26th September 2009
Looking back at the 2009 Young Guns of Wine awards held one month ago and tasting through most of the wines at PWS then, it was great to see consistency in the "older" stalwarts  but refreshing to see new faces emerge onto the scene. Heemskerk (named after the lead ship of one Abel Tasman who circumnavigated the island) was established in 1975 and is now part of the Foster's Group with the very lovely Anna Pooley holding the reins of winemaking responsibilities.

Heemskerk 2008 Derwent Valley Pinot Noir, Tasmania
$55. The Lowestoft vineyard is located north of Hobart on the edge of the Derwent (Celtic for clear water) estuary which is unfortunately having a couple of environmental issues of its own. This wine gives the sensation of a moss carpeted forest floor with flowers. Lovely, fresh ripening red berries with even tannins that is in balance with the overall weight of the wine. Good finish, have this over the next 5-7 years. 91/100.

23rd September 2009
It is widely agreed that 2007 has emerged as a great vintage for the Margaret River region and as the tasting notes continue to hit the press, you can bank on it, stamp it and print it. 
The name of Fraser Gallop was added to the growing list of Aussie winners at the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards by taking out the Red Bordeaux Varietal over £10 earlier this year. The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (so labelled despite 12% of the wine being a blend of other varietals) is tremendous value at $25 and is an easy recommendation for a case for keeps. You can still pick it up from WineStar or Nick's.

Fraser Gallop 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, WA

$25. Lovely black plum colour with a dense perfume of sweet cedar oak and smoky blackcurrant topped with whiffs of pencil shavings and cigars. I also picked out a sense of savoury juices of a fat beef steak. This is primarily a CS but there is petit verdot (5%), cabernet franc (4%) and malbec (3%). The texture is silky smooth and you are greeted with an immediate flush of tingling, spicy plum flavours. A robust wine with firm tannins that fade out for plum jam flavours to kick back. That ended a little too soon for me although the aftertaste does linger around very nicely on the back palate. This is certainly a good wine that is drinking very well now and will do so over the next 5 years. 91/100. *I have revised my notes (rating and estimate aging potential) after following this wine over 3 days*

17th September 2009
There's been an interesting report of Australian Vintage yanking its support for the future direction of Wine Australia. Ok, not the most imaginative and captivating of names, but we should clarify the identity and importance of both companies for the continually putting Australia's name out there. Australian Vintage is a company that has generated $288 million (figures released on 26/08/2009) by putting labels such McGuigan, Nepenthe, Tempus Two (and yes, Passion Pop) onto the shelves of bottle-Os in the UK, USA and Canada. Admittedly not the most prominent of labels locally, but they have held the Aussie flag high recently with the Nepenthe 2007 Ithaca Chardonnay winning Decanter's Best Chardonnay above £10 while Neil McGuigan picked up IWC's International White Winemaker of the Year.

In the other corner, Wine Australia is a branch of the Australian Government's Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation and is facilitating a strategic re-think of the brand with a project titled 'Wine Australia: Directions to 2025'. It's certainly good that the government is attempting to get involved in the industry at a time when Australian wines have lost a significant slice of the market to the up-and-coming wine-producing regions South America and South Africa.

So the whole argument is akin to the DOC vs. DOCG fistfight in Italy a couple of decades ago. WA wants to inject a new breath of air in the marketing of Australian wines by pushing the whole regionality-edge which is nothing new if you follow your French wines. But the tiny problem is that without stringent regulation, this approach comes without the actual guarantee or assurance that the wines will be of high quality and we might be churning out very generic wines. AV is in favour of improving the general quality of exported Australian wines while maintaining price competitiveness. There are merits to both strategies and in a perfect world, we'd be seeing a combination of both. I believe that quality can be found in wines that reflect the unique properties of the subregions (see Dan Standish) but in general, these are produced in tiny volumes and the grapes cost a bundle and consequently the bottles cost a bunch. BUT, if the government is willing to offer a substantial subsidy for growers to maintain small vineyards under the best growing practices so that the fruit is of tip-top quality, then winemakers will be able to turn these into stellar wines at lower prices. Additionally, the government has to design a system to assist winemakers in the export process and perhaps even offer additional (tax?) incentives to small volume winemakers to make the push overseas.

15th September 2009
Smallfry isn't just one more little fish thrown in a big pond. Wayne Ahrens has joined up to the boutique cause of putting the essence of the earth into our wine glasses. I sincerely hope consumers are gradually waking up and rejecting ghostly 'wines' that are void of soul. It's not surprising that manufacturing wine by fermenting and blending millions of litres strips the product of any personality reflective of the climate, the land and growing culture. The Smallfry line-up is all about small parcels of land, careful growing practices and the truest reflection of the vine. Overall the prices are very fair for the quality and I recommend their companionship for sunny weekends. Also take note that Wayne has opened a cellar door in Angaston.

Smallfry 2009 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
$15. I was surprised with the availability and existence of Barossan Sauvignon Blanc. Wayne shared that this blend was a request of a Queensland distributor. Early picking of the SB fruit brought out the soft greenish notes that added a zing to weightiness imparted by the Semillon. Overall, this has fresh grassy and rich lemon flavours that gives a slight impression of a Fume. Drink within 2 years. 88/100. Tasted July 2009.