Australia
Nepenthe Tempranillo 2004
The more tempranillo based wines I see from the Adelaide Hills, the more I think it is an ideal location for producing Rioja style wines. This is the forth release of tempranillo by the chaps at Nepenthe and they seem to have nailed it.
One thing I have noticed with many of the Australian tempranillo based wines is that they need some time to open up, especially those that have seen some time in wood. A bit of bottle age would would probably help as well, so it looks like it will be well worth your time putting some of this in the cellar.
Deep cherry in colour, the nose has great aromas of ripe cherry, a bit of mulberry, leather with some rosemary and sage. Nice weight in the mouth, the tannins are fine and develop a nice texture with some air. More ripe fruit in the mouth, dark cherry. After a couple of hours the palate really develops with liquorice and spice adding complexity. Nicely balanced with a healthy shot of acid. You could confuse this for a good, modern Rioja very easily. 90 Pts.
Source: Winery Sample RRP: $25 Closure: Screwcap
Web: www.nepenthe.com.au
Delatite Tempranillo 2004
Delatite seem to like walking on a slightly different path, they use a host of 'non-standard' varieties and are perhaps known best for their Dead Man's Hill Gewurztraminer. So it's good to see them branching out with a Tempranillo as well.
This wine is made from grapes grown about 30Kms north of Mansfield in Victoria. The wine sees 18 months in French oak before its bottled.
Deep, dark and inky in the glass. A nice nose of blackberry and cherry liquor with subtle creamy oak oak notes. It comes over smooth and textured in the mouth, a bit short on acid, but the tannins are fine and add to the long finish. Quite savory and would be a real treat with food. Concentrated dark cherry on the palate and some licorice all-sorts with more air, vanilla and licorice. Certainly heading in the right direction I think, I'm looking forward to future releases from these guys. 88 Pts.
Source: Winery Sample RRP: $29 Closure: Screwcap
Yendah Tempranillo 2005
Yendah is made by those enterprising people at Casella wines (yes, the people who make [yellow tail]). The Yendah range seems to be based of Mediterranean varieties and the wines are made to be food friendly.
The nose opens up with dark cherry and a fair bit of chary, vanilla oak and tobacco. Very easy to drink, rounded and medium bodied with a low level of acid and soft, drying tannins on the finish. The palate delivers a similar story to the nose, dark cherry fruit with tobacco and oak, but adds some chocolate and medicinal herbs. It's not very varietal and there is a bit of sweetness to it, but if you find yourself at the barbie with a couple of good quality chili snags, a glass of this in your hand would be pretty good. 85 Pts.
Source: Winery Sample RRP: $16 Closure: Screwcap
Stella Bella Tempranillo 2004
I've been meaning to get a bottle of this wine for some time now, it won a gold medal at the World International Tempranillo Competition 2005 and had a few wine writers bellowing about the future of Tempranillo in Margaret River. Now I've had a taste I can see why, it is the most compelling example I've seen to date.
The vines used for the wine are of an average age of 12 years. This added with some funky oak treatment in American and French oak and inventive wine making has combined to produce something special.
Inky and dark in colour, the nose opens up with a good show of varietal character: ripe dark cherry and mulberry with licorice and just a pinch of spice. Fleshy, medium bodied and savory, its open for business from the first taste. There is a core of brambly dark plum and blackcurrant that really drives this wine, while some licorice and wood herbs add additional complexity. A persistent finish with a boat load of tannin, but it is soft, inviting and in balance. World Class. 91 Pts.
Source: Retail Cost: $27 Closure: Screwcap
Yalumba Hand Picked Tempranillo + Grenache + Viognier 2005
Ok, it is quite an odd blend. Who would think of adding Viognier to Tempranillo and a little Grenache? I wouldn't, but the folks at Yalumba have and I think they may be onto a good thing. Your not going to see mass planting of Viognier all over Spain as a result, but it makes an interesting wine. Its kind of like that Run DMC V's Aerosmith track, DMC's beats with just the Aerosmith guitar riff, its a great tune but I'm not too sure how a whole album would turn out.
The blend consists of mostly Tempranillo (89%) with a shot of Grenache (6%) and Viognier (5%) and sees 10 months in French and Hungarian oak.
What a nose! Some nice raspberry fruit, florals, tobacco, earth and not a trace of apricot. In the mouth it is smooth all the way, not a lot in the way of tannins, they may be hiding under the viognier influence. Dark, savory fruit in the mouth, black cherry and dark plum with sarsaparilla. A lot of Tempranillo varietal character here. There is a bit of apricot on the finish, this moves on with some time and spicy pepper replaces it. Nicely balanced and integrated. A very good wine, I'd like to see it without the viognier, I think they'd have a winner. 89 Pts.
