Montalto Estate Pinot Noir 2012

Montalto Estate is firing on several cylinders at the moment, the result of some serious investment in their estate winemaking operation and the increasing payoff of 4 years of hard work and strategic planning by winemaker Simon Black and his team.

This wine has class – a varietal nose of red fruits, mixed spice, forest floor and a hint of smoky sweet oak. Juicy dark and red cherry, red plums and mixed spice all integrate harmoniously on the front and mid-palate, with acid and tannins balanced nicely. The savoury, focussed finish is laced with a savoury sappyness and stalkyness. Pleasing length.

Impressed on day two and day three on the tasting bench, and though moreish and in the zone right now will also gain more complexity in the future. An impressive wine from an impressive pinot vintage in the Mornington.

Rating: 93 pts

RRP: $48

ABV: 13.6%

Website: http://www.montalto.com.au/

Vision realised: Avani Winery - Mornington Peninsula

Davendra and Shashi Singh are like many small-scale winemakers we have met on our travels. They have a passion for their craft and work hard to realise their vision. In their case, enough passion and daring to strike out beyond their successful restaurant businesses and take the considerable step of buying their own winery. This move occurred in 1998 when they purchased Wildcroft Estate, located south of Red Hill in the Mornington Peninsula. From 2000, Philip Jones of the Bass Phillip winery made Avani’s wines, with Shashi’s role in the winemaking process increasing from 2004 onwards.

Some reasonably young Syrah vines grafted onto older vines.
Halfway down the vineyard at the transition point from red to grey soil

As we walked with Shashi and Davendra through their winery and vineyard in early October, it was difficult not to be impressed by their enthusiasm, though also their boldness: Avani are possibly unique in the Mornington Peninsula (and if not, only one of a handful of wineries) to exclusively produce Syrah (quite rightly named given the style they aim for).

When asked about the exclusive production of Syrah, Shashi explained that following several vintages where Syrah stood out, they decided to take the advice of Phillip Jones, as well as trusting their own palates, replanting a conventional suite of Mornington grape varieties with Syrah. Shashi explained that they had initially aimed to make Pinot Noir using Bass Phillip's Pinot Noir as a (very high) benchmark. When the first few vintages turned out to be successful, though not exceptional wines (in their view), they decided to focus on the grape most assisted by the terroir. Acknowledging the time it takes, and the financial risks involved, it is still refreshing to see winemakers taking a punt to make wine based on the varieties that are empirically superior when grown on a given site, rather than persisting with a variety unsuited to the region and/or terroir.

Walking further down the sloping north facing Avani vineyard, the soil transitioned from deep red volcanic clay near the winery, to a slatey, alluvial grey lower down. Davendra and Shashi shared with us the journey they have taken developing the winery and vineyard over the last 15 years. This included the ongoing process of rehabilitating the vineyard, transforming it gradually from a conventional winemaking operation to an organic and biodynamic one, dramatically reducing the cropping levels while increasing the vine density.

Shashi and Davendra were rightly proud of the positive impact organic and biodynamic farming practices were having on the health of the soil (and as we would find out later that morning, on the wines themselves). The soil was healthy: soft underfoot with lush grass and plant life nearby.

The Avani vineyard, 3/4 down, looking toward the winery

Shashi and Davendra are now 100% in control of the whole winemaking process, with the 2012 vintage being the first made exclusively on site. A vertical tasting of the 2009, 2011 and an in-barrel taste of the 2012 confirmed that the wines being produced at Avani are on the improve as the younger vines on the vineyard mature, and as the increasingly confident winemaking is honed and perfected.

As we both left the winery on the sunny spring morning, it was clear that the story of Avani was one that should appeal to the hearts, minds and palates of drinkers keen to try small output, hand-made, honest yet exciting wines.

2012 O’leary Walker Rieslings – Watervale and Polish Hill (Clare Valley)

Drinking these two wines provides a great exposition on Clare Valley Riesling, particularly in terms of terroir and the quality of the 2012 vintage.

