On my walk the other morning, it was a beautiful, clear and still start to the day. The sun was up enough to bring light and warmth to everything it touched. I walk across a short bridge over an inlet. When the tide is out, the inlet is more like a pond and, on this particular morning, it was so still it was like a natural mirror. The reflection was almost a perfect copy of everything surrounding the pond with just the slightest ripple. The trees, clear sky and fading moon reflected along with the natural colours mother nature provides with the inlet’s embankment framing the almost perfect picture.

Pouring these wines in their respective glasses reminded me of this pond. It was almost like I was looking at the surface, taking in the aromas, and experiencing the flavours, and the wines are a reflection of Ray Costanzo and his wife Jen, the people behind the Storm King wines. They seem to possess a naturalness, with their care, attention and focus evident, excluding the ripples. You just can’t help but sit back, taste each wine, and appreciate what was being reflected from the glass in which it is framed. The reflection may not be real, but what is being reflected about Ray, Jen and the wine is.

2021 Mataro Graciano

Fresh and fruit driven from the first to the last pour. It’s a lovely deep colour and so beautifully aromatic. There’s a brightness and richness on the medium bodied palate showing these two varieties work very well together (thanks to some clever Ray Costanzo blending).  Dark fruits, spicy red cherries and a nice touch of white pepper showing through too. To sum this wine up, it’s a palate and people pleaser in a bottle. Sure to delight and excite.

2021 Vermentino

I really liked this wine from the first whiff until it eventually left my taste buds. It’s delightful on the nose with a fruit salad bowl of aromas getting things started. The palate offers up stonefruits and pear juice like characters, lovely texture and presence, a hint of acidity and spice, and very good length to top it off. Deeeelicious!

2021 Shiraz Malbec

Another delight from top to toe. Fruitful, characterful, wonderful. There’s a bountiful array of black and red fruits providing richness yet maintaining a medium bodied palate feel, plus a slight pepper and spice influence all of which just glides across the palate. Gee it’s good. This has to be one of the most popular blends going around at the moment and, when you see examples like this one, it is easy to see why.

Region: Granite Belt, Qld     Price: $55(each)     Source: Sample thanks kindly to Storm King Wine Co. Website