Wines of the Week
Fifth Leg’s Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2011 & Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvee 2009
When it comes to creating blended wines winemakers from Australia are up there with the best in the world. In many cases the wines can prove to be much more satisfying the your straight varietals.
Blue Pyrenees
Midnight Cuvee 2009
A very satisfying, rewarding and interesting blend that meets this criteria, and, what winemaker Oliver Crawford claims as being, "a serious wine in a fun package", is Fifth Leg’s Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2011.
Located in the centre of Western Australia’s Margaret River region Devil’s Lair Wines, the producer of the Fifth Leg Label, have indeed a label that is fun AND quality. The label also has an interesting origin being named after fossilised remains of a Tasmanian Tiger that had a curious fifth leg. The remains were found in cave near to the winery. To compound the mystery further the Tiger was native to Tasmania so how it got to Western Australia may forever remain unexplained.
The wine's blackberry fruit and dark cherry notes and the grippy tannins come from the Cabernet Sauvignon component, whereas the pepper, spice and plum comes from the Shiraz, and, finally, the Merlot brings red juicy fruits to the palate and nose.
This is a wonderful drop and at $17.99 goes beautifully with a traditional Sunday roast.
A Glass For Lunch
At 180 kilometres northwest of Melbourne you'll find Victoria's Blue Pyrenees. It was established in 1963 by Krug and Charles Heidseik (known then as Chateau Remy), two French Champagne makers. Blue Pyrenees carries on with its French heritage by making classic Australian sparkling using the Méthode Champenoise technique.
A stand out sparkling is their Midnight Curvee 2009, the grapes of which were hand picked during the night to avoid the heat of the sun. It is a outstanding bubbly and has lots of sparkly and a tongue tingling flavour. It is well worth the $32 to enjoy at your next special celebration.
Need a drink? We're archived on vintnews.com
