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May
3

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Next Generation: Margan Barbera White Label 2011

Category: bold reds, Hunter Valley, Musings Tags: , Leave a Comment

Here is a feature wine from Andrew Margan, one of the Hunter Valley’s Next Gen winemakers that you can catch on their 2013 Caravan of Courage tour at a location near you:

 

Andrew and Lisa Margan offer wine lovers good reason to venture to Broke with their stunning food and cellar door. This is a wine made for food, as is the barbera wines from Northern Italy.

The nose is rich with caramel spice, cherry and some wild herbs.  Bright acid and juicy sweet fruit dance along the palate leaving a maraschino cherry and coconut oak finish in its wake.  As a classic Hunter, it is medium bodied with supple tannins.  Drink it now with some venison pot pie and miniature steamed veges but I would probably leave it in the cellar to rest a while to come together more.

Date: 28th April 2013   Price:  $40    Value: $  Drink:  Now  – 7+ years

Read more about Andrew and the other Next Gen winemakers here.

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Mar
26

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Easter – no bunnies here!

Category: bold reds, elegant reds, Features, Fizz, Fortified, fruity white, Red Wine, savoury whites, Sparkling, sweet, Vintage Sparkling, White Wine Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

After the thrill of Easter eggs and frill of Easter baskets comes the meal to celebrate the spirit of new life.  For some more orthodox religions, this also means the breaking of the fast in a traditional feast with all the trimmings.  Where ever you live, whether Northern or Southern hemisphere the milder weather is welcomed.  Like we just needed another reason to celebrate!

Easter menu’s range from traditional ham, roast pork or lamb with seasonal vegetables to more modern styles.  Don’t forget the seafood/fish feasts for Good Friday (this, I confess, is when we aim to have fish and chips by the beach as a family). Dessert is always the height of anticipation on any celebratory menu and may well be a simnel cake or at least the last slices of it or a simple repast of hot cross buns. These never last long in my house for some reason and perhaps if they did, I would turn them into a bread and butter pudding with a Topaque or Liqueur Muscat sticky caramel sauce.

Whatever your plans, here are a few wine suggestions to make your Easter more memorable …… Read More

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Mar
26

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Seaview Barbera

Category: bold reds, Red Wine Tags: , Leave a Comment

Seaview is not a name that you would normally expect to see associated with Italian-style red wines being now more top of mind for inexpensive sparkling wine.  There are a growing number of labels offering ‘winemaker project’ style wines, Taylors has a great range of these, and I recently discovered that Seaview stablemate Rosemount has some smart wines in their ‘Nursery’ range. This Barbera is one of the better wines in the Seaview Italian varietal range and offers good value drinking.

Toasty earth, cinnamon and raspberry red fruit stretch along the juicy fruit length. Medium body and supple tannins give this wine some smooth personality that makes an amiable companion to food. Can’t go past it at that price…

Date: January 2013   Price:  $12    Value:  $$$     Drink: Now – 3 years

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Mar
6

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David Hook Barbera 2011

Category: elegant reds, Hunter Valley, Red Wine Tags: , Leave a Comment

‘Foodability plus’ is how I would describe this barbera. David Hook is a Hunter Valley local making some big waves with Italian varietals. While he makes some classic Hunter Semillon and Shiraz, among his Italian varietals you will also find his suave De Novo Rosso which is a Hunter Valley blend of barbera, nebbiolo and sangiovese. The barbera for this wine is sourced from a vineyard overlooked by Mt Canobolas in the cooler Central Ranges region.

Perhaps a touch more feminine than the De Novo Rosso, this barbera sits very prettily with its purple hues in the glass. There is a feisty spice to the roses and fresh cherry raspberry aromatics that are joined by some savoury dried herbs on the palate. Elegant and medium bodied, there is a touch of firmness to the tannins to ensure that this moda donna is not without substance. The flavours linger in the mouth a lot longer than the glimpse of a speeding Ferrari and are more satisfying as you take that next sip.

Sure it will be bellisimo with Antipasti but why limit your repertoire to Italian food with this wine? Instead, consider warm duck salad with garden fresh beetroot sprinkled with creamy feta and pomegranate, or lamb chops on a bed of herbed coucous to soften those tannins a little.

Date: August 2012   Price:  $30  Value:  $$$     Drink:  3 – 5 years

This review was originally published on www.winediva.com.au in September 2012.

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Oct
28

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David Hook’s In-Novo-tions

Category: bold reds, fruity white, Hunter Valley Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

David Hook is about making wines that are great companions for food in my opinion.  His Barbera will completely win you over, his Viognier is a light zesty version of the often too cloying style made in Australia and his Pinot gris is very quaffable.

There are more imminently drinkable wines in David’s portfolio and here are two to add to your repertoire.

The David Hook de Novo Bianco 2011 is a blend of around 25% each of Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. Its lifted floral honeysuckle spice perfume is compelling over the citrus core.  There are curves to the palate, rounding out to peach and a weightier texture in the mouth.  While this is certainly a dinner party waiting to happen, I would not restrict it in anyway to more formal occasions.

While the Bianco is all perfumed delight, the David Hook de Novo Rosso 2011 is its equal in fragrance with the added interest factor of being a Nebbiolo, Barbera and Sangiovese blend.  Aromas of violets dried herbs, dark cherries provide a rich nose.

The dry tannins need some food to soften and then this wine will reward with an elegant body, generous length kept fresh with some soft acid.  Drink now and serve with some tender lamb shanks or go traditional with Italian styled meatballs drowning in crushed Tomato sauce.

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