Tall Tales: Tasting Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a Spanish variety, perhaps the Spanish variety. It is grown all over Spain and Portugal (under various and confusing local names) and produces wines from light and fresh Roses, tart and fruity unoaked reds to dense, complex and structured reds that sit somewhere between and rival Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone or Piedmont.

I was recently able to taste a range of Tempranillo based wines from the two best Tempranillo regions of Rioja and Ribera del Duero. My brief tasting notes are below. But first, a small bit of info on each region or D.O. (Denominacion de Origen).  

All of these wines are available for sale, if you want to place an order or have questions/comments please email me philip@thewinedepository.com.au
Rioja is quite diverse in varieties used, styles made, and terroir. The wines range from rich, dark and powerful through to subtle, refined and refreshing. This means that there is as much focus on the producers and their respective styles as the sub region it comes from. There are three sub regions in Rioja:
Baja; the hot, dry low lands where Garnacha (Grenache) prospers. Powerful and ripe wines prevail.
Alavesa; home of the highest altitude vineyards and Basque influenced. Elegant Tempranillo is made here.
Alta; also high altitude and producing elegant wines but Castille dominated culturally.

The Ribera del Duero region shares the same focal point as the famous Portuguese region of Port; namely the Duero River (known as the Douro when it crosses the border in to Portugal). The region is a valley that follows the rivers course and is a bit more even in terms of terroir (compared to Rioja) and the focus tends to be on single variety Tempranillo. Elegance and perfume is the order of the day here. Wines are either made on the sandy river flats or slightly elevated stoney soils further up the valley.

A few of the best Rioja to be had.

  

Artadi, D.O Rioja (Rioja Alavesa) A good producer of fruity and aromatic wines with character and charm. Plenty of structure and personality in the top level wines.

2009 Artadi 'Estate' Tempranillo $33.00ea Bright and crunchy red fruits. The palate is soft and spicy with fluffy red & blue fruits.
2008 Artadi ’Vinas De Gain’ Tempranillo $58.00ea Increased depth (compared to Estate), meaty and spicy. Denser palate that shows more oak, tannin and intensity. Still quite subtle and enjoyable though.

Garnacha at its finest!

Palacios Remondo, D.O Rioja (Rioja Baja) A favourite producer of mine. These wines display the strong suits of Garnacha and Tempranillo together. The Propiedad is a seriously impressive drink.

2010 Palacios Remondo 'La Vendimia' Garnacha Tempranillo $30.00ea Simple, easy drinking red jubey fruit. The palate is mid-weight rounded and a bit firm. The Garnacha certainly leads the way here but there is nice elegance from the Tempranillo.
2008 Palacios Remondo ‘La Montesa’ Garnacha Tempranillo $45.00ea  Dark, curranty fruit with a hint of fruit cake. It is quite rounded and generous with a long finish. This is a definite step up in quality.
2008 Palacios Remondo 'Propiedad' Garnacha Tempranillo $78.00ea Dark, savoury and earthy nose, it really needs a bit of time. Silky, sexy and savoury/truffle notes in the mouth, long finishing and extremely enjoyable.

Telmo Rodriguez, D.O Rioja (Rioja Alavesa) A vinous equivalent of a 'rockstar'. Telmo makes excellent wines from the best regions and varieties in Spain. He gives a great overview of the country's styles in a modern form.

2008 Telmo Rodriguez 'Lanzaga' Tempranillo $66.00ea Hint of sulphur and flint, the nose is dark, gamey, with spice and pepper. There is a rounded mouthfeel, red fruits with good length of flavour.

Vineyard in Rioja

Remelluri, D.O Rioja (Rioja Alavesa) The family Estate of Telmo Rodriguez. This is more traditional and savoury with a strong tie in with the Old School Bordeaux influenced Rioja style. These are great wines.

2006 Remelluri Reserva $75.00ea A strong whiff of volatile acidity first off which leads to currants and lavender and blueberry fruits. It is full, thick, tannic, earthy and creamy/vanilla oaky. I think this bottle was faulty - I've had wines from this producer that are outstanding.

