Last week we focused in on Victoria and Tasmania, now this week will bring the action from South and Western Australia, with a pair of weekend tastings on both Friday & Saturday!
Friday, from 4 to 6pm, we'll focus in on the Barossa Valley, and the generous wines of Neldner Road, a new label and passion project for Dave Powell from Powell & Sons! There'll be four unique expressions of Shiraz on show, alongside an unmistakably refreshing Riesling.
Then Saturday, from 12 to 2pm, we wander across the border to Margaret River and visit the much-loved team over at Vasse Felix! The lineup will include brand-new releases, and showcase three Chardonnays (featuring the 98pt Heytesbury Chardonnay), three Cabernets (with the new Tom Cullity blend), and two of their marvelous Idée Fixe sparklings (Brut & Rosé bubblies)! This will be a great one, with drops full of character and elegance, so make sure to pop by and grab a glass!
Neldner Road Lineup
On Tasting this Friday (5th May)
Join us from 4 - 6pm!
---
2021 Steinert Riesling
White flowers and stone fruits predominate the nose, accompanied by a vintage-typical bath salt character. Hints of lavender and lime juice are found, underscored by a fresh wet stone minerality. The palate is rounded, carried through by a fine acid line. Flavours of juicy white apple and lime pith are followed through with grapefruity, zesty acid-derived flavours to carry through to the finish.
2019 Barossa Valley Shiraz
The Barossa Valley Shiraz is generous in its dark plum and blackberry fruits. Notes of tar and graphite follow with hints of dried herbs and tobacco. The palate is rounded and supple with dark fruits and a supple tannin backbone which brings with it coffee ground and cedar flavours. The wine finishes with generous dark fruits and white pepper spice.
2019 Herrmann Shiraz
Intense aromas of blueberry, blackberry jam, vanilla musk and olive tapenade with subtle notes of cured charcuterie, graphite and tar. The palate reveals a soft, sensual, mouth coating texture. People often describe the wines from this type of vineyard as “neck oil”, which is in reference to the sleek, mouth coating tannins and brooding dark fruits. The Herrmann Shiraz speaks of true Northern Barossa style: rich, deep and opulent.
2019 Loechel Eden Valley Shiraz
The Loechel shows generous dark ripe fruits of blackberry, cherry liqueur and cassis which is supported by dark chocolate and mocha tones and subtle herbs and spice. The palate reveals pronounced dark fruits, underscored by smoky, savoury and meaty notes: olives and charcuterie with subtle reductive funk. The palate is medium to full-bodied, yet maintains a mouth-staining inkiness to provide a long and satisfying finish with a persistent orange-rind like acid backbone.
2018 Chatterton's Shiraz
Inky purple crimson in colour, the Chatterton’s Shiraz is savoury and spicy. The palate is full-bodied with plums, mulberries and touches of dark cherries.
---
On Tasting this Saturday (6th May)
Join in from 12 - 2pm!
Idee Fixé Sparklings to be included on the day (Brut & Rosé)!
