Australian wines at the April meeting of Fayetteville Wine Society

[wondersofwine]

We had planned to enjoy the nice weather by sitting in the patio area of Luigi's Restaurant but lots of rain (during our prolonged drought) chased us inside to a somewhat crowded back room. We had an antipasto plate of cheeses and meats and chafing dishes of ravioli in tomato-cream sauce, spicy Italian sausage, and a creamy spinach dip with toasted bread. Eight Australian wines--two whites, five reds, and a dessert Muscat. All for $24 for members.

#1 2006 Longview Vineyard "Iron Knob" Riesling Adelaide Hills, South Australia Pale straw color, transparent.
Very dry. I was on a different wavelength than most of my table for several of the wines including the two whites. I didn't much care for this one and found something "fusty" in the nose that carried over to the palate, almost like a corked wine. But others at my table and the ITB servers found it very appealing. One woman said she normally doesn't like Riesling (too sweet) but liked this and she normally loves Chardonnay but didn't care for the second wine, a Chardonnay. The Riesling did have plenty of minerality going for it. Available to members for $16.19

#2 2006 RockBare Chardonnay, McLaren Vale
Only 50% goes through malolactic fermentation and it is very lightly oaked
(Parker gave 90 points to this and 91 to the 2005) I liked this better than the Riesling while most at my table prefered the Riesling. I was getting a white pepper element on the entry and some light tropical fruit. While I thought this would be a pleasant summer drink, I didn't rush to purchase any even at the member price of $16.19.

#3 2004 Elderton Shiraz, Barossa Valley
Deep ruby/crimson with pretty rim color (aureole); nearly opaque. Very fruity berry nose, almost a berry liqueur. One at my table said black currant but I'm not quite in agreement on that. Clove on mid-palate and finish. Tannins hanging on at the finish. One woman liked the nose but found it too tannic. I liked it now and think it would also age nicely in 2-3 years. (I am ordering two bottles (in the $20's). Elderton Command Shiraz is the top of their line with limited production and expensive prices to match.
(My lunch hour is over so I will post this in two parts.)



[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 04-29-2008).]