Drinking the Hoddles Creek Pinot Noir right now and I thought it would be past it but it’s far from it. Most $20 Pinot at six years of age is on a downward slide but this still has plenty of fruit flavour left and subtle, soft secondary development. I’m really impressed as I thought I had left this too long.

Balgownie Estate and Coldstream Hills

If you’re after a similar Yarra Valley Pinot experience we have the 2007 Balgownie Estate Yarra Valley Pinot Noir at $22.99 and the 2008 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir at $29.99. Both highly recommended wines and the Coldstream Hills will keep for at least as long as the Hoddles Creek mentioned above.

In general I find most Aussie Pinot Noir at this price point are wines to be drunk within the first five years of their lives. These wines mentioned can certainly be stretched though if they are carefully cellared.

David Webster

What cellar would be complete without Vintage Champagne for special occasions. Non Vintage Champagne is a blend of various vintages and is released with bottle age and ready to drink. In the very best years Champagne releases ‘Vintage’ wines from that specific vintage and these wines will keep and do improve. A few bottles are great to create special memories.

Cellaring suggestion # 10:

Duval Leroy Fleur de Champagne Brut

Bruno Paillard Brut Premier Cuvee MV

Dom Perignon Vintage 2000

It helps to have accurate drinking windows for you cellared wines. Drinking windows mean the time span within which a wine will be drinking at its peak. You don’t want to go to all the trouble of cellaring a wine only to leave it too long and for it to dry out or spoil. Testing a bottle every so often is a good way to gauge its development but there is good cellaring software available that can give you accurate time frames for drinking wines as well. Try www.uncorked.com.au

Cellaring suggestion #9:

Rhone white blends: The Rhone valley produces some exquisite white wines from grape varieties such as Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier. Generally these are blends and are quite rich and flavoursome. The best examples cellar well but I advise to keep them for just a couple for the best results. These blends also come from South Australia.

Spinifex ‘Lola’ – Barossa

Murray Street Vineyards Viognier Marsanne – Barossa

Massena ‘Surly Muse’ Viognier – Barossa.

It’s not only the expensive wines that should be cellared. There’s plenty of cheaper wine that will improve with a few years bottle age. Whole cases of high quality cheaper wine makes for decadent drinking in a few short years and balances out the cellar.

Cellaring suggestion # 8:

Tempranillo: Australia is experimenting with new grape varieties from Italy and Spain that are more attuned to our hot climate such as Tempranillo. This variety has already proven itself in Western Australia, the Hunter Valley and parts of Victoria. It’s a gutsy and fruity wine with a dry spicy finish perfect for a barbeque but it will also cellar well for a few years. Try some Spanish Tempranillo from Rioja to see what it’s capable of.

Willow Bridge Estate ‘Solana’ – Margaret River

Navarro Lopez ‘Tierracalar’ Tempranillo – La Mancha Spain

Lanzaga – Rioja Spain

It’s extremely important for any wine storage area to be cool and dark. Avoiding temperature fluctuations is critical as well as excessive handling of the wine. Avoid buying wine from second hand sources unless you can ascertain know how the wine has been stored, handled and transported (I’ve been burned too many times). Worn looking bottles are a sure sign of either too much handling or questionable cellaring.

Cellaring suggestion# 7:

Chardonnay: The best Chardonnay is undoubtedly French Burgundy but the best can be frightfully expensive. By contrast there’s plenty of high quality Australian Chardonnay at a fraction of the price. Look for wines from Margaret River, Tumbarumba, Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills, Hunter Valley, Tasmania and Gisborne in NZ. Here are some exciting examples we’ve had recently.

Hay Shed Hill – Margaret River

Chalker’s Crossing – Tumbarumba

Mahi – Malrborough NZ

I opened a 2002 Kangarilla Road Zinfandel the other night hoping that the cork had held up and I wasn’t disappointed. The wine in good condition it sung the praises of a kind vintage and is a good indicator of how well this variety holds up over time from this producer. Not that I would suggest keeping it forever. This bottle was right in the slot and would hold for another few years but I don’t see it improving further.  A very rich wine it even trumps McLaren Vale Shiraz in the grunt stakes. Dark berry fruit, spices and hints of fruit cake. There is a savoury element to it though that allows it to partner with food quite nicely, albeit quite rich dishes.

After enjoying this wine we have some Kangarilla Road Primitivo in stock that I will be revisiting. I remember it being a much more savoury proposition and somewhat lighter in structure. Two very different takes on the same variety. Nice work.

I have been the victim of marketing hype as much as the next person and I’ve bought wine for the cellar plenty of times on the basis of a good review only to find out years later that I don’t like the wine. Try to taste the wine before you buy if you can. We offer plenty of tastings to do just that or you can crack a bottle out of a dozen before carefully placing the remainder in the cellar.

Cellar Suggestion # 6

SHIRAZ & BLENDS: Australia makes so many examples of Shiraz and makes them extremely well. They differ vastly in style from cool climate spicy wines to full bodied sweet and rich. Put a cross section in the cellar to cover the full spectrum. Try Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz for a spicy cool climate wine and Turkey Flat Shiraz for a richer Barossa number.

Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz – Hilltops NSW

Turkey Flat Shiraz – Barossa Valley

Eden Road Eden Valley Shiraz – Eden Valley

buy varietals from the right regions

The Europeans long ago decided which varieties grow best in which regions and are now generally limited by law to do so. We are still working it out but strong trends have emerged and you can be pretty sure of the leading lights from each wine region if you just ask. Stick to the tried and tested for the best cellaring results.

Cellar Suggestion # 5

SEMILLON: The Hunter Valley is regarded as the best region in the world to grow Semillon. It ages too which makes it a great investment for the cellar and so cheap you can put it down by the case.

My preference is for Semillon at 7 years of age when it still retains enough acidity but has also developed secondary honeyed characters. I am cellaring these 2009 Semillons for myself.

Thomas Braemore – Hunter Valley

Meerea Park Hell Hole – Hunter Valley

Tyrrell’s Stevens Vineyard – Hunter Valley

buy from different countries

We Aussie’s are a parochial bunch and we certainly produce enough good wine to never have to look abroad but to do so is to ignore a whole world of wine. Balance your purchases with some benchmark wines from countries that have been making wine for a whole lot longer than us.

Cellar Suggestion # 4:

GRENACHE BLENDS The Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale have great stocks of old vine Grenache that produces amazingly concentrated wines of depth and character. When blended with Shiraz and Mourvedre they deliver flavour in bucket loads.

To try the original Grenache blends try “Cotes du Rhone” from the Rhone Valley in France. Also try wines from Rioja Spain. Here are three great suggestions to start your Grenache stocks.

Spinifex Papillon – Barossa Valley SA

Domaine Lafond Cotes Du Rhone – Rhone Valley France

Santa Cruz De Artazuri Garnacha – Rioja Spain