Robert Parker 95+, Wine Spectator 95

If you go to the La Jota website, it will tell you this wine is “limited availability” in the US. Even more limited in Singapore!

I was allocated just 24 bottles of this by Jackson Family Wines. 13 bottles have gone already so I have 11 left.

Market pricing puts it somewhere between US$90 and US$150 depending on where you live in the US, so I’m using the figure that was given to me by Jackson Family Wines of US$125 as its ex-winery retail price. So at S$169 here, that’s even a little less than the US retail price.

In stock, and ready to be delivered.

I also have 8 bottles of the 2014 La Jota Howell Mountain Cabernet, rated 95 by Robert Parker, release price of US$100, here S$131.

Cheers,

David Boxall

If you’re looking for a big beefy, jammy shiraz, this is not the place to start (I guess “syrah” should be the first clue to that!)

As Campbell Mattinson says, this wine is “medium-weight-at-most” so if you’re used to drinking Mr. Blacks Concoction or Rusden Black Guts, you’re going to find this light on.

But if you’re looking for something to drink over dinner that slips down oh-so-easily and doesn’t burn your palate on the way through, then this is the ants pants. Medium weight but plenty of flavour and soft tannins, and a modest (for Australian shiraz) 13.2% alc.

Easy, not hard work, exactly as syrah should be.

S$49 all up, can be here late March if ordered, no minimum purchase.

2015 is also available at same price, rated 94 by Halliday.

Cheers!

David Boxall

This is the current release for Freycinet’s premium pinot. A perennial favourite with my clients and also with me.

Here’s what owner/winemaker Claudio Radenti says about his wine:

“The 2017 vintage is proving to be one of the classic great years alongside 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009. The season was characterised by a cooler, wetter first half which then tapered off into a warmer, drier second half. Overall ripening was delayed by 10 to 12 days which facilitated the development of remarkable flavour and colour intensities. The vineyard’s blood line and pedigree are umistakeable in this classic Freycinet Pinot Noir. Typical hallmarks of power, concentration, fruit purity and complexity all feature in abundance. The wine provides thorough drinking enjoyment as a young wine (decanting and allowing the wine to breathe recommended) but will become truly special when aged in a cool cellar over 5 to 15 years.”

I’ve got 30 bottles in Melbourne (4 bottles went straight to my own cellar) and they can be here late March if ordered. Store price of A$75 downunder but A$65 for a six-pack at Freycinet’s on-line cellar door.

It’s going out here in Singapore at S$75 all up, no minimum purchase.

Great news from Bangor Estate near Dunalley in southern Tasmania

The BANGOR ESTATE ‘CAPTAIN SPOTSWOOD’ PINOT NOIR 2018 picked up three trophies at the recent 2020 Tasmania Wine Show, being for “Best Pinot Noir’, ‘Top Gold 2018 Pinot Noir’ and ‘Champion Wine of Show’. Their BANGOR ESTATE VINTAGE BRUT 2015 also collected ‘Top Gold for Vintage Sparkling by Traditional Method’ and ‘Trophy for the Best Vintage Sparkling’

It’s a great result for an up and coming vineyard that I’ve had my eyes on for some time. I visited there twice over the last few years to meet with Matt Dunbabin who is the enthusiastic owner and grower at Bangor Estate. The wines are made at Winemaking Tasmania.

Needless to say the wines are under big demand. The pinot noir is sold out at some retail outlets in Australia but as of yesterday still available online at cellar-door.

Naturally I’ve got a small parcel for Singapore – 36 bottles of the pinot and 18 of the sparkling which will retail here at $58 and $65 respectively. I won’t get the wines into my store in Melbourne until late in February or even March. If you’re interested, please let me know and I’ll put your name on the waiting list.

Other trophy winners at the show from producers in my portfolio are:

TROPHY – BEST RIESLING – Pressing Matters R0 Riesling2017 – 8 btls available @ S$50 ea.
TROPHY – BEST SWEET WINE – Pressing Matters R69 Riesling 2017
TROPHY – BEST MUSEUM WINE – Freycinet Chardonnay 2010
TROPHY – CHAIRMAN’S SELECTION – Home Hill Estate Pinot Noir 2018 – limited, enquire
TROPHY – RESERVE CHAMPION WINE of SHOW – Pressing Matters R69 Riesling 2017
TROPHY – MOST SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITOR – Pressing Matters

Other medals from vineyards in my portfolio are:

GOLD – Home Hill ‘Kelly’s Cuvee’ Vintage 2015
GOLD – Radenti R3 Sparkling NV – 8 btls avail @ $71 ea.
TOP GOLD – Freycinet Riesling 2018
GOLD – Pressing Matters R9 Riesling 2014
GOLD – Freycinet ‘Wineglass Bay’ Sauvignon Blanc 2018
TOP GOLD – Stefano Lubiana ‘Estate’ Chardonnay 2018
GOLD – Freycinet Botrytis Sauvignon Blanc 2016
GOLD – Home Hill ‘Estate’ Pinot Noir 2018 – see above
GOLD – Freycinet Pinot Noir 2017 – 44 btls @ $75 ea.
GOLD – Stefano Lubiana ‘Vintage Brut’ 2009 – 12 btls on order
GOLD – Freycinet Chardonnay 2010

