Finally, I'm back on the chain gang: 2009 Eden Valley Cabernet reviews

Whoa! I can't believe it has been so long since my last blog post. Indeed, it's been a crazy, busy year but I'm Back On The Chain Gang and writing again. Yes, we may have lost our entire crop from the Karra Yerta Barossa Ranges vineyard, for perhaps the first time in fifteen or more years, but we did manage to source tiny amounts of Barossa Cabernet and Barossa Shiraz to make a 2011 Shiraz Cabernet. It was a very difficult vintage, and such a wet summer proved too much for the incredible old vines to cope with, despite the best efforts by James. They fare much better in temperatures nearing the mid-forties.

Thus, I have been clearing our other Karra Yerta stock and working hard at Collective Barossa with not only our wines, but those of Gumpara Wines and Kurtz Family Vineyards. Most rewarding. If I thought I was in for a lazy few months until next vintage, I was mistaken. All good though; the great reviews keep coming and finally, I feel like we are making progress with our (Karra Yerta) brand recognition. There's nothing better than a midnight surprise of finding an email order in one of my inboxes:)

Our website is desperately in need of updating, and this will be tended to once our fabulous webmaster returns from a two month long holiday in the UK. In the interim, I'll be posting the past three months' reviews on here and also putting up some other posts that I have written in the previous months. The draft on the post about my trip to Brisbane in May is almost complete but I'm finding it hard to not write a novel! Yes, what an experience!

In the meantime, here are the swag of reviews that we have received since my last post in April. As always, thanks to the guys who continually give us such positive feedback regarding our wines. It really does inspire us, especially after (non)vintages like 2011!

Posted by Jeremy Pringle on Tuesday 3rd May 2011 on his website Wine Will Eat Itself:

Karra Yerta 2009 Eden Valley Cabernet
Eden Valley 14.0% Screwcap $25

Flavours and aromas first; Blackberry, boysenberry, cigar leaf, mocha and spice with just a touch of mint on the finish. It's very bright and the fruit gets lighter in colour as it moves through its line, reaching raspberry coulis by the end of the road...but the intensity never wavers.

Love the structure here. The acidity and tannin are spot on ensuring that it not only drinks well now but will hold together as it improves over the mid-term (at least). Truth be told, I'm not generally a fan of Eden Valley Cabernet but I am a fan of this. Not unusually for Karra Yerta, it over delivers for the price.

Only 32 cases were made so you might want to move fast on this one. Drink it young or drink it with some age. Either way, you can't lose.

Winery website-www.karrayertawines.com.au/

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Next, is Andrew Graham's review of July 4th, 2011 from his website Australian Wine review. (http://www.ozwinereview.com/2011/07/karra-yerta-eden-valley-cabernet.htm)

Karra Yerta Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (Eden Valley, SA)
14%, Screwcap, $25 Source: Sample www.karrayertawines.com.au

This comes from High Eden (which is the only official Barossan subregion by the way, the rest are unofficial. That's David Wynn's doing) and, with only 32 cases produced, it's a rare beast indeed. I don't think it's as dark, concentrated and sinewy as the 'estate' Shiraz, though no doubting the appeal.

The core of that appeal is just how bright it is. Bright and juicy, looking ripe if somewhat simple in style. There's a nose of blackberry, etched in sweet and easy French oak, and then more light sweet blackberries. Palate too is all easy openness and light, with bouncy blackberry fruit and even, soft tannins.

I actually thought this might be a little too simple real enjoyment, but considering that it still looked vibrant (and surprisingly serious) the next day, I'm erring in it's favour. 17.1/90

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Finally, here's the review from Gary Walsh of The Wine Front (http://www.winefront.com.au/karra-yerta-cabernet-sauvignon-2009/) which was posted on his website on July 1st, 2011:

Karra Yerta Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
It’s labelled on the front as Barossa Ranges, but comes from High Eden, which sounds like a really nice sort of place – somewhere you might eat apples in the nude, play with snakes and smoke spliffs – guilt free preferably. This is a total production of 32 dozen and yet the winery is professional enough to have a bottle image available.

