Premium Australian Wine Tasting - Inland Trading / Alto Vino
Date: Oct 03/18, Wed Time: 17:30:00-19:30:00 Style: Sit-Down
The Fine Wine Reserve is excited to be hosting Alto Vino and Inland Trading PTY for an exclusive tasting of some of Australia's most sought-after wines.
Greg Corra, Managing Director of ITC will be pouring Thirteen (!) wines, most of which sit prominently on the Langton's Classification:
1. Jasper Hill Georgia's Paddock Shiraz 2017 (2016 rated 95 pts James Halliday)
Just released. This wine is organic grown on the oldest vineyards in Heathcote. It exhibits Intense elderberry, blackberry aromas with praline, espresso notes and hints of roasted chestnuts. Favours of dark berries, ripe red fruits and complex exotic spices that lead into a supple tannic palate beautifully balanced with abundant natural acid A fabulous, typical example from this single vineyard that from it’s pristine crimson colour - drink any time from now over the next twenty years.
2. Jasper Hill Emily’s Paddock 2017(2016 94 pts Andrew Cailard)
Just released. This wine is organic grown on the oldest vineyards in Heathcote. A little more forward and elegant than recent vintages- highly spiced and perfumed nose with some mint. Full fruity palate, harmonious grape and new French oak tannins with extreme length. Again, great longevity. Emily's is almost entirely Shiraz, co-fermented with 3% Cabernet Franc skins
3. Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Riesling 2018
Just released. This wine is organic grown on the oldest vineyards in Heathcote. The 2018 vintage exhibits the usual citrus characteristics with some green apple too.The nose leads onto the palate, but with even more power and depth this year. Completely dry, with lime dominant over lemon and even a little mandarin showing, along with some tropical fruits and passion fruit, matched to the zesty natural acidity and minerality. Great length. Natural yeast ferment and no acid adjustment result in a seamless wine of finesse, texture and elegance.
4. Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2013(98 pts James Halliday; 96 pts Winefront; 98 pts James Suckling)
In the top echelon of the Australian Langtons Classifications. A stellar edition of this flagship wine from Clonakilla. The florals are entrancing with beautifully perfumed red and pink notes, cherries, impossibly complex spice, oak nicely pitched and a pepper-dusted plum core - this is magnificent for the complexity already in place. The palate has layers and fine-etched yet deceptively strong tannins; they frame up perfectly ripe red and dark cherry and plum flavors, laced with baking spices of every kind imaginable. Finishes vivacious, balanced and lip-smackingly fresh. Best from 2021.
5. Clonakilla Shiraz O’Riada Shiraz 2016(96 pts Halliday; 94 pts James Suckling)
Poured on Singapore Airlines first class. The definition here is impressive, smooth and ebulliently ripe red berry and plum fruits with pastry-like nuances and gently spicy waves. Rich. Effortless appeal and flows smoothly along on ripe, detailed tannins. Great balance. Drink now to 2028+.
6. Irrewarra Chardonnay From By Farr 2017(2016 96pts James Halliday)
New release from a wine which has taken the wine world in Australia by storm. Made by the master of Pinot and Chardonnay in Australia-Nick Farr Full malolactic conversion. Lime leaf and nectarine with nutmeg oak gloss. Honey yoghurt suggestion from MLF. Smells seductive. Tight and cool in the mouth - that same fruit spectrum, and with floral perfume and energy. Has a compact, fairly dense core, and great drive. Long and with crackling zestiness.
7. Irrewarra Pinot Noir From By Farr 2016(2015 95 pts James Halliday)
New release from a wine which has taken the wine world in Australia by storm. Made by the master of Pinot and Chardonnay in Australia-Nick Farr. All MV6, whole-berry ferment. 1/3 new oak, 1/3 one-year-old and 1/3 two-year-old. 19-22 days on skins. Vibrant and lifted, with a distinct light red, rhubarb and sour cherry fruit thing going on. Gives a nod towards sappiness, maybe a little char of oak, but alluring all the same. Layered and textural in the mouth, where the fruit is a little fleshier but still in the light red spectrum. But then there is undergrowth and turned earth, too. Though it's fleshier in the mouth than the nose suggests, at all times the acid provides a tightly wound structure, supported by fine, powdery tannins.
