2013 Sydney Royal Wine Show - Exhibitor's Tasting & Trophy Wines Lunch
homebush & Darling Harbour
Tasted Friday, February 15, 2013 by graemeg with 991 views
Introduction
The usual blitz tasting with its 8am start, perhaps a little more crowded this year. Decent Riedel Overture-type glasses are back (hooray for that), but instead of the self-serve arrangement in past years (made ever easier by the vast preponderance of screwcap-sealed wines) this time around we have stewards to pour. I reckon this cost me a good ten minutes lost aggregate time, as I waited to catch the eye of someone, not to mention the odd wet hand from some inexperienced pouring. As usual, everything is at ambient temp (around 20C on the day, I reckon), with very few of the wines seeing any air before I got to them. I gave all the commercial classes a miss and got straight into the varietal, premium and single-vineyard categories. With 2300 bottles on offer, and about three hours available, you’ve got to come to terms with the printed catalogue fairly quickly; or be very good at recognising branding marks on top of screwcaps...
Flight 1 - Whites (22 Notes)
I was surprised to see so many of the exact same wines (vintage & all) as I tasted last year; I generally tried to avoid these if I could. Also, classes of all-2011 vintages I gave only a cursory look at the top wines generally; it was such a poor vintage across most of the country (far east and west extremities excepted) that there were inevitably going to be disappointments there. And the aged white class entries seem to be drawn from a very narrow range of the nation’s wineries.
Flight 2 - Reds (26 Notes)
What’s the world coming to when the Best Wine of Show in Sydney is a Tasmanian pinot (Bay of Fires)? I saved that one for the lunch and looked to the others instead. In general, the judges were clearly looking for freshness; the number of big name commercial big-$ wines that went un-medalled (below 85 judges points) was remarkable. Multiple vintages of Wolf Blass Platinum, Eileen Hardy shiraz, Saltram No 1, Yalumba Octavius, Dead Arm were all despatched with scores in the low-80s or worse. You taste the odd example and you see why; too much alcohol, clunky oak, little finesse. Or as the judges’ comments had it “over-ripe fruit and poorer balance”. There’s still a bit of a dead-grape hangover about the place; most noticeable in the Aged classes. It still leaves plenty of wines, though.
Flight 3 - Fizz, Sweets & Fortifieds (8 Notes)
The reality is, the glories are in the fortifieds. Between the grand and rare Tawnys, Topaques ("Tokays") and Muscats, in 6 classes over about 35 wines, were the glory of Australia's winemaking history. If a foreigner should come to the Sydney Show tasting, allow a solid hour to savour these fantastic treasures.
Flight 4 - WCA Trphoy Wines Lunch (12 Notes)
At the usual Darling harbour venue, Chairman of Judges Ian Riggs ran through his summary of the show; typical 40% medal rate (85 points+), judges using the revolutionary new 100-point scoring system, ipads, technology blah, blah. His Top 5 this year were: 5) how good the light-bodied 2011 reds turned out to be with 11 golds, 4) Treasury Wine Estates in the form of Coldstream Hills and Devils Lair, 3) Morris’ fortifieds, 2) Andrew Thomas from the Hunter picking up 2 trophies from 15 entries (shame we didn’t get to try them) and 1) The Show Committee, and the success of all this year’s admin & technology changes.
The address from visiting guest international judge (American Chuck Hayward) focussed on how best to flog Australian wine in his country of residence (as now seems to be the pattern). This is rather a shame; there are endless international marketing experts who’ll talk your ears off on this subject of export sales – why squander this opportunity on more of the same? I’d rather hear his thoughts on the wines he judged; wasn’t that why he was here? This confirms – as if it were needed – that wine shows are of course about marketing – anyone who tells you they’re about “improving the breed” is even more of a curmudgeon than I. Luncheon drinks were the usual mixed bag; I though the White trophy winners that we drank were considerably inferior to immediate past years; on the other hand the Reds were distinctly better. And they were (omitting duplicated note on the 06 Yalumba Reserve cab-shiraz and the Morris tokay/topaque from the morning’s tasting):
Closing
Conclusions? As usual, the Exhibitor’s Tasting is a treasure-trove of tasting experience if you can quickly come to terms with the catalogue and the logistics (I hate to think what the public tasting the following day must be like). The lunch is a bit indulgent, and the wines often struggle to live up to their billing in my experience (this was my 4th lunch, I think). One thing is clear in the recent wines – alcohol levels are coming down. I didn’t taste a white over 14%, and it was only the older reds that tended to broach this level. This is all to the good in my opinion, as long as the wines (reds in particular) are still ripe. Am I rushing out to buy any of the trophy winners. Well, no, except maybe for those Morris fortifieds...
