Tasted Friday, August 27, 2010 - Thursday, August 28, 2014 by startinoz with 906 views
I haven't tasted all Aussie wines, far from it. But I have drunk some good stuff. Here are my top picks.
Not such a fan of SA Rieslings. Many of my favourites have been cooler climate Victorian examples. Great Southern is a top region for Rieslings and Tasmania should be, but I've only found a few I like (such as Pooley.) Some producers (Mac Forbes, Best's, etc.) are doing a good job at European styles. Variety being the spice of life, etc.
Here the results are a bit clearer. The Brokenback is my favourite here. In 10+ years' time? Who knows how these two will progress? Certainly something to watch.
This one was easy. The Bannockburn was from another planet. There are lots of other great chardonnays - clearly Australia's best white varietal wine. The Yattarna has great potential - deserving it's label of 'White Grange.'
My other favourite white varieties are the difficult gewurztraminer and viognier. The former is far from being Australia's top white wine, while the latter performs only slightly better on average.
A really easy pick for the (world class) white sparkling, the red wasn't so clear. I don't have a note for Leasingham Classic Clare Sparkling Shiraz 2005, another personal favourite of mine. Haven't tried Primo Estate's red sparkler.
Some good ones here. Lots of good ones that I could have picked.
Where to begin? Sadly I haven't tried Hill of Grace. Unbeknown to many, Australia cool climate shiraz/syrah is truly world class.
Like riesling, Victoria might be a surprisingly strong entry here. Old vines, traditional winemaking on top of a good climate make a big difference.
Grenache and Mourvedre/Mataro had to be here (SA old vines are a huge advantage.) Nebbiolo is a dark horse.
Of course Australia makes some of the best value wines in the world. But the top stuff is seriously good!
2011 Crawford River Riesling Young Vines 93 Points
Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Henty
(3/21/2013)
Complex, rich and long. Amazing given it's from their young vines as it was my pick of their offerings. Neither South Australian-like, nor spicy, dry Germanic-style. Good.
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2012 Henschke Riesling Julius 93 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
(7/27/2013)
Really good riesling. Elegant, but with good concentration and length.
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2005 Granite Hills Riesling 93 Points
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Macedon Ranges
(8/7/2013)
Nothing earth shattering. Minimal petrol. Nice soft toastiness and good acidity. Some orange blossom and honey starting to develop. Good and will go another decade without sweat.
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2005 Crawford River Riesling Reserve 95 Points
Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Henty
(2/22/2014)
Top class Australian riesling. Extra power of flavours and fine acid backbone. The extremely optimistic price tag is almost (bizarrely) justified.
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