Ruggabellus Barossa Valley Fluus 2013

My favourite South Oz producer I reckon. The Ruggabellus Barossa Valley Fluus 2013 - Grenache, Mataro, Cinsault and Syrah - has brought sexy back for this style with such unassuming style and finesse all the while walking in to the room loaded with sweaty hairy armpits; its super-suave and bogan all in one package; Sort of like The Drones - band not spy object.

Anywhoo, the wine. Dusty graphite on the nose with concentrated black fruit and savoury black olive brininess too. The palate has a very clear line of savoury gaminess and black fruit all held together with precise fine graphite like tannins. Theres almost a hint of lip smacking fish sauce at the back. This is as close to Pinot Noir from the Barossa Valley I reckon. I just love it!!!




Drink with peppered rare steak
Drink till 2018
96 Screwcap
13.6%v/v $29-$32

Rusden Barossa Valley Driftsand GSM 2010

Its getting harder and harder to find a crappy wine these days; this is not one of them. The Rusden Barossa Valley Driftsand GSM 2010 is floating my boat in a big way right now cos its so hard to put a finger on what it is. From the get go this wine to me is put in the 'Pinot Noir drinkers GSM' with a lovely earthy and floral nose stemming from 42% Grenache, 41% Shiraz and 17% Mataro. The palate continues on that line with an almost wet terracotta feel in the mouth - I know, sounds pretty wankie - and prickly 5 spice , dates and currents. All in all a great wine and a bit of a demystification for me on GSM. A ripper a ripper a ripper.

Sorry about the crappy image though.

Drink with beef short ribs
Drink till 2017
96
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $23 Seddon Wine Store

Castaño Yecla Ecológico Monastrell 2009

This is another Monastrell/Mataro/Mourvèdre that I simply cannot get enough of. The Castaño Yecla Ecológico Monastrell 2009 has been a regular in my recycling bin lately purely and simply because its so bloody good. Very red in the glass, the nose throws up blackberries and an almost iodinie-cum-medicinal- throaty-lolly-cum-gingerbread; that's the funky shit, and that's a good thing. The palate starts with crunching acid and tannins that flows along with more blackberries and black licorice. Just get some.

Drink with lamb sausages
Drink till 2017
94
Screwcap 13%v/v $22 Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick

Izway Barossa Valley Mates Mataro 2011

The photo is a bit grainy; think I was a bit grainy too when I took it. These are two things that I have fallen in love with again. 1) The Beastie Boys 'Licensed to Ill' - this is an original vinyl from 1987 when I was a wee lad surfin' and skateboardin' all over Perth, and 2) Mataro, Mourvedre or whatever you want to call it. To borrow from Julie Andrews from 'The Sound of Music' , ".... these are a few of my favourite things." Never thought I'd be quoting The Sound of Music!

The Izway Barossa Valley Mates Mataro 2011. It's part made by Brian Conway, the 'way' in Izway. Even though he follows Old East - will never understand why they changed to the Sharks - supporter; I'm a tragic South Fremantle Bulldogs supporter. Getting way off track here. This wine is brimming with black fruit and licorice on the nose. A near black colour in the glass, in the palate the wine flows with more licorice and hints of black olives and sweet black berries. Long and tight with acid and tannins cleaning all and sundry at the front and back. A cracker of a wine. RIP MCA.


Drink with beef short ribs
Drink till 2020
95
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $29

Ruggerbellus Barossa Valley Efferus 2010

It seems in an ever changing wine landscape, there are some things that are just what they propose to be - wine without the song and dance. Enter the Ruggerbellus Barossa Valley Efferus 2010 Mataro blend.

I reckon I had this about 2 years ago for the first time at Fix in Sydney and was simply drawn to it by it pure simplicity; gorgeous fruit, gorgeous acid and tannin structure and gorgeous length. Gorgeous.

Forward 2 years and it is now a fixture at Albert Street Food & Wine, but don't put it on the burner, there's not much left. So the wine. Deep colour in the glass with an almost black/purplish hue. Massive wafts of black fruit and black olives on the nose with a slight ashed finish, the wine powers in the palate with flavour that ascends ever so lightly and seems to go on for ever; I didn't do a Robert Parker Jnr and time the flavour length - I do have a life thankyou! But I digress. Plenty more black fruit with a slight tinge of green leaf in the acid working its way at the end. Cracking good wine.

Drink with Côte de boeuf with Béarnaise - like I did last night
Drink till 2025
96
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $42 Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick

Radford Eden Valley Menagerie 2009

It's been a while but I'm back.

For the last 2 weeks I have been toiling with constructing the wine list (not only restaurant but also wine retail) for the soon to be opened Albert St Food & Wine in downtown Brunswick. I reckon I have swilled and and garbled and spat out close to 1000 wines, with yesterday accounting for about 150; some crackers, some not so cracking. This one was is a cracker! The Radford Eden Valley Menagerie 2009.

As it says, this wine is a collective of Mataro, Grenache, Shiraz and the earthiness that is Alicante. Deep garnet in the glass with a wonderful smack of sweet morello cherry,spice and dried herbs on the nose, the Menagerie has a real velvet mouthfeel combined with a flavour I cannot quite pinpoint, suffice to say it felt quite meaty in a sweet way - that was a good thing, not bad.

This is such a great wine and pays respect to Southern Rhone with acid balance and spice all at the same time pitching the wild card Alicante in for good measure. A great outcome.

Drink with steak tartar
Drink till 2016
94
Screwcap 14%v/v about $32 at Albert St Food & Wine in 2 weeks

Spinifex Barossa Valley Papillon 2009

“Make the best of what we offer you, and you will suffer less than you deserve.” Camp Commandant from Papillon

I remember watching this for the first time on a wet and wintery Fremantle day when I was about 11. It let me with one lesson; no matter how much you try, you’ll always be trapped. This was pretty heavy for me at the time, but never the less apt – I had two older sisters and was always the whipping boy with no escape. But enough about my traumatic childhood.

So far this is my second favourite wine of the year. The Spinifex Barossa Papillon Barossa Valley 2009. A blend of Cinsault, Grenache and Mataro, this wine started as mistaken identity; I meant to grab the Bête Noir, but in my haste one evening I grabbed this (have since grabbed it about five times!).

This wine caught me off guard. Quite opaque and dirty in the glass, the nose offers a wonderful mix of dried herbs and tart red fruit. The palate is very true to the nose with more tart red fruit, cranberry being the dominant for me, with tight and clean acid certainly making its presence known throughout the whole bottle. This is also the type of wine that needs food, not just a lazy Friday night quoffer.

Drink with rump steak and béarnaise sauce
Drink till 2014
96
Screwcap 13.8%v/v $27 from Blackhearts & Sparrows, North Fitzroy