Paul Ippolito's Wines of the Week

With Paul Ippolito

Conte Estate Pink Hill Gewurztraminer 2007
 
Glorious Traminer aromas – intense honeysuckle, musk, allspice and lemon invigorate the senses. Subtle rose petal and frangipani follow closely. Just luscious and uplifting with lush and fulsome mouth filling characters. Long and smooth with stone and tropical fruits on the finish. Delightful with Asian food.
 
Drink Now. About $22. 90/100 – Very Good
 
Olssen Bass Hill Vineyard Carmeniere 2006
 
Cool, classy and elegant are my first impressions – a wine of a certain stature that delights with a raft of characters that intrigue as they unwind before you. Think spicy plums, mint, black olives and raspberries – along with eucalypts, blueberries and coffee mocha oak. What an amalgam of characters. A medium bodied robust red, well put together and deliciously drinking with smooth ripe tannins, auguring for good future development. Try this with a grilled New York cut.
 
Drink to 2015. About $35. 93/100 – Excellent.
 
Wolf Blass Grey Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
 
Inky deep purple and exhibiting its youthfulness well, the aromatic blackberries and blackcurrants exude along with blueberries and spicy plums. The fruit is pure and succulent with an underlying mintiness and earthiness. Classic in composition along with seamless light cedar oak, the mouth feel is glorious sooth and luscious. Highly drinkable now but a good lay down bet for the future.
 
Drink to 2020. About $40. 96/100 – Superb.
 
Charles Melton Nine Popes 2005

Deep and dense, even a touch raw and youngish. Blackberries, stewed plum pudding, coffee mocha, blackcurrants and liquorice all exude from the aromas. A youthful and aromatic red with a soft well roundedness and smoothness and elegant classy style to it. Seamless fine tannins and good oak augur a promising future.
 
Drink to 2020. About $55. 93/100 – Excellent.
 
Brown Hill Chaffers Shiraz 2006
 
Fruit driven and pure in presentation, the oak is integrated and the tannins soft and rounded, all making for delicious drinking now. An earthiness as well as truffles and a hint of game add to the red and black fruits and give it a complexity that makes it interesting to drink. A foodie red, just in time for Winter.
 
Drink to 2012. About $25. 90/100 – Very Good.
 
Stringybrae Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
 
Stylish and elegant were my first impressions. Really neat and tight black fruits along with glossy coffee oak and a good solid robust stricture that augurs for a promising future development. Tomato vines, good lively acidity along with hints of blackcurrants, tobacco and liquorice on the finish make for a very decent savoury style red.
 
Drink to 2012. About $22. 89/100 – Very Good.
 
Dowie Doole Reserve Shiraz 2004
 
This is an opulent red – full of aromatic fruits – blackberries, plums, blackcurrants etc etc, yet with a good dose of cedary oak, fine grainy tannins and a long smooth finish that really shows off the harmony and balance that exists in this big red wine. Black liquorice, red earth and a light tobacco ness ensues on the finish, making for a very decent red.
 
Drink to 2016. About $35. 92/100 - Excellent
 
Long Row Verdelho 2007
 
Ripe sweet fragrant upfront fruit, loads of it, no pretensions, this is from fruit driven city. Musk and some green herbs as well, with light acidity supporting the fruit characters. Dry and long on the finish, again with a grassiness. An interesting white wine.
 
Drink Now. About $10. 86/100 – Good.
 
Beelgara Estate Range Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2007
 
Fresh limes, vibrantly delivered. Lemons as well with hints of straw, lanolin and some grassy overtures. Soft and well rounded, smooth and long – easy and quite delicious to drink. A well blended wine to enjoy now.
 
Drink Now. About $8. 87/100 – Good.
 
Nepenthe Cabernet Rose` 2007
 
Luscious red berry fruits ensue – strawberries, cranberries and raspberries abound. A sweet ripe nose along with watermelon and red cherries, the red fruits rule here. Soft acidity making for succulent fresh drinking and a long smooth finish.
 
Drink Now. About $ 15. 88/100 – Very Good.
 
Rosemount Pinot Grigio 2007
 
Dry and savoury on the nose, grassiness and loads of green herbs ensue. Minerally wet stone also carry through. Quite a crisp sharp acidity supporting. Really dry Grigio here with a long yes dry finish. Drink with creamy sauce cuisine.
 
Drink Now. About $15. 86/100 – Good.

Dominique Portet Yarra Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2007
 
Tight and restrained at first, then wow, it unwound beautifully unleashing tropical and citrus fruits all over the place. Glorious upfront and vivid fruit, soft and well rounded with a light crispness on the finish. A delight with Asian cuisine.

Drink Now. About $22. 90/100 – Very Good.

Centennial Vineyards Reserve Pinot Gris 2007

Really aromatic citrus fruits – limes, lemons and green apples along with the characteristic pears. Smooth, lively and soft, really nice and easy drinking, a tad dry as well. Nice Southern Highlands drinking from winemaker Tony Cosgriff.

Drink Now. About $22. 88/100 – Very Good.
 
D’Arenberg The Feral Fox Pinot Noir 2006
 
Uplifted fragrant fruit – strawberries, cherries and raspberries abound. Nice well rounded softness to the palate, the fruit taking its place and an ensuing length of red berry fruits lingering on the finish. A hint of game and truffle add to the complexity.

Drink Now. About $25. 89/100 – Very Good.

Chandon Vintage 2005

Classy, elegant and with a certain finesse, this is very decent sparkling drinking from this esteemed Yarra Valley producer. A real tight biscuity chalky dryness ensues yet also with quite restrained citrine influences. Delicious with pork belly and really long and lingering in its finish with a fine toasty bubblyness.

Drink to 2015 plus. About $40. 93/100 – Excellent. 

Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Really really good blending here and just perfectly balanced drinking. You get the typical asparagus, green pea, herbaceousness as well as delightful tropical fruit flavours. A lovely wine that is just right with the soft acidity in check with the fruit and a long smooth delicious finish. Try with chicken wrapped in prosciutto crudo.

Drink Now. About $35. 94/100 – Excellent.
 
Meerea Park Hell Hole Semillon 2008 
 
A really interesting Semillon from this boutique Hunter producer. Tight and elegant at first, it unwinds neatly and nicely revealing layers of straw, lanolin, grapefruit and lemons. Vibrant and invigorating, it really takes off with some exciting fresh lively acidity. Having said that it is quite drinkable now with richer type foods but there is quite good cellaring potential here as well.
 
Drink to 2015. About $25. 92/100 – Excellent.
 
Westend Estate 3 Bridges Golden Mist Botrytis Semillon 2005
 
I make no secrets about loving dessert wines and especially ones from down Griffith way. So I wasn’t surprised when I really took to this fine drop, but the purity of the fruit characters and the overall balance really impressed me. Yes it is sweet but the interface with the acidity makes for high level drinkability here and that balance really makes it smooth and fine and elegant, rather than cloying. Yes there is some classic peach melon and a hint of honey but there is also some lemon custard tart there as well. It just lingers on and on and is very moreish.
 
Drink Now to 2015. About $20 – 500ml. 94/100 – Excellent.
 
BlackJack Block 6 Shiraz 2006
 
This is a generous well rounded red of very good proportions. Not over the top as you get lovely liquorice, some earthiness and quite subtle game characters, along with classic red and black fruits. The oak is integrated and quite seamless, the wine verges on medium bodied rather than thick and dense, but yet retains its varietal and regional origins. Fine tannins augur for a good future but it is drinking well now.
 
Drink to 2016. About $35. 91/100 – Excellent.

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.