McLaren Vale Wine – Kay Brothers Amery Vineyards

10 07 2010

Kay Brothers Amery Vineyards Road Sign

Kay Brothers Amery Vineyards is one of the original vineyards of the McLaren Vale region.  First plantings were in 1859 with the Kay Brothers purchasing the property in 1890.  The current winemaker, Colin Kay, is third generation family winemaker.  The winery is well know for it’s flagship red wine – the Block 6 Shiraz.  The old vines for this wine produce such small amounts that you can only purchase the wine from the winery if you are a wine club member and commit to purchasing 6 other wines.    The wine club is worth signing up for as you get discounts on the wine (available from the time you join ie if you join at the cellar door then you can get the discount straight away).

Kay Brothers Gardens & Surrounds

The cellar door has a a wonderful view of the vineyard covered valley running down from the winery.  There are old vineyard equipment examples and picnic tables around the large grassed areas – perfect for kids to safely run around.  I have been to the cellar door on  may occasions and there is definitely a sense of old world and a smiling face to greet you.  If you have not been there yet it is one that you should visit.

The cellar door is open 9 – 5 on weekdays and 12 – 5 on weekends and public holidays.  Their new web site is at www.kaybrothersamerywines.com

Kay Brothers Cellar Door

2008 Eden Valley Riesling ($A22)

Not what I was expecting to see an Eden Valley Riesling here in McLaren Vale.  The fruit came from 60 year old vines and produces a wine full with lemons and limes with some apples and the usual flintyness that one expects from Eden Valley Riesling.  The wine was just starting to show some aged characters on the nose, so I expect this wine will soon be transitioning from the fruit driven youthfulness to kerosene nuances of older Riesling.  The crisp acid finish is just begging to be consumed with freshly cooked but cold shellfish.

2008 Amery Vineyards Viognier ($A22)

The nose on this wine was closed, however the flavors had pears and nectarines and quite a lengthy finish.  These flavors were unusual for a Viognier, but there was no real interest for me to purchase this wine – so a pass for me.

2010 Amery Vineyards Viognier ($A22)

Even before I got the glass up to my nose I could get some significant aromas of passionfruit and other tropical fruits with a hint of grassyness.  The flavors just kept on going with the same theme with lots of good acid.  A marked step up from the previous wine (note that there was no Viognier made in 2009 due to the heat wave conditions).  This would go well with many different Asian foods – how about an old favorite Thai Green Chicken Curry.

Amery Vineyards

2005 Amery Vineyards Merlot (A$22)

Another unusual offering.  This Merlot sparked my interest.  The aromas had the usual plum, but there was rhubarb and a hint of peppermint as well.  The flavors had cherries and mulberries with quite pleasant layers of tannin that drew you into a slightly bitter finish.  One of the more interesting Merlots I have found for a long time – a pitty about the hint of bitterness on the finish.  Still if you like Merlot and would drink it with food then I would check this out.  Food matching would lead me to a Beef stir fry – say Broccoli Beef Noodle Stir Fry.

2007 Amery Basket Pressed Cabernet Merlot ($A22)

The floral aromas blend into flavors of blackcurrent and mulberries.  The finish is very dry – the tannins seem to suck all the moisture from your mouth and even coat the tongue.  The overall effect is lingering however the very dry finish makes me think this wine needs a year or 2 to mellow before being at it’s drinking best.

2005 Amery Shiraz ($A22)

An interesting blend of blackberry and vanilla aromas make way for the flavors of ripe plums, vanilla (from the American oak) and really nice white pepper.  The overall effect was good and was lingering.  A step up from the other reds so far.  It is also good to see reds with a bit of age on them being sold through cellar door (though I hope this is not because they have not been able to sell the wine).  How about a Tuscan Burger to go with this.

2006 Amery Basket Pressed Shiraz ($A22)

Another step up! the 2006 was a good vintage and this shows in this wine – Yum.  An interesting aroma mix of plums with tobacco and eucalyptus (just on the back of the nose).  The flavors infuse plum, fennel, blackberry and oak (well balanced).  The fruit flavors are from fleshy fresh fruit and not your stewed styles and the finish is just so persistent.  At this price I seriously suggest you get some of this wine.  As a winter comfort food lets have a big plate of ricotta gnocchi with a spicy tomato and basil based sauce.

