by Martin Field
Scarborough White Label Semillon 2006 – $22 \_/\_/\_/
Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Pale, youthful greenish tints. Unwooded, dry, steely, typically Hunter style of lemon, lime and lemongrass structured over lip-smacking acidity. Great aperitif. Will cellar gracefully to 2017.
d’Arenberg The Noble Riesling 2006 – 375ml bottle $25 \_/\_/\_/
Golden yellow. Aromatic nose of Seville orange marmalade, honey and pears. Luscious palate of orange peel and honey and cleansing tangy acid.
Claymore Déjà vu Rose 2006 – $15 \_/\_/
Grenache and Malbec blend from the Clare Valley, South Australia. Pale, rose petal pink. Fresh fruity nose with a hint of strawberries on the palate and some grapey sweetness. Easy drinking style.
Pfeiffer Gamay 2006 – $16.50 \_/\_/
Light cherry hues. Sweet, almost fruit pastille nose with a hint of Turkish Delight. The palate showing a touch of maraschino cherry with some firmness at the finish.
Kangarilla Road Sangiovese 2005 – up to $17 \_/\_/\_/
Ruby appearance with a slight russet edge. Liquorice, new oak and mulberries on the nose. The palate shows substantial berry fruit and assertive tannins. Would suit pizza nicely.
Terra Felix Shiraz Viognier 2006 – up to $15 \_/\_/
Crimson hues. Restrained blackberry and vanilla oak nose. Medium-weighted dryish style with continuing blackberries on the palate and a hint of dark chocolate.
Lou Miranda Estate Old Vine Shiraz Mourvedre 2005 – up to $30 \_/\_/\_/
Black cherry hues. Generous bouquet of berries, vanilla and a touch of coconut. Palate is softish with flavours of ‘fruits of the forest’ conserve underlaid with hints of mint and eucalypt. Very approachable style.
Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2003 – $70 to $80 \_/\_/\_/\_/
St Henri is surely the most European of Australia’s classic reds in that it doesn’t depend for its classiness upon lashings of new oak and jamminess. Rather it is a wine of beautiful structure: long lean and sinewy, with elements of plums, aniseed, cigar leaf, bitter chocolate and the subtlest oak sub-strata. Cellar to 2027.
Spitbucket rating system
Five gold spitbuckets \_/\_/\_/\_/\_/ – brilliant
\_/\_/\_/\_/ – classy
\_/\_/\_/ – first-rate
\_/\_/ – good stuff
\_/ – spit it!
An added $ or two denotes excellent value for money.