TAYLORS WINES, CLARE VALLEY SOUTH AUSTRALIA

If you're planning a visit to a wine area make sure you visit one of the big producers. They set a benchmark against which the smaller winemakers can be evaluated. Sometimes the big guys surprise you and often they disappoint. Which is why we had to visit Taylors and we are so glad we did. This family owned winery has achieved so much in 50 years and with what we tasted the future looks outstanding. 

Most wine drinkers would be familiar with their Estate Label featuring the sea horse logo. Sadly it's become a  label at the mercy of the volume retailers who manipulate the market with huge variations in price. Their Jaraman range is far more obscure but even that is currently on some retail shelves for 60% of their cellar door price. The vintages we tasted were outstanding.

Our Cellar Door visit highlight was tasting their two ranges that aren't on retail shelves: the TWP and Taylor Made Range. Contact the winery for these on 08 8849 1118 or email cdsales@taylorswines.com.au.

We tasted a lot of wines. Here are the ones that scored the 5/5 rating from us. It's a long list  with their cellar door prices. Be careful of the vintages, the ones listed are what we tasted. Insist on those.

ESTATE RANGE [$20]  lowest I've seen in the last 12 months is $11

2018 Sauvignon Blanc [Adelaide Hills] 

2018 Tempranillo

JARAMAN RANGE [$25 for chardonnay, $32 for reds] Currently $20 to $23 at Dan Murphy, but check the vintages.

2017 Chardonnay

2017 Pinot Noir [Yarra Valley]

2017 Shiraz 

2016 Cabernet Sauvignon [Coonawarra/Clare Valley]

TAYLORS WINEMAKER'S PROJECT

2017 Riesling $25

2015 Tasmania Pinot Noir $40

2017 Shiraz $25

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon $25

TAYLOR MADE [$25]

2016 Pinot Noir [Adelaide Hills]

2017 Malbec

2017 Shiraz

2017 BDX [Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet Franc blend]

FLOR D' PENALVA 2015 RESERVA VIHNO TINTA

This wine is another that seriously challenges the efficacy and credibility of Continente's current sale. There is no way this wine justifies the "original" price tag. And at the reduced price there are so many better and cheaper. The wine is sound but why would you bother?

GRAPE VARIETIES: Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz
REGION:Dao, Portugal
A/V: 13 % 
PRICE: 3.69 euro [reduced from 12.49]
FROM: Continente, Portugal
RATING: 1/5 from me 

OUTSTANDING WINE TASTING NUMBER TWO

On the basis of the OUTSTANDING 2011 vintage Chateau de Fieuzal is our favourite Bordeaux producer. So how could we resist when we found these two wines on the shelves at E.Leclerc St Vincent Tyrosse.

CHATEAU DE FIEUZAL 2014 GRAND GRU CLASSE DE GRAVES PESSAC -LEOGNAN 
A/V: 13.5% 
PRICE: 23.90 euro 
FROM: E.Leclerc
RATING: 5/5 from me 


L'ABEILLE DE FIEUZAL 2015 PESSAC -LEOGNAN 
A/V: 13.5% 
PRICE: 18.20 euro 
FROM: E.Leclerc
RATING: 2/5 from me 

We tasted these over three days and the difference between the two was closest at the beginning. Even then the difference in quality was far greater than 6 euro. Then the gap just widened. Presumably the L'Abeille is a secondary label and I don't know why you'd bother. The 2014 is a class act that drinks beautifully on opening and just keeps improving. Definitely one for long term cellaring. The L'Abeille goes nowhere.

OUTSTANDING WINE TASTING NUMBER ONE

Chateau Bellevue Medoc : Vintages 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
October 8, 9 and 10 - 2017

The starting point for understanding wine is drinking the stuff. We in the wine biz used to say "we had a look at that wine" or "have you seen it?".It meant have you tasted it? And that's just like drinking although you may spit. 

I can't see the point of spitting if you've only got four wines and you're planning to taste them over three days. This tasting was inspired by the opportunity to buy four sequential vintages of the same label. We wanted to see the extent of vintage variation and how the wines evolved once the cork was pulled.

The vintage variation was HUGE!

2012 was the strongest performer on Day 1. A little bit all over the place but a big opulent wine offered plenty of optimism for Day 2. Sadly it had fallen over by then and never got back up. If you have some, drink now

2013 was by far the lightest bodied and the biggest surprise. It evolved each day in a positive subtle way. Medium cellaring should be fine.

2014 was oak dominated and didn't show anything but oak for the life of the tasting.

2015 not surprisingly opened as a young wine and evolved really well each day into the best of the line up. Enjoy it over the next three years.

The wines were all around the 9.5 euro mark. I wouldn't jump up and down about any of them but for under 40 euro this was a priceless tasting experience.

