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Stone Paddock Syrah 2009

Phil Oxera — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:12:13 +0000

Wine Notes
An initial aroma of white pepper and savoury notes opens up with sweet boysenberry, red cherry and five-spice powder along with floral notes of violet and rose petal. The palate is velvety soft with ripe fleshy fruit flavours of red plum and wild berries, a mineral elegance and smoky oak notes. This Syrah is finely structured and savoury with a long, spicy plum finish.

Food match
A bright, firm and food-friendly wine, the 2009 Syrah is great matched with barbequed red meats, pork, or mushroom and eggplant dishes.

Viticulture
Several clones of Syrah are grown at the Paritua vineyard in Hawkes Bay. Soils are stony river gravels with a silt loam cover. The loam top layer varies in depth from 50cm deep to being completely absent. This soil variation also causes some variation in flavour profile, with the silt producing more pepper notes and the stones a riper floral spectrum. Fruit thinning is essential and the canopy is fastidiously managed to allow good sunlight and aeration.

Cellaring Potential
This wine will benefit from cellaring till 2015.

Winemaking
Whole bunch fruit was de-stemmed and partially crushed to tank. Fermentation was preceded by a period of cold soaking. Fermentation temperatures reached 30°C and daily cap management varied from two to four pump overs a day. The wine is pressed on taste and transferred to barrel for malolactic conversion. Barrel maturation is in French oak barriques (20% new) for 10 months. Prior to bottling, the Syrah had a light fining and filtration.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Alcohol by volume 13.5%

Titratable acidity 4.8
pH 3.67
Cases made 870

Closure: Stelvin Lux

Maison de Grand Esprit ‘La Belle Voisine’ Pouilly Fuissé 2007

Phil Oxera — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:02:05 +0000

Simply superb. Creamy nuts and honey with tantalising herbal notes and a touch of gentle citrus oil. This chardonnay is a wonderful blend of old world and new, and is the first place you should look if you’re wanting to stray outside of the antipodean styles you’ve enjoyed for so long but weren’t sure where to start.

Leo Buring Tamar Valley Riesling 2005

Phil Oxera — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 07:51:04 +0000

Crikey! What a find!! This riesling is simply stunning. Now known as ‘Leopold’ the current available vintage is 2008, but we’ve managed to get hold of a few cases of this fantastic Tassie cracker they found knocking about the warehouse. If you’re a fan of the Leopold Riesling then this will knock your socks off. Be quick while it lasts.

Smythe Road ‘Creedence’ Shiraz 2008

Phil Oxera — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:28:59 +0000

A slight change to the label but otherwise the same “Pure Barossa Shiraz” we came to know and love in the 2007. Complex, rich and elegant. See the description of the 2007 for more details.

2008 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon

Phil Oxera — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:43:27 +0000

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon represents the Penfolds house red wine style at its most rich and powerful. Everything about Bin 707 is large scale. Winemakers seek fully ripe fruit with strong flavours derived from partial barrel fermentation in new American oak hogsheads for a period of 18 months. It is an immensely concentrated style with dark berry/dark chocolate fruit balance by well-seasoned new oak, plenty of fruit sweetness and strong but not overwhelming tannins. This is a medium to long-term cellaring style of wine. If you can wait the distance, Bin 707 builds up into a wonderfully complex and interesting wine.

Colour: deep magenta red.
Nose: gloriously intense and fresh violet/inky/blackcurrant/mocha/sweet fuit aromas with lavender/sage nuances.
Palate: a generously proportioned wine with concentrated blackcurrant/dark cherry/elderberry flavours, plenty of sweet fruit richness, fine dense velvety/cedary tannins and underlying savoury integrated new oak. A fabulously concentrated wine with superb freshness, percussion of fruit and vinosity. The 2008 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon will be remembered as one of the finest ever. It has the power and generosity of fruit to go the distance.
Vineyard region: Coonawarra, Barossa Valley and Wrattonbully.

Alc/Vol: 14.5%
Acidity: 5.9g/L
pH: 3.30

Peak Drinking 2015-2040

Locharburn Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Phil Oxera — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:14:46 +0000

Shows attractive lifted fruit aromas of gooseberry, citrus and tropical fruit with a hint of herbaceousness – typical of Central Otago Sauvignon Blanc. Good weight and texture.

