Month: May 2016

Dandelion Lionheart of the Barossa 2014

Dandelion Barossa Shiraz 2014A clear, deep, ruby wine with thick legs. Medium+ intensity nose clean and developing with vanilla, baked plum, blackberries and a hint of cloves.

Dry with medium+ firm tannins, medium+ acid and high alcohol (14.5%). A medium+ bodied wine with long finish and flavours of jammy plum, blackberry, sweet spices and a touch of dark chocolate.

This is a very good wine (93 points), mid-priced ($27) and will drink now, but will improve to 2025. Quite young and tight at the moment so some aeration is advised.

This wine follows good vintages in 2012 and 2013 – it will suit barbecued and roasted beef / pork as well as cured meats. Will cut through big Mediterranean dishes too but will overpower lighter or subtler expressions.

Di Giorgio Tempranillo 2013

Di Giorgio Tempranillo 2013
Di Giorgio Tempranillo 2013

A clear, medium, ruby wine with pale rim and few, thick tears evident. Medium intensity nose clean and developing with red berry fruits, savouriness, cedar and a hint of white pepper.

Dry with medium+ smooth tannins, medium acid and medium+ alcohol (14%). A medium bodied wine with medium finish and flavours of red berry fruit (cherry) and oak characteristics (vanilla) on the palate.

This is a very good wine (92 points), mid-priced ($23) and will drink now, but may improve into 2020. Some decanting may help as it definitely opened up after a few minutes in the glass.

This wine will complement food perfectly especially the richer, meatier dishes and cured / smoked foods. An obvious match would be Spanish food like chorizo and jamon but it would equally pair roast lamb and Italian foods.

At this price point I would encourage you to make this your go-to everyday red!

Fun facts: Tempranillo is the fourth most planted grape in the world although we only have just over 700 hectares under vine in Australia. If you have ever had a Rioja then you would have had Tempranillo as it normally comprises 60%+ of the blend.