2012 Petaluma Riesling Hanlin Hill
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
{screwcap, 13%} Young nose of sweet limes and detergent. Palate is nearly dry; the fruit is remarkably sweet and succulent; there’s zesty fresh acid which gives it a zippy lively finish, despite the talc tint to the texture. Light-medium bodied; finishes medium length as well. Pleasant enough, but nothing to indicate it’s going to be a very long-lived wine. It’s a blurry sort of wine, not the laser-beam style that’s so prevalent in Clare. Petaluma in a wine show; times really are changing...
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2011 Heemskerk Riesling
Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
{screwcap} Green lime aromas. Does have a cool greenness about it. Palate is more stony and mineral-like than fruity; it has only moderate acid. About medium-bodied weight, but seems to sag a bit; I expect terrific acidity and/or sweetness for that type of flavour, but neither of those appear to be here. Leaves the wine rather hollow and anonymous.
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2012 Leo Buring Riesling Leonay Eden Valley
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
{screwcap, 12.5%} Pure Clare lemon nose. Intense medium-bodied palate, lots of acid, lots of fruit. Bone dry, of course, medium length finish, and most importantly, coverage of the whole of the palate. Youthful, and not terribly nuanced at this age, but seems like it will age handsomely. No medal from the judges; hard acid? Or something else?
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2010 Peter Lehmann Riesling Wigan
Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
[Gold medal] {screwcap} Just about the highest-pointed table wine of the show (97 judges’ points) yet the White Wine of Show trophy went to its older vintage 2008 sibling with 96 points. Explain me that? Having tasted that 2008 wine at the lunch after, I thought this was the better wine. The nose is a youthfully glorious blend of lemons and green apples. The palate is dry, medium-bodied, with laser-like citric fruits. This is about balance; there’s a heap of acid, but enough fruit to carry it. Mostly, what stamps the quality is the length; long, minerally and focussed on the finish, fresh tasting and fruity, drinkable now but with years of promise ahead of it. Grand wine.
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2004 Jim Barry Riesling The Florita
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Clare Valley
[Gold medal] {screwcap, 13%} Very aged for 9 years; toast, kerosene, brown apples; it’s attractive but considerably advanced compared to my expectation. Medium-weight palate, dry, but the honey/toast flavours are of surprisingly low intensity. Acid seems kind of soft, and the finish is barely medium length. From this vineyard I expect way better (although it was just a run-of-the-mill vintage). For me, this is very much drink now.
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2011 Seppelt Riesling Drumborg Vineyard
Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Henty
[Silver medal] {screwcap, 11.5%} Everything about this is austere. Grey slate and mineral nose. Palate tastes like licking wet stones which had some lemon juice spilt on them weeks ago. I thought initially I was going to love this, but right now it’s very light-bodied, and struggles to make much of an impression the palate at all. It still does seem well-balanced; is that enough? Low-key wine that may well transform with age; doesn’t impress hugely just now except on potential (or maybe provenance – this is my first taste of the label).
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2012 Helm Riesling Premium
Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District
{screwcap, 10.3%} Still very youthful; presents as a real Kabinett style with lemon-apples & custard on the nose. The palate is very floral and pretty, still just dry, but rose-tinted in its flavours. Acid is low-medium; maybe this actually has more sugar left on the palate that I thought, given the acid & alcohol levels. Gentle, light-bodied palate in the Germanic manner; coats the tongue quite evenly and has a clean medium length finish which is balanced enough to seem dry...
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2009 Mount Pleasant Wines Sémillon Single Vineyard Lovedale
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
[Silver medal] {screwcap} Youthful, almost predictable aromas of grass, hay, and light citrus. Dry palate, light-medium bodied, almost a touch furry in texture, and even a hint of honey to the flavours. But the palate is even, and there’s great length of finish. Not terribly interesting just yet, but this should age nicely in the medium term.
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2009 Tyrrell's Sémillon Vat 1
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
[Bronze medal] {screwcap, 11%} Straw and grass. A bit in-between, this wine, neither youthful, nor with much development. It’s dry, light-medium bodied, fairly low-key on the palate with its discreet grassy flavours and surprisingly soft, low-level acid. Not hugely impressive at the moment; seems a funny age to enter it in a show, being a bit ‘tweenish’ as it is. As for drinking this? – leave it five years.
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2011 Andrew Thomas Wines Sémillon Braemore
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
[Bronze medal] {screwcap, 11.5%} Youthful. Grass, wax and a touch of apple on the nose. Great flavour presence along the tongue; lemon/butter flavours with a touch of curd give it surprising weight of flavour – enough to qualify as medium-bodied. The long, dry finish has almost a smokey aspect to it; not in an unpleasant way. Very good, seems to be developing quite quickly.
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2007 Peter Lehmann Sémillon Margaret
Australia, South Australia, Barossa
[Gold medal] {screwcap, 11.5%} There’s real development to the smokey, toasty aromas here. Palate is flattening out; lemon flavours, but a greasy, near-oxidative touch says this is ready to drink soon. Good presence along the tongue, sure, but low acidity says this a drink-soon effort.
