[wine] Australian wines at Oddfellows

Greetings, Had some very interesting wines at JP's. The 3 whites covered a lot of ground. First flight of reds featured one New World and Three Old World. Final flight had 3 NW and 1 OW. This week, Bob's brother Dave's in town. What do you do w/ two Kyllingstads? Why you go to Oddfellows. Style du jour is "Australia". Reds, whites and ringers... Sparklings, desserts, etc. Oddfellows / Boom 612-378-3188 401 E Hennepin Minneapolis, MN 55414 Who's coming? Bob Dave K Lori Betsy Bill (?) Jim/Louise Nicolai According to the wine enthusiast, bigger reds from OZ need about 7 years in the bottle. Their 2004 vintage chart shows the '97 Hunter's to be peaking w/ even the 1989's still drinking well, although there are some lesser years in the mix that have fallen flat. Barossa and Coonwara are a bit more age-worthy. Latest peak Barossa is 1994. Latest Coonwara is 1986, although the 1997's are drinkable. Check it out for yourself at winemag.com. Cheers, Jim Harvest Reviews: 2000 http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Spectator/Feature/Harvest/2000/australia.… Australian Vintners Hit with Hard Rains, High Heat and Small Crops Among the regions that fared best, Hunter Valley made strong Shirazes, while Margaret River did well with Cabernet By Jeremy Oliver 1999 http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Spectator/DailyArchive/19990608.news180 The 1999 harvest quality is generally good to very good, with Coonawarra emerging as the most promising region -- particularly for Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc. 1997 (S. Hemisphere) http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Spectator/Archives/19970831/83197n6.html AUSTRALIA For Australia, 1997 was a vintage of three parts, says prominent winemaking consultant Gary Baldwin. A cool spring led to an early summer and reduced potential crop yield. Then the middle of the season became extremely hot. Once the vines recovered, a long, perfect, late Indian summer ultimately helped to fully ripen small crops of high-quality grapes in the southern regions. Finally, a primer on Aussie wines. http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Spectator/Faqs/AustraliaFAQ.html The Wines of Australia By Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator Editor at Large Australia made its reputation with American wine drinkers on a raft of good-value wines, especially Chardonnay that cost less than $10. Every year, however, a larger number of small-production, hand-crafted, highly individual wines are reaching our shores from across the Pacific. Many of these wines cost $20 to $30 and more. Many of them are gems waiting to be discovered. Two factors have contributed to the eye-opening percentage of good values from Australia. One is that the Australian dollar is in even worse shape than the U.S. dollar. The other is that the wine industry there has worked hard to satisfy a market of Aussies who like to drink wine and prefer to spend as little as possible on it. The past decade has seen an explosion of interest in Australia for wines that Americans like, too: Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. These two types, plus Australia's red wine specialty, Shiraz, make up the bulk of Down Under exports to the United States. Riesling is big in Australia itself, where it has long been the quaffing white wine of choice, but few brands bother to export the stuff in this direction. Australia, like America, labels its best wines with varietal names. The rules are similar, in that varietal wines are made entirely or mostly from the single grape variety named on the front label. Often more than one variety is named, by order of amount: Shiraz-Cabernet has more Shiraz in it and Cabernet-Shiraz has more Cabernet. As anywhere else, the narrower and more prestigious the geographical appellation, the higher the price of the wine. As a result, most value-oriented wines carry broad appellations such as "South Eastern Australia," which encompasses a region nearly 600 miles wide, or simply "Australia." Australian vineyards tend to produce grapes with prominent fruit flavors that bring a certain charm even to lesser wines. Aussie winemakers are also brilliant at blending wines from various regions and giving them judicious cellar treatments to achieve a consistent style. Chardonnays such as Lindemans Bin 65 and Yalumba Oxford Landing are perennial Best Buys in Wine Spectator precisely for these reasons. The best Chardonnays, such as Rosemount Roxburgh and Petaluma, can hold their own against the best from Burgundy and California. Other than Chardonnay, Sémillon is the white variety Aussies prize most, for the herbal, tobacco and lanolin flavors that sneak in around the fruit. At lower prices, however, we recommend their Sémillon blended either with Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. The few Rieslings that make it across the Pacific are worth trying, too. Return to Wine Basics The Wines of Australia By Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator Editor at Large Australia made its reputation with American wine drinkers on a raft of good-value wines, especially Chardonnay that cost less than $10. Every year, however, a larger number of small-production, hand-crafted, highly individual wines are reaching our shores from across the Pacific. Many of these wines cost $20 to $30 and more. Many of them are gems waiting to be discovered. Two factors have contributed to the eye-opening percentage of good values from Australia. One is that the Australian dollar is in even worse shape than the U.S. dollar. The other is that the wine industry there has worked hard to satisfy a market of Aussies who like to drink wine and prefer to spend as little as possible on it. The past decade has seen an explosion of interest in Australia for wines that Americans like, too: Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. These two types, plus Australia's red wine specialty, Shiraz, make up the bulk of Down Under exports to the United States. Riesling is big in Australia itself, where it has long been the quaffing white wine of choice, but few brands bother to export the stuff in this direction. Australia, like America, labels its best wines with varietal names. The rules are similar, in that varietal wines are made entirely or mostly from the single grape variety named on the front label. Often more than one variety is named, by order of amount: Shiraz-Cabernet has more Shiraz in it and Cabernet-Shiraz has more Cabernet. As anywhere else, the narrower and more prestigious the geographical appellation, the higher the price of the wine. As a result, most value-oriented wines carry broad appellations such as "South Eastern Australia," which encompasses a region nearly 600 miles wide, or simply "Australia." Australian vineyards tend to produce grapes with prominent fruit flavors that bring a certain charm even to lesser wines. Aussie winemakers are also brilliant at blending wines from various regions and giving them judicious cellar treatments to achieve a consistent style. Chardonnays such as Lindemans Bin 65 and Yalumba Oxford Landing are perennial Best Buys in Wine Spectator precisely for these reasons. The best Chardonnays, such as Rosemount Roxburgh and Petaluma, can hold their own against the best from Burgundy and California. Other than Chardonnay, Sémillon is the white variety Aussies prize most, for the herbal, tobacco and lanolin flavors that sneak in around the fruit. At lower prices, however, we recommend their Sémillon blended either with Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. The few Rieslings that make it across the Pacific are worth trying, too. Among the reds, top honors go to Shiraz, which is the Australian term for Syrah, the prime grape variety of the northern Rhône. Down Under versions tend to emphasize rich, mouth-filling fruit flavors in chewy, often sumptuous textures and structures. Penfolds Grange is justly world famous, and was chosen as Wine Spectator 1995 Wine of the Year. The list of other worthy Shirazes seems to double every year. The best red wine values are often Cabernet-Shiraz blends, which tend to cost less than either varietal sold separately. Aussie Shirazes in the under-$10 range tend to spill over with delicious fruit. The Cabernets edge toward supple drinkability as well. The blends, though less distinctive, are usually sturdy wines that should be drunk young. Finally, don't miss the dessert wines. Australia makes some of the best in the world, including tawny Ports that match up very well with Portuguese bottlings at several times their prices. And the fortified Muscats may not be fashionable, but they are delicious. --Excerpted from Wine Spectator Magazine's Guide to Great Wine Values