Introduced to the Cape Mentelle Vineyard via cuttings from California in 1975, Zinfandel is a particularly challenging variety to manage in the vineyard and winery. This rich, almost hedonistically dimensioned effort makes all the hard work worthwhile and as such has developed something of a cult following among enthusiasts of bold red wines. Predominantly sourced from the Cape Mentelle's estate vines, grown to a combination of ironstone gravel soils, old bush vines and vertically shoot positioned canopies. The vines are shoot thinned and in some cases leaf plucked to ensure the perfect balance between ensuring fruit exposure to light along with protection from the midday sun. Grapes were handpicked and destemmed, the must was allowed to soak for several days prior to fermentation, softening up the raisined berries before being inoculated with a vigorous yeast strain. The wine fermented to dryness before being basket pressed directy to large oak vats or French oak barriques for malolactic and eighteen months maturation.

Deep crimson with red tints. Nose of ripe blackberry, fresh prunes, chocolate, cinnamon and fruit cake. Layers of juicy plums and ripe currants enclosed in a full, creamy and textural palate enhanced by hints of allspice and vanilla. The robust, plushly fruit driven mouthfeel is concentrated and complex. The finish is long and fresh with velvety tannins. Offering a typically high alcohol content, bold and rich in styling, savour this with venison and strong cheeses.

America, look out! This astonishing zin has an explosively floral fragrance of blueberries, blackberries and sweet charry, perfumed oak backed by spicy, meaty undertones. Deep and alluring, it's silky-smooth but stacked with layers of enticingly dark and luscious red and blue berries, handsome smoky oaky and roast meat influences, finishing with exceptional balance and elegance. Supported by very fine-grained and dusty tannin, it glides effortlessly towards a long, lingering and savoury finish with persistent notes of bitumen.(18.9/96, YTD 2015-2019+) Jeremy Oliver

Castagna’s La Chiave sangiovese 2006 takes ’seriousness’ in Australian sangiovese to a different level. It has the same lean, tight profile as the Genesis Syrah of the same vintage though in the end it presents quite differently. It’s nothing but ripe and yet there’s barely any trace of sweetness here. Roasted meats, dark cherries, gunsmoke, gumleaf and asian spices. That’s the flavour profile. Has lovely acidity, cleansing and natural and appropriate to the overall wine. Will hold it in excellent stead. Needs time for the tannin to resolve itself; but it will. Aftertaste is immensely savoury. A strong, robust, serious wine. 94+ Points; Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front, Oct 2009

Sangiovese is a passion of Julian Castagna and he is immensely proud of his single-site expression. It has superb freshness and clarity of fruit on the nose, red cherries with spice and bracken-like complexity; the oak is super discreet. The palate has juicy, fine tannins that wrench savoury chew throughout, plenty of dark, briary berry flavour and a little more oak seen here. The finish is resoundingly savoury, driven by those long tannins and juicy acid spring. 94 points, Nick Stock - Penguin Wine Guide 2010

Did you pick before or after the heat? This was the question most commonly asked around South Australian wine areas in the 2008 post vintage period. A record 15 days straight over 35°c in mid March saw sugar levels skyrocket. Thankfully we had picked our last block on the first day of the heatwave, so saved ourselves much grief. The vintage was bookended by heat with the warmest New Years Eve on record as well. But.... the bit in between was lovely!! No rain, mild days and good medium crop levels stood the vintage in good stead as long as you finished early.

Deeply coloured. Spicy fragrant nose. Real depth and tightness. The wine was aged in predominantly French oak barriques of which 35% was new. This is a serious cellaring wine. Many Grenache based reds can be light hearted and fresh, and indeed this is a legitimate manifestation of one Grenache style, but our aim is to make classic dark wines with a mix of spice, liquorice and other complex flavours leavened by some sweeter talc like perfume that will evolve into a seductive long term style.

The normal Charles Melton melange of techniques: whole bunch fermentation, along with de-stemmed but uncrushed fruit. Cap management involves daily pumpovers throughout the fermentation. Due to the strength of the tannins we slightly shortened our skin contact time to avoid astringency, but the wines still developed deep lusturous.

