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An impressively vibrant wine from new Irvine winemaker Rebekkah Richardson, formerly of Jacob's Creek. Made from primitivo, which is more usually referred to as zinfandel in Australia, this is a suave dry and savoury rosé from the Eden Valley that paired impressively with a lightly spiced Sri Lankan daal. Lifted and fragrant and very European in style with its crisp strawberry and citrus notes, this has a fresh finish and impressive length.$22.
Wine writers are not supposed to have favourites but this lip-smackingly good Mornington Peninsula individual vineyard chardonnay comes up trumps vintage after vintage, shining in blind tastings. The fruit here was hand-picked, whole-bunch harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged in a mix of aged and new French barriques. Nothing too unusual there, but the end result is a wine of real luminescence. A chardonnay of poise and personality with pithy acidity, this is lean and lithe, a vinous ballerina and a regional benchmark. 97/100. $68. www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au.
Estate grown. Organic. Biodynamic. Delicious. That's really all you need to know about this outstanding Australian "claret" from Paxton Wines at McLaren Vale. A classic blend of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon, it is in the groove right now. Full-bodied and generous but well balanced, it is dark and inky with older French oak barriques playing a key role in the structure, but at the same time approachable in a wild, brambly way. Winemaker Richard Freebairn selected just four barrels he considered to be of the highest quality or "crackers". Unmistakeably Australian. I'll happily give this 94/100. $55. www.paxtonwines.com.
This brand new wine in the Yangarra range is, to my knowledge, the first serious Australian take on Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc. A blend of co-fermented grenache blanc (35%), clairette (30%), roussanne (20%), picpoul (10%) and bourboulenc (5%) it is a vibrant but savoury white of considerable charm made using cuttings from the Rhone Valley on the Yangarra estate vineyard in McLaren Vale. The fruit has been hand-picked, wild-yeast fermented in ceramic eggs with no acid or sulphur additons, hole-bunch pressed in a basket press for softness and then kept on lees in the eggs and stirred regularly. Minimal preservatives are used. My tip: look for more impresssive Rhone-style blends from winemaker Peter Fraser and his team. Organic, biodynamic and delicious. $25. www.yangarra.com.