A brown sauce like spice along with some mint and lavender perfume lends it immediate interest. There’s dark fruit flavours along with something fresher, like wild strawberries, and a dried herb savouriness. Medium weight, yet fleshy, with firm silty tannins and excellent pitch and carry. Not over-made and charismatic too. Think it’s going to age very well and most likely improve (more importantly). Sort of want to rate it higher, but I’ll hang the plus sign on the front door for this one instead.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Jun 11
Alcohol : 14%
Price : $25
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2012 - 2019+

Knock, knock, knocking on Heaven’s Door – Part 2

This blog post was originally written for, and published on "Barossa Dirt - True tales and twisted vines" in February 2011.

From left: James Linke, Andrew Graham, Bob McLean, Colin Sheppard, Chris Ringland.

During the past few months, we have had the pleasure of the company of some wonderful visitors to our home. It’s so much fun to sit at the kitchen table in our old cottage, sharing fine wines and food, and getting to know each other face to face as opposed to electronic or phone conversations.

Each of these people has their own special reason for arriving on our doorstep, or indeed, in our neighbourhood, and it’s their own diverse reasons that will create my next few Barossa Dirt posts. The four subjects are all very interesting people – two are in the wine business in the USA, the other two are from Sydney – one involved with the wine business and the other with journalism.

My second interview is with Andrew Graham, who is a Sydney-based wine-writer (www.ozwinereview.com) and an enthusiastic and passionate wine-lover.

ML – What was the initial reason for your first ever trip, or contact, with the Barossa, and what year was it?

AG – Interestingly enough my first ever ‘serious’ wine was a Barossa Shiraz – it was the year 2000, and up until then I’d really just been a beer and spirit drinker. Wine had always been around my house, and cask wine had been a friend on more than one occasion, but I’d never really taken wine seriously. This wine was different though. It had the most luscious silky texture that I really loved. That wine was a 1998 St Hallett Faith Shiraz, and looking back I can understand exactly why I would have liked it – lots of flavour, lots of simple Barossan goodness.

ML – Which Barossan personalities have made a lasting impression on you?

AG – Charlie Melton is one person who first made an impression on me, with his sometimes laconic but always honest personality – and excellent moustache – epitomising of what I imagined great Australian winemakers to be. I like his wines, too. Bob McLean is another ‘larger than life’ character whom I very much respect due to his almost unrivalled knowledge of the area.

ML – What are some other interesting places you have been to in your travels, and/or which interesting people have you met elsewhere in the world?

AG – That’s an interesting question! Perhaps the best way to answer this would be to talk about the more interesting winemakers I have met, such as some Indian vignerons whom are working on one of the larger Indian vineyards. Their enthusiasm was unbridled, happily admitting that whilst their wines were still not quite there yet, that India would eventually become renown for it’s wines.

ML – Compared to some of these places, what makes the Barossa an appealing place to visit?

AG – One of the appealing things about the Barossa is simply how unlike most other Australian wine regions it seems to be. I’m sure it’s a cultural thing, driven by the old German heritage, but grape-growing and winemaking seems to carry even more significance in the Barossa, more respect even.

ML – What are your favourite Barossan places to visit and why?

AG – That’s an easy one. Flaxmans Valley is the most attractive part of the Barossa. It’s the extra lushness and greenery, that comes courtesy of Kaiser Stuhl Conservation Park in part, that makes it feel that much more natural and peaceful. It’s colder though, which I’m no fan of as I’m a warm blooded Sydney man who doesn’t deal well with cold!

ML – Do you have any favourite Barossa foods or wines?

AG – Did someone say Linke’s bacon? Barossan smallgoods are the picks in the food department. Eden Valley Riesling is not the ideal smoked meats match, but it does refresh…

It was a pleasure having Andrew visit, and we look forward to his next trip to the Barossa. My next post will feature a very interesting couple from the United States. Stay tuned.