Bodegas Roda, D.O Rioja (La Rioja Alta) Pure, pristine, perfumed and almost haunting. These guys really play up the Burgundian leanings of Tempranillo. They should be on your must try list.

2007 Roda Reserva $100.00ea Plum, smoke, bacon, hint flora. Dry, savoury and pristine on the palate. Very enjoyable.

Ébano Viñedos y Bodegas, D.O. Ribera del Duero An Estate owned by the awesome producer Valminor in Rias Baixas (great Albarino white wines). Still a young venture but looks promising.

2010 ‘Ébano 6’ (Tinta del Pais) Tempranillo $29.00ea Tart, red fruited and bright almost white wine like lift. Lighter bodied, good core of fruit with a quite tannic backbone.

Telmo Rodriguez, D.O Ribera del Duero Telmo's wines are all made in a similar way, it is great to be able to try his Rioja and Ribera wines next to each other to see the differences and nuances of the regions.

2010 Telmo Rodriguez 'Gazur' Tempranillo $37.00ea Pepper, red fruits, floral and soot. Sweet red currants, a hint bitter and clean. Beautifully refreshing Tempranillo.

Hernando y Sourdais, D.O. Ribera del Duero Wines made from high altitude, organic vineyards some of which pre-date phylloxera - impressive potential.

2009 Hernado y Sourdais 'Antidoto' Tempranillo $46.00ea Bright, grapey & estery punctuated by tart and crunchy red fruits, floral hints and a fine tannic structure.

Cillar De Silos, D.O Ribera del Duero A lovely producer and one of the few wines I buy every year. Their elegance and balance belie the fact that these wines age gracefully for a very long time. Highly recommended.  

2008 Silos 'Estate' Tempranillo $75.00ea Smoke, meat, dark fruits, bitter chocolate, cola and a sweet nutty note. It is mid-weight, silky, red and blue fruited, currants and bitter chocolate. This is an elegant wine of great balance and a long savoury finish.

Vineyard in Ribera del Duero

Telmo Rodriguez, D.O Ribera del Duero

2007 Telmo Rodriguez 'M2 de Matallana' Tempranillo $75.00ea Oxy dark fruits, oaky with dense earth almost terracotta like character. Blue & purple fruits, spicy oak, smoke, good length. This is a beefier and riper style of Tempranillo.

Bodegas y Vinedos Arnaldo, D.O. Ribera del Duero Run by the genius behind Iconic Spanish winery Pingus. This is a new project that could be Spain's next big thing.

2009 Bodegas y Vinedos Arnaldo 'PSI' Tempranillo $85.00ea Ferment esters, tart red and blue berry fruits. Dry palate, light bodied. 

Wines From The Cellar

Over the past little while I've been tasting wines from TWD's cellar to make sure they are still in good condition (yep, that is the real reason for sure!). Here are some of the highlights.

You can see the current list here and email any orders or questions to: philip@thewinedepository.com.au

DOMAINE RASPAIL-AY GIGNONDAS 2008 & 1998
Founded in 1854 with 18 hectares under vine planted to Grenache (80%) Syrah (15%) and Mourvedre (5%) proprietor Dominique-Ay keeps things very simple at Gigondas’ (a highly under rated appellation in Southern Rhone) finest address – one red and one Rosé. The Raspail-Ay Gigondas reflects the appellation’s characteristics faithfully in an elegantly robust style which needs four or so years for the tannins to meld with the wine.
The 2008 shows all the youthful Grenache dark fruits, with raspberry and rose lift backed up with a strong savoury streak, lovely fine structure and a mouth filling weight. Needs a bit of air but is lovely.
The 1998 shows stunning similarities to the 2008 with more leather and earth characters coming through. Still altogether and in great health.

CHATEAU DE BEAUCASTEL COUDOULET DE BEAUCASTEL 2008
One of the top Chateauneuf du Pape producers. Stunning wines that age well and impress no end. One of the few producers to actively use all the 13 permitted varieties. This wine is from their vineyards just outside of the Chateauneuf boundary but still offers great depth and plenty of rich fruit. Dense fruit cake, chocolate, earth, gravel, leather, game, olives and spices. Very dry palate with firm tannins but with the flesh to balance it out. Opens up with air and offers some red fruits and roses.

