Past Articles

The WA Fine Wine Road Show

According to frequently quoted statistics from the WA wine industry, WA accounts for four percent of Australia wine production but twenty three percent of the nation’s premium wines. There are two hundred and twenty seven wineries in the state and forty six of them were represented at the Road Show which has been touring the East coast capital cities over the last week or so.

This Update will provide a summary of the event and over the next two weeks the tasting notes of the wines will be posted on www.torbwine.com

I attended part of the Sydney event which was held at an inner city prestige hotel from 2.30pm to 8.00pm last Friday and Saturday. If the event organisers wished to attract trade people and serious wine buffs, they will be very happy with the result. Whilst I was there a large percentage of people were from the trade and those that paid their $25 admittance fee certainly seemed serious about tasting. None of the “lets get as pi**ed as we can for $25” brigade that sometimes frequent these events. Most people were spitting rather than swallowing and many of the paying guests were making notes. Whilst the attendee numbers may not have been huge, the audience was quality.

The event was well organised and run but a few things could have been better. Firstly the lighting in the smaller room was so low it was hard to make notes, let alone see the colour of the wine. Secondly and most importantly, at events like this people need something to refresh their palates. All the organisers have to do is have plain bread available and possibly olives. This food is not expensive and would assist in showing the wines in the best possible light.

The majority of the wineries represented are very well known or reasonably well known but there were a few new ones too. It was interesting to see that the better the reputation the more people at the stand. Some of the stands that represented well known “value” wineries still had good traffic but many of the lesser known ones had a lot less traffic. So using these shows to try and break into the market is not an easy task and doesn’t guarantee success.

Overall the quality of the wines I tried was very high, hardly a bad one amongst the lot which makes tasting a pleasure. However this quality comes at a cost and the cost is in real dollar terms. As a generalisation, the value aspect on WA wines is simply not as good as that available from say SA and there were very few really good value buys available. All told there are tasting notes on about forty wines and they will be presented over a two weeks but there is one story I would like to share with you.

The final stand I went to was Frankland Estate and the first wine I tried which had a fruit driven bouquet seemed to have a faint medicinal note to the aroma and a slight metallic twinge on the tail end of the taste. I very politely asked the lady serving the wine if it was meant to taste the way it did, i.e. a characteristic of the wine. She said the wines had been checked and but she would ask the winemaker to recheck it when she we finished her conversation with another person (who seemed like a friend as they were both chatting behind the stand.)

After a few minutes the winemaker finished her conversation, the serving lady passed on my question, the winemaker looked me up and down as if to say “what is this wa**er on about”; the winemaker checked the wine and pronounced it fine. If looks could kill, at that point I would have been carried out by the morgue attendants.

The winemaker then leaned over the counter and read my tasting note sheet upside down and in a very stern, authoritative, voice pronouncing each word one syllable at a time, informed me that I had written down ‘Franklin River’ rather than ‘Frankland Estate’. Having just survived one close escape with the afterlife from a dose of death by looks, needless to say I quickly corrected the text.

I am a big fella that doesn’t normally scare easily so I bit the bullet, took a very deep breath and decided to be brave and continued tasting their wines whilst the winemaker looked on. You never know, I could get a medal for that one, possibly a Gold in Class 44? Now onto the tasting notes starting at the beginning.

Voyager is the most flamboyant winery in WA, probably in Oz and there has been no expense spared in the winery and cellar door. The wines reflect the wineries philosophy, they are quality drops.

Voyager Estate 2002 Shiraz Aug 03

This wine is due for release in mid September and will have a RRP of $28; it contains 1.5% Viognier. The bouquet shows fresh slighted lifted fruit over some obvious French oak and the use of Viognier is an intelligent addition rather than an excuse to make it stand out in a crowd.

This is a well made and well put together full bodied wine with lots of smooth tannins and pure persistent fruit which comes across as intense plummy, blackberry/mulberry flavours in the savoury spectrum which is nicely contrasted with chocolate that finishes with an intense long finish. A solid structure and firm consistency together with a well developed harmonious complexity will see this wine improve over the next few years; it should peak about 2005 and beyond. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value, this wine is worth buying.

Voyager Estate 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Aug 03

This wine is due for release in September or October and is expected to sell for $38.00. Inky dark purple in colour the nose is dominated by dusty oak and tannins, the dark fruit is deeply submerged with mint on the tail end.

Tannins are not as obvious as the nose suggests but they are chewy. The palate is a further surprise with sweet blackcurrant/blackberry fruit on the attack which is underpinned by black plums with a fair amount of white pepper, chocolate and tobacco on the finish. Muscular in weight, it has a firm consistency, solid structure and the interesting flavour profile will provide a well developed complexity for this well built wine that is worth of space in the cellar. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, the rating should improve as the wine enters its drinking window around 2007.

Devils Lair is owned by Southcorp and their strategy for their icon cabernet in the past has sent mixed messages to the retailers. Many were informed that it was for sale to restaurants only but Vintage Cellars and a number of larger retailers have been given an allocation. I didn’t ask what the current strategy entails.

