Some Beaut Aussies

Drank plenty of excellent Australian wines over the festive season.

2020 Limefinger ‘The Learnings’ Watervale Riesling: Off a Watervale block with East West orientation. The wine is so pure, with intense citrus blossom and powdered lime notes. It has an almost rainwater-like clarity and gentle talciness. It is fine, direct and possesses great persistence.

2015 Pikes Riesling Reserve The Merle: A pure and talcy nose, loaded with Tahitian lime. So direct and linear, with great intensity of citrus fruit. The finish is chalky and long.

2015 Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay Art Series: A fresh and complex nose of white peach, green melon and aniseed. It is a rich, powerful and layered wine, quite explosives but not heavy in the slightest. There’s grapefruit-like acidity and fabulous length.

2008 Penfolds Chardonnay Yattarna: Humming along brilliantly under screwcap. Complex aromatics of smoke, pure white peach, spice and preserved lemon. Terrific intensity and volume in the mouth. Layered with flavour, finishing with great cut and a finish that drives on and on.

2017 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity: A highly-perfumed nose of ripe berry and floral spice. It is plush and velvety in the mouth, with perfectly ripe fruit and supple tannins. It has good volume and excellent balance and proportion. Absolutely delicious.

2015 The Standish Wine Company Shiraz The Schubert Theorem: Deeply pitched, inky and dark. Black fruit flavours with ironstone. Rich and powerful with excellent balance. The finish is chewy and decidedly long.

2014 The Standish Wine Company Shiraz The Standish: Starting to drink very well. Still youthful with a core of blueberry and blood plum. Showing a touch of floral spice and menthol. Good volume in the mouth and plenty of savoury nuance to the long and expansive finish.

1989 Penfolds Grange: Just a hint of mushroom from the cork. Still has a core of sweet raspberry and plum, along with notes of leather, tar and crushed ants. It is fleshy and layered with good intensity and excellent length.

Thanks for sharing. Can’t say I’m familiar with “crushed ants”!

RT

Quite often seen in Grange. Formic acid notes. There’s a local gin available that has green ants as the added twist. The indigineous Australians used to forage for particular species of ants that are said to taste of lime.
My experience is very limited.

I haven’t seen formic acid as a tasting note in ages. Where was it I saw it last? Maybe Musar?

Love The Merle. Just had a pristine bottle of 2008. Given the vintage it surprised me with its quality and length. Not quite as good as the 2005 Florita which was superb.

I have always loved 89 Grange and it is one of the least talked about and lower rated Granges. yes it was a fiercely hot year, but boy is it a good drink and has never shut down. It is one to buy at auction as it is about the cheapest Grange on the market. Picked up a magnum for under a $1K a couple of years ago for a friend of mine!

Nice note, love me some Duval Entity.

Been hearing a lot of good things about the Leeuwin Chard, will have to try some time.