2012 Watervale Riesling - $22 – Hailing from a vineyard with a westerly aspect and red loam over limestone soils, it tastes very much like a Clare Valley riesling from Watervale. Generous citrus flavours dominate, along with florals, and hints of stonefruits. Nice mid-palate drive and intensity is underscored by an unforced acidity. It finishes with good length and a soapy note I often find in Clare Rieslings. Quality offering. Good now or over the next 5-10 years. 4 Stars

2012 Polish Hill Riesling - $22 – From a couple of rocky, slatey vineyards, this delivers the taut structure and minerality typical of the Polish Hill sub-region, while also showing the beautiful generosity of the vintage to come together in a superb riesling. A step up from the Watervale. It’s not quite ready to drink straight out of the bottle now, but it improves over a few days, and is an absolute monty for the cellar. Lime, florals, and bath salts. Great intensity of mineral laden fruit throughout and finishes with tremendous length. Stunning value. I'm buying. 4.5 Stars

Website: www.olearywalkerwines.com



Red

2012 Yelland & Papps Delight Vermentino (Barossa Valley)

Here’s a wine to help you work your way through a seafood feast this summer. There’s not really much to it in the way of complexity, but it rates highly on the enjoyment scale. Generous flavours of citrus and paw paw are balanced by an appealing briney acidity and a hint of minerality. Clean and crisp. My bottle disappeared with a fair rapidity.

Rated: 3.5 Stars

RRP: $19

ABV: 12%

Drink: 2012-2015

Closure: Screwcap

Website: www.yellandandpapps.com

Red

Red's Top 5 - 2012

It has been an interesting and enjoyable year in wine. Brown and I have produced an increasing amount of the satire we love doing. It’s a lot of fun to do and some of these pieces have generated what we consider to be an amazing amount of traffic to the blog. At the same time we are seemingly getting less invites to wine events, and certainly no more samples than we were getting a year ago. Maybe we are being taken less seriously because of the satire, or perhaps there are some thin-skinned people out there, but as a duo who sits outside the industry it has been an interesting trend to experience. Regardless, the satire will continue!

As with last year, the criteria remains the same: my Top 5 consists only of wines that I have sat down and tasted over at least a couple of hours and ideally over a couple of days, all with food. These are wines I have imbibed, rather than just tasted. They are not necessarily my 5 highest rated wines (though they all have scored well), but more importantly they are wines that left an impression and that I loved drinking. In no particular order -

2001 Produttori del Barbaresco Asili – Barbaresco, Italy - I’m going to single this out as my wine of the year. Supple and elegant, yet powerful and complex. Dare I say it, ethereal! It delivered an experience that was everything I want from Nebbiolo, everything I want from Barbaresco, and indeed everything I look for in great wine. Years in front of it.

2006 Marques du Murrieta Rioja Reserva – Rioja, Spain - This makes my list as it was my breakthrough wine with Rioja/tempranillo. I’ve admittedly not tried a lot of tempranillo, but that which I have had over the years generally left me pretty underwhelmed. This on the other hand had me giving out high fives. Sexy, yet serious. Succulent, yet structured. Great now, though will age well over the next 5-10 years.

2010 Ochota Barrels Fugazi Vineyard Grenache – Mclaren Vale - Simply put this is awesome Grenache. It bears testimony to the vintage, testimony to Mclaren Vale as a region for Grenache, and of course to Taras Ochota who is turning out some awesome wine. Perfumed, pure-fruited, and complex.

2010 PHI Pinot Noir – Yarra Valley - there are some superb Yarra Valley Pinots from the 2010 vintage, and this is one of the real highlights. I have high hopes that in 10 years time the bottles I have of this in my cellar will turn out to be the kind of profound Pinot people often rave about when it comes to Burgundy. Initially seductive, beautifully structured, and ultimately savoury, this is a beautiful Pinot Noir.

2011 Scott Fiano – Adelaide Hills – A wine that stood out in a blind line-up of about 40 white wines, and only got better over a few days of tasting. One of those wines that completely validates the exploration of “alternative” varieties in Australia. Lovely richness and viscosity is underpinned by a crisp acidity and a sense of minerality. It delivers a triumvirate of generosity, texture, and restraint that sets it apart from so many other white wines. Great drinking.



Red