Australia trip

Australia
Tasted Saturday, March 25, 2017 - Monday, April 10, 2017 by pavel_p with 493 views

Introduction

Spent two weeks with family in Australia and visited a fair number of wineries in Western Australia and wines. Overall the whites seem a bit more consistent. While there is a number of good reds, the truly great reds are very few.

Flight 1 - Various producers (8 Notes)

Had an opportunity to try quite a number of Australian whites (and a few NZ too) and reds over lunches and dinners. Plenty of nice whites as mentioned initially, out of the reds I only really liked Juniper which produces a Cab Sauv of impressive quality at an excellent price.

  • 2014 Dog Point Vineyard Chardonnay 92 Points

    New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough

    (3/27/2017)

    Pale yellow. Has this strong herbal note reminding me of the Greywacke. Have not seen this outside NZ Chardonnay. Anyway this is crisp while being both complex and with decent length. Excellent Chardonnay.

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  • 2016 Henschke Riesling Julius 90 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley

    (3/27/2017)

    Bought a bottle in Sydney and drank over two days. Typical Riesling on nose and attack, mid-palate with plenty of citrus. Fresh and pleasant. Do not have enough experience with (new world) whites to have a view on the ability for this wine to age and improve (Henschke calls this an exceptional Julius vintage with 25 years ahead of it), it certainly seems open and not tight like some big old world whites at such a young age. Did not improve over night in fridge. 90+

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  • 2011 Devil's Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (3/30/2017)

    Bought a bottle in Sydney and pnp (screwcap though). A nice transparent garnet in the glass. On the nose plenty of wood spices, medium body with too much wood that the red and dark fruit will not absorb, fine to medium tannins, slightly drying. Pretty finish. I guess this is 100% new oak, some restraint here would have greatly benefited this wine. 87-88

    PS: Gains considerably in weight and tannins soften with about 1h of air, medium to full body with plenty of (overripe) dark fruit, still the oak remains very present and the wine is lacking structure. 88

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  • 2014 Parker Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Terra Rossa 91 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Coonawarra

    (4/4/2017)

    Bought a bottle in WA and drank over dinner. Dark garnet. Soft and round with plenty of ripe dark fruit, some eucalyptus and fully integrated tannins. Integrated oak. Unlike most of the WA Cabs, the SA Cabs have no problem handling the new oak given their richer and bigger fruit

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  • 2015 Pierro Semillon Sauvignon Blanc L.T.C. 90 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At restaurant in Perth. I liked this and confirms my preference for blended Sauv Blanc as this comes across less herbal and grassy and more balanced while maintaining the freshness.

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  • 2012 Juniper Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/5/2017)

    Drank over dinner in Margaret River. This is the Cab I like most on this trip so far. Translucent garnet. Good freshness and also good balance on a medium body with dark fruit, some eucalyptus and green, tobacco and only a touch of oak. Fine tannins. Should improve over the next 5-10 years, not sure this is a 20-30 year wine though. Very well done and prefer it at this point in time over the 2012 Leeuwin and 2013 Moss Wood Cab, and at $55 better value too. 92-93

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  • 2013 Voyager Estate Chardonnay 92 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/5/2017)

    Drank over dinner in Margaret River. Pale yellow. White fruit, fine and non obtrusive oak and wood spices, citrus and flowers. Fine texture and good length. An excellent Chardonnay.

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  • 2012 Silverstream Riesling 92 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Denmark

    (4/8/2017)

    Drank over lunch in Perth. The best Riesling on this trip. Pale yellow, pretty petrol nose, good aromatic concentration on the palate, nice balance of acidity and sweetness (this is dry). Well done!

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Flight 2 - Leeuwin Estate (8 Notes)

A grand estate with an impressive restaurant and plenty of nice wines, the Chardonnay Art Series is however still the only truly great wine.

  • 2015 Leeuwin Estate Riesling Art Series 90 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (3/29/2017)

    Solid Riesling, crisp and with good typicity. Better balanced with less dominant citrus notes than Henschke Julius at this point in time

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  • 2015 Leeuwin Estate Sauvignon Blanc Art Series 89 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (3/29/2017)

    Fresh and better balanced with less pronounced green grass notes than some of its peers from NZ, still cannot say that I am a big fan. Sauvignon Blanc works for me as a blend (e.g. White Bordeaux) but less convincing on its own

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  • 2013 Leeuwin Estate Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut 86 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At estate during lunch. Pale yellow. Medium mousse. Light and fairly inexpressive on the palate, correct but nothing memorable or interesting

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  • 2015 Leeuwin Estate Riesling Art Series 88 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At estate during lunch. Might have been a bit overly generous earlier. Easy and fun to drink but lacks aromatic complexity of a good Riesling. Likely a result of young vines

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  • 2015 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Prelude 89 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At estate over lunch. Surprisingly a step up in quality from the art series Riesling. Well balanced with moderate oak, this is a good expression of the grape with nice freshness and medium length.

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  • 2012 Leeuwin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Art Series 91 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At estate over lunch. One of the best Cabs I had in Margaret River. Garnet with purple reflections. Young but with good balance. Dark berries and moderate oak which should be absorbed by the concentrated fruit over the next few years. Medium body with good freshness. Well done but at $85 not a great deal. 91-92

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  • 2013 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series 94 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At estate over an excellent lunch. The Chardonnay Art Series is still their best wine. Pale to medium yellow. Fine texture and already slightly evolved with some nuttiness. Good freshness and not oily, this could be an excellent 1er Cru from Burgundy too. At $95 it comes at a price too

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  • 2013 Leeuwin Estate Shiraz Art Series 90 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/4/2017)

    At estate over lunch. A solid and well balanced Shiraz. Medium bodied and really nothing wrong here, but no wow either...

