Joe & Mio's Blog
Yalumba - An
Aussie First Growth
February 24, 2009
Tuesday morning was an exciting morning for
us. We had been looking forward to our tour of Yalumba for
weeks. We eagerly left Longview at 7AM to make it to
Yalumba by 8:30AM. The drive through the countryside was
beautiful with winding roads and morning dew along the way.
It was also the first time we saw a Kangaroo in the wild as we
were driving we saw several along the side of the road.
Driving the back roads around South Australia is quite
picturesque as the rolling hills have just enough vegetation to
enhance the beauty of the landscape.
As we approached Yalumba we noticed they were in the midst of
harvest. Seeing bins of white grapes being carted around
we wandered over to the office to meet our tour guide, winemaker
Jane Ferrari for our education on Yalumba. Jane is a down
to earth Yalumba Evangelist. Above all else you could see her
passion for wine, aside from the baseball and sci-fi obsession,
she is truly dedicated to Yalumba and its wines. First off we
learned a bit of the history of Yalumba. Founded by Samuel
Smith in 1849 after purchasing a 30 acre plot in South
Australia. Smith and his son began planting the first vines by
moonlight. Samuel named his patch "Yalumba" – aboriginal for
"all the land around". Yalumba originated as a port
producing winery to supply the British Empire with their coveted
Port wine. As many of you know, British food is renowned
for its blandness, as Jane so eloquently put it, Boiled and
Gray. To complement this food Port was an ideal
wine. In 1870 they had progressed enough to build their
own cooperage and distillery on site. Samuel's son Sidney
had brought Yalumba to be able to control every part of the
winemaking process and strive for their famed quality wines.
Since then Yalumba has evolved to become the powerhouse that it
is today.
After the introductions and the background, Jane guided us out
to her pickup to take us on a tour of the vineyards.
To start out the day we were going to take a bottle of the
Tri-Centenary Grenache to the vineyard it was grown in and taste
it side by side with the fruit that was to be picked soon for
the next vintage. Jane firmly believed that tasting the
fruit can show you the components of the wine. As we rode
down to the vineyard we learned about the different terrior of
the Barossa valley, many believe that the soils are uniform
across the valley, but that is not accurate. The soils of
Barossa are diverse, through the middle of the valley is a swath
of loamy, sandy soil that is home to this beautiful vineyard.
The age of the vines is well over 100 years and the vines are
all head trained and gnarly. The rootstock of the vines in
Barossa is all pre-phylloxera, the misconception is that
Australia is the new world, however, like Chile, the rootstock
is all from France prior to the outbreak that devastated the
vineyards and switched France to American rootstock.
Growers in South Australia are extremely careful about access to
the vineyards to preserve the rootstock. Some of the
vineyards even require the workers to wear booties into the
vineyard!
As we stepped out of the pickup with bottle of wine and glasses
in hand we entered
this historic vineyard. The vines were amazing showing a
history and depth rarely seen. We first tasted the wine, a
beautiful deep crimson color brooded in the glass. The
nose was white pepper, black fruits and a hint of spice rounding
it out. The mouthfeel was an amazing start to the day with
lush, ripe red fruit and a silky feel showing the well
integrated tannins and the elegance of a fine Southern Rhone
wine. The finish was simply amazing with lingering notes
as we wandered through the vineyard. Next we tasted the
fruit, the experience was quite compelling as we could see the
characteristics of the wine we just had tasted in the grapes, it
was a cool feeling to see the translation of the fruit into the
end product.
After
finishing our tour of the Grenache blocks we headed back to get
the tour of the Yalumba Cooperage. Yalumba keeps its own
barrel production in house to maintain control of the barrels
completely. Their coopers are the leanest men on the
property with the job of turning aged staves of oak into the
perfect barrel for wine. The cooperage is fully equipped
to facilitate all stages of barrel production. While
we were there we we able to witness the bending and capping of a
barrel. The barrels are heated in a water bath and then
contracted with a hydraulic steel line and finally capped by the
upper band to produce the classic barrel shape. Yalumba
toasts the barrels on site as well to impart the perfect toast
for each winemakers specifications.