A wonderfully rich style.  Exotic, almost turkish delight aromatics leap from the glass.  The Grenache (46%) shows its true colours in the perfume, and the Cabernet and Shiraz add texture to the palate whilst still allowing the wine to retain a lightness of touch for which the Rose of Virginia is known.  A pinch of Pinot Meunier and Mataro add just the merest hint of spice.

Wine Advocate #148 (Aug 2003)  Robert Parker 92 points  Drink 2003-2013. The 2001 Grenache Old Vines Hickinbotham Vineyard is a winner. This full-bodied, earthy, peppery wine is loaded with licorice-imbued black and red fruits. Expressive, elegant, and lush, it should be drunk over the next decade.
 
eRobertParker Only (Feb 2002) Robert Parker (92-93) points. Barrel samples of this wine look to be one of the greatest Grenaches this extraordinary winery has yet produced. There are about 800-1,000 cases this single-vineyard Grenache, which is made very traditionally in open-top fermenters with punching down. To reiterate, it goes in the bottle after indigenous yeast fermentations. This wine spends18 months in primarily old oak prior to being bottled without fining or filtration. It is among the finest Grenache-based wine made outside of France's Southern Rhone Valley.

This vineyard is situated in the hills above the township of Clarendon, planted in 1920. The wine from here is always very aromatic, lovely scents of cherry, plum with lavender and basil notes in the background. The wine is always one of the most attractive wines in the portfolio. Roman Bratasiuk, the owner/winemaker

The 2002 Grenache Old Vines Romas Vineyard’s saturated ruby/purple color is followed by a superb bouquet of black fruits, truffles, Asian spices, figs, and licorice. Powerful, rich, and upfront, this layered, intensely concentrated Grenache can be drunk now or cellared for 10-12 years. Roman Bratasiuk is one of Planet Earth’s greatest winemakers, and obviously a top-notch viticulturist given his obsession with sourcing extraordinary fruit from ancient McLaren Vale vineyards. Wine Advocate # 155; Oct 2004 Robert Parker 96 points Drink 2004 - 2016

The 2002 Grenache Romas Vineyard has an inky/purple color more akin to Syrah than Grenache. Exhibiting the essence of blackberry liqueur, it is just beginning to reveal secondary nuances (Asian spices, figs, and licorice). Full-bodied and powerful, with an unreal finish, it will be at its peak between 2006-2016. Wine Advocate # 148
Aug 2003 Robert Parker (95-97) points; Drink 2006 - 2016

The nose displays dried herbs, dark / sour cherry along with a typical earthy Sangiovese aroma. The palate is medium in body with red current, violets, dark cherry and dark chocolate showing through. The finish is bright and long with savoury, gravelly tannin.

Sangiovese was pioneered in Australia by Coriole Vineyards with the first plantings in 1985. It provided a contrasting style to Shiraz, the great tradition of McLaren Vale. It has proved to be ideally suited to the warm maritime climate of the region. The fruit is sourced from some of the oldest producing Sangiovese vines in Australia. The 2010 vintage is Coriole’s 24th release.

Coriole is situated in the undulating hills of the densely planted McLaren Vale region just within sight of the sea and less than an hour from Adelaide. The original farmhouses were built in 1860 and are now the epicentre of the garden and cellar door at the winery. The original vineyards were planted immediately after the first world war.

Shiraz is the great tradition of McLaren Vale going back over 150 years, and is the major variety planted on the estate. The first wine released was the 1970 Claret (Shiraz). Coriole has been an Australian pioneer of Sangiovese and Italian varieties since 1985.

Pinot Noir is grown specifically for this wine on our Dixons Creek vineyard. Fruit is gently pressed, settled overnight and racked to 5 and 6 year old casks. We include the pressings fraction for flavour as well as to lower the acidity in the juice. The juice is allowed to ferment with indigenous yeast. Fermentation and lees aging in older barrels further adds texture and depth of flavour to the wine. Once ferment is complete, the wines are topped and stirred fortnightly for 3 months before gravity racking, settling and bottling. Alc/Vol : 13.0 %

Pale salmon pink. Vibrant, good Pinosity, touch of strawberry. Lively and harmonious savoury palate. Textured, integrated and deliciously dry. This wine should be enjoyed young and fresh but can be cellared in good conditions for up to 3 years. Cured Salmon, oysters or just on a lovely sunny day. Either way serve quite chilled.

