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Grüner veltliner is an Austrian white grape variety that has been pioneered by Lark Hill, a biodynamic winery at Bungendore, outside Canberra, and Adelaide Hills producers including Hahndorf Hill and K1 by Geoff Hardy. This is arguably the benchmark at the moment; with the fifth release having trademark herbal, melon and spice notes and and some exciting zingy acidity. From a stellar vintage, it is spectacularly drinkable with great vitality and intense mineral notes on the palate. A beautifully food-friendly wine, too, with the power to cope with just about any seafood or white meat dish. $45. www.larkhillwine.com.au.
Mac Forbes is one of the rising stars of the Yarra Valley and I tweeted that this wine was an "absolute triumph". A second look 24 hours later confirmed that viewpoint. Forbes makes several regional Yarra pinots that are more expensive and more sensual than this wine, but I doubt any would be more sessionable. It's a wine of impeccable balance, weighing in at just 13% alcohol. It has plump, fleshy fruit on a palate that also has great tannin structure and a certain refinement. Dark cherry notes are prominent along with spice and earthiness. There's plenty of length and lots of drinkability. I could certainly drink quite a lot of this. $35. www.macforbes.com
Larry Cherubino makes an impressive number of wines across several ranges; and all of them offer terrific quality at sensible prices. This is in the upper echelons of Cherubino's wines, one of two regional chardonnays from yet another great year in Western Australia. This is a Margaret River wine of balance and style, primarily fruit-driven but with with a percentage spending eight months in oak to add complexity and texture. It is a very pure, clean and dry chardonnay with just 13% alcohol. It's soft and silky on the palate and eminently drinkable with oak playing a support role but never intrusive. A very classy drop. $49. www.larrycherubino.com.
Ministry of
Clouds is the name of a new selection of wines developed by two of the wine
industry’s bright young talents, Julian Forwood, previously with Wirra Wirra,
and Bernice Ong, ex Woodstock. This is and a 2012 Tasmanian chardonnay were the standouts in the range for me; with this blend of McLaren Vale fruit offering excellent value for money. The couple loves the wines of the Iberian peninsula and this 52-48% blend is a homage to those styles with silkiness and plenty of length on the palate. Fragrant and luscious and matured in old oak with aid from winemaker Tim Geddes this is made in tiny quantities but is well worth seeking out as I suspect there will be more excellent wines coming from this duo. $28. www.ministryofclouds.com.au.
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.
