G.S.M. – IT MEANS A TASTE OF FRANCE

YOUR FREE WEEKLY WINE COLUMN for week beginning 28July 08

wine with david ellis
 

IF you’re thinking about a dinner party with a touch of French flare, think about Rosemount’s Show Reserve 2005 McLaren Vale G.S.M., a taste of the South of France if ever there was one.

G.S.M. (Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre) is a traditional blend in the Southern Rhone Valley, a region that shares climatic conditions similar to South Australia’s McLaren Valley where Rosemount first created its version of this French classic in 1994.

Since then Rosemount’s has become a benchmark for the style here, being made from premium parcels of fruit from old, low-yielding vines; the 2005 is loaded with dark fruit flavours, spicy cinnamon and liquorice characters and soft ripe tannins.

At $20.99 enjoy this with friends over a French-inspired game casserole.

ONE FOR LUNCH: WHEN it was launched back in 1952 it was labelled Wynns Coonawarra Estate Claret, but as things have changed over time it’s become Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz – and is still a classic from the company that was the first winery in the Coonawarra 112 years ago.

The just-released 2007 is rich and spicy with red berry fruit and a touch of nutmeg and soft tannins on the palate, and with a nose of lifted red cherries,  wild berries, sweet spice and hints of cocoa and vanillin oak.

This is a great wine at $20.99 to enjoy when chucking a steak on the barbie.

BUY OF THE WEEK: ANDREW Margan created a sensational drop for Merlot buffs with his 2006 off the family Hunter Valley property, the more so when you consider 2006 followed four years during which rain was virtually unheard of. This wine is beautifully fresh and fruit driven with plum, black cherries and hints of vanilla; pay $20 and savour with a hearty osso bucco.  

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PHOTO CAPTIONS:

. FRENCH connection inspired by the Southern Rhone Valley.

. CHUCK a steak on the barbie with this classic.