Featured Tasting: the Antinori Estates Part II
Here are the rest of the wines from the Antinori tasting organized by Summergate and hosted by the Italian Ambassador, Mrs Riccardo Sessa and Alessia Antinori. Wines were available from Umbria and Tuscany, the original Antinori home (see separate posting for the three whites on show and the Umbrian and Tuscan wines we tasted) as well as Piemonte (Prunotto) and Puglia (Tormaresca), both also under Antinori control.

2005 Dolcetto d’Alba, Prunotto

Appearance: deepish purple colour, clear rim.

Nose: lots of red and black cherry but with noticeable almond nose and some white pepper. No oak.

Palate: chewy medium tannins (well managed here for Dolcetto!), medium-high refreshing acidity, lovely fruit and impressive length. Alcohol is well-balanced too.

Conclusion: a lovely example of Dolcetto from a strong vintage. Retail 203RMB.

Rating: 18/20

2005 Barbera d’Asti ‘Fiulot’ Vineyard, Prunotto

Appearance: medium red-purple, clear rim.

Nose: light red cherry nose with some stalky fruit. Some other savoury smells, but no oak.

Palate: bright fruit, nice acidity, and moderate spiky tannins. Quite good length.

Conclusion: medium-range Barbera in a light style. Well-made. Retail 179RMB.

Rating: 17/20

2000 Barbera d’Asti ‘Costamiole’ Vineyard, Prunotto

Appearance: dark purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: complex nose with intense black cherry fruit and several different savoury aromas including herbs (rosemary, oregano). Some of the spice here must be traceable to oak.

Palate: very ripe chewy tannins, great acidity and fantastic complexity of fruit and oak. Well-balanced throughout.

Conclusion: part of the Prunotto 'Cru' range and a superb Barbera! The wine does actually spend 12 months in barriques and is then aged for a year in bottle before release. Retail 660RMB.

Rating: 18.5/20

2001 Barolo ‘Bussia’ Vineyard, Prunotto

Appearance: medium to dark purple-red, slight orange rim.

Nose: immensely perfumed Nebbiolo with a mixture of black cherry and redcurrant fruit, peppermint and florality (although what flowers we couldn’t tell you!). Oak is well-integrated here as the grape variety is allowed to sing.

Palate: seems tighter in flavour on the palate (this is not a function of the gripping tannins as such). Very good length, however.

Conclusion: obviously high-class Barolo from a really good year that has an impressive life ahead. The 'Bussia' vineyard is in Monforte. The wine is aged in large French oak barrels, then in smaller barriques before being aged for a further year in bottle. Approx. 839RMB retail.

Rating: 18.5/20 [might be higher with time]

The Puglian reds from Tormaresca:

2004 Rosso Puglia IGT, Tormaresca

Appearance: medium red, clear rim.

Nose: attractive red and black cherry fruit, ‘warm’ and quite alcoholic on the nose. ‘Rustic’ in a good sense.

Palate: chewy and spiky medium tannins, refreshing acidity, pleasant fruit, quite good length.

Conclusion: 70% Negroamaro and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is an attractive blend for everyday drinking. Retail 167RMB.

Rating: 16.5/20

2003 ‘Masseria Maime’ Salento IGT, Tormaresca

Appearance: medium purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: ‘crushed berries’ with leathery notes, also savoury and, again, ‘rustic’, although that needs qualifying. There’s an alcoholic quality to the nose, probably helped by the 2003 heat. This is attractive though.

Palate: nice ripe tannins, pleasant fruit, decent acidity and a good overall balance despite the ‘warm’ alcohol nose. Good length.

Conclusion: 100% Negroamaro and very drinkable. Impressive. Retail 419RMB.

Rating: 17.5/20

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posted by Wine Dragon at 16:40

Featured Tasting: Heartland, Ben Glaetzer
Trade tasting with Ben Glaetzer of Heartland winery (as well as the Glaetzer family label of Barossa) hosted by Palette Vino. Glaetzer himself was on hand to discuss the wines and explain something of his philosophy. Although he harvests grapes in a number of regions in South Australia, all of the wines are still made in the Barossa.

Ben explained that for many of his reds the Limestone Coast vineyards tend to provide aromatics, particularly eucalyptus in the hotter years, but also an herbaceous quality (basil, rosemary, green pepper etc.); whereas the reds from Langhorne Creek tend to give more structure and a chocolate quality. For this reason he often blends the fruit from both areas.

