ENLIGHTENMENT is the aim today as we focus on wines with cryptic names.
I Am George 2017 Langhorne Creek, Shiraz $20, 4.5 stars (out of 6)
This deep purple, 14.5% alcohol, Turkish delight-scented shiraz comes from the French Pernod Ricard Group. The front palate has rich, ripe plum flavour, the middle palate dried cranberry, mint chocolate, spice and cedary oak and the finish ferric tannins. Good with lasagne, will cellar over seven years and widely available in bottle shops. The name is tribute to George Wyndham, the pioneer who in 1828 founded Australia's oldest continuous winegrowing operation at what was Wyndham Estate in the Hunter Valley at Branxton. After 2014 Pernod-Ricard shut and sold the historic site, making the brand South Australian and adopting the George Wyndham and I Am George tags.
d'Arenberg 2019 The High Trellis, Cabernet Sauvignon, $20, 4.5 stars
THIS great-value red gets its name because it comes from a 19th century vineyard that was the first to be planted above knee height on a 'high trellis'. The wine has 14.5% alcohol, opaque purple hues and cassis and herb scents. The front palate displays vibrant blackcurrant flavour, Morello cherry, licorice, briar and savoury oak come through on the middle palate and dusty tannins feature at the finish. Get it at darenberg.com.au, The Cube cellar door in Osborn Road, McLaren Vale, and bottle shops. It will cellar hansomely over eight years and go well with spaghetti bolognaise. In the recent Winestate 2019 wines of the year awards, it was the second-placed cabernet sauvignon after the Angas and Bremer 2016 Langhorne Creek Cabernet Sauvignon.
Scarborough 2018 The Obsessive, Semillon $30, 5 stars
SCARBOROUGH family company's The Obsessive range is named for patriarch Ian Scarborough, a man obsessive about his vineyards and wines. The range launched in 2015 with a vow to produce wines only in years of exceptional quality. This lovely semillon is green-tinted straw, orange blossom-scented and has crisp, elegant lime front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows nashi pear, lemon zest, gunmetal and nascent honey and toast characters. Slatey acid refreshes at the finish. It's from the Scarborough Wine Country Drive Cottage vineyard, which occupies part of the famous Lindeman's Sunshine vineyard site. Cellar for 12 years, drink with scallops and buy at the Pokolbin cellar doors and scarboroughwine.com.au.