Following the tour of the Cooperage, we headed over to the
tasting room for our guided tour of Yalumba wines. We
tasted through some fun stuff...here are our notes;
2007 Viognier, Eden Valley
The first thought that comes to mind is Condrieu with
beautiful tropical fruit on the nose highlighted with
honey and a hint of citrus the palate is beautiful with
excellent fruit and great weight. The finish is citrus and
lingers satisfyingly.
2007 Chardonnay, Wild Frmnted, Eden Vly $15.99(Reg)/$13.59(Club)
Grown on vines cloned from Romanee-Conti origin this Chardonnay
shows an elegance with a twist of Australia. The nose has a
light citrus with toasted almonds. The palate is refined with
excellent structure, flavors of green apple and nectarine with
well integrated oak give way to a long lasting citrus finish.
90RP SAVE $2
2006 Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa
$15.99(Reg)/$13.59(Club) Redish-purple in
color the color hints at what is to come. The nose has bright
red fruit intermingled with herbal undertones. The flavors are
lush with sun dried raisins and silky tannins. The finish is
satisfying. “An excellent value” 86RP SAVE $2
2005 Shiraz-Viognier, Barossa
$16.99(Reg)/$14.44(Club)
A deep purple. Viognier contributes a floral note to the
fragrant nose of red fruit with a hit of plum and cedar. The
palate is delicate and complex with a range of red fruit,
peppers, and spice mingling together. The finish is long enough
to hold you over til you can get the next sip! “an excellent
value” 88RP SAVE $2
2007 Patchwork Shiraz, Barossa
The power of this wine strikes you up front with licorice,
anise, and black fruit teeming in this traditional Barossa
Shiraz. The palate is striking with a woody hint and lush
red fruit. Strong tannins finish out this young wine that
could benefit from a few years of age.
2006 The Scribbler, Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz, Barossa
Valley
Current and Cassis on the nose with a hint of mint giving
way to a full on black fruit palate with silky tannins.
Ready for ageing, but why wait?
2004 The Signature, Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz,
Barossa$49.99(Reg)/$42.49(Club)
Deep red and brooding the nose has currant and dark
chocolate with notes of eucalyptus. The palate is opulent with
black fruit and chocolate yet very stylish and superbly
balanced. The tannins are very structured and ready to develop
with age. Our toughest question with this wine was “how many
cases should we add to our cellar?” 94RP
After finishing off with The Signature we got ready to head
out again into a vineyard. This time we were headed up the
hill to the Eden Valley to visit Pewesy Vale, Yalu
mba's
signature Riesling vineyard. One of the original 13
vineyards of South Australia, this is an amazing, old vine
Riesling vineyard that has portions sloped with the contour of
the land giving rise to The Contours wine. As we arrived
and stepped out of the truck we were shown the beautiful vines
in this vineyard. The Riesling vines have lichen growing
betraying their age and experience in producing high quality
grapes. Again we tasted fruit that was less than a week
away from harvest to compare with the finished product.
Jane was kind enough to prepare a makeshift tasting bar
on the back gate of her truck for us to taste through these
great, in my mind, game changing Rieslings from Yalumba.
We tasted through the lineup of four amazing Rieslings in the
midst of the vineyard.
2008 Y Riesling, South Australia
A crisp clean specimen of Riesling at a great value. With
floral and tropical scents on the nose, the palate is like
biting into a grapefruit with a hint of sugar on top. The
acidity in the wine gives way to a nice finish.
2008 Pewsey Vale Riesling, Eden Valley
Talc and Citrus grace the nose with a flavor of lime and hers
dancing in the mouth. The finish is acidic and pretty
giving an awesome value from this Riesling.
