Australian Wine Extravaganza: The Highlights

Now, that is a way to celebrate Australia Day - even if we were a bit late.  We decided to go big for our first tasting of 2011 and last night opened every single bottle of Australian wine that we stock.  A bit of a marathon taste you might think, but there's certainly no better way to get a handle on a country's wines!  We ran the full gamut from sparkling to sweet, but for me it was the reds that stood out, both in terms of quality and variety.  I've picked out one which I especially liked below, but frankly could have chosen one from a number of contenders including D'Arneberg's Dead Arm, Clonakilla's Hilltops Shiraz and Penny's Hill Grenache


Dean Hewitson, Ned and Henry Shiraz 2006
Dean is one of the nicest men in Australian wine, and also one of the country's most talenteed young winemakers.  After studying in California and making wine under great names like Brian Croser, Hewitson set up on his own in 1998, originally renting vines in the Barossa Valley and borrowing winery space, though he now has his own winery and is buying up parcels of old vines outright. 

Ned and Henry is on expressive form tonight, with an energetic bouquet full of blueberry fruit and well integrated, spicy French oak notes.  The palate is clean and crystal clear with more red than dark fruits, a suggestion of menthol and a hit of classic Barossa alcohol.  It's deliciously smooth and certainly ticks the 'drinkable' box but posseses a long finish which denotes real class.  Seems a shame to throw the leftovers away really... so I'll leave them here for you to taste over the weekend!


Tecchie Stuff:  Shiraz with a drop of Mourvedre are dry farmed in old Barossa vineyards and see around 15 months in French oak barriques