This youthful, compact wine requires a lengthy decant now, or better yet, a few years in the bottle. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon is joined with 13% Malbec and two% Petit Verdot before one year in French oak (13% new). Savoury and brooding, with dusky cherry, blackcurrant, anise, pipe tobacco, dark chocolate and a slick of mint on the full-bodied palate. Tannins are sticky and the end is warm and cedar lined; this structural, tightly knit wine needs time to mature, or a pairing with lamb or beef now.
We don’t see many Shiraz from Western Australia in our market so this is really worth trying, especially at the price. Dense purple-ruby in colour, it offers a cedary, spicy nose of white pepper and blackberries. Full-bodied, firmly structured with fruity blackberry and blackcurrant flavours carried on lively acidity, it’s somewhat high in alcohol (14.7%) with a tight tannic finish. Excellent value.
This is a Ripasso-style wine that’s re-fermented over the skins of the Nugan Alfredo dried grapes to give it complexity and texture. Look for dark cherry/kirsch, brambly raspberry, cassis, cocoa and spice on the nose. It’s quite rich and expressive on the palate with a range of red/dark fruits, earth spice and a smooth finish.
Salted anise, black cherry, raspberry, downy peppercorn fills this Willunga, McLaren Vale Grenache. Tannins are a bit mossy and the finish is brisk and snappy. After destemming, this was fermented cool and long before pressing to older French oak barriques where it chilled out until a touch of sulphur prior to bottling. Though the grape, and region, has a proclivity to sunripeness, this bigger wine remains fresh, though not so spritely at 14.3%. Chill down, grill up some salmon burgers and you're set.
Tropical fruit and floral note on the nose develop on the palate as yellow tropical and citrus fruit with a touch of grapefruit. Finishes with crisp acidity and a light buttery note. Ever reliable and excellent value.
Named for grower Jeff Gower, this is a Lenswood Pinot Noir, flush with black plum, dusky cherry, wild blackberry, with wild mushrooms, big flake salts on a juicy, muscular, frame. Root beer scoots throughout, as does a cola note, right up to the spicy finish. Hard to call this Pinot fleshy at 12.8%, but tasted next to the skinny Skin n' Bones, that visual comes to mind. Youthful, with presence, finesse and longevity. Clones 117, 114, 115 were 90% whole bunch pressed and spent 1 month on skins before resting in Vosges-sourced oak (1/4 new).
Clear, the colour of dark cherry cola. Medium-intensity nose of dark berries and vanilla oak. Robust black cherry on the palate, barely restrained by sturdy tannins and healthy acidity. Will improve with another 1-2 years.