Cheers for now,

Marie Linke

Tiny URL for this post: http://tinyurl.com/4nex2ys

More reviews and medal news!

I had a completely different blog topic for this post but then realised that I have neglected to write about some very good news for Karra Yerta!

Our big news for the week is that our 2010 Karra Yerta Wines Eden Valley Riesling won a Gold Medal last week at the 2010 Canberra International Riesling Challenge. This is Karra Yerta's first Gold Medal and needless to say, we are incredibly happy.

It just so happened that we received this news a day before flying to Melbourne so while we were away, we celebrated the win, along with the birthdays of two special friends, by drinking french champagne and of course, some Karra Yerta Riesling:)

We have also had two other reviews written recently - one on the 2010 Riesling, and one on our 2007 Shiraz Cabernet. Both reviews are written by our Sydney friend, Andrew Graham, who we have been sending wine to for years now. As you will read in Andrew's reviews, he prides himself on his honest appraisals. He's a true wine lover, and integrity must be his middle name. Please read his thoughts below, and then go to the links to his page to see further comments, from Andrew and myself.

Please note that our website is still to be updated with this wine (and in fact our recently released 2010 Shiraz Grenache), however both wines are already on the website order form. It is an understatement to say that I have a huge to-do list!

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Sunday October 17, 2010

Karra Yerta Riesling 2010 (Eden Valley, SA)
12.5%, Screwcap, $25
Source: Sample
www.karrayertawines.com.au

This picked up a gold medal over the weekend, which prompted me to pop some in the fridge. Second time I've had this actually and it looks even better now with an extra month in the bottle. Definitely an opulent wine this year, but in a very correct fashion. Again excellent stuff. Maybe a little fuller than the 09?

It's green in the glass this. Water green and neutral looking. But the smell! What wafts out is Eden Riesling perfection. Lots of lime juice, wet pavement and more lime juice in a big, nose-filling dose of Eden awesomeness. Palate is dry and pithy, showing some banana ferment characters, grapefruit and soft (though powerful) acidity. Long. Very long. Interesting to note that 'soft' acidity, for I tend to think that Eden and Clare Riesling acidity can sometimes be a little hard and clunky (which I often wonder whether that's due to injudicious additions). Not this wine.

All in it's a lovely, powerful, concentrated Riesling in classical form. For mine this is what Eden Valley Riesling is all about, and it's a style of wine that I absolutely dig.

The glass in front of me appears to be leaking.... 18.7/95

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Friday, October 8, 2010

Karra Yerta Shiraz Cabernet 2007 (Eden and Barossa Valley, SA)
Screwcap, 14.5%, $25
Source: Sample
http://www.karrayertawines.com.au/

Dear Flaxmans Valley,

I love you.

Or at least I love the wines that are produced from the grapes grown upon your rolling rocky hills. What's more, my love is stoked by just how consistent these wines are. Year in, year out, I am surprised by just how good your wines can be, like a warm and generous embrace that never loses it's intensity.

But this wine is not wholly sourced from within the confines of your vineyards. Oh no, this includes some warmer Barossa Valley fruit, contributing some different flavours to your elegant intensity.

Thankfully though, this cross blended red does your reputation good justice. It smells of ripe, briary red raspberry fruit, beetroot and sleek chocolate oak. It's a warmer nose than shown by some of the previous vintages of this wine, with a warmer palate to match, but it still feels... vital. Full of life. Soft and languid, polished and generous. It's still a little harder, a little more meaty, stewed and chewy in the context of the typical Karra Yerta style, but it never crosses over into desiccation.

In short, it is another good wine from a superb vineyard. It's not the greatest wine of the lineage, but it's - again - an enjoyable drink. 17.2/90

Look, look, look, lookin' out my back door.

