NobleRottersSydney - Margaret River 5-star wineries

Well, the grand “5-star Margaret River wineries” theme – as rated by Halliday in his authoritative annual Companion – turned into a bit of a fizzer courtesy of some average (and out-of-region) wines, and a few absentees following the unexpected date change of the September 2011 dinner. Six Rotters (all the ‘G’s + Kim blowing in from the north-west) and one guest made the most of the wine available. Apart from the first two wines, all the rest were double-decanted just before dinner.

• NV Jacquesson & Fils Champagne Cuvée No. 734

  France, Champagne

  [cork, 12%] {Greg} Largely based around the 2006 vintage, according to the label. Pronounced chardonnay aromas; biscuit notes, melon. Clean. A light, crisp palate follows, bone-dry, with medium-sized but quite creamy bubbles. It’s lighter-bodied, with plenty of acid and a medium-length finish. More time on lees might have added complexity, but this is a pretty decent aperitif style.

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• 2009 Amelia Park Cabernet Merlot

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [screwcap, 14.5%, A$29] {Graeme} Amelia Park got their 5* entry with the 2012 Companion published only a month ago, and this wine, with its listing of trophies and gold medals in recent local wine shows is probably a large part of the reason. It has a youthful and prettily-polished nose of violets, roses, cranberries, with just a touch of herb; it’s ripe but not jammy. The palate is a little leafier, but still authentic cabernet, and left to sit in the glass (I kept some for an hour or two), the basil/herb aspect does become more pronounced. There are low-level powdery tannins, moderate acid and intensity of flavour (those violets again). It’s medium-bodied, sits a bit much on the front palate for greatness, and manages only a medium-length finish. Avoids heat on the palate. It’s a good wine, for the price, but hardly life-changing. Eminently drinkable now; I imagine it will see out ten years well enough.

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• 2007 Plantagenet Shiraz Omrah

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Great Southern

  [screwcap, 14.5%] {Glenn} Youthful, thickly spicy, with blackberry, liquorice aromas and a sweaty touch. Chunkily coarse medium weight tannins contribute to a blocky feel on the palate. It’s a big solid wine, with ripe red fruit flavours, but although it coats most of the palate pretty well, it’s rather let down by a short simple finish. A drink-now wine.

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• 2007 Moss Wood Merlot Ribbon Vale

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [screwcap, 13.5%] {Gordon} Plums and liquorice dominate the youthful aromas here. The palate is medium-bodied, with juicy, jube-like flavours, rather big and obvious. There are plenty of powdery, but quite soft tannins; there’s good presence on the front and mid-palate but less towards the back. At this age the wine seems a little blocky and raw; I imagine another three years should see this settle a bit, but it just seems to be missing some magic factor, something I find with almost all local merlots (although WA seems to do better than SA). Medium-length finish, and the nicely judged alcohol serves the wine well.

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• 2001 Ferngrove Shiraz

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Frankland River

  [cork, 14%] {Geoffrey} Gosh, this smells old. Earth, liquroice and coconut. There’s a almost touch of Rioja about it. Aging black fruit on the palate; a furry cuddly texture derives from medium chalky tannins and soft oak notes. A warm, old-fashioned style, although there’s a little bit of subversive black pepper to provide varietal authenticity. Medium-length, with a plushly-textured finish and plenty of mid-palate richness; this is ready to drink.

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• 2001 Vasse Felix Shiraz Margaret River

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [cork, 14%] {Graeme} Real cool climate shiraz aromas, well and truly aging, with cherry, white pepper and stalky notes all quite intense on the nose. The palate has a real dark and inky feel to it, with a sinewy leanness, despite the maturity of the menthol-like flavours. It’s a bit angular, with lots of edges sticking out; with soft powdery tannins and quite low acid exposing all the wine. It’s medium-bodied, sits right on the mid-palate too, and although it’s quite agreeable with its medium-length finish, doesn’t feel that it’ll ever be a really harmonious wine. The structural elements seem a bit soft and the flavours a bit sharp for perfection. Probably best now to within 3-5 years; I don’t honestly think this will improve further.

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• 1999 Cape Mentelle Shiraz

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [cork, 14.5%] {Kim} Who’d have though we’d have so much shiraz on a Margaret River night? This is the first wine that seems to have obviously fallen over. Lean aged nose, all white pepper, eucalypt, earth, oak; it’s the aromatic version of varicose veins. The palate is grittily tannic, with biting acid; it’s medium-bodied but overall rather skeletal, with a spectrum of peppery flavours. Not obviously unripe (hard to reconcile with 14.5% alcohol) but must have been pretty marginal one way or another, because although drinkable it’s rather skeletal now, with a rather short finish. Past its best.

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• 2002 Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  [cork, 14.5%] {guest J-P} And the signature blend of the region reappears at last. Classic nose it is too, with that ripe blend of asparagus and cassis, dark green and black intertwining together. Quite pungent, and definitely aging, with herb – basil, thyme – garnishing the bouquet. On the palate that dark green/eucaplyt tinge is apparent, although not to excess. It remains a dry, rather astringent palate, with chalky tannins, medium body, and a medium-length, fairly unremarkable finish. Good, but only good; you wouldn’t seek out Margaret River on the basis of this.

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• 2008 First Creek Wines Sémillon Botrytis

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  [375ml, screwcap, 9%] {Greg} Deep yellow. Developing nose of apricot and peach, moderately intense for the style. There are some additional smoky oaky flavours on the palate, along with the botrytised fruits and floral touches. Is quite fresh and clean; does fade a bit quickly on the finish but remains well-balanced even for that, although longevity will be compromised by the generally low levels of acid. Comprehensively outshone by the Margan wine tonight.

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• 2008 Margan Sémillon Botrytis

  Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

  [375ml, screwcap, 10%] {Greg} Mid gold. Two shades darker than the First Creek wine. A rich nose, less peach and more marmalade. The palate has a wonderful orange-rind component to it, and just enough acid to carry the medium-sweet flavours of caramel, marmalade and smoke. Good depth of concentration and intensity. Medium-bodied, and with a sound presence on the mid-palate, this should drink nicely for another 5 years but I wouldn’t risk it longer than than. Best enjoyed while some freshness remains.

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Not a great advert for the west. I think chardonnays from Pierro and Leeuwin, and cabernets from Cullen & Moss Wood account for very large parts of Margaret River’s claim to greatness. Remove them (as sadly happened tonight) and things don’t look so flash.