March 2019
When /
Monday, 25th March 2019
Where /
Bentley, Sydney
*PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS OPEN SOLELY TO MEMBERS OF THE WINE TRADE*
CELLARHAND SELECTION
NV Airlie Bank Cuvée Sparkling RRP $21
2017 Bründlmayer Kamptaler Terrassen Grüner Veltliner RRP $39
2018 Frankland Estate Riesling RRP $29
2016 Heymann-Löwenstein Riesling Schieferterrassen RRP $58
2017 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Chardonnay RRP $32
2016 André Bonhomme Viré-Clessé Les Pierres Blanches RRP $43
2018 Airlie Bank Franc RRP $23
2017 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir RRP $32
2015 Huber Malterdinger Pinot Noir RRP $64
2016 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Shiraz RRP $43
2017 G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo Claré J.C. RRP $46
S.C. PANNELL FOCUS
2017 S.C. Pannell Pinot Grigio RRP $28
2018 S.C. Pannell Arido Rosé RRP $27
2017 S.C. Pannell Dead End Tempranillo RRP $28
2016 S.C. Pannell Field St Shiraz RRP $27
2016 S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills Syrah RRP $39
CELLARHAND SELECTION
SPARKLING
NV Airlie Bank Cuvée Sparkling RRP $21
Blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir from Napoleone Vineyard in Yarra Valley. Each bottling is a blend: one part from grandfather base tank (oldest element 2010) and one part current vintage. Full MLF; small injections of new oak and brandy spirit.
90% Chardonnay; 10% Pinot Noir; 2% use of Oak; 90% 2016 10% 2015; Dosage 11g/L;
Yarra Valley chardonnay (90%) provides zest and lemon freshness while Pinot Noir supports with red apple and strawberry fruit, backed by subtle toasty, honeyed complexity, good acid line and slightly candied dosage of 11g/L. 89 points. – Tyson Stelzer, Australian Sparkling Report 2017
WHITES
2017 Bründlmayer Kamptaler Terrassen Grüner Veltliner RRP $39
Sourced from different terraced vineyards at altitudes ranging from 260m to 380m. The elevated terraces consist of stonier soils (schisted granite), show aromatic expression, good acidity, elegant stone fruit and lots of minerals. The lower-sited terraces mostly of layered fertile loess show more body and ripeness. By combining those two characteristics Bründlmayer produces a classic Grüner Veltliner with both finesse and a certain vigour.
Kohlrabi, apple, coconut juice, spice. Chalky texture. Good acidity and flavour to go. Lemon peel, cucumber and juicy lemon. Tightens the nuts nicely on the finish, with a bit of pith and crunch to close. Good stuff. 92 points. – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
2018 Frankland Estate Riesling RRP $29
100% Riesling grown in family’s estate vineyards. A selection of small ferments was made from parcels of fruit harvested from vines planted in 2006 on a high ironstone rocky ridge in the ironstone “coffee rock” – the classic soil from the Frankland Estate property. As well as some of Frankland Estate’s original parcels of Riesling planted in 1988.
Grapes are pressed on arrival with the juice left to settle in tank overnight. Racked and fermented in stainless steel tanks at relatively low temperatures (less than 14 deg C) over 4-6 weeks with minimal intervention in order to obtain the purest expression of the pristine, organically grown fruit. The wine was then left on lees prior to bottling.
2016 Heymann-Löwenstein Riesling Schieferterrassen RRP $58
The Schieferterrassen is the cornerstone of the estate’s collection, and is sourced from various terraced, slate-soil vineyards in the region.
From the nose to the palate this wine shows a playful synthesis of fine nuances between fragrant fruit and minerals. It’s piercing, engaging and long.
Ripe pear and white peach deliver a delightful combination of ripeness and primary juiciness, and the midpalate impression is a flattering combination of stuffing and creaminess. Regionally typical suggestions of tarragon and anise cool a lingering finish that gains welcome invigoration by way of lime zest piquancy. Given this wine’s low acidity, the overall effect is quite sumptuous, and a faint but entirely supportive hint of sweetness is engendered by close to seven grams of residual sugar. Fortunately, there is animating freshness, and I was amazed to discover that there is nearly 13% alcohol here, as there is no heaviness. 89 points. – David Schildknecht, Vinous Media
2017 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Chardonnay RRP $32
The fruit comes from the Midhill, Mt Macedon, Spring Hill & Little Hampton vineyards. Hand harvested fruit firmly whole bunch-pressed. Natural ferment in new (24%) and older French barrels. Left on lees; some barrels through natural MLF. Racked and filtered after 11 months; bottled February 2018.
