Bottled with an unusual glass stopper and a very short capsule, this dolcetto d’Alba from Brezza is a joyous wine that opens to aromas of fresh raspberries and savoury cherries. Medium to firm tannins add texture and interest to the palate, and the alcohol is a modest 12.5. This is a delicious dolcetto that is ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Website: https://www.brezza.it/en/; wine-searcher.com. Reviewed: August 2020.
This wine from Morocco proved interesting at multiple levels. First, it is, well, from Morocco and the wine is in Australia. Second, as a syrah, it shows some resemblance to a Rhône style wine. Third, the wine is very good and not just a novelty. The aroma is quite attractive, with plum notes interlaced with chalk. The palate is full bodied, the tannins a robust medium in character and the length on the finish is medium. A classy wine that is ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Website: wine-searcher.com. Reviewed: August 2020.
I am seeing a few more North American wines make their way to Australia. From the Sonoma Coast in California, this pinot noir has aromas of spice and red cherries. It is not a Burgundian style, but more in the style of high quality fuller bodied pinot noir from the Yarra Valley. The palate is between medium and full bodied, with some tannins evident and a lingering acidity on its medium length finish. This is a lovely wine that suits current drinking. Rating: Good. Website: https://www.peayvineyards.com; wine-searcher.com. Reviewed: July 2020.
From the Ferguson Valley in Western Australia, this chardonnay opens to a restrained aroma of almond meal, custard and cedar. The body is between medium and full and the acidity medium and fine boned. This is a textured chardonnay that is particularly harmonious and ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Read more: https://www.aylesburyestate.com.au; wine-searcher.com. Source: Sample. Reviewed: August 2020.
This is a sound sauvignon blanc from Alto Adige in far northern Italy. It has a restrained aroma, for sauvignon blanc, of minerals and green capsicum. The acidity is the principal feature of the palate, presenting as high and razor like. The wine weighs in at 13.5abv, which its medium body does not give away. The flavours are stone like and slightly unyielding. Ready to drink now. Rating: Acceptable. Read more: www.martini-sohn.it; wine-searcher.com. Reviewed: August 2020.
From the 2005 vintage, Best’s have produced an outstanding shiraz here from the Great Western region in western Victoria. Bests is certainly out of the way, but is worth the visit alone to see its old mixed vineyard with unknown vines. Cellared since purchased at the winery, the wine opens to tertiary aromas of rosemary, pepper, bouquet garnis and earth. The palate is medium bodied and has flavours of spice and plums. It finishes with very long length. This wine is clearly an ageworthy style and is a pinnacle of Australian cooler climate syrah, before that was a thing. Rating: Outstanding. Read more: https://www.bestswines.com; wine-searcher. Reviewed: August 2020.
This is a very good and classically styled Barossa shiraz from Chateau Yaldara in the Barossa Valley. From the 2016 vintage, the wine has a deep colour, with aromas of mulberry, cedar and that unique Barossa earthy/spicy character. The palate is full bodied, with medium tannins that are soft and ripe in texture and medium to long length on the finish. This excellent wine can be approached now and over the next decade and probably beyond. Rating: Very Good. Read more: https://www.1847wines.com; wine-searcher. Source: Sample. Reviewed: August 2020.
I wasn’t convinced by this Triennes rosé from the 2018 vintage and the IGP Méditerranée in the south of France, although I have previously enjoyed an earlier vintage (2017). Its aroma is fruity with characters reminding of lavender soap, and quite strongly so at that. The palate is better: dry, medium bodied, the acidity between medium and high and there’s a piquant strawberry character to finish. Ready to drink now. Rating: Acceptable. Read more: wine-searcher. Reviewed: August 2020.
This winery in the Grampians wine region in western Victoria may no longer exist, but their riesling, cellared since purchase on release, is outstanding at 13 years of age. Fully mature and yellow gold in colour, it has undergone the riesling metamorphosis. Its aroma is all bread, butter and stones. The palate is dry, medium bodied and the acidity linear and not quite high. This delicious riesling is ready to drink now, and good evidence of the region’s capability with this grape. Rating: Very Good to Outstanding. Website: NA. Reviewed: August 2020.
From Alicante in the south of Spain, this is a full bodied, spicey and edgeless blend. The grape varieties are monastrell (mouvèrdre), syrah, alicante bouschét (a red variety that also unusually has red flesh) and giró (a red variety found in Spain and Sardinia). This pleasant wine is ready to drink now. Rating: Good. Website: NA. Reviewed: August 2020.