Pikes 2010 Traditionale Riesling

 As remarked elsewhere, if the call from Pikes just after we'd returned to base from points south had been offering something other than the Traditionale Riesling (RRP $23) and the Eastside Shiraz ($25) for an effective $18 a bottle freight free, I may well have been issuing a polite not this time, thanks.

After all, I've subsequently ignored an offer of a reasonable Clare Valley red, marked down from $22 to $10 a bottle (plus freight) and my response to another offer from Margaret River will be tempered by what happens when I encounter a couple of acquaintances later this morning. Possibly two dozen, possibly four, possibly more

On the other hand when Pikes called I knew I was light on for everyday drinking Riesling, and I need at least one bottle every week…

Pikes 2010 Traditionale Riesling (4.5* $23) There's a pale green tinge to the straw in the glass and, as with the 2009 the traditional Clare Valley citrus on the nose along with some apples and stone fruit, lemons and slate on the palate, with a balanced acidity that palate, balanced style that suggests medium-term cellaring, though I expect I'll be looking to restock with this one or something similar by early August. Halliday, incidentally, gave it 94. At $18 on special, that's good buying and has me wishing I'd grabbed a bit more at the price.

Pikes 2009 Luccio Pinot Grigio

I've been watching the to-ing and fro-ing in the media about alternative grape varieties for a while now, and while I don't have the tasting background to contribute to those conversation about those varieties in their European contexts I'm always looking for something interesting to try.

I may be wrong, but it seems we're looking at an on-going evolution in Australian wine, and there's no way that process is going to grind to a halt any time soon if, indeed, it reaches a conclusion at all.

It also seems fairly obvious that most of the initial plantings were selected from a very small subset of the classic French varieties with a bit of Riesling thrown in, presumably because the German settlers in the Barossa brought it with them.

That's simplifying things, but we're talking about an industry that for years labelled bottles as Claret, Burgundy, Hock and Moselle, so it's fairly obvious that under those circumstances you're going to be using the grapes that traditionally go into those names in their European setting, or, more specifically, the ones that you can get to grow in Australian conditions.

Which means, of course, that you probably wouldn't have been seeing too much Pinot Noir going into something labelled Burgundy.

The growth of the Australian wine industry over the past forty years has, equally predictably, been based on increasing varietal labelling using those standard varietals with new regions and varieties being thrown into the mix as someone gets a bee in their bonnet or a bright idea.

Expanding into cool climate areas offers opportunities to try things that didn't work in more traditional areas, and whether you agree with notions of climate change you'd have to admit that there's a fair chunk of the Australian viticultural landscape that's closer to southern Italy and Sicily than it is to Champagne, Burgundy or the Rhine Valley, so it would seem to make sense to be experimenting with varieties that grow well in those conditions regardless of global warming issues.

While Pinot Gris/Grigio is a cooler climate varietal, and some of those considerations might not seem to apply it has been one of the notable beneficiaries of recent diversification.

It's also obvious why we've tended to go for other varieties along the way since it doesn't quite reach the same heights as Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon or, more recently, Sauvignon Blanc. At the same time, when you're looking for something that's relatively low in terms of alcohol/volume, and easy food friendly drinking you can't go far wrong with something along the lines of...

Pikes 2009 Luccio Pinot Grigio (4.5* $17) Previously Pinot Grigio Blend, with substantial assistance from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, this 100% Pinot Grigio looked attractive in the glass, and that impression carried across the nose, with evident pears and tropical fruits and the palate, which delivered restrained varietal character. Food-friendly style that's one to bear in mind next time around. Sure, it's not top notch highly memorable five star drinking but there's definitely a spot for something along these lines in the fridge over summer.

Pikes 2008 Eastside Shiraz

Under different circumstances I may well have delivered a polite refusal when the nice people from Pikes called at the end of the week that saw us back at base and contemplating kitchen conversions.

Having arrived home on Tuesday afternoon the unpacking and getting things sorted factor got us through Wednesday and well into Thursday, and there was plenty of catching up to do, so checking wine stocks and looking at reorders was hardly the highest priority.

I knew there was a box coming from Helm, there would be half dozens from Hay Shed Hill, Baileys and Brook Eden in the pipeline between mid-May and the new financial year, and I'd be looking at mixed boxes from Lerida Estate, Lark Hill and Clonakilla over the next month or two. I really need to get something from Cullen in Margaret River as well, so you might think that there wouldn't have been much room for anything else along the way.

I hadn't actually got to the monitoring stock levels side of things, but I couldn't help the sneaking suspicion that we were light on for wine at the everyday drinking end of the spectrum, things that slot in between the el cheapo Tahbilk Everyday Drinking bottles left over after we've resupplied The Barra and the mid- to high-twenties that aren't quite your everyday quaffers but deserve something better than Hughesy's regular curry and pasta staples.

There's still a reluctance to open a really good bottle with the chilli con carne…

And if the call from Pikes had been offering something other than the Traditionale Riesling (RRP $23) and the Eastside Shiraz ($25) for an effective $18 a bottle freight free, I may well have been issuing a polite not this time, thanks.

On the other hand I knew I was light on for everyday drinking Riesling, and I need at least one bottle every week…

The Shiraz would, I reckoned, be handy along the way as well, particularly when the new oven's ability to deliver roasts and pizza was factored in.

In any case, the dozen took a good two and a half weeks to arrive, and if I'd known that I may well have gone to Tahbilk to meet the perceived requirements.

Pikes 2008 Eastside Shiraz (4* $25) Plums and berries on the nose with a touch of peppery spice thrown in for good measure, plenty of fruit and smooth chocolaty tannins across the palate. Very enjoyable  drinking, though I'm not sure I'd be queueing up for a resupply.

Pikes 2009 The Assemblage Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache

Anyone who has spent close to forty years following the evolution of the Australian wine industry has probably lost count of the trends and fads that have, predictably, come and gone.

Some, like the Ben Ean bubble are probably best described as necessary steps in the evolutionary process (the discovery that, yes, you can drink table wine, followed buy there's got to be something better than this. Mateus Rose, anyone?).

Others, including the Fume Blanc phenomenon and the great Rougolais debacle  are probably best described as well intentioned but ultimately fruitless sidetracks, while others (the discovery that, yes, you can do something with Sauvignon Blanc rather than turn it into Fume) are probably destined to be with us for a while.

Which will hopefully be the case with the current investigation of alternative alternative varieties, the rediscovery of Grenache and Mourvedre and the rising interest in Rhone-style blends like this little number.

Pikes 2009 The Assemblage Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache (4.5* $22) SMG rather than GSM, but very much in the same flavour profile. Medium bodied, brightly coloured, fruit- rather than oak-driven. Soft, savoury food-friendly style with a touch of elegance that is definite reorder material.

Pikes 2009 Gills Farm Mourvedre

While a box of cleanskin Clare Hills Riesling for $40, a case of Sangiovese Blend for $10/bottle and a six pack of Red Mullet Blend for $56 were automatic purchases (i'd figured I'd be able to split the first two fifty-fifty with someone or other, but that didn't quite happen) there was no way I was going to forego the chance to try the new release wines mentioned in the same email.

The 2009 Gill's Farm Mourvedre was the first one I tried out of the extra box, and, as can be seen below, I was impressed.

Pikes 2009 Gills Farm Mourvedre (4.5* $22) Savoury herb and spice characters through the nose and across the palate, a little violet and blackberry combining to produce a very easy drinking food friendly style. There'll be the odd bottle thrown into the next order.