No. 55 - April 12th 2006

Winetime 55

Ahhh, Easter long weekend, best time of year if you are a motor sport fan living in the Sunraysia area. And time for some serious socializing and general R & R. I myself will be spending a proportion of my time beside the river on a houseboat watching those wonderful noisy boats going by. I don't know about you but there isn't quite anything the same as a big V8 boat at full song with two little skiers being dragged along the Murray at scary rate of knots.

As for the store, plenty is happening in here this week. Some excellent tastings and a new segment for a laugh.

Well whatever you are doing this weekend make sure the beer fridge is cold and full and the wine rack is stocked ready to go….

WINE TASTINGS

We are spoilt this week on the tastings side of things. This week we have two outstanding wine producers joining us for the Easter rush. Both have outstanding wines and are both local. The first on Thursday night is the Rising Dust Range from Ampelon, from 4pm to 7pm at the tastings area in the Deakin Ave store. The second is Mulcra Estate on Saturday between 10am and 12pm. Now if you haven't tried them yet or you have forgotten since the last time they were in, come down and give them a try. Both representatives are always keen to talk to you about their processes they went through to produce the wine and have interesting backgrounds to their vineyards.

MULCRA ESTATE (Sat 10am – 12pm)

	James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion 2006 & Mulcra Estate Wines.

James Halliday is Australia 's most respected wine writer. Over the past thirty-plus years he has worn many hats: lawyer, winemaker and grape grower, wine judge, wine consultant, journalist and author. He incessantly travels, researching and tasting wines in all the major wine-producing countries. He judges regularly at wine shows in Australia , the UK , the US , South Africa and New Zealand . James Halliday has written or contributed to more than 50 books on wine since he began writing in 1979. His books have been translated into Japanese, French, German, Danish and Icelandic, and have been published in the UK and US as well as Australia .

Halliday comments on current Mulcra Estate releases in his latest publications, the Australian Wine Companion 2006:

Mulcra Estate Windmill Petit Verdot 2003 Reserve

"Above-average weight and depth of flavour so typical of this variety; dark berry fruits; fine tannins, good acidity.”

Mulcra Estate Windmill Chardonnay 2002 Reserve

"Wine with plenty of flavour and good balance."

Mulcra Estate Wines Shiraz 2003 Reserve

“Dense colour; massively ripe, rich and concentrated prune, jam and blackberry. Recommended. Wine of above average quality with clear varietal expression."

Mulcra Estate Wines Merlot 2003 Reserve

"Wine with plenty of flavour and good balance."

Mulcra Estate Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Reserve

"Wine with plenty of flavour and good balance."

Overall Assessment of Mulcra Estate Wines

"A solid reliable producer of good to very good wines." 

AMPELON RISING DUST (Thurs 4pm – 7pm)

Set behind the beautiful gardens of Ampelon with its towering trees and antique roses lies the family run Ampelon Vineyard producing the rising dust series of wines.

THE SHIRAZ

The Rising Dust Shiraz has lush blackberry and chocolate flavours with a soft silky finish. The wine is ready to drink now and will also age well over four to five years with careful cellaring.

THE CHARDONNAY

The subtle amount of barrel fermentation in new French oak hogsheads, has produced a wine of excellent structure with lemon and peach driven characters and a lingering soft pallet.

THE TASTINGS HAT

Ok, this is the new segment of the Winetime newsletter, its what we are going to call The Tastings Hat. The gist of it is that we are going to road test new and old products that we have here in the store and give it to one of our crew members to try and write in their own words what they thought of that particular product. So in return, they have to have their mug in this interesting hat publicised in the newsletter for everybody to see. Should be good for a laugh….

HIGH RATING WINES  

WIRRA WIRRA HAND PICKED RIESLING 2004

Lovely citrus aromas developing nutty, toasty characters. Intense varietal fruit flavours on a full, balanced, complex palate that has extraordinary length and great texture. (Winestate Magazine 2006 Annual).

Rated 4.5 stars. Our price $17.50

TATACHILLA McLAREN VALE SHIRAZ 2001

A huge wine with rich oily/meaty aromas that have a smokey edge. A layered palate with cherry plum flavours supported by dusty oak and chocolaty notes. (Winestate Magazine 2006 Annual).

Rated 4 stars. Our price $15.95

SPECIALS

You would have to be hopping mad to look past these ones…..

Don't forget the fish and a nice white this Good Friday. And I hope everybody behaves, as much as they can. And we'll see you on the other side….

Happy Easter everybody…

See you soon.

Fishers IGA Liquor team