2016 Bellvale Pinot Noir and 2016 Myrtle Point Lightfoot & Sons Pinot Noir

All good Pinot Noirs are alike; each bad Pinot is bad in the same way too. Of the things you can rely on in life, like taxes and death (well, maybe not taxes if you are an immoral corporation), another is that a good Pinot Noir will come from Gippsland, Victoria. Of course, New Zealand and Tasmania, as well as the Yarra Valley, are sources of good PNs. The 2016 Bellvale Pinot Noir has jam in its perfume with a light, short, smooth palate of pepper and just a sense of sweetness, being a little chocolate-ly, and you might hallucinate caramel. The 2016 Myrtle Point Lightfoot & Sons Pinot Noir is a semi-opaque ruby red, with jam in its perfume and a smooth palate.

2015 Bisci Verdicchio Di Matelica

The 2015 Bisci Verdicchio Di Matelica (Not Mettalica, but a commune of Italy!) is surprisingly golden in colour, when I expected the pale lemon of Riesling which it resembles. Initially it has the aroma of Miss Havisham's cordoned-off wedding room, then later of peanut oil. The palate immediately says 'Adult'. Just like Semillon, this is not a grape for children; it's too serious.

2016 Mas Des Bressades Costières de Nîmes Cuvée Tradition Vin Blanc

It is still relatively rare to see Grenache Blanc in an Australian bottle shop. But it is among the most delicious of grapes. Usually it will come from the South of France, or Spain. The 2016 Mas Des Bressades Costières de Nîmes Cuvée Tradition Vin Blanc is a combination of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier (a common combination). It has a musk and vanilla perfume and vanilla on the most untroublesome, drinkdownable palate.

 

2017 Domaine de La Grenaudière Muscadet

The 2017 Domaine de La Grenaudière Muscadet comes in a distinct embossed narrow bottle—similar to a Riesling bottle of the long, thin-neck type—with a baronial-reminiscent gold label. Muscadet is a summer-reminiscent wine, and a pleasure to drink. Like drinking cake, but, really, not sweet. I've only come across one other where I live: Domaine des Amoureux Muscadet. Just as I have left my predictable pattern of sourdough and ciabatta, leave your predictable grape for the less-predictable!

2016 Artea Alpes De Haute Provence Rosé

 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Rosé from Sud de France, specifically Provence, must be good. And the Artea, from Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault, makes for great drinking. The small sprig of lavender on the label is another feature of Provence. The Rosé is salmon ballet-pink or pale-bronze-almost-orange. The beautiful palate revels in its own minimalism: think of a corridor of taste. But there's citrus on that palate too.    

2017 Petracavallo Fiano

The 2017 Petracavallo Fiano, a southern Italian grape, is made in Mottolo south-east Italy, with organic or biodynamic grapes picked by hand, from spontaneous fermentations (without added yeast or bacteria), with no filtering/clarification, and minimal mechanical and chemical manipulation. I was shocked by the bright gold colour, because Fiano is often a pale lemon. While it smelt of milky fruit, it was overwhelmingly medicinal on the palate, and I had no sense of recognising the grape. This particular natural wine wouldn't convince a newbie drinker that Fiano is terrific. Its label is unusually plain for an Italian wine, textually heavy, but still with a sense of its Italian origins, given the lovely hand-signature of Vito the winemaker.

Squealing Pig New Zealand Pinot Noir Rosé

Squealing Pig New Zealand Pinot Noir Rosé from Marlborough, is milky in perfume, pale copper in colour, with a very dry palate, perhaps not luscious enough, but would be good with salami pizza.

Collector's Shoreline Rosé; 2018 Clonakilla Viognier Nouveau

Being in Canberra recently, I drank supposedly locally. Though Murrumbateman is 30ks from Canberra, and part of the Yass Valley Shire, a Canberra dining establishment treated it, and a Collector's Shoreline Rosé with grapes from the same region and Tumblong (Gundagai), as local, though Gundagai is 164ks away. The 2018 Clonakilla Viognier Nouveau from Murrumbateman was pale lime in colour, with a chalk perfume finishing with lime-lemon again and a full, milky palate. The Rosé was faded-bronze pink with vanilla in perfume and a dry, serious and elegant palate.

2016 Honeybear Margaret River Chenin Blanc

While in Sydney, I had the opportunity to try a Chenin Blanc: all too rare for me.  The 2016 Honeybear Margaret River Chenin Blanc by Mark Warren is sold by the glass at Chrissy's Cuts, Dulwich Hill: Chrissy is a maker of her own gourmet sausages. The cafe is decorated with knitted sausages, and for sale are her sausage-imaged aprons. Drinking the 2016 Honeybear is reminiscent of sand and seawater astringency but also golden honey. I complemented Chrissy's Cuts on its discerning ability to harbour a Chenin Blanc.

