Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front - Winter 2019

It is with great pleasure that we share recent wine reviews from the highly respected Australian wine writer Campbell Mattinson. Campbell is the Editor/Publisher of The Wine Front and the former Editor of James Halliday’s Wine Companion magazine.

McHenry Hohnen BDX 2017
Margaret River blend of malbec, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Vines planted in 1999. Which remarkably enough is 20 years ago. Time flies. The rewards of the late 1990s planting boom are now to be reaped. $38 for this kind of quality is impressive. This is a beautiful wine for the cellar. It’s pushed with fruit, rocked with tannin, alive with woodsmoke and cloves. Savouriness is not forgotten, fruit is the driver, tannin is in control. I’m pretty certain that in 5-7 years I’ll rate this higher. For now it’s firmly in the Buy column.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 14.2%
Price : $38
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2023 - 2032+
 

McHenry Hohnen Hazel’s Vineyard Grenache Syrah Mataro 2018
I tasted this in circumstances where I had to cut and run but I’d have whipped it away to the dining table if I’d had half a chance. Love the style of this wine. Most (black) peppery, most clovey, lots of nuts and roasted goodness, but also fresh, well-ripened, silken berried fruit and a fine-grained spread of tannin to boot. Perfectly balanced, littered with woodsy spice notes, the epitome of finesse all round.

Rated : 94 Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 14.2%
Price : $38
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2019 - 2027+
 

McHenry Hohnen Laterite Hills Chardonnay 2018
It’s grown on three vineyards just south of the Margaret River township. All are grown either organically or biodynamically. All fermented wild, matured in 25% new oak and left unsulphured for six or so months.

Flinty style with lashes of mineral, toast, nougat, grapefruit, bran and nectarine. The intensity is such that the word piercing springs to mind; the struck match characters are such that they hold their own in the face of the charge. It tries so hard to mount a compelling case for itself.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 13.3%
Price : $38
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2020 - 2025+
 

McHenry Hohnen Burnside Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Sauvignon blanc vines planted in 1981. Dry grown. Fermented wild on skins in concrete vats. You could easily argue that there’s too much oak flavour here but the fruit has excellent intensity and texture, well, say no more. Toast, lemongrass, cedarwood, smoke and pulpy passionfruit flavour tear impressively through the palate. Taut finish. A wine of serious intentions.

Rated : 93+ Points
Tasted : Aug19
Alcohol : 13%
Price : $28
Closure : Screwcap