This innovative blend is full of cherry and red berry fruits with a hint of spice. The palate is generous yet savoury, supported by grippy tannins.

This wine is a rich, soft, food friendly wine that cares little for convention. Blend savoury silky black cherry Sangiovese with spicy brambly Shiraz? Why not! Enjoy this delicious wine over the next few years with hearty fare and lively company? Definitely!

The nose is full of juicy cherry and redcurrant fruits, with a hint of spice. On the palate there is an abundance of savoury spiced cherry and tart blackberry, enhanced by some spicy older oak. It is a savoury well balanced wine that will complement most roast meats and casseroles.

The blend works very well indeed, plum, red cherry and sour cherry coming together on a lively and fresh palate, the tannins savoury yet fine. Screwcap. 13.8% alc. Rating 94 Points; Drink 2017 $20 Date Tasted Sep 09 James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2011

Lovely wine to drink. It's got some grunt too, even though its essentially a savoury style. It tastes of sour cherries and sandalwood, mint and spice and has some tarry oomph. Lovely tannin structure and an excellent juiciness - it tastes as much like the barbera grape variety as it does of sangiovese, but however you want to see it, it’s an excellent wine. 93 Points; Price: $30; Drink: 2010-2015; Campbell Mattinson & Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2010/2011

Possessing a medium ruby colour, the rose petal character on the nose is pretty profound, with quite a lot of tar and some funky game notes. Layers of aromas include rose hip tea, tobacco, some loam, a bit of dark chocolate and a touch of anise amongst the stewed Ceylon tea leaves. The medium to full body, crisp acidity and firm, chewy tannins confirm this is a wonderfully varietally expressive wine with a long complex finish. 95-97 points (Barrel sample). Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate June 2010.

In 1876 Thomas Hardy recognised the potential that lay within the rich loamy soils of McLaren Vale and purchased the Tintara Winery & Vineyard from a Dr. Kelly.  Two years later the Mortlock Flour Mill was converted into the present winery. This facility stands proud as one of Australia’s pre-eminent winemaking facilities, consistently producing award-winning wines of outstanding character and complexity.

Brick red with purple hues, this highly fragrant bouquet shows musk, red liquorice, star anise and blackberry fruit characters. A rich and textured palate has been created, with bright fruit characters of strawberries and violets with underlying musk. The vibrant fruit characters on the palate are supported by elegant, savoury tannins which lead into a long, refined finish.

Tintara wines are aimed to be the purest expression of what the McLaren Vale wine region can produce. An historic area best known for Shiraz and Grenache. This fruit when combined with small batch open fermenters and basket pressing along with the use of specific French coopers matched to each vineyard, results in individual wines with great depth and style.

Fine-grained and elegant, this charming and supple grenache has a meaty, leathery aroma of brambly red and black fruits lifted by a spicy, floral perfume. Juicy to the point of viscosity, its palate offers length and integration. (McLaren Vale, not yet released, 17.5/91, drink 2009-2012) Jeremy Oliver, OnWine

Our Baby Bush vines thrived in the warm vintage of 2008. After hand picking and fermentation on skins, the wine completed its maturation in the very same barrels used, when new, for Old Garden Mourvèdre. The result is an intense wine of unique quality displaying very similar, yet youthful, flavours and characteristics of the Old Garden: brambles, blueberries and glazed cherry with hints of tobacco and sage. The wine has a rich and velvety mouthfeel backed by fine tannins.

The structure, balance and youthful poise of Baby Bush Mourvèdre ensures the wine is extremely enjoyable now. It will also reward with time in the cellar.

I’m guessing that there’s not going to be any of the old vine Mourvedre released this vintage as it normally comes along with the baby. I saw that Mattinson described the 2007 vintage as having a “tangerine deliciousness” and I like that one a lot. It’s also nutty, red fruited (cherry/raspberry) and minorly earthy with crisp acidity and subdued tannins for a Mourvedre - light on the extract, easy to drink. I’d suggest it will be better again with a couple of years under its belt. Rated : 90+ Points Tasted : Jan10 Alcohol : 14.5% Price : $28 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2011 - 2015 By Gary Walsh; The Wine Front

2010 vintage Miss Harry is sourced from traditionally grown vineyards dating back to the late 1800s in the Barossa Valley. The 2010 vintage is a blend of Grenache (44%), Shiraz (39%), Mourvèdre (8%), Carignan (4%) and Cinsault (4%). All of these varieties are historically grown in the southern Rhone Valley of France near the Mediterranean, and are normally blended together to make the local wine. These varieties have a natural affinity for the Barossa Valley. The old deep-rooted Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre perfectly accompany the later-ripening and lower-alcohol Carignan and Cinsault and that add a small yet important part to the blend.

