25 GREAT REDS OVER $30
Having recently completed the four-month-plus marathon tastings for the Halliday Wine Companion 2020, I had a massive field of red wines at prices up to, or over, $500 a bottle. It was (briefly) tempting to include 35 Barossa Valley shiraz wines for this selection, none having previously seen the light of day in any part of the Wine Companion network, and all with a price ticket over $100 a bottle.
In this edition, I explore some of the factors that have given rise to this situation (see page 32), and suggest price rises for full-bodied shiraz and cabernet sauvignon will become the norm, not the exception. I briefly touch on the consequences of price rises of this magnitude continuing in the short to medium future.
I stop there because we are already in previously unknown territory. China breaks the mould of what has happened since 1988/89 in countless ways. It is the only one of our major markets in which English isn’t the major language used in commerce. It is the only country with a command economy almost entirely set by one person, who is not elected by a political process remotely similar to that of modern Western democracies. China’s exchange rate is also set by Xi Jinping to the huge frustration of President Trump.
2017 Home Hill
Kelly’s Reserve Pinot Noir
$75
Deep, brilliant crimsonpurple; this is quite simply awe-inspiring, with layer upon layer of succulent fresh and poached dark cherry and satsuma plum, accompanied by spices and supple tannins. I suppose there’s new oak in the mix, but since it’s not obvious I’m delighted to leave it be. homehillwines.com.au
2018 Chatto White Label Huon Valley Pinot Noir
$55
Eight clones spread across the Huon Valley, all hand-picked and sorted, 3 days cold soak, then 7 days wild-fermented in open pots. A perfumed bouquet sets the antennae waving, building multiple scents from flowers through to forest floor. Its marriage of cherry (red and black) and blood plum presents the most easily understood and enjoyed of Chatto’s three pinots. chattowines.com
2018 Seville Estate
Old Vine Reserve
Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
$70
From the original estate vineyard planted in ’72. Bright, clear crimson hue; perfumed cherry blossom; light-bodied yet intense and very long. If you doubt the intensity description, hold the wine in your mouth for 20 or so seconds – it will also pick up the savoury notes hidden by the red cherry fruits and ultra-fine tannins. Violets, rose petals, forest floor and mushrooms lay in wait. sevilleestate.com.au
2017 Dawson & James Pinot Noir
$78
From the Derwent Valley Meadowbank Vineyard, this is one of the most consistent gold medal and trophy winners in Tasmania. Hand-picked, clones MV6 and Pommard (planted ’89), 25% whole bunches, 11 days on skins, matured in very high-quality French barrels
(40% new). The depth of colour is extraordinary; the wine is packed full of fruit eerily similar to Pommard (Burgundy), the only question is the longevity of the wine, 20 years may not be enough, so perfect is the balance. dawsonjames.com.au
2017 Hoddles Creek Estate 1er Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
$50
This is the standard-bearer for Hoddles Creek’s estate-grown pinot noirs. Bright crimsonpurple hue of moderate depth; the perfumed bouquet has spice, hints of violets (unexpected so soon, but don’t complain), cherry and plum, a gathering replayed on the stage of the palate, which is wonderfully long. hoddlescreekestate.com.au
2017 Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 1
$120
A classic blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon, 18% merlot, 8% malbec and 4% petit verdot. Hand-picked and sorted, crushed and destemmed, open-fermented, on skins for up to a month, matured for 12 months in French oak (35% new). This is the serious side of ’17. The aromas and flavours are still fresh and vibrant, but the palate, in particular, brooks no argument: this is a wine for protracted cellaring to allow the whipcord-tight structure to relax its grip; drink to 2047. yarrayering.com
2017 Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz
$300
One of Australia’s icon wines, the vines 49yo. The decision not to use any new French oak and limit the alcohol to 13.5% has resulted in a wine with a unique sense of place. It is also superbly balanced, dark fruits married to superfine tannins, another feature of a classic mediumbodied Hunter shiraz. I’m sure Maurice O’Shea would approve of these wines. brokenwood.com.au
2017 Best’s Bart’s Block 1966 Vines Great Western Shiraz
$150
The vineyard was planted in ’66 to be released in ’20 to celebrate Best’s then-100-year history and custodianship of the property and vineyard. Fermented with 25% whole bunches, matured in French oak (20% new). The colour is brilliant crimson, deep but bright. Yes, there’s fantastic fruit that’s been handled with kid gloves, and yes, it’s got ’17 written all over it with its dazzling red fruits and (almost unseen) acidity to protect its freshness. bestswines.com
2017 Mount Pleasant 1880 Vines Old Hill Vineyard Hunter Valley Shiraz
$135
Bright crimson-purple; a masterpiece from the ground up to the wine in the glass. It is no more than medium-bodied, but it has extraordinary drive and length, achieved without any visible effort. Blackberry is joined by satsuma plum, then these two reveal savoury/earthy ripe tannins to put its terroir in letters writ large. mountpleasantwines.com.au
2016 John Duval Eligo The Barossa Shiraz
$120
Eligo is made from the best parcels of the vintage, fermented with submerged caps in small open fermenters, matured for 20 months in French hogsheads (50% new). The tannins and oak are built into the wine like an inlaid checkerboard table created by a master craftsman with decades of experience. Like John Duval. johnduvalwines.com
2016 Kellermeister Black Sash
Barossa Valley Shiraz
$75
Made from 100yo vines grown in Ebenezer, matured in 65% new French hogsheads.
