Aussie Wines!

Now THIS is an interesting concept!

OK, so Primo Estate is a winery in the heart of McLaren Vale owned and run by Roseworthy Dux Joe Grilli and his wife Dina. They do some amazing wines including reds, whites, a great sticky and a killer sparkling red in a bottle that’s so big it doesn’t fit ANYWHERE. PLUS (caps overdose) some amazing olive oils. If you see the Primo Estate or Joseph labels, just buy them, you really can’t go wrong.

One of the wines they make under the Primo Estate label is the Shiraz Sangiovese blend called Il Briccone, which sells for about $23 and is a decent drop… grab it anytime you’re having Italian food and send me adoring e-mails for recommending it to you.

But that’s not this wine.

I dropped into Primo with a good friend in January this year and discovered this Tuscan drop. I’d never heard of it. It took me a second to piece it together, but it’s the same blend as the Il Briccone (Shiraz and Sangiovese) made by the same winemaker, but using grapes from Italy rather than Australia. Put the two wines side by side and it’s amazing.

The Aussie wine is a little richer while the Italian drop is a little more earthy. Both are decent wines, but the Tuscan stands out a little more than Il Briccone. A lovely spicy nose from the Shiraz (but quite restrained) with a bit of subtle cherry in the background and some well integrated cedary characteristics, but you really have to search for those. A rich mouthfeel with a slightly dusty, drying finish. Put it with pasta or anything from that neck of the woods and you’ll be a happy chappy. 90 points

Want some? Good luck finding it. It sold out quite quickly, which is a shame because I wanted some for my customers (snooze-lose philosophy at play). However, keep an eye out for future releases of the wine. To stay informed, sign up to their mailing list (check their website).

A good way to find new vineyards is to go into wine territory and ask around.  When I was in the Barossa, a number of people mentioned Murray Street Vineyards but I just ran out of time to check them out.

When I made it back to Sydney, I got in touch with their distributor (Haviland Wines) and was fortunate enough to receive some samples to try, including the 2006 “The Barossa” Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre and Cinsault blend from 06 and the 2006 Shiraz.

Made by Andrew Seppelt (a rather famous name in the Barossa), I can see why the wines are getting a bit of acclaim and they’re certainly quite drinkable.

The Barossa Blend has a decent rich colour, a hint of mint on the nose hiding behind some ripe berry flavours and then a surprising whack of sweetness on the end of it.  It’s certainly a decent wine and will appeal to those who like wines with that bit of sweetness to them, but generally those people don’t really like to spend too much on wine and this wine is $30ish, so I’m not quite convinced that they’re worth that.  Having said that, if you’re trying to impress someone, shell out $30 on a wine that she’ll like and you’ll look good doing it. 88 points

The Shiraz is a bit more interesting, almost elegant for a Barossa.  This elegance is a direct result of the vintage conditions, where they had a series of heatwaves in January and February (the ripening season) which isn’t entirely great for wines and meant slow ripening and some vegetative growth (hence the mint in the Blend). However, they have a great structure to them (the ones I’ve tasted recently anyway) and will cellar well. With this one, it’s certainly very drinkable and a great all-round wine, but it seems to lack a distinctive Barossa element to it. Look, you can belt it down really easily and enjoy it. And, quite amazingly, it holds the 15% alcohol level really really well - you wouldn’t even know it’s that high from the taste. 89 points

They’re decent wines from a difficult vintage and the Shiraz has won some nice awards, including a Blue Gold (judged with food) at the Sydney International Wine Competition, but I’d love to see them from a great vintage to see what they can really come out with.