Pernod-Ricard, who amongst other wineries own St Hugo, sent me some samples of three 2013 reds from Barossa Valley and Coonawarra fruit. Here are my impressions.
St Hugo 2013 Reds
Tag Archives: Barossa
Let’s Taste – Millon Estate 2014 wines
Josh got in touch with me via intrepidwino.com and offered me the chance to look at some wines from a brand that has recently been introduced into the domestic market, previously only being available overseas. The four Millon Estate wines I tasted are made from Eden Valley fruit, and are all from the 2014 vintage. Here are my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Millon Estate 2014 Wines
Filed under Tasting Notes, Videos
Let’s Taste LIVE – Australian Riesling with The Intrepid Wino and Mattia Cianca
On Sunday the 22nd of November 2015 from 6:30pm AEST, Mattia Cianca (3rd best young sommelier in the world) and I tasted six Australian riesling wines, talking about their provenance and how the style is evolving.
Wines tasted were as follows;
2014 Rieslingfreak No.2 Polish Hill River Riesling (Clare Valley, SA)
2014 Sons of Eden Freya Riesling (Eden Valley, SA)
2014 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Riesling (Frankland River, WA)
2014 La Violetta Das Sakrileg Riesling (Great Southern, WA)
2015 Ravensworth Riesling (Canberra, NSW)
2015 Billy Button The Torment Riesling (Alpine Valleys, VIC)
Many thanks to Different Drop for providing the wines. If you would like to taste these wines, simply head here and remember to use the code IntrepidWino to secure your discount and let them know I sent you!
Riesling
November 17, 2015 · 5:00 pm
The Vincast with Alex Head from Head Wines
Alex Head discovered a love and fascination of wine whilst studying sciences at Sydney University. After travelling on a gastronomic journey across Europe he was hooked. Many years were spent in iconic Sydney wine retail, before a tenure at Langton’s. This experience led a sea-change to the Barossa where he eventually established Head Wines. In the past almost ten years he was forged a reputation for producing some of the most exciting wines in the region, particularly those from Rhone Valley varieties.
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Alex Head
Let’s Taste – Dell’Uva Wines with The Intrepid Wino
After running a successful commercial nursury for many years, importing countless alternative varieties in to Australia, Wayne Farquhar launched his Dell’Uva Wines brand quite recently. I visited his vineyard in the Barossa Valley in 2013 and tasted some wines in tank, so I was thrilled when he visited Melbourne and gave me some bottles to try. Here are my impressions.
Dell’Uva Wines
August 15, 2015 · 7:33 pm
Barossa baby (Barossa Valley, South Australia – 10/04/2013)
Some places have all the luck. Firstly the Barossa Valley is undoubtedly Australia’s most recognised wine region, with studies showing that it is one of the only ones that consumers in the United Kingdom and United States can actually identify. Located within an hour from the outskirts of Adelaide it also has the benefit of hoards of wine tourists walking through every year, compared to unlucky fellow SA vignerons in the Clare Valley or Coonawarra. The Barossa Valley also has one of the longest traditions of continuous winemaking tradition dating back to the mid-19th century, and has the vines and facilities to prove it. The subject of change is quite touchy, whether it relates to new techniques, new varieties or new clonal material. With generations of heritage passed down and a huge investment in promoting the supremacy and uniqueness of old vine wines it is hard to break free and try something different. Evolving markets filled with disinterested consumers for the kind of wines that Australia has become synonymous with, not to mention climate change means that new thinking is not only a good idea but mandatory for survival. There are a select few that aren’t winning friends in the region but are gaining a cult following for their wines that break the mould, particularly in terms of alternative grape varieties.
Barossa sun
Filed under Winery Visits
Yelland & Papps – 10/04/2013
Delight Vermentino 2012
Clean light salty, hints of apricot. Nice weight and texture, brightness of fruit and acid, just a little RS to make things friendlier, a little citrus rind zest.