De Bortoli Sia and Sacred Hill Rosés; 2018 Warburn Estate Rosé

Have I said I like Rosé? Two very cheap Rosés are from the fab-o De Bortoli Wines company. Why do I say De Bortioli is fab-o? 1) They are adventurous: eg making the Down the Lane combo of Pinot Grigio, Arneis and Vermentino. 2) They sell cheap but very good wine, which seems a highly democratic move to me (at a time when many are saying we are seeing the (re)rise of fascism; we've certainly been living in time of ungenerous neoliberalism for years). Their Sia and Sacred Hill are around $5-$7. But, and it is a significant 'but' for me: they don't list the grape varieties on either! So I emailed a query through the website. The Sacred Hill (BTW: this is a label that rarely fails to get on James Halliday's Best 100 wines lists) is made from Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and the Sia from Shiraz. The Sacred Hill is a pale-bronze-ballet pink in colour, with a rose perfume and beautifully dry, medium-deep palate. The Sia is a pale-bronze pink in colour, whose perfume is milk and strawberries, with an equally pleasantly dry palate. Both sit under the rubric that price is not an indication of quality; they are well-attached to this vernacular aphorism, which then appears to be characterised by abundant truth. The Sia is available locally, but I haven't seen the Sacred Hill Rosé locally (I bought mine in Sydney).

Warburn Estate also has a cheap Rosé, though not quite as cheap as De Bortoli. The bottle is distinct with its blue and white stripes, and the 2018 Rosé is a pale-to-mid bronze, with a perfume that is bronze-like too. It's Sangiovese-based with a typical mild rose perfume but with a slurping-down liquorice edge on the tin-dry palate.

2017 Gapstead King Valley Buckland Gap

Most fortunately, I have found another two cheap but terrific Pinot Noirs, besides Mad Fish and Pencarrow. The 2017 Gapstead King Valley Buckland Gap is in the Victorian Alpine Valley region: so good and cold for Pinot. The 2017 Elephant in the Room Pinot is crimson in colour with a purple edge. It has blackberry jam in its perfume with a smooth palate which has length. It is very recognisable with its blue elephant on the label, with the top and bottle neck covered in what looks like a view of an ornate apartment building's window facade or similar, also in blue and white. It's a Mount Gambier, Limestone Coast, SA wine. It has 'minimal fining, filtration and sulphur'.

2016 Strofilia White Dot Moschofilero-Malagousia

The 2016 Strofilia White Dot Moschofilero-Malagousia has a vanilla and honey perfume, and is initially tart on the palate, but full and silken on end. Moschofilero comes Arcadia and Malagousia from Corinth, both on the Peloponnese. It's easy to see on the shelf because of its white dot on a black label. 

2016 Roja Conde Valdemar Rosé

The 2016 Roja Conde Valdemar Rosé has a pretty pink label featuring white vine leaves. It is a soft Lucozade colour, smells of sherbet, and on the palate it is dry and citrusy: something like pink grapefruit, but not quite. A terrific Rosé.

2017 Arfion Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Rosé

The pleasure of Rosé seems inexhaustible. The 2017 Arfion Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Rosé is pale to bronze pink in colour, but I slurped it down so easily I forgot to take notes on its perfume and palate. But I remember enough to say that I absolutely agree with the website's description of the palate: 'fresh, textured and delicious'. It has an equally satisfying label of a bunch of what I think are peonies in pink, flopping about in a bunch. This is a 'natural' wine, meaning it's made with as ' minimal … interference'.

New Zealand Mud House Pinot Noir

A friend recommended the New Zealand Mud House Pinot Noir. It has burnt honey or summer flowering grass in its perfume. On the palate it does not have the depth of Margaret River's Mad Fish. (The two company names are confusing, I know: I go to say Mud Fish and … Mad House?) or the New Zealand Pencarrow, or the deliciousness of a Gippsland Pinot Noir.

2016 Neil Pike's Crafty Punter Riesling

The 2016 Neil Pike's Crafty Punter Riesling is available locally. Look for the odd label of a British gentleman in traditional country-estate clothing, but with a horse's head. You can't go wrong with a Clare Valley Pike Riesling. It's light lemon in colour with a tinge of lime, and there's grass and nut on the beautifully elegant palate.  

Orange's Cooks Lot Pinot Gris

One of the great Pinot Gris around is Orange's Cooks Lot (and which I have talked about before). I often get a bottle at my sister's inner-western 'burb's bottle shop when I visit her in Sydney. This one is numbered 666, has its recognisable bright-gold-with-pink-tinge colour, and smells of pepper on a clean palate. But I haven't seen it in any local bottle shop.

2016 Domaine Costa Lazaridi Assyrtiko

Several years ago I read the Australian wine critic Max Allen introduce the pleasures of the Greek grape Assyrtiko. And I have finally found a bottle of this wine in a Northern Rivers bottle shop! The 2016 Domaine Costa Lazaridi Assyrtiko is summer in a bottle, making you think of a Greek island in that season or, equally, an Australian beach. Though with a strong, aroma of musk guava, on the palate it is like drinking summer! Assyrtiko is being grown in Australia by Jim Barry of Clare Valley, with a 2017 available online … for a hefty price. 

