Compare & contrast: classic -v- cutting edge Australia

Compare and contrast.  An exam question?  No, the format of last night’s very successful tasting of classic versus cutting edge Australian wines for Oxford Wine Club.  And for cutting edge, one could just as well say (relatively) cooler climate expressions.

A rip roaring line up demonstrated the great diversity of style of which Australia is capable.  The audience was more or less split 50:50 on the Chardonnay, Cabernet blend and Pinot Noir/warm climate Pinot Noir (Grenache) pairings.

However, clear favourites emerged with the Riesling and Shiraz selections.  Jeff Grosset’s classic Clare Valley Riesling looked positively backward/tight alongside the effusive floral perfume of the ever so pretty, off-dry Jamsheed ‘Garden Gully Vineyard’ Riesling.

On the other hand, classic won out in the Shiraz head to head – the Barossa (Torbreck Woodcutters’ Shiraz) prevailing over Eden Road Wines ‘The Long Road’ Shiraz from Gundagai (an upcoming Shiraz region due west of Canberra District, in New South Wales).  A score draw then!

Here’s the line up with brief tasting notes:

Jamsheed ‘Garden Gully Vineyard’ Riesling 2011 (Great Western, Victoria)  – effusive floral, lime blossom, talc and honey on the nose follow through on an off-dry but very lively, juicy palate with fresh cut apple and an undertow of stony minerality to its long finish. 11.8% £23.95 at Noel Young

Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling 2011 (Clare Valley, South Australia) – bone dry and all round less effusive, the Grosset shows great focus, precision, cut and thrust.  Needs time, but terrific structure and palate presence. 12.5% £19 at The Wine Society

Ocean Eight Verve Chardonnay 2010 (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria) – pale, with a savoury, textured, gently honeyed and oyster-shell nuanced palate well underscored and teased out by bright, lemony acidity.   An Australian Chardonnay with appeal for Chablis lovers. 12.2% £23 at The Wine Society

Leeuwin Estate ‘Prelude’ Chardonnay 2009 (Margaret River, Western Australia) – more old school with its oak buttressed (flying buttress mind) rock melon, but oh so well done – satisfying without tending to plumpness thanks to its tight citric backbone and lift of dried pear – a signature note of Margaret River’s classic Gin Gin clone. 14% £25.49 at Noel Young

Tamar Ridge ‘Kayena Vineyard’ Pinot Noir 2010 (Tamar Valley, Tasmania)  – an elegant Pinot silky of tannin and very Tassie in its crunchy, juicy red fruits and lick of five spice.  14% £17.49 at Noel Young

Willunga 100 Grenache 2010 (McLaren Vale, South Australia) – as you’d expect from McLaren Vale’s “warm climate Pinot,” sweeter and more generous in mouthfeel.  Ripe red cherry and berry fruits, a touch confected, are off-set by juicy acidity, an edge of tannin and pretty floral notes. 14.5% £10.49 at Noel Young

Fraser Gallop Cabernet Merlot 2009 (Margaret River, Western Australia) – I wasn’t alone rating this classy Bordeaux blend the bargain of the night.  A  great example of Margaret River’s finely wrought, elegant style – perfumed cassis with a riff of tobacco, silky tannins and a juicy wash of gravelly, mineral acidity.  Luminous. 14% £13.50 at The Wine Society

Wirra Wirra Church Block Red 2010 (McLaren Vale, South Australia) – from warmer, drier McLaren Vale and with 32% Shiraz in the Cabernet/Merlot mix, Church Block is more sweet-fruited and broader than the Fraser Gallop, with a creaminess to its fleshy blackberry and plum fruits, a touch of tarry/warm earth, savoury malt and black olive. Lacks the finesse of the Fraser Gallop, but solid stuff.  14.5% £10.95 at The Wine Society

Eden Road Wines ‘The Long Road’ Shiraz 2010 (Gundagai, New South Wales) – a very savoury, quite earthy style of Shiraz, a touch reduced with a hint of green bean to its cracked black pepper and charcuterie-edged juicy black blackberry and red plum palate.  An interesting wine from this emerging region, if lacking a bit of lift and definition for me.  12.9% £19.95 at Noel Young

Torbreck ‘Woodcutters’ Shiraz 2010 (Barossa, South Australia) – interwoven with the Barossa’s signature sumptuous black forest gateau and (subtle) tar/molasses notes are floral, charcuterie and cinnamon layers.  A beautiful wine, rich but fleshy and succulent – a great example of the vintage.  14.5%  £19.95 at Noel Young