2003 Pewsey Vale, Contours Riesling, Eden Valley
$27.99(Reg)/$23.79(Club)
A beautiful, unique vineyard on rolling hills gives rise to
this absolutely stunning Riesling. The old vines twist along
the hill with the slope to get some great sun exposure. This
wine is held back for 5 extra years to help better integrate the
flavors. Citrus and line with a hint of marmalade on the
palate. The finish is like a lemon drop candy as it lingers.
This bone dry Riesling is an amazingly crisp and clean and
drinks like a old world rockstar! 92TZ 92RP
2008 Heggies Vineyard Riesling, Eden Valley
Citrus and floral, this wine is very pretty yet still a
little restrained. The palate is bright with citrus and
zest and an elegant minerality. Finishing with a long
flint flavor that lingers, this wine drinks beautifully.
Following this fun tasting we headed back down to a local
restaurant named Blond and had a great lunch of Lamb Hamburgers
with beetroot and a great greek salad. While having lunch
with Jane we noticed how well known she was with the locals.
Jane was one of the best parts of the tour and she has commited
to us to bring her energy and love of Yalumba to our store later
this year. Until then we will continue to enjoy these
great wines!
Barossa Big Boys
February 21, 2009
Saturday morning we finally
arrived in Adelaide, we picked this town for our Australia visit
as it is in the heart of Australian Wine Country. Barossa
and Eden Valley to the north, Adelaide Hills to the east and
McLaren Vale and Padthaway
to the south all within under an hour and a half drive.
My first impression of Adelaide was a reminder of Eastern
Washington where I grew up. Adelaide is a College town
with a beautiful turn of the Century feel to it. As we
drove through town it felt very peaceful and had a lot of
greenery with many gardens and parks it was a very relaxed
feeling town. However, we remembered what we were here for
and took the first highway out to the Barossa.
The drive from Adelaide to Barossa is about one hour and is
lined with rolling hills and farmland. I was struck by the
openness of Australia and how much it reminded me of the rolling
hills of Eastern Washington, it really in many ways felt like
home to me. After seeing a number of sheep we finally
ended up in Barossa. With loads of excitement bubbling up
from inside we took one of the first exits and headed into wine
country.
The Barossa Valley has a large amount of vineyards and you are
struck by the amount of grape growing that occurs here. As
we were marveling at all of the rows of vines a sign caught our
eye for the Torbreck
tasting room. Both Mio and I almost said
in unison, "What better way to start our visit than with
Torbreck" Now in the US we have put this winery up on a
pedestal and we expected a tasting room on the order of
Cardinale in Napa, as we drove up we were surprised to find
Torbreck in a little house. We walked into the tasting
room and were shocked to see that EVERYTHING was open for
tasting. I was bursting with excitement as it's not often
that many of us from the states get the opportunity to line
taste Torbreck. The staff at the tasting room was very
cool and courteous and more than happy to guide us personally
through this amazing lineup. Here are my notes;
2008 Woodcutters Semillion
(2007) $17.99/$15.29
A strong scent of Honey on the nose with grassy
undertones, good fruit and acid balance on the pallet and a nice
teeth drying minerality on the finish.
2008 Viognier (50%) Marsanne (40%) Roussanne (10%)
(2007) $35.99/30.59
Wow, a beautiful lush nose reminiscent of a beautiful
white Rhone. On the palette this wine exploded in my mouth
with layers of beautiful flavors. The finish lasted and
continued to develop as I enjoyed this excellent blend.
This was truly an eye opening Aussie white for me.
2008 Cuvee Juveniles(60% Grnch, 20% Shrz, 20% Mataro
Unoaked)(07)$20.99/$17.84
Deep red fruit with a hint of smoke on the nose, a full
bodied plush fruit wine without a hint of oak and a great
smoothness. Definitely an easy drinker that is a great
treat.
2006 The Steading (60% Grenache, 20% Shiraz, 20% Mataro)
$34.99/$29.74
An oaked alter ego to the Cuvee Juveniles this wine has
the red fruity power of the Juveniles with an added touch of
Vanilla and a much better tannin structure that carries through
to a nice finish.
