Red Wine Teusner The Riebke Shiraz 2019. The Riebke family have been guardians of some of the finest vineyards in the Ebenezer district of the Barossa Valley for six generations. In 2001 former Torbreck winemaker Kym Teusner and his brother-in-law Michael Page founded a new winery that focuses on crafting exceptional value wines from the family’s very old, low-yielding vines. Once in the winery the fruit is carefully selected and sorted to ensure only the finest grapes go into the bottle. After crushing they are then fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in used oak barrels. The final stage is to bottle the wine without any fining or filtering which helps preserve the natural character of the wine. This perfectly-balanced Shiraz is sure to impress with its blend of pure dark fruit, punchy full body, and long finish with silky smooth tannins. On the nose there are seductive notes of black pepper, baked earth, and crushed wild plums, while the palate offers a solid core of dark berries, cherries and mulberry fruit. The power and intensity of this youthful wine make a great choice to serve alongside a prime ribeye steak or a rich ragu sauce served with fresh pasta.
2019
Red Wine Teusner The Riebke Shiraz 2019
Red Wine The Prisoner Wine Company Saldo Zinfandel 2019. No need to decant. The Prisoner Wine Company likes to do things differently. While so many are focused on specific vineyards as the source of good wines year after year, The PWC instead aim to simply find the best grapes they can find throughout Northern California. Saldo translates from Latin as from here and there” which encapsulates this philosophy perfectly. Many of the vineyards that they source grapes from are the most historic, old-vine, dry-farmed vineyards in California. When poured in the glass, the wine demonstrates a classic Zinfandel dark ruby hue. After a swirl, you smell traces of clove intermingled with ripe dark fruit: plums, blackberry and huckleberry. The entry on the palate reveals the plump voluptuous character of the wine. The dark fruit notes continue forward and are intermingled with a juicy acidity and dark chocolate covered cherry note that also picks up on the subtle vanilla spice that signals the finish. The wine is oak aged in a combination of French and American oak, with new oak only making up 25% of the barrels. The dark chocolate notes would make it an incredible accompaniment to a dark molé sauce from Mexican cuisine, but the charred quality of grilled beef or lamb would also compliment the wine wonderfully.
2019
Red Wine Thymiopoulos Naoussa Alta 2019. No need to decant. Widely considered a master of Xinomavro wine, Apostolos Thymiopoulos has a wide range of wines that focus on the multiple profiles of this extraordinary grape: Rosé de Xinomavro, from young 15-year-old vines, Le Jeunes Vignes, Xinomavro Nature, from a magnificent Plot of 40 years with some ungrafted vines and the last, the Alta cuvée, from the selection of very schistose plots at 500 m asl. La Terra e il Cielo, a blend of 40-year-old vineyards located around the villages of Trilofos and Fytia, is considered the very essence of Xinomavro’s finesse. The Naoussa Alta wine comes from Xinomavro vineyards located at an altitude of 500 m on a soil of calcareous marl, schist, granite, and clay which gives the wine a firm tannic presence. The color is pale ruby with garnet reflections. The nose is elegant and fragrant with an impressive bouquet of red fruits (strawberry, cherry, cranberry), spring flowers, cloves, and cinnamon. On the palate, it has a medium to light body, with vibrant acidity and moderate but juicy tannins, and an incredible condensation of fruit. The aftertaste is earthy and persistent. It’s perfect with spaghetti with meatballs, eggplant parmigiana, or rustic pie with mushrooms.
2019