Chris Shanahan wine reviews: February 11
Kooyong Massale Pinot Noir 2013
Tuerong and Balnarring vineyards, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria
$25.95-$33
Four-star/94
Mornington's 2013 vintage began cool and wet but ended with a burst of heat. The heat ripened the crop rapidly, "causing vintage to be the most compact we have experienced", writes winemaker Sandro Mosele. The heat at ripening produced bigger, riper wines than in the cooler 2012 vintage, as we observed in a recent visit to the area. Mosele's 2013 Massale is therefore a riper, plumper wine than usual, but retains all the vital elements of good pinot. The vibrant, black-cherry-like fruit flavours give a juicy richness to its silky, seductive palate. An undercurrent of more savoury, earthy flavours gives it the real pinot finish.
Shaw Vineyard Estate Winemakers Selection Cabernet Shiraz 2012
Shaw vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
$16
Three-and-a-half-star/88
At about 34-hectares, Shaw Vineyard Estate, planted originally to supply Hardys, remains one of Canberra's largest grape growers. The family supplements its cellar door wine offerings with a range of small goods from small Australian producers and a colourful selection of hand-painted Italian ceramics. The wines, made off-site, include this big value, drink-now cabernet-shiraz blend. It shows the lighter body of the cool 2012 season, combining the leafy character of cool-grown cabernet and the spicy, berry flavours of Canberra shiraz.
McKellar Ridge Shiraz Viognier 2013
Point of View vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
$28
Four-star/92
Canberra winemakers could hardly believe their own good luck with the near perfect 2013 vintage. It followed a run of tough years, notably the cold, wet 2011 season and cool 2012. As it turned out, even those years produced some decent wine. But the warmer 2013 vintage made riper, fuller reds, some of extraordinary dimension. McKellar ridge sits at the more robust end of the district style spectrum, offering ripe and vibrant red-berry varietal shiraz flavours, with a slight hint of apricot from the tiny viognier component. At this stage, spicy French oak stands a little apart from the wine flavours, but I suspect the rich fruit will gobble up the oak as the wine matures.
Mr Mick Vermentino 2014
Southern Clare Valley, South Australia
$14-$17
Three-and-a-half-star/88
Clare Valley winemaker, Tim Adams, writes, "We've been impressed with the variety during several trips through Sardinia over the years and thought vermentino would perform well in the warm climate of our Clare Valley. So while we've dipped our toe in the water with a small trial release, we intend to really get behind this variety and increase the make." Whether drinkers share Adams' enthusiasm remains to be seen. But increasing numbers of Australian winemakers are now working with vermentino. Mr Mick offers rich citrus and pear-like flavours, with a tiny kiss of sweetness a pleasantly tarty, savoury bite to the finish.
Willem Kurt Shiraz 2012
Alpine Valleys, King Valley and Beechworth, Victoria
$32
Four-star/92
Mike and Heather Allen's new Press Room Tapas and Wine Bar, Beechworth, offers several local wines by the glass. Over dinner we tried several, and particularly liked two under the new Willem Kurt label: 2013 Beechworth chardonnay (sold out) and this full flavoured, medium-bodied, peppery, spicy, savoury shiraz, blended from Beechworth and surrounding districts. (The maker is Daniel Balzer and the wine is available at willemkurtwines.com.au).
Royal Tokaji Wine Company 5 Puttonyos Aszu 2008
Nyualaszo vineyard, Tokaji, Hungary
$35 500ml
Five-star/97
Few wines can match the bitter-sweet power of a chocolate dessert. So at a recent lunch we left the choice to Ten Minutes by Tractor wine waiter, Jacques Savary de Beauregard. He triumphed with this remarkable Hungarian sweetie – a botrytised blend of the local varieties, furmint and related harslevelu, with a touch of muscat de lunel (aka muscat blanc a petits grains). Intense acidity cut through the luscious wine's opulent citrus - and marmalade-like flavours. The acidity, combined with the marmalade-like characters, sat comfortably with the chocolate, but to some extent upstaged it with its long, distinctive aftertaste. Tokaji comes from one of the world's northernmost (48 degrees) wine regions. ("Puttonyos" refers to the level of sweetness; "Aszu" indicates a sweet wine made from botrytis-infected grapes).