July Top 4.

While I haven't posted in the last month or so, I thought I would maintain my reviews for my top 4 in the previous month. I am currently chipping away at posts about the wine auction process, enjoyment enhancing products and a few others that I will try and finish in the coming months. Uni comes first.

So July was a month of whites for me. Mainly owing to a thoroughly overly indulgent night in June that saw my wife and I need a break from red for a few weeks. 2 rieslings, one from the 2012 Canberra vintage, one a slightly off-dry style, one vintage champagne and, of course, a medium-term aged semillon.

Nick O'Leary Canberra District Riesling 2012 ($25) - Purchased at Jim Murphy Airport Cellar in Canberra

Nick O'Leary's wines have gained a cult following in Canberra in recent years. His shiraz is one of the most consistent in the region, and his riesling is growing a reputation to rival the heavyweights of Helm and Clonakilla. His 2011 was the wine that 'got me into' riesling.

Ken Helm described the 2012 vintage as 'the vintage of my lifetime', however a large portion of the crop was destroyed in a hailstorm just prior to picking. This would mean that the quality is exceptionally high, but the volume is down. I would be buying up as much 2012 Canberra riesling as I could them.

So, the Nick O'Leary. It starts in the glass as pale and greenish-tinged. The nose is quite expressive for a wine that has spent a short few months in the bottle - limey, with a distinct hit of apple-blossom. The palate is possibly the most instense and explosive I have yet encountered in a young riesling. The concentration is electric, it virtually fizzes on the tongue with it's minerality, and the citrus fruit is mouth-puckering - in a very good way. Flavours of lemon, stone, Granny Smith all combine to balance out a strong acidity, and carry through with incredible length. 96 points.

Duperrey Vintage Reserve Brut 2005 ($50) - Only available form the Woolworths Group (Woolworth's, Safeway, Dan Murphy's)

My wife purchased this for my birthday, a nice vintage champagne to kick off the celebrations. Before opening I did some research, as I had not ever tasted any Duperrey before. This wine is made in partnership with the Woolworths Group to deliver a more affordable vintage style champagne (more affordable than say, $165 for a Billecart-Salmon Nicolas Francois) to the Australian market. 2005 by all reports was a variable vintage, offering success to some, and disaster to others.

The Duperrey had a lovely, fine bead, and not showing too much colour at this stage. The palate too was still lively and youthful, the predominant flavours being pears, apples and brioche, but with the subtle underlay of dried fruit and toast that signify its development. Would be very insterested to try this again in 5-10 years. 94 points.

McWilliams Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2006 ($19) - Purchased from Costco, progressively available in all good bottle shops.

Elizabeth is a sentimental favourite of mine. I jumped on this one when it was released, as the 06 vintage has been heralded by some (including Bruce Tyrrell) to be superior to the fabled 05 vintage that preceded it. The 05 Elizabeth was a cracking aged sem, still with a few years in it, but displaying all the hallmarks of proper semillon development.

The 06 was confusing at first. Starting to turn into a deeper, more golden colour (it was further along than I expected), the nose displayed a predominant aged profile, toast and honey already taken over from lemon. Given the wine is 6 years old, this was slightly concerning, and could be an indicator of a bad bottle or a folly in the ageing process. The fears were allayed upon tasting however - primary fruit still in tact, but balanced nicely with the honey and buttered toast expected, and still a nice dose of acidity for good measure.

Developing more quickly than the 05 for mine, but this isn't a real concern. Buy up and drink now. 93 points.

Best's Great Western Riesling 2011 ($28) - Available at all good retailers

A wine I had wanted to try for some time. Opinion was split for all I had read, seeing ratings as high as 97 and as low as 88 from well respected reviewers.

First impressions were that the acidity was a bit overpowering, and I was leaning much more towards the 88. A well-advised second sip, however revealed an underlying sweetness that balanced the acidity out nicely. Flavours of lime and other green acidic fruits were dominant, and the small degree of sweetness made for a refreshing and pleasing wine. 93 points.