The suburb I live in and the suburb next to it are divided by, literally, one street.  On one side of the street, the suburb where I live starts.  On the other side, the ‘other’ suburb ends.  Both are a very popular suburbs and for some reason, a few years ago, the suburb I live in was viewed as being a bit snobbish.  How things have changed!  The hidden qualities of the ‘other’ suburb are now well recognised and so it should be.

The reason I mention this is, Wrattonbully is 30 kilometres away from its more famous neighbour Coonawarra.  When you look at the list of wine producers that either produce wine in the region or source grapes from there you’d be wondering, like me, why it isn’t more on the wine drinker’s mind.  This terrific example has certainly reminded me of the quality of wines coming out of the region and I hope it prompts you to find this and other wines from Wrattonbully.

The lovely deep red colour kicked things off as I poured it into the glass and it didn’t take long for the aromas to make their way to my nose.  Hello to an array of dark fruits and a touch of dried herbs while there is a hint of oak poking through.  Tasting it was an absolute pleasure.  Rich, intense and delightful flavours of ripe, lush and juicy dark berries.  Can’t you just taste them?  Let’s not forget about the other contributing characters of this wine.  There are some herb notes doing their bit, creamy ganache like chocolate has a say, tannins don’t miss out on some attention either and the oak presents so well alongside the plentiful fruit.  What definitely got my attention was the excellent, long finish.  It stuck around for quite some time. 

I don’t know if you noticed, but I was very impressed with this wine.  It’s still very young and, as much as it will drink well with a good decant, it really deserves to be allowed to age gracefully in a cool, dark place.

https://www.carillionwines.com.au/

Region: Wrattonbully, SA     Price: $50    Source: Sample courtesy of Carillion Wines and Define Wine