Wines With Pedigree

Welcome the our new look Corker. After a brief hiatus you may notice that we have tweaked a few things to bring a fresh look to Corker. Rest assured despite these slight cosmetic changes, Auscellardoor will continue in its quest to bring Corker readers some great wine offers.  

As always there's has been plenty of new releases that have come to our attention over the past fortnight. It is often difficult to assess whether these new releases are a ‘flash in the pan' or whether they are real deal, here for the long haul. One of the things we look for when assessing new wines is their pedigree; like a champion racehorse, good wines don't just happen; they come about due to quality ‘breeding'. In the case of wine this ‘breeding' is a combination of; quality vineyards, talented winemakers and viticulturalists and perhaps most importantly, they posses a clear direction of what they want to achieve.

The wines featured in this edition of Corker certainly possess pedigree with a capital. Whether it is an exceptional value quaffing red made by the renowned Chris Ringland (Strong Arms Shiraz), Dog Point's Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc (produced by the guys that made Cloudy Bay famous), or the newly released Star Lane Shiraz 2005 made by Giaconda's Rick Kinzbrunner, all of these wines have a rich pedigree.

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The team at auscellardoor

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www.auscellardoor.com.au

Strong Arms Shiraz 2006 - $13.90 

Made by esteemed winemaker Chris Ringland of Rockford fame, the Strong Arms Shiraz was initially made for the US market and is the type of wine that has made Aussie wine a huge hit in this market. This is an unashamedly big, juicy, South Australian red with the alcohol topping around the 15.5% mark. However remarkably for a wine of this price this alcohol is well balanced with intense sweet fruit, white peach, spices and smoky oak. As an everyday quaffing red it is hard to go past this bargain offering from Chris Ringland.    

"91 Points. The 2006 Shiraz is composed of 46% McLaren Vale, 44% Riverland, and 10% Barossa Valley fruit. It was aged in seasoned French and American oak for 12 months. Opaque purple-colored, it has a nose of cedar, spice box, and blueberry. Fruit-driven, supple-textured, rich, and easygoing, the wine has remarkable class for its giveaway price. It actually has 2-3 years of aging potential but no one that I know is going to defer their gratification - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Sem 2007 - $17.90

For many years we have regarded Voyager Estate as one of Australia's leading producers of the Sauvignon Blanc/ Semillon blend. This is a wine that is quintessentially Australian; perfect for warm days and an ideal food match, particularly to seafood dishes. There is no shortage of plaudits for this wine, and at the very special price of $17.90 a bottle this wine offers superb value.

"95 Points. Voyager makes a practice of over-delivering across full the range of its wines. As usual, a blend of 55 per cent sauvignon blanc and 45 per cent semillon, the fragrant, delicate bouquet moving through a tropical to passionfruit to citrus spectrum, repeated on the long and fine palate, also reflecting its modest alcohol. $24, S, 12.8%; Drink: Now-2010" - James Halliday's Top 100, The Weekend Australian November 2007.

"95 Points. Are Voyager Estate making the best and most stylish wines in the country at the moment? If not they must be in the top handful anyway. This is like a top white Graves at a bargain basement price. This is subtle and subdued with aromas of guava, gooseberry, nettles and spice. Dry white rather than fruit salad in style. On the palate crisp, dry and fresh with grapefruit, gooseberry and spicy grassy flavours. It has delicate acidity and a gentle phenolic handshake offering a light but authoritative grip. Impeccable line, weight and balance with a long clean finish. Top shelf." - Gary Walsh, Winorama.

Dog Point Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc 2006 - $29.90

Over the past few years Dog Point has carved out an impressive reputation for producing some of New Zealand's finest Sauvignon Blanc. For those who are not familiar with the story, Dog Point was established by James Healy and Ivan Sutherland whilst working for their former employee Cloudy Bay. They have put their considerable experience and talents to work in this project that has so much to like about it. One of the undoubted highlights of Dog Point is the Section 94 Sauvignon Blanc which is only made in tiny quantities. This wine sees extended lees contact in older oak barrels which gives this wine a unique complexity which is perfectly balanced with the fresh fruit driven Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.   

"95 Points. You don't see me getting excited over a sauvignon blanc very often but this is a beauty. It spends some time in old French barrels but the glory here is in its glistening, scintillating length - it runs on and on. Gravel, smoke, snow peas, lemons, and intense floral essences - wow. Drink: 2008-2009" - Campbell Mattinson, Winefront.

"Section 94 carries the remarkable craftwork and handsome flavours of it's sister Dog Point Savvy, but is more attuned for those who would prefer not to drink a grassy, gooseberry Marlborough fruit bomb. It's superbly subtle sauvignon blanc, matured in imported old French oak. Understated passionfruit and paw-paw aromas provide varietal clues but hints of lime and light earthiness add savoury charm. Long and complete, Dog Point is the most impressive new release I've seen in yonks and Section 94 might be the star!" -Ralph Kyte Powell.

Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2005  - $19.90

Margaret River has become world famous for the classic Bordeaux blends of Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot and it is hard to think of a better value example than this beauty from Vasse Felix. For a wine under $20 this wine offers exceptional value drinking.

Deep ruby red in colour with purple hues. There are some lovely perfumed aromatics with very expressive ripe dense fruit characters. A complex array of black cherry, brambly plums, vanillin spice, licorice, spearmint spice and dried leafy herbs provides lift and freshness. Attractive cedary cherry wood characters offer savoury complexity and attractive oak offers vanillin spice and very subtle toasty layers. The palate is rich and concentrated with fine supple tannins that provide length and structure. A classic regional style showing the perfect integration of these two varieties.

"94 Points. A captivating mix of juicy dark berries, cassis, eucalpyt, coffee bean, aniseed and cedar oak. Rich, almost cakey, but balanced with attractive leafy Cabernet characters. On the palate medium to full bodied with cassis, red berry, aniseed and some leafy tobacco flavours backed with well judged cedar and vanilla oak. It has marvellous shape and drive through the palate with firm dry tannins and a fine sense of freshness and vitality. It feels good to drink. A big finish closes out an outstanding example of Margaret River Cabernet. It's strongly to my personal taste. It's the sort of wine that makes me want to buy a case" - Gary Walsh, Winorama.

Elderton Merlot 2005 - $24.90

At a recent tasting of the Elderton range, this Merlot stood out as one of the stars of the range. One of our team somewhat smugly suggested that if this wasn't called ‘Merlot' it would be a truly fantastic wine. The point here is whether you love or loathe the variety, you can't help but admire the quality of this wine produced by Barossa stalwarts Elderton. Not suprisingly this wine was recently ranked one of Australia's finest Merlots by the Gourmet Traveller  Wine tasting panel consisting of Peter Bourne, Nick Bulleid MW, Andrew Caillard MW, Peter Forrestal, Huon Hooke and Sophie Otton, in Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, their comments are below;

"Shows a complex mix of red fruits, prominent cedary oak and some earthiness from bottle-age. Caillard loved it: "Fragrant, cranberry and redcurrant, with grilled meats and cedar. Concentrated palate, with mocha and oak, finishing with fine-grained, chalky tannins." We thought the round, fleshy palate - typically Barossa - was a great feature of the wine. Enjoy it now and over the next five years" - Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine, April/May 2008.

Star Lane Shiraz 2005 - $59.90

Bonus Riedel - receive 2 Riedel Vinum Shiraz glasses valued at over $80 with every 6 bottles of Star Lane Shiraz purchased.  

Star Lane is a relatively new producer on the block, however it certainly has some pedigree behind it. The Star Lane wines are made by Rick Kinzbrunner (of Giaconda fame). As is the case with Giaconda, Star Lane is located in the Victorian town of Beechworth. We have been hearing good things about Star Lane for some time and thought it was time that we checked these wines for ourselves. This Shiraz is nothing short of stunning and had us wondering why this has been able to fly under the radar for so long.  

A funky opening note on the nose gives way quickly to an exotic concoction of blackberry, wood spices, brables and violets. Overall, the impression is of an earthy, savoury wine with the merest whift of menthol coming through. On the palate there is much to admire: a creamy, textured wine with blackcurrant, orange peel spice and butter chocolate bringing a morish note to the wine. As it opens, black pepper and graphite notes provide added compliments.

Yering Station Pinot Noir 2006 - $19.90

Last year we rated this wine from Yering Station the best value Pinot Noir of 2007. Tom Carson has long been regarded as one of Australia's leading Pinot winemakers, a fact that has been further underlined with his recent appointment as head winemaker for the Yabby Lake/ Heathcote Estate group. For those yet to discover the delights of Yering Station Pinot Noir we encourage you to do so as stocks of this wine are fast becoming limited.

Tom Carson and the team at Yering Station are the Australian wine drinker's best friend. They have an amazing ability to produce exceptional wines at very good prices - what more could we ask for from a winemaker? As with their Chardonnay, this Pinot Noir offers a wine drinking experience one does not expect at this price. Delicious flavours of cherry and plum, beautiful balance, soft subtle tannins which support the long lingering flavours. A superb wine at a great price.

95 points. A bright and clear colour leads into a classic pinot bouquet, flavour and structure; the oak is restrained, with fruit to the fore, then silky tannins on the long finish. 13.5% - James Halliday, Top 100 Wines.