(2024) d'Arenberg is one of the iconic names of Australian wine and has been a constant presence on UK wine shelves for decades. This is 100% biodynamic Grenache, foot trodden two-thirds of the way through ferment and pressed in a basket press as is d'Arenberg's way. It was matured in French oak for nine months. It has a terrific nose, straddling a buoyant, crushed red berry fruit with masses of fresh-cracked black pepper and a certain meatiness. In the mouth it has substantial tannins and fine acid core, but the weight of fruit is equal to that all the way, giving this lots of drinkability as well as a bit of serious gastronomic usefulness. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.
(2023) Four Bordeaux varieties in the blend here, led by 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Blackcurrant on the nose, some eucalypt/menthol notes, and a smoothing sub-frame of the barrel. In the mouth it flows with really sweet, ripe black fruit, the 23% Malbec perhaps adding to the plush depth of the mid-palate. Tannins are suede-like, acidity is rounded but present, and the touch of vanilla and spice into the finish pleases. Mixed dozen price is £16.99.
(2023) These terrarossa vineyards are 20 years old on average, the fruit fermented in stainless steel-lines concrete tanks. Red liquorice springs to mind on first nosing the glass, maybe even a touch of beetrooty character, but pure black fruits show through, touched with mint. The palate has a sinewy, taut character, no flab here at all with tight tannins, juicy and intense acids and the fruit staying in a dry, savoury spectrum. Note stockist and price given is for the 2019 vintage at time of review (which I recently scored 92/100).
(2023) A mixture of vineyards here, aged 18 to 40 years, and a mix of clones. The oldest blocks of fruit were fermented directly in oak barrels, other blacks transferred to oak after malolactic fermentation. Barrels came from both Bordeaux and Burgundy coopers, 47% new. Darkly hued, there's concentrated cassis and ripe black plum here, mint and cocoa in support. The palate here flows beautifully with ripe and juicy blackcurrant fruit, but the integration of the tannins and acids here, and indeed the creamy dark tones of the barrel, is excellent. That gives this a seamless character as it flows towards the finish. Highly drinkable.
(2023) From a 53-year-old vineyard on terrarossa, this was made in a mix of open top and rotary fermenters (horizontal tanks that rotate to mix the cap, rather than using punch-down, etc. as in vertical tanks). It spent 18 months in 300-litre French barrels, new and second use. Meatier than the Balnaves, also an ashy, slightly eucalypt character touching the ripe black fruit. The sweetness on the mid-palate is apparent, a wine that's not too broad, instead there is a freshness here, real lip-smacking juiciness to the acidity. Tannins are firm in the finish, adding to the impression of freshness along with a little pepper and spice.
(2023) Made by Yalumba since the early 1990s, there are vine components here from plantings that span 1929 to 1972, the average age of vines around 50 years old. It comes from a smaller than average vintage, the wine matured for six months in older French puncheons and in French, Hungarian and American hogsheads. It's a Grenache in a relatively pale-coloured and Pinot-like style (though with 14.5% alcohol it's no lightweight). Roasted chestnuts, truffle and mint spice lead the aromatics, fragrant almost lavender notes, then a melange of black and red fruits. In the mouth there's an espresso-like depth to this, so creamy and full-textured, but the nipping spices and acidity give lovely balance. The fruit is generous, melting into those mocha coffee notes in the finish. Big scaled but with a soft side, and could be a Christmas dinner wine. Watch the video for more information.
(2023) A GSM blend from the Barossa, which enjoyed similar hot and dry conditions to the Eden Valley. A little more earthy and subdued than the Balthasar aromatically, but there is a jammy ripeness of fruit and a balancing touch of leather in there. Bold and savoury, there's plenty of juicy acidity and nicely plummy, roughening tannins, that give an edge to the sweet and plump fruit that build on the mid-palate.
(2023) A little bit (8%) of Malbec joins the Cabernet, the wine matured 16 months in French oak, some new. From classic terra rossa soil. Very attractive, all about quite bold and creamy cassis. It doesn't move into jamminess, but instead the sweet and ripe plushness of the fruit is balanced by structural, fine tannin and acid components. It is sauve and smoothly creamy with no jagged edges, but it has balance and great length. This one should age too.
(2023) Synonymous with Riesling and Shiraz, here the vineyards of Clare Valley in South Australia turn their hand to low-cropped Cabernet Franc. Forty percent whole-bunches were included in the ferment with wild yeast, before ageing in old French oak. Minimal sulphur was used. It's a violet-scented, aromatic Cab Franc, a deep seam of blueberry beneath, and a swirl of smoky sappy, stony minerals on top. In the mouth that intense, spice and herb-flecked black fruit runs smoothly through to a tight, nicely delineated and long finish. Delicious and impressive. Watch the video for more information.
(2022) From terra rossa soils and a 52-year-old vineyard, this wine spent 18 months in French oak barrels of 300-litres, a combintation of new and older vessels. Showing a little more development than the Patrick of Coonawarra 2015, there is a bloody and gamy note that is appealing in the mix as notes of eucalyptus and blackcurrant emerge. Really nicely open, sweet, ripe and mature, there is a creamy and supple depth and width to the fruit profile, tannins chocolaty and rounded and cherry acidity perking up the finish. Highly drinkable and in a good place.