We are proud to say that four of our Australian wines have made it into the "Matthew Juke's Top 100 Australian Wines 2011 list." Matthew's list is the result of extensive tasting over the last twelve months and it represents the finest one hundred Australian wines available on the shelves in the UK this year.
Kilikanoon Morts Block Riesling 09
A lone 2009, Mort’s Block is a majestic, muscular Riesling, with power and intensity which is frankly unnerving beside the expressive youthful 2010s. For this reason, it is crucial to track down this wine in order not only to highlight the wonderful differences between the two vintages at the highest level, but also to counterpoint the vivacity of the 2010s with the nobility and structure that this wine brings to the table.
Yabby Lake Red Claw Chardonnay 2009
He has done it again – Tom Carson is on a roll (does he stop rolling?) at Yabby Lake. Red Claw, in 2009, has extraordinary minerality and depth which tightens its body, corseting the fruit into a drop dead gorgeous hourglass shape. The estate Chardonnay is one of the finest of its kind in the country and Block 6, sadly only available in miniscule quantities, is set to be a cult wine in no time at all, too.
Yabby Lake Pinot Noir
Yabby Pinot has a sleek chassis and very fine lines making it less flamboyant than its previous vintage. This interpretation of Pinot serves to calm the senses, and alert you to the fact that this is truly the most beguiling of all red varieties. That Mr Carson can do this without losing any of the calibre of his imperial fruit is a testament to how much he can successfully conceal subtlety and complexity in a glass. Still a year or two off drinking but with a heart-achingly sexy nose I use this wine more than any other to convert Aussie Pinot sceptics.
Melton Nine Popes 2008
Charlie is at it again. First he makes a really tidy, under the radar ’08 Shiraz cuvée called Grains of Paradise, which shows really tight minerality and poise – I love this wine and will try it again in two years’ time when the ‘drink from’ date arrives. Then he sells out of 2010 Rose of Virginia six months earlier than he is allowed to by the UK’s ‘summer of gluttony law’ and offers me a taste of the 2011 vintage (back in March) which must mean that he’s got a time machine hidden somewhere on his property, because surely the fruit was still on the vine? To cap it all Nine Popes is a stunner again in 2008 (I worshiped at the feet of the 2006, too).Go Charlie – you are a legend. You are the Tenth Pope
Charles Melton in our Tasting room with Maurice Crawford