The vineyards were picked at optimum maturity, fermented separately on their skins before finishing fermentation and malo-lactic fermentation in old French barriques then matured in these same barrels for about twelve months without racking. These are our traditional methods that intensify flavour and complexity.

A blend of Grenache (44%), Shiraz (39%), Mourvèdre (8%), Carignan (4%) and Cinsault (4%) that I tasted alongside the (presumably) sold out 2009 vintage (I’ll review it anyway). I liked them pretty much equally. Also interesting to note that Mattinson has not reviewed a Miss Harry since V2003. Was it something that she said? Raspberry rope, summer berries, florals and spice – a pretty wine. It’s evenly weighted and lively with light faintly gritty tannin and a little dried herb on the finish. Smashable now, but I reckon it will be better again in a year or two when it builds a little more complexity and savouriness. Rated : 91 Points Tasted : Nov11 Alcohol : 14% Price : $20 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2012 - 2017 By Gary Walsh; The Wine Front

This stalwart grenache, shiraz, mourvèdre blend includes a touch of carignan and cinsault this year. It's medium-bodied, beautifully balanced and not at all your typical Barossa blockbuster. The aromas of cherry and plum breathe to reveal pepper and spices. Elegant, soft and seamless. Now to six years. 14 per cent alcohol. Food: Game-and-mushroom pie. 91 Points; Huon Hooke, The Sydney Morning Herald

In 1853 Friedrich Koch planted this Mourvèdre vineyard in the heart of the Barossa Valley in the area now known as Rowland Flat. Nurtured in deep sand over a bed of limestone the vines flourished. By the 1880s the local vignerons had already acknowledged the vineyard as the Old Garden. To the end of the 19th Century, throughout the 20th Century and now into the 21st Century subsequent generations of Koch's family have tended these vines in the traditions of the Barossa: no irrigation, hand pruned and hand harvested. Today nothing has changed. Old Garden is likely to be the oldest Mourvèdre vineyard in the world. Where a vine has died there is a gap. There are no replants. Every vine is from the original 1853 planting.

2008 was one of the hottest years on record with a heatwave of over 40C for twelve consecutive days in early March. Nevertheless, the Old Garden vineyard is so old and its roots go down so deep that this vineyard was relatively unscathed by such extreme weather conditions. Traditionally one of the very last vineyards to be picked in the Barossa Valley, the fruit from the Old Garden was left on the vines until late March ensuring full development of their flavour profile while also softening the grape tannins. After fermentation for two weeks the wine was matured in 100% new French barriques for twelve months. The 2008 Old Garden is the essence of Mourvèdre. From 157 year old vines and from the hottest vintage on record, if ever there is going to be expression of fully ripe Mourvèdre flavour then surely this is it.

Once you get in to this glass of wine a whole new world opens up and you won't want to leave. Roasted chestnuts, sarsaparilla, cinnamon, Victoria plums, flowers, meatiness, melting tannins, velvet and the trademark glace orange rind of Old Garden go for an eternity after you swallow. This wine is absolute and classic Old Garden. This is what great wine is about: expression of single vineyard and vintage.

A delicious result from these seasoned campaigners - the vines were planted in 1853. This has brambly, wild red and dark fruits on the nose, some toasty oak and dark toasted spices. The palate's packed with juicy, fleshy red and blue fruits and some fine, dark mineral threads. It's really elegant and even, superbly balanced and toasty through the hauntingly long finish. Brilliant wine - a national treasure. Rating : 96 points; Nick Stock, The Good Wine Guide 2011

