September 2018 ~ The Vinsomniac - Stuart Robinson

An Australian Wine Blog

Thursday, 20 September 2018

Shaw + Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2018

16:30 Stu.

I perhaps thought the alcohol level on this had been dropping a little over time, a quick check of the Vinsomniac archives reveals that to not be the case. The Sommelier's friend, many a case of this has been shifted over a few sessions for those that lunch. And...

2018 / Adelaide Hills / Sauvignon Blanc

Wirra Wirra Hiding Champion Sauvignon Blanc 2018

12:04 Stu.

Smells like a Sauv Blanc, looks like a Sauv Blanc, heck it even says so on the label. Aromatics of passionfruit married to squeaky Gooseberry. Has the pithy, grapefruit citrus sitting in the mix too. Has some zest, verve and swagger about it on the palate. Some zip and...

2018 / Adelaide Hills / Sauvignon Blanc / Single Vineyard

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Heartland Spice Trader Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

08:30 Stu.

This is an absolute ripper for its suggested price of $17. Smelling like conclusion of a great evening on the back deck, that being a wedge of dark chocolate and a fat Cuban for company. Or you could have it in liquid form by way of this classic Aussie red. Plum,...

2015 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Langhorne Creek / Shiraz

Monday, 17 September 2018

Alkoomi White Label Riesling 2018

14:30 Stu.

This wine wasn't showing the greatest from the off. Yes there was a beautiful profile of lime, lemon grass and talcum. Hitting the right aromatic notes from the off. But those flavours don't necessarily mesh well on the palate, where it actually seemed somewhat...

2017 / Frankland River / riesling

Heartland Directors' Cut Shiraz 2015

08:30 Stu.

A wine very familiar to me from a previous life in the UK, indeed Heartland Wines in general always had a fantastic presence in that great off-licence chain, Oddbins. Until they themselves lost their way a little. Good deal of oak on show here, all heavily toasted (80%...

2015 / Langhorne Creek / Shiraz

Sunday, 16 September 2018

Margan Breaking Ground Albarino 2018

14:30 Stu.

Marginally less to offer in 2018, compared to its 2017 guise. Playful thing, offering up a citrus tinged aroma that just - for me - evokes Mediterranean summers. Clean, crisp, good level of acidity given a spine to the wine. About it hangs a semblance of flavour,...

2018 / Albariño / Hunter Valley

Huntington Estate Shiraz 2014

08:30 Stu.

Sweet accented fruit sits over the top of a core that can only described as Huntington Estate's Mudgee in a meeting of the minds with the oak that nurtured the wine. Medium bodied, it's awash with blue-purple fruit, chocolate accented depths and bringing up a fine tannin...

2014 / Mudgee / Shiraz

Saturday, 15 September 2018

Margan Breaking Ground Albarino 2017

14:30 Stu.

Interesting variety the Albarino - not withstanding its assumed history here in Aus, it's a long story - it is rather better known as a simple quaffer you chill down and seemingly smash with gay abandon. Anyway: Florals, white pepper, dill thrown in too. Fresh and fragrant Minerally...

2017 / Albariño / Hunter Valley

Heartland Foreign Correspondent Dolcetto Lagrein 2018

10:19 Stu.

Been a while since I've seen this wine. From memory it used to be just named per the constituent varieties. Now it's taken on a fancy new label with an assigned brand name. Looks pretty good for it. It's a juicy little blend of two varieties of Italian origin (95%...

2018 / Dolcetto / Lagrein / Langhorne Creek

Thursday, 13 September 2018

Alkoomi White Label Cabernet Merlot 2016

14:30 Stu.

Twists of herb meets grilled meat. The palate offering up moderate intensity, showing blackcurrant and meeting licorice, chocolate and hints of Plum. Graphite tannins, though a little astringent, conclude the wine. Good value for money, though I...

2015 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Great Southern / Merlot

Rymill Cabernet 2015

08:30 Stu.

Classic Cabernet aromatic profile. It's blackcurrant meets cedar and bay. Spot on aromatics that don't necessarily follow through to the palate, where it presents itself as firmer and more robust - drying - with coarser tannins. Needs some further time...