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2008 Andrew Thomas Wines Sémillon Braemore
Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley
[Silver medal] {screwcap} Edgy nose of matchstick, straw wax. Nicely developing fruits on the palate; lemon, apple flavours. It’s medium weight and has a persistent finish; wants just a little more time to reach maturity. Tidy wine indeed.
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2006 Tahbilk Marsanne 1927 Vines
Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes
[Bronze medal] {screwcap} Lovely, developing nose of beeswax and lanolin. Augers well, but despite the pleasant flavours (see aromas) they all seem to sit right on the tip of the tongue, distorting the structure somewhat. There’s medium acidity, but this is only really light-medium bodied, with something of a short finish. Disappointing; I was expecting better. Time might help, but this doesn’t really hit the spot at the moment. Wait & see.
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2012 Symphony Hill Gewürztraminer
Australia, New South Wales, Northern, New England
[Bronze medal] {screwcap, 12.6%} Youthful aromas leap from the glass in a varietally correct way. Lots of roses and musk, which manifest on the palate too, along with a spritzy quality from the medium acidity. Seems dry too; it’s actually not a terribly big wine as gw can be; this is managing to get the structural components into balance. Alcohol seems under control too. There’s not much presence on the mid or back palates, and it’s a fairly simple wine in its pungency, but overall it’s a decent effort to drink in the short term.
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2005 Tahbilk Marsanne 1927 Vines
Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Nagambie Lakes
[Silver medal] {screwcap} Some waxy aromas. Similar to the 2006 on the nose. The palate is a different story; there’s still some grassy lemon freshness to the flavours, medium acidity and medium body. Dry, talcum powder-like texture (no oak, though). This has a long savoury finish; way better than 2006. This is the one to drink and keep. If current winery practice stands, this ought to be for sale some time in 2015, by which time it will probably be quite ready for consumption.
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2011 Fox Gordon Fiano Princess
Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills
[Bronze medal] {screwcap, 13.5%} Sweaty, fresh-garden compost nose; earthy, petals, something I can’t identify – this is interesting at least. The palate has brown leaf flavours, along with some earthy character; there’s no noticeable oak here either. Acidity is pretty low, it’s light bodied, and with a medium-length finish. Has some character, but lacks great depth. A fun wine though.
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2011 Coldstream Hills Chardonnay Reserve
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
[Gold medal] {screwcap, 13%} Coolish nose of fine-cut nutty oak and cashews. The palate is all nuts and figs, yes there’s plenty of oak, but a decently high level of integrated acidity binds it all nicely. Can’t have seen much malo, surely. Medium bodied only, for all the flavour; there’s a real cool-climate reserve to this which keeps it from blowsiness. Good even palate, medium-length finish. Pretty decent wine all around.
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2011 Marchand and Burch Chardonnay
Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Great Southern
[Bronze medal] {screwcap, 13%} Youthful nose of cashews, sweet nuts, sandalwood, cinnamon & spices. Very nice. The palate is bright and fruity; white pears, melons, some nut too. Not a heavy wine, but manages a long-ish, dry savoury finish, helped along by medium acidity. A real crowd-pleaser I reckon, and well-balanced enough to satisfy the purist. I like! In this tricky vintage 2011 Chardonnay class, 86 entries managed just 4 gold and 6 silver medals.
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2010 Howard Park Chardonnay
Australia, Western Australia
[Gold medal] {screwcap} Dilute, sweaty nose. Flavours of smoke and vague white stone fruits. Starts with some impact, then dies on the mid-palate. Sort-of medium-full bodied, but only on the parts of the palate it actually touches. Soft, powdery oak tannins don’t really help, in the end the finish is barely medium length. It’s OK, but not gold medal material in my book.
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2011 Seville Estate Chardonnay The Barber
Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley
[Silver medal] {screwcap, 12.5%} Closed, metallic, reduced? A lick of steely-tinged flavour on the palate. Low intensity, cool mentholly flavours, kind of anonymous. Light-medium body, dry, some acid. But really, just bland. Doubt air would help (bottle just opened for me), chalk this one up to the vintage...
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2011 Heemskerk Chardonnay
Australia, Tasmania, Coal River
[Bronze medal] {screwcap, 12.5%} Melon aromas. Little oak on the nose here. Palate is a little woodier, with a nutty tang to the melon flavours. Tasty sort of wine, medium-bodied, but with not much happening from the mid-palate back. Low acid. And low alcohol too; another vintage victim?
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2011 Seppelt Chardonnay Drumborg Vineyard
Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Henty
[Gold medal] {screwcap, 12.5%} Young. Grapefruit, stonefruits, beautiful French oak; great nose. Classy palate, with beautifully balanced medium acid, cool stone fruit flavours, a seasoning of oak, and a generally pure, pristine sort of mien. All of the tongue is treated to this by means of a long, dry finish. Great stuff.
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