Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front - Winter 2019

McHenry Hohnen BDX 2017
Margaret River blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Vines planted in 1999. Which remarkably enough is 20 years ago. Time flies. The rewards of the late 1990s planting boom are now to be reaped. $38 for this kind of quality is impressive. This is a beautiful wine for the cellar. It’s pushed with fruit, rocked with tannin, alive with woodsmoke and cloves. Savouriness is not forgotten, fruit is the driver, tannin is in control. I’m pretty certain that in 5-7 years I’ll rate this higher. For now it’s firmly in the Buy column.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 14.2%
Price : $38
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2023 - 2032+
 

McHenry Hohnen Hazel’s Vineyard Grenache Syrah Mataro 2018
I tasted this in circumstances where I had to cut and run but I’d have whipped it away to the dining table if I’d had half a chance. Love the style of this wine. Most (black) peppery, most clovey, lots of nuts and roasted goodness, but also fresh, well-ripened, silken berried fruit and a fine-grained spread of tannin to boot. Perfectly balanced, littered with woodsy spice notes, the epitome of finesse all round.

Rated : 94 Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 14.2%
Price : $38
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2019 - 2027+
 

McHenry Hohnen Laterite Hills Chardonnay 2018
It’s grown on three vineyards just south of the Margaret River township. All are grown either organically or biodynamically. All fermented wild, matured in 25% new oak and left unsulphured for six or so months.

Flinty style with lashes of mineral, toast, nougat, grapefruit, bran and nectarine. The intensity is such that the word piercing springs to mind; the struck match characters are such that they hold their own in the face of the charge. It tries so hard to mount a compelling case for itself.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 13.3%
Price : $38
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2020 - 2025+
 

McHenry Hohnen Burnside Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Sauvignon blanc vines planted in 1981. Dry grown. Fermented wild on skins in concrete vats. You could easily argue that there’s too much oak flavour here but the fruit has excellent intensity and texture, well, say no more. Toast, lemongrass, cedarwood, smoke and pulpy passionfruit flavour tear impressively through the palate. Taut finish. A wine of serious intentions.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 13%
Price : $28
Closure : Screwcap

15/08/2019 at 6:40 PM

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James Halliday Wine Companion 2020

Keenly anticipated each year by winemakers, collectors and winelovers, James Halliday's Wine Companion is recognised nationally as the industry benchmark. Our commitment to producing exciting wines which are honest to their site and variety has been recognised with a 5 Red Star rating once again. We are very pleased to share our 2020 edition scores and reviews.

2015 Rolling Stone - 95 Points
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, malbec, merlot and petit verdot from the Hazel Vineyard; essentially a barrel selection of the best of the Bordeaux varieties. It's not quite the finished article, but it has the components in the making for a complex and long-lived wine. The fruit has elegance and depth to go with it, the tannin ripe and persistent.

2016 Hazel's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - 94 Points
Fermented in concrete, aged in 30% new barriques. Shows good regional and varietal expression, although still very youthful and unevolved. Blackcurrant, cedar and dried herb are present in the bouquet and on the palate, with a sense of depth of fruit still to emerge from underneath the emphatic grip of the tannin as it is. Patience required.

2017 Hazel's Vineyard Chardonnay -95 Points
Fruit from a low-yielding, north-facing slope on the estate vineyard. Red loam and lateritic gravel soil, biodynamically-farmed. The funkiest bouquet of 'the three chardonnays' with an almost champagnelike lees character. Stone fruit varietal flavours and toasty/nutty/mealy nuances on the palate, concentrated and tightly wound. Better with time.

2017 Calgardup Brook Chardonnay - 95 Points
Grown on limestone and sand-loam soils close to the ocean. The coolest of the single vineyard chardonnay sites. Aromas of cashew and oatmeal mingle with white-fleshed stone fruit and a suggestion of salty sea breezes. Tight and precise on the palate, green apple and citrus curd flavours run into a long, textural, minerally finish.

2017 Burnside Chardonnay - 94 Points
A big, rich, generous Margaret River chardonnay, white clingstone peach plus nectarine. Impossible not to like this amiable wine.

2017 BDX Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot - 93 Points

2017 Amigos Red - 91 Points

15/08/2019 at 12:18 PM

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