“The 20 Australian wines in the Oct 24 release are positioned in the Vintages catalogue as a regional exploration, which is the direction Australia is going, and needs to go, to tell the world its wines are not all the same. However, the general quality of this bunch is not high enough, and the sampling is not broad enough, to clearly expose regional differences in the glass. As well, some of the cheaper wines are simply not very good and express no regional character at all. Somewhere in all this lies the current dilemma for Australian wine. It may be drilling down into regionalism, but the country has lost its overall lustre to a degree. I hate to say it, but I am a bit bored with the never-ending torrent of new brands, including all those too cute but ultimately disconnected names like Skuttlebutt. It has lost its value quotient to an even greater degree. There are great wines being made, without a doubt – the Two Hands Bella’s Garden Shiraz is terrific at $64. But try to find great value under $20, and it’s just not there, at least not in this release. Only the Tamar Ridge 2008 Riesling and the Yarra Ridge 2008 Pinot work at the price.
Elsewhere in the release, port is featured – and you must buy the Offley Ten Year Old that leads off David’s Half Dozen at 94 points. But again, overall this feature disappoints, largely because the selection is small and Vintages is trying too hard to keep so many wines under $20. By the way, I am not sure if Croft’s Pink Port qualifies as an innovative step in the right direction, but it is the first pink port I’ve tasted, and it’s decent.
Chateau des Charmes of Niagara is featured as well, with three wines, and the 2007 Gewurztraminer is quite good, but overall it’s not an inspired selection. The Bosc family is doing great viticultural development work and has contributed so much to the local industry over the years. They can make brilliant white wines and icewines, but their reds are usually very rustic (except for gamay). I would love to see the winemaking hit the heights their maturing vineyards are capable of reaching, with a general sprucing up of their style to accompany the new labels that appear this fall.”
- David Lawrason, VP of Wine at WineAlign
Click here to see ranked lists and reviews of close to 100 wines in this release.
David’s Half Dozen
Whites
138289 TAMAR RIDGE DEVIL’S CORNER RIESLING 2008
Tasmania, Australia,
$18.95 90pts
WAIMEA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008 Nelson, New Zealand
$17.95 90pts
QUINTA DOS CARVALHAIS DUQUE DE VISEU WHITE 2008 DOC Dão, Portugal
$12.95 88pts
Reds
Le SERRE NUOVE
DELL’ ORNELLAIA 2007
Bolgheri Rosso, Tuscany $59.95 93pts
DESCENDIENTES DE J. PALACIOS PÉTALOS 2007
DO Bierzo, Spain
$23.95 91pts
OFFLEY BARON OF FORRESTER 10 YEARS OLD TAWNY PORT
DOC Douro, Portugal
$25.95 94pts
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