The label’s always bothered me and the wine’s never grabbed me – until now. There’s great value in this refreshing southern French rosé (Languedoc shiraz), holding attractive freshness in October 2011. Pomegranate, watermelon and guava with a softly textured structure and almost dry finish. There’s nothing arrogant about this frog, especially at $9.50 at Dan’s.
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A bargain find that I unearthed while judging the Geographe show, this restrained, pure and fruit-focused wine is all about violet and rose petal aromas and a spicy red pepper palate with fine tannin presence. There’s not much in the carpentry department, making for a vibrant and fruity quaffer.
readLarry Cherubino has conjured four refreshing Great Southern rieslings this year, and this is the one that’s price for the masses. A well-gauged lick of sweetness makes it the most approachable of all, while still learning from the crunchy apple and pear and zesty lime tricks of its big sisters. $16 at Dan’s.
readA brilliant vintage for Riebke, ranking among the very best. This is signature Kym Teusner, capturing the plush but poised and consummately balanced glory of northern Barossa shiraz, in all of its rich plum, black cherry and rhubarb depth but – crucially – with vibrant, lifted violet freshness. $18 at Cracka, Kemeny’s and Nick’s.
readThe full-throttle concentration and intensity of seventy-year-old Eden Valley shiraz vines is on parade here, layered with deep black plums, black pastilles, liquorice, dark choc oak and even a slice of Barossa mettwurst. A creamy bead, fine, supple tannins and slightly sweet finish make for brilliant value. $18 at WineStar.
readHand-delivered to my door direct from the cool reaches of the Adelaide Hills this week, The Lane has nailed a tough season with a gorgeously perfumed and beautifully textured gris with the calm control to partner sushi and sashimi perfectly. A refined assemblage of apple, pear, lemon blossom and a hint of vanilla. $20 at […]
readThe hundred-year-old vines on the Hunter Valley Distillery vineyard consistently produce one of the region’s finest and best value single vineyard semillons. Five years out of the tank and it’s still an electric green and zapped with crunchy lemons and limes. Faint hints of lanolin are only beginning to appear around the edges. $25 at […]
readThe speedometer on the back label puts it a notch off bone-dry, but such is the shard of razor-edged acidity that slices through its core that any suggestion of sweetness is completely obliterated. Its searing, metallic structure promises wonderful things well into the next decade.
readWith a beautifully pure rose petal and red cherry fragrance and a firm silky tannin backbone, there is an interplay here reminiscent of the ethereal highlights of Chambolle-Musigny. Nuances of cherry kernel linger through an elegantly restrained palate of lingering strawberry fruits and subtle herbal complexity. $37 at myCellars.
readShock: Teusner’s finest wine this year is not mataro, grenache or shiraz, nor does it hail from the Barossa Valley. His brand new cabernet from the lofty heights of the border of High Eden is gorgeously fragrant and exactingly varietal. Charged with cool natural acidity, it’s vibrant with violets, cassis, red- and blackcurrants, capsicum and […]
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