8. Chardonnay By Farr 2017(2016 95 pts James Halliday)
New release from a wine which has taken the wine world in Australia by storm. Made by the master of Pinot and Chardonnay in Australia-Nick Farr. The By Farr Chardonnay is a dazzling example of the heights possible for Australian Chardonnay. A traditional Burgundian approach to crafting this wine by Nick Farr, like his father before him, gives this wine a power and refinement rarely seen outside of France. The Chardonnay grows alongside the Sangreal Pinot Noir on the Farr vineyard atop limestone on an exposed North-facing slope. This site imparts a 'mineral' thread through the wine which is electric. The 2017 is exquisitely well balanced as a young wine, the tension and drive, fruit and oak all in perfect harmony. It's a thrilling Chardonnay to drink.
9. Farrside By Farr Pinot Noir 2016 (96 pts James Halliday)
New please from a wine which has taken the wine world in Australia by storm. Made by the master of Pinot and Chardonnay in Australia-Nick Farr. he Farrside is a single vineyard Pinot Noir from vines planted in 2001 on the Farr Geelong estate, and it's a stunner. The Farrside is the more structural and savoury of the three single vineyard Pinot Noirs produced each year in the By Farr range. The limestone and black volcanic soils on this site impart a darker and more broody element to the wine, the final product demonstrating one of Australia's great examples of the elusive balance of power and finesse that makes Pinot Noir one of the world's most beloved varieties. The 2016 vintage of Farrside is exquisite, the vine age really starting to show in the wine. As Nick noted with us during tasting, this is moving to a more red fruit spectrum as the vines mature. This is will make an excellent addition to any serious collector's cellar, as well as a beautiful wine to open in its youth, should a special occasion arise.
10. Dry River Pinot Noir 2010(96 pts Bob Campbell; 95 pts Huon Hooke; 93pts James Suckling)
Lovely structure with a strawberry and raspberry character. It pulls back but then opens. Aromatic and very pretty. Yet firm and structured. Tannic. Tangy and bright. Powerful like a Chambertin. Opens with time in the glass. Three vineyards went into this: Dry River, Craighall, and Lovat. Better in 2015.
11 Pirathon Shiraz 2013(94 pts James Halliday)
The Gods of Value have big smiles on their faces. This is in the sweet spot for value, quality and style. It's dark fruited and amply so, but its savoury edges give it a wider appeal. Soft, modestly/appropriately oaked, tidy with tannin and perhaps most importantly, moreish.
12. Bindi Quartz Chardonnay 201(96 pts Jeremy Oliver)
Artfully made and finely balanced, this long and beautifully focused chardonnay has a complex, alluring and faintly mineral fragrance of grapefruit, lemon and lemon lifted by scents of wheat flower, citrus blossom and sweet, tight-grained oak. Underpinned by a fine chalkiness, it’s ripe and juicy but tightly contained by a line of lemony acidity that wraps up its excellent length of tangy, translucent fruit. Its finish marries exceptional drive with rare elegance and style..
13. La Pleiade Shiraz 2012(97 pts James Halliday)
Joint venture by Michel Chapoutier and Ron Laughton(Jasper Hill). Organically grown vines from Michel Chapoutiers best Vineyard in the Rhone. The clear, full crimson-purple colour has that intangible quality that promises much, the expectations more than fulfilled on the bouquet and palate. This is a beautifully wrought (I would used 'crafted' but that is nauseously overused in marketing blah) medium-bodied wine, effortlessly uncoiling its array of red fruits through the length of the palate, an exercise in restrained elegance.