2004 Hillside Shiraz ($A40)

Oh how I love these steps – the 28 months in oak (about 50% new oak) has really made a difference in this wine.  Black cherries on the nose and flavors of blackberry spices (fennel, nutmeg and pepper), vanilla and milk chocolate.  There is no oak monster here the fruit and oak blend well together to make a very interesting whole.  This wine is just made to go with slow braised lamb shanks.

2006 Hillside Shiraz ($A40)

What a difference a couple of years and a good vintage makes.  The quality that the 2006 vintage brings to the table is shown with this wine output.  This wine is significantly more a fruit wine combined with very cleaver oak use with aromas of floral plums, pepper and hints of fresh leather.  The flavors start with spicy mulberries and finish with cedar, tar and dark chocolate.  A very pleasant dry finish that leaves the mouth wanting more.  I can see that both the 2004 and 2006 wines are very different and will appeal to different people and with different foods – this is one of the reasons I love wine the variations and permutations available to the skilled winemaker for us to taste.  How about a serving of Rosemary and garlic roast lamb with crispy roast potatoes and peas?

2010 Moscato ($A22)

This sweet offering has quite a following from the cellar door patrons and the last time I was at the cellar door this wine was sold out.  It is good to see more to this wine than just sugar and grapyness.  On both the nose and the palate there were lots of green apples and a lovely finish of cleansing acid.  I can see many a bottle of this being consumed in the great outdoors during summer.

Amery Founders Very Old Tawny Solera ($A22 375 mL bottle)

This wine was first released to celebrate the winery centenary (I still have my bottle of the first release sitting in my wine fridge).  This blend has an average age of 16 years and I must say this shows everything a tawny “port” should bring to the table.  The richness, the nuttiness combined with just so many flavors into an experience that needs to be shared.

Amery Founders Grand Liqueur Muscat ($A22 375 mL bottle)

This one is about 14 years old (on average) and is just like drinking a raisin based Christmas Pudding.  There is a lovely viscous mouthfeel here that just lingers and lingers.  I am thinking a nice runny Brie with dried fruits and nuts while drinking this – but I must warn you I may not share this wine.  Worth every cent!

Rare Liqueur Muscat ($A60 375 mL bottle)

Made mainly from the 1992 vintage there is a real difference here compared to the above wine.  Here there is none of the freshness a solera system can provide – this is just concentrated yummyness.  This is a concentrated and intense viscous mothfull of toffee, figs, coffee and raisins.  If you can afford this then it is an experience just to try.  You will have to get your own though – I will not be sharing any of this with anybody!


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McLaren Vale Wine – Scarpantoni Estate Wines Part 2

5 06 2010

This is part 2 of a 2 part review of Scarpantoni Estate Wines – check out Part 1, which reviews the cleanskins, sparkling and white wines).

Scarpantoni Cellar Door & Winery Complex

This winery has a long history of a close Italian family producing wine quality grapes and wines.  From the hard work in clearing the land to plant the vines, we can now savour the fruits of this labour.  The wines have won many awards over the years with the 2007 Jimmy Watson Award being the most recent of the prestigious awards.

Red Wines

2009 Ceres Rose ($A14)
I remember when this wine was first released I was eager to get some to try.  I had not tried an Australian wine that was predominately Gamay.  I was not disappointed then and I am not disappointed now.  There is some complexity here in a light red.  Aromas of rose water, cherries and strawberry finish leads through to the flavors of fresh raspberries and cherries.  This wine is perfectly suited to consumption with a weekend lunch of a cheese platter and breads or a Ploughman’s Lunch (cheese, sliced meats, salami, pickles, pickled onions and crusty bread).

2007 Pedler Creek Merlot ($A14)
I got a sense of clever use of oak here – there is lots of plums here (both aromas and flavors) plus some oak driven chocolate/spice aromas and pepper/cedar flavors.  There was good length here, much longer than many sub $15 Merlots that I have tasted.  Lets share this one over a big bowl of pasta with a tomato and chilli sauce with lots of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese – with 2 forks, one for you and one for me.

2006 Pedler Creek Cabernet Sauvignon ($A14)
What we have here is a wine driven by smart use of oak – this is not a fruit driven wine.  The aromas are toasty chocolate with just a little green capsicum “herbaceous” character.  The flavours are dominated by oak driven toastyness, spice and chocolate – with the spice being particularly dominate on the finish.  There are black berries here as well – so it is not just oak!  There is a lot of complexity here – so much more than expected from a $14/bottle wine.  This is a definite wine to drink now and how about a pepper steak or sizzling Mongolian lamb.

