South Australia

This is a Tawny styled "Port" wine that is made in a Solera with the wines a minimum of twenty years of age.  Iced tea in color, clear and bright.  The nose has fruit cake with a touch of vanilla and spice.  Full bodied.  Viscous.  On the palate, this is sweet, not cloying.  Flavors of toffee with some alcohol warming on the finish.  This drinks great on its own and would work nicely with a not too sweet plain dessert such as a shortbread cookie.  It should drink well for a long time, at least twenty years.  

This is a 51%/49% blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black raspberries, graphite, black pepper, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Flavors of cassis, \black cherries, black raspberries, slight herbal note (mint?), spice and char.  Long finish.  This is deep and complex if still very young.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  This is great on its own and will work well with grilled meat, fowl or veggies.
 

This is a slightly sweet Riesling from the Clare Valley in southern Australia.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose opens with some peach notes that adds some green apple scents.  There is also a slight flinty note.  Medium bodied, slightly viscous.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is semi-sweet with flavors of peach, slight green apples and just a hint of minerality.  Good finish.  served to a bunch of professed "Riesling haters", this proved to be popular.  It is also food friendly but don't forget the sweetness.  This would go great with a Beet and Goat Cheese salad.  Dri

Australia's most iconic wine.  Always a pleasure to try one and this, at age 30 is just showing traces of age.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, vanilla, spice and slight black pepper.  On the palate, this is full bodied with medium tannins.  Plenty of black raspberry fruit.  Fresh with lots of energy.  Plenty of depth.  This is drinking well now but may still improve as it matures.  It should drink well for another fifteen years or more.  This is great on its own and will work with roasts and drilled meat, fowl or veggies.  

This is one in a series of Tawny "Ports" made by Penfold's.  It has very attractive packaging although no longer in the wood box.  Made in a Solera style, the minimum blended age is 20 years old.  The Solera currently contains vintages from 1960 to 2004.  Mostly Shiraz, Cabernet, Grenache and Mourvedre but others as well.  Iced tea in color.  The nose is a bit oxidized (in a good way) with brown sugar, toffee and crème brulee.  On the palate, this is viscous.  Lots of caramel notes.  Some heat.  There is a nice depth to it.  Long finish.  This will work well on its own or with toffee/carame

What a treat.  The iconic wine of Australia.  This is Syrah or Shiraz as they call it down under.  This wine is 37 years old and drinks like it is just getting to maturity.  No hint of age.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black pepper, black raspberries, some chocolate and baking spice.  On the palate, this is starting to show some layering.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with underlying char and spice.  Great texture.  Long finish.  It probably won't improve from here but should be at this level for at least another decade.  This will work well with stews or roasts and is

A chance to try the iconic wine of Australia is pretty special but a chance to try one with age is amazing.  This bottle was decanted for a couple of hours and then poured back into the bottle and served after an additional two hours.  It was still a bit tight but opened up in the glass quite well.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, black pepper and slight roasted meats and roasted herbs.  On the palate, it is medium to full bodied.  Great balance.  Nice black raspberry and black cherry fruit over char.  This is drinking well and probably at or close to peak.  No hurry, there

Grange is arguably the best wine from its entire continent.  That's a pretty bold statement.  This is the iconic wine from Australia and has, and continues to, earn that reputation for over almost seventy years.  This is of course, young.  Grange is a wine that can easily do a few decades.  Yet, it drank well as pop and pour  Purple in color.  The nose is very pretty with black cherries, ginger, cedar, and spice.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  Flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, a bot of char/toast.  Great mouth feel.  Long finish.  This will get better with cellaring.  It needs

Inky purple in color.  The nose has sweet black raspberries, slightly dusty.  On the palate, this is jammy black raspberries.  Medium tannins.  Thsi makes very easy drinking and while not over the top, this is more about instant enjoyment than depth and complexity.  Will need big, strong food to pair with but will drink well on its own.  Sure to be a crowd favorite.  Drink in the next five years.  $30 retail.