Full Pour

I (Julian) am currently in the enormous Goulburn Valley region -- Dookie to be exact -- kicking off what I hope will be an interesting part-time course of study (wine-related, of course). Forgive me if posts are few and far between these couple of weeks. On the plus side, some interesting wines are being tasted, including a most unexpected Semillon, made from fruit grown at the Dookie campus vineyard, twenty three years old and still singing.

Dinner with family in Melbourne on Friday evening was enhanced by the provision of this bottle. Thanks to my cousin Travis -- who continues the Coldrey line as far as an obsession with wine is concerned -- for his generosity in supplying all the evening's drinks. My first Sorrenberg Chardonnay and I'm favourably impressed.

A powerful, worked style that, in the first instance, is most notable for the richness of its fruit flavours. Nectarine, fig and some grapefruit all intermingle within an aroma that also throws a range of caramel and oatmeal notes. There's significant complexity and scale, but the confident, seductive aromas themselves are what draw me to this wine.

The palate follows through on all aspects of the nose, showing a forthright, complex range of flavours. Good presence and consistency along the entire line. A couple of points, then. Firstly, this isn't a wine for those fixated on the current vogue for lean Chardonnay styles. The lushness and luxe inherent to the fruit and style are quite contrary to a more minerally, austere expression of Chardonnay. And that's OK. Secondly, this is a wine to sip and savour, not necessarily to drink in large volumes. Certainly, I helped my dinner companions to finish our bottle with ease. But as I drank more, a cracked toffee note through the back palate became slightly dominant, pushing fruit and savoury characters out of the way to the detriment of the wine's overall balance. Still, a minor quibble over what is an impressive wine of some beauty.

A few more random tastings, on the whole very pleasant indeed. The first two were consumed at Brisbane's 5th Element wine bar, which is not a bad place to soak up both the afternoon breeze and a few nice wines. Prices are as per the venue's list - do the usual adjustment to determine approximate retail.

Flaxman Riesling 2008 ($A44, restaurant list)

Showing some nascent signs of bottle age (a bit of toast, mostly), this is a wonderfully gentle drink. Unlike the driven, juicy 2009, this wine is a laid back expression of Eden Valley Riesling, with pastel fruit colours and a precise presence in the mouth. This wine reminded me of feathers and clouds and everything that suggests delicate beauty. Will no doubt continue to age, but I'm glad I caught it as a relative youngster.

By Farr Saignee 2008 ($A44, restaurant list)

How interesting. In terms of how this wine drinks, as opposed to what it tastes like, it reminds me most strongly of Chardonnay. Like a worked Chardonnay style, this wine is all about texture, mouthfeel and presence. On the nose, creamy notes alongside fresh berries. There's nothing overty fruity about this wine, though; rather, the berry notes present as evasive, almost hidden. The palate is full of winemaking in the most positive sense; it's quite unexpected, blending a creamy, mealy mouthfeel and flavour with fresh fruit; all totally dry and well balanced. A really exciting style.

Kreglinger Vintage Brut 2003 ($A40, retail)

Had trouble with this one. I found this a heavy style, with a lumpen presence in the mouth and little of the fleet delicacy I enjoy with sparkling wine. It's undeniably flavoursome, and the dosage seems more or less well-judged (perhaps a bit high for me). But it never takes flight through the middle palate, and seems to get stuck half way, the fruit being too broad to maintain movement and flow.

Not a lot of tasting (as opposed to drinking) these last few days. Tonight, while dinner is cooking, I thought I'd give this wine a go. It arrived during the week from the indefatigable David Cumming, who does PR for many Central Ranges wineries. My experience of recent wines from this zone has been variable, but this bottle is getting more and more interesting as I swirl.

I've been slowly accumulating cheap red wines -- mostly samples -- so thought I'd sit down to a few this evening. In a sense, I enjoy the challenge of tasting inexpensive wines, as they prompt an adjustment not only of one's expectations, but one's understanding of the role of wine. I like to think the intent behind such wines is to add a bit of luxury to a weeknight meal, something that is too often a purely functional ritual of nourishment.

Um, wow. Garishly purple in a peculiarly children's-television kind of way, I can easily imagine Nomi Malone shoplifting some of this at a Sephora in Las Vegas. However, the way the wine smells is a hundred and eighty degrees away from its look: strangely dark, slightly peppery, with a nearly pickled, shoe-polished, venison meat pie edge to it, it's a wonderfully seductive, complex wine of the sort you generally don't associate with carignane.

Delightfully immature, the wine doesn't seem like it's time to integrate itself just yet: there's an initial impression of candied red fruits that quickly swaps itself out to reveal dusty wood shop shelves, somewhat clunky acidity (that thankfully keeps it all in check), and a thick, fat outro that slides by on groovy, tannic rails towards a long, gentle finish redolent of unfashionable hard candies and earthy, loamy sweetness with suggestions of forest flowers - it almost reminds me of the taste of oxalis that grows near California redwoods, with an almost citric tang combined with that rich, dark, earthy fruit.

This is frankly insanely delicious - I wish I had some Parmesan cheese to eat with it, but alas, I don't. If more wineries made carignane like this, I suspect more people would drink it. Then again, outside of California and Chile, I'm not sure there are a lot of winegrowers who take the trouble to grow it well.

Ever since Shiraz Viognier blends became popular in Australia, a very few years ago really, it seems to me producers have been struggling with how (perhaps even why) to tackle this style. The biggest problem, for me at any rate, is too evident a Viognier influence, turning what would ideally be a feminine, elegant wine into something caricatured, almost cartoonish, with overt apricot flavours and an unattractively pumped up mouthfeel. I'm making all sorts of problematic assumptions about style, of course, but that has been my honest reaction over a few years of tasting local Shiraz Viogniers. So I tend to approach them with some trepidation.

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($A16.99, sample)

Some wines make you work, taking their time to emerge and show true character. Other wines reach out to you with an aroma that sings with freshness and vitality, like a chatty first date with whom you just know you'll get along. Like that first date, appearances can be deceptive in the long term, but there's no denying the enjoyment to be had in first conversations. To be sure, I tasted this over two days.