2007 Pedler Creek Shiraz ($A14)
Another wine from the Pedler Creek wine that over delivers.  The black fruits of the Shiraz grapes are mixed well with the nutmeg and pepper combined with vanilla oak.  The finish is soft on tannins but long on effect.  Roast lamb shoulder roast with garlic slithers & rosemary sprigs pushed into slits made into the flesh before roasting.

2005 School Block ($A15)
Made from 60% Shiraz with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon plus 10% Merlot.  The berries and toasty oak on the nose makes way to sweet black berries fruit that finishes with dry dusty tannins and hints of chocolate.

2008 Block 3 Shiraz ($A36)
The wine is made from on of the blocks that is close to the winery with these vines being about 60 years old.  Most of the grapes were picked before the 2008 heat wave.  The wine was maturated in 100% American oak of which about 50% was new oak barrels.  The wine aromas were a little closed – probably due to the wine being recently bottled.  The components of the type of Shiraz that McLaren Vale is known for – plums and black fruits combined with vanillin oak character with little licorice and spices.


2008 Brothers Block Cabernet Sauvignon ($A30)
Due to winery space constraints during the 2008 vintage, some of their Cabernet Sauvignon was picked latter that would have been seen as ideal.  The resultant wine is high in alcohol – labeled as 15%.  There is enough structure in this wine that the wine did not show any “alcohol hotness”.  The nose shows some of the ripeness with licorice and chocolate notes combining with blackcurrent fruits.  The flavors show sweet blackberry fruits with some mintyness, the spice character of cinnamon and nutmeg.  There is plenty of structure here that produces a lingering effect.

2008 Estate Reserve ($A36)
This wine is made from what is considered as the best wine from their individual wine barrel tastings.  This vintage this means a 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Shiraz.  I suspect the wine needs time to open up – at this tasting the nose was closed.  But the palate was a different matter – lots of red and black fruits with the cedar and vanillin oak characteristics.  The effect has a richness that I was not expecting and a soft tannin finish – but this finish lingers.  It is good to see Shiraz Cabernet or Cabernet Shiraz wines.

Liqueurs and Fortifides

Liqueur Riesling ($A26 375 mL bottle)
This wine used to be made at Scarpantoni’s in the late 80′s and the hot vintage conditions created an opportunity for a re-appearance.  I must say this wine was nothing like I was expecting.  I was looking for a viscous infusion of Riesling and old wood rancio character.  Well I could not have been more wrong.  On the nose I got a whiff of Mums old style baked apples with lots of cinnamon spice followed with a hint of stewed nectarine.  The palate was light, and not cloying, nashi pear with the spices from the nose still coming through.  Even this wine was fortified with neutral spirit the wine is only 17.5% alcohol, which probably goes with the lighter style.  I would try this with mum’s apple pie or even just pour some over some vanilla ice cream.

Liqueur Shiraz ($A30 375 mL bottle)
After trying the Liqueur Riesling I was looking forward to this Liqueur!  I was not disappointed, The aromas start with some lifted plums combined with a spiced rhubarb and go onto spice and blackberry notes.  The flavors were an infusion of plum, cherry, rhubarb, raisins with just a hint of chocolate.  The finish is not cloying and a fresh overall finish.  This would be a great mix with a plate of dried fruit and cheese.

1999 Vintage Port ($A28 500mL bottle)
Vintage Port is not a fashionable drink as is shown by a comment at the cellar door that this wine has not been made since 1999.  I enjoy the style but I do not drink it much as there is not many people I know to share it with – as once the bottle is open the wine “goes off” after a day or 2.  This wine is quite good with both the aromas and flavours of dark chocolate, raisins and a licorice finish.  There is nice warming spirit here as well.  This wine would be perfect with After Dinner Mints.


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McLaren Vale Wines – Willunga Creek Wines

22 05 2010

Willunga Creek Cellars Cellar Door

Willunga Creek Wines is the brain child and output of David Cheesley.  Originally, grapes were sold but David could see the trend of lower grape prices were coming so he ventured into wine making.  Some grapes are still sold, with wine being produced since 2002.  The wine is made by either DiFabio Estate or Phil Christensen.  The vines are tendered in an organic manner with only Sulphur sprays being used.  David started with selling his wine in his restaurant where Fino currently resides.  While this was in operation David was spending his “spare time” in renovating an old shearing shed into what is their current cellar door.

