Words from a Wine Glass

We are well into Autumn.  The days are getting shorter, afternoons are getting cooler but that’s no excuse for not drinking Rosé.  You have to remember Rosé is just as much a food friendly wine as it is a warm summer day wine.  When there are examples like this one, take a bottle to your favourite Asian restaurant in the middle of winter.  You’ll be doing yourself a favour.

The colour is a salmon pink, almost coppery, which is a good start for me.  Bearing in mind this is a Pinot Noir Rosé the aromas came as no surprise.  Strawberries, fresh, off the plant, out of a punnet.  You name it.  Unmistakable.

There were no surprises when drinking this either.  Strawberries again playing the major role with cherries in support and a subtle spicy note adding some balance to the fruit flavours.  Now, here’s the thing that will surprise you.  It seems quite soft and smooth on the palate yet has a flavour hit that has you coming back for more.  The other thing I like about it is, it finishes dry but with some of that flavour hanging around in support.  Very nice, moreish and easy to drink.

Taylors Wines

Region: Clare Valley, SA     Price: $25     Source: Sample

In case you didn’t know, there is a producer in Clare Valley who has some of the oldest Malbec vines in Australia, maybe even in the world.  It’s famous, there’s no other way to say it.

Now I’m not saying others in the Clare Valley shouldn’t put the same variety into bottle but gee, for those in the know, it’d want to be good.  This is!

It’s off to a really good start.  The colour is pretty dense.  If you don’t like the colour purple (and I’m not talking about the movie) look away now.

So, apart from the obvious dark fruits, there was a peppery note on the nose that made me think that it could have been a cool vintage in the Clare in 2016.  I didn’t bother using Google to find out because they were pretty inviting aromas so it didn’t really matter to me.

Crikey I could drink a lot of this.  It has a melange of coloured fruits.  Red, black and blue, spicy cherries play a role and plums seem to be all through this wine in spades.  It’s like it can’t find the right place to sit in your mouth until you realise it has filled the whole place!

It’s pleasantly medium bodied with plenty of length.  Oak and tannins didn’t bother showing up when I tasted it.  I’ve no doubt they are there but it’s a good indication how well this has come together already.  As I said, I could easily drink a lot of this.

taylorswines.com.au

Region: Clare Valley     Price: $25     Source: Retail Purchase

I like the idea that Oakridge have dropped the ‘Pinot’ half of the name of this particular variety and called it simply ‘Meunier’.  It gives it, and the producer, the opportunity to show that it can stand on its own instead of being associated with a more famous Pinot thingy.

This is simply beautiful to look at, incredible to sniff and smell, and pretty amazing to drink.  I know it’s the wrong way to look at a wine but with this one, I put more thought into trying to find something I didn’t like about it.  Well, how do you reckon that went?  The bottle was empty (I did share it) and I had nothing, zip, zero, nada.  It’s probably more that I kept finding new and exciting things about this wine that I didn’t bother wasting my time on the negatives, as you’re about to see.

It’s incredibly fresh and full of ‘red fruit’ life.  The fruit is so delicately concentrated, the acid is so gentle, tannins are there but so fine and a lithe savoury note rides alongside everything.  There is bucket loads going on here but it is so beautifully balanced and the length!  It’s a brilliant wine.

oakridgewines.com.au

Region: Yarra Valley     Price: $28     Source: Cellar Door Purchase (only available at CD)