2006 The Pict (100% Mataro)
(2004) $137.99/$117.29
Red Fruit with a nice hint of white pepper on the nose.
A pretty medium red color with a palate of great spice, a nice
hint of minerality rounds it out then leads into a candied fruit
that lingers on the long finish.
2006 Les Amis (100% Grenache)
(2004) $171.99/$146.19
A hint of plum on the nose with an almost herbal
beauty. The pallet is euphoric with a strong heat of a
Barossa old vine, deep and seductive black cherry with a full on
lush mouthfeel. The finish hold on for a full 10 seconds
that leaves you wanting more.
2007 Woodcutters Shiraz
$21.99/18.69
A expression of characteristic Barossa Shiraz with
black fruit and pepper. An excellent value to introduce
you to the style of Torbreck. Delivers complexity and character
beyond its price.
2006 The Struie (100% Shiraz)
$50.99/$43.34
A blend of Barossa and Eden Valley Shiraz given the
Torbreck treatment producing a cool varietal expression that
melds the two appellations producing a fun wine.
2006 The Celts (100% Shiraz)
AUS ONLY
A beautifully distinct Aussie Shiraz made from 6 rows
of vines just outside of the tasting room. A distinct
Eucalyptus on the nose that leads into a complex and different
pallet with a nice texture that melts away to a long finish with
a lingering hint of eucalyptus.
2006 The Factor (100% Shiraz)
(2004) $100.99/$85.84
Old vine shiraz with a nosefull of Tobacco and plums.
This wine is young
but has a nice mouthfeel with deep black
fruit and spice that doesn't quit. A tight, young
astringent finish. Put this one away for at least 10 years
and don't touch. You will be rewarded greatly.
2006 The Descendant (92% Shiraz, 8% Viognier)
$103.99/$88.39
A co-fermented beauty this has a higher Viognier to
give it a little more lush palate. Done on neutral oak,
the tar and pepper show through on this beauty of a wine.
The palate is lush and full but still really tight and wound up.
Give this wine some time and it will perform excellently as it
matures.
2005 Run Rig (95% Shiraz, 5% Viognier)
$202.99/$172.54
Think Northern Rhone in Australia, the RunRig is
awesome. Made from 94-154 year old vines. The nose
is powerful with a deep black fruit, smoke, and bread. The
palate is a powerhouse with plum preserves, blackberry, smoke,
and vanilla with a plush elegant mouthfeel that rewards those
who can hold off swallowing for the next sip. The finish
is tight and astringent with a perfect profile to age for at
least 20 years. This is a wine that you have to add to
your cellar.
(98RP)
2008 The Bothie (100% Muscat)
(2007) $16.99/$14.44
A true refresher with a tropical fruit on the nose.
A palette of grapefruit, melon and pineapple that finishes
clean. A nice aperitif or finishing touch to a night.
All in all this tasting showed a very solid range of
wines across all of the price points. While the high end
items are rock solid classics, the more modestly priced wines
are really good values. Now we picked up a couple bottles
here of some Aussie exclusives, The Celts and the VMR were some
that we wouldn't have the chance to get for a long time and made
their way home with us. As we were leaving Torbreck the
staff directed us to head over to Two Hands Winery just down the
road, again, another one we couldn't miss out on.
The drive to Two hands was dominated again by eucalyptus trees
and vines, on the way I snapped a shot of the Torbreck
production facility.
As we pulled up to Two
Hands we were again struck by such a quaint farmhouse like
building turned tasting room for such an exclusive brand in the
US. Two Hands wines have garnered some awesome press over
the past years, even with one of th
e Garden Series landing in
the Top 10 wines of 2007. Two Hands is famed for making
Full Bodied, Lush wines with great character. And let me
tell you, they held true to this throughout our tastings.
We came in without an appointment, but as soon as we identified
ourselves as wine sellers in the States, they rolled out the
full lineup for us. The tasting environment was relaxing
as we sat at the side and were guided through the Wines of Two
Hands by Shannon Kruschel. We started out with the very
reasonably priced picture series, moved on into the Garden
Series, and ended up with the Single Vineyard and Flagship rockstars.
