Wine-Ark Cellar Club Tasting 9 - October 2009. Clonakilla, Yering Station, Olivier Taringa

Standard monthly tasting for Wine-Ark cellar club members

Clonakilla is in the Canberra wine district near the capital of Australia but in the state of NSW. I like their Viognier.

• 2009 Clonakilla Riesling 79 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District

  Thin, acidic and not very good at all.

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• 2008 Clonakilla Viognier 88 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District

  Nose: Nail Polish, Apricot conserve; the fruit is quite jammy
  Mouth: tart spiced apricot, some acidity, tannic grip, long finish which is quite bitter.
  Hmm, this grew on me - I initially marked it at 86 and then went back for seconds...Bit pricey for an Aussie Viognier but super-cheap compared to Condreiu...AUD45

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• 2008 Clonakilla Shiraz Hilltops 86 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Hilltops

  Nose: perfumed rosehip, cherry, tiny bit of portiness
  Mouth: Meaty, savoury, slightly tannic.
  A bit bland but in a pleasant way. AUD25

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• 2008 Clonakilla Shiraz O'Riada 83 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District

  Nose: Slightly acrid, not much nose, perhaps something like raisin?
  Mouth: grippy tannin and that's it.
  AUD35 Nope!

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• 2008 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 80 Points

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Canberra District

  Nose: perfumed, fruit then, very oddly, surgical spirit
  Mouth: Not much of anything other than grippy stalk tannin.
  Not very impressive, especially at this price (AUD 75 - rating 82 and adjusted down). Clonakilla knocked out a reasonably good Shiraz Viognier back in 05 that got big plaudits but it feels like they are resting on their laurels a bit (that's just my opinion I hasten to add!)

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Yering Station is down in the Yarra Valley in Victoria. They are better known for their cheaper wines which are good value for money - especially the chardonnay, well, I think so.

• 2007 Yering Station Chardonnay Willow Lake 78 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose: mineral, slate, very clean
  Mouth: oh dear, very unripe green fruit with absolutely no redeeming features.
  It's like they've tried to make an acidic wine purely by harvesting it before it's ripe (like I think they might do in the Hunter Valley sometimes - don't quote me on that one) and it has gone hideously wrong. AUD58

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• 2007 Yering Station Chardonnay Coombe Farm Vineyard 88 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose: Bacon, Stone Fruit
  Mouth: Melon, malo, gentle acidity, some oak.
  Rather nice, very impressive but perhaps a little pricey AUD 58

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• 2006 Yering Station Cabernet Sauvignon Yarra Edge- Single Vineyard 90 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose: Smells fantastic, dark brambly fruit, perhaps eucalyptus, herbs and pencil shavings
  Mouth: initially an abundance of dark fruit quickly overtaken by plenty of grape and oak tannin.
  Lots of aging potential with this one...Time to go shopping (AUD 58)

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• 2006 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier Carr C Block Vineyard 86 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Port Phillip, Yarra Valley

  Nose: vague rose perfume, creamy cassis, interesting
  Mouth: Licorice, dry tannin, some redcurrant
  Nice enough but probably not for me. AUD 58

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Based in McLaren Vale in South Australia. Got to say I have had their wines before and been far less than blown away but a couple of these were very good.

• 2006 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Shiraz 81 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Nose: Buttery?
  Mouth: Bit watery and sad
  AUD 25

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• 2006 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Grenache Cadenzia 85 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Nose: raspberry, buttered toast and biscuits...bonfires
  Mouth: Savoury fruit but quite diminished with a bitter and short finish
  Nope AUD 28

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• 2006 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Corrina's Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Nose: Bacon fat, some jamminess and red fruit
  Mouth: great mouth feel, peppery fruit, tannins, medium finish
  Quite a surprise wine. Good value for money (AUD 27 which ups the rating from 88). Hmm, sorely tempted to pick up a half case or so for quaffing

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• 2005 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Shiraz HJ Reserve

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Nose: Did my usual and took a massive sniff and it nearly ripped my head off - monstrous fruit.
  Mouth: Not as much fruit as promised by the nose but plenty of tannin.
  My notes observe at this point that my palate was shot, hence no rating recorded. Based on the above I'd suspect it would have been between 88-89 for what it is worth. AUD 48

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A good night. My usual rule of thumb is to spit everything. Lapsed a couple of times and then went back for seconds, hence tasting notes should be taken with a pinch of salt.