Supple and finely balanced, with a lingering confiture-like presence of figs and berries, it reveals a briary, very spicy and meaty bouquet whose fresh notes of blackberries, raisins and currants are underscored by a note of preserved cherry. Very concentrated and juicy, with a lingering core of meaty, raisined but vibrant fruit underpinned by silky, loose-knit tannins, it finishes with lingering notes of dark plums, cherries and blueberries. Rating: 93 points; Jeremy Oliver, The Australian Wine Annual

Giant Steps seek to make wine that is less overt and obvious than most. Approximately equal proportions Gordo Muscat (Muscat of Alexandria) grown to the Boulton vineyard, and Black Muscat grown on the Burge estate vineyard. The fruit is always picked at healthy levels of baumé and fantastic natural acidity. Fruit is harvested at night, chilled and crushed and then given six hours skin contact to develop the shocking nipple pink colour. Fruit was then pressed to stainless steel tanks and filtered bright before inoculation. Juice is fermented long and cold until full natural carbonation was achieved and the optimum balance between sugar and alcohol was reached. Cold filtered and cold bottled at 0°C, crown sealed, try cellaring for ten minutes (on ice) or twelve months. Approx alcohol 6.0%
 
Pretty in pink with a slight petulance. Fairy floss, sherbet, pink grapefruit and mandarin bouquets. Tastes like kisses. Rhubarb crumble, toffee apple flavours and fizz on the palate, a fresh pear and tamarillo skin finish. To accompany apple tart tatin and strawberry crepes, soft blue cheeses and fruit.
 
One sip of this Moscato and I came over all Emily Howard. I found my inner lady, put on a flower print dress and went and sat by the pool. Yes, Moscato is that kind of wine. It’s a well worn cliché to say it’s a feminine wine that’s generally marketed to ladies, but just look at the bottle. 375Ml’s of cuteness, blushing pink with packaging so arty and clean it could be perfume. Just one crack of the crown seal and the perfume analogy is fitting. It’s a pretty wine showing delicate florals, hints of musk and persian fairy floss as well as a heightened scent of red berries. For me, most Moscato’s don’t deliver, they may be heady and fragrant but are often too sweet. This version at just 5.5% defies the norm and delivers an effervescence not disimilar to a fine sparkling. There’s a delicate bead and a creaminess to the palate, evocative flavours of rose and liquid fairy floss, a burst of sweetness but in no way cloying and then the refreshing hit of balanced acids. It’s refreshing and mouth-watering and makes you head back for more. Well done Innocent Bystander, you channeled my inner female and to paraphrase Shania Twain: “Man, I feel like a woman.” Patrick Haddock - Wining Pom, 2011-09-02

The following reviews are for the previous 2010 vintage:

The Hon. Minister of Transport says you can’t get a Moscato that points within 10 of a good Grange, but I disagree. I point on joy and entertainment rather than super- and infra-structural technicalities and restrictive budgets, and this little honey deserves 94. Its pink but adult, sweet but complex, incredibly fresh and fruity, yet with enough desert dust to balance ones miasma, and it has highly determined acidic tropical fruits to balance its frivolous musk. One cruel Sunday morn, after a surfeit of Saturday night 94 point red, the Hon. Minister will slurp one of these wicked cuties and agree with me. Betcha! Rating - 94 Points; Independent Weekly 2010
 
Innocent Bystander is the entry-level range from Phil Sexton at the Giant Steps winery in the Yarra Valley. Who's Phil Sexton, you may wonder? He's been a pioneering micro-brewer in Western Australia - Matilda Bay, Redback and little Creatures - and a Margaret River winemaker, the founder of the reputable Devil's Lair. All the Bystanders are worth at least a glance, but the rose especially appeals for its bright cherry and strawberry fruit, its neat balance and its seasonable relevance. A simple style maybe, but a handy option for spring and summer meals. Paddy Kendler in 'Quaffing', Herald Sun

Completely whole bunch fermented with a short maceration (a few hours) sufficient to impart colour and texture. Following a soft pressing, the juice is given a cool fermentation in stainless steel and allowed to ferment to almost complete dryness. Maturation on lees in stainless steel adds texture and malo-lactic fermentation is prevents to ensure vibrancy.

Sitting neatly between “Old World” (pale, dry and restrained) and “New World” (bright, fruit focussed and exuberant). The colour is pale pink, with crimson highlights when viewed across a full glass. A vibrant nose displays fruit drops, red berries and floral aromas of roses and lavender. A beautifully balanced palate combines rich fruit flavours and a round mouth-feel with soft acidity and freshness on a dry finish.

