Despite trying these wines back in September, what struck me was that they are pretty much all wines that would go with an element of the traditional Christmas dishes that we all guzzle over the next fortnight. They are all made by two lady winemakers in Australia.
Mount Horrocks in the Clare Valley, is run by owner, and winemaker, Stephanie Toole. All her grapes come from her own three vineyards, and she restricts the production of her wines to around 4500 cases every year. She told me that her wines were made to go with food, and although I hear this all the time from winemakers - and a lot of the time it is total twaddle, with hers, I'd tend to agree.
2009 Mount Horrocks Watervale Riesling
A soft, citrus aroma and quite floral and pretty. Some chalky mineral elements come through as well. The palate is very zingy, lots of lemon and lime leaping out at you, with a good dose of sherbet. A very tight finish of apple core. 8/10 and would go so well with some smoked salmon.
2009 Mount Horrocks Watervale Semillon
Quite herby, with some lime and peach stone aromas mixing with some vanilla. A nice palate, with fresh lemon and honey coming through a soft, fleshy fruit palate. The finish is long, with lovely sweeter lemon marmalade flavours. A really tasy bottle of wine and I was craving a suckling pig with this. 8.5/10
2007 Mount Horrocks Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
A lot of blackcurrant, some menthol too and then a punnet of raspberries thrown in for good measure. You get a lot of stalky, leafy elements, with a lot of pepper. The palate is bright fruit, backed up by a load of liquorice and a little aniseed too. Very crisp, crunchy red fruit, with red apple skin on the finish. A great wine for roast venison 8/10
2008 Mount Horrocks Clare Valley ShirazFar too much spice on the nose, with some coffee and fresh bramble and preserved black cherry. There is chocolate on the palate, bundled up with black pepper, and then an acidic fresh berry flavour, that lightens this wine from being a bit of a jam fest. The fruit is quite warm on the finish, with more berries, but again, just when you think that this is going jammy, it lifts itself up and delivers freshness. An interesting wine. A perfect wine to go with beef wellington. 8/10
2009 Mount Horrocks Cordon Cut Riesling
This is the wine that Mount Horrocks is best known for. Their sweet riesling, made from hand picked grapes from their single vineyard in Auburn in the Clare Valley, and the Cordon Cut refers to the process of cutting the canes when the grapes are ripe, allowing the fruit to concentrate and raisin naturally on the vine. It is a very floral, citrussy wine with lots of vanilla - almost Key lime pie - with some zingier lime pickle from a curry house aroma. The palate is soft, honeylike with some lime marmalade, rosewater and then beautiful clean acidity. A superb wine for Christmas pudding, but even better with a big bowl of fruit salad. 9.5/10
Cullen was founded in 1965 by Di and Kevin Cullen, and is now under the leadership of their daughter, Vanya, who has converted the company to using biodynamic viticulture, and becoming Australia's first carbon neutral winery in 2007. Her wines have been critically acclaimed, and her Chardonnay recently was voted the best Chardonnay in the world by the Decanter World Wine Awards. So that is as good enough place to start as any...
2007 Cullen 'Kevin John' Margaret River Chardonnay
Roast chicken aroma! Very herbal with lots of rich tropical fruit and a bundle of mango pith and nectarine. The palate is rich, with a creamy texture, and a bit of oaky vanilla, but with sweet tobacco coming off the back. Pineapple, both fresh and dried, on the finish. This just appears to be a bit of an oak fest for me, and despite its accolade, I am just not swept away by it, despite thinking it is a good wine. Obviously, this is to go with your turkey. 8/10
2009 Cullen 'Mangan Vineyard' Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
Very fresh with apple and citrus, and some rustic pear too, all coated with a bit of vanilla. The palate is gooseberry, some really nice softer elements that are then obliterated by Granny Smiths apples and a searing acidity, sandblasting your mouth out. Then, the finish develops a herbal element for some reason with hints of orange, but that acid just kills you and spoils this wine. A wine that would be a good aperitif, if you can tolerate the acid! 7/10
2008 Cullen 'Mangan' Margaret River
This blend of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec is, in comparison to its stablemates, pretty poor. Lots of raspberry and floral elements, with some cherry too. The palate has a leathery element, with some nice black cherry flavours, but with a vegetal imbalance towards the finish. Just a bit dull, but definitely a wine to consume in front of the fire after you have had one too many sherries! 6/10
2007 Cullen 'Diana Madeline' Margaret River
Another blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and this is a total change from the Mangan. Red fruit galore with lots of raspberries and cherries coming through. There is some sweet wild strawberry, with chocolate and freshly picked brambles - all covered in bits of leaf and stalk. The palate has baked berry pie filling, with a spicy kick and although it has noticeable alcohol, this big wine cleans up for the finish very very well. A stonking good wine, and this would be great with roast beef. 8.5/10
These two ladies produce some great wines, and I am more drawn towards the style of Mount Horrocks rather than Cullen, despite having bought some of Vanya's "greatest Chardonnay in the world", just to see how it ages! They prove that Australia can make good, interesting, terroir driven wines and are a good choice for any Christmas dinner!
Thanks to Liberty Wines
Cullen Website
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