2007 Adelaide Hills Wines

The good folk at Arrivo are passionate when it comes to their beloved Nebbiolo grape. So passionate in fact that it’s the only variety they produce after falling in love with the wine on their may trips to Piedmont. The Lunga Macerazione actually translates to long maceration and takes its name fro the practice of leaving the wine in contact with the grape skins for extended periods to aid the build up of tannins and complexity. This wine spent a massive 72 days ‘on skins’ to ensure a nose and palate that’s complex and intense with mouth-coating tannins that are sweet but lingering.

Medium crimson (unfiltered). Complex, suggestively varietal. Dark, brooding. Savoury at first, yet with air, wafts of pop corn (corn kernel) and sweet glaceed fruits arise. With even more air, ideally via a decant, scents of dark cherry/maraschino are released. Oak - only a skerrick. Plush, well-rounded & well-balanced. Varietal, sweet red-curranted/cherry fruits gain further complexity with cold meat (lamb and corned beef) flavours. Texturally seamless - integrated oak and tannins conspiring to make their tactile impression!

It is not everyday that a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Adelaide Hills gets 96 Points from James Halliday, but this is not your average wine with its luscious blackcurrant fruit matched with solid serve of elegance. Concentrated with proper ripe tannins, it is a teeth staining mouthful of dark fruit flavour without the alcohol pain. Super effort.

A benchmark for Australian Sauvignon Blanc. Made from 100% Adelaide Hills grapes, the wine is unwooded to maximize varietal punch. The aroma has restrained sauvignon grassiness coupled with riper fruit characters. The palate is fresh and lively with pure varietal flavours and crisp acidity.

Showing the balance that is the trademark of Tapanappa with developing fuller Chardonnay characteristics of peaches and cream. Lingering notes of acacia and honey.

When was the last time you needed a corkscrew? It’s been a while we bet. Every wine these days is a quick twist away from opening and that’s a good thing when you’re at a picnic or camping and a corkscrew is not exactly forthcoming. This wine is actually named after one of the roads leading up to the Adelaide plains. This is proper old school Adelaide Hills Chardy showing melon and a buttery oak creaminess. Tight, natural acids will see this one live for a good while in the cellar.

Colour: Vivid hues of deep ruby introduce the wine. Nose: Lively red cherry and stewed plum team well with the dark undergrowth, aniseed and clove spiciness. Palate: A selection of premium French oak for maturation has introduced a subtle roasted hazelnut and mocha characters to the wine adding complexity and velvety tannin finish.

Colour: Youthful light straw with green tints. Bouquet: A subtle and complex nose showing typical Adelaide Hills aromas of stone fruit and nashi pear, married with a bran-meal lees note, and supported by spicy vanilla bean oak. Palate: A tightly driven palate supporting classic cool climate preserved lemon characters. It shows excellent fruit intensity and flavour, with some butterscotch barrel ferment elements. The palate is firm yet sprightly, finishing with a fine acid spine.

Colour: Deep crimson red with vibrant purple hues. Bouquet: Vibrant and aromatic displaying plum, red berry and cherry fruit with spice and liquorice notes contributed by the tempranillo, complexed by subtle cedary oak. Palate: A rich, medium bodied wine showing powerful intense berry fruit flavours; plum blackcurrant and dark cherries with spice and pepperiness. Full, rich and soft across the palate, having generosity of fruit, balanced oak, and fine grained tannins giving persistency on the finish.

Stinky and herby nose with a lifted citrus element. Mouthful of forest floor and some secondary characters coming through. A lick of tannin suggests some life still, but I wonder if the cork had played a role.

This intense Cabernet opens into ripe mulbury hints of mint and tobacco leaf with overtones of cedar and spice. A rich full body style that contributes flavours of cassis, cherry and blackcurrant collaborating with the complexity of balanced acid velvety tannins and an intense long finish. Amadio Wines Accolades & Awards "This wine reminds me a little of a mid-ranking Bordeaux Cabernet, as if from Haut Rian in Rions, or Cadillac. It has a bouquet of mushroom, and damp mossy soil, with confectioner’s musk and marshmallow on top; pleasing freshly polished leather down below. The palate is soulful and mellow, and a little more venerable than the bouquet indicates. The mouthfeel is comfor...

This Cabernet is an intense deep red in colour, the nose reveals blackcurrant, dark plums, aniseed and cloves flavours. Firm yet fine at the very beginning and integrated, gentle tannins support the flavours by adding structure and depth which carries through the palate.

The Shiraz grapes ripened slowly and evenly resulting in rich colour, spice filled flavours and great length and intensity. The wine was pressed off into a mix of French and American oak for an 18 month maturation and it ended up being a vibrant dark red wine with varietal aromas of spice, plum and white pepper. The palate reflects the aromas and is enhanced by fine spicy tannins typical of cool climate Shiraz.

This is the inaugural release of Altezza. Our philosophy is to bottle under this label only when we consider the result to have great complexity, finesse, elegance, purity and longevity. It has an enticingly complex nose of citrus, citrus blossom, spice and nuts. It is rich in flavour with a soft, creamy texture, wonderfully balanced minerally acidity and a long savoury finish.

This Cabernet is not named after Mozart but it’s a fine and harmonious orchestration of flavours that hums an elegiac tune. The Adelaide Hills is not famed for this variety but this wine makes a convincing argument for why it should be taken more seriously. A nicely varietal Cabernet that pleads to be paired with red meat especially lamb for the ultimate taste sensation. Aromas of cassis and tobacco grace the nose with notes of mint chocolate before a textural palate of black fruits, cherry and a savoury complexity.

Cabernet Sauvignon is not a grape we associate with the Adelaide Hills so we were amazed when we came across this little devil that has picked up more than its fair share of awards. This is as pure and balanced a red wine as you cope hope to find and it would be a crying shame if you served it with anything less that roast lamb and all the trimmings. It has bold, earthy aromas with cassis and mint hinting at varietal definition and then a soft medium bodied palate that explodes with flavour. Sweet red berries, gentle oak and chocolate all perform magnificently to deliver a Cabernet experience you won’t forget.

Viognier is a classic food wine, that pairs well with richer white meat dishes and seafood with sauces and this example from Petaluma gets our taste buds salivating. Hand picking the grapes is the key to keeping the fruit luscious and the structure intact before the wine is seasoned in French oak to enhance complexity and intensity of flavour. It’s vividly lifted with apricot, stonefruit and a touch of honey but it’s the palate that counts with a generous mouthfeel before clean acids fill out the persistent finish.

Bright, deep, vibrant crimson colour. Aromatically, the wine displays fresh, intense raspberry and lifted plum blossom which is becoming a hallmark of this site in its short history of wine production. Subtle oak and a natural spicy lift typical of cool climate Shiraz complement but do not dominate the wine.

Appearance: Medium to pale green, yellow tints. Aroma: Typically subtle notes of stonefruit, pear and spice along with a tiny whiff of damp river rocks as well. Palate: The wine is richly flavoured possessing subtle nectarine and pear that sits gently on the palate. Good acidity steers the wine away from finishing fat or heavy.

Colour: Med to light red. Aroma: Attractive aromas of summer berry compote - ripe dark cherries and strawberries backed up by some high quality charry French oak and some forestry notes. Quite complex. Palate: Soft, rich strawberry / cherry fruit, a hint of dark chocolate and the charry oak are the main players on the palate. Fine tannins add length and backbone to the soft, savoury palate.