Wine Advocate #143 (Oct 2002) Robert Parker 92 points  Drink 2002-2014: The 2000 Eclipse (a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Shiraz, aged in large American barrels, and bottled unfiltered) is stunning stuff. Its dense purple color is accompanied by gorgeous aromatics of blackberries, super-ripe black cherries, and hints of smoke and underbrush. Like all the Noon offerings, it possesses stunning purity, a fabulous texture, and a long finish (in excess of 35 seconds). Anticipated maturity: now-2014.
 
During my trip to South Australia I visited with owners Andrew and Rae Noon. They are part of the young, open-minded generation (Rea's father also made wine) that is guided by one goal ... to produce the most uncompromising product possible. In 2000, there are 750 cases of the Eclipse, 260 of the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, and 350 of the Shiraz Reserve, all three staggeringly great efforts from a vintage that, on paper, should not have produced wines this prodigious. Interestingly, I had a chance to taste the Noon offerings opened in my presence against bottles opened twenty-four and seventy-two hours earlier. Remarkably, there was not much difference. Even from bottles that had been opened for three days, the wines were still exhibiting incredible amounts of fruit as well as concentration. This always indicates the potential for longevity.

I've just opened the three 2005 Noon reds - and just like that, half the audience has turned off already. That is what the Noon wines do, they polarise - I'm a fan, so this is a time of the year that I always look forward to. These are wines of the utmost integrity, made gently, in an unabashed style. They are what all wine should be; the ultimate expression of themselves. Now to the 2005 editions ... how are they looking?

The wine that is almost always my favourite is the Eclipse - always predominently McLaren Vale grenache, off the Noon's home vineyard, with a proportion of shiraz blended in. The 2005 Noon Eclipse is, as almost always, warm to hot on the palate, but boy is it gorgeous too: it tastes of wheat and brandy-soaked plums, cream and cedar, port-filled chocolates and the headiest of blackberries and raspberries. It is a style, it is itself, and this vintage is a high quality example of it. If I was on the mailing list I'd be buying this and drinking it in the first 18 months, even though it will cellar, easily, for a dozen years - I just love em young. 93 points. Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

The Picante Tempranillo Shiraz is blended from there key components. A core of intensely flavoured Tempranillo provides structure and tannin with rich fruit Shiraz adding mid palate weight and a supple texture. Finally a component of de-classified Rioja Tempranillo adds complexity and length. The fruit is 100% de-stemmed and given a cool maceration before fermentation in stainless steel. In the Joven style, the majority of the wine is matured in stainless steel on lees to maintain fruit vibrancy with a component undergoing carbonic maceration. A further component is aged in two to three year old oak barrels.

Rich, dark, plummy fruit on the nose, sweetly ripe, rich aroma. Lots of dark fruits - blackberry and a hint of blueberry, and ample soft tannins coat the mouth. There's good length and it has Gravitas. This is a substantial wine for the price with what it takes to age, it drinks well now too. 94 Points; Huon Hooke; Australian Gourmet Traveller WINE Magazine

Best Spanish Red Wine under $50
94 Points - Five Stars
"Picante Espana took top honours from an impressive field of Spanish Reds" AGT

A mostly Tempranillo wine from Castilla la Mancha, with a fifth of Shiraz, the first thing I noticed literally seconds after opening was how bright and pretty the wine was - without even a minute to breath. The first taste gave way to well weighted ripe, berry and spicy tones with elements of spice. As it warmed it gained complexity with hints of fennel and darker fruits. All of these wonderful juicy nuances are balanced by a crisp, savoury finish. An Excellent wine, it is hard to see this offending anyone, the quintessential crowd-pleasing Spaniard. I look at many wines on a daily basis and the value here is top shelf, indeed the story goes that this has a portion of declassified Rioja Tempranillo which explains the complexity and length. At $150 a case, delivered to most - with excellent packaging to match, this really is no brainer territory. Drink: Now-2016+; Quality: Excellent BW; WineStar© January 2011

