It’s perhaps rather regrettable that Australia’s international reputation hangs largely on the success of its relatively inexpensive large-volume ranges such as Yellowtail and Jacob’s Creek, for 2004 certainly saw some stunning highlights at the top (and not inexpensive) end of the market. Most of the Australian wines I tasted of genuine world class in 2004 were made from shiraz and chardonnay. I’m rather disturbed at the lack of top-notch cabernet sauvignon, but remain encouraged by the exciting progress being made across the country with riesling. The occasional exciting semillon popped up from the leading makers of the Hunter and the Clare Valley, while top merlots, pinots, dessert wines and sparkling wines are still rather thin on the ground. The northern Rh̫ne blend of shiraz and viognier is receiving a lot of high-level attention from our winemakers, and some delicious examples are now emerging from all major mainland wine states. Here are my top ten wine highlights of 2004, by category. To score a place in this list, a wine must have been released in the year of 2004, or else tasted that year with a view to release in the first half of 2005. Best Sparkling Wine: Chandon Vintage Brut 2001 (Southern Australia) . Chandon Australia returns to top form with this elegant and creamy blend of classic champagne varieties. Sourced from a number of mainland regions, it marries together pristine citrus, melon and red berry fruit qualities with creamy, doughy yeast-derived influences and refreshing, but soft acids. It’s a stylish package whose restraint and finesse belies the intensity of its flavours. Best Riesling: Leasingham Classic Clare Riesling 2002 (Clare Valley). The Clare Valley’s signature 2002 riesling vintage has expressed itself in a number of first-rate wines, of which this Classic Clare was one of the last to be released. While this label hasn’t the cache of some other smaller makers, the wine is stylish, perfectly shaped and mineral. Its musky rose petal fragrance of lime juice, stonefruit and wet slate precedes a tangy, sculpted palate with many layers of flavour. Limey nuances of lemon rind, talcum powder and even a complex lees-derived earthiness contribute character to its profound core of vibrant fruit. A classic Clare indeed. Best Semillon: Tyrrell’s Reserve Stevens Semillon 2000 (Lower Hunter). While this isn’t the top level Tyrrell’s semillon, an honour that goes to the ever-reliable Vat 1, it is sourced from one of the oldest and most sought-after of all the Hunter’s individual vineyards. Now five years of age, it’s still a baby. Sure there’s some smoky, toasty development and some lingering nutty savoury elements at the finish, but it’s bursting with vibrant fruit and remains framed by clean and refreshing acids. Enjoy now or much, much later. Best Chardonnay: Giaconda Chardonnay 2002 (Beechworth). New plantings at Giaconda have doubled production, but quality has continued its broad upward trend as Rick Kinzbrunner finds new ways to add nuances of complexity and texture to the deep melon and citrus flavours of his fruit. The 1996 vintage was the wine that changed the minds of most of his doubters, and the 2002 is the finest, silkiest and most complete release since then. Like a Meursault in style, its characteristic nutty, savoury texture and matchstick-like bound sulphide and oak influences stamp Giaconda as this country’s most classic and international chardonnay. Best Pinot Noir: Bannockburn Serr̩ 1999 (Geelong). The Serr̩ vineyard is a close-planted block located within the main Bannockburn vineyard at Waurn Ponds. While I’ve long been an admirer of the ‘standard’ Bannockburn pinots, the Serr̩ has impressed me greatly since the 1994 vintage for its layers of depth, power of flavour and elegance of structure. Supremely long, elegant and luscious, the 1999 is fragrant, spicy and pristine, deeply scented with rose petals, sweet maraschino cherries, red berries and plums over a light hint of stalkiness and earthy, cedary undertones. Best Shiraz: Seppelt St Peters 2002 (Great Western). Seppelt’s flagship, the St Peters Shiraz, is steadily evolving into a benchmark wine that marries together some of the exotically spicy elements of Northern Rh̫ne shiraz, the understated and fine-grained tannins of Burgundy with the savoury, sour-edged fruit expression of finer modern Chianti. Great Western has long been rated amongst the best of Australia’s shiraz regions and the spotless 2002 vintage is seamless and spicy. Its floral, rose garden-like aromas of perfectly accentuated but briary dark berry fruits are packed with pepper and musky spices, and backed by a charcuterie-like meatiness. Its long, fine palate effortlessly delivers sumptuous flavours of exceptional purity over bony, powdery tannins, culminating in a long, savoury finish of exceptional persistence. Best Red Rh̫ne blend: Torbreck The Descendant 2002 (Barossa Valley) and Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2003 (Canberra). Of equal merit are two related, but significantly different expressions of the shiraz-viognier blend. While Clonakilla can claim to have led the way in Australia with its C̫te R̫tie-like wine, of which the 2003 is a more sumptuous and deeply fruited example, Torbreck has created another more obviously Australian wine built around astonishingly concentrated and vibrant fruit. The Clonakilla is the finer and silkier of the two, but each culminates in a lingering savoury finish of remarkably persistent flavour. Best Cabernet or blend: Lake’s Folly 2002 (Lower Hunter). Australia’s oldest ’boutique’ vineyard is located in the Hunter Valley, where it was rather controversially planted to cabernet varieties and chardonnay. The Cabernet was always expressive and reliable, but a recent change in ownership and the introduction of Rodney Kempe has winemaker has propelled it back to the top of the tree. A blend of four red varieties, the 2002 wine presents a restrained and delicate perfume of spicy violet aromas, cedar, cassis and rosemary, with underlying nuances of blackberries and dark plums. Very fine, supple, long and stylish, the palate bursts with pure small berry flavours tightly integrated with restrained cedar/vanilla oak and a fine-grained undercarriage of silky tannins. Best Merlot: Petaluma Merlot 2001 (Coonawarra). Petaluma’s Merlot isn’t often mentioned when people are discussing Australia’s best examples of this variety, and I don’t understand why. It’s typically firm, astringent cellar style, and the wines from 1990 and 1992 are today looking quite superb. Great merlot vintages don’t necessarily coincide with great cabernet vintages, and the sumptuous 2001 release is another example. It delivers perfectly focused and licorice-like dark cherry and plum-like fruit bound by fine-grained tannins and supported by sweet cedary oak. Best Dessert Wine: De Bortoli Noble One 2002 (Griffith). Over two decades, De Bortoli has created and refined its own expression of late-harvest semillon, and is now being imitated by many other makers. The cooler 2002 vintage has produced a more stylish and supple wine whose pungent, honeyed and buttery aromas of quince and cumquat, melon and apricot precede a deeply concentrated, luscious and opulent palate. There’s plenty of length and viscosity, plus vibrant, spotlessly clean flavours and sweetness before a refreshingly clear finish.