I'm quite enjoying picking out my favourite songs to listen to while I write my blog posts and do other computer work. Tonight while I was thinking of this particular blog entry, I had a Creedence moment, so the song for this one is 'Who'll stop the rain?'

I'm listening to the song, and the rain, right now. Last weekend, Spring really was here with the glorious sunny Spring days that the Barossa does best but Winter has given us a reminder tonight that perhaps she is not quite ready to move on. The Barossa has had an amazing amount of rain over the past few weeks and our dam filled up, almost overnight. Our old, deep-rooted vines are loving it, and it will certainly hold them in good stead for a hot, dry summer, which will be here soon enough.

When the rain falls so steadily, and for so long, I am even more appreciative of the fact that I live in the Barossa Ranges, where flooding is not quite the issue as much as it is to those who live on the Valley floor. I witnessed the aftermath of the Barossa floods in the early eighties and will never forget the devastation that it caused. I can still remember the interior of the house I helped to clean. I was completely stunned at how almost nothing was able to be salvaged. It took months for people to recover from that.

The photos below were taken in the first week of September - the first is of our dam, which rarely fills to capacity, and the second is of the Bethany Creek. It was quite amazing driving through the Barossa and seeing so much water about in the first week of September!

On a completely different note but still Barossa orientated, last Thursday night I was privileged to be part of a core group asked to attend a meeting at the Tanunda Club to discuss my involvement in an innovative idea of the Barossa Wine and Grape Association to promote the Barossa. I won't elaborate at the moment other than to say that I feel very honoured, and am really looking forward to being a participant and spending more time doing what I love to do - writing. If you want to see a whole different perspective of the Barossa from some of the personalities in it, then keep an eye on this page, which should be officially launched sometime in October, if not before: Barossa Dirt. It's going to be a lot of fun and I'm already making notes to use over the coming weeks.

Speaking of notes, there was much note-taking on the weekend during a visit to the Barossa by Sydney wine-blogger, Andrew Graham. Whilst I took some notes regarding Andrew, he took lots of notes about the vineyards in our area and had a chance to speak with some of the fascinating personalities of our special ridge. We hosted the afternoon for our guests in our old red gum stable and though a small get-together, it was simply sensational to sit and listen as Bob McLean and Chris Ringland discussed soils, techniques and their opinions of pretty much anything and everything to do with vines and wines. James and I, and Colin Sheppard, sat entranced by the stories told by Bob in particular, and the table of wines was one to be proud of - 2000 Chris Ringland Shiraz, 2000 McLean's Farmgate Barr-Eden, 2010 Karra Yerta Eden Valley Riesling, 2010 Flaxman Wines Eden Valley Riesling just to name some. Wow, what an afternoon.

Later in the evening, James, Andrew and I met up with the other Collective Barossa guys, Steve Kurtz and Mark Mader (and Mark's lovely wife, Amanda), for a classic Barossa pub feast at the Angas Park Hotel in Nuriootpa. We had a fabulous night with much laughter, and yet more good wine and food.

An exhausting but exhilarating day, and a real insight for Andrew into some of the people of the Barossa. I will be writing more about Andrew's visit in another blog entry in the very near future, but first I have to write about the other happenings of last weekend. That involved a trip South to one of my all-time favourite places and will follow soon:)

Old wines, new reviews and other news!

Now, while I am on a roll, on the writing front, I will add an entry on two fabulous recent reviews we received, plus another snippet that is wine-related. One review is from Julian Coldrey, the other from Jeremy Pringle (both Brisbane-ites) and the final person to rate a mention, is Sydney-sider, Andrew Graham. All three of these fellows have been mentioned by me before, and again, I thank them for not only being great advocates for the wine industry, but also for their support and encouragement of small wineries. Sometimes when you are so small, as we are, it is hard to get people in the media world to try your wines, let alone get a response out of them. These three guys are totally awesome and on behalf of the entire Australian wine industry, I thank them all for their passion and integrity.

