Reviewed: 14 July 2012
An interesting tasting with many wines not making it to this review. The pinot gris/grigio was interesting in that there was not a clear stylistic difference between those labelled “pinot gris” and those labeled “pinot grigio”. All the same, there are some good wines here.
The chardonnays were quite a diverse group, with taster preferences influencing the results. I for one, loved the 2009 Redbrook chardonnay, a wine that managed to balance riper fruit with a degree of drinkability that was hard to resist. One wag dubbed the 2008 Redbrook “Dolly Parton” as it was upfront and obvious.
Reviewed
Evans and Tate – Chardonnay – Redbrook – 2008 (17+/-). A complex, well-worked wine that has decent fruit. The oak is of high quality, though the medium toast characters are a touch obvious. A wine of some charm with lots of creamy oak and leesy characters over deliciously ripe fruit. If you like a bigger style of Chardonnay, you will love this!
Ad Hoc – Chardonnay – Hen and Chicken – 2011 (17). Tight, creamy oak over quality fruit with flint highlights. The palate is seamless, textured, viscous and long. This is a subtle wine of great charm.
Stormflower – Chardonnay – 2011 (17). A quality wine showing creamy oak, pineapple, citrus and a cashew nut mealy character on the palate. I like this. Long and fine, the quality oak has been very well handled, balancing fruit, oak and lees. Not subtle, but so what.
Tomich Estate – Pinot Gris – Family Reserve (17). Complex wine that has seen plenty of winemaker’s inputs. Creamy oak, with a textured palate that is long and quite fine. The fruit characters that I would expect from the style are suppressed now, but it opens to show decent aromatics, with pear, red fruits and barrel ferment/lees characters.
Grant Burge – Pinot Gris – 2012 (16.9). Floral and lifted, with nutty fruit to close. This is quite viscous and dense and the hint of sweetness balances the wine nicely. Expressive, there is some viscosity and it finishes quite dry. A floral Barossa white has no right to taste this good.
Crittenden Estate – Pinot Grigio – Pinocchio – 2011 (16.8). More savoury than sweet fruit that suits the style well. The tart palate shows subdued fruit but is quite textured and long. This really goes on in the mouth. Well made wine.
Oxford Landing Estate – Pinot Grigio – 2011 (16). More musk-like fruit here. Nutty complexity to close with excellent length for a wine in this price range.