Hunter Wineries (1) - Mt PLeasant & McDonald Rd

With the family still down at the in-laws in Tasmania, I grab the opportunity to do some tasting up in the Hunter, almost entirely dedicated to the Hunter great semillons and shirazes. One day I’ll get the time to properly expand beyond what I consider to be the Big 6 wineries (Mt Pleasant, Brokenwood, Thomas, Tyrrell’s, Meerea Park, Lake’s Folly).

The usual good range of wines for tasting. Nothing, it seems, was getting me a taste of some O’Shea shiraz. Never mind. I still think the alcohol levels in the reds need to come down a notch; it would do wonders for the freshness of these otherwise-fast-improving wines.

• 2011 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Elizabeth

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 11%, A$19} Sweaty honey/grass aromas. Medium acidity; light-medium body. Dry, softly textured, and grassy tasting. A bit bland overall. An early drinker I think.

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• 2006 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Elizabeth

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 10.5%, A$25} There’s some development here; there’s a characteristic toasty quality to the yellowing hay flavours. It’s medium-bodied, with medium-acid, but feels to be very much a drink now wine. The warm vintages of the noughties, along with what must be heavier demands on Mt Pleasant’s Semillon resources for more up-scale labels (Phil Ryan, Lovedale) don’t seem to have helped the average quality of Elizabeth, I must say. Once it was an automatic buy, these days it’s very much a vintage-by-vintage proposition.

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• 2009 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Phil Ryan Signature

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 10.5%, A$26} A not-quite youthful, grassy, herby, restrained nose. Lots of acid, and a light-medium body give it a pungent grassy aspect on the palate, with a phenolic touch. Dry and of medium-length, it’s way better than the 06 Elizabeth. Could age a few more years.

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• 2006 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Anne

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 10.5%, A$30} An oddly muted lemongrass nose. Palate seems dilute, almost watery; this is truly light-bodied. Medium acid. Less fleshy than last time I tasted it. Hard to call; aging slowly, that’s for sure.

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• 2007 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 11.5%, A$60} Developing nose (and palate) of wax, lanolin and hay. Medium-high acidity disguises the richness of the flavours. Medium bodied and dry. Somewhat developed palate; flavor coats all the tongue. Finishes long and fresh still. Has years ahead of it; another 8-10 til peak.

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• 2010 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Philip

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 14%, A$20} All Hunter fruit again, I think. Still smells very juicy and jube-like. Quaffers need to be fruity, and I doubt there are any ambitions for aging this any more. It’s very lightly oaked, is soft and spicy on the palate; has a touch of earth; doesn’t taste as overtly fruity as the nose implied. Medium-bodied, but finishes just on the short side. To drink, not keep.

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• 2011 Mount Pleasant Wines Mount Henry Shiraz Pinot Noir

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 14%, A$48} A wine made as a tribute to the unique varietal blend so beloved of Maurice O’Shea, and to let the winemakers experiment with fruit and imagination. Spicy and peppery nose, quite lifted and intense (blame the alcohol?). It’s a ‘medium’ wine in nearly every structural respect save for some seriously gritty tannins; the flavours are of black fruit and dust. Needs food to show better, I think. Ambitious price…

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• 2010 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Phil Ryan Signature

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 14.5%, A$26} Very much a modern take on new world shiraz. Blackberry/cherry fruits, soft oak aromas. Fine, quite gentle tannins, medium body, medium length finish. Good and ripe, just avoids too much heat on the palate. Big mouthful of flavor for the shorter term.

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• 2009 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Rosehill

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  {screwcap, 14%, A$40} Youthful soft red berries and spice. Low oak, fine medium-grain tannins. Lovely balance along the tongue; smoky, earthy cherry-laced fruits show a savoury side before culminating in a medium-long dry finish. Very good in all respects, especially if you buy it for two-thirds the cellar door price in Sydney’s bigger chain stores.

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• 2010 Mount Pleasant Wines Shiraz Old Paddock & Old Hill

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley, Pokolbin

  {screwcap, 14.85%, A$60} Simply reeks of quality and depth. Very young nose of spicy red fruits and dusty earth. Despite quite high tannins and a medium-full body, this is no trial to drink at all. Wonderfully polished palate carries the alcohol without missing a beat; the wine finishes long and even. Wants at least eight years to evolve, but seems to have the goods.

