WONDERFUL WHITES FROM SLOW-RIPENING VINTAGE

David Ellis

PROLONGED periods of warm weather in Western Australia’s Margaret River in 2009, punctuated by short, cool and dry spells, gave growers and winemakers wonderfully slow-ripened fruit with great concentrations of flavour and natural grape acidity for their 2009 labels.

Evans & Tate have now-released three beautifully flavoured white wines from this vintage, with one – their 2009 Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc – already notching up a Trophy and six Golds on the show circuit.

This is a wine loaded with passionfruit, lime and snow pea flavours, and with accompanying fresh grassy hints. The company’s 2009 Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc has a similar core, together with herbal, gooseberry and nectarine characters.

And the third of the trio, crafted by winemaker Matthew Byrne, is a Chardonnay with delightfully concentrated stone fruit flavours coupled with finer citrus characters and reflecting the differing characters of the sub-regions of the Margaret River from which he sourced his fruit.

All three wines are value-buying at $22.99 a bottle; the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon Sauvignon and both good seafood wines, and the Chardonnay will go will also make a good match with seafood or a gently-flavoured pasta.

ONE FOR LUNCH: WYNNS have released a moreish 2008 V&A Lane Coonawarra Shiraz, so-named after the long straight road that was constructed in the late 1840s and which traditionally separates South Australia’s Coonawarra North from Coonawarra’s South.

Winemaker Sarah Pidgeon has created a great drop with sweet red berry, plum and chocolate flavours, nicely supported with spicy oak… at $42.99 just the shot to linger with over a Sunday lunch of roast duck and baked vegies.

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PHOTO CAPTIONS:

[] SEAFOOD serenade… a Margaret River beauty with seafood dishes

[] LINGER with this over a Sunday lunch of roast duck and baked vegies