ROCKFORD DRY COUNTRY BAROSSA VALLEY GRENACHE 1995
An icon of the Barossa and Australia. They make great wines and wines to last. This is more red berries and a hint sweeter than the Rhones but no less impressive or drinkable. The extra fruit and floral components balance out the strong meaty, peppery and leather notes. 

COLLECTOR WINES LAMP LIT WHITE 2010
Small batches and made by hand with a lot of care. The fruit sourced around the Canberra District, these wines have been impressive since day one. A classy example of Marsanne (with a hint of Roussanne and Viognier) – really fragrant, honeysuckle, peach and melons with a floral lift. The palate is rich and generous of flavour but is not fat or oily. There is the slightest hint of funk/doughy/leesy character which adds a nice dimension. Really lovely drinking.

DOMAINE AUX MOINES SAVENNIERES-ROCH-AUX-MOINES 1997
Savennieres is a neighbour of Vouvray but not nearly as well-known region with only Nicholas Joly producing wines that you hear of. This Domaine, headed by a clearly talented Mother & daughter team makes some truly fascinating wines. A lovely example of older Chenin Blanc. Minerally with tight acid, pepper and spices. Pears and stone fruits. Lovely floral lift. Showing some caramel development with a hint of smoke. The palate is rich but with a steely dryness and a lime like acid streak.

DOMAINE BAUMARD SAVENNIERES 1996
A sadly unheralded producer of some of the best whites in the world. Again, all made from Chenin Blanc and made with love and attention to terroir. These wines will age for a long time, but make some fascinating drinking all through their life. Very clean and pure, precise minerally acid that everything else is built around. Showing youthful stone fruits, stones and a hint of honey. This is a great drink.

FRANKLAND ESTATE ROCKY GULLY RIESLING 2010
Frankland Estate is one of Australia's best Riesling producers. Making wines from the Frankland River Region in Southern Western Australia, they use a lot of German, Austrian and Alsatian techniques to make textured and complex Rieslings and more. This is one of their entry level wines and looking to be bargain of the year! Floral, lovely layers of flavour and great structure. This a stunning example of what they can do.

KILLIBINBIN BLEND LANGHORNE CREEK 2002 Langhorne Creek for many years has been bolstering the big brand wines from South Australia – mostly anonymously. Which is a shame because the region has great potential in its own right. This is a lovely Cab/Shiraz blend that has richness, plenty of flavour – dark and red berries, leather, spice, earth and a hint of spirit (without being hot). The palate is lush and delicious. Drinking beautifully now.

JOSEPH FAIVELEY CLOS DE ROI MERCUREY 1ER CRU 1996 Faiveley are a large business in Burgundy who own large parcels all over the Cotes. Including 70ha in Mercurey – a mostly overlooked region South of the Cote d’Or. The wines here make a lighter, more minerally, cleaner style. But as this wine shows, they still offer great drinking AND great value. Minerals, iron stone with rose petals, raspberries and tart red fruits. The palate is lean and clean with fine grain tannins that linger. Really impressive drinking.

DOM MONGEARD-MUGNERET CHAMBOLLE MUSIGNY 2004 A lovely producer of silky, rich Burgundies that are drinkable young, but have a surprising knack of holding on for longer than you may think. This is a really impressive effort from a difficult year. Lots of red fruits, dark plums and olives with a hint of stem. Shows the typical Chambolle like silk, flesh and vibrancy.

WINE OF THE WEEK

WINE OF THE WEEK:
JL Chave Selection Offerus Saint-Joseph 2008 - Chave is one of the top producers in the Northern Rhone Valley, world famous from their exemplary Hermitage (see my previous Chave encounter here).
The Selecion label is the Chave negociant arm which that allows them to buy fruit from outside vineyards to make more wine at a more affordable price. As the name suggests, the parcels are carefully selected to make sure they don't damage their fine reputation.

Offerus at casual rest, ready for shipping.

