Paul Ippolito Talks Wine: Wines Of the Week

With Paul Ippolito

Something Different

Punt Rd Pinot Gris 2005

This boutique Yarra Valley outfit has produced a very nice Pinot Gris here. Pears, musk, rose petals, a touch of citrus and a hint of minerality all abound and making for a lovely fresh white wine with lively acidity and quite a delicious long finish. Try it with ravioli in a mushroom and cream sauce. Drink Now.

About $22. 89/100 - Very Good.

Value Drinking

Fifth Leg White Blend Chardonnay 2006
 
Made by the Devils Lair winery in the Margaret River of Western Australia, this one oozes delightful tropical fruits as well as glorious citrussy lemons and limes. It is well blended with crisp lively acidity, a lovely freshness and a long finish. All of this makes for an ever reliable easy drinking white wine. Try this with grilled marinated prawn skewers. Drink Now.

About $17. 87/100 - Good.

Fruit Driven In Style

Xanadu Dragon Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2006

Fresh, vibrant and fragrant tropical fruit emanates from this Margaret River white blend. Citrine influences, subtle musk, light aniseed and lively green herbs also come through. Lively indeed quite bracing acidity supports the fruit and provides a lovely clean finish. Try this with salmon tart.
Drink now to 2008.

About $16. 88/100 - Very Good.

Quality Red Blend

St Huberts Cabernet Merlot 2005
 
Aromas fill the air with blackcurrants, spicy plums, red earth, and a touch of game, dark chocolate and black liquorice. A well blended red with a succulent luscious velvety finish and a certain meatiness to it. Seamless tannins and integrated oak. Nice Winter drinking red. Try this with braised lamb shanks with lentils. Drink Now to 2010.

About $23. 88/100.

Bargain White

De Bortoli Windy Peak Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2007

Quite floral, uplifting and fragrant in aroma projection. A tropical fruits laden nose with passionfruit and lychees lingering. Gooseberry and essences of straw follow, along with lively invigorating green herbs. Well rounded and quite soft on the finish. Delicious easy drinking and well blended. Try this with veal scallopine.

Drink Now. About $12. 88/100.  

Elegant Red Drinking

Grove Estate Cellar Block Shiraz 2005

This Shiraz is produced in the Hilltops region of South Western NSW, near Young. Blackberries, cherries, raspberries and blueberries project from the aromas. Roasted meat and black liquorice secondary characters emerge as well adding a more savoury dimension to the wine. A medium bodied style overall, with good oak, an elegant structure and fine tannins making for a well balanced red with a vibrancy and freshness on the finish. Try this with lamb shanks. Drink Now to 2015.

About $25. 90/100 - Very Good.

Finesse

Miceli Olivia's Chardonnay 2004

Anthony Miceli is a quality Mornington Peninsula wine producer. This Chardonnay shows off his skills very well. A tight elegant wine with glorious stone fruit characters, as well as subtle tropical fruit hints, stuffed green olives, cashews, hints of minerality and granite earthiness and citrine undertones. It is holding its age well. Indeed this is a very well structured complex Chardonnay, linear in style and quite soft on the palate. Delicious drinking here. Try this with marinated bbq octopus. Drink Now to 2012.

About $26. 92/100 - Excellent.

Boutique Red Drinking

O'Leary Walker McLaren Vale Clare Valley Shiraz 2005

Intense red fruits abound - raspberries, red cherries along with aniseed, liquorice, a subtle earthiness, black olives and roasted meats. Vibrancy and freshness ensue with an invigorating character. Good oak, good alcohol, ripe tannins, savoury nuances and a delicious long moreish finish. Try with gourmet pizza. Drink Now to 2015.

About $22. 91/100 - Excellent.

Something To Impress

Songlines Estate Shiraz 2005

This is a superb complex hand crafted Shiraz produced by respected winemakers David Fatches and John Duval who have given the wine optimal treatment through a variety of winemaking techniques so that it drinks beautifully now but cellar just as well into the future.

It is the best of their McLaren Vale Shiraz that goes into this label. Indeed the attention to detail in grape growing through to winemaking is reflective of the end product where elegance and power are the hallmarks of this wine. Satiny smooth in red and black fruit aromatics, the purity of the fruit really strikes you. Grace and refinement are its features but the substance and gravitas of the Shiraz also reflects itself with lively acidity, judicious but restrained, indeed tight oak, ultra fine tannins and a very good resulting structure that augurs for a long future.

The palate is pure succulent fruit seamlessly drinking along with inherent power that will unleash itself over time through careful cellaring. Drinking very well now but you just can't wait to see how well this will unwind into the future. Try this with Wagyu beef.

Drink Now to 2025. About $110. 95/100 - Superb.

Wine Rating Scale - Out Of 100 Points

98-100 – Exceptional – A truly world class wine
95-97 – Superb – A memorable drinking experience
91-94 – Excellent – A wonderful mix of a top wine at a decent price
88-90 - Very Good – Really well made wine that should impress
85-87 – Good – Honest everyday drinking

Paul Ippolito is a Sydney wine writer who writes for publications across Australia, the internet and overseas. Read more of his work at www.paulippolito.com.au

About Paul Ippolito.