Since purchasing the property in 1999 David and Tanya Bryant have meticulously set about developing their small Yarra Valley vineyard, and the resulting wines made from it, into a powerhouse of European classical style. The early wines were made by Phillip Jones of Bass Phillip fame, however the more recent wines were made by David, having undertaking his apprenticeship with the big guy. Current production is under 1,000 cases per annum which surely gives the Bryants leave to call themselves “micro-boutique”.
If I’m right, the vineyard produces four levels of quality – Village, Estate, Premium and Reserve. The Village wines come from newer plantings since 2000, while the higher end use the fruit from the original 1970 plantings. Tonight’s wine is under the Estate label and it looks a little like this..
A lively red brick colour, slight browning around the rim. The first whiff and you get a sense for the European style these guys are chasing. It looks classic claret, and the word is ‘black’. Black tar, black olive and blackcurrant. To redress this dark fixation I’ll note a little white pepper on the nose and some juicy redcurrant. Pencilly oak hangs in the background and the wine opens further to reveal some herb and florals – fresh-cut sage, rosebush, rosemary jelly. It’s quite seductive really. You know it’s not a big wine, but all on the nose appears complex and complete. So far, so good.
The palate is soft and plush, plummy. There’s savoury olive again and some rare lamb in its juices. The sweet/savoury balance is finely tuned. Again, old-fashioned claret springs to mind. The wine has the appearance of being quite simple, with medium weight and length, but its seductive powers lie in the flavours and balance. Blackcurrant dominates, cedary oak, fresh herb, silky tannin. A wine of texture and class.
Vibe
It’s good. I could not find fault with this wine – it’s no orgiastic, hedonistic mind-blower, but there’s a restrained elegance and sophistication that really appeals. We dusted it off with some home-made pizzas and it went down a treat. I guzzled it.
Value: $37 at the time of purchase. It’s up there, and I know my notes are all positive, but I think it’s probably a bit on the high side.
Tasted: May 2011
Closure: Cork (an excellent example)
Tech-head
Producer: Hillcrest Vineyard – www.hillcrestvineyard.com.au – Established in 1970, purchased by the Bryants in 1999. Now farmed as organic and yields are between one and three tonnes per acre.
Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria.
Site: High elevation, grey gravel over yellow-grey loam. The vineyard is reportedly unirrigated.
Vintage: Good spring rains followed by a warm summer and mild Autumn. A very good year with optimum hang time and ripeness.
A mate of mine gifted this to me. I’d not heard of the label before. So, a little less curiosity and a bit more action saw it cracked open in the fine company of several winemaker buddies. Vibrant blood-red colour. And when I say that... it’s more like the deep, dark, blood-red colour of resting beef than if I cut myself shaving. And, apparently, did you know the juice from resting beef is not even blood – it’s actually proteins and other stuff, so there – I feel better already.
Anyway, I really, really like the bouquet on this wine. You get smacked in the nose with pure, unadulterated, densely-layered, minty, blackcurranty Coonawarra cab sav. Unmistakeable. (Unless you’re from Margaret River and you might be forgiven for getting confused). There’s a leafy/herbal hue to this wine, but show me a Coonawarra that doesn’t have it and I’ll show you a lesser wine. Sticking with the herbal theme: I'm liking the bay leaf, rosemary, thyme and mint (goddamn, I love all them herbs!), and I'm liking a touch of green capsicum and a lovely little flush of rose petal. If we’re talking about the fruity spectrum then we’re talking about blackcurrant, black plum, dark chocolate cherry ripe, and a touch of raisin. The oak is dusty and cedary, yet slightly sappy and varnishy, but not in a negative sense. There’s some enticing brambly, earthy notes too, to add sex appeal. Overall this wine pushes the red, black and blueberry aroma buttons nicely.
The palate shows some decent structure, tannins pretty firm still, acid pretty taut. What it lacks, oh-so marginally, is the weight and power of fruit flavour to match the structure. It’s slatey and there’s some oak showing. It’s medium-bodied, warming and supple enough, with a continuation of the red berry flavours – raspberry, plum, blueberry – but ultimately the tannins are a little drying and the intensity on the palate didn’t quite live up to the promise of the nose. Although, I do love the spicy pepper and meatiness, and it went down pretty well with a chunky beef stew.
Vibe
I liked this wine. I probably wanted to like it more, but... really, I’m satisfied with how it stacked up against the braised beef and fresh pasta. I don’t know much about the Koonara guys but I think this wine is a decent example of Coonawarra Cab from a pretty good vintage. Thumbs uppish.
Value: The website tells me the current release is 2004 and is priced at $30. Not sure if the site is up to date, but $30 is probably at the upper end of value-for-money. It looks like this wine is the flagship.
Tasted: March 2011
Closure: Screwcap
Tech-head
Producer: Koonara Wines – www.koonara.com – the Reschke family have owned the property for over 100 years. The website claims the vineyard is kept to 2 tonnes per acre – no mean feat. A lot of passion here.