The first review was published on Julian's website, Full Pour, and featured our 2005 Karra Yerta Wines Bullfrog Flat Shiraz: http://fullpour.com/2010/05/karra-yerta-bullfrog-flat-eden.html

Karra Yerta Wines 2005 Bullfrog Flat Shiraz

There's a reason why I've not posted recently, and it's not entirely related to a lack of time. I have indeed tasted several wines this week. And they were all crap. Which does wear one down after a while. The point of my drinking, or so I have convinced myself, is to enjoy moments of abstract sensual pleasure. I drink wine for the same reason I listen to music; to hear, feel, disagree, discover. In other words, I drink to experience beauty. So a series of ugly wines gives me absolutely nothing to write other than tiresomely self-reflective introductions like this.

Anyway, it's Saturday night and I'm worth a good wine. So out popped this sample from my tasting pile, a wine that has been waiting a few months to be experienced. I tasted the companion Barossa Shiraz a few weeks ago and found it intensely pleasurable. So it was with pleasure that my first smells and tastes of this wine revealed a similarly characterful, regionally-driven wine. Which you prefer may simply come down to your passion for one region's flavour profile over another.

Fabulous aromas of dirt roads and crushed stone, along with warm blackberries and well-judged, nutty oak. This is one to smell through the course of an entire evening, and to watch duck and weave through its full range of expressions, including the merest hint of aged leather. To be sure, there's a lot in here, yet it's not a self-consciously difficult wine. It just is, with a sense of easy, natural vibrancy that speaks both of its origins and its intent.

Entry brings dense, liqueur-like fruit into focus at the temporary expense of some minerality, but the latter is flung back into the picture on the mid-palate, which is the wine's high point of complexity. The structure is notable at this point, with firm underlying acidity and plush tannins keeping things in shape without ever seeming like the main event. A bit of vanillan oak pokes out its head through the after palate, but this wine is and remains all about spectacular fruit character; squashed blackberries and stones and dusty summers.

What a treat. This is easily a $40 wine.

Price: $A25
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample

Posted by Julian on Saturday, May 22, 2010

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The second review was published on Jeremy's website, Wine Will Eat Itself, and featured our (Museum stock left only) 2005 Karra Yerta Wines Barossa Shiraz: http://winewilleatitself.blogspot.com/2010/05/2005-karra-yerta-barossa-shiraz.html

Karra Yerta Wines 2005 Barossa Shiraz

Barossa 14.6% Screwcap $25 Source: Sample

I've been known to swoon over Karra Yerta, so I'll warn you now; I'm going to do it again. This is precisely the sort of wine that reminds me exactly why I do what I do. A wine that created a palpable sense of excitement as I drank it.

The amount of evolution that it underwent over the course of 5 hours in a flat bottomed decanter was stunning. I enjoy the fact that wine is a living thing. It's the subtle movement of a bottle's attributes which create so much of the interest and joy I derive from this strange and entrancing liquid.

Sweet blackberry & red cherry berry fruit along with earthy notes and bottle age leather & truffle. Soft and plush yet detailed, with a velvet entry quickly being pulled into a formation of real conviction. There's a fair bit of coffeed tannin ready to see the fruit through a few years yet. More plum and red cherry than raspberry with savoury dark chocolate adding another distinct layer of rich flavour. Some rusticity with a slightly ferrous edge. The finish seems to linger for an eternity. This is simply, seriously gorgeous stuff. The acidity is integrated but still fresh and I loved the tannin presence and chewiness. As it breathed, the wine loosened up, adding a sexy hint of liqueur cherry that offset the earthy depth perfectly, and all the complex components came together into one cohesive and beguiling identity.

It was a privilege to drink, especially given that very little museum stock of the original 64 cases remains. Look out for the next release. I can hardly wait.

