Howard Park is one of Margaret River’s famous names, but the winery kicked off a full decade before the first “Margs” vines were planted in 1986 down south in Denmark, Great Southern. Then, founding owner John Wade (who made the iconic Wynns John Riddoch 1982) quit Coonawarra for Western Australia’s South West because “I don’t know any other region where you can produce both Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon as premium wines”.
Current owners Jeff and Amy Burch (pictured) came on board in 1993 and, that year, French Oak barrels, modern presses and tanks were purchased, apparently all to good effect because Howard Park’s Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1994 was a highlight of my visit to the region in 2007, as was a vertical tasting of Howard Park Riesling, which I had the good fortune to repeat the following year on my two week Australian Riesling trip (see here and here for my 2007 & 2008 trip notes)
So I was very excited to be invited as a guest speaker at Howard Park’s annual International Riesling Tasting & Lunch on 3 October 2009, together with Tom Cannavan (whose report of his time in WA you can read here) and Aussie MW David Lemire. First, a few surprises tasting through Howard Park’s latest Riesling releases with chief winemaker Tony Davis….
Surprise, surprise – new Riesling launches!
As a rival producer put it back in 2007, a great strength of Howard Park’s consistently fine Great Southern Riesling is down to them “picking the eyes out of the region.” If you visit Great Southern, you’ll soon get it – the landscape is vast and, at 150 by 100km, it’s Australia’s largest wine region. Though overall the climate is cool, five sub-regions (Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker and The Porongurups), enjoy a range of continental and maritime influences (you can find out more about Great Southern here).
Howard Park’s Riesling has always been a judicious blend from this rich tapestry, but times are a-changing…they’ve introduced a new single vineyard Riesling, the Reserve. It hails from Gibraltar Rock’s biodynamic vineyard in the Porongurups, which they are now leasing. I love the mineral, tight, austere profile of Porongurups’ Rieslings and this is no exception. And expect more from Howard Park and the Porongurups because, in 2004, having previously always bought in Great Southern fruit, Howard Park planted their very own Great Southern vineyard, called Scotsdale in the Porongurups range foothills. At 200 to 380m above sea level, the grandstand parcel is one of the highest vineyards in Western Australia. Riesling from elevated parcels found its way into the 2009 vintage for the first time. Also new to me was the off-dry, funkier Howard Park Riche 2008 (another maiden vintage) and Madfish Late Harvest Riesling, so plenty to tickle the fancy, and they did:
Madfish Riesling 2009 – fresh applely, honeyed with some lifted talc – quite Dr Loosen Dr L-like, but drier with an Aussie limey, pithy bite. Very good.
Howard Park Riesling 2009 – floral, pretty and very fresh, even a touch salty. There was no need to acidify in this vintage because it was a mild summer and, with no disease pressure around harvest, the fruit is very pure. It shows a clean pair of heels on a racy finish.
Howard Park Reserve Riesling 2009 – winemaker Tony Davis recalls that, in the mid-90s when he worked for Plantagenet, Gibraltar Rock vineyard produced amongst the most prized fruit in Great Southern. And it shows – old Porongurups vines (c. 30 years old and biodynamically tended) produce a wine of fabulous concentration and structure. Tight and very mineral. you can almost taste the granite (!) This is steely, lean and mean with razor-sharp grapefruit and crisp apple fruit. It needs time but has tons of potential.
Howard Park Riche 2008 – a distinctly European take here, this naturally fermented and lees-aged Riesling has texture and around 42g/l of residual sugar (so it weighs in at 9.5% abv). Also from the Gibraltar Rock vineyard, it’s a characterful wine, its richesse coming in the form of a slightly buttery mouthfeel and leesy, tangy quality to the finish, but there’s good acidity to its fresh cut apple/apple sorbet fruit to keep the line.
Madfish 2009 Late Harvest – this is a very pretty wine with a floral, almost rose petal, nose and palate with a brisk core of apples and grapefruit and an underlying minerality. With c. 34g/l it weighs in at 10.5% abv – a lovely summer’s day apero!
Howard Park International Riesling tasting
Western Australian wineries are well up for pitting their wines and wits against the best the Old World can offer. Cape Mentelle started it with a Cabernet Sauvignon tasting, followed by Cullen for Chardonnay, Howard Park for Riesling, Peel Estate for Shiraz, Millbrook for Viognier, Woodlands for Cabernet blends and Fraser Gallop for white Bordeaux blends. The region’s premium focus and signature elegance stand it in strong stead for such exercises (see my post about a red Rhone blend tasting at McHenry Hohnen here.)
