LEABROOK ESTATE

Leabrook Estate's is a relatively new cellar door in the Adelaide Hills, and if you haven't been yet I suggest you put it at the top of your must visit list next time you're in the region. From word go there's just so much to like about the place. It's housed in a charmingly rustic 130 year-old stone and wood building, which gives off an air of old world charm, traditional values and small-scale, boutique, customer focused winemaking as soon as you arrive.

I recall meeting Leabrook Estate's owner/winemaker Colin Best at a small winemaker's tasting several years ago, where the man left a great impression on me. If I remember correctly Colin brought his own decanters to that tasting, the only winemaker on the day to do so, telling me here's a guy who's serious about presenting his wines in the best possible fashion. Everything about Colin that day beamed focus and determination, especially when it came to cabernet franc (perhaps the house specialty) and pinot noir.

After going through Leabrook on the weekend I'm only happier with the way the brand has developed. Leabrook Estate had no cellar door when I met Colin, but I can tell you he's picked the right pair of ladies to manage it. Both our hosts (headed by the lovely Chris Best) were very personable, entertaining and sharp given the amount of customers they dealt with. It was apparent they were only too willing to take in guests to the cellar door like friends to a family dinner. In fact, the rather intimate cellar door experience reminded me of some of my favourite memories at Ashton Hills with Peta and Stephen George (only minus the state's best pinot!).

Leabrook offers a fairly contemporary range of cool-climate Adelaide Hills' wines, except for their unusual selection of 5 renditions of red Bordeaux styles. I was particularly impressed by Leabrook's generous pricing (especially after having gone there direct from The Lane) and most notably quality control. Due to the harsh conditions thrown up by the 2008 vintage, Colin declassified all the pinot noir fruit which would usually go into his Reserve wine. Instead the grapes were bottled as a cleanskin release, which is sold through cellar door for the excellent price of $80 a dozen. I can tell you the 2008 pinot cleanskins were proving very popular with punters on the day, as I counted at least 5 cartons walk out the door when I was there. Declassification of below quality fruit into lesser wines in difficult seasons is a decision I always applaud wineries on.

In conclusion, if you're in the Hills (or even if you're not, it's only 20 minutes from Adelaide's CBD straight up Greenhill Road) then you must pop in and say G'day at Leabrook Estate's cellar door. You won't regret it. Leabrook Estate is open weekends and public holidays only, from 11am to 5pm.

Leabrook Estate tasting notes are posted below.

Leabrook Estate Riesling 2008 ($22) Slatey, quartz and mineral aromas show a touch of toasty development, but its palate is a bit round and soft, with what seems like awkward, spiky acids. I'd say adolescence has started to kick in here. 87

Leabrook Estate Chardonnay 2007 ($30) A lighter oaked style with ripe melon fruits and a tangy, citrussy palate. It's fairly tidy but a bit simple. 87

Leabrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2008 ($35) Fragrant nutty/buttery oak evident, with a balanced expression of very refined mineral and white stonefruit characters. True stuff in the modern Australian mould. 90

Leabrook Estate Pinot Noir 2003 ($15) Very developed, muddy earth nose lacks aromatic lift. Its palate is sharp, without much in the way of texture or richness. 83

Leabrook Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2007 ($33) Good spice characters to the nose, with underlying cherry and dark plum aromas. The palate presents pleasing, silky texture with fair, prickly pinot structure and an interesting, more savoury finish marked by cedar oak and spice. (full review soon) 90

Cleanskin Pinot Noir 2008 ($80/doz) Surprisingly varietal nose, with perfume, light spice and red cherry. The palate however, lets down its initial promise, with a light, forward and short expression of unconvincing, overly ripe varietal flavour in the rhubarb/currant spectrum that ends rather abruptly. It was very popular on the day but for about $2 more a unit I'd take De Bortoli's 2008 Windy Peak instead. (Casey picked up two cases of this so we might do a comparison of these two sub-$10 pinots one day...) 82

