blads blog

Something a bit different this time around, another alternative varietal favourite of mine in ... Trincadeira  is one of a number of Portuguese red wine varieties which have been introduced into Australia. In early days it was used extensively used to make a port style wine. Rich in colour, with good acidity and rarely an excess of alcohol, Trincadeira or Tinta Amarela (if you are speaking to a Portuguese Douro producer) makes wines of serious quality when ripe. Properly ripened, it has vibrant raspberry fruit tempered by herby, peppery, spicy, floral complexity, and it can age well. Typically, in Australia, it is used in a blended capacity, however there are now a number of wineries producing a single varietal wine.  One of which,as mentioned is a particular favourite of mine... Patritti Wines .  Patritti was the first Australian winery to release a Trincadeira red wine under its official Portuguese varietal name. Recently their 2012 Trincadeira wine wa...

Torbreck 2007 Old Vines Shiraz Another stunning Shiraz, (or as my US friends call it a "Syrah"), however this time it is from the famous Barossa Valley.   I was pleasantly surprised with this wine as it had fantastic fruit-driven sweetness, reminiscent of a traditional home-styled Italian/European red wine. Not something that I expect from a wine from 100-year old vines. Deep garnet red in colour with flickers of purple, the wine’s high-toned aromas of black cherries, five spice, crème de cassis and spring flowers are supported by a rich core of roasted earth, liquorice, and provençal herbs. The palate offers a soft latent richness and silken-like texture with subtle notes of crushed cherries, plums and earth - all neatly wound by a taut spine of acidity and ripe supple tannins and fruity sweetness. Oh my god, it was Gorgeous!!!