Source: Boccaccio Cellars Cost: $27 Closure: Screwcap
Web: www.yalumba.com
Tscharke Only Son Tempranillo 2004
Should wines made made in Australia taste like their European ancestors? This is the question I found myself asking while drinking this wine. Or should we take the grapes and make it our? Should we pay homage to the great wines of Spain by making wines here in a similar style? I'm still undecided…
I liked this wine a lot, it has that classic barossa taste and feel to it but it is made from Tempranillo. It bears very little resemblance to the classic descriptors of a tempranillo based wine, but it is still very well made and highly drinkable.Perhaps its vine age or the clones used, or perhaps it is climate. Or all three, only time will tell I think.
Very dark and inky in colour with aromas of dark cherry and plums on the nose with a bit of coffee. Good mouth feel with soft tannins and lovely smoothness. Dark berry in the mouth with a little bit of tart blueberry and a bit of cola. Quite a long finish, it is a powerful mouth coating wine that I found very enjoyable. 89 Pts.
Source: Winestar Price: $26 Closure: Screwcap
Mr Riggs Tempranillo 2004
My ongoing quest to find good Australian tempranillo continues, and we seem to be moving in the right direction. From the cooler climate Adelaide Hills, this is a good example of tempranillo and is much better than previous attempts by these guys. One of my main criticisms with past vintages has been the oak treatment, the 04 is quite restrained in this aspect and lets the fruit do most of the talking.
The vines for this wine were planted in 2000 and the oak treatment is 20% new french oak, with the rest being old french oak.
Very deep, dark red in the glass. The nose has some nice red cherry, cherry liquor, olives and some star anise. Medium bodied in the mouth. Savory with supple tannins and nicely balanced. Dark fruits, liquorice and earth. A bit more acid would be nice, its not all fruit however. It held its own in against a crianza from Rioja, not the same style but it wasn't out of place. 87 Pts.
Source: Retail RRP: $25 Closure: Conventional Cork
Web: www.mrriggs.com.au
Pondalowie MT Tempranillo 2005
I thought I had the latest release with the 04MT, but those clever people at Pandalowie have already put out the 05 MT. Of course I had to have a look at it straight away…
Quite different in style to the 04, a lot less of the cola/sarsaparilla aspects but beautiful, silky tannins that give the wine a great texture. I'm not sure if the change is a stylistic change in the vineyard/winery or just vintage variation.
Dark red fruits on the nose, herbs and spice with a bit of funk. Great texture and weight in the mouth with blackberry, dark cherry and a hint of peeper and spice. Quite a long finish. I don't see a lot of acid here, but the great tannins are the main attraction. Different, but still very good. 88 Pts.
Source: Retail RRP: $25 Closure: Screwcap
McHenry Hohnen Tiger Country 2004
This is a venture by David Hohnen and Murray McHenry. Murry is an ex wine retailer, David was the winemaker at Cape Mentelle for many years. David also has an organic pig farm from what I hear; the guy must have some Spanish heritage to grow Tempranillo and raise pigs for a living!
Deep red in the glass. A nice nose of red currents, dark chocolate, raspberry and spice. Medium bodied and savory in the mouth with dark berries, earth, and a touch of black tea and soy. Ripe tannins on the finish. I like the balance on this wine, very interesting in the mouth as well. Not your typical Aussie red blend, very European in fact. I'm not sure how it would age, I'd drink it over the next couple of years. 88 Pts.
Source: Boccaccio Cellars Price: $25 Closure: Conventional Cork
Web: www.mchv.com.au
Pondalowie MT Tempranillo 2004
I think there is a big future for Tempranillo in Australia. I bet this is not the first time you've heard that, but its wines like this that make you think "why aren't people planting this stuff like crazy?" Oh yeah, that huge over-supply thing. Regardless of all that, in 10 to 20 years time, I think we'll have some great tempranillo based wines produced in Australia. Not the same as Rioja or Riberia, but our very own and very good Australian Tempranillo.
This wine is two firsts for Tinto y Blanco, the first Australian wine and the first wine under screwcap. I hope to see a lot more of both.
Deep, dark red in colour. Dark cherry on the nose with nice animally complexity. Full of juicy, mouth coating fruit: blackberry, dark cherry and a sarsaparilla aspect that morphs into cola and florals with a bit of time in the glass. Nicely balanced with smooth tannins. The dry finish is a good length and leaves you wanting another sip. If I was served this blind, I'd think it was a joven from Toro in a hot year, its a just bit lower in acid than it's Spanish mates. Muy bueno! 89 Pts.
Source: Retail RRP: $25 Closure: Screwcap
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