NOBODY MAKES A WHITE LIKE THIS BY ACCIDENT

CHATEAU SARANSOT-DUPRE 2015 SEC

Mango! Never have I tasted a wine with such a definitive fruit character. There's no nuances, hints or suggestions. It's just full on mango - about a tray's worth from Sydney Markets as the new season begins.
So we did something unusual with our white tastings and whacked it back in the fridge. 
Day Two: Mango! Back in the fridge
Day Three: While the mango was still going strong there were other complex characters wafting around the glass and it had evolved into a really fascinating wine. Still in great condition with no oxidisation.

The verdict? At first I thought this was impossible to rate but on reflection this is the perfect 4/5 rated wine. You will love or hate it. There is no room for a wishy washy opinion. . If you're an experimenter this is a must. If you want your sauvignon blancs to taste like Marlborough, avoid at all costs.

REGION: Bordeaux
A/V: 13.5% 
PRICE: 12 euro 
FROM: Cave L'Avant Garde Margaux 
RATING: 4/5 from me

WE SHOULD HAVE LEFT THIS ON THE TOP SHELF

LE CHASNOY 2015 POUILLY FUME

A disappointment after the Sancerre but maybe that's just me. Just seemed lack lustre by comparison. Bigger bodied without anything to balance the weight.

GRAPE VARIETIES: Sauvignon Blanc
REGION: Appellation Pouilly-Fume, Loire
A/V: 13% 
PRICE: 9.40 euro 
FROM: SuperU
RATING: 2/5 from me 

CHATEAU DE CARAGUILHES 2015 "SOLUS"

This is a really interesting wine for so many reasons. 
It's contained in an extremely expensive bottle with a decidedly untraditional French premium wine label. [it doesn't come with the stain down the side - that was our clumsiness] It's from the Corbieres-Boutenac Appellation that's set itself up as a cut above the average Languedoc in which it sits.
And it's a quadruple blend of Mouvedre, Shiraz, Grenache and Carignan with a hefty 14% a/v. 

We road tested it over 3 days and while it opened with plenty of near block busting promise there just wasn't the evolution we hope for in a young red. 

20 euro from Cave L'Avant Garde Margaux
3/5 Rating from me

OUTSTANDING 100% PETIT VERDOT FROM BORDEAUX

I love this grape variety and spent many happy years recommending Australian efforts to Australian wine drinkers who had never heard of the stuff. I'm fondly remembering Pirramimma and a cheapie made by De Bortoli in the Riverina. In fact it was surprising how well it responded to sensible levels of irrigation.

What a treat then to open this. The colour is enough to make you want to pull the cork. Deep, intense and vibrant at the same time. Dazzling. And then the palate. A rich sumptuous roller coaster of flavours in perfect harmony. 

Very highly recommended to drink now with breathing

or cellar for 5+ years

CHATEAU MOUTTE BLANC 2015 MOISIN
14.5%a/v
19euro from Cave L'Avant Garde Margaux
5/5 rating

DOMAINE ST MICHEL 2015 COTES DU

More of the same from SuperU


4.45 euro from SuperU France 
4/5 Rating from me

MOULIN DE MEYRAN 2015 COTES DU RHONE

There's a certain sameness in these budget wines which shouldn't be surprising. They are all very well made and would be an extreme bargain in any other market. What is surprising is that the same supermarket would have so many similar wines at the same price point.

4.40 euro from SuperU France 
4/5 Rating from me

FAR MORE MAINSTREAM THAN THE MUSCAT

Pays D'oc Merlot Grande Reserve
SuperU have quite a range under this label. While I recommended the Muscat with some caution this is a much safer proposition. A lovely easy drinking red with satisfying palate weight. 

3.55euro from SuperU France 
4.5/5 Rating from me

I'D HOPED FOR MORE

Beaumes de Venise 2015 Cotes du Rhone 
This unfortunately didn't provide a step up from the 5 euro stuff available. It's a harsh judgement because anywhere else in the world this would be a bargain

6.95euro from SuperU France 
3/5 Rating from me

A PARTICULARLY FERAL RED

Secrets of Chai  2015 AOC Saumur Cabernet Franc
This is a red that takes some adjusting to. It opens as a charry tannic beast totally devoid of fruit. After about an hour the tannins subside, the charriness remains and some cabernet fruit emerges along with an earthy feral character. This is one of those wines I recommend with caution. It's well worth a trial but it will only appeal to a limited audience.

4.3euro from SuperU France 
4/5 Rating from me

This is probably the best budget white EVER!