Shearing Museum

The cellar door has character, with clever use of wood (the old slab bar top is magnificent).  The jewel of the crown is the million dollar views where you can see right from the cellar door (Willunga foothills) right through to the ocean.  The cellar door can be used as a function venue and during the warmer months David serves cheese platters.  During the colder months curries are served.  These curries are made by INDI’s (in Crafers and on Greenhill Road).  This year there will be a Butter Chicken and Jogan Josh for $15 per serve.  On the Sunday & Monday of the coming June long weekend will be when the curries start for the year.  The outdoor area now has all weather blinds and heaters to keep you comfortable all year round – so just a lovely place to be for a lazy Sunday lunch.

Check out my video tasting from the cellar door and the Willunga Creek Wines web site.

David sells some of his wine overseas and so he tends to enter his wines into the London International Wine Challenge and the Hong Kong Wine Challenge where his wines have done quite well (check out his web site to see a number of awards).

Black Duck Range

2008 Sauvignon Blanc

Not tasted – noted that the wine is from McLaren Vale.

2006 Merlot ($A25)

The distinctive plum aromas as one would expect from a Merlot.  When you drink this wine you just think how smooth and easy drinking this wine is!  There are plums and red fruits here combined with some very soft oak tannins – from the old oak maturation.  It is interesting that David says that his hardest work is to get people to try this wine at the cellar door.  Once this is done there is a good chance that a purchase will be made.  I would drink this wine now and I think it would go well with one of their Rogan Josh curries.

2005 Shiraz ($A25)

The aromas are dominated by spice – notably pepper and nutmeg.  As is the theme of Willunga Creek Wines the wine is very soft but is strong on structure.  As you would expect from a McLaren vale Shiraz there is a mouthful of plums, berries, cherries all wrapped up in soft oak tannins and the whole mixture just lingers.  Lets keep with the curry theme and go for a Beef Massaman to match with this wine.

2005 Cabernet ($A25)

Real Cabernet nose here.  Obvious Blackcurrent with a dusty vanilla oak ending.  As the wine sits in the glass, it opens up with hints of flowers.  There is dark fruits and capsicum flavors with a dry vanillan oak finish.  How about a Moroccan Beef with Vegetable and dates.

2005 Cabernet Merlot ($A18.50)

This wine is interesting as the minor component of the blend is so dominate!  The plums of the Merlot are more obvious than the black fruits and capsicum of the Cabernet.  The soft oak tannins are here again.  A sweet potato and chick pea korma curry would be an interesting match.

OuT foR a dUcK Range

The labels are from commissioned paintings by artist Graham Middleton, with the originals being on display in the cellar door.  The current painting for the wine below depicts a parody of the 2006/07 Ashes cricket series where Australia won 5 tests to zero.

2007 Cabernet Shiraz ($A22)

Now for my favorite wine from the range.  Yet again a Cabernet and Shiraz blend creating a good outcome.  There is that sweet fruit plum with a slight vanilla aroma.  The flavors are a mixture of plums and blackcurrent with some slight herbaceousness that blends well with the soft oak to produce a long lasting effect.  Sorry, no curry this time – bring me steak.


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Lonely Grape TV Episode #35 – Willunga Creek Wines Cellar Door

18 05 2010

The wonderful wines and million dollar views from Willunga Creek Wines. I try their Merlot and the Out foR a dUcK Cabernet Shiraz.


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McLaren Vale Wines – Sabella Vineyards

24 04 2010

Well what a great few hours I had with Michael Petrucci – I found somebody who was just so passionate about McLaren Vale wine and could talk about it at least as much as I could.  What fun!

Sabella Vineyard

Sabella Vineyards started in 1975 and now have 110 acres under vine.  A number of years ago a decision was made to get Michael into the wine business via wine making.  Instead of rushing this move Michael went to school to learn wine marketing.  Straight away there was a understanding that selling wine was very different to selling grapes.  This understanding has been crucial to Sabella standing out from the pack and not just another grape grower trying to make and sell wine.

The packaging has a label that shows the Statue of Abundance – bit it looks a bit like the Statue of Liberty and gets recognition by this similarity.   All the wines produced have a point of difference to have the wines stand out from what can be a McLaren Vale wine lake.  They are about to release a Merlot under the Marilyn Merlot label and a Moscato is to be released later in the year.

