This collection of wines showed the diversity in the marketplace today, covering a range of price points from the user friendly $20 (and quite probably lower on promo) to $30, $40 and above.
To keep it all blind, one bottle needed to be decanted into another to keep the bottle shapes similar with a final question posed as to which wines might be the cheapies? Mr Collins managed to pick them, with Mr McLaren and I discerning one respectively.
Certainly, the lower-priced wines acquitted themselves very respectably, offering some excellent value for the discerning drinker.
Price: $20
Rating: Very good
Bright floral nose with hints of plum, spice and dried herb; becoming wild and funky with aeration. The cranberry and loganberry fruit brings a refreshing sweet & sour element to the zesty, fresh palate, which is appealingly edgy. Good length; showcasing fruit and dried herbs.
Very good value for money here.
Price: $39
Rating: Excellent
Perfumed nose with lavender and savoury notes; developing a fragrant cigar box note over time. Supple and juicy, sweetly fruited, with a core of lavender and thyme before sweet cherry reveals itself. Nicely balanced and elegant with a zestiness to the long finish, driven by savoury and oak notes.
Lovely refinement here.
Price: $20
Rating: Very good to excellent
Bright nose with cherry and red fruits, oak spices and a wild touch. A powerful fruit expression showcasing a core of raspberry and red fruits allied to a dusty, pencil shavings character with touches of oak. Chewy tannins and good length; coming along very nicely in the glass as it becomes more perfumed.
Excellent value for money here.
Price: $30
Rating: Excellent
A hint of funk and wildness open the account before the dark fruits hold sway. A good deal of power and intensity to the fruit expression showing richness and plushness on the palate, the savoury elements melding with dark fruits. Chewy tannins and a bright, freshness to the acidity; the fruit hanging on the long finish.
A nice package.
Price: $40
Rating: Good to very good
Subtle but appealing nose with some wild and funky elements. A good lick of cherry and plum accented fruit leads the way with wild herbs and earthy touches. Aeration brings a refreshing, sappy, sweet & sour note leading to a nicely fruit driven close.
This feels youthful, with the acidity and tannins still to fully integrate.
Price: $75
Rating: Very good
Clearly powerful nose with a hint of menthol. This is a big, dense, burly beast of a wine, somewhat monolithic now and built for the long haul, with its density of fruit and powerful tannins, seasoned with an appealing savouriness and wild herbs: oak nuances and a little heat on the close.
An assault on the senses for now; give this some time.
