2024 First Ridge Fiano

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Tony Peters

I can’t remember when or where I heard it or read it but, “being different is a super power” has stuck in my head for I don’t know how long.

Let’s be honest shall we. Fiano is different to the mainstream white wine varieties we see in bottle-shop fridges and on shelves. In saying that, it has become more common for some of my friends to say “let’s find something different to try” in a bottle-shop as we scour the displays. It is also quite common for me, when on my own, to think and do the same (my wife can attest to this).

This is where the ‘super power’ of the alternative varieties comes into play (I must also say, soon the term ‘alternative varieties’ will be, and should be, a thing of the past). It may not wear its underwear on the outside of its pants or wear a cape but, it has a deserved presence in the hero’s-of-the-white-wine-world. This is an excellent example of why.

First Ridge Website

Region: Mudgee, NSW     Price: $30    Source: Samples thanks kindly to First Ridge and Define Wine

Lovely tropical fruits show up on the nose, leading into pretty luscious flavours on the palate. Those tropical fruits show up again on the palate with peaches, pears and melon characters providing the oomph (a technical wine term of course) and winsome texture. There’s a refreshing addition of a lemon-like citrus hit as it eases its way to a pretty good finish. This is quite a delightful wine that made an impression on me from the first aroma I received until it left my palate after tasting it. ‘Yum’ (another technical wine term) factor is high with this wine.

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2024 Yalumba Vine Vale Grenache Blanc

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Tony Peters

I can attest to the fact that, at any age or stage of your life, you can have new experiences. Now, I have been to many wine tastings in my time and tasted many wines, but I have never, up until now, tried a Grenache Blanc.

I have to say, this particular example has set the bar pretty high for others I may come across. I didn’t know what to expect, of course, but what a delightful wine. If you’re not a Grenache Blanc drinker, this is the ideal wine to start your experience with this variety, and maybe even Grenache in its red form.

Yalumba Wine Shop

Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia     Price: $35    Source: Samples thanks kindly to Yalumba

Straight up, this is very exciting and aromatic on the nose which seems to invite your sense of taste into the experience. Gee it sits pretty on the palate. It’s juicy and fresh with pear and stone-fruits doing a lot of the work on the flavour front ably supported by citrus fruits and a subtle spicy note also. There is some nice texture, a touch of acidity, and a good bit of length to it too. I could drink this all summer long…easily…and maybe I will.

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2023 Mayfield ‘Three Boys’ Cabernet Blend

Posted on September 28, 2024 by Tony Peters

The Bee Gees are something of a phenomenon in Australian culture. Three brothers who worked and sung together for decades by getting on harmoniously (did you see what I did there?), each one bringing something unique to the music they produced for themselves, and others. And it worked. They were also unique and talented in their own right. Barry with his falsetto voice at the forefront of the group, Robyn bringing the vibrato to their music while Maurice adding lower, but effective and valuable, harmonies to line-up. You have to admit, and the understatement of the year perhaps, these three boys were perfect together.

The ‘Three Boys’, referred to when it comes to this wine, are Cabernet Sauvignon (75%), Cabernet Franc (15%) and Merlot (10%). All three of these varieties do well as a solo act but have been brought together to form an impressive new wine in the Mayfield Vineyards line-up.

Mayfield Vineyard Website

Region: Orange Region, NSW     Price: $30     Source: Samples thanks kindly to Mayfield Vineyard and Define Wine

I love the youthful and vibrant purple colour this wine has in the glass. It’s a little plummy on the nose with a slight floral note too, but it’s the blue fruit aromas that shine. This medium bodied wine is full of black and blue fruits that run smoothly and effortlessly across the palate as they are joined by gentle oak with a slight tannin influence on a pretty good finish. The youthfulness of this wine is evident but it is already an approachable and very easy drinking Cabernet blend. So much so, it is easy to see that these three boys are perfect together too.

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2023 Mayfield Vineyard ‘Jonty met Otto’ Cabernet Franc

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Tony Peters

I have always been a fan of Cabernet Franc but, admittedly, I have never been one to seek it out in a bottle shop or on a wine list in a restaurant and I can’t give a good reason for that. In all honesty, I don’t know many people who do?

What may not be known by most punters who like drinking Cabernet Sauvignon is, Cabernet Franc is one of its ‘parents’. I only say this because, sadly, Cabernet Franc seems to sit in the shadow of its offspring…and it shouldn’t.

Mayfield Vineyard have recognised that Cabernet Franc very much deserves its place in the spotlight and released this quality one, their first, into their range of wines.

