Sydney and Surfers Paradise

Witches falls winery - Tambourine mountain

2018 Verdhelo , granite belt
2 yeasts (1 French 1 South African), stainless vat 6 months. Light straw colour, soft yeast on nose with pale tropical fruits. Taste stronger than expected from nose - fruity but with mineral undertone, quite acid but not puckering.

2018 Co,-innoculated Sav blanc - stainless vat.
V light colour- barely tinted and just a hint of elderflower nose, elderflower and lemon, hint of greenish tart apple.

2017 Wild Sav blanc - oaked for a few months.
Much more straw in the colour, nose a little rubbery, buttery eggy toast. Taste rounder than the co-inoculated, more tropical fruit. Lychee?

Wild ferment verdhelo - oaked 2016
Nose butter and gooseberries, then oak burst adds warmth and , with a bit of woody tannin underneath.

2018 Saignée rose - syrah and black muscat, left on skin for 24 hours. powerfully fragrant - roses and strawberry with a hint of spice. Syrupy soft flavour, a bit more currant than the nose - just a hint. Primarily strawberry, with a lovely creamy texture that's just a little dry at the end.

2017 Tempranillo wild ferment
Slightly purplish red, nose of summer pudding with plenty of blackcurran, flavour very close match to nose - slightly sharp.

2017 Garnasha wild ferment
Pinky red, warm soft nose, sunned wood, hint of powdery violet. Initially smoother flavour but more tannins as it goes on.

2016 wild ferment monastrell (mourvedre grape in Grance, monastrell in spain).
Leather polish and herbs, sweeter on the taste than the nose and less tannin than expected, but flavour grows in size - bit of lamp oil, lots of fruot, sour cherries, dark chocolate, big legs.

2015 Merlot (prophesy range) barrel for 2 years, dark but not purple, nose of French oak vanilla, BIG flavour, oaky, dark, cherries and chocolate. Tannins definite but relatively brief leaving a fruit finish.

Moscato rose 8.2%
Rose and candied pineapple nose, taste of rose and muscat grapes. Lovey drinkable light sweet wine - would go with a light pudding (morrocan orange cake) but good alone.

Classic Tawny - syrah fortified with brandy. Port style. Add a layer each year. 20 y o. Lovely raisiny port style - sweeter and a little lighter than a typical port. Goss beautifully with mild truffled brie.

Tambourine mountain Distillery

Wattle toffee
Toasted wattle seed liqueuer - 20% gorgous smooth nutty, maply, smoky.

Limnoncello.

Chocomint (taste like a bittermint).

Butterwhisky (more complex butterscotch).

Wild plum and elderflower (also contains rose).*

Violetta parma violet).

Gingerbread (more sweet than ginger - soft), *

Australian herb.

* These 2 we were given in a blind tasting - selected from their range of about 40 flavours - and we were able to identify both. Derek got the rose in the plum amd elderflower (a flavour that's not listed) and I got the other 2 components).

Mason wines

Verdelho 2017 steel tank.
Nose has the creaminess of a macadamia, apple with a hint of papaya; flavour much crisper - crunchy apple, sharper than the nose - vinho verde type young flavours . Prob needs food.

2015 chardonnay unoaked.
Nose green and herbacious. Taste quite christmassy - satsuma and clove, sharp, bit acidic.

2016 semillion sav blanc.
There was a fire at harvest time, so grapes slightly smoked. Go ea are really.good effect. Brings out the umami. Sharp green gooseberry but warmed by the smoke, which really comes through at the back.

2018 picnic white (vedelho late harvest, 10%).
Nose mango and dried apricot, taste light and sweet. Not quite pudding wine sweetness but heading that way.

2018 rosé, cab sav merlot.
Light salmon pink, soft warmish nose strawberry and sage. Taste a bit sharper

Picnic red - semi sweet shiraz.
Almost porty when paired with food, drier alone.

2016 shiraz red, unspecified grape .
Spicy, quite tannic, nose warmer and softer than taste. Sharp blackcurrant compote.

2016 Shiraz cab sav.
Sligbtly bluer red. Quite savoury and tannic, sour cherry, dense flavour. From a single block in Booth Lane vineyard.

Petit verdeaux 2014 cellar door collection.
Nose soft, warm powdery plum and violet, taste is BAM - sharp and tannins, plum stone. Not unpleasnt but oddly citrussy. Grape is used in Bordeaux as art of a blend.

Late harvest VCV 2016 viogner, chardonnay and verdhelo.
Dark Greek honeycomb nose, v sweet but not cloying - good acid balance, lemon curd with a clear honey finish

Heritage wines

Petit blanc

Fiano - rare grape, interesting, bit sharp.

Club red - roses, light summer red. Nose and taste more rosé-ish.

Tempranillio lot. Edition 2017 - hefty purple red.

Bootleggers tawny port - raisiny, smooth.

Moonshine madness - chocolate coffee liqueuer port-alike - pure tiramisu smell. Made with some own-made brandy.Читать далее