Winery Website- http://www.karrayertawines.com.au/

Posted by Jeremy Pringle on May 28, 2010

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Finally, not a review, but still a terrific snippet of news is that my new business, Collective Barossa, featured in an article written by Andrew Graham, in the current edition (June/July 2010) of Gourmet Wine Traveller. It's a wonderful article and describes just what the Collective Barossa shop is all about. Grab a copy tomorrow, turn to page 15 and see what Andrew so kindly wrote about us. In the same edition, there is also a fabulous article on Riesling which is one thing I always like to see:)

Cheers for now, it's time for my final effort at writing for the day - our first ever newsletter for Collective Barossa:)

A Sydneysider's take on the NV Sparking Shiraz

Since having the Collective Barossa shop open, our stocks of the NV Sparkling Shiraz have been getting less by the week, which is of course, a good thing. In the next few months we will have another release but in the meantime, if you want to try it, pop in the shop, or if you want to buy some of our current release, please contact us.

It is a remarkable and delicious example of this great Aussie wine. Here is the latest review from Andrew Graham, our friend and independent wine writer from Sydney, who we had the great pleasure of meeting a month ago.

Karra Yerta Wines NV Sparkling Shiraz
Karra Yerta Sparkling Shiraz NV - 2009 disgorgement (Eden Valley, SA)
$35, Crown Seal, 14.5%
Source: Sample
www.karrayertawines.com.au

'It's a real pity this class has detiorated to this level'

They were the judges comments at this years Sydney Wine Show for the premium 'Sparkling Red Wine, bottle fermented' class (that this wine would theoretically sit in). I'm not sure whether that is an indication of the waning quality of Australian sparkling reds, a reluctance for wineries to show sparkling reds, or just a dud bracket of wines, but it does make for interesting reading for anyone with a love of the style (which I am).

Anyway, like all the other Karra Yerta wines, this is a smashing drink, and I say that with glee, as Marie & James Linke are great people too, which just puts smiles on everyones dials. Actually, it can be very hard to review wines for genuinely good people, as good people don't always produce good wines, and often the best wines are produced by maniacal control freaks and egotistical wankers.

But back to the wine. Lovely purple colour, with a massive frothy purple mousse that you just want to stain the table cloth with (just for effect). Interestingly, the nose is actually pretty subdued, with some sweet berried dosage the only thing escaping from the deeply black coloured juice. Palate is medium bodied and starts quite lightly with the same berries from the nose, the palate sweet initially, but fans out rather dry and long, with some proper fruit tannins rounding out the tail.

What I like most about this wine is its mediumness. It's unquestionably Barossan and juicy, but also quite constrained, dry and mellow, almost as if the base material has an extra year or two on it, even if the colour and freshness suggest otherwise.

Nice wine. 18/93

A little less conversation, a little more action...

The title of this blog entry is one of my favourite motivational songs, and I need some motivation. It's been a huge five weeks; long days (still), short nights, summer, vintage, and in between yet more surprises, some bad but mostly good.

I am exceptionally happy at the way the range of Karra Yerta wines have been received at the Collective Barossa shop, and lots of new friends have been made which is really wonderful and incredibly encouraging. There has been so much bad press regarding the Barossa and the entire Australian wine industry in recent weeks that it is totally refreshing to be in the thick of many levels of the local wine industry at the grass roots level, and feel such positivity.

My customers at the shop are sincere in their appreciation of our "hands-on" approach, as tired as we all are (the four winemakers and myself), and they really do leave the Collective Barossa shop with another perspective of the Barossa (and Australian) wine industry. It is wonderful to be able to share our stories with our customers and also fill them in on our own family histories after they have visited the Museum.

