Winery's Fab Four

It was only a small line-up of wines. Just the four. But each offered something quite different and very interesting. The wines were from the Denmark-based West Cape Howe and I was sitting and sipping with winemaker Gavin Berry.

What struck me most was the individuality of the wines, bookended by the crisp and bracing parched-dry riesling to the classic, elegantly structured and long cabernet sauvignon. In the middle were two really exciting wines. One was a very good example of the increasingly popular and increasingly mishandled shiraz viognier blend and the other was a relative new chum in Aussie wines, a very classy and tremendously drinkable tempranillo. I mentioned it last but I'll deal with it first.

The Tempranillo 2005 ($19) is the first release for the classic Spanish variety from West Cape Howe. Mr Berry said that with tempranillo he wanted to produce a wine that reflected the natural fruit characters of this variety. To that end I believe he's done it perfectly. The beautiful savoury fruit characters of the variety are perfectly presented in a concentrated and dense palate structured with fine though firm tannins.

It's deliciously seamless and velvety I smooth on the palate and shows a typical earthy thread. The oak is understated and comes from Berry's decision to use mainly old French barriques. We are going to see an increasing amount tempranillo over the coming years. It is a wonderful variety that offers plenty of fleshy fruit but with a dry, arid restraint that makes it ideal as an accompaniment for food.

This limited-release wine is a beauty and most will go to restaurants but you should try to coax your local guy to get some in. The Shiraz Viognier 2004 ($24) is an awesome, powerfully built wine that's almost black. The viognier, in all its orange blossom apricot glory, has been sourced from Bridgetown and the shiraz comes from West Cape Howe's Landsdale vineyard between Mt Barker and Denmark. The fruit has been co-fermented, which means both the red shiraz and the white viognier are fermented together.

It's resulted in a wine with excellent texture and depth with lifted orange blossom scents providing an enticing lift on the nose. Mr Berry has chosen to use about 25 per cent new oak, half of which is French. He believes it complements the ripe, fleshy palate. The only drawback to me is the high alcohol but such is the power of the fruit and depth of flavour that it seems to handle that quite well.

What I like most is that the viognier doesn't overpower, as it can, and the warm, fleshy shiraz fruit still provides a powerful statement. The other red is the West Cape Howe Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($24), which is classic firm and tight cabernet showing loads of minty blackcurrant fruit aromas. The palate is tight and firmish but, at the same time, displays a seamless, soft friendliness. I have been a fan of these cabernets over the years and this one stacks up very well.

The final wine in the bracket was the Riesling 2005 ($18), which displays some classic Great Southern floral fragrance with a lean, tight and puckering mineral acid. The scents of lemon blossom and subtle spice are really appealing. It's a terrific wine either as an aperitif now or for the cellar for a few years.

[ The West Australian, Page 7: Thursday 18 May 2006 ]