2006 The Wolf, Clare Valley Riesling
AUS ONLY
Bright and clean this wine has a slightly floral nose
with a hint of tropical fruit. The palate has a nice
tartness to it with a good balance of fruit. The finish is
reminiscent of slightly sour citrus.
2008 Brilliant Disguise Moscato, Barossa Valley
$22.99/$19.54
"Can we get it in the States?" was the first thought
that popped into my mind. This slightly sparkling Moscato
is evil!!! It draws you in with its pretty fruit and keeps
you going with a fun, lighthearted finish. Perfect for
summer nights or any time you want to enjoy!
2007 Gnarly Dudes, Barossa Valley Shiraz
$37.99/$32.29
Powerful black fruit on the nose with a hint of smoke.
The pallate is lush with plum and pepper dominating the even
mouthfeel. The finish hangs around for quite a while in
this fun little powerhouse.
2006 Bad Impersonator, Single Vineyard Barossa Valley Shiraz
$58.99/$50.14
A perfect wine for our store featuring a Cohiba on the
front! This wine has a nose of deep black fruit with a
hint of licorice and spice. The palate is complex and
beautiful developing nicely with flavors of plum, nicely
integrated tannins give way to an excellent finish with a hint
of lingering fruit and spice to leave you satisfied and wanting
more.
2006 Max's Garden, Heathcote Shiraz
(2005) $69.99/$59.49
Black fruit graces the nose with hints of earth and
tar. The palette is nice and fruity with hints of spice.
Well rounded this wine is drinking nicely.
2006 Harry & Edward's Garden, Langhorne Creek Shiraz
(2005) $69.99/$59.49
Strong blue fruit on the nose with a hint of an herbal
note to it. The palette continues to produce blue fruit
with a well rounded mouthfeel, but balances it out with a nice
tobacco tone that continues into the lingering finish.
2007 Samantha's Garden Shiraz, Clare Valley Shiraz
$69.99/$59.49
Red fruit wafted through the air as the glass was
sitting in front of it, on a closer pass the fruit was
complemented by hits of spice and eucalyptus. The palette
is, in a word, elegant with bright red fruit mingling with hints
of smoke and bacon well balanced with acid and fine tannins.
The finish holds the fruit well as it hangs on as well.
2007 Lily's Garden, McLaren Vale Shiraz
(2006) $69.99/$59.49
Characteristic of McLaren Vale this Shiraz has powerful
blue fruit and a hint of vanilla from the new oak. The
palette carries lush fruit with silky mouthfeel.
2006 Bella's Garden, Barossa Valley Shiraz
$69.99/$59.49
Decadent. Red fruits dominate the nose with a bit of
tar. The palette is masterfully balanced but very young
with strong pepper and spice. This wine is huge right now
and will benefit from several years of cellaring. A
Barossa Shiraz that is a classic.
2006 Sophie's Garden, Padthaway Shiraz
(2005) $69.99/$59.49
Pretty dark fruit with eucalyptus and mint on the nose.
The palette continues the strong dark fruit dancing with herbal
undertones. The only word I can use to describe the finish
is cool as it develops and lingers in an elegant fashion.
2006 Zippy's Block, Single Vineyard Barossa Valley Shiraz
AUS ONLY
Sorry, can't find this one in the states. Starts
off with a shy nose hinting at things to come with age.
The palette is tight but has deep brooding black fruit mingling
with masculine tannins. This wine will show amazingly well
in years to come. It made it into my single case to come
home with me.
2006 Ares, Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale Shiraz
(2005) $169.99/$144.49
The flagship of the Winery This Shiraz is the pick of
the barrels from Two Hands. Powerful red fruits assault
the nose with a nice cedar lining. The palette is lush and
full with excellent fruit and a silkiness that mingles with
beautifully integrated tannins. This wine is a true treat!