Terroir, vines, winemaker and vinification are all in absolute harmony. Balance and length. Barossa Valley shiraz simply doesn’t get better than this, and given its screwcap it could outlive every mortal on this earth now, so I’ll be conservative and give it only 50 years. kellermeister.com.au
2017 Clonakilla O’Riada Canberra District Shiraz
$45
Spice, red flowers, pepper and wood smoke all appear and promptly disappear on the bouquet, reforming in a different order next time around, the ensuing palate a pond without a single ruffle. Red cherry infuses all of one’s senses with a constant framework of spice. The faultless balance will still be sustaining the wine 30 years hence. What value! clonakilla.com.au
2017 Hentley Farm The Beauty
Barossa Valley Shiraz
$69
Estate-grown, and co-fermented with 3% viognier (in the form of wet skins). Even 1% of viognier can have an effect, so it’s not surprising the lifted perfume of the bouquet sends all the right messages. A ravishing wine with a brocade of red and purple fruits, and polished tannins on a palate that lasts (figuratively speaking) forever. hentleyfarm.com.au
2017 Cherubino Frankland River Shiraz
$55
Made from four clones, handpicked from Larry Cherubino’s Riversdale Vineyard. After sorting, the wine spent 6 weeks on skins in the ferments, matured in new and 1yo French barrels. It is very complex, ribbons of oak stretched through spicy aniseed black fruits and fine tannins of a palate that continuously throws down challenges to you. Should be spectacular in 10 years’ time larrycherubino.com
2015 Henschke Mount Edelstone
$225
This was the first wine sold in bottle (’52) by Henschke, although it’s had to play second fiddle to Grange since ’58 when the latter came on. New oak is only 22%, and the majority of the oak is French. The vintage was excellent, the flavours deep, with soft blackberry and plum fruits wending their way across the palate, cushioned by cedary oak and carefully polished tannins. It’s utterly classic drinking, with unalloyed pleasure now, but no less in another 20 years. henschke.com.au
2015 Paxton EJ McLaren Vale Shiraz
$100
Honours David Paxton’s mother, the first release coinciding with her 100th birthday in 2007. Hand-picked, open-fermented with a smattering of whole bunches, matured in French barriques (30% new) for 20 months. The deep colour isn’t surprising, nor, I suppose, the immediate intensity, depth and length of the blackberry, dark chocolate and blood plum flavours, embroidered with finespun tannins and French oak.
(Soon to release the 2017)
paxtonvineyards.com
2018 Serrat Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier
$44
The wine has 5% whole bunch and 5% viognier co-fermented (wild), 15 days on skins, no punchdowns only pumpovers, matured in French puncheons (25% new) for 11 months. The colour is superb, but it’s the vibrancy and freshness that takes your breath away, the flavours tingling on the tongue after you have swallowed. serrat.com.au
2017 Bekkers McLaren Vale Syrah Grenache
$80
A 58/42% blend, the syrah from Clarendon, grenache from Onkaparinga; shoot-thinned, hand-pruned and berry-sorted. Four parcels were separately vinified, 5-6 days cold soak, extended wild fermentation with extraction pre or during maturation, not post. As ever, a sumptuous wine, perfect in its balance and symmetry, everything in its seemingly preordained place. Bekkers is a star. bekkerswine.com
2017 Patritti Section 181 Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Grenache
$40
Hand-picked, crushed, matured for 11 months in large-format French oak. A glorious display of red fruits of all kinds dance on the palate. It’s no wimp – there are plenty of tannins and acidity to keep the attention, and, better still, there are no oak armpits to avoid. Special value. patritti.com.au
2017 S.C. Pannell Clarendon Smart Grenache
$60
From 62yo vines on the Smart Vineyard in Clarendon, smallbatch open-fermented, no whole bunches, 10 days on skins, 11 months in French oak. This is the bees knees, the bouquet surging from the glass before you’ve had time to collect your wits, gathering pace on the vibrant palate and lingering aftertaste, the sultry perfume with exotic spices initially brushed aside by the intensity of the palate where fine but persistent tannins sweep up pomegranate, cherry and wild strawberry as they pass through. pannell.com.au
2016 Deep Woods Estate Reserve Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon
$70
Matured for 18 months in new and used French oak. Excellent colour; the wine has a fragrant dark berry bouquet, the palate sheer perfection. So well balanced it seems suspended in the air, cassis fruit supported by feather-light tannins, oak an absorbed spectator. This is a beautiful wine. (2016 in limited supply; 2017 due out November)
deepwoods.com.au
2017 Purple Hands Planta Circa Ancestor Vine Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
$70
This is from a single vineyard owned by the Zerk family, planted 1880 to 1890, making it one of the oldest cabernet vineyards in Australia (and the world). Wild yeast openfermented, hand-plunged, 8 days on skins, pressed to French hogsheads (44% new), on lees 17 months. This is pure and simple cabernet, elegant, long and finely structured. A great cabernet vintage for this great vineyard. purplehandswines.com.au
2015 Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon
$150
John Riddoch represents a tiny fraction (1% or thereabouts) of the Wynns cabernet crush in the years in which it is made. This is a classic release, unusually supple and already balanced. Blackcurrant/cassis fruit sweeps along the palate, nuances of Coonawarra mint and earth, joining with quality French oak following on behind. wynns.com.au
2016 Houghton Gladstones Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon
$94
From the Barley Vineyard in Wilyabrup, hand-picked, wild-fermented and matured in French barriques. Bright crimson-purple, and, as always, a high-quality wine with a compelling bouquet and rich, layered and extremely long palate. The tannins do their duty, and the oak is of high quality.
The more you go back to it, the better it tastes. houghton-wines.com.au
2015 Robert Oatley
The Pennant Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon
$90
From the Justin Vineyard, handpicked and berry-sorted, wild yeast open-fermented, 4-6 weeks on skins, 18 months in new and 1yo low toast French oak. Extremely rich and concentrated, yet isn’t the least corpulent – just big and athletic. Creme de cassis, spice and fine-grained oak (ditto tannins). Any other producer would charge twice as much. robertoatley.com.au