MITCHELL HARRIS ROSÉ 2010

- Macedon Ranges/Pyrenees, VIC

- $22

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

Even on Rosé Revolution day I'm willing to admit that pink isn't my favourite shade of wine. However, there's a growing number of Australian wineries making well conceived rosés from varieties such as nebbiolo, pinot noir, grenache and sangiovese; whose fresh, dry and even savoury wines are causing me to reconsider my views.

A clever blend of early picked Macedon Ranges pinot noir (sparkling base pressings) and Pyrenees sangiovese (bleed), this pale pink/bronze rosé is a little timid on the nose, barely whispering aromas of sour cherry and citrus marked by a faint savoury edge. Its lightly weighted and textured palate drinks with the freshness and dryness of a good quaffing white, but funnily enough, it tastes light pink. It's actually very clean and well controlled for the style, with a balanced, if simple expression of pink grapefruit flavour zipped up by a tangy acidity which refreshes the mouth without dropping any of the dirty, candied aspects associated with lesser rosé.

ü Thanks to wines like the very clean and dry 2010 Mitchell Harris Pinot Noir Sangiovese, my belief in Australian rosé continues to move in an upwards direction. Drink to 2011.

89 points

www.mitchellharris.com.au

A SIGN OF THE TIMES

If you'd like to know which wine continues to draw the masses into my favourite Adelaide wine retailer, just read the sign.

MITCHELL HARRIS SAUVIGNON BLANC FUMÉ 2010

- Pyrenees, VIC

- $20

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

Thanks to its textural interest and savoury/smoky complexity, I've developed something of a soft spot for wooded sauvignon blanc. When (or if) Australia's infatuation with fresh and fruity Kiwi savvy passes, I'm hoping to see a greater number of our producers follow this rather more sophisticated approach to the style.

For a sauvignon blanc which spent around 6 months in oak the 2010 Mitchell Harris is surprisingly fresh, fruity and primary; blowing off cleanly endowed scents of limes, kiwifruit, white flower and passionfruit with an oak influence that introduces smoothness and restraint more so than smoky or savoury complexity. The palate is neat, tidy and wonderfully formed, with an ably constrained fruit core that builds with flavour intensity towards the back palate alongside a charmed greeting of dry, smoky wood that wasn't so evident on the nose. There's hints of gooseberries, minerals, creamy feel and flavour; and the whole package is beautifully wrapped up by a mouthfilling, limey acidity levelled out by a persisting brininess.

ü+ A very classy sauvignon blanc which echoes clever production with every sip. Full marks to Mitchell Harris for being a small winery willing to champion the fumé style over the more 'standard' model, and of course, full marks for executing it to great effect. Drink 2011-2014.

91 points

www.mitchellharris.com.au

TAPANAPPA FOGGY HILL VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2009

- Fleurieu Peninsula, SA

- $50-$55

- High quality, vintage dated cork

- 13.0%alc

The establishment of Tapanappa could be the most exciting thing to ever happen to South Australian pinot noir. After following up his first vintage (2007) with a much improved wine from 2008 (94pts), Brian Croser has set the bar even higher with his best release yet from 2009. The future for Tapanappa's young Foggy Hill vineyard looks very bright indeed.

Although not astoundingly complex in its youth, the fruit component of Tapanappa's 2009 Foggy Hill is very bright, pure and clear as day. Like a baby it's a joy to behold, opening to a controlled whiff of cherry kernels augmented by light spice undertones and floral overtones, with a tight interlocking of fresh and fragrant cedar/vanilla oak adding grainy, savoury pizzazz. The palate's considerably more silken, supple, finer and elegant than the 2008 (which I actually drunk last week), with a level of medium-bodied, arousing touch that slows things down a notch in the bedroom like a good lover deserves. It's surprisingly patient, under spoken and gentle, but its graceful demeanor conceals a rich depth of earth, leather and cherry accents built up by a dry and dusty, lithe backbone that's as sensuous as it is assertive. Humble balance is the real key here, as everything falls into place with the timing of an orchestra.

ü+ Having reached an air of majestic bliss, elegance and textural precision I've never encountered in an 18 month old pinot noir from South Australia before, Brian Croser has created a rare, true enthusiasts South Australian pinot noir. Drink to 2019.

95 points

www.tapanappawines.com.au

KNAPPSTEIN 8:8:18 RIESLING 2009

- Clare Valley, SA

- $23

- Screwcap

- 8.0%alc

To say the least, Australians have shown a degree of uncertainty when it comes to labelling off-dry rieslings. Knappstein's 8:8:18 takes the popular formula of incorporating the wine's residual sugar levels into the name and adds to it, by also including its alcohol (8%) and total acidity (8 grams/litre, well, 8.2 actually but that would just sound silly on the label now wouldn't it?).

The first thing to strike me about Knappstein's 8:8:18 is its T/A and residual sugar balance isn't that far removed from Grosset's recent off-dry outing, although Knappstein's wine has considerably less alcohol. It's surprisingly slatey/chalky/flinty on first sniff, perhaps even savoury and dry, but underneath that first layer lies a speck of honeyed lemons providing varietal/stylistic punch. Although clear and bright for the most part, the palate is driven by a rich, sweet thread of sugary/glycerol-like flavour that resides throughout. Its most pleasing point is a hint of flinty character on the mid-palate, but it passes quickly, turning into something closer resembling lime candy to finish. Like other off-dry Clare rieslings it finishes a bit loose, without any of the tightness or grip of the region's classic dry styles.