In regards to the media, one positive event was a visit from one of our favourite wine writers, Andrew Graham, from Sydney. Andrew has reviewed a lot of Karra Yerta's wines over the past few years and always enjoys them which is a terrific feather in our cap seeing as how we were completely unknown when he first discovered us. It is the support of writers like Andrew that keep the little guys plugging away at their dreams when sometimes it all seems too hard. It is easy to give up, and I am sure that this year, many vignerons and winemakers will. It is an incomprehensibly tough market. I'm not sure when things will settle down, on a global scale let alone locally, but with the encouragement that Andrew provides, and many other writers who continually and willingly taste small batch wines, and not only appreciate and like them, but publish these positive reviews, it will get better for those of us that persist. The first photo below is of Steve (Kurtz Family Vineyards) with Andrew and his lovely lady, Caryn.

On the same day of Andrew's visit, I had to attend a photo shoot at Eden Valley for a feature in an upcoming Wine Business Magazine. When you get to stand along side the other producers from our very special, and still relatively unknown region (Eden Valley), you can't help but be impressed with the quality of wines being produced. Hutton Vale, McLean's Farm, Radford, Irvine, Mountadam, Henschke, Fernfield.... so many fine wines, such an incredible array. The bottom photo shows how the ladies got over the barbed wire fence to get to the actual location (you had to be there but trust me, it was rather funny) and the other one is of Wayne Ahrens and another great Eden Valley identity, Chris Rogers.

Despite the negativity, and stressed look on many faces, I feel a ray of hope for the future of the Australian wine industry and especially for the families that really do put in the hard yards themselves. It's hard work, and can take many years to be rewarded financially, but I have said it once, and I will say it again; the lifestyle is hard but worthwhile. Sometimes one does feel like giving up but after a weekend like this, you are again filled with inspiration to continue with the passion of producing great products from exceptional vineyards in an incredibly special area.

Cheers to the future of Australian wine!

The riesling revolution continues!

It seems that all of my recent posts on here are ratings and reviews which is rather exciting! I am off to Melbourne this weekend for a well earned break, and a bit of wine business on the side, but not too much. So in between sending off orders for the week, and starting to pack, I am taking a short break to post yet another review which was received last weekend.

This one is from Andrew Graham, a lovely fellow from Sydney who is a self-confessed riesling lover:
http://www.ozwinereview.com/2009/09/karra-yerta-riesling-2009.html


Karra Yerta Wines 2009 Eden Valley Riesling
$25, Screwcap, 13%

I'm getting to this a bit late, with two renowned tasters, Gary Walsh & Julian Coldrey, having already announced the quality of this wine during the week. Suffice to say, I am going to merely add to the chorus and say that this is a very impressive dry Riesling, and perhaps the best yet under the Karra Yerta label.

What's most impressive here is the acidity, with the whole wine driven to greatness by its startling acid backbone (witness the pH and TA levels - 2.82! and 7.85g/ltr). In the case of this Karra Yerta Riesling, the blinding citrussy acid structure makes for a wine of serious impact, which, when coupled with grapefruit, lemon and apple Martini regional Riesling fruit characters, makes for a pure and simply beautiful Riesling in the intensely dry Eden Valley style.

Winning wine for drinking over the medium term +. 18.8

A new review and a new medal!

So, in following up to my previous entry, I am exceptionally proud to announce that we have won a Silver Medal at the 2009 Barossa Wine Show for our Karra Yerta Wines 2006 Shiraz Cabernet! At 52.5 points, it was equal second in its class. As this was our first time entering the Barossa Wine Show we were totally flabbergasted. Here is a link to the online Barossa Wine Show results book: http://www.barossa.com/lib/pdf/mf289.pdf

Our other entry, the 2009 Karra Yerta Wines Eden Valley Riesling scored 44 points and stood on equal footing with many other fine rieslings including some from Henschke and Yalumba so despite not getting a medal, we were still really happy with the result. To top it off, on the same day that we discovered our BWS results we also received the following fabulous review from Andrew Graham (http://www.ozwinereview.com/2009/09/karra-yerta-shiraz-cabernet-2006.html) Thanks Andrew for your glowing report!

