By Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr

We  met the affable Chris Hatcher of  Australia’s Wolf Blass Wines several years ago, so we were pleased to have the opportunity to see him again recently.

Chris is chief winemaker for Wolf Blass and has held this esteemed position since 1997. Wolf Blass sources grapes from all over the South Australia region, bringing the harvested grapes to their new state of the art winery in Barossa for vinification.

The labels for Wolf Blass wines are color coded, ranging in ascending order of quality from yellow to gold, grey, black and ultimately platinum. Chris admitted that most wine consumers outside of Australia aren’t familiar with Australian wine regions, and find the colored labels are helpful in identifying their favorite wines.

All Wolf Blass bottles are closed with screw caps, eliminating the potential of TCA contamination from the cork, and certainly making opening easier. We agreed with Chris that the public is rapidly accepting this new closure, as acceptable even for premium wines.

We asked Chris his thoughts about the future, and two related topics involved the potential issue of global warming or climate change. Wolf Blass is trying to quantify the “carbon units” used to make their wines, and find ways to lessen their carbon footprint through possible innovations in areas such as packaging. In addition, Chris mentioned that Wolf Blass is investigating cooler Tasmania as a potentially desirable area to grow grapes as their region of Australia potentially grows warmer.

Following are the tasting notes of our favorites of the tasting:

Wolf Blass Gold Label Riesling Edna Valley 2007 ($16.50). This riesling is another one that is helping us to finally “get this varietal”. A bit of petrol in the nose with a whiff of peach. In the mouth, it is bone dry with citrus notes with a lovely minerality. Chris commented that this riesling “would be awesome with fresh seafood on a summer day” We agreed.

Wolf Blass Gold Label Shiraz Barossa 2006 ($22.50). Nice berry nose with a hint of mocha. Deep dark fruit flavors of blueberries and a bit of mocha that developed in the glass. A very balanced wine, with firm tannins, that cries for a piece of red meat.

Wolf Blass Grey Label Cabernet Sauvignon Langhorne Creek 2006 ($34). A very interesting nose of berries and eucalyptus. A bold fruit structure, with berries and mint in the mouth, and firm tannins. Chris told us that the eucalyptus/mint characteristic comes from the specific clonal selection of this vineyard.

Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz /Malbec 2004 ($75). This is a very fine wine that is made up of 58 percent cabernet sauvignon, 33 percent shiraz, and 9 percent malbec. This wine exhibits a complex nose of berries, cherries, coffee and mint. Black currant flavors, with a bit of oak. Complex and delicious. We asked Chris about the contribution of the malbec to the blend and he said “it added a presence, structure, and mouth feel to the wine. A terrific wine!”

Wine picks

MacRostie Wildcat Mountain Vineyards Syrah 2004 ($34). This Sonoma Coast syrah has gobs of blueberry and mocha flavors with hints of classic black pepper and a fainting trace of licorice.

MacRostie Wildcat Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 ($35). Superb varietal aromas of black cherries and cranberries followed by rich black cherry and chocolate flavors with good oak and a long finish.

Girard Napa Valley Artistry 2005 ($40). We have always like this meritage year to year. It is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (54 percent), cabernet franc, petite verdot, malbec and merlot.  Layered fruit flavors, floral in the nose, rich in texture and packed with dense cherry, plum, and allspice flavors.

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2005 ($35). Penfolds makes some of the most consistent, generously fruit blends in Australia. The Bin 389 is a reliable blend that delivers oodles of bright fruit that aim to please the palate. Broad berry flavor with ripe figs and plum notes, soft tannins and good length.

Penfolds Coonawarra Bin 128 Shiraz 2005 ($25). This great value in shiraz offers good dimension and depth for the price. Rich black berry and plum flavofrs with black olive and licorice notes.

MacMurray Ranch Pinot Gris Sonoma Coast 2006 ($20). We’ve enjoyed this delicious white wine in the past and this is another winner. The nose is peaches and melon. Very rich and round in the mouth with white cherries, and honey dew melon flavors. Drank with sautéed scallops in a wine butter sauce.

Clos du Bois Merlot: Recently we sampled both the regular Merlot Sonoma County 2004 ($18) and the Merlot Reserve Alexander Valley 2004 ($24). We enjoyed the always reliable and tasty regular bottling, but were seriously impressed with the reserve version. The reserve offered a berry, chocolate nose, with flavors of cherries, berries, and some exotic spices, and a whiff of cocoa in the finish. The extra 6 bucks for the reserve is definitely worth it.

Oak Knoll Pinot Gris Willamette Valley Oregon 2006 ($14). Citrus and pears with a bit of grass in the nose. Ripe peach, pear and melon flavors with a hint of sweetness, and a nice round mouth feel. Great just by itself.

Trerose Vino di Montepulciano 2004 ($23). A interesting blend of 90 percent prugnolo (a synonym for sangiovese), 5 percent canaiolo, and 5 percent cabernet sauvignon. A beautiful mélange of licorice, violets, red currants and cherries in the nose. Good acidity with cherries and plums in the mouth. Smooth mouth friendly tannins.