Weekly Tasting Report (Aug 2-7): Australia, France, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, USA
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- Nick Stock discovered six superlative Wendouree wines from South Australia’s Clare Valley.
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- James is impressed with the lagreins from Alto Adige this week.
There are plenty of choices for this week’s highlights wrap, which covers nearly 350 wines. I checked in on some of Australia’s most iconic winemakers and James continued to taste his way through our comprehensive Italian submissions. And the thread through many of the top wines was one of wines to collect and cellar.
The 100-point 2018 Wendouree Shiraz from South Australia’s Clare Valley is one of six exceptional 2018 wines just released by this famously enigmatic producer. It is a powerful wine of purity and vineyard-derived style and the best shiraz release in some time. The 2018 Wendouree Cabernet Malbec (99 points) is a refined, flawless, full-bodied red with “tautness of tannin and fine-layered structure” that will happily undergo a long cellaring too.
The 2018 Wendouree Cabernet Sauvignon (98 points) is in a more cryptic phase for now and the “taut, fine tannin … carries a huge ball of perfectly ripe fruit” which will slowly unwind as this wine matures. It has some considerable building ahead in bottle and is definitely one for longer-term cellaring.
The 2018 Wendouree Shiraz Mataro (98 points) is again the most approachable in the collection and the 2018 Wendouree Malbec (98 points) has such showy red and dark fruits with a uniquely pliable tannin texture. And finally the 2018 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec (96 points) is a glossy, powerful display of fresh, ripe fruit that completes the 2018 vintage collection.
From Barolo, the 2016 Pira (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Cannubi (98 points) is a “fantastic encore to the 99-point 2015” and is “so refined and beautiful with ultra refined tannins and ever so polished tannins that make the wine stealthy and focused.” Also from Chiara Boschis, the 2016 Pira (Chiara Boschis) Barolo Mosconi (96 points) is a classically structured “full-bodied, chewy 2016 with a solid structure of ripe fruit and intense tannins” that commands time to settle in the cellar.
A white from the Alto Adige, the St. Michael-Eppan Alto Adige Appius 2015 (97 points) shows “fantastically complex aromas” and is “full-bodied with serious density of fruit, yet it remains vivid and energetic.” This blend of mostly chardonnay with pinot grigio, pinot bianco and sauvignon is a deeply powerful white, destined for the cellar. Also from the same region, the Alois Lageder Chardonnay Alto Adige Löwengang 2017 (96 points) is a “flamboyant white with the full, Burgundy work on it.” James noted it is “one of the best Löwengangs I have tasted.”
South Africa’s Klein Constantia Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine 2017 (97 points) shows a clever balance of intensity, sweetness and energetic style. A great sweet wine that remains so balanced while delivering such concentrated character.
The Place In Time Riesling Clare Valley Sevenhill 2015 (96 points) is a riesling from the Clare Valley released as a mature style and shows just how well the best rieslings from this region age. It has impressive weight and concentration and a lightly buttery palate that “is super fresh and full of life and energy with long, concentrated flavors and refreshing acidity.”
A full-bodied Lagrein in the form of the Cantina Terlan Lagrein Alto Adige Porphyr Riserva 2017 (96 points) is “one of the most structured examples of this I have had,” said James. He loved the “tar and crushed blackberries with some brambleberries on the nose, following through to a full body with chewy tannins that form a pretty, fruity palate.”
Two whites from Terlan also rated well this week. The Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Terlaner 1 2017 (96 points) has “cooked-apple, clove, light toffee and smoked-wood aromas that follow through to a full body with layers of fruit and nice phenolics that give it a creamy, almost chewy structure.” The Cantina Terlan Pinot Bianco Alto Adige Rarity 2007 (96 points) is a unique white, aged one year in large wooden barrels, followed by 11 years in stainless steel tanks. The palate is “full-bodied with rich, complex flavors of fruit, bread dough, pie crust and herbs … hints of cream, too.”
And finally James found some real wow-factor in the Quinta de la Rosa Vintage Port 2018 (96 points) thanks to “lots of tannic grip and power with transparent blue fruit and wet earth.” This is a full-bodied and medium-sweet Port with excellent depth and length and certainly one for the cellar. “Best ever vintage Port from here?” James mused.
Enjoy this week’s report of our top rated wines. We hope there’s some room in the cellar for this collection of truly age-worthy wines from various corners of the wine world that will suit many different tastes.
– Nick Stock, executive editor