingers crossed for 24; still some vines have no fruit and its February already. Tasting facility is an outdoor tent, which was a bit sultry on this 25C day, but wines were served in suitably varietal Riedel glasses at optimum temperatures. $5 fee for brackets of three generally, but it turned out (an eventually realization) that I had a connection to the host as a WSET student of hers nearly twenty years ago and thus was afforded ‘mates’ rates’. I thought the wines terrific value, especially for a small-scale operation. Hope the weather comes good before the bank turns nasty.
- 2021 Cherry Tree Hill Riesling Clare Valley - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
{screwcap, 11.5%, A$35} Fresh, clean nose; gentle limes with a mineral twist. None of that Clare detergent here. Medium/high acidity, but crisp and vibrant and about light/medium in weight with a medium length finish. Impressive. - 2022 Cherry Tree Hill Chardonnay - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{screwcap, A$25} Seems Chablis-like initially with a grisp, light grapefruit nose, but then a little seasoning of oak shies through, with a softly nutty underpinning. Medium weight, with an even palate and a persistent medium/long finish. Terrific for the price. - 2021 Cherry Tree Hill Pinot Noir Mornington - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Mornington Peninsula
{screwcap, 13%, A$35} 777 clone. Beautiful floral nose, with roses and soft ripe strawberry fruit. Nicely judged ripeness, subtle oak. Light/medium weight, lowish dusty tannins. Fresh and dry and quite beguiling. Seemed less substantial than the following Yarra example, but seemed to put on weight and complexity of bouquet the longer it sat. - 2021 Cherry Tree Hill Pinot Noir Yarra Valley - Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
{screwcap, 13%, A$35} Mix of the usual clones (MV6, 116, etc) More earth than the Mornington bottle. A depth of cherry and red berry fruit. Mild oak influence. Subtle and polished and more than just simple fruity pinot. About medium weight, with low/medium powdery tannins and medium acid. Decent length finish. Commendable and good value for money. - 2016 Cherry Tree Hill Merlot Halle Special Vintage - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, A$60} Certainly looks close on a decade old, with a bit of murk and brick to the colour. Developed nose with fungal characters, compost, mushroom. I even began to worry about TCA, such was the level of general mustiness. Palate was much better though, with aging plummy fruit, medium acid, soft powdery tannin and a medium length finish. Ready to drink, but far from a great advertisement for the grape in this region. - 2016 Cherry Tree Hill "Dave" Cabernet Merlot - Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, A$60} A 50/50 blend. Nicely mature blend with – I assume - the same Merlot from the ‘Halle’ bottling bolstered with cabernet. It works better here, although it’s still fairly advanced; but there’s more of a spine to the still quite leathery flavours. Some chocolate & black fruit is evident too. Low/medium dusty tannins, gentle oak sweetness, medium length finish. Perhaps the best part is the even palate, without dips or holes. More cellaring not recommended.