Attention Sommeliers
I've decided to add another section to the website in an attempt to widen the website's appeal. Here, I'm directly targetting sommeliers and others who work on putting to wine lists together. Sommeliers are always looking for wines with some age; they are also interested in quality wines that are not widely available, so they can offer something different to their customers.
I come across these from time to time, so I'll update this section as regularly as I have something to recommended. When something comes up, I'll will mention it in my weekly newsletter.
Of course, this section may well have some general interest to those who love wine.
2008 The Wanderer Shiraz $35
Tasting is pretty hard work (I know, I know). It's the concentration that's trickiest. Every now and then a wine comes along that stops you in your tracks, causes you to go weak at the knees, obliges you to mix your metaphors, and call out 'Yes, Yes, Yes'. I felt this way about Andrew Marks' shiraz under The Wanderer label. I saw it in a tasting of impressive shiraz from Australia's cooler climates and loved it. It is lower in alcohol than most Australian shiraz - 13.8° and is made in tiny quantities (which will often appeal to sommeliers).
Andrew Marks is the son of Ian and June Marks who own the brilliant Gembrook Hill in the Yarra and he helps Timo Meyer make their wines. That is when he's not wandering the world learning about the great wines of other countries – which is what every young winemaker should do.
The 2008 The Wanderer Shiraz is sourced from the Yarra Valley, has wonderfully floral perfumes, ripe sweet blackcurrant and bramble flavours, seamless velvety texture and impeccably integrated oak. It's lightly framed so it's closer in style to a pinot than a zinfandel, yet is intense and complex. Think harmony, balance, elegance, delicacy and finesse. A wine to drink and enjoy.
http://wandererwines.com/
2004 Bellarmine Riesling $22
I hadn't realised that there were any older wines in the tasting and so I was surprised that this showed some bottle development when I tasted it. I liked the wine and rated it well. When its identity and age was revealed, I was amazed. I would have thought it was about three years old. It turns out to be a museum release from a Pemberton vineyard that has become a bit of a riesling specialist - as well as making a raft of other fine wines. There is a dry riesling, an off-dry (that is sweet) one and a very sweet riesling. All are impressive.
The 2004 Bellarmine has intense toasty, lemon citrus flavours is fresh, clean and zingy with vibrant cleansing acidity to finish. It's remarkable fresh for a six year old white.
2004 The Growers Riesling $25
This wine just won Best White Wine of the Year in the Winestate Awards. It's done well before and strangely has sold very slowly. So it's had major trophy wins in 2008 and 2009 and is drinking beautifully. I wrote about it in the Over $15 section of Quaff 2010 and said the following.
You have to love honesty. When I congratulated the Growers’ Phil May on holding back some of his 2004 Riesling (sourced from Frankland River’s Powderbark Ridge) so that it could win four trophies at the 2008 Perth Show, he admitted that it hadn’t been a deliberate move: 'It just hadn’t sold.'
My two tasting notes on the wine in its youth refer to its searing acidity. It has matured into a wine of great finesse and impeccable balance: wonderful toasty aromas that are gently persistent and delicate, with a tangy, juicy mouthfeel and zesty acidity. In spite of its win at the Perth Show, there is still heaps of the wine around. It’s a mature riesling at a fair price. It obviously needs hand selling.
