The Aussie Issue
Me, checking to see if Rosewood's Le Provocateur Gamay rosé is as good as I'd remembered. It was.
Dearest subscribers, please forgive my unannounced hiatus, it wasn't planned. It's been a busy summer and with that, a few exciting announcements:
I've developed the first of what will be a series of 'drink experience boxes'. The Winemaker's Lemonade deluxe box features Featherstone Winery's 12 Brix Verjus and is now available for pre-order. More on that below. Terroir & Tarot is the latest wine tasting workshop added to our line-up. This is a truly cosmic wine tasting experience where you'll learn about wine as a product of its environment and enjoy a one-on-one three-card tarot reading with Stacey Sproule, a very insightful and genuine tarot card reader. Want somm-picked wines delivered right to your door? Le Cru will also be launching a wine club subscription service in time for the Holiday season. More on this in the coming issues.
Until then, throw a couple shrimps on the barbie and grab yourself a glass. SWP is back, baby! This is the Aussie Issue!
Australia is perhaps best known for its big, bold, red wines, namely, Shiraz. Yellow Tail anyone? The 1990s saw a boom in winemaking in Australia with large-scale, mass producers accounting for more than 50% of total production. Since then there has been a bit of a correction, many more smaller producers have come to market with high standards for quality production and an interest in showcasing the Aussie style; a style focused on delivering the essence of the grape variety with characteristic un-pretentiousness and consumer-friendly drinkability in mind.
The warm, sunny climate of Australia is perfect for producing ripe, fruit-forward, juicy wines that are plentiful in aromatics. This Sons of Eden Barossa Valley blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre is a sterling example.
Confession - I was partly drawn to this particular bottle for its illustration of the fedoraed man smoking. He reminded me of the late, great Leonard Cohen, a favourite poet, and songwriter of mine.
This wine is teeming with fruits - red and black - raspberry, strawberry, plum, blackberry. It also has a rich and velvety texture that gives way to flavours of dark chocolate and toffee on the palate. This is a serious red wine with heavy alcohol, high tannins, and great acid balance. You'll want to serve this wine with something meaty for sure - try it with braised beef short ribs.
This Alpha Box & Dice Sauvignon Blanc from Adelaide Hills, called "Uncle", is a prime example of a smaller producer doing things a little differently.
It's considerably more restrained in its note of 'fresh-cut grass' compared to its neighbouring example in New Zealand, this wine is fresh, clean and lively with dominant notes of wet stone, saline, and other minerals. Notes of white grapefruit, white peach, and lime zest are matched on the palate and met with a lip-smacking acidity that makes this wine really fun to drink. It's rich too - having spent 6 months aging on lees, (particles, spent yeast cells), which gives it a further element of complexity. Surprisingly lower in alcohol, this wine comes in at just 10.4% alc./vol.
This is a perfect wine for late-afternoon sipping alongside freshly shucked oysters or as part of a meal served with pan-fried Sole Meuniere.
This Alpha Box & Dice Sauvignon Blanc from Adelaide Hills, called "Uncle", is a prime example of a smaller producer doing things a little differently.
It's considerably more restrained in its note of 'fresh-cut grass' compared to its neighbouring example in New Zealand, this wine is fresh, clean and lively with dominant notes of wet stone, saline, and other minerals. Notes of white grapefruit, white peach, and lime zest are matched on the palate and met with a lip-smacking acidity that makes this wine really fun to drink. It's rich too - having spent 6 months aging on lees, (particles, spent yeast cells), which gives it a further element of complexity. Surprisingly lower in alcohol, this wine comes in at just 10.4% alc./vol.
This is a perfect wine for late-afternoon sipping alongside freshly shucked oysters or as part of a meal served with pan-fried Sole Meuniere.
