Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Margaret River Australia

Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from the gravelly slopes of their Stevens Valley vineyard in Margaret River, Western Australia. This Bordeaux blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot has spent 24 months in oak,  50% new, 50% in 1yr old barrels.

 

This deep ruby wine with a mere hint of garnet has fresh elegant aromas of blackberry cassis, sweet spices, cedar which all follow through to the palate, here there are additional savoury notes all kept fresh by the edgy acidity which also helps to balance the alcohol ( 14%) which feels well integrated. The tannins are fine and silky with a good structure and a savouriness and agin well integrated. Great length with cassis all the way through. This is a well made beautifully matured wine with lots of character and interest and tasted balanced and left me wanting more after each mouthful - the sign of a good wine in my book.
This is a wine that will improve in bottle for 3-5 years and would be lovely with a hearty meal! It is available from Justerini & Brooks at a cost of £29.17 .
Score : 90



Margaret River

Located approximately three hours' drive south of Perth, the region was ‘discovered’ in the early 1970s after various pieces of research from Professor Harold Olmo and Dr John Gladstones identified it as a potentially great grape growing region. The Margaret River area includes the rolling hills of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge, extending 90 kilometres north-south between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, and is bounded to the west by the Indian Ocean. Highly regarded as a producer of powerful yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon, the region has also forged a great reputation for its white wines notably Chardonnay and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends. However, it is capable of producing all the classic varietal wines.

Margaret River wine region first saw European settlement as late as the 1830’s and has evolved from pioneer ‘outstation’, forestry, dairy, alternative life stylers who enjoyed the unique coast and its surfing, to an area dedicated to the pursuit of great vines and fine wine.

The climate is strongly maritime-influenced, as might be expected in a region surrounded by the ocean on three sides. With a mean annual temperature range of only 7.6°C (45.68°F), it has less than 25% of its annual rain falling between October and April. The low diurnal and seasonal temperature range means an unusually even accumulation of warmth. While spring frosts are very rare and highly localised, the lack of winter dormancy for the vines can cause problems that are unique to this region.

McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon 2005 Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia

McWilliams Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2005 comes from the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia and has been cellar aged before release.
A lemon coloured wine with rounded citric aromas including tangerine and lime, there is also a touch of apricot and spiceiness. On the palate there is a slight prickle on the tongue but the overpowering initial feeling is of freshness, green apple, grapefruit pith and a slight hint of greenness from a pea shoot nuance, this is a fresh, zesty wine which despite 7 years age - is youthful, clean and ready to age for some time to come.
Overall the wine is fresh, clean and full of fruit as it opens in the mouth but also has an extra complexity, the texture alone is waxy and delicious, at 7 years old - it tastes youthful and has much time and pleasure to give! Enjoy - available from Sainsburys under their 'Taste the Difference' own label range at an amazingly low cost of £9.99 and also from Majestic at £9.99 if you buy 2.

How the wine was made :-All grapes for this wine were handpicked. They were de-stemmed at the winery, crushed, the must chilled and the juice drained. After 48 hours to allow settling, the clear juice was racked off and warmed to allow fermention - which was slow and cool to help retain the exceptional fruit flavour of this vintage.
The Wine maker is Phil Ryan - we thankyou Phil!

The Hunter Valley is Australia’s oldest producing wine region, with vines first planted in the 1820’s and is approximately two hours drive north of Sydney and to the northwest of Newcastle. It is based on the catchment of the Hunter Valley River & includes the Upper & Lower Hunter areas.

The Hunter Valley is warm / hot. However, temperature, within broad limits, has nothing to do with quality, but affects only the style. In addition to hot days, the Hunter Valley has relatively warm nights when the physiological processes that ripen fruit can continue. The days are also quite humid, reducing moisture stress and allowing the leaves to keep their pores open longer during hot weather. This allows photosynthesis and growth to continue when, in drier air, it would not. The Lower Hunter Valley around Pokolbin is a little wetter than Broke Fordwich and the Upper Hunter Valley but is closer to the coast and benefits more from cooling sea breezes.