Also, when it’s hotter, if there are eucalyptus trees in the area, the oils from the eucalyptus become volatile and even settle on the grapes in a kind of resinous state. This is why certain Australian reds really do taste of eucalyptus, although Ben admitted there’s considerable research to be done in the area (clearly, some wines may yet smell of eucalyptus even if the vines have not been in close proximity to eucalyptus trees).

It’s just that Glaetzer himself has seen a eucalyptus mist envelope his vineyards in hotter years like 2003, conditions that simply did not occur in cooler vintages like 2002. Anyway, we had a great time tasting the wines and also enjoyed a very good chat, both with Ben and also Vicky Arnold, general manager.

Here are the wines. As mentioned, all are made in the Barossa. All are also typified by very clean wine-making, restraint, elegance and lovely ripe fruit:

2006 Heartland Stickleback White

Appearance: pleasant gold-green

Nose: lovely lemon fruit nose with some waxy notes.

Palate: pleasant fruit, good acidity and a touch of residual sugar on the palate, although this wine is essentially dry.

Conclusion: a really drinkable blend of 52% Chardonnay, 32% Verdelho, 16% Semillon (all of which are fermented separately in stainless steel then blended).Very good at its level and a great buy at 99RMB.

Rating: 16.5/20

2006 Heartland Viognier Pinot Gris

Appearance: medium gold.

Nose: complex nose with peach, apricot and pear fruit with some mineral notes and slight spice.

Palate: medium-bodied, glycerol, but also lifting acidity, lovely fruit and good length.

Conclusion: this wine is 68% Viognier and 32% Pinot Gris with most of the grapes coming from Langhorne Creek and the rest from Limestone Coast. The varieties are again vinified separately with the Pinot Gris being allowed some skin contact for a little bit of colour and structure to tame Viognier’s fattier ways. Lovely and pure.

Rating: 17.5/20

2005 Heartland Dolcetto Lagrein

Appearance: medium to dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: has a wonderfully spicy nose with black fruits (even dried cherries). Clove is predominant in terms of spice (comes from the oak here).

Palate: lovely fruit, chewy medium tannins, good oak, pleasant moderate acidity and impressive length.

Conclusion: this is 70% Dolcetto with the remaining 30% being made up of Lagrein. About 50% of the Dolcetto spent time in French oak, but the Lagrein only went near stainless steel. Very interesting and very well-made. Hurray for growing these grapes in Australia!

Rating: 17.5/20

2005 Heartland Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: has a characteristic black cherry and slight blueberry nose, but not the masses of fruit that can blow some tasters out of the water. Elegant.

Palate: there are two things you wouldn’t notice about this wine: 1. it’s 14.5% alc., but without a ‘hot alcohol’ nose, 2. it’s been matured for 16 months in a mixture of light and heavy toast French oak. Both the alcohol and oak simply harmonize with the fruit. Tannins are moderate and chewy with just enough acidity to carry the fruit. Impressive length.

Conclusion: I loved this wine. It’s 100% Shiraz with 56% coming from Limestone Coast and the remaining 44% from Langhorne Creek. Very good.

Rating: 18.5/20

2005 Glaetzer Bishop Barossa Shiraz

Appearance: dark purple to black, clear rim.

Nose: sweet black cherry and blackberry fruits with mixture of savoury and sweet oak notes.

Palate: lovely fruit, large chunky tannins, good alcohol balance, pleasant medium acidity. Good length.

Conclusion: launched as a bench-mark Barossa Shiraz, this wine has all the elegance of the Heartland wines with a little bigger fruit. From 60 year-old vines, it has impressive structure and pure fruit. Vinified in a mixture of French and American oak, it has a slightly ‘sweeter’ nose than the Heartland Shiraz which is very appealing for the larger fruit here.

Rating: 18/20

2005 Glaetzer Wallace Barossa Shiraz Grenache

Appearance: dark purple-red, clear rim.

Nose: has an instantly appealing nose of ripe black and red fruits (more black on the account of the Shiraz fruit, at least in its Barossa expressions), some white pepper and other spices and appealing oak (French and American here again too).

Palate: refreshing acidity, chewy medium tannins (although these are slightly grainy too), strong fruit and good balance throughout. Good length.

Conclusion: this is 70% Shiraz and the remainder Grenache. Clean, pure and tantalizing, rather than being merely technically well-made.

Rating: 18/20

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posted by Wine Dragon at 16:47