Aussie pinot noir moves up the tasting curve

The popularity of red wines from Australia, particularly shiraz and blends with cabernet sauvignon and merlot, has encouraged the increased marketing of pinot noirs from down under.

Quality of the Australian pinots does not match that of the shiraz wines, but the production of pinot noir, a tough grape to grow, has improved in recent years.

The wine-tasting group compared four pinot noirs with widely varying prices in a blind tasting. Here is what we found:

- 2000 Nepenthe Pinot Noir at $29.99. This wine had firm, meaty aromas mixed with hints of Coca-Cola, raisins and pepper -- not the typical leather and cherries you would expect from a pinot noir. In the mouth, it had a rich texture, with tastes of ripe fruit, especially prunes.

- 2001 Wyndham Estate Bin 333 Pinot Noir at $9.99. We found cherries, menthol and pleasant burned fruit in the aroma. The body was thin and the finish was short, especially compared to the more expensive wines in this tasting.

- 2000 Seville Estate Pinot Noir at $24.99. This wine had the earthy, leathery aroma we would expect in a pinot noir, along with sour cherries. While the aroma was typical of a pinot noir, the texture was not. It had some tannins (the chemicals in grapes that can give wine structure but make the mouth pucker) that we did not expect. The finish had an herbaceous quality to it, reminding us of dill weed. The Seville Estate finished first in our tasting.

- 2001 Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir at $18.99. This wine had a pleasant aroma of cedar and sweet fruit with hints of iodine. On the palate, the first impression was fruit, but that gave way to floral notes and leather on the finish. The Coldstream Hills finished second.

Once a year the wine group has ventured into the world of single malt Scotch, comparing the wide variety of tastes offered by this spirit.

I tend to put one small ice cube in my malt, finding that a little bit of water from the cube can open the whisky's flavor.

The tasting group sampled four single malts and compared them for body, taste and drinkability. Here is what we found:

- Macallan 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch at $55.99. This malt from Scotland's Highlands had a light aroma of caramel and orange. On the palate, the texture was viscous but very easy to drink. It did not have the searing heat from the alcohol that some malts do. By a single vote, this was the group's favorite.

- Glenfarclas 12 Year Old Single Highland Malt Scotch at $47.95. This whisky had an unusual aroma of bananas, and the impression of alcohol was much stronger. From the Speyside region, it had a distinctive creamy texture, but it was still somewhat angular (a tasting term that means the opposite of soft and supple).

- Deanston 12 Year Old Single Highland Malt Scotch at $31.99. This malt had a lighter, salty aroma along with orange peel and tropical fruit. The briny character continued to the palate, where we found a creamy texture. The heat from the alcohol was more than the Macallan but less than the Glenfarclas.

- Balvenie 12 Year Old Double Wood Single Malt Scotch at $46.99. This Speyside whisky had a much different aroma from the others, more smoky with notes of vanilla and lilacs. In the mouth, the alcohol character was in the middle range, like the Deanston. The flavor had a sweet floral component. The Balvenie finished a close second.

Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203 or e-mailed to editor