Devils Lair 2000 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon has a RRP of $50. The nose is typical of a young varietally correct Cabernet and is dominated by oak at present. The tannins are fine grained but slightly chunky, acid is balanced and the fruit is deep. Very sweet upfront fruit attack is supported by contrasting savoury cherry with waves of sweetness flowing through the palate. It’s muscular in weight and the layered flavours provide a sophisticated complexity which just needs time to show its best. Technically perfect it has excellent structure but fails to excite me. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value.

Devils Lair 2001 Fifth Leg Red is a blend of Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot that sells in the $15-$20 bracket. The wine has a plummy fruit driven nose with smooth minimal tannins, balanced acid and the muscular weight, obvious, strong fruit comes across as plums, chocolate and spice. The consistency is supple, the structure rounded and the complexity agreeable which adds up to an easy drinking good party wine. Rated as Recommended with **** for value at $15 it won’t get any better.

In February I visited Picardy and was impressed with what they are doing. It is said by some that Picardy wines used to suffer from Brett but it looks likes they have cleaned up their act as in the samples and the finished wines I tried showed no traces, they were clean, high quality well made wines.

Picardy 2001 Merlimont is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc which is due for release in September and should sell for about $40. The bouquet seemed a bit subdued with perfumed floral notes and plums but the palate was anything but subdued with intense plums, spice, multiple black fruit flavours and liquorice. Although it seems fruit driven the wine is deceptive and has the structure to last with dusty smooth tannins proving a big almost seamless structure, supple almost seamless consistency and a harmonious agreeable complexity. It’s not cheap but the easy drinking red bigot nature masks a deceptively high quality wine that’s drinking beautifully now but one that should improve with cellar time. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.

Someone recently asked what characteristics do you look for in a good Australian Merlot and my answer was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is one Merlot based wine that is worth trying.

Picardy 2000 Merlot Cabernet was the predecessor of the Merlimont and is still available for about $33. This wine is the anthesis of the 2001 version; this vintage was all about structure and by its very nature demands to be cellared. The wine is ample weight with firm but supple consistency, the abundant fine grained tannins supplying a solid layered structure which should become seamless in time. The complexity is sophisticated and refined and whilst the wine seems like it’s all about structure that structure includes fruit to support the longevity. Very long tannins coat every nook and cranny of mouth and don’t miss a single taste bud with a very interesting flavour profile of milk chocolate, black fruit, dark chocolate and liquorice. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value this wine should not be touched till 2007+ and should happily last till 2015. The rating should increase as the wine matures.

Picardy is owned by the man that made Moss Wood famous and the winemaker, Dan Pannell is the brother of the well respected Steve Pannell. It’s only a matter of time before this winery and its winemaker are as well respected and sought after as Moss Wood and the great wines made by Steve Pannell. Get in now before they are discovered. The rest of the line up is pretty good too.

I had never heard of Platypus Lane Wines but I like to live dangerously (at least once in a while at a wine show) so I waddled up to the stand to see what it was all about. The winery started from humble beginnings in 1996 using old vine Shiraz grapes grown in the Swan Valley, not an area with a lot of great wineries and now has a small range of both red and c-through wines.

Platypus Lane 2000 Shiraz sells for $18 and has an almost non-descript subtle nose but the palate was a pleasant surprise and much better than the bouquet suggested. Tannins are smooth, the acid is balanced and the obvious persistent pure fruit has good power without excess baggage making this a fruit driven sweet red berry chocolate and spice flavoured wine. The wine is medium in weight, the consistency is supple, the complexity uncomplicated but harmonious; whilst it’s easy drinking now with good length and persistence it may improve in the short term. Rated as Recommended with **** for value if you see it try it!

Plantagenet is a winery with an excellent reputation for quality and value and once again lived up to its reputation. Ask anyone who has worked behind a booth at a trade show and they will tell you it can be boring and it’s very hard to remain keen and enthusiastic day after day, but if you genuinely believe in your product and love it, that belief shines like a beacon. Such a heart felt commitment to product was obvious at Plantagenet.

Plantagenet 2001 Shiraz sells for around $30+ and normally sells out very quickly after release. The bouquet had a menthol lift, sweet dark fruit aromas and subtle spice. Lots of dusty smooth tannins and balanced acid provide a foil for the deep distinct persistent fruit which build in waves of sweet plums and savoury spice across the palate finishing to chocolate combining into a lovely flavour profile and long finish. The wine is ample in weight with a firm consistency and well developed sense of complexity, it’s rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value and the rating should improve as the wine matures.

Plantagenet 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for around $28 when it’s released fairly soon. The Cabernet lives in the shadow of the Shiraz; in this vintage unjustifiably so as in the long term the Cabernet Sauvignon will be the better wine. To the winery’s credit, they did not release a 2000 vintage wine as it was not up to the required standard.

The bouquet is typical of a varietally correct cab with lots of sweet fruit, good complexity and lots of different scents. (I was being lazy, just sniffing it and enjoying it.) Two standout features of this wine become apparent as soon as it slams the tongue, the first is the structure and the second is the fruit.