To date wines have only been released every second year.  The reasoning for this is that they are making enough in these years to take 2 years to sell – so why make wine that they may not be able to sell and thus just build up their stocks.  Wine is still made but is sold to other wineries in the area.

Sabella Vineyards Vats

Sabella has another point of difference and it is probably their most interesting.  It is their Reserve Shiraz, and it is so different that the process used is patented.  Michael wanted to get the consumer involved in the winemaking process.  Yes, I can hear you already saying – How!  They add a sliver of oak into the wine which will impart a certain amount of oak flavor into the wine.  So where is the customer involvement – the consumer makes the decision when the wine has been subjected to enough oak.  If the wine is left to mature to the point the oak has had maximum extraction then the wine would need time to mature before being optimal to drink.  So again the consumer not only decides when the wine has had enough oak, the consumer also decides on the time the wine should be aged.  To ensure the wood does not come out of the bottle there is a plastic inset in the bottle neck.  On another occasion I have tasted the current release 2004 Reserve Shiraz and was not impressed with how “over oaked” the wine was – so I expect the wine has extracted the maximum amount of wood tannins etc into the wine and now the wine needs to be cellared for a few years for the wine to show it’s best.  I can now better understand the wine I tasted with the correct context.  The next Reserve Shiraz looks to be from the 2008 vintage.

Sabella Vineyards Barrel Store

Now for a review of the wines.  Also, check out my video tasting of 2 Sabella wines.

All wines were tasted at room temperature.

2009 Mother & Daughter Sauvignon Blanc

Straight way this was different – no strong smells of cut grass or the cats pee (which is good).  I was immediately surprised that the main aromas were a minerallity with just a slight herbaceousness.  The theme continued on the palate with minerallity on the back palate and continues with a good acid length.  The grapes for this wine come from 2 vineyards – the first on a higher location on sandy soils, and the second on a lower section on vineyard in heavy soils.  As one would expect these 2 different soil types and locations have different ripening characteristics.  For this wine the grapes are harvested at the same time and are co-fermented.  This methodology produces a wine with broad flavor profiles – particularly with the aim of a final alcohol level of 12.5%.  The minerallity and acidity lends itself to work well with seafood – maybe a paella.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc (Vat sample)

The aromas were reminiscent of the commercially available Banana Lollies with just a hint of passionfruit.  the banana lolly continued as a flavor (but not as strong as the aroma) combined with crisp green apples.

2009 Marilyn Merlot (barrel sample)

This wine is expected to be released later this year.  The aromas had some plum but the aromas and flavors were dominated by “Cherry Ripe” which would come from the oak treatment.  The flavors also had some vanilla (from American Oak) with soft tannins.  An easy drinking style but not the real softness that one normally gets with Merlot.  I can imagine drinking this with Pumpkin Gnocchi with a burnt butter and sage dressing.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

I did not get any obvious wood interaction on the nose – all fruit, mainly blackcurrent tones.  The flavors continue on the black fruits theme theme (blackcurrent and blackberry) with soft oak overtones and the softness continues right through to the lingering finish.

The soft finish is a conscience play and has been successful with the 2005 vintage of the wine winning the George Mackey Trophy in 2009 for the best Australian Export Wine and in doing so knocked the big producers off their perch (Penfolds have won this trophy for the previous 3 years).

2007 Shiraz

The aromas start with the typical berries you get with McLaren Vale, and end with what I can only describe as the smell of freshly cooked cinnamon donuts.  The cinnamon continues on the flavor profile and I suspect this comes from the cleaver use of oak and the various oak toasting combinations.  The flavors also include the usual plum characters your find in McLaren Vale Shiraz.  As with the Cabernet the tannins are soft and combine into a lingering experience.  Please bring on a steak with this one.


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McLaren Vale Wine – Shottesbrooke

21 02 2010

Shottesbrooke Cellar Door & Winery

Nick Holmes established Shottesbrooke in the early 1980′s with a vineyard in Myponga and McLaren Flat.  The emphasis in the early days was Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot.  When I hear the name Shottesbrooke these two varieties immediately come to mind.  The cellar door (adjacent to the winery) has always been impressive and the drive through the vineyard to get to the cellar door is always just a wonderful mood setting experience.  There is also a grape pickers hut on the edge of the vineyard which is available for hire (or free if you buy some wine) which would be a great spot for a family picnic.  You can find their location on the Lonely Grape Cellar Door map.

