Maker's Table

Hunting

Margan Family Winegrowers
Sémillon "Hunter Valley"
2009
12.5% ABV | Price: about $18*

These sémillon grapes were grown on 40 year old vines in Margan's volcanic "Fordwich Sill" vineyard in the Hunter Valley. The wine is pale gold with a greenish cast. Its nose is a little funky, a little stinky, like a barn or sweaty leather (but this wine saw no oak, so this is probably not Brett). It also smells of lemon oil and thyme, and on the palate it's bright and citrusy and a tad frizzante, which is pleasing. But it has a soft, hollow place in the middle where I expect the fruit to flower open, and it gives me a bitter bite just before sliding into an edgy, tart finish.

Maybe that bite is minerality from the volcanic soils. Maybe the wine is wildly too young. But mostly the wine just feels a tad unintegrated, all elbows and knees. It's hard to write about, but—there you are.

 

*I received this wine as a press sample.

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Moscato

Jacob's Creek
Moscato
2010
8.0% ABV | Price: about $9.00*

The wine is nearly colorless, though the blue-green bottle makes it look like summertime at the pool. A blend of juice from muscat of Alexandria and muscat blanc à petit grains, it offers typical moscato aromas of musk melon, peach, jasmine, pear, and tropical fruits. On the palate it delivers great acidity with lush tropical notes—particularly pineapple—plus green melon, citrus, and stone fruits. Just off-dry and lightly frizzante; the mouthfeel is a little coarse, but this texture is actually a nice counterpoint to the wine's floral sweetness.

A true bagatelle. Not a wine you want to think about too hard, and at $9 with 8% alcohol, you don't have to. Enjoy a glass outdoors by that sea-green pool, with Prosciutto-wrapped melon and an array of fresh cheeses. Then lick your fingers and dive in.

 

*I received this wine as a press sample.

Follow Maker's Table on Twitter: @makerstable

See Saw

See Saw Wine Company
See Saw Hunter Valley
2009
12.0% ABV | Price: about $11.50

A blend of 85% sémillon, 10% chardonnay, and 5% verdelho from Australia's Hunter Valley, a wine region about 150km north of Sidney. This wine is actually a pale straw gold (though pink when viewed through rose-colored tulips), with a very faintly floral, lightly citrusy nose. It's light-bodied on the palate and a bit briny, with some grassiness and pleasant acidity leading to a long, tart finish. 

Not a serious wine, but not a stupid wine, either. Meaning: no evidence of oak, not a fruit-bomb, and not very alcoholic. Not pricey. Good thing.

 

*I received this wine as a press sample.

Follow Maker's Table on Twitter: @makerstable

Pull on Your Boots

Kellermeister
Boots Barossa Grenache
2007

This wine is bright purple, with a heady, peppery nose, redolent of carnation and chocolate. On the palate it's simple but sexy, with lots of plum fruit and more pepper. It finishes smooth and even.

It's not super French. It's not funky. It's Australian. Pull on your boots and enjoy.

Price: $15
Drinks like: $16
Bang for the buck: 107%

Nine Vines

Angove South Australia
Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier
2007

Seeing this bottle on our shelves, a friend remarked, "Shiraz and Viognier. That's an odd combination, right?" Actually, French law permits up to 20% of the white grape Viognier to be mixed with red Syrah in Côte Rôtie, a Northern Rhône appellation. The apricot, pear, and floral notes of the Viognier lighten the dark, earthy Syrah. The result can be wonderful and age worthy.

Shiraz is what they call Syrah down under. The 2007 Nine Vines is young and earnest. It's a deep ruby purple, highly extracted and highly alcoholic. The dominant notes are cherry and current and tobacco. We get little of the perfumy light stone fruit we associate with Viognier, but it's probably helping a little.

Overall, this wine's a bit rough. It's probably age worthy, worth laying down and trying in a couple of years.

Price: $14
Drinks like: $10
Bang for the buck: 71%

Fresh and Lovely—And a Little Dark, Too

Oxford Landing
GSM (Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre) South Australia
2006

This Rhône blend from Australia has a bright, lively spirit—with a dark side. In the glass it looks like a Pinot, clear and ruby red. The nose is fruity and flowery, but with earthy notes that show its French roots. On the palate, the first taste is of fresh tomato and cherry, but then it offers a deep structure of earth and tobacco.

It's only flaw is that it's a bit unintegrated, with a little too much weight in the middle. But the finish lingers pleasingly. A great deal.

Price: $9.80
Drinks like: $16.00
Bang for the buck: 157%

Shiraz/Syrah

Cape Mentelle
Shiraz "Margaret River"
2004

This Shiraz has some of the funkiness of French Syrah on the nose: dark chocolate, tobacco, earth, menthol, and red cherries. But it veers in a slightly different direction—an Australian direction—on the palate: spearmint, dark bramble fruits, tannin, earth, and lots of heat (it's 15% alcohol). The nose is truly exquisite, remarkable. It adds a high, refined note to the experience.

Time would tame this wine, but it's still pretty darn good right now, in our glass.

Price: $16
Drinks like: $16
Bang for the buck: 100%

Maker's Table... Wine

When we launched this food journal in February 2008, we had no idea an Australian wine maker, Saltram of Barossa Valley, offered a family of wines they also call Maker's Table:

"The Saltram Maker’s Table range celebrates the end of vintage, when weary grape pickers and cellarhands join the Winemaker to relish the finish of a hectic time. As they sit engaging in laughter and conversation, glasses are pushed across the table and a bottle of their latest creation is opened to enjoy."

Given that we've taken to calling this food journal "Maker's Bottle" due to the preponderance of wine reviews, it seems Just and Right that there is, somewhere, a wine that shares our name, and, evidently, our sensibility:

"It’s comforting to know that wherever you are, whatever the occasion, you can sit and share at the Maker’s Table."

We say Amen to that.

Like Drinking a Tree

Ross Estate
Barossa Valley Shiraz
2001

This is our second bottle of Ross Estate's '01 Shiraz. We were impressed the first time by the big, dark fruits and balanced tannins. This bottle is woodier, and at 14% alcohol, the fruit is overwhelmed. We'll let it sit a day with nitrogen to see if some of the oak blows off.

Cost: $17
Drinks like: $12
Bang for the buck: 70%

Update, day two: pure dreck. This wine cleaned our drain.