A big week: From Kumeu River Chardonnay to 2021 Yeringberg range + a 1988 Monbizallac

I clicked over to 43 years on the planet last week, which is always an excuse to open all the wines.

It’s now 24 years in the wine/drink industry for me, too, and how did I celebrate? By tasting more wines than I sipped, yet again.

Still, plenty of variety in the drinks diet last week, as my birthday week also coincided with the 25th Anniversary tasting extravaganza of wine distributor Cellarhand, which included selections from Dönnhoff, Dr Loosen, Mount Mary, Vajra, Yeringberg and much more.

It was pretty good…

I even got to enjoy a glass of the Kumeu River Mate’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2021 on my actual birthday, which looked so backward that I regret opening it, even if the label damage made it feel like a must-do. This Kiwi Chardonnay hero is an old favourite in the Graham house, but I didn’t immediately love this ’21 Mate’s. It’s so tightly coiled and driven by grapefruity acidity and another leaner, less evocative Mate’s release. It needs at least another two years in the cellar, and no questioning the pristine lines and quality, but I wanted more width.

The Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2022, however, is a near-perfect release. A hit. Bright raspberry fruit, a bit of woody whole bunch spice, fruit with some glacé generosity but still cool year lighter energy, and a fair tannic grip. This is spicy, cool climate Pinot, without losing sight of the ‘must be delicious’ main game, and definitely a Pinot Noir drinkers wine. It even went well with a few Wagyu indulgences (below).

Next, the Cellarhand extravaganza. This was a crowded, stand-up trade tasting where you had to push people out of the way to get near a tasting table. Worse, I was sidetracked by sexy logs of brie and fresh honeycomb after missing lunch, which meant I had to jam in many wines in very few minutes. As a result, let’s call these ‘vibes’ rather than comprehensive tasting notes and no pics (with my apologies).

Still, the bounties were worth it. Like the Gunderloch Nackenheim Riesling Erste Lage 2021, which is affordable in top German dry Riesling terms but still brings storied intensity and even a little juiciness to the table. Just yum, delightfully well-balanced wine. The Gunderloch Rothenberg Riesling Grosses Gewächs 2022 next to it was unapproachable but ultra-pure and detailed, with bejewelled acidity and power.

It was fascinating to then wander over to Dönnhoff stand to try the Dönnhoff Hermannshohle Riesling Grosse Gewachs 2021 by comparison, and I thought the Gunderloch had an extra level of precision compared to the juicy Hermannshohle. I had a glass of the Dönnhoff Felsenberg Riesling Grosse Gewachs 2021 on the weekend, too, and it carried the same succulent stonefruit flesh (rather than being taut and minerally). I’d take the Gunderlochs any day, which is a surprise as a Dönnhoff fan.

While we’re on the German Rizza train, a Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2022 was a bargain. Sure, we’re talking about a $60 (for 375ml) sweet wine, but the triumphant flow of mandarin fruit and the seamlessness of it is a simple wonder. This is one of those wines you can hold up and say, ‘Welcome to the delights of Mosel Riesling’.

There was a plethora of neat comparisons to be had at this tasting, too, like a single row that contained the wines of Mount Mary, Wantirna & Yeringberg. Yeah, we’re in the Yarra dress circle here, and I had fun, especially with the six-pronged cleverness of the Yeringberg 2021 releases.

Long-time readers will know how much I love these wines (especially the flagship ‘Cabernets’), but this year, even the lesser-acclaimed wines in the Yeringberg lineup shone. Like the Yeringberg Viognier 2021, which had that elusive balance so often missing in the variety. Plump, powerful, full of apricot kernel varietal lusciousness, and yet none of the oily phenolic blight that mars ambitious Viognier. Or the Yeringberg Shiraz 2021, which might be the best Yeringberg Shiraz yet. Sandra de Pury was on the pour and was so proud of the Shira, and to me, it tastes like a picturesque Yarra Shiraz tour – mid-weight, purple (but not in that flashy sweet berried style), with blue fruits, milk chocolate and silk. Finally, the 2021 Yeringberg ‘Yeringberg’ has all the powerful purity and ‘just rightness’ that Yarra Valley Cab & blends do so well. A wine that feels less ripe and more exacting, built for drinking now (with a serious decant) and for two decades ahead.

