GWOTY 2008

Well fellow Guzzlers, the time you’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived; the unveiling of the Guzzle Wine of the Year (GWOTY) awards for 2008 – better late than never.

2008 was quite an interesting year for the Guzzle. Many wines were drunk and the overall level of quality was reasonably high. However, unlike 2007, there were far fewer wines that stood out as notably superior to the rest of the crowd. The reasons for this were many and varied, but ultimately I guess it came down to the fact that (a) the overall quality of the wines tasted this year were better than in 2007 and (b) most of these wines seemed to fall within a fairly narrow Recommended/Recommended banding without many being truly outstanding.

Of course, this is not a definitive list and was never designed to be so. This is simply a representation on the best wines (based on both quality and value for money) that we believe we have posted on the site over the past year. If you have a different view, or if you have tasted a wine that is not on the site but you think deserves a mention, feel free to let us know.

Anyway…without further ado, below (in no particular order) are our finalists for the GWOTY award 2008:

The Short List

1.         Morris Rutherglen Liquor Muscat “Old Premium”.

“If you’ve never tried a Rutherglen Liqueur Muscat then this is a great place to start…” MW

“[has] a finish longer than a Tommy Lee drum solo”. MW

2.            Marius Symposium Shiraz Mourvedre 2005

“When I first saw the name Marius, I thought of the chicken-hearted nancy boy character from Les Miserables, who fluffs around after the dull Cosette rather than engaging in serious, history-making activities like death and revolution…This wine, however, is a real crowd pleaser.” WC

3.            Château Paul Blanc 2004 Costières de Nîmes

“I think I was a bit pissed when I drank this one....” MW

“Regardless of my incomprehensible bumbings, this is a mighty fine wine. A really solid example of a Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier blend from the Southern Rhone.” MW

4.         Pichot Domaine Coteau de la Biche Vouvray 2007

“An effortlessly enjoyable wine and a steal at $25 a bottle.” MW

“If this wine were a woman it would be wearing a white spring dress and running through a field of flowers laughing.” MW

5.         Apsley Gorge Pinot Noir 2006

“A youthful but complex, masculine and brooding pinot; a real Marlon-Brando-in-Streetcar-Named-Desire kinda wine.” WC

6.            Richter Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2006

“This is a delightful wine. Very well-balanced, with lip-smacking orange-fruit flavours complemented by a lovely mineral and musky complexity.” WC

“Between the three Guzzlers, this disappeared faster than David Copperfield on crack.”  WC  [*this is quite possibly my favourite tasting note line ever – MW]

7.            Clonakilla Syrah 2006

“[the] 2006 Syrah is a very, very good wine indeed.” MW

“Silky smooth, unctuous and oily without being over the top. It’s a wine of subtlety, power and intent…made from outstanding grapes and by winemakers at the height of their powers, this is a true benchmark Aussie wine and a classic in the making.” MW

8.         Herzog Pinot Noir 2003

“I think this wine has aging potential and it will integrate, build and improve over at least the next 5 years…Matty just seemed happy to be drinking something from Marlborough that wasn’t crap sauvignon blanc.” WC

9.         Mahi Twin Valleys Vineyard Chardonnay 2006

“Excellent fruit from the vineyard and some handy jiggery-pokery in the winery has created a really interesting and complex wine, bursting with character.” MW

10.       Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2006

“When we opened this, Matt and I had had a run of uninspiring wines…[however] this restored our faith in the wine gods (Matt shall continue sacrificing goats).” WC

“… shows great complexity in a taut, controlled fashion. It is all about texture, linear structure and wonderful balance. A wine that is on the cusp of a Highly Recommended rating.” WC

The Winner

And the winner is…. (drum roll etc etc)

…after pushing the Richter Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2006 back to a close second and the Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2006 to an even closer third, the winner of the 2^nd annual GWOTY award is…(more drum rolls)

                                                               " Clonakilla Syrah 2006"

This truly is an exceptional wine and a deserved winner of the 2008 GWOTY award.

The 2006 Syrah from Clonakilla is a wine of great clarity of flavour, complexity and balance.  It is a wine full of rich berry fruit and spice, but also possessing a floral finesse and fragrant subtlety not generally found in Shiraz outside the Rhone*.

(*Tasting Note: Plums, black forest berries, pencil shavings, vanilla and rose petals on the nose. More plum, redcurrant, blackberry, liquorice, white pepper, lavender and other floral aromas on the palate.)

Silky smooth, unctuous and oily, without being over the top, it’s a wine of subtlety, power and intent.  And even though it is still very immature, with all of the volatile impertinence of youth, this is not a wine that will simply party hard and drop out early, but a wine that will last for another 20 years+ at least.

Made from outstanding grapes and by winemakers at the height of their powers this is a true benchmark Aussie wine and a classic in the making - and although it weighs in at the meaty end of the value scale (it retails for around AU$75-90) we still regard it as particularly good value for money.

Of equal importance is that this is a wine that has the ability to redefine Australian Shiraz, moving it steadily away from the overblown muscle-car wines of South Australia to a more refined, elegant, sexy and complex style; more comparable to its cousins in the Rhone than the pureed plum jam style of the Barossa.

It is our considered view that Clonakilla (and other winemakers in the Canberra District) are leading the way forward for this variety in Australia; much like what the winemakers of the Margaret River in Western Australia are doing for Cabernet and other Bordeaux blends.

Congratulations Tim Kirk and the team at Clonakilla:

Clonakilla Syrah 2006 - GWOTY award winner 2008