Weekend hits

Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay 2001 (Margaret River, WA)
Cork, $7oish on release
An icon wine from a top MR vintage this is in need of some serious time in the cellar. The colour is glowing yellow, bright golden straw, in a fluoro, post-Berocca-wee like shade. The nose is vanilla, melon and buttered toast, leading on to a palate that is intensely dry, powerful but so bound up in oak that it actually isn’t that good a drink at the moment. In a mid life shutdown, it gets richer in the glass & appreciates a warmer serving temp, but the best is yet to come. Drink from 2010. 17.5+

Scarborough Yellow Label Chardonnay 2005 (Hunter, NSW)
Screwcap, $23
This suffered after the sheer class and intensity of the Art Series, but this again is a very good wine from a very good vintage that needs time to come together. The nose is broader and obviously warmer climate, with some soapy oak on the nose as well as some distinctive hay bale like Hunter regional characters. The palate has a decent depth of oats and honey fruit with plenty of acidity (which I think the Hunter can do surprisingly well). Given time this will get broader and the palate will fill out and the marks will go up, but last time on its own I marked it higher. Drink also from 2010 17/20+

Bay Of Fires Tigress Sparkling NV (Tasmania)
Cork, $21
Thin, lean and unbalanced, the palate had very intrusive acidity, with no generosity to speak of and really looks raw and too young. Unusual to see a sparkling from the Hardys Bubbly powerhouse not come up trumps. 14.5/20

Leasingham Bin 61 Shiraz 1998 (Clare Valley, SA)
Cork, $18 on release
From the absolute heyday of this label, this has got numerous trophies and golds to hang its hat on. A lovely aged Clare Shiraz, although I think it would have been an oaky beast in its youth. The colour is still seriously dark – thick, tarry, deep red and the wine follows suit. On the nose it has sweet, blackberry & kirsch liqueur which folows through onto the palate which has a lovely pure flow of the same fruit and edged with cedary vanilla oak. This wine is all about the impossibly sweet fruited mid palate, with some mainly oak tannins to finish it off. Drinking at its best. 18.6/20