Montalto Estate 2010 Chardonay and Pinot Noir

Montalto Estate 2010 Chardonay and Pinot Noir

  14:49    Stu.

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I was impressed with the level of detail that accompanied these samples from Montalto Estate: a Press Release that at least attempted to convey a quality driven story - shying away from the normal trumpets and fanfair often associated with such - and a full colour brochure...

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Woods Crampton Mataro Rosé 2012

Woods Crampton Mataro Rosé 2012

  20:10    Stu.

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The first thing you notice is the colour: an almost deep, vibrant red.  And it's more like a light red in some respects.  Approach with your nose and you're greeted with spicy, wooden, earthen and savoury aromas - it betrays its Mataro roots.  It's ably...

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K1 by the Hardys Arneis 2011

K1 by the Hardys Arneis 2011

  06:17    Stu.

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Hahndorf Hill Grüner Veltliner 2012

Hahndorf Hill Grüner Veltliner 2012

  06:28    Stu.

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Yelland & Papps 'Vin de Soif' 2011

Yelland & Papps 'Vin de Soif' 2011

  21:35    Stu.

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Foster é Rocco Rosé 2011

Foster é Rocco Rosé 2011

  13:16    Stu.

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Rosé in Australia is undergoing a real renaissance. There are those producers who seek to  retain a little residual sugar in their wines, or at least retention of fruit sweetness, and there are those practitioners who look for texture, line and length. Adam...

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Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2012

Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2012

  21:28    Stu.

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One of two Viognier tasted on the day, and this demonstrated the greater aromatic range - again without the shrillness that can be seen in some Viognier. Full on apricot, hints of candy-like stonefruit and ginger present too.  Fuller mouthfeel, unctuous, fresh - good...

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Terra Felix Viognier 2009

Terra Felix Viognier 2009

  21:16    Stu.

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Apricot, grilled peach and lime brulee - not excessive aromatically, a point that stands in its stead.  Clean, little on the front palate.  Stone fruit builds on the mid, cranking the intensity up a little, leaving good apricot and peach toward towards the back. Good...

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Voyager Estate Project 95 Chardonnay 2009

Voyager Estate Project 95 Chardonnay 2009

  16:18    Stu.

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This wine is produced solely from a clone of Charonnay known as clone 95.  The  predominant clone used in Margaret River is the gin-gin, or Mendoza, clone - which i've seen cited as lacking in the back palate.  The gin-gin clone...

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Castagna Genesis Syrah 2005

Castagna Genesis Syrah 2005

  21:47    Stu.

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Borrowed from winehouse.com.au If there was any wine that made me realise that wine scribes are not infallible, it was this.  A distinctively average score form an individual lauded by many as the premier writer in Australia.  I'll say no more, save to say...

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Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2012

Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2012

  20:14    Stu.

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The question I find myself asking of this range, is not why, but rather how Yalumba can turn out wines of this quality at the price often seen on the retailers shelves. Winemaking inputs here are those often seen at wines twice the price.  Selective hand-picking,...

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La Linea Norteño Tempranillo 2009

La Linea Norteño Tempranillo 2009

  16:59    Stu.

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Essentially a barrel selection.  In making their 2009 Tempranillo, the La Linea team noticed some marked differences in four barriques made from fruit picked off a northern (Norteño is Spanish for North) vineyard at Kersbrook.  Needed a little time to open...

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Pertaringa Scarecrow Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Pertaringa Scarecrow Sauvignon Blanc 2012

  13:58    Stu.

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Aromatics that are the calling card of the variety.  Has a softness, a delicacy on approach; underlying tropicals with passionfruit, lychee, gooseberry - lemon citrus topping things off. I like to see Sauvignon Blanc with an interest factor, here it comes by...

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Rusden Full Circle Mataro 2009

Rusden Full Circle Mataro 2009

  08:39    Stu.

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Lovely back label story, albeit tinged with sadness where Christian Canute (assumed) talks of growing up during the vine pull, seeing stacks of 80 year old Mataro piled up to burn.  How we suffer from those dark days, and from an oft-repeated failure to appreciate...

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Oxford Landing Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Oxford Landing Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2012

  08:10    Stu.

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Pungent aromatics, heavy tropicals and gooseberry tones clearly mark it out as sauvignon Blanc.  Simple, clean, but showing balance. There's varietal character here - chalky, citrus, lychee notes, hints of green apple. Tropical hints remain on the finish. ...

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Taylors Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut Cuvée NV

Taylors Pinot Noir Chardonnay Brut Cuvée NV

  17:57    Stu.

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A first for Taylors (I never know whether to add an apostrophe or not, they don't, but to me it seems kind of wrong) in their 40+ year history, a traditional method aka bottle fermented fizzer, produced under both screwcap and cork/ cage. Chalky lemon, brioche, a bread...

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Terra Felix La Vie En Rose 2011

Terra Felix La Vie En Rose 2011

  20:55    Stu.

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A 100% Mataro Rosé made from both the skin contact and saignee methods, with each portion being brought together for the final wine. Good red/ black fruit aromatics with cherry, rose, blackberry supported by some herbal tinges.   Palate shows more of the same, a...

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K1 by the Hardys Grüner Veltliner 2012

K1 by the Hardys Grüner Veltliner 2012

  21:50    Stu.

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Tasted this second release from K1 alongside the 2012 Hahndorf Hill.  For me this showed the more intense aromatics.  Hints of Hill's Sav Blanc character were present - topical hints - alongside varietal character by virtue of apple, tart pear, citrus and notes...

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d'Arenberg Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2009

d'Arenberg Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2009

  12:47    Stu.

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Chester Osborn is a Grenache nut.  A love for, and understanding of, the variety is strong in the man, and evident in this wine. Earthen and leathery notes, distinctly savoury marked with tapenade and elements of prune.  Savoury - a word I kept coming back...

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Yelland & Papps Delight Rosé 2012

Yelland & Papps Delight Rosé 2012

  10:38    Stu.

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A mix of Grenache (71%) for aromatics, spice and all round gluggability; Mataro (29%) for depth and body.  Simply fruited, light-on aromatics with strawberry, cranberry and hints of bubblegum fruit character. Clean entry, more hints of strawberry filling out the...

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Preston Peak Sagrantino 2008

Preston Peak Sagrantino 2008

  10:30    Stu.

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Preston Peak’s Cellar Door is a leisurely 90-minute drive from Brisbane.  On the outskirts of Toowoomba, it sits majestically atop the Great Dividing Range, with fantastic views looking back East across the plain. The fruit for this wine...

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