Yarra Valley 14.0% Screwcap $39.99 Source: Retail
An extraordinary release from De Bortoli, possibly the best wine I’ve ever tasted from them…which is saying something. Give it a good decant and exult in its glory now but keep some bottles for 10 years time because this will become even more special than it already is.
It’s 75% whole bunch, wild yeast fermented, hand and foot plunged. Spends time in 500 litre French Oak Puncheons, no new oak at all.
Gorgeous aromatics; smoke, char grilled meat, black and blue berries, graphite, violets and stalks. The entry concentrates on rounded, sweet berry fruit which lingers as the complexity begins to play out from there. A savoury, meaty, peppery mid-palate with great shape and intensity and a near endless finish which is highlighted by anise and positive adult bitterness in the form of coffee, rich dark chocolate, chicory and mace. It’s cohesive, complex and completely compelling. Tannins are of the highest quality. Ultra-fine and just a little stemmy. Simply stunning stuff.
Winery website- http://www.debortoli.com.au/
2nd attempt so apologies if it double posts – Jeremy, where did you pick this up as I can't find 08 at Brisbane retail?
Not sure where/if this can be purchased in Brisbane. I got my allotment through Boccaccio Cellars. They are a quality online retailer and if you can afford to place an order of more than 1 or 2 bottles, I thoroughly recommend them. Sorry I can't be of anymore help than that.
http://www.boccaccio.com.au/
You, sir, are a prize douche.
"A prize douche"? Why, thank you! I'm so proud to be a prize anything. And I'm honoured to be addressed as "sir".
I wouldn't get used to either the feeling of pride or the mode of address.
Oh, I take it all as a bonus, don't worry.
Anonymous, why exactly is he a prize douche? That's a great tasting note by any measure: explains the drink's sensory properties, good technical info and is not in the slightest bit pompous. (I should add that I think most people who complain about wine wankers are often boring and inelegant writers who provide more than a list of descriptors if their lives depended on it.) And nice work on the anonymity. Big man on the innernets. Bully for you.
I am viewing the anonymous 'douche comment' to be douche (bag) in the Entourage sense of the word – eg: a kind of compliment. Whether intended to be so or not, I like the way you handled it JP (while Echoing Cam's comments re: cowardly anonymity).
This TN makes me want to try the wine and gives me a very good idea of what to expect.
Cheers
RB
Yes not sure what is going on there. For clarity I was the first "anonymous" poster and I appreciate your reply Jeremy. I have bought from Anthony before but I was hoping this was a local purchase as I believe you live near me and thought you had a "source".
No worries, sadly I've no source in Brisbane. I didn't mistake the fisrt anon for the second, subtle difference in tone
Did you get a blue ribbon, Jeremy?
Hi Jeremy & Anonymous, the DeBortoli Yarra Reserve Syrah 08 has just been released in Brisbane and is available at Purple Palate Brisbane City store and also at the Wine Emporium in the valley
No blue ribbon, but I will keep striving Marie
Thank you anon, valuable info! It's worth a lot more than what I paid for it. Great to have it on retail shelves in Brisbane. Congrats to Purple Palate & the Wine Emporium.
"Oh, it is excellent!" replied the old minister, looking at the loom through his spectacles. "The pattern, and the colours, yes, I will tell the Emperor without delay, how very beautiful I think them". – Hans Christian Anderson.
Gil Morrot, Frédéric Brochet and Denis Dubourdieu, "The Color of Odors" 79(2) Brain and Language 309.
Frédéric Brochet and Denis Dubourdieu, 'Wine Descriptive Language Supports Cognitive Specificity of Chemical Senses" 77(2) Brain and Language 187.