Dutschke Oscar Semmler Shiraz
Dutschke Oscar Semmler Shiraz is a wonderfully well structured and flavoursome Shiraz. Rich Barossa Valley flavours of red fruits, currants and bold mocha/chocolate. Can be appreciated now or as a more complex wine by further cellaring.
Cullen Mangan East Block
Vanya Cullen is relentless in her pursuit of excellence and commitment to low-yielding, biodynamically managed vineyards. This wine is 54% Petit Verdot and 46% Malbec from the Mangan Vineyard. It's deep red in colour, and vibrant purple/crimson at the rim. The nose combines mulberry, violets and roses. On the palate it's rich and intense with satsuma plum flavours complemented by fine-grained tannins. Long and full flavoured, it has all the signs of developing greater complexity with age.
Matteao Correggia Roero Nebbiolo
Roero has long been a source of Nebbiolo for Barolo producers, who prize the perfumed notes from the region’s sandy soils. Correggia’s Roero has always been a benchmark for this style, with silky tannins that make the wine approachable and enjoyable on release. The wine presents floral aromatics, ripe red fruit and brisk acidity without the iron-clad tannins of its more famous neighbors. • Finalist
Penfolds Bin 128
Created in 1962, Penfolds Bin 128 is a regional wine that reflects the unique climate and growing conditions of South Australia's Coonawarra district and the relatively elegant style of cool climate Shiraz. From the 1980 vintage, French oak replaced American, highlighting the pepper, spice and floral characteristics that define this style. Since the mid-1980s, a greater attention has been paid to fruit ripeness, resulting in a wine that is fuller in style and structure.
Paringa Estate Shiraz
This cool-climate Shiraz shows white pepper on the nose with dark fruit and blackberry characters. The palate is full and ripe with berry fruit flavour, tight acidity and fine grained tannins.
Rivetto Langhe Nebbiolo
An extremely pleasing and drinkable wine, and although it has a high alcohol grade this never overpowers its fruity character. Its red colour has Bordeaux reflections and the slow trickle from the edge of the glass confirms its optimal concentration and good body. The palate is caressed by a smooth tannin content typical of the Nebbiolo grape and by a warm and enveloping flavour.
Fletcher Langhe DOC Nebbiolo
Product Information: This 100% Nebbiolo comes from two noble sites of northern Italy - Barbaresco, Scaparoni and Monta in Roero. It a rich, yet fresh take on the region's 'entry-level' Nebbiolo, more than capable of running with the established names in the region. Packed with varietal character, it’s a real pleasure to drink, modern and lively in style, vibrant and straight up delicious. Stylistically, David Fletcher's Langhe Nebbiolo is changing, maturing even, as he incorporates more Barbaresco fruit into the blend. It used to be 100% Roero fruit and called Nebbiolo d’Alba because of zoning classifications. But in recent years, David's been incorporating/blending with fruit from his own Barbaresco vineyards that’s essentially changed the name to Langhe Nebbiolo because it you can’t call it Nebbiolo d’Alba if you’re getting fruit in the Barbaresco zone. Roero is famous for Nebbiolo because of it’s sandier soil that make the wines are more approachable. But the intention is to move over to Barbaresco to reflect the Barbaresco Crus. The Barbaresco zone it’s produced from brings in more complexity, more structure, making this blend more serious than just the classical 100% Roero style. So you’ll see that evolution over the next few years as we develop a greater percentage of Barbaresco coming into the Langhe Nebbiolo. Making this wine a particularly smart buy. This wine is 100% destemmed. Goes into open fermenter after cuvaison, it is pressed to barrel. Elevage in old oak, over 10 years old, 300ltr barrels. Barbaresco can only be released on the 3rd January following harvest, giving the wine approx. 