Winestate Wine of the Year Awards 2010 – a look at some of the winners

Winestate Wine of the Year Awards 2010 – a look at some of the winners

Winestate Wine of the Year – Top win for Lake Breeze

Each year, Adelaide based stalwart magazine Winestate compile a list of their top scoring wines from panel tastings during the year. They then put these top wines up against each other in a trophy-style wine taste-off, with the winners then lauded as the ‘Winestate Wines of the Year’.

Now given the vagaries of the Winestate tastings themselves (which are notoriously variable to put it mildly) these winners can sometimes present as a rather odd collection of wines. But, rather than just judge on lists alone, this year I went and tasted a collection of the top scoring wines all in one place (just for consistency – you know what they say about assholes and opinions) and I’m happy to report that there was some genuinely fine vino amongst them.

The following wines then were all high scorers in the Winestate Wines of the Year (which I can’t find online. Memo Winestate – your website is genuinely unhelpful and the search is broken). All were sampled in stand up style and not quite with the accuracy I would like, but hopefully you get the drift.

Freycinet ‘Radenti’ Sparkling 2000 (Tasmania)
10 years on lees for this puppy and I think the freshness suffers a fraction because of it. It’s got a load of interesting lees characters though with biscuity autolysis richness but with a slightly dusty, and overbearing edge. Palate is just a fraction short given the nose, looking slightly faded and overworked really. Entirely pleasant and a good mouthful of fizz but not quite as sensational as it could be. 17/90

Mount William ‘Macedon’ Sparkling 2003 (Macedon, Vic)
Biscuity, evolved and quite complex style. It’s a biggun’ but no doubting the power or style here. Good stuff. 17.9/92

Trinity Hill White Label Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
A typically ripe, passionfruit juice laden style, this looks vibrantly ripe and desirable in a really quite varietal simple style. Friendly. 17.5/91

Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Marlborough, NZ)
Crunchy, herbs-meets-citrus style, built long and classic. Perfectly proportioned palate shows excellent balance between acidity and fruit. Bang on Kiwi Sauv. 18/93 

Capercaillie Semillon 2008 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Peppery and herbal Semillon fruit with just a hint of pyrazine underripeness. Palate is dry and quite phenolic, with some very serious delineation and prominent acidity. It’s arguably underripe (that’d be the 08 vintage influence too) but that palate couldn’t be any more serious if it tried. I really quite liked the final effect actually, though it’s one divisive and rather un-classic Hunter Sem. 17.7/92

Villa Maria ‘Seddon’ Pinot Gris 2009 (Marlborough, NZ)
Musky, peachy, perfumed nose with apricot fruit richness, lychee and custard – it’s a true orgy of Pinot Gris goodness. On the palate too it’s musky, rich and perfectly weighted. Just a lovely drink really. Solid through the finish too. Yum. 18.5/94

Prophets Rock Pinot Gris 2009 (Central Otago, NZ)
After the Villa this looks decidedly restrained, but still with that lovely honey peach nectar nose. On the palate it’s a more neutral, leesy style but with some wonderful complexity, with sweet citrus, leesy mealy richness and firmer acidity. Another excellent Pinot Gris and only a smidgen behind the Villa Maria on the day. Close run race though. Again delicious. 18.3/93

Heggies Reserve Chardonnay 2007 (Eden Valley, SA)
Again a winner. A big, worked, creamy wild ferment nose, with overt solids derived richness, gumball yeast and a complex, layered, big palate. Lots of flavour, lots to like really, though still in a decidedly worked style. Rather smart Chardy indeed. 18.3/93

The Lane Beginning Chardonnay 2007 (Adelaide Hills, SA)
Really interesting to taste this straight after the Heggies – it looks much denser and considerably less fresh, carrying a big, figgy, heavily worked nose over a slightly broad, if full powered palate. To my taste this is just a fraction dried out, though as a whole I can realise that is quite well made and appealing. Close. 16.5/88

Giant Steps Sexton Chardonnay 2008 (Yarra Valley, Vic)
Dense, cool and coiled this looked classy and refined, if a little backward. Lovely creamy, minerally palate with an intriguing orange edge to it. Nice acidity and wild edges, all this needs is a little more bottle age for real greatness. 18/93

Villa Maria ‘Southern Clays’ Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008 (Marlborough, NZ)
Luscious. Really bright red fruit style, looking very pretty, open and juicy. The acidity is slightly spiky but otherwise this is one seductive Marlborough Pinot. Open and delicious. Another Villa winner. 18.5/94

