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For Your Pleasure
"For your pleasure
In our present state
Part false part true
Like anything
We present ourselvesThe words we use tumble
All over your shoulder
Gravel hard and looseThere all night lying
With your dark horse hiding
Abhorring such extremes" - Bryan FerryCategories
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Category Archives: McLaren Vale
2013 Gilligan Roussanne Marsanne
I actually prefer this to the 2012 release. It provides me with a greater sense of detail. A pleasing level of aromatic clarity and expressiveness here. Red apples, green tea, honeysuckle, apricot and candied ginger with some minty and aniseed-like … Continue reading
2011 Oliver’s Taranga Sagrantino
A cooler, wetter year doesn’t seem to have made any impact on the quality of a wine that’s quickly establishing an enviable track record. Rather complex in profile. Blackberries flecked with red fruits. Potpourri, sage, oregano, and cured tobacco are … Continue reading
2012 Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz
A good vintage for McLaren Vale and a good year for Oliver’s Taranga Shiraz. This is giving and fleshy yet never formless. Mulberries, cinnamon dusted blueberries, milk chocolate, nutmeg and licorice all cleverly bound with oak, ensconced acidity and grainy … Continue reading
2013 Bleeding Heart Big Rivers/McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon
Simple weeknight quaffing Cabernet but does its job very well. Aromas centre on Ribena and plum with suggestions of tobacco and gum leaf. Mostly pepper spice. Not much oak in evidence but varietal tannin is pleasing. 87 Region: Big Rivers, … Continue reading
2013 Primrose Path McLaren Vale Shiraz
The quality to price ratio is good here. Not a bad way to get your Vale Shiraz fix without breaking the bank. The Alice in Wonderland/Surrealist label will probably attract a few more buyers as well. A smidgen of mocha … Continue reading
2013 Bleeding Heart Big Rivers/McLaren Vale Shiraz
A multiregional blend with 59% of the grapes coming from the large catch-all Big Rivers GI (akin to the Riverland in many ways) and 41% from McLaren Vale. Affable, unaffected gear. Blackberry pastilles and plums mostly. A little milk chocolate … Continue reading
2009 SC Pannell Grenache
Certain unfortunate events led to a decision to liquidate my off-site cellarage in Melbourne late last year. My only bottles of this wine were lost in the process. We’ve moved onto the 2011 now but I spotted a single 2009 … Continue reading
2011 Gemtree White Lees Shiraz
Shiraz poured on top of white grape lees left in new French oak. Velvety, full-bodied and mouth-filling. Smells (unsurprisingly) yeasty and somewhat more unexpectedly of orange blossom. Saturated black and purple fruits, milk chocolate, red strap licorice and pepper. Big, … Continue reading
2011 Gemtree The Phantom Red Blend Three
A curious blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Mataro, 15% Petit Verdot and 10% Merlot. Even more curious in its cohesive articulation. Layered flavours and plenty of them. Cassis, plums, Autumn leaf, wet bark, violets, chocolate and brine. It exhibits … Continue reading
2012 Yangarra Estate Mourvèdre
Most of Yangarra’s Mourvèdre goes into their GSM, which is wise manoeuvre as far as I’m concerned. Despite the urge of most of Australia’s wine media to make the variety the new black I still think it’s best utilised in … Continue reading