I'll admit this wine is a baby which is why it made it to the TWD April Cellar Dozen, but it is just so well balanced and complex it's hard to leave alone. This St Joseph is savoury, mineral, spicy and structured Syrah. It is quite tight and backwards when first opened but with air shows beautiful cherry and plum fruit, hints of Rose petals, pepper, toasty/bacony oak. The tannins are a bit gritty at first, but the fruit develops over the top to provide excellent balance. As discovered last night, this wine is great with a rib-eye and even gnocchi.
$59ea - cheaper by the dozen.

email orders to philip@thewinedepository.com.au

Awesome Australian Wine

Today is my 30th Birthday. What better way to celebrate then tasting some of my favourite Australian wines?
That's right, on my birthday I was willing to brave inclement weather and bad Melbourne traffic to taste wines - so they would have be special. And I wasn't disappointed.

These wines are for sale and wines I recommend, I have included the price which is correct at the time of publishing. They are subject to change in price and availability.

If you want to order please email me philip@thewinedepository.com.au or call 0418 230482



Lovely, lovely Ngeringa Chardy.

The first table I visited was occupied by my friend Erinn from Ngeringa based in the Adelaide Hills. Erinn and the team make really thoughtful, elegant and expressive wines from their biodynamic vineyards. We tasted through some of his range which included the stunning Ngeringa Chardonnay 2009 ($42ea), a lovely and lean chard with purity, clean stone fruits and a floral lift. The Chard is one of the best wines they make in my opinion. The Viognier 2010 ($48ea) and Viognier dominant blend JE Assemblage White 2010 ($27ea) both had excellent textural qualities with aromatic complexity and great subtlety - quite rare for Australian Viognier.
The reds kicked off with his elegant, savoury and silky Pinot Noir 2009 ($42ea). This is a wine of great perfume and certainly opened up with air. Then we tasted two Syrah - the flagship variety at the winery. JE Syrah 2009 ($27ea) showed delicate aromas of cola, pepper and cardomon with hints of blood orange and plums. The palate was balanced, savoury and with lovely fine drying tannins. The big show Syrah 2008 ($53ea) was showing its typical refined lean, smokey, spicy and savoury nose. The palate was very fine and a hint on the tannic side. The palate was not as impressively balanced and vibrant as previous years; Erinn explained that as it is from a difficult year (extremely hot conditions plagued the country), and picked early to retain the freshness and acidity. They took a lot of care to make it the best possible wine they could and he was proud of the result given how many producers picked later and produced jammy, alcoholic wines.
I tend to agree, with a bit of time in the bottle (or the right food match) and this wine would be stunning.
Still one of my favourite wineries in Australia.



Next stop was the Jamsheed table. Gary Mills has been making some of the best wines in Victoria for a while now, in the April TWD Magazine I featured some of his entry level wines in the drink now list. I would encourage you to taste these wines as they are extremely drinkable and amazingly good value. I also got to try his Gewurztraminer, Riesling (and friends) blend Le Blank Plonk 2010 ($21ea), the Gewurz definitely sticks out on the nose with its lychee and rose water notes. The Riesling adds a citrusy spine and length to the palate. This is refreshing and very drinkable. I also tried some of his Roussanne which I did not catch the vintage or price of but throughly enjoyed for its faint stone fruits and white flower notes and mineral purity and textural bliss.

After that was a chat with James Lance and his wines from Punch in the Yarra. James' offerings were a bit unique and special because they had lost all of their fruit in 2009 due to the fires that came through the vineyards. With the support of vineyards in Victoria and New Zealand there was the birth of the label 'Friends Of Punch'. And there was a lot to like about the wines. Gippsland based Mallani Vineyard Chardonnay 2009 ($36ea) had everything I want in good Chard. Silky, vibrant and elegant. Plenty of stone fruits, floral notes and citrus. Great balance and lots of length of flavour. It was so good for the price. The best of the friends wine (to my palate) was the Quartz Reef Vineyards Pinot Noir 2009 ($65ea). Quartz Reef is a producer in Central Otago (Kristina and I spent some time with Rudi on our trip in 2007 and loved every second). They made some batches with the Punch style in mind and let them pick how they wanted them blended. The wine was then sent to Punch for finishing. The result is a smokey, dense, full, spicy and tasty Pinot. There is lovely structure and good length of flavour. Very drinkable. By contrast there was also the Bannockburn Vineyards Pinot Noir 2009 ($65ea) which was more savoury, herbal, undergrowth like Pinot. It was very tight and tannic at the moment. The final Friends of Punch wine I tasted was the very Rhone like juby, smokey, slightly herbal and fine boned Bannockburn Vineyards Syrah 2009 ($65ea), one for the cellar!
James was also offering advanced tastings of his 2010 wines. Chardonnay, Pinot and Close Planted Pinot all looked amazing. You will hear more about them when they are released. They are knock outs.