Craggy Range Zebra Pinot Noir 2007 (Central Otago, NZ)
Heavily extracted, dense and lifeless style, looking rather four square and not going anywhere good. There is some juiciness on the palate but also a decidedly hard edge. Hard to get enthused by this…15.5/85

Saltram ‘Winemakers Selection’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Barossa, SA)
Like oak? Like old school chocolate oak flavours and Barossan Cabernet? Then you’ll love this. Otherwise don’t bother. Nose is all choc-mint flavours with blackberry fruit in the background. Palate too has loads of oak, oak tannins and oak oak oak. Dusty, toasty, likely American (or heavy toast French) oak. There’s definitely high quality fruit behind it all, but geez its an oakasauras. Plenty of people will love this though (and I can see the appeal) but you’ve got to like oak. 16.5/88

Wolf Blass Grey Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Langhorne Creek, SA)
Coudn’t be any more traditional Wolf Blass Langhorne Creek Cabernet-ish if it tried. Minty, choc-spearmint nose with firm chocolatey fruit and oak on the palate. Dry, sticky, blocky, slightly desiccated tannins. Really drying finish. There is some charm here (and lots of density) but it’s hardly easygoing… 16.8/89

Villa Maria Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2008 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
It’s not quite in the same league as the reserve Pinots, but this is still a rather tasty red. Leafy, licorice strap and plum nose is happily varietal leading to a round, low acid palate. Tinny tannins perhaps the only downer. Great to see some varietal integrity here. 17/90

Lake Breeze Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Langhorne Creek, SA)
This wine picked up the ‘Wine of the Year’ gong which is quite an accomplishment given the lineup. What I like is how unashamedly regional it is – minty, bright and bold, the clean and very dry palate sitting firmly in the big and brawny side of the spectrum, though happily not overripe. Good, honest regional fair. Wine of the Year? Not even slightly. Good drink at a fair price? Unquestionably. 17.5/91

Preston Peak Reserve Shiraz 2008 (Granite Belt, QLD)
I was amazed to see that this is from QLD. Certainly the most interesting, stereotype smashing QLD wine I’ve seen in a while. This sees a bit of whole bunch action and certainly shows it (in a good way). Stalky, hammy, slightly stinky nose with sweet oak contrasting with the really rather serious winey elements. The palate isn’t quite up to the nose, with some really overt bold sweetness that is a bit jarring. Still, it should settle down in the bottle and look pretty good. Certainly a shitload of intrigue with this. I can’t help but feel positive. 17/90+

Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2008 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
Peppery fruit – that’s what this is all about. Rich, sweet, mid weight fruit, with a proper peppery cool climate edge. Arguably it’s too sweet, glycerin rich and plump, but all that makes this rather seductive too. Nice wine and lots to like. 17.6/91

Saltram No.1 Shiraz 2006 (Barossa, SA)
A caricature of a wine. Sweet, minty, chocolate oak, with a sticky, confected and overt palate. It’s probably rude to cut it down and call it shit, as beyond all the ridiculous artifice lies great fruit (which could do with more attention). The problem is all the other stuff in the way. More to the point, whilst I thought it old fashioned and over (American) oaked, there are plenty of people who adore this style…. 16.5/88

John Forrest Collection Noble Riesling 2005 (Marlborough, NZ)
Rich! No shortage of sweet fruit with this wine. It’s massively proportioned, with a marmalade and cane sugar nose of huge density and power. The palate too is a big blunt mouthful of sweetness, with nary an angle in site. End result is big and unctuous but not pretty enough for love. 16.5/88

John Forrest Collection Noble Riesling 2006 (Marlborough, NZ)
Interestingly enouugh this seems equally as sweet as the 05, but with more acidity. The resultant style then has an extra vein of lemon lime through it and a zippy finish to counteract the sugar. Nice wine and entirely drinkable. 17.8/92

Trinity Hill Noble Viognier 2009 (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
Speaking of full tilt styles, this pushes the envelope even further. Botrytis Viognier seems like a natural style methinks (and it can be done well in the Rhone) but this just pushes things too far. Creamy, hot and quite alcoholic nose over a broad and hot palate. Ultimately simple and flat. 15.8/86

Amisfield Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (Central Otago, NZ)
Central Otago Noble Sauvignon seems like a novel concept, and Amisfield are certainly talented enough to pull it off (their Pinot Rose is very smart), yet this is a car crash of a wine. Candied, tinned asparagus and grass meets toffee apple sweetness on the nose in an odd combination of flavors that carry through onto a plain odd sweet-and-sour palate. Not a fan. 14.5/81