Simon Pemberton Pearse 2004 Cabernet Tempranillo

It's from the same Simon Pemberton Pearce concept as our rave riesling and it really impressed us at a time, leading into summer, when we really weren't looking for reds. But we couldn't resist grabbing some to tell you about.
Tim Pearce is the winemaker so not surprisingly it's called Tim's Cabernet Tempranillo. There's a cute little story on the back label of Tim tramping the countryside looking for the perfect grapes for his vision. He found the Cabernet in McLaren Vale and the King Valley and the Tempranillo close to Mildura. It's a shame that the concept has since been canned because it really works.
The nose is all berry fruit, plum and spice. Palate is medium weight and incredibly spicy with a balancing tannic grip at the end. Alcohol is a restrained 12.5% and it's always gratifying to see how well that works after a decade of blockbusters. The other delight with this wine is that it doesn't reveal all on the first sip. If you can give it time to evolve in the glass you'll be truly rewarded.

RRP: $15
Our Price: $10 per bottle

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Brokenwood 2007 Semillon

ONE OF OUR REGULAR SUPER SPECIALS

Brokenwood's WebsiteTasting Notes
"Excellent, luminous green/yellow colour. Lifted zesty, lemongrass aromas with some sweet apple blossom characters. Fruit dominant on the palate but typical tight structure with citrus acid finish. Initial lime plus cut grass flavours. Perfect balance of fruit, alcohol and acid. An impressive Semillon that will reward early drinking or cellaring."

RRP: $20
Our Price: $16 per bottle

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De Bortoli 2008 Windy Peak Pinot Grigio

This has the distinction of being the first 2008 vintage to pass the lips. And it was a top start!
It doesn't seem so long ago that we were raving about the 2006 release. The 2007 vintage came and went in a flash and now we have this one.
If you want to find out what Pinot Grigio is all about there's no better place to start. It's unwooded with a dazzling vibrancy and lively zingy fruit that lingers forever on the palate.
If you're looking for something a little different this is impossible to recommend too highly.

RRP: $14
Our Price: $11 per bottle

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Jindalee 2007 Merlot

This is a serious red at a bargain basement price.
There's plenty of fruit and spice on the nose and medium weight palate. Beautifully balanced it's up there with the De Bortoli Petit Verdot and Oxford Landing GSM as outstanding value red wines.

RRP: $12
Our Price: $9 per bottle

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Jindalee 2007 Rose

We're selling more Rose than ever before and it's quality quaffers like this that explain why.
Crisp, delicate and dry it's the perfect al fresco wine.

RRP: $12
Our Price: $9 per bottle

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Brokenwood 2006 Mount Panorama Chardonnay

CONSISTENTLY A FAVOURITE
Brokenwood's Tasting Notes
"Good colour with yellow/green tints dominating. A wine with many outstanding features, but the aromas are most interesting. Wild ferment characters and grilled nuts. Tropical fruit, mango and rockmelon aromas give a strong fruit background. Rich flavours and textured palate. Up front bran-meal and tropical fruit. The wine was fermented in 80% new French oak and 20% one year old, from a variety of cooperages. Good glycerol weight gives richness. Being a cool region the high natural acid gives a frame for the generously flavoured palate. An impressive Single Vineyard Chardonnay made with a definitive hands-off approach to winemaking. Will improve but mainly over the medium term."

RRP: $30
Our Price: $23 per bottle

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Deen De Bortoli Vat 4 2007 Petit Verdot

A DEFINITE CANDIDATE FOR BEST VALUE RED IN OZ
The 2005 release was a beauty and the 20o6 was even better and so is this vintage. In one of the great understatements the back label copy observes that "Petit Verdot thrives in Australia's sunny climate." You'd better believe it.
This is a rich voluptuous red with a hefty 14.5% a/v that could hold its head high in any company.
The 2006 was a GOLD MEDAL WINNER Brisbane 2007, Sydney 2008.
This latest vintage is just as spectacular

RRP: $don't know but easily worth $15
Our Price: $9 per bottle

OUT OF STOCK

Dowie Doole 2005 McLaren Vale Shiraz

THE SUPPLIER HAS SOLD OUT - WE HAVE LAST REMAINING STOCKS
This is stunning and amongst the best reds we've offered in the last 12 months - and that includes wines three times the price. Both reviews have nailed it very accurately. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
5 Stars - Winestate Magazine - World's Greatest Shiraz Challenge II [September/October 2007 issue]
Category Winner $20-$25 "Lovely cedary oak combines beautifully with rich, dark fruit on the nose. This sweet fruit carries over onto a palate that has flavour, length, structure, richness and firm tannins. A keeper."
5/5 - Paddy Kendler, Herald Sun, 2007: "A delicious McLaren Vale shiraz full of ripe fruit and enriched by some spicy, toasty oak; good density and depth, plenty of flesh and soft tannins."

RRP: $25
Our Price: $20 per bottle


OUT OF STOCK

Simon Pemberton Pearce 2004 Riesling

WHAT I POSTED 29th APRIL 2008
A sales rep rang us late last year about a West Australian Riesling she had to shift. She was clearly quite excited about it so we looked forward to the tasting bottle. We chilled it down, unscrewed the cap, poured, sniffed, tasted and immediately rang her to order a pallet. Five minutes later we tasted it again, rang her back and ordered another pallet. Half an hour later we rang her back to check out how much was left - we ordered another 32 dozen.
We still have a few dozen of one of the best buys we've ever offered. Not simply because of the price because if it was $20 I'd still rave but I know we wouldn't sell so much.

This is actually an Arrowfield label which looks like it's now defunct. I also suspect it could be a repackage of the old Arrowfield Show Reserve Riesling as that too came from WA and no longer appears on their price list. The actual label is fairly naff but the stuff inside is sensational.
The fruit is Great Southern and if you think along the lines of the Alkoomi style you'll know exactly what it tastes like. There's a crisp acidity which guarantees a longer term cellaring option but it's the limey minerality that will keep you reaching for the glass. In fact it's all about its lip-smacking moreishness that I now write with some experience of.
12% a/v
RRP: $15+
Our Price: $10 per bottle

THE BACK LABEL
"For the love of the challenge; Simon, Pemberton and Pearce, Arrowfield's winemaking team got together to make an innovative, bold statement with fruit, flavour and regionality in their new range of wines. Riesling brought from Western Australia's Great Southern was Simon McMillan's challenge, completed with finesse! It produces flavours of lime and apple, which with bottle age Simon predicts will develop toast, orange and apricot nuances. Finishes long and crisp."

SIX YEARS ON
24th May 2014
Cleaning out the cellar I came across the last bottle and I can assure you Simon's prediction was a whole lot better than the back label punctuation. It had evolved gloriously, retaining a lively zing that married harmoniously with the bottle age development. The wine was in perfect condition, still with plenty of cellar life and was a real tribute to the merits of the screwcap.

Tim Adams 2004 Riesling

Halliday gave the wine 93/100 and reckoned the wine would drink well through to 2012. Tasting it again recently I can only agree.
Colour is pale straw with an intense lifted nose. This power carries through on the palate and while there's still plenty of acid, the lime fruit characters are being taken over by the rich complex bottle development. A great riesling for fans of the cellaring style with plenty of the work already done for you.

RRP: $18 [2007 vintage]
Our Price: $15 per bottle

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