A more complex and musky wine from Rioja that shows the elevated position of the region. Smells of boysenberry and light spice; there are plenty of fine, fluffy tannins, purple fruit flavours, plums and cherries, bright acidity and an earthy twist. 93 Points; Australian Gourmet Traveller WINE Magazine: Top 200 European Wines

Bud burst occurred mid to late September, after a third consecutively dry winter where well below average rainfalls were recorded throughout the King Valley. An extremely dry (less than 5mm of rain was recorded) October was followed by above average rainfall in November and December, this promoted shoot growth. Vintage conditions were quite cool except the week of high temperatures in February. Given the nature of the conditions, most varieties reached physiological and flavour maturity at low potential alcohols. So the whites have intense aromas and tight structure and the reds are very good with strong flavours and great colours. This should provide the reds with extended aging potential.

The Sangiovese was fermented with inoculated yeast BM45 and wild yeast. The ferment temperatures reached and were maintained at thirty degrees. Once the wine finished alcoholic fermentation the free run juice was drained and the skins then lightly pressed. The wine was allowed to settle for a day before it was transferred to barrels for malic acid fermentation and barrel aging. The wine spent 14 months in oak. The wine was then blended, fined and bottled.

The colour is a dense brick-cherry red with purple hues. The nose is vibrant and fresh, with lifted notes of plums, spice, red berries and dark cherries. As the wine opens there are lovely herbal and savoury characters with background oak notes. It has chalky tannins that line the palate and fresh, vibrant acidity. Flavours of plum, spiced cherries and earthy tones run through the palate providing length. This wine will be restrained young, but will age beautifully.

A medium weight wine that really sums up the Pizzini story of Italian heritage and Australian terroir. The wine has a vibrant cherry color, with dark cherry hue. The nose exudes red berries, dried herbs, and dusty spice. Aromatics of savory plums and cherries give the wine a youth-full juicy lift. The palate is fresh and lush and has lovely soft chalky tannins and gentle yet crisp acidity. It is a wine to be consumed fresh and young.

Some batches of Sangiovese were fermented at a warm thirty degrees Celsius to extract as much flavour, tannins and texture as possible. The remainder was fermented at a lower temperature of twenty three degrees Celsius to help retain freshness and fruit lift. The Shiraz was fermented at twenty five degrees Celsius to extract more delicate aromatics and fruit flavour. Both varieties were matured in stainless steel to impart freshness to the wine. The resulting wine is our “vino di tavola” Chianti style made for drinking now and every day.

The aroma is floral with rose petals and raspberries with a hint of nutmeg. The palate has a mouth-wateringly juicy weight that is long and finishes with subtle gravelly tannins. Winemaking has chosen to showcase the stylish fruit flavours of Tempranillo and for the oak to have a very subtle influence. The resulting wine is fresh, lively and lots of fun, perfect for the Australian lifestyle and cuisine.
 
The Running with Bulls Barossa Tempranillo is sourced from multiple growers in the western ranges of the Barossa, through to the valley floor and into the Penrice region. This provides a great range of aroma and flavour profiles, creating an interesting and varietal Barossa Tempranillo.
 
A deep ruby crimson in colour, the Running with Bulls Tempranillo 2010 has an aroma reminiscent of black forest cake, black cherries and chocolate with hints of cinnamon spice and lavender. The wine opens on the palate with juiciness, flesh and flavours of dark cherries, leading onto a savoury mid palate and fine tannins, which are the hallmark of the variety. Perfect with tapas or wood oven pizza.
 
I’m told, reliably, that all the Melbourne wine writers love this sort of thing. So there you go. By and large Australian Tempranillo is still a bit of a challenge for me. Cherry, red fruits, spice and nutty barrel action – some youthful stink subsides, given a good airing. It’s smooth and thickly tannic, mid-weight and nutty with a particularly good mid-palate and a satisfying finish. Fleshes out and looks more complete with a decant, so there’s a bit of potential here too I’d suggest. Brightness, fun and interest – and great value. Rated : 91 Points Tasted : Feb11 Alcohol : 13.5% Price : $19.95 Closure : Screwcap Drink : 2012 - 2016 Gary Walsh; The Wine Front

Typical purple colour and lovely spicy, rhubarb-like aromas with quite a feral character. Lively, juicy, mouthwatering purple fruit flavours. 4 stars; Panel of Judges, Winestate (Aus), March/April 2011