For this event, Howard Park’s winemaking team had whittled down a bevy of top international Rieslings to 21 wines to put to the vote (marks out of 20). Guests included consumers and trade (though it’s true we in the trade have been known to consume!) and I’ve given the results below, averaged out for consumers and trade. We tasted the wines blind in three flights of seven in Howard Park’s barrel cellar (pictured). The tasting provided a fine showcase for Riesling’s pulse and postcode, with scintillating dry and off-dry Rieslings from Alsace, Australia, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Washington State strutting their very own stuff.
All wines hailed from the 2007 vintage, interesting because, when it came to Australia, Rieslings from the drought-affected eastern states lacked a little finesse and what I call nip and tuck (nervosity) compared with the Western Australian wines. So just for the record, vintages across Australia are different depending on region – not that you’d have believed it reading lots of doom and gloom press reports in the UK about hail, the drought etc in 2007 which seemed to forget about WA. Of course the European wines, especially the German wines, showed well thanks to particularly long hang times that year, perfect for flavour accumulation and concentration with balance.
My favourite Rieslings? Top of my list (and for the discerning consumers) was the Prager Klaus 2007 from Wachau – powerful, broad and oily but layered, with fabulous underlying freshness and minerality – a feast! Top of the trade’s list was another Austrian wine, Bernhard Ott Rotem Schotter 2007, Wagram, Austria. The other wines that really stood out for me on the day were Von Buhl’s Paradiesgarten from Pfalz, Germany, which showed bounteous fruit, almost over the top but carried off (style and length-wise) and held in check by juicy, fruity acidity. With WA’s hallmark fine frame, Howard Park and Frankland Estate’s Isolation Ridge both looked trim, the former already hinting at the delicious honeyed, peachy notes I associate with this wine with some age under its belt, while the Frankland Estate wine had an uber-mineral quality.
Flight 1
Jim Barry Florita 2007 Clare Valley, South Australia - deep yellow, spicy peel, talc notes/powder puff, really good purity of lime fruit, tight, touch warm but powerful and long with mouthsluicing acidity. C 16.7, T 15.5
Dveri Pax Renski Riesling 2007, Slovenia – quite deep in colour though the nose is very pretty and lifted with lime blossom which follows through on the attack. The palate then rounds out with notes of peach stone and apricot. A subtle finish shows minerality and a cardamom spice. C 16.5, T 16.1
Spy Valley 2007, Marlborough New Zealand - deep yellow with a rich, spicy orange nose. In the mouth it has the sweet and sour character I associate with NZ Rieslings (with honourable exceptions like the stunning wines from Framingham) with abundant tropical fruit and though there is acidity to balance, it’s a little clumsy for my taste. C 16.8, T 16.3
Forest Hill Block 1 2007, Mount Barker, Western Australia – quite pale and quiet on the nose. A fine and restrained but textured palate (wild yeast ferment) shows delightful mineral-sluiced lime with spicy/pithy grapefruit. Crisp acidity to the finish. Very good.