This is a full bodied wine with huge amounts of everything including tannins which are dusty, drying and puckering. The acid is youthful, the fruit deep, strong and distinct combining to form a form a big solid structure that’s as good as it gets and the well developed complexity will ensure this wine is a long term cellaring prospect that should not be touched till 2008 and beyond. Sweet and savoury black fruit cascade across the palate in layers together with intense flavours of chocolate, liquorice, mint and tobacco. This wine is a must for the cellar and rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value and the rating will improve with time.

Plantagenet 2001 Cabernet Franc sells for around $28 and is a limited release. I have never been a fan of straight Cabernet Franc and this wine didn’t do anything to change my mind. The aroma seems a bit one dimensional, dominated by oak with sweet raspberry and milk chocolate and that’s what you find on the palate. In terms of structure, the wine is muscular in weight; the fruit is buried by the drying puckering tannins which give it an almost hard consistency and simple level of complexity. However it is well made and needs time for the tannins to integrate try it about 2007 and it may be approachable. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

When I was in Pemberton I tried to arrange an appointment with Smithbrook but they didn’t return my call so I didn’t get to visit them so when I noticed their stand I headed on over.

Smithbrook 2001 Merlot contains 86% Merlot, 8% Petite Verdot and 6% cabernet Franc and retails for about $35. The nose exhibited floral notes, musk, some other complexity but it was difficult to define. The palate has a green streak underpinning the whole flavour profile which has a fairly simple level of complexity. The wine is ample in weight, firm consistency, and the abundant tannins provide a solid backbone. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

Smithbrook 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon retails for about $24. The bouquet is subtle, there is a green streak under the sweet berry fruit which has an agreeable level of complexity. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

After this experience it was time to look for a safe bet. So I went to the Houghton stand. The Houghton premium reds have certainly gained an excellent reputation over the last few years, particularly the Frankland River, the Gladstone and Jack Mann brands and deservedly so.

Houghton 2000 Frankland River Merlot according to the Houghton representative is a wine that will polarise people and I can see why as it’s unlike the vast majority of Australian Merlots. This wine is all about structure and is certainly not your average soft sweet fruit forward easy drink wine. The flavour profile is very savoury; abundant tannins are dusty, the acid youthful and the weight medium. It needs time and is hard to judge at this stage (try in 2007) as it’s so different. Certainly an interesting curiosity!

Houghton 2000 Frankland River Shiraz shows slightly charry oak over plums, chocolate and liquorice. The pleasant flavour profile is not overly influenced by the charry oak with palate flavours following the bouquet with a pleasant finish both in terms of length and persistency. A well made and constructed wine of ample weight with obvious fruit and a firm but supple consistency ably supported by smooth tannins and an agreeable level of complexity. The wine drinks well now and is rated as Recommended with *** for value but that rating may improve with time. Not as fruit forward as the previous vintage, it has better structure.

Houghton 2000 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of typical varietally correct Cabernet which is mainly influenced by berry fruit. A very good structure is provided by the almost smooth dusty tannins and deep persistent pure fruit that shows savour berry and chocolate hints which build though some sweetness to a good length dry finish. It’s medium in weight with a firm consistency; a solid layered long structure and well developed refined complexity. Varietally correct, it’s a well built good wine that need time to show its best. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, the rating is bound to increase as the wine enters its drinking window about 2007 and beyond. For my money whilst it’s not as enjoyable as the Shiraz now, it’s the better wine.

The Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet in this range are all stylistically consistent even down to the initial slight bottle stink.

Houghton Gladstone 2000 Shiraz has a RRP of $60. Obvious high toned quality fruit which provide copious quantities of interesting scents combine to form an enticing bouquet. The wine seems to have all the components of a good structure; abundant dusty tannins, piquant zingy acid, and deep persistent fruit however I am not sure about the balance as the acid seems to stick out at present. If the wine settles down in time and the components mesh, it should be very good. The weight is ample with plums and chocolate finishing with good length and a developed level of complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value.

Houghton Gladstone 1999 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon has a RRP of $60 and this is the first release of a Cabernet under this label. This wine was a step up from the previous wines and shines like a beacon; it’s streets ahead of anything else in their entire current line up, including the Jack Mann. Typical varietal Cabernet but dominated by red berry/plummy fruit with oak, tobacco and herbaceous notes below the fruit. A slick well made classy wine with fine grained dusty tannins which provide the firm solid backbone; the deep pure persistent solid fruit add a sophisticated and intricate complexity that is still very tight. The palate follows the nose and builds across the palate in a long slow wave with brilliant intensity and a noble length finish. Rated as Excellent with *** for value now, the rating should increase as the wine matures in 2008 and beyond.

Houghton 2000 Jack Mann has a RRP of $90. The bouquet was closed but did show some plumy undertones. It’s a full bodied wine with a firm consistency which is provided by the oodles of almost powdery tannins; the deep strong persistent fruit add to the solid layered structure and diverse complexity. The acid is young and the resulting components of the package add up to a tight bundle that needs at least another five years to emerge. Plums, chocolate liquorice, more chocolate and tobacco have good persistency. A good wine, its rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value and the rating may increase as it matures but there is much better value to be found elsewhere.

That’s the end of part one. More next week.