Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Australia
Australian Chardonnay use to be a bit oaky and big and this one from Soumah in the Yarra Valley has a lot of that.
Its dry with little aromas but a chunk of oak on the flavour front. Your do get flavours of citrus, apple, grapefruit and hints of vanilla but the oak is too much for me. Its not terrible but at £12 a bottle there are better Chardonnays out there.
Brand’s Laira, Blockers, Shiraz, 2013, Coonawarra, Australia
Coonawarra produce great, bold, flavourful red wines and this is good, not outstanding but it wont embarrass you if you served this with a chunk of red meat. With aromas and flavours of red and black fruits, pepper and oak. Its bold and pretty dry but 7 years on its smoothed out and is easy drinking. Have it with red meat or game bird and I’m sure you will enjoy drinking it, its worth taking your time and at £12 a bottle its OK value.
Supermarkets do sell excellent wine and this Extra Special, Chardonnay from the Barossa in Australia from Asda is pretty good, it may not be a gold medalist at Decanter but what I liked about it is how easy it was to drink.
Its light, medium bodied white with light aromas of peach and pineapple that come though in the flavour, there’s creaminess and hints of oak which are very welcomed. Day 2 and the pineapple came through more but still easy drinking. It lacks in many ways but as I’ve mentioned before with other wines, its a wine for a moment. In this case its in front of the TV or in the garden on a summers day. At £7 a bottle its great value, pick up a box of 6 and just enjoy.
Asda, Extra Special, Chardonnay, 2017, Barossa, Australia
Rieslings from Australia has come a long way in the last decade and this one from Rawsons Retreat shows another example of why Riesling is such a great grape. Dry with a decent level of acidity and aromas of ripe pineapple and kerosene that are followed with additional flavours of honey, lime and green apple.
At £7 a bottle its a wine that grows on you, not outstanding but great for curling in front of the TV.
Rawsons Retreat, Riesling, 2015, Australia
I had never heard of Fourth Wave Wine or their Farm Hand, Organic, Cabernet Sauvignon but I certainly like it. You get a hit of blueberry and then blackberry on the nose with additional flavours of cherry and this is a very fruit driven, soft but very dry red wine. It’s not complicated, just well rounded and very easy drinking.
It only got a commended at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 which is stingy, bronze medal surely! At £9 a bottle it’s great value and worth a case any day.
Fourth Wave Wine, Farm Hand, Organic, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019, NSW, Australia
Rutherglen produce some great desert wines and many are different to the sticky white wines.
This is the shortest review I’ve done – this is a dark, sweet, rich, with raisin abound flavours and utterly delicious. Great with cheese and rich deserts. Oh Christmas is a great time to try this!
At £20 for 500ml, its great value and quite fabulous, but it did evaporate in the glass!
Morris, Black Label, Muscat, Rutherglen, Australia
Soumah does make a great cool climate dry Chardonnay. The grapes are picked earlier than other vineyards and this gives you aromas of green apple and grass that lead into flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit, citrus and herbal notes that isn’t unpleasant. It has great length and freshness and worthy Decanter Silver medal winner. This is a wine that would go well with sea food or sipping it in the garden on a summers evening.
At £20 a bottle its not cheap but its worth spending a bit extra every now and again.
oumah, Chardonnay, 2017, Yarra Valley, Australia
Hunter Valley produce great Semillon and this Mount Pleasant one is no exception. Theres a petroleum note with ripe citrus and honey on the nose. Its a very dry wine with grass, honey and lemon on the palate with plenty of acidity and a texture of full cream milk, its a big wine.
At about £20 a bottle its not badly priced for a 10 year cellar aged semillon.
Mount Pleasant, Elizabeth, Semillon 2009, Hunter Valley, Australia
This Marsanne, Roussanne blend from the Glenlofty Estate located in the Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia is very drinkable but is it fantastic? This 2015 got a bronze at the IWSC awards and bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards
This is a fresh, dry wine with lime and honey aromas which are joined in the flavour department with melon, pear, citrus and hints of flora. This is best to be left 5 or 10 minutes after pouring as the flavours are more pronounced once the wine is allowed to open up. Its a very good wine which I think should have got a silver medal.
It worked with fish and chips and also on its own.
Glenlofty Estate, Marsanne Roussanne 2015, Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia
Flaming heck this is good. Sure I bias towards desert wine, love it. There are poor ones and stonkingly fabulous ones, but what is this like?
Aromas of butterscotch and apricots with honey notes you get a sense that this is a fine desert wine. Additional flavours of pineapple, citrus and freshness follow. Its not sticky but there is a presence, quite balanced with sweetness, flavour and acidity.
International Wine and Spirits Challenge gave Bertons a gold medal and they are spot on, truly excellent. Aldi have got this wine spot on at £6 a half bottle, excellent value.
Berton, Botrytis Semillon, Murrumbidgee River, Australia
