Plantagenet Wines. 2008 Hazard Hill Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

General: Plantagenet Wines, in particular their entry level Hazard Hill range has been available at Cellarius in Prague, where I first tried their wines. I wanted to try their summer drinking wine

Varieties: Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

Region/G.I.: South West Australia, Great Southern

Alcohol: 12.5%

Bouquet: Citrus with secondary aromas of lychee/rich tropical fruit

Flavour: Lemon flavoured with a refreshing crisp finish. Good acidity. A simple pleasure.

Points: 82

Notes: $12 (215 Kc) well spent. A lovely summer quaffer.

Seaview. 2008 Nebbiolo

General: I have enjoyed the Trentham's Nebbiolo and wanted to see what the ailing Foster's group can do with this Italian alternative

Variety: Nebbiolo

Region/G.I.: Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (SA)

Alcohol: 15.0%

Bouquet: Coffee, soaked raisins, a little bit of fruit cake in terms of fruit and spice, something a little tarry

Flavour: Much more fruit than I expected. Medium-to-full bodied with good tannins throughout. Will be interesting to see how this develops. Fruit is more towards sour cherry. The label claimed peppery notes but I did not get any. The longer it was left the better it tasted.

Points: 83

Notes: Undiscounted, it is $20 (360 Kc) but I bought it in a mixed case for a 30% discount. Definitely worth having a few in the cellar to age.

Yealands Estate. 2009 Pinot Gris

General: One from the Vintage Cellars wine show last year. I've already enjoyed one of them this summer.

Variety: Pinot Gris

Region: Marlborogh, NZ

Alcohol: 14.0%

Bouquet: Ripe pear and possibly some honey

Flavour: Some residual sugar on the middle tongue makes this an enjoyable full body variety. Full, ripe pear flavours with hints of minerality. Very well balanced.

Points: 84

Notes: I think Yealands is sold in Prague. Here, in a mixed case discount it comes in at just over $16.00 (290 Kc). Well worth it. I'll hold the last bottle to see what it tastes like in a year or two. Maybe this is the solution to the NZ Sauvignon glut.

Mount Langi Ghiran. 2000 Billi Billi Creek

General: After a sunny day swimming, it cooled down in the evening and we enjoyed this birthday present from my brother

Varieties: Shiraz, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc

Region/G.I.: Western Victoria, Grampians (VIC)

Alcohol: 13.5%

Bouquet: Rich and complex. Some plum and earthy savoury notes with wafts of vanilla present as well

Flavour: Awesome balance of thick plum jam and earthy spices. A little smokey as well. Great length with a consistent, smooth flavour profile. One of the best wines I have had here.

Points: 90

Notes: Wine was decanted 90 minutes prior to tasting. One of the "lost" bottles of wine that my brother accumulated over the years. Unfortuntaley, this was his last bottle :-(

Krondorf 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

General: Yes it's young but I wanted to see what it was like now and compare it after some ageing

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region/G.I.: Barossa, Barossa Valley (SA)

Alcohol: 14.0%

Bouquet: A whiff of alcohol did not make a good start. I was surprised that it was plummy rather than having blackcurrant aromas. Fairly straight forward

Flavour: Unsurprisingly, plum again with some vanilla flavours. Not yet fully balanced and there was a strange flavour in the profile I had difficulty identifying.

Points: 79

Notes: Discounted through Cellarmasters it comes in at $12.00 (215 Kc) but I have enjoyed many more Cabs on the market.

Rosabrook 2009. Classic White

General: One of the whites I picked up at the end of last summer

Varieties: Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Verdelho

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

Alcohol: 13%

Bouquet: Not too much in the nose although to be fair, it was a little too chilled when we started

Flavour: Citrus, mostly lime in flavour with grassy notes. A little heavy on the tongue but lovely acidity. Refreshing with an interesting flavour profile

Points: 82

Notes: A good wine for the summer - worked well with a light pasta dinner but could also be enjoyed on its own

Zema Estate. 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

General: Zema Estate has been mentioned a few times in the bimonthly wine magazine and this was a chance to try...

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region/G.I.: Limestone Coast/Coonawarra (SA)

Alcohol: 14.0%

Bouquet: Rich blackcurrant with some vanilla aromas

Flavour: Fruity start with good, medium length and solid tannic finish. A text-book example of the variety.

Points: 83

Notes: Bought for about $16.00 undiscounted (287 Kc) and worth every cent. Will try more of their range.