Sunlight by Oxford Landing Shiraz 2021

Sunlight by Oxford Landing Shiraz 2021

  08:39    Stu.

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35% lower in alcohol and calories than the standard Oxford Landing Shiraz. Reflecting a general trend toward lower alcohol consumption. 

Berry fruit, dark chocolate, touch up of oak. Solid Shiraz credentials on aromatics alone.

Slick feeling across the palate, seems quite sweet in the way it presents itself. Loose and light presence. 87

Tasted on: Friday 18th November
Source: Sample
Price: $15
Alcohol: 7%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: https://www.oxfordlanding.com/

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De Bortoli Deen Vat Series No 8 Shiraz 2014

De Bortoli Deen Vat Series No 8 Shiraz 2014

  14:30    Stu.

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Touch of blackcurrant pastille about this, black fruit for sure - if perhaps not much else.

Simple, no-nonsense, crowd pleaser for sure. It's ripe and has a creaminess to it, fruity to boot. For the bucks this just delivers, if not the most complex offering. 87 

Tasted on: Friday 21st July, a Root to Flower day
Source: Sample
Price: $12.90
Alcohol: 14%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.debortoli.com.au/

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Delinquente Wine Co. Weeping Juan Pet' Nat' 2017

Delinquente Wine Co. Weeping Juan Pet' Nat' 2017

  08:30    Stu.

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Not sure who Juan is in the context of this wine, but i'd suggest there's no need for the waterworks.

Scant detail on the actual composition of this pretty number from the Riverland's Delinquente Wine Co. I'd hazard that there's perhaps at least a splash of Nero d'Avola or such in the mix - though I'd perhaps also suggest that actual composition is of scant relevance once you clap your laughing gear around its charms.

Pours a blush pink in the glass, the petillence evident from the off. A slight turbidity too. A little muskiness, macerated strawberry and raspberry. Joyous.

Fine on entry with a rambunctious minerality that bolsters credentials through the middle. Feels quite rounded, sitting nicely in the mouth, yet a tickle of bubbles cascades across the palate. The fruit not afraid to make itself known across the final third. Good drinking. 90

Tasted on: Sunday 22nd October
Source: Retail, Camp Hill Cellars
Price: $25
Alcohol: 
Closure: Crown Seal
Website: http://www.delinquentewineco.com/

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Oxford Landing Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2015

Oxford Landing Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2015

  08:30    Stu.

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A sub-$10 Savvy B that I was more than happy to chug a glass of.

Fresh, pithy citrus, hints of grapefruit and gooseberry.

Clean, fresh - if a little dilute, easily overlooked at the price-point. Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself.

Reasonable length of citrus carry. Nothing here to fault. Bingo. 86

Tasted on: Monday 27th July, a Leaf day
Source: Sample
Price: $8.99
Alcohol: 10.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: www.oxfordlanding.com

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Amato Vino Nero d'Avola 2014

Amato Vino Nero d'Avola 2014

  14:19    Stu.

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Throws the wood spice of the 20% whole bunch over cherry and - what seems to me - a little almond.

Light, juicy with some flashy acidity that enlivens. Vibrant- that's the word I am looking for - with licorice adding an extra dimension. That said it is really that freshness that reels you in.

Not terribly long on length - no real drama when it's existence in bottle and glass is equally temporal. 89

Tasted on: Monday 6th April, a Flower day
Source: Retail, Wine Cloud
Price: $25
Alcohol: 14%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.winecloud.com.au/

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Brash Higgins 'ZBO' Zibibbo 2013

Brash Higgins 'ZBO' Zibibbo 2013

  21:11    Stu.

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One day, ZBO may well stand for Zombie Box Office - in my mind a cable channel dedicated to the zombie genre...welcome to my world.

For now, it's a contraction of Zibibbo, the name used for the grape variety Muscat of Alexandria in Sicily, the name that Brad Hickey has opted to use for the second of his amphorae fermented wines, a technique that is also used in Sicily - as it is elsewhere. Sicily, an island that - as you may guess - influences Hickey greatly.

Fruit is drawn from 70 year old bush vines, the resultant wine spends 150 days on skins in amphorae before being pressed off in to two 'old' French barriques. A mere 55 cases produced.