2015 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Coonawarra

Wednesday, 12 September 2018

Ferngrove Orchid Cossack Riesling 2018

14:30 Stu.

Single block wine from Frankland River's Ferngrove. Initially fresh, fragrant and floral - then shy, and musky, something like dank wood. Gave it an hour, apple blossom, vanilla, bathsalt. Tangy entry, vibrant and zesty acidity, bathsalt and chalky pucker. It's certainly...

2018 / Frankland River / Great Southern / riesling

St Leonard's Wahgunyah Rosé 2018

08:30 Stu.

Made from a blend of Cab Franc (58%) and Cab Sauv (42%) off of the St Leonard's vineyard - owned by All Saints and retained as a distinct brand - in the Rutherglen GI. Beautiful aromatics present here, Berry in the main sitting square on the nose, supplemented with...

2018 / Cabernet Franc / Cabernet Sauvignon / Rosé / Rutherglen

Tuesday, 11 September 2018

Gartelmann Rylstone Petit Verdot 2015

14:30 Stu.

Off of a vineyard at 660m elevation, clay loam over limestone. Spends 14m in new and older American and French oak Rich, spiced, a plethora of fruit in the red/purple spectrum married up to fine, powdery tannins. Sense of freshness via natural acidity,...

2015 / Mudgee / Petit Verdot

Windowrie Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

08:30 Stu.

Shy, reserved, certainly not forthcoming on initial approach. Slowly, as if reticent to do so, it starts to reveal itself. Biscuity oak and dark chocolate. Deep, rich palate - a riot of deep purple and red fruit. Lacks some definition and finesse, feeling its higher...

2015 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Cowra

Monday, 10 September 2018

Shaw Vineyard Estate Merriman Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

14:30 Stu.

Sensuous, mint patty, violets and cassis. Cedary hints in the mix, inviting and seductive Soft, supple palate on entry - shifts a gear to something richer, in part fuller - certainly generosity in length and substance. It's a mix of sweet accented fruit,...

2015 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Canberra District

Huntington Estate Pinot Noir Dry Rosé 2018

08:30 Stu.

I was unaware of Huntington's history with regards to making pale and dry Rosé. It's the style very much in vogue, De Bortoli wines #RoseRev campaigns of 2010 or so cementing the style in the hearts of many. To the wine in question, the strawberry and cream aspect familiar...

2018 / Mudgee / pinot noir / Rosé

Sunday, 9 September 2018

De Bortoli Black Noble Ten Year

14:30 Stu.

Barrel aged Semillon using the Solera system, where the average wine age is approximately ten years. Has the deep, dark caramel notes of a wine borne of magnificent stocks of barrel aged (solera) reserves. There's softer, rose petal, notes sitting quietly in the background. Sweet,...

NV / Riverina / Semillon

Margan Shiraz 2013

06:16 Stu.

Earthy and meaty, a definite Hunter Shiraz on aroma alone. There's blackcurrant with an element of spice and herb, woody hints. Fine, medium bodied, silken early tannins. Elements of licorice, there's white pepper and fresh acidity. Secondary tannin takes...

2013 / Hunter Valley / Shiraz

Saturday, 8 September 2018

Shaw Vineyard Estate Merlot 2014

14:30 Stu.

Merlot in Australia can show its true colours and intent just on aroma alone, in my less than humble. Here: Olive skin, a hint of tobacco and - somewhat unusually - cocoa/coffee grounds. Medium bodied, freshening acidity and fine tannin. Well made Merlot,...

2014 / Canberra District / Merlot

Huntington Estate Semillon 2018

08:30 Stu.

First tasted this some 6-7 weeks back at Huntington's annual winemaker's luncheon. Grassy aromatics, tropical fruit hints sit calmly underneath, gently wafting their wares. Citrus, glace pineapple too. Straddles a line between fine and textural, has a...

2018 / Mudgee / Semillon

Friday, 7 September 2018

Wirra Wirra Lost Watch Riesling 2018

15:12 Stu.

Ultra-fresh and fragrant, it's all lemon and likes with even a touch of orange peel and bath salt. So perhaps, more generically, it's all citrus. It fair sucks the moisture out of your checks, a real pucker of acidity. Carries a gentle phenolic rub, a semblance...

