Barossa 14.5% Screwcap $45 Source: Sample
I recently had dinner with winemaker Richard Bate, who also sells oak for a living, and was fortunate enough to get a personal masterclass on the use of wider and finer grains and the impact of oak on texture. One of the most interesting things I picked up was that the grain of the oak needs to match the fruit. No use putting inferior quality fruit into very fine grained barrels as the fruit and flavour will pull up before the tannins that are imparted by the wood.
Anyway, it’s no suprise that the oak in this little beauty sourced from Greenock is in perfect balance. Present and important to the wine, but never left jutting out at any point. Sure, it will integrate further and benefits from a good decant at the moment but it’s still clearly a package that has been put together with a good deal of intelligence and thought.
An expressive nose displays depth in the form of quality oak, dark fruit, and something in between liquorice and anise. Creamy and smooth in the mouth, if needing a little more time to put itself together. Raspberry coulis sits on top (where else would it sit?) with a little vanilla. A good shake of black pepper and sweeter ground brown spice wrap things up. It has an understated fleshy quality, but the generosity is managed by an excellent acid and tannin structure. Very impressive stuff, in terms of both texture and flavour.
Winery Website- http://aretewines.com.au/