Mayfield Vineyard Website

Region: Orange Region, NSW     Price: $37     Source: Samples thanks kindly to Mayfield Vineyard and Define Wine

It looks vibrant and bright in the glass with an expected sense of youthfulness spread across the surface as it sits in the glass. The aromas are exactly the same but it’s the red and black fruits coupled with a slight floral note coming through that make for a good introduction. I really liked how it felt on the palate. It has youthful and vibrant fresh red and black fruit flavours showing the way, and a depth and smoothness to those flavours that have it sitting perfectly in the medium bodied spectrum. Add in a slight herbal character, a light sprinkle of tannin and here you have a wine that will be a crowd-pleasing example of the variety. And, don’t be afraid to chill it slightly in the warmer months either. I feel it is that versatile.

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2022 Yalumba The Tri-Centenary Grenache

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Tony Peters

I realise wine is for drinking. Let’s face it, it is a consumable. However, sometimes you can’t help but get caught up in a wine…in a good way of course, because it is so well made and incredibly balanced. With plenty of time in the glass, a wine can be so delightfully approachable that it, pleasingly, has you surrendering to its charm. I have no complaints. I have nothing but sheer gratitude for the opportunity to try this Tri-Centenary Grenache.

Yalumba Wine Shop

Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia     Price: $40    Source: Samples thanks kindly to Yalumba

Made from 133-year-old vine fruit, this is a wine of class, sophistication, and understated power. Beautiful and captivating aromatics, this was just the start of this experience for me. Blue fruits aplenty wash over the palate and fill the mouth with ease. It’s a little spicey, savoury and a little earthy too, as the complexity and interest continually had me going back to see what it would show me the next sip I took.  Svelte and long, and elegantly textural on the palate, this Grenache is without doubt, divine.

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2023 Yalumba VAT-11 Grenache

Posted on September 20, 2024 by Tony Peters

Success is something that is, mostly, not easy to come by. So, when success is reached, I wonder how often that success is built on? It must be easy to sit back and appreciate that success but, in some cases, there are those who take the opportunity to add to it.

In their 175 years of being in the wine industry, Yalumba have continued to build on their success and their wine portfolio. This Vat-11 Grenache is a testament to the Yalumba family’s view not to rest on the laurels of the other Grenaches in their range but to add another notable string to their Grenache bow.

Yalumba Wine Shop

Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia     Price: $40    Source: Samples thanks kindly to Yalumba

Oh yes! This is delicious. The signs were good from the start when I poured it in the glass. Firstly, it is a lovely colour and then the aromas lifted from the glass as fresh and bright red fruits and cherries presented along with a slight floral note. Ripe raspberries and strawberries provide a solid base on the flavour front of the just-above medium bodied palate, a slight plum character shows up while a hint of spice adds another layer and some acidity all playing their part in this wonderful brand new wine to the Yalumba Grenache line-up.

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2022 Di Giorgio Family Wines Coonawarra Chardonnay

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Tony Peters

Change. I’m not talking about the loose coins that live in the ashtray of your car, or replacing an old thing with something the same but a newer version. I’m talking about a complete change of something close to your heart. Change can be hard for some people and especially those who have had something that has been at the forefront of their business and been recognisable for decades.

Since 1998, the Di Giorgio Family have been producing their own wines with a distinct and quite elegant label that I, for one, would recognise anywhere. Very recently, the family has made the bold decision to start changing their labels and, bravo I say. The wines are still damn good at damn good prices.

Di Giorgio Family Wines Website

Region: Coonawarra, South Australia     Price: $35     Source: Wine swap

This Chardonnay, for instance, I believe to be the first wine in the range to wear the new labelling. It is true to form and the perfect choice to show it off too. A wine that is lovingly varietal, it initially fires up the palate with peaches and a refreshing citrussy influence before a nice textural/creamy feel makes an appearance with delicate touch of acidity on the medium to long finish. Summer seems to have made an early appearance here in Brisbane and this Chardonnay complemented the weather perfectly.

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2019 Levantine Hill ‘Colleen’s Paddock’ Pinot Noir

Posted on August 24, 2024 by Tony Peters

When an artist paints something he knows it will be appreciated by someone who ‘knows’ their art but hopefully by someone who, for whatever reason, just likes it for what they see.

I would imagine it would be the same for a poet. His words will resonate with a poetry aficionado but also with someone who can simply relate to the words on different levels.

A winemaker knows the wine in the bottle will be appreciated by a wine critic, someone enjoying it with a meal or just for those needing a glass of wine after ‘that’ day at work.

The difference between these three vocations is, a winemaker has a lot more variables to deal with. An artist or a poet do not have to contend with Mother Nature who can play a major role in the final product for a winemaker. Actually, Mother Nature may well contribute, in a good way, to something they can provide to their audience. A winemaker on the other hand, it could be make or break.