The wine itself needs to be tasted to be believed. It's fresh, fragrant - and these two adjectives only begin to convey the pronounced aromatics on display, aromatics of apricot nectar, lemon balm imbued with a little spice. It's a big aroma, certainly not subtle, yet not over-bearing.

The choice of grape and the fermentation vessel is no chasing a fashion. The choice of Zibibbo was such for its: "potential to develop length and complexity from longer skin contact", the amphorae is noted for its ability to enhance texture. Here we have a wine with a slippery quality, a textural raciness, the wine gliding around the palate. It finishes with a little gingery pinch, but your lasting memory is of texture, of the wine careering around the mouth, of silken movement across the tongue. Damn interesting, a good wine to boot. 91 

Tasted on: Tuesday 28th January, Leaf transitioning to Fruit day 
Source: Private purchase
Price: $37
Alcohol: 12.3%
Closure: Screwcap
Website: http://www.brashhiggins.com/

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Yalumba Y Series Vermentino 2011

Yalumba Y Series Vermentino 2011

  10:30    Stu.

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A variety you're going to increasingly see a lot of - and that's not a bad thing if the examples I have seen are anything to go by.  

Fresh, lemony aromatic profile with an extra dimension redolent of fresh white bread.  In the mouth there's zing and zest, some elements from the tropical fruit spectrum weave their way way around along with a textural edge, washed pebble.

Not a great deal length to the wine, the texture compensating with sufficient interest, where it does excel is in offering fantastic refreshment at an excellent price point - would work perfectly with a large plate of Whitebait.  89 - Good.

Source: Tasting

Price: $12-15

Alcohol: 11.5%

Closure: Screwcap

Website: www.yalumba.com

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Taylor's Winemaker's Project Vermentino 2011

Taylor's Winemaker's Project Vermentino 2011

  21:11    Stu.

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Love the concept: allow your winemaker(s) to play with the varietals they want to, and in the manner they wish.  Push themselves and the boundaries of conventional winemaking, but also telling that story via the little booklet that comes with the wine.  

Grower is certified organic but this wine doesn't state that it is.  Regardless, beautifully fresh aromatics: pear, grapefruit and a hint of honeydew melon.  It's lively, fresh, zippy and zesty - excellent acidic approach through to the wine's conclusion.  Feint sea mineral at the back end, moderate length.  Dangerously drinkable.  89 - Good (could quite happily give an additional point for the story telling too). 

Source: Sample

Price: $22

Alcohol: 10.5%

Closure: Screwcap

Website: http://www.taylorswines.com.au/

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Mirabella Vineyards Shiraz 2009

Mirabella Vineyards Shiraz 2009

  09:22    Stu.

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Opened up quite reductive - a slight sulphurous aroma that can mask fruit characteristics -  at first, but some time in glass shook off that cloak.

Aromas of freshly milled pepper and some pencil shaving cedary oak are immediately apparent.  Entry delivers the peppery aromas on the palate and this rapidly fills the fore palate.  Its pleasingly spicy wine, yet not in the sense of warmth.

The finish is decent too, of moderate length with some fine tannin present.  In summary I consider this a well put together wine - decent for $16.  There's little in the way of complexity, but it integrates nicely and settles with some time in glass.

Source: Sample

Price: $16 RRP

ABV: 14.8%

Closure: Screwcap

Website: http://www.mirabellavineyards.com/

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Mirabella Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2010

Mirabella Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2010

  14:30    Stu.

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Five generations of history in wine has culminated in the production of "wines that are the very best and affordable to all".  This particular example is a Single Vineyard wine drawn from 80 year old vines.

The wine opens with grassy herbaceous aromas typical of Sauvignon Blanc with some lifted citrus aromatics from the supporting Semillon.  The palate delivers varietal tart citrus, providing some thrusting acidity.

The acid in turn provides some breadth: filling the cheeks and lingering in a pleasant manner

In summary this wine delivers what it aims too: quality at a good price.  Varietally correct; the constituent parts are harmonious and in balance with each other.  Recommendation is to chill down and pair with seafood or a summer salad.

Source: Sample

Price: $15

Alcohol: 12% 

Closure: Screwcap

Website: http://www.mirabellavineyards.com/index.html

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