A gentle, charming short to medium-term red blend whose floral bouquet of fiery small red berries and plums reveals a whiff of cracked pepper and eastern spice. It’s medium-bodied, smooth and gentle, with a fine, elegant palate whose vivacious black, blue and red fruit flavours are underpinned by notes of beetroot, briar and charcuterie meats, extending down a loose-knit spine towards a lingering and brightly lit finish of licorice and fruit.
A superb, fine, Burgundy-like shiraz whose spicy fragrance of red cherries, redcurrants, blood plums and white pepper reveals a hint of meatiness and some very restrained, cedary oak. It’s richly and generously flavoured, with a mouthfilling presence of pristine redcurrant, cherry and raspberry-like fruit underpinned by fine, slatey tannins before finishing supremely long and savoury. Artfully balanced and delivering medium-weight Hunter style on steroids.
A solid, flavoursome Clare cabernet blend whose ripe and faintly minty aromas of dark plums, cassis, mulberries and creamy vanilla oak reveals a hint of cigarbox. Backed by a firm, drying chalky spine, it’s richly flavoured but remains polished and approachable.
Powerfully varietal, this tangy, savoury fiano reveals musky scents of stonefruit, melon and pear backed by hints of yellow flowers and saltbush. It’s generous and creamy, soft and dry, finishing deliciously saline and mineral.
Scented with blue flowers, cranberries and a whiff of citrus, this deliciously flavoured, fresh and spotlessly pristine grenache is soft, juicy and underpinned by a dusty cut of drying tannin. A terrific quaff.
Floral scents of musk stick and lychees precede a generous, pristine palate whose pristine fruit extends long and juicy towards a faintly briny finish of mouthwatering acids.
Scented with pear, lime and a whiff of apple blossom, it’s juicy and generous, with a gentle, lingering and faintly chalky palate whose faint sweetness is balanced by a refreshing acidity.
A dry, zesty rose whose floral aromas of raspberries and red cherries overlie suggestions of meatiness and citrus rind. Smooth and effortless, its mouthfilling palate tapers gently towards a faintly saline finish of gentle acids.
This astonishingly pure and vivacious sangiovese takes me straight into Chianti. Steeped in classic varietal qualities of dark cherries, blood plums and raspberries, its spicy and floral bouquet also reveals a hint of baked earth and leather. It’s framed by a fine, drying spine of powsery tannins and wrapped in a racy acidity,extending with length and flavour towards a drying and savoury finish. No idea at all how this wine could be this price!
An exceptional wine at its price, this long, luscious shiraz unfolds a spicy bouquet of dark plums, blackberries and cassis knit with smoky, chocolatey oak and lifted by a whiff of cracked pepper. Supported by a fine, firmish spine, it finishes almost savory, with a lingering presence of dark fruits and licorice.
A vibrant, energetic, long and complete Barossa shiraz whose heady perfume of dark berries and plums, gentle cedar/chocolate oak, meaty undertones and sweet spicy notes are lifted by scents of blue flowers and pepper. Fullish to medium in weight, its pristine, evenly paced core of translucently bright black and blue fruits are supported by a drying spine of chalky tannins, finishing with shape and freshness.
If Dave Powell has a signature for grenache, here it is. It’s a wild, heady, pungent and emphatic wine that needs either cellaring or significant breathing to deliver its best. Laced with dark flowers and musky spices, it’s steeped in dense aromas of dark plums, blueberries, licorice and bitumen, with star anise gradually appearing. Saturated with dense black, blue and red fruit that borders on bloodiness, it’s tarry and meaty with a hint of currant, driving forever towards a lingering and savoury finish of red licorice and dark cherries.