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Flight 3 - Moss Wood (9 Notes)

A lovely tour of the estate with plenty of barrel samples and even unfermented grape juice. The best winery tour we had in Margaret River, and a great Cabernet Suavignon of course.

  • 2013 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (3/25/2017)

    Bought a bottle in Sydney and drank over 3h. Screw cap. Dark garnet. Dark fruit, a touch of sous bois and menthol, still plenty of new oak but seems to have enough crunchy fruit to absorb over the next 3-4 years. Hold. 92+

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  • 2005 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon Moss Wood Vineyard 92 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (3/27/2017)

    Drank two screwcap bottles in Sydney. Less convincing than the (cork closure) bottle three years ago. Medium body with still a fair bit of oak that I have my doubts the wine can truly absorb in the next few years. Good freshness and a nice wine, just not as good and long lived as the last bottle at home.

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  • 2016 Moss Wood Sémillon 89 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At winery. Pale yellow, pretty, floral nose, young and fresh.

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  • 2015 Moss Wood Chardonnay Moss Wood Vineyard 90 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At winery. Round and surprisingly oily but still well balanced, 30% new oak. Nice but not among the very best Chardonnay on this trip

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  • 2011 Moss Wood Pinot Noir Moss Wood Vineyard Margaret River 86 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    Fairly herbal. Lacks both sweetness and elegance this grape is known for. Bottle had been just opened so not sure if this would have benefited from more air

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  • 2014 Moss Wood Merlot Ribbon Vale 88 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At winery. Decent but nothing memorable. Surprisingly this is still showing medium tannins

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  • 2014 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Merlot Ribbon Vale 89 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At winery. Found this a touch better as the Merlot, better integrated as well with the fruit covering the tannins here. Still there is a big difference in quality to their Cab Sauv

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  • 2014 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At winery. Dark garnet. Very pretty nose with plenty of dark and red fruit, wood spices. On the palate I found this surprisingly more oaky and a bit less integrated than the 2015 sample which is about to come out of barrel. Good depth and concentration but needs time

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  • 2015 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At winery. Barrel sample but almost ready. Very accessible and integrated, with the oak less visible than for the 2013 and 2014. Good depth and length. Nice!

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Flight 4 - Woodlands Estate (8 Notes)

This is the benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River in my eyes. While both the 13 and 14 Cab Sauv at the estate were excellent, it was the more mature 2011 from the local bottle shop which really blew me away. World class Cabernet Sauvignon.

  • 2016 Woodlands Chardonnay 88 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. Some oak on the nose, on the palate this is however nicely integrated, fresh and with fairly dominant citrus

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  • 2015 Woodlands Wilyabrup Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 87 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. This is their entry level Cab with fruit from their second vineyard nearby and also externally sourced grapes IIRC. Fairly light but oaky, don't think there is enough fruit to absorb the oak here. Not a fan

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  • 2015 Woodlands Cabernet Franc Merlot 88 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. I liked this more than the entry level Cab Sauv. There is more dark fruit and a bit of spice which helps to create a better balance to the oak used

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  • 2015 Woodlands Emily 88 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. This has more weight and concentration on the palate than their entry level wines, still a fair bit of oak here though

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  • 2015 Woodlands Clementine 89 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. Similar in quality to Emily in that it has more weight and concentration than the entry level Cabs. Still too oaky for me given the medium body only

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  • 2014 Woodlands Margaret 91 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. This finally has good balance of fairly concentrated dark fruit and a touch of oak. Medium body. Medium length. A good wine

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  • 2013 Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon Benjamin 94 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    At estate. Bottle opened for 24h at cool room temperature. Dark fruit, tobacco, oak well integrated, good finish. This seemed to have more weight and dark fruit than the 2014, which was fresher with also red fruit. Might however be also due to the bottle being open for a day. Both 13 and 14 were excellent, both wines however clearly overshadowed by a superb bottle of the 11 that day. For me Woodlands makes the best Cab in Margaret River.

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  • 2011 Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon Alex 95 Points

    Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

    (4/8/2017)

    After visiting the estate, I saw this bottle of a more mature vintage of the Woodlands Cab Sauv at a liquor store and bought this for dinner. Slow ox'ed for 90 minutes in the absence of a decanter and despite using mediocre stemware this was showing superb and clearly overshadowed the 2013 and 2014 tasted at the estate. Not only clearly the best wine of the trip but also among the very best Bordeaux blends I have had from anywhere. Dark garnet with a thin translucent rim, incredible depth with layered dark fruit, subtle wood spices, a touch of green herbs, tobacco, integrated fine tannin. Medium + length.
    Bought and drank a second bottle a few days later which was also great but seemed to need a bit more time, which could be a reflection of the obviously cooler storage temperature at the second store. 96 points for the first bottle and 94+ for the second, superb value at AUD 130

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Flight 5 - Cullen Estate (3 Notes)

Big name in WA, beautiful estate and the best restaurant we have been to in WA. Merits one if not two Michelin stars, and a must go in the region. Very good the wines as well but overpriced, especially their Vanya, compared to what Moss Wood and Woodlands have to offer.

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