$26.90
A dramatic bouquet with raspberry, lavender, dried redcurrant and potpourri, jostling for position with mace, cumin, and coriander seed. The silky, rich palate opens with a burst of juicy berries and finishes spicy. Blueberry, blackberry and blackcurrant yield to anise and mocha, with spices loitering around all the while. A wonderfully slurpy entry resolves to a precise, grippy finish. Yum.
Tessera
A Tessera (plural Tesserae) is one of the small pieces of stone, glass or ceramic that comprises a mosaic. Tesserae are anonymous fractions of a design, and once disassembled, a mosaic cannot be reassembled on the basis of the form of its individual pieces. Malbec – the ‘black wine of Cahors’ – has spent much of its life as a small piece in more famous blends, including Bordeaux. Here though, the drama and beauty of the Tessera shines on its own.
Vineyard
Malbec has a chequered past in Australia, although Clare is one of the few places with a reputation for producing wonderfully dark Malbec bursting with brambly fruit, alluring violet perfume and firm, grippy tannin. The Malbec for the 2018 Tessera from Armagh is no exception. Located 4km northwest of the Clare township, the undulating Armagh vineyard sits on red-grey loam at an elevation of 400m. Solid rainfall in late January and early February together with generally mild conditions through to the end of Summer underscored the quality of the 2016 Clare vintage, including our Armagh Malbec.
Winemaking
The Malbec was hand-harvested in mid-March, bunch sorted, then divided into 2 treatments for vinification using wild yeast. 20% of the Malbec was subjected to carbonic maceration, spending 4 weeks in a small closed fermenter. For the other 80%, a small portion of whole bunches were included in a warm ferment that had 7 days of extended maceration. Both treatments were basket pressed, settled in tank, then transferred to small, fourth-use French oak barrels. The wine was matured for 16 months before the final blend was assembled, then bottled without fining or filtration.
$24.90
$34.90
100% Lenswood Pinot Noir.
Kept on a mix of French and American oak for 11 months before bottling.
Clear bright ruby colour. Sour cherry and raspberry nose lifted by wet leaves and mushroom. Fresh cranberry and red cherry palate with hints of licorice and lively yet smooth tannins.
$38.90
Anderson Hill O Series 2018 Shiraz has taken out the ‘Best In Show’ at the world’s largest and most influential wine competition, the Decanter World Wine Awards!
The wine is dark in colour, with lots of episcopal purple; the aromas are bright, lifted and billowing, not just cherry-fresh but with some billowing cherry blossom in there too. In the mouth, the wine is deep, round, poised and lively: an explosion of vivid fruits with a peppery finish.” – Trophy & 97 Points Decanter DWWA 2020
$49.90
Lifted red cherry, plum and fig are matched with florals and baking spices as well as hints of savoury, earthy notes. The palate features red cherry and cranberry notes which are framed with lovely natural acidity and long fine tannins. A beautifully textured wine with plush, persistent length.
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2020
Alcohol by Volume: 13.5
pH: 3.75
Closure: Screw Cap
Region: Adelaide Hills