Browse Tag

australia

Billi club

[fog]Mount Langi Ghiran 2004 “Billi Billi” Shiraz (Victoria) – Alcoholic (14%) and volatile when first opened, so I close it back up and move on to another wine. Twenty-four hours later, everything has changed: the alcohol is subdued, the volatility is gone, and in their place are a gentle, pure expression of leathery blueberries and a soft…dare I say it?…almost Burgundian texture. No one will actually mistake it for Burgundy, because it’s both varietally expressive and rather hefty, but it’s a very pleasant wine. A second bottle gets to the good stage right after opening, which is an odd bit of variability for a wine under screwcap, but both are enjoyable. (11/08)

Brute force

Bleasdale “The Red Brute” Sparkling Shiraz (Langhorne Creek) – Boisterous and a bit volatile (the acidity, not the personality trait); basically a middle-of-the-road Aussie shiraz lent bubbles. It’s fine, but there’s nothing compelling here. (10/08)

Tester

[bottle]Brokenwood “Cricket Pitch” 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Shiraz (South Eastern Australia) – This isn’t grenache? Gluggable and full of jam-scented fruit and Froot™, and while I can’t believe this is made from the grapes from which it’s made, I can believe it’s from where it’s from. There’s nothing wrong with this wine for those who like this sort of expression, but for an Old World palate this is a struggle. A highly drinkable struggle. (9/08)

Part of a llon

[bottle]Brokenwood 2005 Semillon (Hunter Valley) – 10.5%! Less angry and resentful than most Hunter semillon, but I don’t think the ageability is hurt by it. There’s grass and skin here, with a June-sweat acridity and considerable palate presence, yet the finish is exquisitely balanced. It’s forward, as befits a New World wine, but check out that alcohol level. This doesn’t achieve the iconoclastic brilliance of the Tyrell’s “Vat 1,” but it’s very fine on its own merits. (9/08)

Hardys boys

[logo]Hardys 1995 Shiraz “Eileen Hardy” (McLaren Vale/Padthaway) – Thick blueberry laden with eucalyptus. Simple, but if one accepts that simplicity (which is difficult given the price), it’s tasty enough. (2/08)

Delinquent

[vine]Torbreck 2006 “Cuvée Juveniles” (Barossa Valley) – 14.5%. Heavy and ponderous. Charbucks coffee grounds, dried-out fruit, soup, stew, and leaden weight. Could this be heat-damaged? (6/08)

And we’d sing, sing, sing!

[vine]Torbreck 2006 “Woodcutter’s” Shiraz (Barossa Valley) – Demiglace of syrah, turned piney and pruney. There’s actually some acidity, but it flails around helplessly in the face of the dull-razor hacking and slashing of the slightly burnt fruit. While the worst sins of the Barossa are absent here, the wine’s still up to precious little good. (5/08)

Regards with to

Penfolds 2004 “RWT” Shiraz (Barossa Valley) – Smoky blueberry, blackberry, and chocolate. Dense and clumsy, stumbling through a long but unbelievably dull finish. Bottled boredom. (2/08)

Tasmanian Devil

[map]Tamar Ridge “Devil’s Corner” 2004 Pinot Noir (Tasmania) – Lacking torque and substance, this exists as a kind of rough presentation of the dirty side of pinot noir; dark, under-fruited berries and some mushroomy bark. There’s nothing bad about it, except its indifference. (4/08)

Betcha by Gully wow

[label]Rocky Gully 2005 Shiraz 95%/Viognier 5% (Frankland River) – Very dark black, almost charred fruit, with a layer of tar. Air helps a little bit, but this carries an acrid vinyl note of medium-quality pinotage that never fades. It’s very noisy and repetitive, as if it were shiraz reconceived as thrash metal. A strappy, shut-that-music-off-you-damned-kids wine that I don’t much care for. (3/08)