Soils : There are three main soil types in the Hunter Valley. The first is the red clay loam that appears on the hilltops and slopes. Red soils are well-drained and provide a good medium for vines; these are where the best Shiraz is grown. On some slopes you’ll also find chocolate brown podsols which are also good for red wines. You’ll find the third major soil type on the flats along the creek beds where grey sandy loams overlie white or yellow clays. Casuarinas are a good indicator for these soils and this is where whites grow best - mostly Semillon and Chardonnay.  In the Upper Hunter Valley, these soils tend to be a little deeper and grade into black loams. 

Hunter Valley Semillon: Is considered to be a world benchmark wine, it is the stellar white variety in the region. Semillon is at its delicate best when picked early to make a wine of ten to 11.5% alcohol and almost invariably has ripe flavours at low sugar concentrations. This is the style of wine that best responds to bottle age, during which it develops outstanding lemon curd and toasty complexity and becomes barely recognisable from its demure beginning. Most companies release their Semillons when only a few months old when they are crisp and lively with a light body and fresh, lemony and grassy fruit. A few keep some wines for bottle-maturation and release after five years or more when they have deepened in colour, become rounder and softer in the mouth and developed the most brilliantly complex flavours of vanilla and buttered toast.

Domaine Daniel Dugois Vin Jaune 2005 Arbois Jura

Domaine Daniel Dugois Vin Jaune 2005 from Arbois in the Jura is stocked by the Caves de Pyrene and is a semi organic wine. It is a wine that is matured in a barrel under the same type of yeast called 'Flor' that is used in Jerez for sherry production. Vin Jaune means 'yellow wine' and is only made in the Jura region of France, due to its maturation it has a similar aroma to a dry fino sherry - but the big difference is that it is not fortified the alcohol level is 12.5%.
It is made from the Savagnin grape which is grown in the Jura, and is 'late harvested', harvested in October. The grapes started off by  being fermented slowly, kept in small old oak casks which hold 228 liters (60 gallons) and which were not topped up, evaporation leads to an air gap appearing above the wine. . A film of yeast grows over the wine, partially protecting it  from any oxidation but allows evaporation. In Jura, this film, called a voile or veil  is similar to a flor in Sherry production and has many similar properties but thrives better in a lower alcohol environment and so develops less heavily and thickly than "flor" does. This wine was aged for at least 6 years in this way (by law) The aromas and flavours associated with sherries is here.
This gold liquid has an oxidated colour ( yellowing) and has a yeasty, spicy aroma with an orange citric twist, encapsulated with a nuttiness. On tasting it - it is dry, fresh and the alcohol is well integrated. This light bodied 'white' wine has freshening acidity and some tannin - low but still obvious. Flavours of nuts, citric skin and yeast are apparent, and the length is long and nutty and rich with a bitter marmalade finish. Drink in the same way as you would a sherry,  with cheese and nuts, and in the Jura it will often accompany a dish that it has been used as one of the ingredients!

Domaines Schlumberger Grand Cru Kessler Gewurztraminer 2005 in Alsace France

Domaines Schlumberger Grand Cru Kessler Gewurztraminer 2005 is from a single Grand Cru vineyard in Guebwiller in Alsace which is in Eastern France near the border of Germany. This wine came from Slurp and cost £18.35 and as is more common in Alsace due to its weather ( warm autumns and low rainfall due to the vosges mountains) the vineyard is run biodynamically and Domaines Schlumberger is one of the largest vineayard owners  in Alsace. This wine has won awards and indeed in Decanter November 2009  it was a 5star Decanter Award Winner and also a silver award in the 100+ Alsace Grand Cru wines tested.

This wine has a characteristic deepish gold colour - the grape Gewurztraminer often has quite a deep gold colour. Floral, deeply perfumed aromas of elderflower and roses promise what is to come, aromatics  also include grape and lychee. Once tasted the aromas are carried through to the palate with additional white stone fruits, the acidity is no higher than medium, again normal for this grape variety, the alcohol is warming but balanced. The wine feels silky in the mouth and the length is good, spicy to the end with roses, citric waves and stone fruits layered and complex with a lovely bitter, dry finish.
This is a wine is full and lush with amazing vivacity considering its age - but the pedigree says it all.