Chardonnay from the Midhill Vineyard in the beautiful Macedon Ranges. All fermented wild. Ripper chardonnay. Powerful, textural and long. Essence of the variety. Stonefruit, meal, flint and spice, toasty/cedary oak as added emphasis. No questions here: this is a wine of outstanding quality. 95 points. – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
2016 André Bonhomme Viré-Clessé Les Pierres Blanches RRP $43
The estate’s classic Viré-Clessé is from vines ranging from 10 to 45 years old. The main component of the blend comes from 30-year-old vines planted on the summit of the hillside on the rocks, with many little white stones in the soil, hence “pierres blanches”. It is made in stainless steel tanks to emphasise fruit and minerality. The whole bunches are airbag-pressed before undergoing long fermentations with natural yeasts.
(bottled three weeks prior to my October visit; also made in stainless steel; the main portion of this cuvée is from vines between 10 and 45 years of age on thin soil on the top of the hillside; Palthey noted that he had to break the limestone to plant these vines): Light-medium yellow. Distinctly smokier on the nose than the Mâcon-Villages Vieilles Vignes, offering aromas of yellow fruits and minerals. A very rich, savoury wine with an almost dusty texture and captivating pungent minerality. Finishes very long and dry, with a touch of bitterness. This youthfully austere wine will show spice and toasted bread notes six or seven years from now but it will also make delicious early drinking for its fresh fruit and adamant minerality. 90 points. – Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media
REDS
2018 Airlie Bank Franc RRP $23
Fifth instalment of estate-grown, single-vineyard wine. 100% Cabernet Franc, with all bunches into the fermenter. Foot stomped once a day; pressed to large, neutral oak. Racked once by gravity; no fining.
Blackcurrant, ripe raspberry, ash and lots of spice, sweet capsicum. Light bodied, but good intensity of small berried fruits, sappy green and spicy things are punctuation marks here, rather than text, acidity is fresh and slaty, tannin forms a fine dust, and the finish is cool and fresh. Great thing to drink. 92 points. – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
2017 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir RRP $32
Fruit from Little Hampton, Midhill, Mt Macedon and Big Shed vineyards. Hand harvested fruit carefully sorted and destemmed. 100% whole berries into small open fermenters. Natural fermentation with daily hand plunging. Two weeks on skins, pressed then racked into new (28%) and used French hogsheads. Blended and filtered prior to bottling in February 2018.
This is savoury, well-fruited, has a sense of power and yet remains varietal and lively throughout. Forest berries, twiggy spices, a suggestion of mint. I wouldn’t exactly call it velvety in texture but it’s on the way there; it certainly has good mouthfeel. Quite impeccable from all angles. 93 points. – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
2015 Huber Malterdinger Pinot Noir RRP $64
Fruit comes from vines of up to 25 years of age, 30 to 35% whole bunch. After harvesting the grapes with a crop around 55 hl per ha, this wine matures for 12 months in three and four-year-old barriques.
Vine age is around 25 years, aged in three and four year old barriques, with about 30% whole bunch. Spiced cherry and plum, ample fruit, though essentially savoury with things like walnut, sausages and hazelnuts. Medium-bodied, sappy and tangy, fine dense ‘minerally’ tannin and earthiness, solid finish. This wine is invariably interesting and offers a point of difference to many Pinot Noir. 92 points. – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
2016 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Shiraz RRP $43
100% certified-organic Shiraz from three different locations in Isolation Ridge. Vine canopy trained on VSP and Geneva Double Curtain (GDC). Fermented as long and slowly as possible, at temperatures below 20°C in open tanks, allowing cap to be worked by plunging and gently pumping over. Extended post-ferment maceration. Aged 18 months in 500-litre French oak puncheons.
This will morph into something rather special – it’s too youthful now but already it has the hallmarks of a finely-tuned, expressive Frankland River shiraz. Heady aromatics of florals, dark fruit, licorice, pepper and wood spices with chiselled tannins and clearly defined oak. Some creaminess on the palate adds another layer of complexity. 95 points. – Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
2017 G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo Claré J.C. RRP $46
Fruit from young vines in Barolo, Novello, Sinio and Bricco Bertone. Grapes handpicked early in the morning. Vinification is long and extremely gentle. Fermented for an average of 15-20 days in vertical vats, followed by spontaneous MLF. Usually aged 8 to 14 months. Mostly matured in stainless-steel vats, with a small portion in oak when called for.