C 16.4, T 15.8
Muller Catoir Trocken 2007, Pfalz, Germany – a ripe vintage in a region which produces relatively round styles for Germany and so it is – a spicy nose, quite ripe with even a hint of overripeness – black banana. The palate has attractive upfront fruit with peach melba and tropical overtones including juicy pineapple. Good acidity to balance. C 17, T 16.4
Reichstrat Von Buhl Paradiesgarten Deidensheim QbA Trocken 2007 – paradise garden indeed, this is a temptress with ripe, pretty mandarin to the nose and exuberant, juicy ripe tropical fruit salad and apricot in the mouth. Lovely lithe, well-integrated acidity to balance gives a long, persistent finish with an underlying mineral quality. Very good. C 16.8, T 17
Jacob’s Creek Steingarten 2007, the Barossa, South Australia – quite a deep hue, this is limey, with subtle pebbly notes and rolling acidity – just a bit warm and forward. C 16.3, T 15.8
Flight 2
Howard Park 2007, Great Southern, Western Australia – pale with a lifted, grapefruity nose which citrus notes follow through on the palate together with lime; there’s a honeyed edge, even incipient peach. Very good, put on some weight since I last tasted it. C 17, T 16.4
Pettavel Evening Star 2007, Geelong, Victoria – a deep colour with ripe fruit – green mango and sweet talc – Johnsons baby powder, a bit warm and plodding in present company. Disappointing. C 16.3, T 16.4
Weingut Prager Klaus, Wachau, Austria – yellow with a nutty, oily developed nose and a broad, powerful palate with nutty overtones – it could all go horribly wrong but instead, the palate builds (or is at least lifted) by a glorious depth of apricot and peach and ample fresh acidity. A powerhouse with a long, sensual palate. Terrific. C 17.4, T 16.5
Ch. Ste Michelle & Dr Loosen Eroica 2007 – yellow/gold with a sweet, mandarin, slightly syrupy nose. This is a very user friendly Riesling with bouncy fruit and an interesting basalt mineral character beneath, supported by fairly lively acidity through the mid-palate, though it tails off a bit. 21g/l residual sugar. C 16.6, T 16.6
Weingut Wittman Kirchspiel 2007, Rheinhessen, Germany – deep gold with a striking gunflint nose. Rich and ripe, the palate has a creamy, leesy quality though good nip and tuck on the finish suggests a long life ahead. A sleeper. C 16.7, T 16.5
Grosset Polish Hill 2007, Clare Valley, South Australia – has the very dry, tensile, mineral quality I associate with this, one of my favourite Aussie Riesling producers, with good depth/extract, though not as tight or light on its feet as in other vintages (the 2008 is magnificent). C 16.3, T 15.7
Josmeyer Grand Cru Brand 2007 – this biodynamic producer’s naturally fermented Riesling has a tangy, mineral yet introverted (as in pull you in) nose which augurs the power to come on the palate. A layered mouthful of, tangy Coxes Orange Pippen fruit with dried honey a touch of salted limes, mineral and earth – a real sense of site with a long, powerful finish – lots of presence. C 16.4, T 16.2
Flight three
Wairu River Riesling 2007, Marlborough, New Zealand – once again, not a style for me, sweet and sour, with mango and sweaty armpit, an underlying greeness. C 17.2, T 16.6
Henschke Julius 2007 – an attractive limey nose, it has the pebbly, stony minerality and rolling acidity of the Steingarten but with greater intensity and freshness. Very good. C 16.8, T 16.2
Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge 2007 – very vibrant and uber-mineral, you can almost taste the ironstone soil on nose. Fabulous licking acidity, a touch sour, well done with really good nip and tuck…an invigorating plunge pool of a wine. A suitable reaction given that Judi Cullam and Barrie Smith from Frankland Estate were tasting next to me! C 17, T 16.2
Franz Kunstler Trocken 2007, Rheingau, Germany – floral, mineral nose with good fruit and so it is on the palate, which has a touch of tropicality, but sooo well balanced, still very tight with blossom and heady lily notes. A lovely combination of verve and richness of fruit, with not an iota of fat…. C 17.3, T 16.6
Bernhard Ott Rotem Schotter 2007, Wagram, Austria – a buttercup nose and a buttery leesiness to the mid-palate, though the finish is quite tight with limey acidity – at the moment, a wine of 2 parts – the fruit and acidity yet to integrate. C 17.2, T 17.3
Kilikanoon Mort’s Block 2007, Clare Valley – limey and showing some toasty development already. A punchy palate shows good vim and vigor, with a pronounced salted limes character and saline finish. C 16.5, T 16.3
Max Ferdinand Richter 2007, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer – with its residual sugar this is a big seachange – very Mosel, with some delicate spritz and lively Appeltiser fruit though, of course, much, much finer than said fizzy drink, with a very pure, transparent/gossamer quality to its fruit! Exemplary balance. C 17.3, T 16.4
A glimpse into the future – Aussie Pinot Noir
The annual international Riesling tasting has been running for four years but, as of next year, Howard Park plan to alternate Riesling with Pinot Noir. Australia has come on in leaps and bounds with this Burgundian variety in the last few years, especially in Victoria and Tasmania – see my notes from Australia Day Tasting here, so it’s good Howard Park are pushing the envelope in Western Australia.
