YES, IT GROWS ON TREES YOU KNOW

The following images are of a Thick-skinned Cork Oak, or Quercus suber, planted in Adelaide's Belair National Park during the early 1900s.

Although one of the finest specimens in South Australia, the Thick-skinned Cork Oak is introduced to this state, and as such, this plant may not be replaced when it dies.

The plant is native to the temperate regions of Europe and northern Africa, where it can grow up to 20 metres high and reach up to 200 years of age.

Its thick bark is softish and spongy on the absolute exterior, yet much harder on the inside. It's particularly strong, solid and tough, and challenging to break off even the slightest piece.

TAMAR RIDGE KAYENA VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2009

- Tamar Valley, TAS

- $20-$32

- Screwcap

- 13.0%alc

I've been thoroughly enjoying Tamar Ridge's Kayena Pinot Noir over the last few years, as its value and true varietal quality have seen it become the go-to cheap pinot at my place on many occasions. However, even I was a bit surprised when the 2009 won the Best Pinot Noir Trophy at the 2011 Sydney Wine Show, furthering the reputation of a wine which had already been awarded 96pts by James Halliday. Rest assured, my hopes have been riding high on this one.

Although not entirely complex, the 2009 Kayena Vineyard is a beautifully fragrant, genuinely affordable north Tasmanian pinot noir of some class. It reveals more spicy, clove-like, stalky aromas than its predecessors, which give the wine a more savoury edge, in addition to lifting and defining its nose with perfumed appeal. There's also a clean influence of oak, which might be a touch spicy too, as well as a fruit fragrance that sits right in the dark cherry/cute strawberry spectrum. Texturally, it's velvety and succulent yet proudly medium-bodied, as it's just so smooth, supple and seamless in an easy to understand manner. Its slightly sweet dark cherry and strawberry flavours are joined by secondary nuances of stalk and sap, leading into a rather chewy pinot structure laced with a brisk movement of ultra-fine tannin. If you read the presses you might want more, but if you sit down and enjoy it with friends your wallet won't be complaining.

ü+ Not the show stopper my ambitions hoped for, but I'm still loving this label for its consistent value. With hindsight, I can see another 12 months of empty Tamar Ridge bottles at my place. Now, where's that pâté? Drink to 2016.

91 points

www.tamarridge.com.au

OZ WINE TOONS

JAUMA HUNTER'S VINEYARD GRAUBURGUNDER 2010

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $22 (500ml)

- Cork (Diam)

- 14.0%alc

There's been a lot of discussion surrounding 'natural' wines lately, from both positive and not so positive standpoints. If I must draw a personal criticism of both Jauma and Domaine Lucci's current offerings, then it's with the 500ml bottles used for their whites. Yes, the long, narrow bottles are aesthetically spectacular, but I'd hate to see the trend of downsizing catch on. It's a drinker's thing.

Before anyone gets too excited, let it be known grauburgunder is a German synonym for pinot gris. Jauma's 2010 immediately reflects this, with its pale-bronze appearance indicating skin contact, but its aroma, devoid of basic pears, apples or citrus, is something else. It's somewhat sweet yet bright smelling, revealing an unusual, essentially nail polish remover-like scent, which, optimistically, might tip towards a more agreeable honeyed sweetness. In the mouth it straddles a fine line between rich and zippy, yet is neither one nor the other, as its ill-defined palate is hurried along by a punchy sweetness, before ending with a loose formation of bitter, crunchy green apple-like acids and a note of varnish.

X I'd say there's something not quite right here - one for the chemical analysis course perhaps? It's more funky than complex. Honestly, I would've preferred a straight and simple, cleanly flavoured gris or grigio style. Drink now.

83 points

www.jauma.com

VASSE FELIX CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008

- Margaret River, WA

- $30-$45

- Screwcap

- 14.5%alc

As Australian Wine Journal gathers age, I'm hoping, or perhaps assuming, my readers will recognise there are some wines I buy practically every year. Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon is certainly one such wine. In theory, Vasse's Cabernet should've benefited immensely from the perfumed nature of the Margaret River's 2008 cabernet crop, so this purchase was always destined to occur.

Ooooh - rich, brambly blackcurrants, mulberries, black olives, graphite and well toasted cedar/mocha oak, all expressed with floral/herbal accents and a risen, savoury intensity - this is classic, unmistakable Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon people. It's about as appealingly aromatic as Australian cabernet gets for me at this price. Fortunately, the palate doesn't disappoint either, especially if bright and assertive Margaret River cabernet is your thing. It's a bit juicier and perhaps plumper than the classic 2004 (95pts) and 2007 (93pts) wines, but its toasty dark fruit flavours are still forged onwards and into the mouth with searing intensity, by a rather mouth puckering, almost astringent acid structure which merges seamlessly with bony, drying tannins, whilst flavours of juicy, genuinely savoury regional fruits marked by cedar and dried herbs return to provide vibrant lasting impression.

ü+ A bit fuller and juicier than I anticipated but nonetheless as fragrant and assertive as I hoped, Vasse's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon shouldn't disappoint its legion of followers. Drink to 2023.

93 points

www.vassefelix.com.au

LOCALLY MATCHED SAUSAGES FOR A SMOKY, DARK FRUITED MARGARET RIVER CABERNET

Margaret River Venison Chorizo, purchased just down the road from the Vasse Felix winery.