COTES DU GASCOGNE 2015 EXOTIQUE
In the 40 [yes I started young] odd years I've been raving about wine I can't recall a better budget white than this. 
It's from the south west of France not too far from Portugal's Vinho Verde. It's probably a Lidl controlled brand and it's probably mostly colombard.  And if it was VV it would be as good as I've tasted. It has a crisp dry lifted vibrancy that absolutely dazzles - you'd think it was bottled yesterday. A truly outstanding wine that I would recommend to anyone.
NB This is one that Lidl regularly feature as one of their £2.99 weekend promotions. Which means it's usually sold out very quickly on a Saturday morning

5/5 rating from me
£2.99 from Lidl on promotion
£4.29 the rest of the time

I'm looking for much more from this grape

Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference" Salento 2015 Primitivo

I'm looking for a lot more complexity and grunt from Primitivo than I found here. The outstanding Gypsy Jack from Langhorne Creek raised the bar way too high for any competitors I've tasted so far. While this is a perfectly pleasant red that won't offend please don't use this as a benchmark.


3/5 rating from me 
£6 from Sainsbury's

This label deserved a better wine

This ticked a few boxes for me as I picked it off the shelf. I liked the label, the back label read well, it was a new grape variety for me and it comfortably fits in most people's budget.
Unfortunately the contents didn't match the description or the quality of the label. Maybe it should have been consumed a year earlier but it was quite developed and austere with no discernible fruit to grab hold of. If I was still retailing I'd like to get rid of this fairly quickly.


Mondelli 2015 Terre Siciliane Grillo
2/5 rating from me 
                                             £5.25  from Sainsbury's

Most Wanted 2015 Albarino

The first Albarino I ever tasted was a weird and wonderful 2013 effort from Stanrock in New Zealand. It polarised opinion. 90% hated it, 10% thought it was the best white they'd ever tasted. That didn't surprise me and I like wines that get that type of response - although 50/50 would be better.
This is nothing like that which is probably a good thing for the makers and distributors. It's just not so exciting.
Albarino [aka Alvarinho in Portugal] is a white wine variety popular in the north western corner of the Iberian peninsula. This is a pretty mainstream effort that will appeal to most dry white drinkers.


12.5% a/v
3.5/5 rating from me 
£7 from Sainsbury's

I wonder where these two come from?

Retailers all around the world have wines labelled for them. They make up brand names or simply use their own name. Which means the same wine could conceivably be on the market under many different labels. In the UK they've gone one step further:No brand and no indication of who it was made for.
But there is absolutely no mistaking their country of origin.
The Pinotage is unmistakeably South African with that earthy feral character displayed by this hybrid variety. If you like your reds squeaky clean this is to be avoided. Otherwise I recommend a try. It has a bit of grunt at 14% a/v and at just £3.89 at Lidl scores 4/5 from me
The Pinot Grigio has a little more palate weight than usual and a dash of sweetness. It's not particularly exciting but I could see it being a real crowd pleaser. £4 at Tesco scores 3.5/5 from me

Just Buy It!!!

ZILZIE 2015 SHIRAZ VIOGNIER
I sold truck loads of Zilzie wines during my Australian retail career. One reason was that they always offered outstanding value for money. Another was I scored all their disastrous [from a marketing point of view] Shane Warne labelled wines at a fraction of their true value. 

So I couldn't resist this as an old familiar label leaped of the shelf to me during the recent visit to Asda. It's a beauty. A small amount [probably 3-5%] of the blend is the white grape viognier and this acts to extract the shiraz flavours to create a more user friendly drink now red. It will age but I doubt whether it will get a chance once you've tasted it. Lashings of fruit flavour, 14% a/v, lovely tannins, delicious red grossly underpriced.
5/5 rating from me  
£4.98 from Asda

It's time to discover Fiano

2015 FIANO SICILIA - distributed by Asda Stores
One of the great joys of buying wine in the UK is that there are a wide number of retailers that have 80% mutually exclusive ranges. Which means there is so much to choose from as long as you rotate your wine buying visits amongst them.
I hadn't been to Asda for awhile so it was like a whole new experience. You don't see much Fiano around and unless you've tried it I suspect most wine buyers would be reluctant to give it a crack - "what is it?"

It's a grape whose home is southern Italy. It's low yielding and jam packed with very individual flavours. I know it from Australian winemakers experimenting successfully with the variety. In particular Coriole and Rutherglen Wine Estates. So I couldn't resist trying one from where it all began. and I'm so pleased I did. There's a bit of palate weight and viscosity that reminds me of viognier. But it's beautifully restrained and balanced with citrus and apple undertones [for the life of me I couldn't detect the passionfruit described on the label]. It has the character to match a wide range of foods and I really suggest you give it a try. This is a very classy, well made dry white and an absolute bargain at the price.
4.5/5 rating from me 
£5 at Asda