Like other states, good clonal material (lack of Burgundian clones) has been a hindrance, with most plantings comprising the upright and discouragingly named “droopy” clone, though Bob Peruch at Batista does a great job with them. Bill and Dan Pannell at Picardy were early champions of Burgundian clones in WA, Bill having had connections with Domaine de la Pousse d’Or. The French connection is also paying dividends at Howard Park who are going “red hot” at Pinot Noir, owners Jeff & Amy Burch having teamed up with Burgundian winemaker Pascal Marchand. The trio makes Great Southern and Burgundian wines under their Marchand & Burch label.
I met Pascal at the London Wine Fair in May when he told me “there’s no reason why, with Western Australia’s climate, it can’t make world class Pinot Noir.” And he’s excited by its different soils which he’s not seen anywhere else, saying “I like pioneering – Burgundy has lots of experience and history but in Australia, I’m creating.” His involvement has proved inspiring for Howard Park’s viticulturists, David Botting and David Burch who have spent time in Burgundy. It’s encouraged them to explore organic and biodynamic ways of working (David Burch pictured ekeing out freshly dug up biodynamic 500 horn-manure), to use more Burgundian clones and selection massale and to plant at higher density.
Chief winemaker Tony Davis says “we’ve learned to be a bit brighter about ferments and become more relaxed about letting them run.” Jeff Burch says perhaps the biggest change of mindset has been to work more intensively with small scale batches, both in the vineyard (the new Scotsdale vineyard is carefully parcellated) and in the winery, where Pascal has introduced small sized fermenters.
The day after the Riesling tasting, the Burches laid on a blind tasting of Australian, New Zealand and Burgundian Pinot Noirs which suggest that, with Pascal’s help, they’re going red hot in the right direction! I particularly liked the Marchand & Burch single vineyard Gibraltar Rock Pinot Noir and the Marchand & Burch Chambertin Clos de Bèze Grand Cru 2007, which produced collective sighs of pleasure around the long, boardroom table. Not bad when you take into account the other famous names on the table or the previous night’s wine list (see “DRC, moussaka & salad” below).
Australia and New Zealand
Giant Steps Gladysdale Single Vineyard 2008, the Yarra Valley, Victoria – bright ruby though pale, with earthy red currant, berry and cherry fruit to its fresh nose and palate supported by firm but ripe tannins. Liked this a good deal for its freshness and crunchy fruit. A delicate Pinot Noir.
Picardy Tete de Cuvee 2007, Pemberton, Great Southern, Western Australia – a deeper colour with a smoky, spicy edge to its vibrant small berry and currant red and black fruits on nose and palate. Still quite tight with firm tannins – a powerful wine that needs a couple more years under its belt to unfurl. It showed better when I tasted it earlier in the week at Picardy.
Marchand & Burch Mount Barrow 2008, Mount Barker, Great Southern, Western Australia – quite fresh and forward with well defined red cherry and pomegranate. Quite silky in the mouth, but there’s a subtle edge of tannin to support medium-term drinking.
Marchand & Burch Gibraltar Rock 2008, Porongurups, Great Southern, Western Australia – this is the leased biodynamic vineyard which produced the Reserve Riesling and, for me, this is the more complex wine. Deeper colour with a plum and dark berry nose. The palate is creamy with ripe red and black currant and berry fruit but nonetheless, quite tightly focused, with lifted floral notes and attractive Asian spice.
Kooyong Haven Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007, Mornington Peninsula – a deeper colour again with squashy, ripe strawberries and vanilla oak to the nose, but the palate is surprising surly. It was a hot early year with very small berries, around half the normal size, so a fairly high skin to juice ratio yielded big, grippy tannins and this is a little backward. One to return to, not least since I’m a big fan of Kooyong’s Pinot Noirs and Chardys.
Felton Road 2006, Otago, New Zealand - after the Kooyong, this looks quite confected and sweet on the nose and palate with chocolate edged round plum and tighter sweet berry and red cherry fruit. Suave tannins add to the suave impression, but there’s bottom here too.
Burgundy flight
Marchand & Burch Gevrey Chambertin 2007 – a deep colour with a young, sappy, spicy nose with vanilla oak. The youthful exuberance follows through on the palate. It’s a little simple right now but there’s juicy acidity and firm but ripe tannins to support its vanilla edged fleshy blackberry, red cherry and raspberry fruit.
Marchand & Burch Clos de Beze 2007 – more developed in colour with a lovely nose showing game and spice. Quite lavish oak sits atop the palate but, as it unfurls with time in the glass, the palate builds showing an impressive heft of black and red fruits with a dusting of asian spice. The tannins are savoury and firm, a touch dry at present on the finish, but this has lots of potential and I really like the flavour spectrum.
Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2004 – the garnet edged ruby hue flags that this is an older wine. It shows squashy strawberry and a quite gamey nose and palate with some solid oak. There’s some darker plum and chocolate truffle notes – lacks a bit of animation – just no showing well or too early to taste?
Domaine de la Vougeraie Vougeot ‘Les Cras’ 1er Cru 2004 - plum and gamey notes to the nose and palate and looking much livelier than the Rousseau with silky fruit, some dark chocolate and tannins that build in the mouth on a tight, youthful finish. Lots of promise.
Bouchard Père et Fils Echézeaux Grand Cru 2004 - a big, firm, structured wine with plenty of interest along the journey thanks to an abundance of savoury, earthy black cherry and raspberry fruit with a hint of liquorice spice. Very long, smudgy tannins become tighter and more defined on the finish and there’s a mineral undertow. Very good and a keeper.
Domaine de L’Arlot Romanee St. Vivant Grand Cru 2004 – bright ruby and an exuberant, lifted nose with ripe red fruits. Lovely freshness and succulence to the jewel-bright fruit in the mouth, intermingled with subtle five spice and gamey/savoury hints. With its silky palate and cool mineral finish there’s plenty to take pleasure in here. Lovely.
Marchand & Burch Gevrey-Chambertin 2008 (barrel sample) – unsurprisingly tight and lean with a good intensity of wild bilberry, baked cherry and cherry stone fruit. Promising.
Marchand & Burch Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2008 (barrel sample) – very oaky with grippy tannins but there’s a freshness and prettiness behind. Wait and see.
DRC, moussaka & salad
When you see Jeff and Amy Burch’s private cellar, it’s clear why they’re so excited to work with Pascal – Burgundy as well as Bordeaux, the Rhone and Alsace feature strongly and it’s tip top stuff, some of which they generously trotted out at the post-Riesling tasting supper. Moussaka and salad was the order of the day and great to have some home cooking when you’re on the road. As for the accompanying wines, this was definitely something I would like to try at home…when I win the Premium Bonds!
We kicked off with some historic, early Margaret River vintages – can’t be many of these around so a real treat, not to mention compelling evidence of Margaret River’s affinity for Bordelais grapes. You can find some fantastic anecdotes from Dr Tom Cullity, Vasse Felix’s founder, here together with a cracking photo of him looking thorougly Gallic in a beret!
Bordeaux blends
Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 1974 – a ruby hue, so still good colour; the palate shows a good depth of blackcurrant and plum fruit with warm earth and a tarry edge. Just a touch pinched on the finish, but impressive.
Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon 1978 – I’d tasted a vertical of Cullen’s flagship wines in 2007 with Vanya Cullen when I spent 2 weeks cellar ratting in 2007 and was impressed by the longevity of wines dating back to 1981 (see here for a report of the vertical), so great to go back a little further in time. Again, still good colour to this wine and plenty of stuffing too, with remarkably fresh blackcurrant fruit wed to sinewy tannins. Very good.
Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon 1988 - a smoky, quite sweet palate, plummy with more flesh than the predecessors and savoury liquorice notes. Lacks a bit of precision – my heart still belongs to the 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot – here’s my 2007 write up: super intense, with concentrated blackcurrant, coal soap/boot polish a mineral undertow and layered, taffeta tannins – still plenty to deliver – excellent.
Cheval Blanc 1966 – garnet red, this showed a leafy, perfumed edge to its delicate red berry and cherry fruit. Seamlessly integrated gamey, spicy notes complex the palate which is gently supported by present but supple tannins. Very good.
The Rhone
Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 1985 – dried herbs to the nose and the finish, but I liked the way its rich, savoury, quite leathery plum fruit cleaved to the palate. Very well balanced wine with lovely ripe but present tannins.
Pinot Noir
Bruno Clair Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques 2001 – this was beautifully fine and delicate with a lovely intensity of ripe red cherry, with an earthy, wet clay tang which I love to find in Pinot Noir – part of its dryness and its sensual texture.
Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos St Jacques 1999 – I remember one of the first fancy tastings I went to when still a lawyer was a The Wine Society tasting of Armand Rousseau’s wines presented by Clive Coates. The Clos St Jaques, regarded as an honorary Grand Cru site, was a favourite. This was tight, still quite closed with a curious camphor note, so I can’t say I was joyfully reunited with Clos St Jacques – it needs time.