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• 2008 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Maria Late Harvest

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 10.5%, A$20} Gentle honey nose. The palate is medium-sweet, all honey-tasting and light-bodied. Acid is very low, though, and this compounds the general lack of depth. Pleasant enough, if a bit simple, but not something to cellar.

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A random decision to call in here was rather like dropping in to see a long-dementing relative, who no longer bears any resemblance to someone we all knew and once respected. Confected commercial swill abounds, the Coonawarra trio are apparently too precious to be on tasting, and only a few sad and distinctly second-rate ‘Hunter’ wines still exist.

• 2011 Lindeman's Sémillon Bin 1155

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 12%, A$30} A youthful, soft grassy-infused nose of citrus fruits leads. The palate is grassy and soft, quite acidic, light-bodied, but lacks depth and persistence of flavor. Medium length, but only has a little presence towards the front of the tongue. And seriously overpriced…

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• 2011 Lindeman's Chardonnay Bin 1181

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 14%, A$30} Light aromas of nuts and peaches. A lightly-oaked, light-medium-bodied, short-finishing early-drinker veering towards the bland. For thirty bucks? Dreamin’…

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• 2011 Lindeman's Shiraz Bin 1103

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13%, A$30} Intense cherry fruit with loads of white pepper. Enough to bring on a sneezing fit. Spicy, peppery palate has a little sweet jubey fruit/ Light-medium bodied, not much oak, short finish. It’s not gloopy or heavy, which is good, but it’s still not terribly interesting or convincing.

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• 2011 Lindeman's Shiraz Hunter River Reserve Bin 1100

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13.5%, A$60} Dark blackberry fruit, pure and almost unsullied by oak. Despite only fine dusty tannins, this is medium-full bodied, with good balance along the palate, decent acidity for freshness and a dry, medium length finish. It’s still young, of course, but I thought this was a pretty tidy wine that would benefit hugely from 5-8 years cellaring. At about half the price, however, so no buy for me.

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• NV Lindeman's Grand Tawny

  Australia, South Eastern

  {500ml, A$35} Tea, brandy spirit and cough mixture. The palate also has a medicated-honey quality to it which is quite off-putting. Medium-sweet. Plenty of acid too. But it all sits right on the front palate, and there’s very little length of finish to speak of. Probably a good thing. Overall, a big disappointment.

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– There is a complicated scale of tasting fees at Brokenwood which I tried not to get involved in; just asking to taste the Hunter wines. There is also a huge list of current release wines for sale, but not much of it on tasting. Some of the wines below I was probably only offered because I was so assiduously taking notes.

• 2012 Brokenwood Sémillon

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 10.5%, A$25} Lifted grass, hay, straw. True to type. Medium-high acid marks the grippy, sweaty, lime/grass palate, which is fresh, focused, dry and still light-bodied. Still, it should see 10 years easily; has just the right balance of lightness, flavour and low alcohol to do the job. One of the better examples of this label over the last decade.

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• 2010 Brokenwood Sémillon

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 12%, A$25} A more generous, citric wine than its younger sibling. This has a smokey touch from 10% oak use as well, which broadens out the palate to a fuller, medium weight. Still plenty of grass and citrus on the palate too, and there’s no oakiness to speak of. Finish is medium length, but I think this is a wine for the shorter term.

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• 2006 Brokenwood Sémillon Maxwell Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 11%, A$50} This is minerally, developing, with aromas of chalk and lime. It’s light-medium bodied, surprisingly steely for seven years old, with medium acidity just softening out as it hits the palate. This has a long, tangy, even finish; terrific aging Hunter Semillon. I’d drink now, seems like it will hold another 5 years easily.

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• 2010 Brokenwood Shiraz

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13.5%, A$45} Peppery, violet aromas, with a touch of tar and earth. Plenty of acid, minimal oak, medium powdery tannins. Flavours are toward the cherry/blackberry end of the scale, the wine is distinctly savoury, medium-bodied, with a medium length finish. Needs time to settle down. Good wine.

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• 2011 Brokenwood Shiraz Verona Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13%, A$50} Dark Asian spices, cinnamon aromas. Solid red fruit palate, dry, savoury and polished. Medium dusty tannins, medium body, long dusty finish. Excellent wine which will handsomely reward 10 years in the cellar.

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• 2010 Brokenwood Shiraz Mistress Block

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13.5%, A$75} Really very closed. Dust, earth, and violets. No fruit bomb, this. Medium body, integrated french oak. Hard to pick specific flavours, but the class and depth of intensity stand out. Long even finish. Very fine wine to be given 10+ years.

