A few speccy Noosa holiday wines (the 2022 edition)

Breathe out, it’s holiday time.

I’m in Noosa this week, for a family holiday that has been postponed twice in the last 18 months (thanks to COVID).

It’s easy to love this part of the Sunshine Coast too, with its unique combination of glorious beaches, tiptop trails and a vibrant eating/drinking scene that brings us back every time.

Noosa is especially enticing at this time of year when Sydney is starting to feel a bit cold and shit – that depressing part of late autumn where the trackies and thick socks come back into rotation.

This year, of course, the normally mild 18-24C late May Noosa days have gone out the window, replaced with bouts of 40mm an hour tropical rainfall and a thousand percent humidity, just for fun. When we arrived a few days ago there were sideways sheets of water flying in from every direction with a real end of days vibe about it, and I was convinced we’d be spending a week just doing puzzles.

But then, the sky cleared, and it’s been sunny ever since. Clearly I’ve placated the weather gods, if just for a few days (a tempest will return on Friday, apparently).

But enough boring weather chat, let’s talk booze.

A suitcase half full of wine came along for the journey, and there was all sort of goodies in there, many I’ve been just looking for an excuse to open.

Here’s a few impressions of what I’ve opened so far:

Domaine Weinbach Schlossberg Grand Cru Riesling 2019

Magnificent. One of the most delicious whites of the year. I never grow tired of the ornate packaging too it looks special. From the get-go this is a perfect drink too – driven by this orange rind/mandarin ripe citrus fruit width, but without being fat or shapeless or anything. It’s just a powerhouse of concentrated citrus fruit and then dry, plenty firm enough acidity and phenolic grip. A regal, but utterly smashable, dry Riesling for the ages. Wow. 19/20, 96/200. 13.5%, $180.

Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2020

This is a more lithe Pinot for Curly that’s going to need time to come together. It’s spritzy, with some unexpected, early picked dill among the bright raspberry fruit. Too lean? Nah. There is plenty of red fruit to make it a winner, despite the herbal bits. Acidity is notable too. The finish certainly toys with bring too tight. But ultimately it works. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13%, $58.

Larmandier Bernier Rosé de Saignee NV

My favourite Champagne house, but can it make a great rosé? I’ve not had this wine before, which seems dumb given how many bottles of the Larmandier whites I’ve helped empty (I’ve also never been to the Northern Territory if we’re talking about oversights). Anyway, fun to fix that blindspot and drain a few glasses. We had it at Gusto at Noosaville, which is firmly on my Noosa BYO restaurants to visit list FWIW. Gee this is a very red coloured, ‘is it table wine or Champagne’ style rosé too. Based around the 2018 vintage and disgorged in 2020, it’s a very pretty wine with this disarming strawberry and cream fruit. Its so strawberried! I wrote it off as too simple and fruit forward at first, but the acidity is perfect. The gentle fruit is lovely, the style primary and less yeasty. A pretty Champagne. Is it too simple? That’s the only question. It’s still so disarming but rather perfect too. I liked it. 18.5/20, 94/100. 12.5%, $200.

Hughes & Hughes Chardonnay 2021

A highlight off the list at the excellent Sum Yung Guys in Noosaville (if you visit, try the Crying Tiger – it’s superb). This Chardonnay nails the Chablis-inspired, Tollpuddle-esque modern Tassie style too. Delicacy. Primacy. Freshness and flavour. It’s a light to medium weight Chardonnay driven by acidity and finesse. Oak is a light touch of vanilla bean to that gives an extra layer to the appley fruit. Palate feels correct, right, crisp, ripe enough and so enjoyable. Is it too light? The refreshment kinda cancels that out. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13.2%, $35.

Clos Mogador 2018

Don’t bother opening this anytime soon. I have a few more bottles, and I’m going to leave them for years. This year’s Mogador is a typically deep, molten, oak-fortified, warm, ultra concentrated red packed with a whole lot of Priorat character (and in need of a rest). What I don’t like is how the oak and ripeness obscure the varieties – previous vintages haven’t looked quite so new worldish for mine. Even on day 4 this looked oaky (and very rich). That palate is bricked up and dense, with just alcohol warmth really escaping. I’ve been to Priorat and seen the vines that go into this style and it makes sense – stumpy bushes producing little bullets of ultra concentrated flavour. It’s a thick cut, dense, unquestionably full bodied journey but trying to crack this nut is hard. Warmth doesn’t help – it just makes it even less approachable. Silver medal on the sheer wall of molten dark fruit, but it’s also a little baked, and tbh I expected a little more balance. 18/20+, 93/100. 14.5%, $180.

Hervé Souhaut Sainte Epine 2020

I almost bought another bottle of this a few weeks ago and glad I didn’t – it’s not worth the dollars. The good bits lie in the Saint Joseph medium bodied charisma, in a juicy, skinsy, pulpy style with no oak and no artifice, all purple fruit with tilled earth and black pepper. Syrah? Oh yeah. It doesn’t linger though, the earthen red fruited flavours sort of slithers off. It’s a fresh young Syrah, but looking for something more doesn’t deliver much. It’s been a while between Souhaut releases for me, and I was expecting more wild profundity, not a safe bet/approachable red. Lovely purity bumps it to a silver medal, but this doesn’t hit a third gear to justify the price and hype. Canberra or the Yarra does better, for much less $$$. Oh and the label says 13% but I swear it’s more than that too – 14% for sure. 17.5/20, 91/100. 13%, $150.

Pierro LTC 2021

This was once a market leader. Now? The world has changed, and this wine sits in nostalgia territory. Hard to tell where the character of this Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay blend sits. The Sauv fruit looks ripe and pineappley and yet resinous. The palate too is grippy and bland and undefined. What is it? There is palate intensity here, but the wooly, lumpy palate helps no one. Yeah, no. 16.3/20, 87/100. 13.5%, $32