WINES

Zinfandel

A scarce wine for five reasons: There is very little zinfandel planted; there is need to wait for the grapes to shrivel and therefore have very little yield; and are very much at the mercy of the season with this wine being made only one year in two or three. The resulting wine is both sweet and highly alcoholic which proves the fourth reason for its scarcity - there is nothing else like it in Australia. This wine generally sells out the day it is released.

Popular misconception would have it that this wine is either fortified or the result of botrytis. It is neither. The grapes are picked in mid May, at a very high degree of sweetness, and the fermentation proceeds until the yeast will go no further.

A typical analysis is about 4 degrees baume of sweetness, and 16% alcohol.

Try it with a blue castello cheese or a chocolate mud-cake - how many other red wines could match that? -That's the fifth reason.

Only in 375 mL.

100% Zinfandel

We now use screw caps for this wine.

RELEASE INFORMATION

Current release: Zinfandel 2002-03 NV
Colour: Colour is deep and dark, not quite inky: the sort of colour of a ripe black cherry.
Nose: an "arm's length" wine with aromas of raspberries, stewed nectarines, chocolates and spice, that all lift up out of the glass.
Palate: now wait for it - takes a few seconds in the mouth before it explodes into a mouthful of experiences. The hot alcohol is balanced by the sweetness and berry fruit. The mouth feel is very smooth. Just when you fear that the residual sugar is about to overwhelm the finish, there is some black cracked pepper that intervenes to dominate a dry and lengthy finish.