Domaine Comte de Vogüé, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amourouses 1998 – my tasting notes simply refer to this wine’s big firm tannins and a clove edge – I suspect I quickly moved on given the wines to follow.
Domaine de la Pousse d’Or Volnay Premier Cru Clos de la Bousse d’Or 1996 – very gamey, spicy nose, with red fruits and plum in the mouth, somewhat trammelled by robust, (query slightly green) tannins.
Mongeard-Mugneret, Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru 1996 – an attractive earthy, gamey nose and palate with plenty of stuffing, sweet fruit, groomed by firm tannins, making for a precise, long finish. Lots of potential.
Mongeard-Mugneret, Grand Cru Grands Echézeaux 1991 – firm, firm tannins here with pithy cranberry and pomegranate fruit. A little unforgiving.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru 1998 – pale ruby, wow, really flies on the nose and palate, delicate yet intense with gorgeous incense spice character and the lightest touch of chocolate. Long, fine, persistent finish.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, La Tâche Grand Cru 2000 – an intense, precise wine, with sous bois notes to its red fruit, but playing hard to get right now – there’s a frustrating sense of another dimension, yet to be explored and I found the textured tannins to lie somewhere between silky and sinewy – maybe that’s taffeta? Over time, it built in the mouth, but in all honesty, it felt elusive…
The big picture – Howard Park current releases
Madfish is Howard Park’s very successful volume brand. The Burchs have just introduced two higher tiers to the Madfish brand – the Premium and Gold Turtle labels of which I thought the Golden Turtle Chardonnay and Cabernet were pretty smart. Here are my highlights of the tasting:
Madfish Unwooded Chardonnay 2008 – this is Howard Park’s biggest seller – a blend of fruit sourced from Harvey down to Great Southern and it’s well done. It shows cashew, peachy, ripe fruit and a touch of fig; there’s a nice lift in the tail, thanks to a dash of Sauvignon.
Howard Park Chardonnay 2007 – a flavoursome nose and palate shows creamy white and yellow peach with judicious toast and savoury nutty, spicy notes. Still, good line and persistence.
Madfish Gold Turtle Chardonnay 2008 - this is 100% Margaret River fruit. It shows more toasty oak than the HP Chardy, wed to ripe, buttery, golden delicious/custard apple and white peach fruit balanced by zesty lime/citrus fruit. Well done.
Howard Park Chardonnay 2008 – 80% of the fruit is sourced from Great Southern, the balance from Margaret River. The oak is more subtle than the 2007, more spicy/nutty which works very well with more restrained pear/white orchard fruit. More solids have produced an attractive silky texture. The finish is honeyed with stealthy, underlying acidity pushing out a lengthy finish with an edge of praline.
Marchand & Burch Great Southern Chardonnay 2008 – sourced from Southern Porongurups fruit. After a quick settling without enzymes, the must is run off straight to barrel with a high degree of turbidity. This is a limpid yet creamy wine (100% malo) with custard apple and white peach. A tangy finish shows honey/nougat notes.
Madfish Tempranillo Gold Turtle 2008 – sourced from Harvey and Geographe this is a well made Tempranillo with liquorice spice to its plummy fruit. Attractively dry, with savoury tannins, it’s matured in large older oak barrels.
Marchand and Burch Shiraz 2007 – more red than black fruits this is drier, earthier and more layered than the blackcurranty Howard Park Shiraz. Whole bunches and stalks fermented in open vat give an edge of chalky tannins and balancing freshness which I like.
Madfish Gold Turtle Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 – a lot of wine here with firm tannins, juicy black fruits, chocolate and balsamic notes – very good. It comes off a single block in Yallingup, Margaret River, which sees extended maceration to build the tannins.
I tasted the Howard Park Scotsdale, Leston and flagship Abercrombie 2007s, but they were a little shy and brooding. 2007 is a terrific vintage so I look forward to coming back to them once they’ve opened up a little. Meantime, here’s my note of the award winning Abercrombie 2005 vintage which I tasted at the Great Wine Estates of Western Australia tasting at London’s Wine Show in May (see here for a full report).
Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – a fragrant cedar and blackcurrant nose leads onto a rich, glossy palate with exuberant red and black fruits and chocolatey tannins; well-crafted, poised wine with lots of ready appeal but will go the distance.
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
17 December 2009 (based on my visit of 2-4 October)