I did taste a few other wines before I headed home to celebrate my birthday without having to spit the pretty wines. But I'll save those stories for another day.

Italian Wines

There has been some seriously good wine consumed at the Red House (TWD HQ) and at events. At home we've had some awesome Italian wines. All red and a lot of them have been because customers have tipped me off.

If you want more information or would like to order any of them (or all of them) you can email me philip@thewinedepository.com.au or call 0418 23 04 82.

I love the wines from Veneto, and in particular from Valpolicella (including Amarone) as seen here, here and here. I think they have a good cross over point from new world wine drinkers who want to put their toe in the water in Italy. They are also extremely yummy, which makes them great for wine drinkers in general.
Allegrini is one of the best Estates in Valpolicella leading the 'modernist' charge.


Modernist with a cause.

Allegrini La Grola 2008 $57ea I really enjoyed this wine. It is a blend of the traditional Valpol variety Corvina with a bit of Syrah(Shiraz). It had all the vibrant and rich, blue/black fruits, dense but fleshy fruit weight and the floral, leather and earth notes you'd expect. But it had lovely restraint and structure and a little bit more tannin and acid than I would expect from Valpol, which I would attribute to the Syrah. Beautiful balance and really a joy to drink. Will age very well.
Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre 2008 $52ea This is a blend of the three traditional varieties plus some Sangiovese. This wine uses the 'ripasso' technique (refermenting a wine on the skins of Amarone wines. More info) which adds more alcohol, weight, fuller tannins, and makes the wine more overt. It certainly had a lot of impact but still some nice finesse, and a lot of savoury characters.



Dolcetto, the little sweet one... with massive tannic fangs!

Conterno Fantino Dolcetto d'Alba 2008 $41ea This guy has made an appearance before in our Wines to drink now March. The wine has a really expressive nose; dark, jubey red berries, smokey, violets & lavender, plums, meaty, raw oak.
Balanced, crunchy acidity, gritty tannins, great mid palate flesh, blue berries and chocolate, quite dry and savoury despite what the nose would suggest. A great wine for slow cooked meats in particular.

Ugly-antico... What?
Who here knows knows a lot about grape variety Aglianico? Not me that is for sure. My favourite Italian wine reference book "The New Italy" tells me that it was introducted by the Greeks into Campania and it spread to Basilicata and Puglia. It makes full bodied, well structured and generous wines that age gracefully. It highlights Taurasi DOCG and Aglianico del Vulture DOC as two examples to watch out for.
Being from the Southern regions of Italy I was not expecting elegance and finesse like Barolo or Barbaresco, or the lightness of fruit but density and savoury core of Chianti. But my favourite tasting reference - my palate - tells me it is a substantially good variety. Very reminiscient of good quality Australian warm climate Shiraz in terms of weight, balance and structure. But with the more typical Italian savouriness, texture and refreshing acidity.
Having bought some for a customer I tried some myself, here is what I thought.


The family that revolutionised Irpinia winemaking.

Mastroberandino Taurasi Radici DOCG 2006 $90ea Antino Mastroberandino revolutionised winemaking in the 70s in the regions of Irpinia and surrounds. Today, the wines from this Estate are still amazing. This wine offers an array of red berries fruit, dry, baked earth and a clay like density. There is plenty of volume in the mouth and it is well balanced by the oak tannins and fine acidity.
Despite it's weight, this wine was quite refreshing and very easy to drink.

Feudi di San Gregorio Irpinia Rosso DOC Serpico 2007 $130ea The New Italy tells me this is one of the best producers in Italy. So it is not a surprise that, for my palate, this was probably the most impressive of the Aglianico wines.