From what I have been reading, 2019 may not have been the best vintage in the Yarra Valley. However, when I tasted this wine, I couldn’t help but think that it may not have been the best vintage, but the quality is way up there.

Region: Yarra Valley, Vic     Price: $200     Source: Sample thanks kindly to Levantine Hill

It seems there is a section of my palate that is set aside specifically for Pinot Noir. When I tried this wine, it stood to attention in anticipation of something special. And this is. Complexity in spades, perfectly medium bodied, the flavours are varietal and bold yet seamlessly elegant and refined. The length of flavour on the palate is something to behold, the finish is the same, mighty impressive.  For me, this is all class. A beautifully structured Pinot Noir, and as I thought with the 2018 vintage, one for the ages.

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2022 Ridgemill Estate WYP Fumé Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on August 17, 2024 by Tony Peters

Henry Kissinger (everyone knows Henry, surely) is quoted as saying, “Art is man’s expression of his joy in labor.” Store that away for a minute. When I saw this quote, I immediately thought of Pete McGlashan, the winemaker at Ridgemill Estate.  I don’t know if you have met Pete, but he is man with presence, composure and likeability. When you taste the wines he makes, they are an expression of HIS joy in making them and, I have no doubt there is nothing laborious about it for him to make wines like this for us to enjoy.

As you have probably noticed, a Sauvignon Blanc of any kind doesn’t find its way into my site very often. It is for no other reason than I rarely get to see them or taste them. And I can honestly say, contrary to popular belief, I do not avoid them. When you see wines of this calibre, there is every reason to gravitate towards them.

Ridgemill Estate Wine

Region: Granite Belt, Queensland     Price: $45     Source: Generous Gift

Now, Fumé, for those who don’t know, indicates this Sauvignon Blanc has been bathed in some oak for a period of time and, I must say, this wine has enjoyed it. It draws you in with the aromas. They are pretty complex yet clearly varietal. The palate speaks of tropical and citrus fruits for me. Think passionfruit, lemon and lime, a hint of melon and pineapple, and some delicate spicy notes too. While it has some lovely texture it sits nice and light on the palate and there is a nice touch of acidity on the finish that added a freshness that I really liked.

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Earthworks 2022 & 2023 Vintage Wine Releases

Posted on August 11, 2024 by Tony Peters

Gee I liked the ‘theme’ of these wines. ‘Dig A Little Deeper’. So simple yet so profound. When I read the small but informative flyer that came with the wines, it struck a contemplative chord with me. I couldn’t help but almost feel part of the growers, the farmers who nurtured the fruit for these wines, and their connection with the winemakers who crafted them for me, and you the consumer, to enjoy. However, in saying that, I find myself being an outsider looking in and appreciating the expertise the growers and winemakers bring to this bundle of wines. I tip my hat to you all.

Region: Various     Price: $20 each     Source: Sample thanks kindly to Hill- Smith Family Estates 

2023 Earthworks Riesling

If you’re looking for a Riesling that gives you what you want without forking out a lot of cash, grab a bottle of this! It’s refreshing on the nose and palate thanks to lemon and lime characters offering up the most here. There’s a deft touch of acidity giving it a nice crisp feeling on the finish. Certainly going to be an easy summer out-on-the-patio wine for sure.

2023 Earthworks Rosé

Ah, yes! Now here is another to look out for to enjoy on the patio. Delightful strawberry aromas and flavours lure you in, red fruit characters chime in supported by a touch of acidity and a nice dry finish. It has freshness, crispness, texture and likability in spades while coming in at a really good price. What more can you ask for?

2022 Earthworks Tempranillo

I reckon this is a Tempranillo for the reluctant Tempranillo drinkers (believe me they are out there). It’s quite smooth on the just medium bodied palate where plums, dark cherries and blue fruits provide the bulk of the flavour profile. There’s a dark chocolate note too as those Tempranillo tannins show themselves in a gentle way on the finish. Very easy to drink, a wine you should check out I say.

2022 Earthworks Barossa Shiraz

If easy drinking, fruit forward Shiraz with low tannin impact is your thing, get your mitts onto a bottle of this. Lead by dark plums and blackberries the medium bodied palate easily satisfies as some dark chocolate notes, a touch of oak and a hint of spice/pepper add to a reasonably good length. This Shiraz will do well amongst others at the same price point.

2022 Earthworks Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon

A fruit forward Cabernet Sauvignon that hits the mark right from the start. Juicy black fruits, plums, a little dark chocolate and a hint of oak all come together to form this youthful medium bodied Cabernet as it finishes nice and smooth. Add to this its approachability and affordability and you are on a winner. Certainly ticks the boxes for me.

Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Other Reds, Riesling, Rosé, Shiraz | Leave a comment