O Relatively clean, very drinkable (low alcohol related) and probably beautifully suited to Asian foods, but not lifting my confidence in off-dry Clare riesling like Grosset's wine did. Drink to 2013.

87 points

www.knappstein.com.au

KNAPPSTEIN ACKLAND VINEYARD RIESLING 2010

- Clare Valley, SA

- $27-$36

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

Knappstein's reserve level riesling, the Ackland, is a single vineyard wine sourced from a cool, elevated Watervale site (420-450 metres) planted in 1969 over the region's classic red loam and limestone. Followers of the Ackland Riesling will be glad to hear that winemaker Julian Langworthy believes the 2010 may be the best wine he's ever made.

Distinctly more refined on the nose than Knappstein's Hand Picked Riesling of the same year, the 2010 Ackland's fragrance brings in immediate thoughts of fresh green apples, lemon and talc, but its aromatic lift is presently constrained by a defining, almost steely tightness that follows through to a gripping palate. A beautiful clarity of pure lemon, lime and melon flavours sing the palate's opening verse, before a strong surge of limey minerality comes forth to command the show, guiding the wine in a more savoury, steelier direction towards a taut climax drawn into line by a zippy, laser-like acidity that cuts with smart precision.

ü A very fine, bell-clear Watervale riesling that harmonises a slick combination of minerality with limey undertones and a brisk acidic backbone. It should cellar particularly well. Drink to 2020.

93 points

www.knappstein.com.au

KNAPPSTEIN HAND PICKED RIESLING 2010

- Clare Valley, SA

- $16-$22

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

My early impressions of 2010 suggest it should be the third straight good vintage for South Australia's premier riesling districts. The better 2010 rieslings I've had from both Clare and the Eden Valley show a pleasing richness and fullness of flavour, complemented by the tight acid structures that lovers of these wines seek.

Aromas of tropical fruit punch and blossom emanate from Knappstein's Hand Picked Riesling, in a perfumed fashion that's bound to please many, while a slightly sweet-edged yet clean expression of lemon and lime fruit lingers beneath. Although a little loose in some sections, the palate is squeaky clean, juicy and downright addictive on a hot day. Its initial flavour burst of lemons, apples and mineral evolves into a more lemony, tangy and perhaps even sherbet-like finish, pushed along by an approachable, soft and brittle acid balance that refreshes as it cleanses. This time of year, drink it refrigerator-cold for maximum return.

ü Knappstein's 2010 Hand Picked Riesling may be a fraction simple and without the sheer power of Clare's finest, but it's 35 degrees in Adelaide today and I can't help myself from going back to the fridge to pour myself another glass before the missus gets home. My only wish is that it were $5 cheaper, like Jim Barry's Watervale. Drink to 2016.

90 points

www.knappstein.com.au

DEXTER MORNINGTON PENINSULA CHARDONNAY 2009

- Mornington Peninsula, VIC

- $44

- Screwcap

- 13.0%alc

Although I've never had a Dexter wine before, my experiences with Yabby Lake suggest Tod Dexter isn't the type of guy to let a loosely styled Mornington Peninsula chardonnay slip through the cracks. Just 4080 bottles of the 2009 Dexter Chardonnay were made, from vines planted in 1987.

A savoury whiff of creamy/nutty oak underpins the fragrance of Dexter's 2009, which is cleanly lifted by a springy citric component indicative of both lemon and tangerine fruits. Like a lot of good Aussie chardonnay there's an aroma of nectarine present, but I'm gonna lean towards yellow nectarine over my usual white here. To sum up, its palate is about as polite and well groomed as an usher at a royal wedding; smooth, spotless and debonair, with all of its components integrated in a tidy fashion. Upon deeper inspection you'll find a clear expression of creamy lemon and white pear flavours which evolve in a pleasingly savoury, perhaps even spicy manner (well handled oak?), with the last word spoken by a ginger-like tone. My only wish would've been to of seen tighter, clearer definition of acidity, but that could just be the difficult vintage playing its part.

ü This is exactly the type of chardonnay I could drink all night long without a fuss, but for $44, I'd prefer something a bit more mesmerising or age-worthy. Drink to 2015.

92 points

www.dexterwines.com.au

FIRE GULLY CHARDONNAY 2008

- Margaret River, WA

- $25.90

- Screwcap

- 14.5%alc

Fire Gully is the second label of Pierro, one of Australia's most distinguished makers of chardonnay. The Fire Gully Chardonnay is made in a contrasting style to Pierro's icon, with most of the wine fermented in stainless steel and only a small amount seeing oak.

Fire Gully's 2008 Chardonnay jumps out of the glass with a truly forthright, assertively fruited fragrance which hits more than a few sweet notes along the way. It possesses an abundance of ripe, peachy and pungent aromatics, reminiscent of ripe melons, pineapple juice and corn with a hint of warmth etched throughout. Up front and brassy, with a length of flavour that initially holds itself back from true extension (but penetrates deeper with time), its relatively rich, smoothly textured textured palate does show plenty of peach fuzz and corn flavour, but its lack of authoritative elegance indicates to me that this style of chardonnay may be better suited to rather more restrained alcohol/ripeness levels. Or maybe it's just me...

O Quite a boldly flavoured, ripe example of a lightly oaked Margaret River chardonnay, which doesn't really possess the refinement of Australia's best 'modern' styles. Drink to 2013.

88 points

www.pierro.com.au

OZ WINE TOONS