#RieslingRevival / 2018 / Adelaide Hills / riesling

Shaw + Smith Pinot Noir 2017

08:30 Stu.

Strawberry, a wilder and more savoury edge to things too. Perhaps a hint of rhubarb, with some stalk and woody herb. Soft, supple, a cleanness and very open palate - particularly compared to the somewhat funkier aromatic greeting. Tannins are silken and...

2017 / Adelaide Hills / pinot noir

Thursday, 6 September 2018

Ferngrove Frankland River Black Label Shiraz 2016

14:30 Stu.

Smokey char meets a Plummy element, combining to offer an attractive profile of a wine that seems to suggest a medium body profile. And indeed is so with the introduction to the palate. It's silken of body, evidence of some time in oak is present too. Tannins are fine,...

2016 / Frankland River / Shiraz

Montalto Merrick's Block Pinot Noir 2016

08:30 Stu.

Deeper aromatics here, than say the prettiness of Main Ridge - indicating a warmer site too. Elements of toastiness combine with the purity of fruit. Still of the silken threaded body, strands of tannin linking long through the body. Firmer, and deeper of body, charting...

2016 / Mornington Peninsula / pinot noir

Wednesday, 5 September 2018

Patina Reserve Chardonnay 2015

14:30 Stu.

Initially quite faint, muted aromatics. Yet it offers a full textural experience here, like it has been worked and hard. Stonefruit with a custard apple and creme brulee aspect, rich and velvety across the full length of the palate. Opens a little further,...

2015 / Chardonnay / Orange

Katnook Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

08:30 Stu.

The 2013 Odyssey was the last that legendary winemaker Wayne Stehbens ("Stebbo") oversaw from start to finish, before his untimely passing in 2017. Vale. Reserved, more toast and char than what one might expect from Coonawarra Cabernet. The body is supple,...

2013 / Cabernet Sauvignon / Coonawarra

Monday, 3 September 2018

Morris Classic Liqueur Muscat NV

14:30 Stu.

Toffeed, caramelisation - brandy snaps meets sweeter, floral elements. Another great thing about fortifieds is that they hold up extremely well once opened, and indeed thinking about their origins and reputation - as wines that could withstand transportation...

Muscat Blanc / NV / Rutherglen

Huntington Estate Tim Stevens Signature Shiraz 2016

08:30 Stu.

Carries the signature, pun intended, of the Mudgee soils that are at the very heart of the Huntington Estate red wines. Deep, rich, has the nutty and vanillin oak profile and wafer-like elements. Rich, silken, almost chewy. The tannin profile is fine, marrying...

2016 / Mudgee / Shiraz

Sunday, 2 September 2018

Riversdale Estate Syrah 2017

14:30 Stu.

Savoury charms flow effortlessly from this wine. Syrah/ Shiraz can be marginal in Tasmania at the best of times, yet Riversdale Estate seem to manage to produce the variety well. Freshness by way of acidity offsets against the vegetal savoury notes within....

2017 / Coal River / Syrah / Tasmania

Montalto The Eleven Chardonnay 2016

08:30 Stu.

A single block wine made from grapes harvested from eleven rows of Chardonnay on Montalto's north-facing slope at its home vineyard site in Red Hill South. A fine balance between the complexity the winemaker affords Chardonnay, with the exquisite fruit of Montalto's...

2016 / Chardonnay / Mornington Peninsula

Saturday, 1 September 2018

Edenflo Old Vine Riesling Gewürztraminer 2018

14:30 Stu.

A harmonious blend of Riesling (67%, 80yo vines) and Gewürztraminer (33%, 20yo old vines) from the Eden Valley. Faint lime, steely hints, both soon yielding to softer elements of rose hip, florals. Has the pucker and presence of the Riesling, softened...

2018 / Eden Valley / Gewürztraminer / riesling

Wirra Wirra Mrs Wigley Rosé 2018

08:30 Stu.

Mrs Wigley is surely the nation's favourite blush pink kitty! She leads with delicate red Berry aromatics, nothing a hundred other Rosés don't - adding a toffee-apple charm over the top, with something like a musky/dusky addition to round out the profile. Clean...

2018 / grenache / McLaren Vale / Rosé

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