Delight Vin de Soif 2011
(Gren, mataro, Shiraz, carignan)
Nice spicy peppery rhone nose, crushed white pepper and clove, red fruits. Intense but bright and fresh, clean and great balance between fruit and savoury.
Devote Shiraz Roussanne 2011
Soft tight but open sweet dark fruits, hints of nutmeg and cumin. Soft sweet core of fruit, a lock of Indian spice on the back. Good acidity, food friendly.
Second Take Grenache 2012
A lot wilder denser dirtier and funkier, wattle leaf notes. Fantastic, fresh and light but not obvious fruit, not sweet or dense, savoury and exciting.
Second take Shiraz 2012
A little more obvious in varietal character, but nicely savoury and bloody in style. Taking cues from southern Rhone, still nice and soft with dark fruit, just enough texture and intensity of acids.
2012 Dolcetto
A bit spirity, almost tequila scotch, sharp red fruits. Pomegranate, spicy savoury notes.
2012 Barbera
Nice intense rubbery notes. Nice and soft, good clarity and intensity, chocolate on the back. Fresh and light but full of flavour.
2012 Primitivo
Deceptively expressive and jubey on the nose, candied red fruit. Soft full and wonderfully dark fruit, bold tannin structure but still relatively elegant and long.
2012 Lagrein
Good structure and depth, freshness and intensity of fruit and acid. Very solid.
2013 Dolcetto
Good core of dark fruit, really vibrant and exciting, forward and friendly. Great fruit driven wine but not classic style, different.
2013 Barbera
Mealy earthy red fruits, nice bite and thrust, freshness and friendliness with sufficient food-friendly acid.
2013 Lagrein
Very dark and intense in colour. Blueberry blackcurrant fruit roll-up. Dark and soft plenty of sweet fruit, but still fresh. Hefty tannins linger on the back.
Filed under Tasting Notes
Domain Day – 10/04/2013
Garganega 2011
Nice clean slightly oily, a touch sea salty and blossomy. Fairly crisp, forward on the palate, fresh texture, balanced through the palate.
Viognier 2009
Bright and fresh citrus blossom and almond, some oily minerality. Quite intense and full, warm texture and weight, creamy robust fruit.
Rose 2010 Pinot Noir Sangiovese
Quite dark, approaching Beaujolais. Dark cherry notes, full character. Dark full-bodied, more red wine than rose.
Sangiovese 2009
Dark and intense colour. Over extracted and fruit sweet, pleasant enough but made like a Shiraz.
Lagrein 2010
Really full inky black, lots of dark plum blackcurrant fruits on the nose, raspberry liquorice. Soft mellow full, round and juicy but also very warm and sweet. Nice clean finish, more in the merlot vein.
Saperavi 2005
Dark earthy concentration, sweet intense blackcurrant fruit, soft dark and full. Teeth-staining.
Dolcezza Garganega 2008
Honeyed citrus notes. Nice balance, not overly sweet, fresh and soft, good lines and complex sweetness on the back.
Domain Day Cellar Door
Filed under Tasting Notes
Massena – 10/04/2013
Barbera 2012
Nice and dark, but not too intense in colour. Characteristic spicy pepperyness, dark red fruits but still extremely lively, intense but not at all heavy, and great acids with enough warmth.
Primitivo 2012
Dense spicy pepper black fruits. Really intense and full but not too clingy or heavy on the back. Great expression and energy, broad on the palate but clean and straight.
2012 Tannat
Quite dark and smoky, subtle spice. Very dense but wonderful structure, full on the palate, nice and broad, firm tannins but not too hot or extractive. Acids and savoury notes there.
2012 Saperavi
Lovely and intense dark and full sweet spice. Sweet fruit but still amazingly fresh and soft,
2013 Barbera
Juicy and bright but lacking in spice and acid.
2013 Primitivo
Dark and sweet black fruits. Dark juicy but perhaps lacking in fruit.
2013 Saperavi
Exceptional structure and velvety tannins. Good fruit weight.
The Massena Barbera and Primitivo
Filed under Tasting Notes
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