RELAXING DROP FROM NO RUSH, NO STRESS VINTAGE

PUT this on the table at $20 with hearty beef dishes

Wc04Jun12

David Ellis

VINTAGE 2010 in the Adelaide Hills arrived earlier than usual, and delivered lighter-than-usual crops – but at Wicks Estate they welcome this unusual vintage as an idyllic one.

“We didn’t need to rush, and we didn’t need to stress too much because we knew we were delivering our Winemaker, Leigh Ratzmer and Consultant Maker, Tim Knappstein with a steady flow of high quality fruit,” says Wicks partner and Facilities Manager, Tim Wicks.

For their 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Winemaker Leigh Ratzmer divided the Cabernet fruit into small parcels, and then built the complexity of the wine by using various yeasts, fermentation strategies and maturation regimes. And while this increased the workload in the winery, he says it provided a myriad options at the tasting bench when putting these blends together.

The result is the 2010 Wicks Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine with cassis and dark fruit flavours, combined with subtle hints of tobacco and chocolate – and after 12 months in French oak soft, silky tannins that are nicely balanced by the fruit flavour’s subtle oak nuances.

A TASTE of Spain to enjoy with roast lamb

Pay $20 and enjoy this one with beef dishes.

ONE FOR LUNCH: SPAIN’s Marques de Riscal family were the first to make Spanish wine using French Bordeaux methods, including the now-famous Spanish Rioja that’s named after the region in which the family made that first Bordeaux style red in 1858 using Tempranillo fruit.

Dan Murphy’s exclusively import and retail a range of Marque de Riscal wines including the 2006 Tinto Reserva that’s made with 90% Tempranillo fruit, and 5% each of Graciano and Mazuelo; this results in a wine loaded with ripe fruit flavours and pleasant soft tannins. And idea at $29.99 with roast lamb.

(NEED A FOOD/DRINK IDEA? Check out  http://www.vintnews.com )