It was only a few months ago I wrote about the pure luxury of the 2014 (here) which won a very prestigious award. I commented at the time of just how good the 2015 was going to be considering the positive talk of that vintage. I don’t know if there is a better term than ‘luxury’ but if there is, it would be ideal to describe this wine.
So where do you think the best place to start with this wine is? Well, for me, paired it up with my dessert for the afternoon. Yep, seriously. It was a perfect match but I’ll get to that later.
The nose is generous with plenty of dark fruits that seem to blend in with subtle white pepper aromas but it’s the palate where this shines. “Captivating” is the word actually.
It starts off with gentler dark fruit flavours like loganberry and mulberry but builds up to a richness that is a little shy of blackberries (if you know what I mean) and it just gets better! Dark cherries, plums, spiciness and dab of dark chocolate all spread so evenly across the palate, oak and tannins complementing everything just perfectly, and it fills every crevice of the mouth for a very long time. If you can, let it sit in the glass a little longer and sip and taste it over a period of time and you’ll see just how beautifully it develops.
That dessert I mentioned earlier was Soft chocolate, Pedro Ximenez, salted caramel and malt ice cream (quoted directly from the menu). Coupled with the berriness, cherriness, chocolatiness and creaminess of this wine, I was trying to work out if life could get any better.
This is a complex, beautifully balanced wine, no doubt about it. Having just won the Australian Red Trophy, Australian Shiraz Trophy and Victoria Shiraz Trophy at the International Wine Challenge in London, this is already selling quickly so get in fast for your share.
Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria Price: $80 Source: Ezard Restaurant Wine List
Words from a Wine Glass 