27 months total aging. David ages his wines for 24 months in barrel (legally it only needs be 12 as a minimum) then 3 months in bottle. Maker: Many feel the wine road inevitably leads to Burgundy, and for many it does, but for some, the final stop is the Langhe hills of Piemonte. It is here that Nebbiolo is the torchbearer of quality delivering a transcendent experience as high as any to be found in food and wine. David Fletcher's self professed obsession with the Nebbiolo, so much so he resides in Barbaresco where he is completely surrounded by it. David's an Australian by birth and that means he started as an outsider amongst the hills of the Langhe, but he's feeling a little more at home now. My addiction to Nebbiolo has taken him on a ride beyond his imagination. David started making wine from the day he left school, and even though he didn't inherit a winery or watch predecessors work the vines, it's been an uncontrollable passion for as early as he can remember. To cut a long story short, he was first introduced to Nebbiolo back in 2004.... 10 years later, he's living amongst the vines in Italy, making wine in the old train station of Barbaresco, and enjoying the positive feedback from my customers that keeps him striving to aim higher. In recent years the production has somewhat diverted from only Nebbiolo, and what started with just Barolo and Barbaresco has now grown into 10 wines that are produced from 12 different vineyard sites. Staying in touch with his roots David still makes one wine in Australia too, which is a unique expression of Australian Nebbiolo. Overall, the production is compact, with no more than 25,000 bottles that are mostly allocated, making highly sought. Philosophy: David works with certified organic vineyards and sites that are under conversion. He is a big proponent for organic farming, always striving for better health and lower impact for the vines and their surroundings. Cognisant of the increasing mono-culture in the Langhe, David offsets the land used for grape production with ownership of the equivalent area in Forest, swamp and grasslands rich in biodiversity. With regards to winemaking, David considers himself lucky to be making wines in the Langhe and even luckier he has no legacy to follow. Giving him the freedom to play and deconstruct tradition, all in an attempt to start afresh without any boundaries. He's on a constant search for great vineyards, and always trying to make wines that give a sense of passion and place. Wines are derived from spontaneous ferments with a 'pied de cuve' method. Use old wood with a minimum age of 10 years and in the form of Barriques not Botte...preferring to work in small batches rather than bulking wines up early and each barrique has its own personality which adds to the complexity of the wines. No filtering or fining takes place. Not all the wines will be produced each year, as nature dictates most of what can be produced. So if you see one you like it's always a good idea to snap it up. Nose - Bright Red Cherry Fruit, Cranberry, Fennel Bright red cherry fruit, strong cranberry tang, rose hip tea, game meat, a little raspberry and red currant. Palate - Redcurrant, Game, Spicy Notes Elegant palate with lifted, aromatic red fruit, lively acidity and bags of crunchy tannin. Finish - Puckering Tannin, Orange Peel, Clove Tannins swish in a web of feathery pucker and talc-like grip, the coolness in the wine akin to orange juice, with clove, cinnamon and fennel amongst it all.
Elderton Command Shiraz
Elderton's Command Shiraz is one old school Barossa Shiraz. Named because of the special treatment the quality fruit 'commanded', this is a Shiraz of foreboding concentration. The fruit for this 'Excellent' Langton's classified Australian icon comes from the century old Elderton vineyard located on the banks of the Para River and is matured in a mixture of French and American oak. This allows the wine to retain its driven power while also giving the wine a level of complexity and balance unique to this region and producer. Elderton's Command can be enjoyed by lovers of ripe and rich fruit early, yet will reward the truly patient with a wine of true beauty when left alone to mature for a decade.
Grove Estate Sommita Nebbiolo
The 2016 Nebbiolo is a lovely ripe true to style Hilltops Nebbiolo. These vines are meticulously looked after throughout the growing season. It is interesting to consider when the winemaking begins for such a great wine - Is it when the grapes reach Bryan at the winery or perhaps when "Windows" prunes the vines in Winter, or is it when the vines were planted by Mark, John, and Michael and there families. Or did this wine have its beginning when the soil was taking formation, obviously all the above and much more was involved in the final wine, so please enjoy, respect and linger over all that goes into each bottle as we have.