STAND ALONES: GODOLPHIN 2004

From heavy hitters, through smooth operators, to "rock stars", there are some unusual wines carving out a distinctive place in a crowded market.  Try them and marvel at their uniqueness.

Godolphin: More should be made of a wine like this.  It uses exceptional-quality grapes massaged in an exceptionally intelligent way for a result that is rich, pure, warm and interesting - something that can't always be said of the bruising Barossan wines of the past.

Turns out, though, that Ben Glaetzer  - the son of Colin Glaetzer, and the nephew of John Glaetzer, both Barossan winemaking legends - has never been a fan of what for some time seemed like the typical Barossan red wine.  "I hate those big, over-oaked styles, and I've never liked them and have never wanted to drink them," he says.  "Wine to me is all about the integrity of vineyards, and its not about big, heavy oak."

The Godolphin is a wine reminiscent of a healthy vineyard at the peak of its powers.  It's like grabbing a bunch of heavily ripe cabernet and shiraz grapes straight from the vine, crushing them in your hands and drinking the juice - it tastes that pure and natural, and is that quaffable.  "I want people to be able to sit down and drink it," Glaetzer says, referring to the fact that he wants this 2004 Godolphin Cabernet Shiraz to cellar well but also to be highly drinkable from day one.  "Its interesting," he adds.  "I've shown these wines to a lot of people in a lot of countries, and people seem to like them equally in Europe as they do in Australia or the US.  People even say to us that they think our wine is elegant, which I think is great."

For all easy-drinking substance of the wine, there's nothing off-hand about the way its made.  The cabernet sauvignon part of this blend (70 per cent) was rested on its skins for three months (usually this is limited to just a few weeks for cabernet), and even went through malolactic fermentation while still in contact with them.  It spent 18 months in mostly French oak and was bottled unfiltered, so the cabernet lefts right out of the nose, all floral and violets and dusty, while the shiraz (of course) also makes its profoundly ripe, smooth, plummy presence felt.  Flavours of smoke, five-spice, blond tobacco and cavorts of dry currants all add to what is a quite exceptional show.

Considering the number of overachieving wines Ben makes - Glaetzer Wines, Amon-ra, Heartland....- the following statement shouldn't be taken lightly.  Of the 2004 Godolphin, he says, "In terms of knowing what I wanted to achieve, and then producing it, this is probably the best wine that I've made."

It should also be pointed out that when he served me the 2004 Godolphin, and told me its price, he said: "Whether you actually see it sold for that price is another matter."  In today's wine retail environment, this usually means that the price is likely to have the guts discounted out of it.  But having done a quick recce, in this case it's more the other way around...on it's quality, the market is speaking."