| RED WINTER MIXED DOZEN $199 (VALUE $251) | |
| With winter upon us, now is the time to be drinking red wine. The City Wine Shop mixed dozen represents the best value wines we have tasted around the $15 - $20 mark. This month we have put together a bundle of reds, including a French rosé, two pinots- one from NZ and the other a local Yarra Valley, two Victorian shiraz, a cabernet merlot from Margaret River, from France two grenache blends and a tannat blend, a juicy Barossan made from Portuguese varieties, an Argentinian malbec and a Spanish tempranillo. 2009 Prunet Rosé, Languedoc, France $16 Sandwiched between the Mediterranean coast and the Spanish border, Languedoc is a continually evolving region producing quality driven, affordable wines. This delightful grenache rosé strikes a lovely balance between sweet and savoury fruits, signing off refreshing and dry. 2008 Kurow Village Cricklewood Pinot Noir, Otago, New Zealand $23 One of the few wineries to emerge from the fledgling region of Waitaki Valley in northern Otago, this medium bodied wine unleashes heady notes of dark cherries, allspice and aniseed. A juicy core of dark red fruits is framed by finely grained tannins and bright cleansing acidity. 2009 Philip Lobley Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, VIC $24 After working as chief viticulturist with De Bortoli for 19 years in the Yarra Valley, Phil Lobley has released his own label. With vineyards sitting at 280m altitude in the Upper Yea Valley, the cool climate growing conditions lend itself to this poised and pretty pinot that captures spicy cherries and dark plums on the palate. 2008 Fraser Gallop Estate Cabernet Merlot, Margaret River, WA $21 Winemaker Clive Otto’s (ex Vasse Felix) invaluable local knowledge of Margaret River has enabled this new winery to hit the ground running, with immediate success on the Australian wine-show circuit. Concentrated layers of plush blackberry and mulberry fruit combined with the slightly cooler 2008 vintage conditions provide elegantly framed supportive tannins. 2009 Jamsheed La Syrah, Great Western & Yarra Valley, VIC $22 Few new producers of shiraz have done more to impress us in the last couple of years than Gary Mills of Jamsheed. The 09’ La Syrah is a blend of fruit sourced from Great Western and Yarra Valley. Aromatically, the wine shows beautiful hints of canvas and leather while the palate, despite being ripe, has a refreshing herbal influence and a more-ish savouriness. 2008 Shadowfax Shiraz, Victorian blend $22 Another beauty from winemaker Matt Harrop and his team, this multi-regional blend is sourced from vineyards in Heathcote, Goulburn Valley and the home block at Werribee. Lifted notes of cooking spices, cedar and spicy black fruits, this shiraz opens with some rich fruit notes, rounding off nicely with well balanced tannin and acid. 2003 Château D’Aydie Laplace, Madiran, France $22 Located in the rugged heart of south western France, the Madiran A.O.C produces intensely flavourful and structured reds, dominated by the Tannat grape. Dark in the glass, this blend of tannat, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc shows typical madiran rustic dark fruits and notes of mushroomy earth. The palate follows through with the cabernet component bringing some ripe cassis to lighten the weight. Perfect for the winter months and hearty food. 2007 Lafage Cote Sud Syrah Blend Roussillon, France $23 Syrah based with a 10% portion each of grenache and cabernet sauvignon this wine is sourced from three distinct sites within the southern region of Rousillon. “….Aromas of ripe tomato and smoked meats lead to a slightly chewy-textured, quite dense palate, mingling beef jerky, pungent herbs, and a sort of stone-licking undertone. There is a lot of finish here for the price…..” David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate, June 2009. 2007 Cote du Lion GSM, Coteaux du Languedoc, France $22 Hailing from the sunny coast of southern France, this grenache, shiraz, mouvedre (gsm) blend offers alluring notes of dark berries and dried herbs, before filling in the palate with sweet plum notes. A blend usually associated with the southern rhone valley, this is a good reason to look further afield. 2009 Quattro Mano ‘Duende’, Barossa Valley, SA $20 This terrific new release from winemaker Chris Taylor cements his affinity with Spanish and Portugese varietals. Made from three classic Port varieties; touriga, tinta amarela and tinta cao with a splash of cinsault. Heady floral notes of crushed roses and violets alongside minerals and spice leap from the glass. The palate is ripe, though very graceful with black berries entwined around fresh herbs and a delightful nip of acidity to finish. 2008 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Mendoza, Argentina $20 Historically, the Mendoza area is responsible for the finest wines produced in Argentina. High altitudes and large fluctuations between night and day time temperatures build intense fruit profiles within the wines and in particular, malbec. Mocha, earth, pine and dark plum aromas build around a core of intense black berries and tight knit tannins. 2007 Dominio de Eguren Protocolo Tinto, Castilla, Spain $16 The Eguren family have six wineries throughout Spain, each playing to the strength of the region in which it is based. This tempranillo comes from a winery located in the expansive wine producing region of Castilla-La Mancha, just south of Madrid. Dark cherries and grape-stem spiciness, along with some candied notes and beautiful bright acids make for pleasurable drinking. We hope you enjoy! |
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