Shottesbrooke Grape Pickers Hut

I have always been greeted warmly and with a smiling face at the cellar door and for all the Merlot lovers out there Shottesbrooke is a must visit when in McLaren Vale.

Their web site is www.shottesbrooke.com.au

You can check out my video tasting at the cellar door where I had a wonderful time showing the Lonely Grape TV watchers what the cellar door really looks like.

NV Blanc de Blanc ($A18)

Made from chardonnay this wine is has melon hints and good clean acid.  Not necessary a food wine but more what some of my Western Australian friends would call a “Veranda Wine”.  Friends & family on a Sunday lunch – bring it on.

2008 Engine Room Sauvignon Blanc Chardonnay Semillon (A$14)

The Engine Room wines have an interesting label – check out the Shottesbrooke web site.  The blend is 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Chardonnay & 10% Semillon to produce an easy drinking lighter style white that would work well with all sorts of Asian foods.  The nose was slightly chemically or showing aged characteristics followed by a palate of slightly tropical melons and lemons wrapped up with some soft spices.

2009 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc ($A18)

Straight away you can tell this is cooler climate fruit here.  An infusion of tropical fruits with a emphasis on lychees.  This theme continues on the palate with gooseberries, lychees and a good citrus acid finish.  Bring on a big bowl of fresh prawns and chunks of crusty bread.

2008 Chardonnay ($A18)

30% French oak with no malolactic fermentation but it has lees aging and stirring.  Thankfully, not a big buttery chardonnay here!  The nose has the expected melon and peach with the obvious (but not overpowering) hint of cedar oak.  The palate has a creamy textural feel (from the lees stirring) and melons.  This one has the complexity to match with Tomato Chilli Mussels.

2009 Merlette Rose ($A14)

I do not think I have tasted a Merlot based Rose style wine before.  As Shottesbrooke is known for their Merlot, I thought this maybe interesting.  The nose had red berries all over it and the palate was soft fruity Turkish Delight.  There is some residual sugar here (3.6 g/L) but not excessive.  This style is what I like to drink with cheese and crusty bread.

2008 Merlot ($A18)

Merlot is Shottesbrooke’s thing – they have been known for this variety since their beginnings.  Not normally my thing – if you like Merlot check this one out.  Here  we have mulberries and cloves, with a grainy tannin dry finish.  When I tasted this all I could think of a food match was a wild mushroom risotto.

2007 Shiraz ($A18)

This was a lighter style shiraz (probably due to vintage variation) has all the usual spiced plums and cherries on the nose and continued on the palate with some mocha hints, vanillian oak and a tannic finish.  Maybe try a lamb curry to match with the spicyness of the wine.

2006 Engine Room Shiraz ($A20)

This is a step up from the previous wine – and this would be expected as 2006 was a significantly better year.  A rich nose of olives, plums plus cinnamon and nutmeg spices.  The palate was (as expected) plums with a chocolate and tannin finish.  Bring on a plate of long slow brasied lamb shanks.

2006 Eliza Reserve Shiraz ($A35)

One serious Shiraz!  A smoky chocolate infusion with lots of spice on the nose and the palate continues the same theme with a mocha and fine tannin finish.  The oak is part of the overall good – certainly no oak monster here.  I can imagine some sort of slow cooked beef would work a treat with the wine.

2007 Cabernet ($A18)

The first thing that stuck me here was the mint on the nose.  I have read about minty Cabernet but not really tasted it. The nose has a blackberry and cherry start and finished with that minty character.  The palate has that sweet fruit – dominated by blackcurrent and finishes with dry dusty tannins.  I am thinking a steak smothered in onions and sauteed mushrooms.

2006 Punch Cabernet Sauvignon ($A35)

Now this is what I expect that the “Peppermint patty” wines taste like.  There is mint with spades on both the nose and palate.  The nose also has black cherries.  And now the palate has the sweet fruitiness (blackcurrents again) with hints of dark chocolate.  There is wonderful structure here and a really good length to the wine – even though the wood in unobtrusive.

Bernesh Bray Fine Old Liqueur Tawny ($A30)

This classy fortified is a blend of old bush vine dry grown grenache grapes from 1990 to 1999.  The nose has the expected brandy spirit tingle and it is just like my Christmas Pudding that is full of raisins.  The palate is pleasantly lighter than expected and is like drinking liquid complex raisins.  This is definately worth drinking with somebody you love while cuddled up in front of an open fire.


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