Robert Parker Wine Advocate - by Erin Larkin

The following reviews by Erin Larkin for the Robert Parker Wine advocate website were recently released:

 

The 2022 Uovo Riesling is from Frankland River was made in a clay cement tank—an egg, hence, "uovo" in the name. The aromas utter whispers of cheesecloth, beeswax, Geraldton Wax flower, crushed pistachio, cold buttered toast, leafy herbs and green caper brine. It's softer (not hard) than the Cherubino Rieslings. The texture here is most attractive, alluring even. I love the way it plays out in the mouth through the finish. It is chalky and briney and super pretty. Excellent.

 

The 2022 Great Southern Riesling is from the Cherubino range, and therefore top of the wozza. It's a routinely excellent wine. So, the wine leads with cold buttered toast, beeswax, green apple skins, river stones, cheesecloth, lime pickle and even saffron on the nose. It's rich, no wallflower here (yar yar), with a real density that sits on the back palate. 2022 was a warm vintage, and the wines have both breadth and power. It is long through the finish, a monumental wine. It is framed by scintillating acid—a classic hallmark of Great Southern Riesling. (You "might" need a little warm up before diving into that pool of acid—fair warning, it's robust!).

 

The 2022 Frankland River Riesling is from the estate-owned Riversdale Vineyard, which is responsible for some sensational wines—both red and white. Here, the nose leads with ocean spray (laughable—the nearest ocean is the Southern Ocean around 85-90 kilometres away, yet, the character persists...), lime rind/lime oil, hints of thyme, sage, preserved citrus and white tea. There are inflections of tobacco and bay in there also. The palate is punctuated and defined by mouth-puckering acidity (welcome to the Great Southern)—although the acid is actually not as high as it feels, with a pH of 2.87 and total acidity of 7.65 grams per litre—making for an austere, coiled, energized experience. The wine will undoubtedly be long lived, and the shape of it will live comfortably through the next decade and likely beyond.

 

The fruit for this 2022 Pemberton Sauvignon Blanc is from the Channybearup Vineyard, which was planted in 1996. Pemberton, for the uninitiated, is an incredibly beautiful place in Western Australia's southwest, known in early colonial times for its timber milling. The towering Karri trees that have made this place so well known must be seen to be believed, and it is with this feeling of awe that I  approach wines from this evocative place. So, to the wine. Classic Cherubino styling here: there is a lot of expensive French oak, high-quality fruit, seamless structuring and long flavour draw through the finish. This wine is exceptional again. It has juicy/mouthwatering Pemby acidity. So good. But it will be even better in a couple of years.

 

The 2022 Pemberton Chardonnay is made in the Cherubino signature style: streamlined, glossy, opulent and encased in expensive oak. This is all good. The fruit from Pemberton has a concentrated focus on acid (juicy, mouthwatering) and fleshy stone fruits. This is like raw unbound power, and the flavour seems to stray to every available part of the palate. There are notes of smoked almonds, fresh ground nutmeg, tatami mat, lemongrass, yellow peach, red apple skins (Pink Lady, sweet, crisp) and bread crust. It is obvious and powerful.

 

The Porongurup range is a really pretty place. The rocks thrust out of the ground and create a ridge of mini valleys and slopes, upon the northern face (mostly) of which is planted to grape vines. This 2021 Porongurup Riesling leads with white flowers and Parmesan, hints of juniper and green apple skins, white pepper, yuzu and saffron. This has an altogether exotic nose, with a laser-precise palate. It is expansive, in its way I suppose, but tethered to the tracks of acidity. It is juicy, fine, saline and taut. It is tight, like a guitar string.

 

The 2020 Uovo Chardonnay is from Porongurup, one of the prettiest subregions in the Great Southern, and east off the Albany highway as you're headed south. This little rocky outcrop, in what feels like essentially the middle of nowhere, is hauntingly beautiful and responsible for some very smart wines as well. This was made in a concrete egg-shaped fermenter (hence, "Uovo"), and this format tends to do interesting things to Chardonnay fruit and phenolics. As drinkers, we are so used to seeing this variety through the lens of oak that I find it incredibly important to look at it sans oak in order to remind myself of its versatility and capability. There are notes of dried lavender, green apple skins, crushed chalk, sweet pea, cut fennel (lots of this), white pepper, seashells and brine. This is a lovely wine. It is quiet, in its way, and punctuated by piercing acidity. It is not showing any age yet and seems to be in such a wonderful, restrained place. It was a pleasure. It won't be for everyone, but it certainly pleases me.

 

The 2022 Laissez Faire Riesling is lovely! Tongue-tingling acidity and cold buttered toast team up to support the profusion of lime/brinjal pickle notes, lime blossom, green apples and rose petals. This acidity is not for the fainthearted. It is floral and austere at once. Great Southern is so good at encouraging this quality in the Riesling grown here. This is a superstar at the price: $34AUD.

 

The 2022 On the Fringe Chardonnay hails from Pemberton, and this is a lovely place for Chardonnay in Western Australia, in my opinion. It's cool down there and quite wet, relatively (incredibly picturesque as well, might I add), and the Chardonnays are so often defined by concentrated fruit and intense acidity. So here, this wine leads with crushed nuts and orchard fruits, pecorino, lashings of salted stone fruits and even cut fennel. Star anise and white chocolate feather the edges of the fruit. It is very smart, svelte and composed, restrained.