Feudi di... One of the best producers in Italy, and hardest to photograph.

Quite dense nose, red and dark berries, pepper and savoury/spicy/gamey notes, a clay or terracotta like note in there and even a slightly floral lift.
The palate had great depth, plenty of intensity, great persistence of flavour and almost perfect balance. Certainly on the young side but it is very drinkable. I suspect it will get better with time though.

Feudi di San Gregorio Aglianico di Taurasi DOCG Piano di Montevergine 2002 $120ea It is great to be able to taste a slighlty older example of Aglianico. This is from a single vineyard Piano di Montevergine and is released as a Riserva.
The extra aging in oak and time in bottle made this wine a lot softer and more round, but the structure was still there. As was the lovely depth and intensity of flavour. The extra dimension of developed, leather and undergrowth characters made this all the more enjoyable.
I do have a slight question mark over whether the cork was doing it's job as well as it could. I will consult with the customer who bought some to see what his experience was.


Basilisco, easy to say, easy to take pics of.

Azienda Agricola Basilisco Aglianico del Vulture DOC Basilisco 2006 $70ea This was the only Aglianico not from Taurasi that I tasted. I found it to be the most straight forward, round and soft of the four Aglianicos, but it was also the cheapest. It showed lovely dark fruits and plums, a hint of chocolate and plenty of body. It was incredibly enjoyable and was awarded Tri Bichieri (Three Glasses) in the Gamberro Rosso - a much respected Italian wine guide (to put it simply).

WINE OF THE WEEK

WINE OF THE WEEK:

Three Wishes Chardonnay 2008 - From the beautiful Batman Peninsula in Tasmania's Tamar Valley. Three Wishes is a small, family run vineyard that makes some lovely wines.

This is one of my favourite producers in the whole world and Pete the owner very generously sponsored TWD Sentinels in last years Wine Rules charity event.



This label makes me think of bed time. Is it just me?

This Chard offers Oystershell, peaches, creamy mouthfeel and satisfying drinking. $29ea - cheaper as part of a dozen.

Order some today: philip@thewinedepository.com.au

See the other lovely wines we have on hand if you are keen to make up a mixed dozen.

Return To The Yarra Valley

Last week a friend from paintball, Rob, decided to take me wine touring as an early birthday present. Well, that's what he claims, but it was school holidays.... Maybe he just wanted to leave the house? Either way, it was good fun.

He chose two wineries, I chose two and away we went.

Redbox - As it turns out they aren't officially open on Wednesdays, but they were quite welcoming and despite the wines being open since the weekend they look remarkably good. I really liked the Riesling and Chardonnay. I have a feeling you may seem them recommended in the near future.

Panton Hill - Rob was really keen to try these guys out. When we went into the tasting room, no one was around. We couldn't find anyone at the winery. We even tried calling the telephone to no response. We have to go back at another time. Maybe try calling in advance.

Tarrawarra - I've been to Tarrawarra a few times in the past and it seems to get better each time. We were shown wines by Richard, who was great. He opened a few extra goodies because we showed some interest and ultimately there were some absolute winners there. The Pinots and Chards have always impressed (the Estate Pinot is a stunner). But the single vineyard Merlot and single vineyard Shiraz are sensational; hence their inclusion in the Cellar Dozen and Special Bottle Club lists respectively if you wanted to try them for yourself.

Dominique Portet - An old favourite of mine. Making possibly the best Rose in Australia and some really excellent Sauvignon Blanc. The Estate SB was so impressive it has also made it for sale into the Cellar Dozen this month. I have never tried an Australian SB so concentrated and full of loveliness (although Sorrenberg SSB has come mighty close as do some Leeuwin Art Series SB). We got to taste a cellar release of the 2005 Yarra Shiraz - direct from the cellar that morning in fact;  it was so lovely and savoury, but still had plenty of youthful exuberance. I thought it was a pleasant way to finish the tasting, until the Vendanges Tardives Sauvignon Blanc was brought out; this is what sweet wine is all about. Delicious and compelling drinking. Thankfully Rob was driver for the day.

A great day in all and I tried some wines that left me seriously impressed.