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After having re-tasted this wine at Savour a couple of weeks ago, I am firmly of the belief that it must be one of Australia's greatest wine bargains of the moment. I spent a week nine months or so ago drinking quite a few bottles of this with friends in Sydney
who know very little about wine and do not care one jot what label they are
drinking as long as it costs them under $15. This was a lip-smacking success
with just about everyone who tried it; a
crisp, fresh, dry and downright delicious wine for enjoying chilled that was
chock-a-block full of fresh lemon and lime characters and zingy acid. I tried it as part of a structured tasting at Savour and it was just as thrilling, maybe just a little rounder and more complete. There will be a vintage change over the next few weeks, but I'm assured there are still supplies of this in retail outlets. While the RRP is around $12, I've seen this multiple show award-winner for much, much cheaper. It would be a terrific partner for salt and
pepper squid, or flathead and chips, so buy a dozen and use the money you've saved for a bottle of something special. $8-12.
The new icon wine from Rymill Wines is
named after John Riddoch Rymill, grandson of John Riddoch, who founded Coonawarra
in 1890. Rymill was an Australian polar explorer; and
both a surveyor and pilot. There was a lot of pressure on French winemaker Sandrine Gimon to come up with a wine that was good enough to stand as a salute to a Rymill family hero – and she’s come up trumps with a cracking, complex and beautifully balanced red wine that’s made from 85 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 10 per cent cabernet franc and 5 per cent merlot – a classic Bordeaux blend that is smooth and structured with no rough edges, but also intense, textural and interesting. It can be pre-ordered at www.rymill.com.au/thesurveyor
and will be released on December 1. $80.
Every second wine advertisement or email is spruiking some bottle you have never heard of as the "bargain of the year" or an "unprecedented great deal". In the case of Kym Tesuner's new-release 2012 The Gentleman, made from Eden Valley fruit, I'm not completely sure there has not been a mistake with the pricing; some awful clanger that no one has yet picked up on. It's fruit-driven with good tannin structure, soft and medium-bodied, unmistakably cool-climate cabernet that you'd expect to retail for around $30. A fellow wine writer I respect found the nose too confronting, but it was not an issue for me. I'd be extremely happy with this at $20 a bottle. www.teusner.com.au.
The Canberra region has a reputation for producing standout rieslings with Helm and Clonakilla among the star names but Nick Spencer at Eden Road hits a home run with the sheer drinkability of this wine, made from fruit grown on decomposed granite soils at an altitude of over 630 metres. While the high acid in lots of Clare and Eden Valley rieslings can mean they need time to soften, this is the complete package in its youth with impressive clean, crisp fruit with lime juice and Asian herb notes and a backbone of zingy mineral acidity. There's plenty of liveliness here, oodles of refreshment (my sample bottle is somehow empty) and great value with an RRP of $21. www.edenroadwines.com.au.
The Mulligan family has been farming in the Penola region for over a century and Barry and Glenys Mulligan planted grapes on their St Mary's property, 15 kilometres out of town, in 1986. Unfortunately when the boundaries for Coonawarra were re-defined a few years back, their land was ruled to be outside the Coonawarra appellation despite being on a limestone ridge covered in the classic terra rossa soil. The wines are thus labelled Limestone Coast but are quintessentially Coonawarra in character. An old style, but delicious, wine made using open vat ferments, hand plunging and a basket press, this is a wonderfully atmospheric red that has a real sense of place. You'll find both power and finesse here - along with immediate drinkability. Lovely stuff. $30. www.stmaryswines.com.
Stephen Pannell has an impeccable winemaking pedigree. A member of the family that founded Moss Wood, he's worked for Wirra Wirra and BRL Hardy among others as well as doing vintages in Burgundy, Bordeaux and Barolo. He's a winemaker whose counsel others in the industry actively seek out. He makes superb high-end grenache, nebbiolo and shiraz but this wine is noteworthy because it is so slurpable, so immediately appealing and so ridiculously drinkable that it is hard to resist. A blend of two Iberian Peninsula grape varieties, it leaps out of the glass with its positivity. If you like wines that reflect juicy, concentrated fruit rather than serious structure then I guarantee that you'll love this wine. Pair it with a barbecue, a burger or just a night in front of the TV. A lusty, luscious red from the southern Fleurieu Peninsula. $25. www.scpannell.com.au
With many of their their wines named after popular rock songs, Claymore Wines in the Clare Valley run the risk of having their vinous output labelled as curios or oddities. The fact is the wines themselves are very good and have no need of such gimmicks. The standout right now is this new-release 2013 riesling - a classic Clare offering at a very down-to-earth price. With grapefruit and lemon zest aromas, this is all about delicate lemon and lime juice flavours on the palate and crisp, zingy acidity. It's long, it's cool and very drinkable - I'd match it with pan-fried flathead fillets, but it would also be great as after-work refresher. Lovely stuff. $18-20. www.claymorewines.com.au.