Leabrook Estate Cabernet Franc 2006 ($26) Big fan of this wine normally and the 2006 didn't let me down. It's more of a riper, juicy and quaffable style of richly flavoured Adelaide Hills' red with some cabernet franc character. (reviewed separate post) 90

Leabrook Estate Merlot 2006 ($28) Slightly herbal, tea leaf and red plum characters with none of the plumpness of warmer climate merlot and a surprising structure delivered through fine tannins and good acid. At its best I believe Adelaide Hills merlot can be quite good and this wine proves it well. (does anyone remember Shaw and Smith's?) 90

Leabrook Estate Shiraz 2006 ($30) Very vibrant nose marked by clear spice notes, bright fruit and aromas of cedar oak and aniseed. It's a medium-bodied style, with a lingering, peppery and spicy finish marked by additional tones of aniseed/fennel. Good stuff and a fine take on the regional style. 90

Leabrook Estate Three Regions Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($30) 85% Adelaide Hills with the remainder split between the Adelaide Plains and Langhorne Creek. The Adelaide Plains/Langhorne Creek components certainly contribute richness and plushness to the mid-palate, but its aroma still seems a bit flat. There's a smooth plushness to its herbal dark fruit and chocolate flavours, which show plenty of ripeness and easy drinkability. Probably more of an early drinker. 88

Leabrook Estate George Merlot 2008 ($40) Intensely fragrant, with a herb/menthol overlay to red berry and spicy cedar oak aromas. Its barely medium-bodied palate is fine, elegant and balanced, and driven nicely down the palate by a structure that's relatively vivid for the variety. A very good Australian merlot which represents a true varietal expression (maybe there's a little cabernet thrown in?) 92

HAHNDORF HILL

My first impression on my visit to Hahndorf Hill was one of disappointment. Disappointment that their superb, award winning restaurant has been closed down in favour of a chocolate tasting area (since September supposedly). Other than that however, the entire experience at Hahndorf Hill remains as enjoyable as ever.

On arrival at the tasting bench we were greeted by South African owner/winemaker Larry Jacobs, who charmed his way through their entire range with us, with the professionalism and striking personality of a seasoned veteran. Being South African we felt it natural to discuss World Cup soccer and enjoyed joking about the Kiwis with him (we drew the first game, then the second, and oh yes, we finally drew the third!), while the group I was with presented a round of applause to the charming Larry when he told us of his refusal to sell Hahndorf Hill wines through Woolworths owned outlets. Although I must mention, Larry's sample pours were decidedly skint!

As has become the norm at Hahndorf Hill, their present range of wines is highlighted by one of the Adelaide Hills' most delicious, distinctive chardonnays (defined by lovely, clear butterscotch characters for the second straight release) as well as delightfully spicy, fine and rich regional shiraz. In my opinion Hahndorf Hill remains one of the Adelaide Hills' most underrated makers of both shiraz and chardonnay. There's also a savoury, dry and unique rose made from trollinger and lemberger grapes (which gets released with a year's bottle age) plus one of the Hills' better sauvignon blancs in Hahndorf Hill's collection.

Wine snoffs out there with a liking for the Austrian grape gruner veltliner will be interested to hear Hahndorf Hill now has that grape under vine too. Larry informed us he'd just finished bottling his first vintage (2010), however, the wine has already sold out through pre-sales to his loyal customer base. Looks like I might have to wait till the 2011 release, for which, Hahndorf Hill's website is already taking expressions of interest. Larry's goal is to make a light-medium bodied style gruner veltliner (or groo-vy as he affectionately titles it - there's one for savvy drinkers to snap at!) which reflects a wine with spicy, gris-like character and riesling-like acidity.

I've written up a separate post on Hahndorf Hill's Vino-Choc chocolate and wine tasting below, because I feel it's quite an interesting, educational and unique experience, which is well worth the time for people with a serious interest in wine and food.

All up there's a lot to like about this enterprising, genuinely boutique little winery.

