Spring Wines

The weather has started to warm up which makes me think of different foods and styles of wine. Are you the sort of person that changes what they drink depending on the weather? Well I am and the below wines are perfectly suited to the warmer days.

Henschke Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2012

You have all those classic Eden Valley flavours but they are heightened by the quality of the conditions that 2012 provided. The main feature of the wine is wet pebbles or freshly quarried slate that has been suspended in lime juice for the past 12 months. When the wine settles downs and opens up the liquid reveals glorious notes of Chinese Star Jasmine and Japanese and lemon blossom which put my mouth into saliva overdrive. As the clear liquid opens up the palate length extends and extends, pushes flavours to the far corners of my mouth. It is the sort of wine that is unique and totally inviting all at the same time. This wine is specular as the structure is beautifully positions to allow this to age gracefully for a decade or so yet still allow it to be enjoyed today.

Alcohol: 11.5%

Price: $35

Rated: 94

Drink: Now – 2030

Laughing Jack Old Vine Moppa Grenache 2008

I was expecting sweet boiled lollies but what I got both surprised me and bought a smile to my face. To begin with the wines ferocious tannins standout, which is not the norm for the area, coating my tongue in a silkiness which ends totally dry. On day two Satsuma plums and dark chocolate that are rolled in spice start to emerge. These flavors are alive and dance on my tongue like an exotic belly dancer at a special event for your family. Ok so I travelled a lot when I was younger so I got to experience some events that I may have not got the opportunity, if I only stayed in Australia. The most interesting one was in Turkey where my girlfriend and I got the drink tea with an elderly man at his sons circumcision. How does that relate to the wine? Well the wine makes me feel so at ease that I would share the most intimate moments with you. This is a loving wine that I could drink now but will show off some dazzling moments with a few years under its belt.

Alcohol: 14.%

Price: $45

Rated: 90

Drink: Now – 2023

John Duval Plexus Marsanne, Rousanne and Viognier 2011

It looks like the white wines from the Barossa will be of good to high quality in 2011, when you compare them to the reds of the same years and this wine is case in point. The wines lemon core, the acid line, is monumental and reminds me a bit of a Riesling from Clare but the flavours are nothing like Riesling at all. Here you get a plushness that runs from the initial attack of the wine right the way to the back palate and then finishes with the refreshing acidity. The mid-palate has an oiliness about it from the Voignier which draws me in for another sip again and again. The flavours offer lightness in the form of spring blossom and spice before they move to heavier flavours such as peach, apricot and honeysuckle. All in all this wine brings a lot to the table and in my view is the perfect beacon for the Barossa which lacks quality white wines.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $35

Rated: 90

Drink: Now – 2018