Karra Yerta Shiraz Cabernet 2006 (Barossa & Eden Valley, SA)
$25, Screwcap, 14.5%

There are, according to the Australian & New Zealand Wine Industry Directory, 2320 wineries in Australia (as of this year). Karra Yerta, with an annual production of only several hundred cartons, is one of the smallest amongst them (the website tagline is 'one of Australia's smallest wineries').

What Karra Yerta shares with Australia's finest wineries, however, is character. Character derived from old (up to 80 year old) vineyards, in an exceptional grape growing area (Chris Ringland's 'Three Rivers vineyard' is several hundred metres away, with the original Pewsey vineyards also close by) and produced with passion (converse with the energetic Marie Linke, caretaker of the vineyard with her partner James, and you will get a sense of this).

The ultimate results are fine quality, handmade, unpretentious wines, made in tiny quantities and happily representative of the patch of dirt they were produced of.

A formula that sits very easily with me.

This Shiraz Cabernet then is produced from 87% estate Shiraz, blended with some Barossa floor Shiraz and topped up with 13% Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Surprisingly this spent 24 months in oak, a heroic level for what is a $25 bottle of wine, but it doesn't do this any disservice.

Judging by the colour alone, this looks like quite a beast: It pours deep blood red and is rimmed with youthful purple. The nose matches the sentiment, with rich blackberry jam, vanillan oak and a twist of formic. It smells deep and warm and cosseting and, well, Barossan.

Nice.

Matching the nose, the palate is rich and sweetly red berried, the oak driving the palate weight forward and edging it with vanillan sweetness. Initially I thought this was just a tad too obvious and full, but the hints of Eden Valley milk chocolate through the middle had me hooked.

Just to reinforce the quality, the tail end has a great flow of flavour and thrust, coupled with a complete absence of heat (good to see in a 14.5% ABV red).

Nice again.

It is hard then to argue with any element of this red. The oak is a bit prominent and sweet, but I'm not worried about it integrating, so there is little case for any discordance. Really all I can do is join the chorus and rave about how good this is.

So what you get is a genuine Barossan red, that will cellar well, with plenty of the aforementioned character and appeal, for just $25 a bottle. Bargain. 18.2/93

Posted by Andrew Graham at 5:18 PM

Our first 2008 Eden Valley Riesling review!

We are currently in the final stages of designing a new label for the release of our 2008 Eden Valley Riesling. Hopefully we can have the wine on the shelves for sale within the next month so that Christmas orders will be delivered on time. The year has gone so fast again and it's hard to believe that it is nearly 2009!

The 2008 Riesling will be our fourth riesling release and whilst my own favourite at this time is the 2005 vintage (it is just starting to show it's fine aging qualities) it just may be that our 2008 release will be our best yet going on the following review from Andrew Graham. Andrew is a great fan of dry rieslings and although we have had a few other people in the industry informally taste it, his review is the first "written" one. Here are some excerpts from it but you can visit Andrew's wine blog at http://www.ozwinereview.com/2008/10/karra-yerta-riesling-2008.html

Sunday, October 26, 2008
Karra Yerta Riesling 2008 (Eden Valley, SA)
Screwcap, not yet released but 2007 vintage is $25

The picture below tells the story here - those lovely, gnarled, 75 yr old Riesling vines are located in one of the highest vineyards in the Flaxmans Valley, sitting high above the Barossa floor in an epicentre for Riesling in Australia: The Eden Valley. Hand tended, dry grown, hand picked (even hand labelled), its these pieces of vinous history that are what makes this very fine Riesling so very fine.

I have come to two conclusions with this wine; Firstly, only 80 dozen were produced, and if the price stays the same, it may not last long (order it here); Secondly, I actually think this may never be more attractive - its so beautiful now that whilst the backbone will carry it through for many years yet, I think it deserves to be drunk young & delicious. 18.8(/20)

For any enquiries on this wine please email me at karrayertawines@gmail.com and I will place you on the mailing list so that as soon as it is available, I can let you know.