Hahndorf Hill tasting notes are posted below

Hahndorf Hill Rose 2009 ($22) Even though I'm a self confessed non-rose drinker, I always find time to taste Hahndorf Hill's, which is an unusual blend of the red grapes trollinger and lemberger. The 2009 is light, dry and savoury in a good food-pairing sense, but I still found that hint of dirty, candied acids which I so detest in rose. Personally I'd love to see the maker make more trollinger or lemberger as a single varietal red wine. Now that could be interesting! 85

Hahndorf Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($22) Usually one of the Hills' best yet least heralded savvys. The 2009 is no exception. Its nose doesn't jump out of the glass, but the palate thankfully delivers a smooth, luscious and smartly richer expression of gooseberry and lime flavours framed by the necessary refreshing acids. 90

Hahndorf Hill Pinot Grigio 2009 ($25) Another style I'm not particularly huge on (least of all from the Adelaide Hills), but this one's a pretty good, clean and fresh style with the typical pear characters delivered in water-clean fashion. Nick Stock rated this 93 points and Australia's best grigio. 89

Hahndorf Hill Chardonnay 2008 ($28) First varietal chardonnay from HHW since the excellent 2004 vintage (92pts). It's nicely refined yet character laden, rich and textured, and lives up to the 2004's standards. Shows the makers trademark butterscotch characters (which become more pronounced with age) with a creamy expression of peach, melon and creamy cedar oak marked by citric acids, ever present mineral qualities and a clean finish. It's classic Hahndorf Hill style and great value as always. (full review soon) 92

Hahndorf Hill Shiraz 2007 ($30) Shows the strong spice aromas which define the label, this time in more of a pepper sense. There's some red cherry and plush dark plum notes as well, plus carefully contained oak. The palate is beautifully elegant, with fine line and length driven by a sensitive rod of dry tannins. (full review soon) 91

Hahndorf Hill Shiraz 2006 ($32) Superlative fragrance. It's exotic, heady and floral, with distinct notes of cinnamon, clove and violets, in fact it's one of the most beautifully spicy Adelaide Hills shiraz I've ever encountered. Its rich and velvety dark plum and mulberry fruit flavours are considerately framed by light tannins and zippy acids, allowing its wonderful fruit to shine through. A delicious, generously flavoured and hedonistically spiced regional style. 92

VINO-CHOC AT HAHNDORF HILL

Hahndorf Hill's cellar door gives wine tasters the opportunity to drink their wines alongside some of the world's greatest chocolates, in a sit down, formal setting. The staff at Hahndorf Hill recommend you give an hour to spare for the tasting, which is conducted with detailed explanations of each chocolate. There's a variety of options to chose from, ranging from a single glass with a single style of chocolate, to a trio of wines (a third of a glass each) matched to 5 individual chocolates. Prices range from around $20 up to around $40, most of which seems to cover the cost of the chocolate.

I sampled the 2008 Chardonnay with Michel Cluzel tasting (pictured but only showing 2 of the 3 chocolates), incorporating a glass of chardonnay and three small blocks of chocolate for $20 all up. The dark chocolates (all around 66% cocoa) matched the chardonnay surprisingly well. It left a delightful fusion of smooth chardonnay acid and dark, bitter chocolate tannin lingering in the mouth, implying both freshness and grip. I also had a glass of Hahndorf Hill's 2006 Shiraz with the Menavava (50 grams-$26) chocolate tasting, which cost me another $31. The German made but Madagascan sourced Menavava was 52% cocoa and included both vanilla and cocoa nibs. Not only was it the finest milk chocolate I've ever had but it's the only one I've seen with a 39 page booklet included in the package as well as a delightful tasting note on the back;

'Milky, with intense cocoa note. With crispy roasted fresh Menavava cocoa beans and fresh vanilla.'

My only question over the experience is pricing. What you pay for a glass of wine and in some cases very little chocolate could easily afford you a good square meal (or dessert) plus a glass of wine at many of the Hills' delightful pubs and eateries. Given the rather exorbitant prices of the Vino-Choc tastings I'll be interested to see if the experiment lasts, but even if it doesn't, at least they would've opened the eyes of a few people to the world of wine and fine chocolate tasting, just as they did with me (sauvignon blanc and 99% cocoa chocolate, well I never!).