WESTEND COOL CLIMATE SERIES SHIRAZ 2009

- Hilltops, NSW

- $14.95

- Screwcap

- 14.5%alc

Westend Estate has previously been associated with some of the finest wines to come out of Australia's warm, inland river regions, but these days, their range has expanded to include a selection of wines sourced from cool climate areas. In addition to this Hilltops Shiraz, keep your eyes open for Westend's Canberra Riesling, Hilltops Tempranillo and Tumbarumba Pinot Noir, all sold at the generous RRP of $14.95.

Kinda sweet and earthy, Westend's Cool Climate Shiraz doesn't exactly smell like an archetypal cool climate shiraz, but despite a minor baked/warming note, it still reveals an abundance of uncomplicated, ripe plum and berry aromas with a calming whiff of vanilla/coconut oak. The palate introduces simple, soft and round shiraz characters, blessed by enough brightness of flavour and length to provide fun at its modest price. There's recurring ripe fruit and a slight warm spike in the aftertaste, but there's nothing overly awkward or jarring about it, so the second glass continues to go down smooth. As does the third...

O A bright and ripe, well made in the winery if essentially straight forward quaffing shiraz, whose price is the key. For no more than $15, it's the sort of wine I'll be keeping an eye on in the future. Drink to 2013.

87 points

www.westendestate.com.au

FREEMAN AGED RELEASE RONDINELLA CORVINA SECCO 2004

- Hilltops, NSW

- $30

- Screwcap

- 15.0%alc

Dr Brian Freeman's Rondinella Corvina Secco is one of the most unique wines in Australia. It's a blend of two varieties typical to the Amarone styles of north Italy; rondinella and corvina, where some of the grapes are dried in a prune dehydrator to produce a rich, savoury wine with few peers in this country. Like Joseph's exquisite Moda Amarone, it's the type of wine that benefits from a few years bottle age, so an aged release (without an inflated price) is a stellar idea.

Lifted cherry, cigar-box and dried herb aromas fly from the glass of Freeman's 2004, gifting fragrance and savoury appeal to a wine whose scent is beautifully bolstered by deeper notes of plums and chocolate raisins with a delightfully rich tone of meat jus. It smells complete yet vibrant, with any suggestions of bottle age developing with harmony. Pushing along a rich, silky flow of flavour blessed by its vibrancy, the palate delivers exactly what I want from the style at this price. It's bright, flavoursome and utterly delicious; no matter who you are really, as its saturated core of plush red berry, dark plum and leathery earth flavours are cleanly balanced by a lengthening extract of glossy acids and lithe tannins, leaving the mouth refreshingly dry in an almost coffee-like fashion, with a valid undertone of juicy red meat to pass. It's wonderful, hedonistic and genuinely affordable.

ü+ Bright, sumptuous and conclusively satisfying, Freeman's 2004 Rondinella Corvina Secco makes all the right turns on its road to partially dried grape goodness. Drink to 2016.

93 points

www.freemanvineyards.com.au

BROWN BROTHERS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2010

- King Valley, VIC

- $13-$20

- Screwcap

- 12.5%alc

Victoria's King Valley isn't the first region to come to mind when thinking of Australian sauvignon blanc, but really, the pairing makes sense. It makes even more sense when the maker is the ever reliable Brown Brothers and the price is $15.

Brown Brothers' 2010 presents an uncomplicated yet clean fragrance of straight forward varietal character. Its aromas of nettle and grass make the loudest statement, while zesty lemon citrus and pear fruits complete a nose of cool-climate restraint, that steers away from the variety's pungent aromatics. Unfortunately, the zesty palate's slightly broad and its components don't gel as well as I'd like, leading to a general feeling of poor definition, particularly flavour-wise. There are finishing tastes of citrus and ripe kiwi fruits that provide some satisfaction, but still, I don't see the necessary shape, structure or direction to see this savvy rise from the pack. It's all a bit too generic really.

O There's nothing excruciatingly wrong or right about Brown Brothers' 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, so it's just another middle of the road savvy, lost in a very crowded marketplace. Drink now.

87 points

www.brownbrothers.com.au

HAHNDORF HILL WINERY BLUEBLOOD BLAUFRÄNKISCH 2009

- Adelaide Hills, SA

- $35

- Screwcap

- 14.5%alc

One of the wines that really stood out to me last year was Hahndorf Hill's 2008 Blaufränkisch (91pts), especially when it was served with a quartet of German sausages, sauerkraut and mash. Some have likened blaufränkisch to an Austrian pinot noir, but I thought Hahndorf Hill's first release (made from vines around 20 years old) was more like an Adelaide Hills version of Barossa grenache.

HHW's second blaufränkisch, now aptly named Blueblood, seems a touch riper and darker fruited than its predecessor, but it handles it well. A floral whiff of crushed herbs, menthol and white pepper carries its ripe dark cherry and plump blueberry fruits with lifted appeal, while a smooth scent of chocolate oak resides patiently below. The chocolatey tones impart a more melting chocolate-like feel and character to the palate, which is particularly smooth, richly flavoured in a medium-full bodied sense and subsequently easy to consume in its youth. Expect vibrant liqueur cherry and dark plum fruits at its core, drawn sumptuously down the palate by an approachable, soft-edged structure beset with lithe, refreshing acids and ultra-fine tannins that curl up a fraction at the final stanza, leaving a touch of gentle spice to linger gently in the mouth. The balance works.

ü The two 'blaus' I've had from Hahndorf Hill have both been from challenging seasons but happily, they've both been delicious drinks. Just imagine what these guys might be able to achieve with this special variety from a kinder vintage. Eyes to the skies people, eyes to the skies. Drink to 2014.

91 points

www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au