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Todays’s wines:

1. POONAWATTA ‘THE EDEN’ EDEN VALLEY RIESLING 2018
Gold Medal 2019 Australia & New Zealans Boutique Wine Show, Halliday 95…”it is very good”

A bit off-piste from my usual Tasmanian or Victorian wines but I’m a sucker for good Riesling. If you’re a fan too, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one and if you’re not generally a fan of Riesling, then maybe this one will convert you. Have a look at the attachment for the Halliday 95 rating.

Just S$47, and I’ve got 11 bottles in Melbourne ready to come up in late February if ordered.

2. HOLYMAN ‘PROJECT X’ TASMANIA PINOT NOIR 2012
James Suckling 96, Gary Walsh 95+, Halliday 94…”one for real contemplation”

There’s two quite different “drink by dates” or this, Halliday 2020 and Gary Walsh 2025+. Either way your on safe ground at the moment. I bought 4 cases of this back in November 2014 so it’s had a little over 5 years of ageing in my commercial cellar in Australia and all the better for it.

Just 8 bottles left now going out at S$98 against its RRP of A$90 on release downunder. Can be here late February if ordered.

3. BIN END – MAYER ‘BLOODY HILL’ YARRA VALLEY CHARDONNAY 2013
Jeremy Pringle 88

I pulled this wine from my list some time ago as I felt it was too lean, too acidic to derive much pleasure from it. I revisited this wine in Australia yesterday and there’s been a definite improvement over time. Where the wine was once almost clear, there’s now a tinge of lemon yellow and there’s flavour on the palate that wasn’t there before. It’s still a very lean style so lovers of buttery malo chardonnay won’t find joy here, but I’m happy enough with it to put it back on offer, albeit at a reduced price.

7 bottles in Melbourne can be here late February if ordered, going out at S$32 all up

Enjoy!

David Boxall

Not a lot to say about this wine other than it’s another personal favourite, it’s very well rated, it’s not the easisest to get even in Australia…and that it is only exported to Tiger Wines in Singapore and to the UK.

Have a look at the Winemaker’s notes below for a comprehensive description.

24 bottles in Melbourne, can be here late February if ordered.

You might also like to try:

2014 Dawson James Pinot Noir – S$86 – Halliday 97, Huon Hooke 95, Double Gold 2016 Six Nations Challenge, Gold 2016 Melbourne Wine Show

Enjoy!

David Boxall

I seem to be saying this every release, but the calibre of the Hickinbotham wines under the stewardship of Jackson Family Wines and winemaker Chris Carpenter just continues to improve.

I encourge you to read the comments of Huon Hooke, Jane Faulkner and James Suckling in the attachment to get the sounding on this wine.

Most of this wine is destined for the US where it retails for US$75. This vintage for Singapore is under cork.

Here’s the notes from the winery:

“This is the most homogenised, smoothly-assimilated Cabernet in recent years from Hickinbotham, reminiscent of those made by Stephen Hickinbotham in the early ‘80s. While its aromas of bergamot and blueberry have yet to lock in and settle, the palate’s already there; fine, fresh and strapping. Cabernet Sauvignon from contour blocks planted in 1971 at 155m to 230m altitude. Hand-picked, de-stemmed and whole berry sorted and gently crushed to open fermentation. Cold soaked, pumped over daily with a minimum of 18 days on skins. Basket pressed with light pressings added back to free-run, hard pressings kept separate, not used in blend. Rack and returned three times during maturation for 15 months, aged in a selection of Bordeaux coopered barrels, new and one year old. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Intense, yet lithe, aromas of red and black currants, juniper berries, and lavender are punctuated by hints of vanilla and green tobacco leaf. On the palate the wine is sinuous and alluring, with musky notes of bergamot and fresh plum; with a seductive note of violets; all framed by satiny tannins and a mouth-watering finish. This is an excellent bright modern example of what Australia once called claret.”

According to Huon Hooke, Chris Carpenter (of Lokoya and Cardinale fame) says this is his best cabernet yet.

Enjoy!

You’d have to think that A$60-A$62 is pushing the boundaries for the price of a bottle of pinot gris.

Apparently not.

The Paradigm Hill Pinot Gris 2017 that I’m promoting here is sold out at the winery, as is the 2016 and the 2018, so the pinot gris afficionados are on to this.

If you’d like to see what all the fuss is about, I’m selling it at S$73 ea. all up, I’ve got 8 bottles left, of which 2 are in stock in Singapore and can be delivered before 19 December, the remaining 6 are in Melbourne and can be here mid-January if ordered.

Enjoy!

David Boxall