It was a simple turnaround to land at the Mount Mary table, and again, I was surprised. Not by the Mount Mary Quintets 2021, which felt ageless and immovable. An effortless, if locked up, hero of contained power that does ultimate justice to style and legacy. The Mount Mary Chardonnay 2021 was much more open and proud of its more generous (and oak-touched) nougat-laden style as well. The surprise here was the rest, including the bluntness of the Mount Mary Reflexion Fumé 2018, which looked oak-first and chubby. Or the slightly pointy and obvious Mount Mary Marli Russell Rosé 2023. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, I liked the ripe, refined but kinda robust Wantirna Estate Lily Pinot Noir 2021 on my next table stop as well. The Wantirna Estate Amelia Cabernet Merlot 2021 was even better (but I’d go to the Pinot Noir for drinking today or in the next few years).

There was plenty of competition for Best Pinot on Ground, with the Charteris Central Otago Pinot Noir 2022 a silken seductress with that perfect flow of high-toned purple fruit that Otago does so well. PJ’s wine had the measure of the less polished and rather forward Burn Cottage Sauvage Pinot Noir 2020 next door, too, leaving only Joe Holyman’s Pinot Noir wines as the other key contender that I tasted.

It’s not just Pinot at Holyman, either, with the Holyman Chardonnay 2022 a beautiful, gentle, yet persistent Tassie Chardonnay of unquestioned finesse and just-rightness. It’s young, but it didn’t feel barrel-sample-esque. I think the Stoney Rise Pinot Noir 2023 is a value standout for $35, with an unabashed openness and plush fruit that I really like.

My final side-by-side for this event was a Protero Nebbiolo 2021 vs a G.D. Vajra Albe Barolo 2019. Apprentice and master, right? Hardly. The Adelaide Hills wine was Pinot-esque, cherried, lightly framed but not light. Varietal and unforced and delicious, if not tannic enough. Quite a contrast to the Albe, which is a distance off real drinkability with some of the rawness that you’ll see in ’19 Barolo (but power, too). I have some 2016 Vajra in the cellar, and this bottle reminded me not to open it anytime soon.

There were more wines that I tried before reluctantly exiting from the Cellarhand buffet (including some archetypal Deep Woods reds that feel grand but unready). Still, I barely scratched the surface (I’d have loved to work through all the reborn Dalwhinnie wines, for starters, to see how they’ve changed with the Fogarty family in charge). Onwards.

Capping off the week was a few drinks with the long-suffering Mrs Ozwinereview at Sydney’s Brasserie 1930. Now, I’m a big fan of the Bentley restaurants, and French bistros are very much our bag. The service was pretty green on our Saturday night visit, though, which illustrates again how hard it is to get great staff. Still, food and drinks were on the money, which made it all okay.

A cheeky half bottle of Paul Bara Reserve Brut NV was a more than handy Champagne way to start (also a reminder of why I love half bottles). Taut, with some classic lines, it leant a little too far on the leaner aperitif side for mine (I want a bit more generosity in my fizz), but enjoyable nonetheless.

Next, a well-priced Tyrrell’s HVD Semillon 2017, which made me glad there are several bottles in the cellar (but I’d drink it on the younger side as it has some golden generosity to it). Following my recent run of forward Chablis, a Georges Deschamps Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume Chablis 2021 looked absolutely tropical, with stonefruit and passionfruit with little minerality. It wasn’t bad wine – indeed it was a pretty tasty, generous drink – but classic, ‘I’m licking a stone wall’ Chablis it wasn’t. A Lowestoft Chardonnay 2019 alongside it was more of a Chablis model, really, with carefully handled reduction, angular acidity and tight lines. Go figure! Intellectually, the Lowestoft was the winner, but Mrs Ozwinereview comfortably preferred the Chablis.

From here, we’re into reds and an Irrewarra Pinot Noir 2021, which was very much in the zone. You can take the 2018 release and then dial in more even ripeness to make for an affable, yet spicy, Pinot that had plenty in common style-wise with the Curly Flat from earlier in the week (see above). Accompanying it was a Santa Duc Gigondas that was not memorable at all (to the point where I don’t know if it was a 2019 or 2020 and which bottling).

The only thing fuzzy about the final wine of the night was my photo, with this Theulet Marsalet Monbazillac 1988 a gentle, rounded old gent of a wine, all soft marmalade and syrupy edges. It’s not super sweet either, but it has a toffee biscotti edge that only becomes more seamless thanks to the bottle age.