IS THIS THE CLEANEST WATER IN THE WORLD?

In addition to seeking out the world's finest chocolates for their VinoChoc tasting, Hahndorf Hill also seek out what they believe to be the world's cleanest water as a palate cleanser.

Originating from Tasmania, Cape Grim claims to be the 'cleanest natural water in the known world'. Supposedly the air over their water source travels up from Antarctica, passing over 16,000km of clean sea water and little else. They believe that purity of air equals exceptional water quality.

Cape Grim's back label reads; 'Clean air means clean water. City air purity ranges between 10,000 and 500,000 particles per cubic centimetre. The water in this bottle was collected on days when the air purity was between 0 and 600 particles per cubic centimetre. The smooth, soft characteristics of this water reflect indiscernable levels of naturally evolving salts.'

I'm sitting here drinking it right now and it tastes pretty good to me, but I've never really viewed water in that deep an analytical sense.

THE LANE

The third cellar door I visited in the Adelaide Hills last sunday was The Lane (formerly Ravenswood Lane). I'm going to keep this post fairly brief, because for the second time in as many visits I was disappointed with the range of wines on offer at The Lane.

Although The Lane's flagship reds; the Reunion Shiraz and 19th Meeting Cabernet Sauvignon, both delivered the finest, most elegant and harmonious wines I've had from each respective label from the 2007 vintage, I still believe they're overpriced at $65 each. In fact, I feel most of The Lane's range is overpriced given the track record and recent quality of their wines. There's a $39 chardonnay which is about to be superseded by an even more expensive chardy in the range, 2 bottles of $39 Adelaide Hills shiraz in addition to the Reunion, a $39 viognier, a $39 pinot grigio, a $35 and a $30 sauvignon blanc/semillon as well as a dessert wine with an asking price greater than that of De Bortoli's Noble One. Just because you have a fancy cellar door restaurant with pricey, delectable dishes doesn't mean you have to make wines with a price to match.

The two wines from The Lane which I have enjoyed in recent years, the Gathering Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and the Beginning Chardonnay, both failed to meet my expectations of wines with their respective asking prices. The 2008 Beginning produced another solid if not spectacular chardonnay, with good, ripe melon fruit and cashew nut qualities marked by a smooth, creamy texture, but at $39 it's competing against regional big guns Shaw and Smith, Petaluma and Grosset, when I feel it would be better served competing against the likes of Yalumba's FDW7C, Ashton Hills, Hahndorf Hill, Barratt and Starvedog Lane in the $20-$30 chardonnay class. The wooded 2009 Gathering SBS just seemed to dumb its primary fruit down a bit too much for me, leading to a rather bland and neutral white, which at $35 (same price as Cullen's) isn't a speck on the Margaret River's best. I know the Gathering is capable of better and I will return to the label without question.

One of the more interesting wines available was The Lane's 2008 Pinot Grigio; oily, developing and textured, with a good richness of flavour and ample pear/honey character for the variety, but once again; $39!?

After having said all this I must also mention that there's plenty of good reasons to go up and visit The Lane. The location is absolutely stunning; perched high on a hilltop with sweeping views across the Adelaide Hills, there's hardly a more picturesque spot in the region. The cellar door staff are always smart and friendly, and the extravagant cellar door restaurant is magnificent, one of the best in the Hills (look out Bridgewater Mill!), which leads me to another point; why is the cellar door tasting bench located in the main dining room? About a metre behind us sat a table of roughly 20 diners. It was a busy, full house that day (supposedly sundays require booking 6-8 weeks in advance) and aromatic dishes were flying past us at close range thick and fast. The cellar door hand mentioned she'd learnt every dish by smell alone and every one of my companions also noticed the obvious aromatic distractions. The pork belly in particular had us salivating...