Region: Coonawarra, South Australia (Cabernet country)
Vintage: A superb vintage for the 'warra. The third in a row actually. Warm, dry conditions provided low-yielding, yet aromatic wines. Almost as good as it gets.
I probably don’t need to tell you that Vasse Felix lay claim to the first commercial vineyard planting in Margaret River – that being in 1967. For a wine region of such youth, Margaret River is already held in high esteem, and it’s no wonder the Euros shake their heads dismissively that an upstart young region can take it up to them in the quality stakes, especially with Cabernet and Chardonnay.
I can’t be sure who made the 2006 Vasse Felix wines – I think Clive Otto had left at this point and Dave Dowden was caretaker winemaker. I think. The Heytesbury red and white are the icons of the Vasse Felix line-up and I’m sure no expense is spared in turning them out.
The 2006 Heytesbury Chardonnay has a lovely deep straw colour. It opens with textbook Margaret River cashew and fig, melon and pear, plus a little sweet lemon. Peachy keen. It’s on the minerally side with no obvious signs of fattening through malo or any extended oak usage. The oak is there, of course, and looks stylish and new, but it doesn’t get in the way of the alluring fruit aromas. I get orange blossom and frangipani scents, a hint of marzipan, some yeasty characters, and my all-time favourite tinned peach and custard combo. There’s a slight regional character which I often see in Margaret River wines – I call it ‘maritime’. It’s hard to describe (terroir?) but it’s a slightly salty/beachy/sea-like aroma, and whilst I don’t go looking for it, it often pops up in my notes.
The minerality continues on the palate and is neatly entwined with the lemony sweetness, pear and white peach flavours. It’s generous enough, though certainly no fruit explosion in your mouth. The texture is finely balanced between cream and crisp – in fact there is still a bit of acid zip that dances over your tongue with an airy lightness, adding to the freshness and youthful feel of the wine. The oak envelops all – not overdone or in the way, and not as a backbone – it simply surrounds all the flavours and wraps them up gently as a piece of cupped lettuce does for san choi bao. If pushed to find something critical here I’ll make the small observation that the wine finishes a touch short.
Vibe
There’s an overarching theme of restraint with this wine. A certain reserve. You can almost see the wine trying to bust out of a straitjacket, bursting forth, frothing over and spilling down the sides of the glass. But I do like wines with restraint. (Margaret River Cabernet can be good like this too). This is not a heavy wine, nor has the winemaking been heavy-handed. It ably combines generosity with restraint and should please all who would sail her.
Value: The current vintage cellar door price is $50. I reckon that’s pretty good when you add a bit of ‘label’ cache to the wine quality. (Let’s face it, you’re paying for a lot of cache with icon wine labels these days)
Tasted: February 2011
Closure: Screwcap
Tech-head
Producer: Vasse Felix – www.vassefelix.com.au – established 1967, now owned by the Holmes a Court family.
Region: The oft-revered Willyabrup sub-region is where the winery and estate vineyards are located, in the central north section of the Margaret River wine region. There’s no indication where the actual fruit comes from for this wine.
Vintage: 2006 was a tricky year in the region, split along white/red lines basically. A cooler year generally with whites routinely outstanding – leaner and more minerally than usual, but refined and potentially long-lived. Reds were mixed – those growers with ripeness and good sugars who picked before the Autumn rains were rewarded. Those in cooler sub-regions who didn’t/couldn’t pick were punished.
This was hanging around the summer fridge for a while. It had found it's way into some ice-tubs at a few backyard barbies but never got cracked. So we banged it last night with pizza and a few mates.
I didn’t expect such a golden hue from an 06 but there it was – not in a developed kind-of way, but a gentle richness of colour – and a little sparkle. The matchstick bouquet hit me from the outset – leapt out of the glass – and this flinty minerality remained at the core throughout. It’s at the citrus end of the spectrum – lemons and limes, unripe white peach and nectarine characters and lovely floral notes floating in and out and, in and out. A touch of spice too.
The palate is fresh and zingy yet richer than expected – stone-fruits and minerally lime; medium-bodied, and a neat balance between acidity, fruit and oh-so-subtle oak. It has a steady line throughout. It fleshed out in the mouth yet still retained that citrus element, particularly lemon-zip, pulling out some melon and fig characters to round out.
Vibe
Yeah, I liked it. Enjoyable with home-made pizzas in the weber on a warm January night with a few buddies. Great with the pizza and would equally suit seafood and salads – general light Mediterranean fare really. I liked it without having my thongs blown off. I might even buy some.
Value: I think this retails around $30 in Australia. It was a sample so I couldn’t tell you!
Tasted: Jan 2011
Closure: Cork
Tech-head
Producer: Chanson Pere et Fils - www.vin-chanson.com
Region: From the villages of Vire and Clesse in the Macon region, south of Burgundy.
Site: Soils are limestone and clay, vineyards face south-east.
Vintage: 2006 started awkwardly in the region however the sun appeared and all was well for the remainder, and the people rejoiced. Excellent really.
