An entry level wine for Meerea Park, and a blend of 80% Hilltops fruit and 20% Hunter Valley fruit. Good strong red in colour. Bright red cherries, plums, raspberries, clean earth and a touch of spice. Medium weight, just, red fruits and a soft peppery spice. Unobtrusive tannins and solid value. Sealed under screwcap. 14.0% abv. 87 points. Drink 2012-2015

A short note on this one. A pleasant nose, cherried fruits and spice, but the palate, despite having dark cherry fruits with plums and some lovely spices, is too hot, with the alcohol slicing through the palate and wrecking the balance. Think Darth Vader, a light sabre and Luke Skywalker. A tough wine to drink. $20ish. 15.0% abv, but tastes like more. Drink now. 82-84 points.

Ployez Jacquemart Selection Rose: Lovely – just right, and its pinkness was Christmas-appropriate.  And it won over a non champagne crowd with its delicate strawberry and lemon notes.
Ployez Jacquemart Brut 2000: Served too warm – tasty nonetheless for being Christmas day.  Another bottle will get consumed very shortly.
Auburn Lowburn Riesling 2010: Improving out if sight with a year’s age (personal interest disclaimer on this label).
Joseph Sparkling Red 2010 disg: My favourite disgorgement of this wine so far. Sweeter and fruit-fresher than earlier versions, although the alcohol seems to stick out a little more these days. Like it a lot.
Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Auslese 1993: A cellar release from 2010.  Best bottle so far out of a sixpack. Shows its pradikat through weight rather than sweetness, with juicy acidity balance perfectly by racy green pineapple and lemon fruit which is nly now showing signs of its 18 years of age.

Had a glass of this last night with some brie, and it was then into the fridge. Today it is out on the stage again, and I cannot believe I’m saying this, but this one is a real glass stainer. An inky purple red in colour. A youthful nose; yeasty red fruits, vanilla, red cherries and black cherries, interlaced with warm summery spices and a bit of earth and minerals. Good length. Quite acid dominant really. Dusty dry tannins and dried mushrooms on the finish. Very similar flavour profile to the GSZ I tasted recently. Sealed under screwcap. $32 from the cellar door. 14.7% abv. 91 points.

I am slow off the mark. These wines (Mike Press) have been around for a while, and well regarded for their value-for-money. And though all this praise generally makes me suspicious, the reputation is deserved. A single vineyard wine from the Adelaide Hills. A nice nose: plums and spices. The palate is richly fruited, without any jammy or oaky characters. Good length, but still somewhat showing raw power. Not explosive power and seems to be misfiring a bit in the mid-palate, so I would suggest it needs a couple of years. RRP $12. Screwcap. Taster from a friend (Thanks David!). Drink 2013+. 87 points.

My support of the smaller wineries continues. Fresh off the truck from Stephen George at Ashton Hills. Delivered yesterday and opened within 6 hours. I hope I haven’t been premature. Incidentally, a museum release; a mixed dozen of 2000-2002 Shiraz and Cabernet based wines from vineyards in the Clare Valley. Initially muted. Mint, eucalypt, tannins and mossy stones. Light to medium bodied on the first night but with firm tannins (??), and then it showed more body and better backbone on the second night. It has tannins; let there be no mistake. And actually, these looked better with a rest too. Pretty good, but you have to like the eucalypty and minty characters. $20 from the cellar door. 13.5% abv. 86 points. Drink now-2016.

The current release. Made by Scott Heidrich in the McLaren Vale. Spices on the nose; white pepper, a bit of Szechuan and dark fruits. Sweet blackberries, blueberries, liquorice, mulberries and some tanginess on the palate. Supple tannins. Quite elemental, even at 5 years of age. Softened and showed some more savoury characters sitting in the cellar overnight. Winery sample. $25. 14.0% abv. Screwcap. Drink 2015. 88+ points.

I have liked recent reds from Mount Langi, and this one continues the trend. A bit reduced to start with, but was fine on the second night. An interesting nose. Black cherries, spice, vanilla pod, stalk, charcoal and gunsmoke. Quite oaky really. The palate showed cherries, menthol, coffee and a lovely richness. A nice body and great tannins. Some green sappy characters expanding on the finish. Not bad though. Needs a couple of years. Drink 2013+. Winery sample. Screwcap. 14.5% abv. 91 or 92 points; I cannot decide. Great value for money. A good option if you don’t want to buy their top end wines.

This will not be a long review. I suppose that’s an indication of the magnitude of the associated “score”. Which is fair enough, because great wines will make you effuse. Either that or leave you speechless. Anyways, after a quick flick of the wrist we were there. Spice and cinnamon and red fruits. The palate showed sweet fruits, plums and cherries, but not too sweet. Nice body with quite sweet length. Undistinguished. Not bad, pretty much what you’d expect from some of the larger producers. A decent BBQ wine. RPP $14 but can surely be found cheaper. Winery sample. Drink now. 82 points.