Its ripe bold, expressively intense southern flavours of fresh cut grass and tropical fruit give Central Otago, a new voice from an outstanding vintage.
Joelle Thomson, drinkbiz, October 2010

4 Stars: Fresh wine with passion fruit, peach, citrus and subtle herb flavours. Quite a fresh and lively character with a hint of mineral and smoky gunflint.
(86/100) Bob Campbell, November 2010

41/2 Stars: An excellent Sauvignon from Central Otago, displaying classic varietal aromas of lime zest, passionfruit and capsicum. The palate is well flavoured and beautifully balanced with bright acidity and a juicy mouthfeel.
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Issue 14, 2011

Harvest 24 Brix
Alcohol 14.0%
RS 4 g/l
TA 6 g/l

Locharburn Central Otago Pinot Gris 2010

Phil Oxera — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:06:26 +0000

This dryish style wine has attractive lychee, pear and spice aromas. With pear and a hint of apricots on the palate, it shows good depth and complexity with fresh acidity keeping things lively.

4 Stars: A delightful take on Pinot Gris: lots of fresh pear and baked apples balanced by chalky acid and crisp dry finish. Really enjoyable.
Jane Skilton, Sunday Star Times, October 2010

4 Stars: The wine shows pure fruit notes and fragrant bouquet, displaying ripe pear, peach and
citrus characters on the nose.The palate is juicy and smooth with a touch of sweetness (5 g/l)
and bright acidity.An elegant andbeautifully balanced wine with a pleasant dry finish. (90/100)
Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Issue 11, 2010

Harvest 24-25° Brix

Alcohol 14.0%
RS 5 g/l
TA 7 g/l

Locharburn Central Otago Pinot Noir 2008

Phil Oxera — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:58:23 +0000

A scented bouquet of berries, spices and herbs heralds richly flavoured sweet red cherry and raspberry characters with hints of wild thyme, herbs and subtle French oak. Vibrant and supple with a silky finish.

Harvest 24-26° Brix
Alcohol 14.3%
RS <1 g/l
TA 7.0 g/

Smythe Road ‘Creedence’ Shiraz 2007

Phil Oxera — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:39:39 +0000

Winemaker David Norman writes:

The Stonewell Region of the Barossa Valley is renowned for producing wines of great texture and depth of flavour. SMYTHE ROAD CREEDENCE is a very limited release from our 2007 vintage. This was a vintage of very hot weather conditions and Barossa Shiraz can perform brilliantly under this level of vine stress. We set aside a quantity of the wine produced, hand selected the pick of our French oak barrels and allowed the wine to mature for an additional year. Minimal filtration has further enhanced the unique characters of this individual vineyard under these conditions. The result is a wine that rewards for the care and patience invested and as the label suggests, it is one for the purist.

Coldstream Hills Reserve Shiraz 2007

Phil Oxera — Tue, 17 May 2011 01:42:34 +0000

The Yarra Valley with its cooler climate is capable of making Shiraz with more of the ‘Syrah-like’ qualities that I absolutely adore. If you need a break from the BIG AUSSIE SHIRAZ but don’t exactly want to venture too far from the wine you know then give this (and the Terrace Edge Syrah) a try. Keep an open mind and you won’t be disappointed.

the reserve range

To create the specialties of the Coldstream Hills winery, each year outstanding parcels of grapes are earmarked for special attention during vintage. A selection of new and old french barriques from various forests are utilised for making and maturing the Reserve wines. When the resulting wine is regarded as outstanding it forms the strictly limited quantity of wine bearing the Reserve label.

about the winery

Coldstream Hills was established in 1985 by Suzanne and James Halliday. From its initial vintage of 450 cases it has grown to become one of Australia’s leading small wineries, with a reputation out of all proportion to its size. Situated in the cool and beautiful Yarra Valley near the hamlet of Coldstream, its steep, close planted vineyards have become a signature of the region. The wines are, quite literally, hand made using winemaking techniques that are directed to making wines which are characterised by elegance and finesse, by silky supple texture, length of flavour, subtle oak and the ability to develop extra dimensions with age.