 

Spicy, feisty and with energy that is sorely lacking from many Fianos, the 2022 Laissez Faire Fiano is all about spiced green apple, white pepper, rice crackers, coiled acidity and firm phenolic tension. There is a lot going on! It fermented and matured in French oak.

 

I'm undecided about Mencia (mostly in general, except for a stunning Spanish example proudly  introduced to me by Luis Gutierrez), but if there was ever a region in Western Australia that could do it with aplomb, it would be Frankland River. Fortunately (or not, you decide), there are a number of quality producers in the area trying their hand at the variety, and Cherubino is one of them. The fruit for this 2022 Laissez Faire Mencia is from the Riversdale vineyard and was matured in French oak for 10 months. It has peppercorns, apple skin, blackberry, clove, star anise and spice aplenty, with no shortage of sweet roast meat and black pudding. There is plenty going on. Great crack in a brilliant season.

 

The Uovo Grenache is fermented in a clay cement ovoid tank (an egg), with zero additions during winemaking, zero sulphur during fermentation and maturation and only minimal amounts at bottling. It means the fruit has to make its own way with the tannins—the structure is derived solely from the skins and seeds, and this is an exciting thing in the context of Grenache. So, the 2021 Uovo Grenache leads with creamy raspberry, rhubarb and custard humbugs (the ones that come lightly dusted with sugar are the very best), petrichor, brine, strawberry fields and lashings of fine white spice. In the mouth, all of this bears true. What a gorgeous wine, a superstar. Exciting! Wow. Big yum. The tannins course and slide across the palate—start, stop, fast, slow, persistent and long. This is a gorgeous wine. Interestingly, I tasted/reviewed this wine over 18 months ago, and the wine, if anything, has only gotten better in that time. Good to know.

 

The 2021 Laissez Faire IV Blend comprises 44% Counoise, 33% Mataro, 15% Shiraz and 8% Grenache from the estate vineyards across the Great Southern. The wine was matured for 10 months in French oak. Aromatically, the wine leads with fresh tobacco, pomegranate, cedar, autumnal undergrowth, cilantro, bay, pink peppercorns and caper brine. In the mouth, the flavours follow suit in a perfectly mid-weight, supple kind of way. This is very good! Red apple acidity shapes the finish. Elegant.

 

The 2022 Laissez Faire Grenache is saturated and ripe, intense and mouthfilling. The fruit is obvious and speaks of raspberries, red and black cherries, mulberry and even blackberry, while the tannins in the mouth are gritty and earthy. This is a powerful wine from an excellent season. Tasted alongside the 2021 Uovo Grenache, it looks a little chunky and muscular, but what it lacks in precision, it more than makes up for in exuberant fruit presence and balancing tannins. This has equal impact of sweet fruit and savoury tannins, making for a balanced and exciting drinking experience. I bet it will be better in a year. This is another important example of excellent Grenache in Frankland River.

 

The 2022 The Yard Acacia Vineyard Shiraz leads with grape skin, fresh blood, red dirt and summer mulberries. In the mouth, the wine is concentrated and firm, texturally grainy and glossy at once. I     really like the purpose and clarity with which the fruit oozes flavour. From the brilliant 2022 vintage, this will only gain in momentum and density as it ages.

 

Oof. Good. The 2021 Shiraz hails from Frankland River, and it achieves a balance between floral, sapid, rocky, shelly, purple characters, and dense, muscular, pliable, ductile tannins. It's an elegant, powerful wine that has levity and density in a single hit. Super good.

 

The 2021 Laissez Faire Syrah features a melange of clones (470, 174, 877 and Waldron) from the Riversdale vineyard in Frankland River. It was handpicked, sorted and matured in French oak barrels for 10 months. Each of the clones contributes something positive to this wine: density of tannin, darkness of fruit, lithe expression of vineyard dirt and a minty/crème de cassis quality through the finish. It is fresh and herbal, in a ferrous, bloody, purple kind of way. This is very good, and floral with notes of purple flowers—lavender, violet.

 

The 2021 The Yard Riversdale Vineyard Shiraz is composed of a mix of Waldron, 470 and 174 clones, and the wine is distinctly black at heart. Summer mulberry, dried lavender, bergamot, raspberry leaf tea, ferrous and a hint of iodine coalesce in the mouth, forming a black liquorice/arnica/anise/Alizé character. It is engaging and pretty, detailed and brooding this year.

 

The three Yard wines on the bench today are from 2022, 2021 and 2020—perhaps a clerical error? This 2020 The Yard Justin Shiraz today marks the second time I have reviewed this wine for this publication, and the benefit of a year in glass is evident. It has softer tannins and a plumper disposition than when I last saw it. The tannins have risen to the fore, in front of the fruit, which, as I recall, was abundant the last time—now the ferrous and iodine have risen through the ranks. Hold a while longer; it has moved into that quiet/dumb phase that red wines can move into a couple of years post harvest.