2022 Filius Chardonnay - $24 on special ; $27 RRP
"Bright pale straw colour, with harmonious fine fruit with savoury complexities on the nose. Bright, with citrus peel, green apple, nashi pear, white peach and nectarine with undertones of jasmine, grapefruit pith and limestone. The palate is creamy and soft, yet focused, showcasing lemon curd, grapefruit and green pawpaw. There is a pristine freshness to this wine revealing a saline mineral edge and a beautiful balance. The finish is fine, delicate, savoury and long with an intriguing soft chalky texture." - Winemaker Notes
2021 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon - $24 on special ; $27 RRP
"Bright ruby colour with a purple tinge. On the nose, really pretty raspberry fragrance, with nori notes, some charred nori, spicy charcuterie and a hit of Hickory sauce. On the palate, it's a light to medium-bodied Cabernet. It has a lovely fresh acid line, fine, crisp and sinewy tannins and a soft, elegant core. Unveils flavours of raspberry and berry compote with lovely mushroom and dusty earth, vanilla custard and nutmeg." - Winemaker Notes
"This is such a good cabernet, especially when you consider the price. It seems the Filius rows in sophistication and varietal expression each year. This was a cool year of course, but the fully ripe fruit delivers and then some. Has a little bit of malbec which is an important consideration for the wine, adding just that little fruit brightness and mid palate plumpness without compromising the controlled linear structure. A little graphite and oyster shell minerality completes a terrific value wine." - 93 Points, Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
2021 Premier Chardonnay - $35 on special ; $40 RRP
"Pale straw appearance with a green and golden tinge. Hints of honey dew on the nose, with white peach and pear are surrounded by lemon curd, bread dough and fresh straw. The complexities of limestone dust, fresh spring grass and chamomile add the typical savoury, flinty, wild component. On the palate, immediately crisp, with bright acidity and a fresh plump fruit line. It has an appealing chalky mouthfeel with a wonderful dry finish. A nutmeg custard and pear perfume remains. Super structured Chardonnay." - Winemaker Notes
"It’s fine-boned and flavoursome at once. I also loved both the feel and the flintiness of this from the outset. Pineapple, pear, peach and grapefruit flavours dart daringly through the palate though all-the-while there’s silky/waxy aspect to the mouthfeel. It’s beautiful, cutting, nuanced and complex. Drink now through to 2028." - 93+ Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
2020 Premier Cabernet Sauvignon - $44 on special ; $50 RRP
"Colour of deep ruby with a purple tinge. On the nose, immediately fragrant with elegant cranberry, rose petal. There is incredible, enticing bright forest fruits with deep blackberry and hints of fresh baked bread crust, earthy mushroom, granite stone and steel. On the palate, it's juicy, intense and luscious on entry with fast building tannin, and incredibly firm, yet super-luscious concentrated raspberry, fresh vanilla pods and a delicious meatiness." - Winemaker Notes
"A medium-bodied red with blackcurrants, sage and crushed berries. Fine and medium-round tannins. Creamy texture and clean, fruity finish. Real cabernet character. Drink now or hold. A couple of years would make it even better." - 93 Points, JamesSuckling.com
2021 Heytesbury Chardonnay - $96 on special ; $110 RRP
"Pale straw colour. with a green and golden tinge. On the nose, savoury citrus and stone support the elegant, flinty note of the classic Heytesbury perfume. Delicate hints of coastal herb and green tea sit with a little soft cheese and candle wax. On the palate, the pure, fine satin polish of this vintage is special, showing serious precision of al dente ripeness. A typically powerful and tightly held acid line holds a soft, full core, showing amazing restraint with incredible balance and a lightly pithy finish" - Winemaker Notes
"A dense and structured white with white peaches, honeysuckle, lemon tree, and hints lime. Full-bodied with a gorgeous center palate and intense and lively finish. So wild and energetic. Wonderful depth and focus. Drink or hold. Can age beautifully. Think where it will be." - 98 Points, JamesSuckling.com
2019 Tom Cullity Cabernet Malbec - $175 on special ; $199 RRP
// 78% Cabernet Sauvignon & 22% Malbec
"Bright garnet appearance, with incredibly fruit-expressive aromas evoking blackcurrant coulis, with hints of dried rosemary and fresh basil. Pretty floral perfumes of lavender and lily intermingle with traces of native summer forest and fungi. Beautiful transparency of vineyard site is on display as the delicate scent of dried peppy leaf on the banks of the Wilyabrup Brook lifts in the glass, accompanied by cacoa, crayon and an intriguing musk like fragrance. On the palate, a succulent, creamy entrance brimming with vibrant fruit weight. The concentrated, elegant body embeds on the palate, framed by a super fine, powdery tannin structure. Relaxed in its completeness, the comfortable dry finish lingers on with tantalising flavours of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, and sweet aromatic oak." - Winemaker Notes
"This wine shows the benefit of an extra year in the bottle – it’s coming together really well. Pronounced seaweed nori aroma with blackcurrant fruitiness and slightly toasty oak. It has such a seamless and slinky integrated palate that it just coasts through effortlessly to a sustained, long finish. A beautiful medium bodied wine. You really get a sense of prettiness and purity plus the detail in the wine when you get to the end of the glass. Brilliant." - 98 Points, Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
If you wish to purchase these wines, please use the links above. Alternatively, email us at sales@thewineemporium.com.au, or contact us on (07)32521117 if you have any questions // Prices valid until Wednesday the 10th of May