016 Mount MacLeod (Leongatha, Gippsland) Pinot Noir

As with a wealthy, single man in need of a wife, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that Gippsland will never fail a drinker in need of a good Pinot Noir. The 2016 Mount MacLeod (Leongatha, Gippsland) Pinot Noir is a not-quite-opaque red, with a floral perfume and smooth palate. Look for a too-busy label frame of green fern/vine mix.

016 Gérard Bertrand Cote de Roses (Languedoc) white (blanc)

The 2016 Gérard Bertrand Cote de Roses (Languedoc) white (blanc) – and a Rosé is also around. They come in fantastically elegant bottles with long, thin necks, a paper rose at those necks, a glass stopper and a bubbled base ('in the shape of a rose, created by a young designer from the Ecole Boulle'). It's equally fantastic – and I mean that descriptor literally (mainly because a Grenache Blanc wine is so rare in Oz) – to see the white made of Grenache (Blanc), Vermentino and Viognier. Irresistible creamy, buttery drinking in a bright gold. 

2017 Meraki Rosé Karadoc, Victoria; Palm (Chateau) de l’Escarelle Provence Rosé; 016 Brini McLaren Vale Rosé

2017 Meraki Rosé from Karadoc, Victoria, except that it is a new label by the Zilzie company. Meraki is Greek and has to do with love, soul and creativity. This is a Shiraz- and Sangiovese-based Rosé with rose in the perfume, and lusciousness on the palate which, in this case, means a sweet edge. 

The  non-dated Palm (Chateau) de l’Escarelle Provence Rosé is very pale pink in colour, with traditional strawberries and cream in perfume with a stern and elegant palate. It has a beautifully simple, white label with a single palm frond in gold, and text in a matt grey. 

The 2016 Brini McLaren Vale Rosé, Grenache-based, is Lucozade in colour, while, again, smelling of strawberries and cream, and being very dry. The label is white featuring a pinkish red for most of the text with 'wine' written in an abstract, flowing vine replica.

2015 Bellwether Heathcote Vermentino

Sue Bell is the winemaker. But somehow, Bellwether is associated with Chalmers. It has elegance and formality, and is a nutty-based wine in perfume (washed peanuts) and on the palate, but then the length is surprisingly smooth, silken, with some citrus at the end. Its label is grey with an abstract lime-green vine.

2016 Rimauresq Cru Classé Rosé, Côtes de Provence; New Zealand Villa Maria Rosé; 2017 Red Knot by Shingleback, McLaren Vale ; 2016 Artea Alpes De Haute Provence Rosé

The 2016 Rimauresq Cru Classé Rosé, Côtes de Provence smells of roses, Turkish delight and honey. On the palate, it is extremely dry, but elegant and sophisticated. And in colour it is a beautiful pale pink perfection. Part of the problem of paying a lot for a Rosé is that practically any Provencal, Pinot-Noir based Rosé cannot, I repeat, cannot go wrong. And there are cheap ones around.

The New Zealand Villa Maria Rosé smells of vanilla and strawberries and cream, and is a pale rosy pink in colour. The palate is dry with some tartish length. Hawks Bay is usually a good source of wine from NZ and this is definitely a good Rosé.

The 2017 Red Knot by Shingleback of McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills is traditionally (it's Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Grenache) salmon pink in colour and smells, traditionally, of vanilla cream and strawberries in its beautiful perfume, and is dry on the palate. 

When you see the 2016 Artea Alpes De Haute Provence Rosé around locally, do not go past it. It is truly one of the great drinking Rosés. It has a very simple black-and-white label., and the trad salmon-ballet-pink colour. 

2016 Domaine La Serre Languedoc Picpoul de pinet and 2016 Clomarin Picpoul De Pinet

Picpoul de pinet: have you heard of it? No! Nor have I. But I predict its rise and rise. The web tells me that Picpoul de Pinet is grown at Cowra. Picpoul de Pinet (pronounced Pick-Pool de Pee-Nay) is a white wine appellation in the Languedoc for wines made exclusively from Piquepoul Blanc grape variety. I bought a 2016 Domaine La Serre Languedoc Picpoul de Pinet from a bottle shop chain in North Adelaide, on a family-visit-sojourn, because it was the first time I had seen/heard of the grape: it took me a moment to understand that it was the grape name. There is honey/mead in the perfume and on the palate. But it is dry with depth. Not sweet in itself, but may be good with dessert ... like honey cake? But then it is dry. Marsanne-ish? A light gold in colour. Just savoury: wondering what savoury food you'd have with it. Lobster/prawns? But let me say: Languedoc: would you not drink any wine from that place. Via a local Northern Rivers hotel/resort is a 2016 Clomarin Picpoul De Pinet, gold in colour, with a hallucinatory greenish edge. It smells of nut butter like a Chardy, and something sweet with a vague end of musk. A kind of smoky sweetness. The palate is dry but with melon depth/expansion.