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• 2010 Brokenwood Shiraz Quail

  Australia, South Eastern

  {screwcap, 14%, A$100} Big, youthful chocolate/vanilla nose. Big long palate, full-bodied, with ripe red fruits, medium levels of oak, long finish and great presence on all the tongue. A 50/50 split of McLaren Vale’s Wade vineyard, and Graveyard fruit. Tastes like 80% McLaren Vale, though. Still, a pretty nice wine all round, despite the silly price tag and such wide-ranging blends being chronically out of fashion. Long, full finish. I’d drink this, if someone else is buying!

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• 2011 Brokenwood Nebbiolo Indigo Vineyard

  Australia, Victoria, North East, Beechworth

  {screwcap, 12.5%, A$40} Clear garnet, as befits the variety. Restrained nose of flowers and violets; all fruit, no oak. Spicy and savoury cherry fruit is carried by high acidity, medium tannins which cling to your cheeks, but ultimately a rather light-bodied palate culminating in a medium length dry finish. A victim of the vintage? Low voltage wine overall, but not without some interest. Would clearly benefit from food, cellaring I’m not so sure.

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The Thomas Wines promise of a cellar door is delayed again, so I detour to see what random wines are on offer at the Small Winemaker’s Centre on McDonald Road. Along with some other makers to get value for my tasting fee… There are nearly 40 wines for sale here, but only a scant dozen or so available to taste.

• 2012 Andrew Thomas Wines Sémillon Braemore

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 12.5%, A$30} Super-youthful straw and lemon. A high acid palate – it doesn’t screech, it seems natural enough, there’s just lots of it – gives way to a dry, almost dusty but limpid and pure palate mostly of straw-like flavours. It’s light-medium bodied, with a medium length finish, and wants a fair bit of time to settle down.

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• 2011 Hart & Hunter Sémillon Oakey Creek

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 10.5%, A$27} With oak! Soft lemon flavours are shot with grass; there’s plenty of acid here too but the oak serves to soften out the palate (it certainly doesn’t taste of oak). It’s light/medium bodied but can’t muster much length of finish, suggesting it should be consumed early. Decent wine.

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• 2011 Margan Chardonnay Hunter Valley

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13%, A$20} And don’t you notice the oak here, especially after tasting so many semillons this morning. Lots of buttery/vanilla, malo-like aromas and flavours. There’s some stonefruit on the palate, along with the oaky flavours. Medium/full body, but the finish fades a bit quickly. Straightforward, slightly old-fashioned chard; good value wine though. A drinker.

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• 2011 Andrew Thomas Wines Shiraz Two of a Kind

  Australia, South Eastern

  {screwcap, 13.5%, A$25} Simple red-fruit nose’; strawberries, blackberries. You taste the McLaren Vale fruit, that’s for sure. Little oak; the medium grippy tannins all seem grape-derived rather than oak. The jubey flabours don’t conceal a certain coarseness of texture that doesn’t quite manage to be rustic. A medium-bodied quaffer with a short-medium length dry finish.

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• 2010 Andrew Thomas Wines Shiraz Sweetwater Individual Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 14.5%, A$39} Exotic nose of jam, Turkish delight and oriental spices. For acid, tannin, body, it qualifies as medium all round; the flavours do resemble the nose but have a surprisingly earthy, dry aspect to them, helped along by finely-textured powdery tannins. A silky, medium-length finish caps off the dry palate; interesting wine which might be better with some development under its belt.

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• 2010 The Little Wine Company Shiraz Little Gem

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  {screwcap, 13.7%, A$35} Meat and tar nose. A bit medicinal too, I thought. Meaty and jammy on the palate; medium/full bodied, thickly textured with high tannins and warmer presence than the alcohol promises. Medium-length finish; not bad but didn’t excite me. Seemed to fade beyond the mid-palate. Easy pass at the price…

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• 2009 Talga Merlot

  Australia, New South Wales

  {screwcap, 13.8%, A$22} Big aromas of plummy coconut and vanilla. It’s low in oak and tannins, and oddly light-bodied considering the nose. Coconut/plum flavours are decent, but the finish is rather short. Drink up. I couldn’t establish from the label exactly where these grapes came from either. NSW? The whole country? Who knows. It’s not a wine with a heap of personality, that’s for sure.

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continued in part 2