The most exciting thing we discovered at Two Hands was
that the picture series were awesome values. The Garden
series were also quite amazing at a slightly higher price, and
finally the Flagship were the ones we took home with us as they
were beautiful and elegant wines showcasing the potential of the
fruit of South Australia.
Following these two awesome wineries we needed some food,
we were late for lunch and missed out on all of the restaurants
and ended up at an Aussie fast food chain called
Red Rooster.
This place was surprisingly quite good, the chips, billed as the
best in Australia, were top notch and dangerously good enough to
be a meal alone. The roast chicken was also really good
save the massive amounts of peas in true English style. A
great place for a quick lunch.
After our quick lunch we headed over to Wolf Blass to check out
their lineup. Finally this was a winery reminiscent of
Mondavi in Napa complete with a Bridal Shower touring t
hrough
"tasting". As we stepped up to the bar we were overwhelmed
by the selection available to taste, the amount of wines
produced by Wolf Blass was astounding. We choose to focus
on three levels that represented a good swath of what is
available in the US; The Gold Label, a selection of wines that
profiles exciting varietals and other fun or experimental wines.
The Black Label, a blend of the best Shiraz and Cab grapes from
within the Wolf Blass Portfolio, winner of the highest honor in
wine awards in Australia, the Jimmy Watson Trophy. The
Platinum Label, the ultimate shiraz from Wolf Blass representing
the best of the best.
2006 Gold Label Chardonnay
(2004) $22.99/$19.54
2006 Gold Label Reisling
(2004) $18.99/$16.14
2005 Gold Label Cabernet Sauvignon
(2002) $28.99/$24.64
2005 Gold Label Shiraz
(2004) $28.99/$24.64
A good solid Shiraz with well rounded fruit and a good
follow through. This wine is an easy wine to open anytime
you feel like.
2004 Black Label Cab-Shiraz-Malbec
(2003) $74.99/$63.74
A well rounded blend exhibiting dark fruit, hints of
currant and pepper. The palette is skillfully integrated
with a full mouthfeel and strong tannins. Could benefit
from a few years of bottle age, but drinks well now.
2005 Platinum Label Shiraz
(2003) $99.99/$84.99
This wine gets the royal treatment at the winery given
new oak and picked from the top of the barrels in the winery.
This wine is done less like a Shiraz and more like a Rhone with
elegance. A balanced black fruit on the palette with hints
of anise and smoke play with well integrated tannins. Will
age for a few years, but with proper decanting will show great
now.
Because we were rushed I missed out on many notes for the gold
label.
The wines were good, however, the tasting experience was
not the greatest as the staff was very busy tending to the other
guests. I would recommend tasting in the reserve room by
appointment where a sit down tasting can be enjoyed with the
proper glassware in a more relaxing environment.
The next stop was
Elderton Winery, originally an estate vineyard planted in
1904, this winery is billed by Wine Spectator as "One of
Australia's Modern Classics". The Ashmead family has been
producing wines from this amazing old vine vineyard since the
late 70s. Their philosophy is to offer excellent wines at
great value to their customers. The tasting room was cozy
and the staff friendly, we tasted through many wines and
took notes on the following excellent wines, the remainder were
good as well, all in all it was a good line from the low priced
to the high end.
2006 Elderton
Cabernet
(2005) $29.99/$25.49
Black fruit with a nice cedar note to it. A
strong black fruit palette well balanced with nicely integrated
tannins. An excellent value for the price.
(2005-93 RP/90 TZ)
2006 Elderton Ashmead Cabernet
(2006) $85.99/$73.09
Powerful red fruit with cassis and spice notes on the
nose. The pallete is full on fruit with a silky feel that
caresses the elegant tannins as it blossoms in the mouth.
The finish is euphoric as you draw that last bit of air over
your tongue.
(95 RP)
2004 Elderton
Command Shiraz
(2004) $92.99/$79.04
(2003) $71.99/$61.19
Full power dark fruits meet the nose with a strong
vanilla. The palette is powerful with full bodied black
fruits and a hint of coffee. The tannins are young and
vibrant and will benifit from aging or decanting. An
excellent value for the price.