The latest twist of our lighter-styled wine times has been a rediscovery of “claret”—that is, the buoyant red wines, a couple steps past rosé, common prior to the 20th century, especially in Bordeaux. The idea has similarly migrated to Piedmont, and to the nebbiolo grape. The mischievous Giuseppe Vajra did deep historical research to attempt to rediscover the style of nebbiolo made in the 17th and 18th centuries (the “J” is for Jefferson, who described such wines, the “C” for wine savant Darrell Corti, who helped with research). Vajra used a light touch in vinifying fruit from younger vines in Barolo and nearby, and bottled it quickly, resulting in nebbiolo that shows more of orange-blossom fragrance than the grape’s usual burnt-orange low tones, plus a whispery mineral aspect and little of the grape’s aggro tannins. Think of it as nebbiolo masquerading as Beaujolais. – Jon Bonné, Punch, ‘The 25 Essential Wines of 2018’
S.C. PANNELL FOCUS
2017 S.C. Pannell Pinot Grigio RRP $28
The fruit was sourced from Adelaide Hills growers in Carry Gully, Woodside, Gumeracha and Lenswood; hand harvested using only free run juice. A natural pH of 3.29 and a TA of 7.10 results in a wine that for me is the most ‘on point’ Pinot Grigio I have ever made. – Stephen Pannell
2018 S.C. Pannell Arido Rosé RRP $27
The 2017 vintage was a very cool, mild and stress-free occasion for vines, not winemakers! Good winter and spring rains were followed by a very mild, long summer. The results are wines with ample fruit complexity and great natural acidity. Most importantly however is the delicious fruit freshness.
– Stephen Pannell
Orange peel and spice, a bit smoky, raspberry, but certainly falling more towards earthy and savoury than simply fruity. Dry, packed with dried herbs and citrus, firm almost chalky texture, dry finish with a zesty orange tang. A bit ‘intellectual’, yet easy to smash. 93 points. – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
2017 S.C. Pannell Dead End Tempranillo RRP $28
Fruit from Amery Road, Sellicks Hill and Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale. Traditionally vinified in small open-top fermenters for 10 days. Aged for 12 months in large format French and Hungarian oak vats and puncheons, 20% of which were new. This third release of the Dead End Temp is the most serious to date. It is a wine of real presence, complexity and depth. Alcohol 14%; pH 3.85 g/L; TA 5.40 g/L;
2016 S.C. Pannell Field St Shiraz RRP $27
I love this wine and I love drinking it. It’s been stripped back from the artifice of winemaking to express the purity and breadth of McLaren Vale Shiraz. As with all the 2016s the tannins are in the driving seat, balancing the sweetness of the fruit. On the nose you get violets, a punnet of fresh berries. It’s all about the fruit. It’s medium- to full-bodied with abundant and lovely tannins. It’s velvety, plush, even and long. – Stephen Pannell
You strike gold when you find a red that pleases all, can cellar a bit, take a chill, and goes from daytime drinking to looking good on a dining table. Here’s a cracker: bright, fresh, slurpy, medium-bodied, lightly spicy Shiraz, Go big. – Mike Bennie, Delicious Magazine
2016 S.C. Pannell Adelaide Hills Syrah RRP $39
Sourced from a vineyard in Echunga, 410 metres above sea level and just down the road from the first vineyard planted in South Australia. Steve has worked with this vineyard now since 2010 and in 2014 won him the Jimmy Watson for the 2013 vintage. The fruit is grown on well-drained, granitic soil. Hand-harvested and vinified in small open-top fermenters with 30% whole bunches. A total of 17 days on skins before being sent to predominately old, large, French-oak vats for 10 months. Alcohol 14%; pH 3.78; TA 5.74 g/L.
Hand-picked, open-fermented with 30% whole bunches, 10 months in large French oak vats and puncheons. A very smart wine. The bouquet offers a combination of black fruits and stern spices, plus a waft of oak. The medium-bodied palate seamless picks up the theme in a star dust of spicy/peppery flavours and texture. It is at once powerful, yet calmly insistent. 96 points. – James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2019