Cellar Door Wine Tasting: Kreglinger Wine Estates

Location: East of the Tamar River, Northern Tasmania

General: I enjoyed a Pinot Gris at Christmas under their "Pipers Brook" label. What I found excellent was the minerality contained in the wine which is generally lacking in Australian whites

The Highlight:

There were many (but I lost my notes....) - both Chardonnays were very good, the Pinot Gris as great as I remembered. The surprise, not on the tasting list was:

Ninth Island 2010 Pinot Grigio (13.5%). Produced on the same estate as the Pinot Gris but in the Grigio style. The bouquet was zesty with some tropical notes as well. The flavour almost knocked me out. Grigio is often all lemon and acidity, yet this has body with that lovely minerality also making an appearance

The Others -

The only wine from the tasting I did not like was a 2010 Pinot (yes - they are releasing them). Awful young wine but I guess there is a market for it somewhere.... When I commented about it, I was given a taste of 2006 Pinot Noir that was beautiful as compensation :-)

Cellar Door Tasting: Josef Chromy Wines

Location: About 7 km outside Launceston, Tasmania

Wines Tasted:

The Good:

2010 Josef Chromy Sauvignon Blanc (13.5%). Excellent nose of typical passionfruit and tropical aromas. Good flavour contained with excellent acidity.

2009 Pepik Pinot Noir (13.2%). Delicate and refined. Although relatively young, it has lovely complexity. Although on the fruit driven style of Pinot, it is well balanced and controlled

The Others:

I found the offer of Rieslings either too dry or too sweet (and gluggy). The Pinot Gris has an excellent bouquet but disappoints in flavour.

Overall - Top of the line "Zdar" series was not offered at the free cellar door. Definitely worth a visit. The "beautiful people" of Launceston were lunching there when I attended.

Milton 2010 Gewurztraminer

General: The Milton winery was the first vineyard I tried in Tasmania. It is on the east coast. Lovely wines although I was not a fan of their "ice wine" (i.e. made from frozen grapes. Some Swiss guy showed them how....)

Variety: Gewurztraminer

Region/G.I.: Tasmania

Alcohol: 13.2%

Bouquet: Lychee and hints of white flowers

Flavour: Off-dry with nice acidity and some sourness. Refreshing. Perfect for a hot day.

Points: 83

Notes: I bought this instead of the Pinot Gris or Riesling on the basis that Tramin is not so common here and it is a nice change

Freycinet Vineyard. 2010 Riesling Schoenburger

General: I picked up this quaffer from a winery in the eastern part of Tasmania

Varieties: Riesling (75%), Schoenburger (25%)

Region/G.I.: Tasmania

Alcohol: 12.5%

Bouquet: Green apple

Flavour: A rush of fruit, dense but not gluggy helped by the fact that this wine has good acidity. Semi-sweet with good length. I also got slight sourness like the kernal from a pineapple which I liked

Points: 83

Notes: This was the quaffer in their range. Their Pinot Noir was excellent and is allegedly one of Australia's best although I have been enjoyng some good Pinots around wine cellars here

Black Wattle 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

General: After a few Shirazes I returned to an old favourite - Cab Sav...

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region/G.I.: Limestone Coast

Alcohol: 14.5%

Bouquet: Restrained. I was surprised that plum was in evidence just as much as the blackcurrant aromas I expected

Flavour: Bad. Plummy juice with some blackcurrant in the background. Tannins still strong. The worst aspect was high acidity which I have not encountered before. (Not sure if this was the result of the high alcohol)

Points: 79

Notes: Part of a mixed case. Very disappointing. Checking online it seems that this Regional Selection was only produced in 2008 which makes me think they had a bad year and put this out through a wine distributer....

Brown Brothers. 2008 Shiraz

General: Another in the recent tastings of 2008 Shiraz...

Variety: Shiraz

Region/G.I.: Central Victoria

Alcohol: 14.5%

Bouquet: Plummy but not overpowering. Some spice. In comparison to recent tastings, the bouquet was retrained.

Flavour: Juicy. Thick consistency with black pepper. Not as much spice as the nose suggests. Good tannins. A distant hint of oak.

Points: 83

Notes: This was a gift but I think it retails for about $15.00. It was enjoyable and ticks all the boxes for a good Shiraz quaffer. My only concern is that these Shirazes are not so different from each other so I will skip to another variety for a change.

Neil McGuigan. 2008 Signature Shiraz V

General: From a mixed case bought six months ago and a continuation of recent Shiraz tastings

Variety: Shiraz

Region/G.I.s: Barossa - Barossa Valley, Eden Valley

Alcohol: 15.0%

Bouquet: On the nose this is more to plummy fruit than spice

Flavour: Surprisingly good. This outshines recent tastings due to its lovely integration and harmony of flavour. Initial fruit eases into black pepper, a hint of oak and nice tannins. Very enjoyable

Points: 85

Notes: $15 (270 Kc) in the mixed case. Very nice. Must try getting more.

Rosabrook 2008 Shiraz Viognier

General: Another from the "Ultimate Shiraz Collection" I bought last month

Variety: Shiraz

Region/G.I.: South West Australia, Margaret River

Alcohol: 14.0%

Bouquet: Very similar to the last couple of Shiraz' that I've had from the same group. This one was slightly more savoury than plummy in the nose and as expected there was the hint of vanilla tucked away in the end

Flavour: Initially, the fruit tastes a little overripe. Good length. Good tannins line the mouth. A hint of mint in the after taste differentiates it from other recent tastings

Points: 83

Notes: At the special mixed case price of $ 11.25 (202 Kc) this again is another gem. Checking online I can see its retail price is more than double this special price which confuses me. Regardless, it's very enjoyable.