(2004 98 RP/2003 94RP)
The final spot for the day was
Penfolds, one of the most
well know Barossa wineries we couldn't pass them up.
Penfolds is one of the older producers of wine in Australia,
having started from the beginnings of producing fortified wine
for medicinal purposes to the powerhouse of Grange producing
excellence that it has become today. The Barossa tasting
room had the feel of a beautiful old grange and as we walked in
we were amazed to see the extreme premium collection sets
contained within. They had past vintages of the grange
available at equally impressive prices, plus many winery
exclusive bottles that we have yet to see in the states.
We were welcomed in by the friendly tasting staff and were given
an excellent tour through the wines. The first question I
asked though was "As a tasting room employee do you have to
memorize the bins?" to which I got an answer of a booklet
describing each of the bins and what all the wines blends and
sources are that go into these great wines. Penfolds has a
solid selection of wines with the following tastings standing
out exceptionally;
2005
Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon
(2006) $36.99/$31.44
A cool climate Cabernet with black fruit, green pepper,
and a hint of cedar on the nose. The pallet is very pretty
with juicy black fruit offset with a nice touch of minerality
and a hint of vanilla. The finish is very satisfying.
An excellent value.
2005 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
(2006) $39.99/$33.99
Aged in Grange barrels This little brother boasts a
nice blue fruit nose with a hint at an almost plumy character
and a hint of vanilla. The palette is well balanced with
blue and black fruits and a hint of olive and pepper. The
tannins are a little harsh but contribute to a very nice finish
that lingers.
2004 St. Henri
(2006) $49.99/$42.49
Shiraz without oak, an exciting concepts that leads to
this lush expression of the varietal. The nose carries
lush blue fruit with tobacco and licorice. The palate is
strong giving bold red fruits and a candy flavor with elegant
tannins balanced nicely. The finish is long and lasting.
This wine would benifit from aging for 5 years plus.
2005 RWT
(2006) $89.99/$76.49
Penfolds Shiraz on French oak. This wine has a
touch of elegance from the subtle oak in contrast to the
American oaked Grange. A nose of blue fruit and a rhubarb
give way to a lush palette with deep blue fruit and vanilla.
This wine has beautifully integrated tannins, but will mature
very well. Give it ten years and it won't dissapoint!
The one bit of advice I offer to those visiting
Penfolds would be to make a grange experience appointment if you
are interested in trying Grange. It costs $100/person, but
would make for a fun afternoon as they turn it into an
experience.
After a long tough day of wine tasting we headed back
to Adelaide and checked into the
Hilton located in downtown Adelaide on a turn of the century
looking mall. Adelaide is a historic town
that was originally the only free settlement in Australia.
It later added in a very cosmopolitan population with the
addition of several nationalities to help with the labor and the
fishing. Now, the one thing some of you may know who have
been to Japan is that a good juicy large size steak is hard to
find. We were on a mission and we headed down to Gouger
Street, one of the two night life districts in the city.
One steakhouse was recommended by many people we had talked to,
an Australian-Argentinean place called
Gauchos. This was
a pretty street side cafe and it was a perfect night so we took
a seat out on the roadside table so we could watch the people go
by as we enjoyed our meal. We started out with an
outstanding Tapas plate and a bowl of local olives that paired
well with the Shiraz that was recommended by the waiter, the
name has escaped me but it was an Australia only release.
The steak came, with a filet for me and a porterhouse for Mio,
the size was very generous and the taste was a bit different
than the beef we get in the States. Aussie beef is all
free range grass fed and the meat reflects the taste well.
It was quite a lean steak with almost a grassy flavor, but went
really nice with the chimichurri that came with it. All in
all this is a place I recommend to anyone going to Adelaide as a
must visit. We capped off the night with a few Coopers
Ales at a nice downtempo cafe and then returned to the hotel to
cap off this great day of tasting.
Joe M