OZ WINE TOONS

LEABROOK ESTATE CABERNET FRANC 2006

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $26

- Screwcap

- 14.0%alc

In addition to his achievements with the Adelaide Hills 'standards' of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir, Leabrook Estate's very focused Colin Best also produces some rather fascinating takes on red Bordeaux varieties. Lately my pick of Leabrook's lot has been the cabernet franc, which in years like 2005 (92pts) successfully captures the style's distinctive fragrance and lean, dry, dusty qualities.

Leabrook's 2006 Cabernet Franc shows valid green notes of capsicum and dried herbs laid across aromas of blackcurrants, tobacco and ripe cherry in a fruit focused style, although there remains a clean whiff of toasty cedar/vanilla oak residing in the background. Much fuller and more sumptuous than the 2005 release, its generous palate announces a juicy core of vibrant berry flavours which extend with nuances of fresh green capsicum, toasty oak and tobacco. It finishes clean and soft in a charmingly drinkable manner, with a surprisingly creamy extract of ripe tannins balanced by well judged acids and underlined by lingering fruit.

ü This juicy and generously fruited, perhaps typically Australian cabernet franc presents quite a contrast to my recollections of Leabrook's leaner, dry and structured 2005, but having said that it's a success in its own right and only adds to the pleasure I've experienced from this emerging label. Drink to 2013.

90 points

www.leabrookestate.com

ARRAS GRAND VINTAGE 2003

- Tasmania

- $57-$75

- Cork

- 12.5%alc

Australia's most celebrated sparkling wine, Arras, has undergone some significant cosmetic changes leading into its 2003 release. Gone is the Bay of Fires branding, which has been replaced by the House of Arras label, while its new, grandiose squat bottle now adorns a luxuriant gold insignia, making the whole presentation look remarkably similar to some Grand Marque Champagnes.

Fizzing away in the glass with racy, crackly and stringy bead, the pale-gold 2003 Arras opens to intense, openly fragrant, rich and creamy aromas of nougat, creme brulee and almond meal overlying notes of bakery yeast and white nectarine. Despite its rather obvious winemaker influence the nose shows real vitality, freshness and a synergy of man and nature. Notably deep and complex by Australian standards, the palate unloads a quirky combination of sweet-toned savoury notes, which ride with layer upon layer of chewy richness and citric effervescence. In fact, as it penetrates with a luscious undercarriage of sweet bread, honey and almond flavours topped off by a long wash of sparkling grapefruit-like acids, it's evident the substantial richness and weight of this wine contrasts that of other tighter, finer Arras wines.

ü It's not the best Australian bubbles I've had (that honour still belongs to the 2001 Arras-96pts), but it does reflect what could be a change in direction towards something more profound, rich and complex from the masterful Ed Carr. Drink to 2013.

94 points

www.houseofarras.com.au

ARRAS: AN EVOLUTION IN DESIGN

CRAWFORD RIVER RIESLING 2009

- Henty, VIC

- $33-$39

- Screwcap

- 13.5%alc

Crawford River's iconic riesling sits proudly alongside the 2 Grosset rieslings and Petaluma's Hanlin Hill as the only rieslings included in Langton's Classification of Australian Wine IV. Perhaps this is but one indication Langton's 2005 classification is beginning to show its age, because I for one believe that across recent vintages Crawford River's reputation as Henty's benchmark has been seriously challenged by the exquisite Seppelt Drumborg.

Made from a vineyard established in 1975, Crawford River's 2009 Riesling reveals a tight, mineral nose of white flowers and grapefruit augmented by impressive wet slate aspects and unexpected creamy undertones. Underpinned by ripe, sweet fruit nuances, its clear palate delivers a full, rich and luscious expression of white stonefruits and minerals with a truly opulent texture for young riesling, but thankfully, a clean and timely wash of refreshingly soft, chalky lemony-citric acids neatly balances its lengthy conclusion.

ü There's so much to like here. With a lusciously textured richness of ripe yet clear varietal fruit harnessed by soft, refreshing acids, this flies in the face of Australian convention. A great Crawford. Drink to 2017.

93 points

www.crawfordriverwines.com