Conterno Fantino Dolcetto d'Alba 2007

Dolcetto, or the ‘little sweet one’, is not so called for a sweet flavour profile. It gained this name for its ease of cultivation and, in its home in Piedmont, it is nearly always made as a dry wine, as in this instance. It is the everyday wine of the Piemontese: it’s what you drink while waiting for your Barolo to mature.
Beautifully aromatic, this wine shows slightly tart raspberry and cherry fruit on the nose along with some purple flowers. The palate is mid weight and quite pretty with more crunchy raspberry and blueberry fruit and some dusty spice characters. The tannins are moderately grippy along with refreshing, clean acidity. Drink over the next couple of years.

John Duval 'Plexus' 2006

After 29 years at Penfolds, including 17 years as chief winemaker, John Duval started making wine under his own label in 2003. He started with the Plexus, a Rhône-style blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre. Bringing all of his expertise and experience as a premium winemaker and using top-quality old vine Barossa fruit, John is producing sensational wines that already have a fantastic reputation.
Full of raspberry and blackberry fruit, the Plexus also has some interesting fennel seed/liquorice notes. There’s a lovely floral lift and great balance. For such a powerful and concentrated wine it has amazing finesse, but still quite chewy fruit. While quite approachable now, I think this will benefit from a little bit of age.

Montgomery Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Made exclusively for the Alliance of Independent Fine Wine Merchants, the Montgomery comes from fruit from the Montgomery Bros. vineyard, which also supplies fruit to Moss Wood. Moss Wood then makes the wine for Max Montgomery, which he then releases to us under his own label.
This well-structured red is medium in body with excellent Cabernet characters of cassis, tobacco leaf and spices. The tannins are very fine-grained and the wine shows the elegance often seen in Margaret River reds. It is clean, long and very smooth. Drink over the next 3 – 5 years.

Bress 'Gold Chook' Shiraz 2006

Located in the Harcourt Valley, Bress is dedicated to sustainable farming and biodynamic practices in winemaking. Having done some vintage work at Bress in 07 and 08 (so my hands haven’t been in this one), I have gained a new respect for the hard work that goes into making such quality wine. Most of the fruit for Bress wine is bought in from various regions around Australia and this, the flagship wine, is from Heathcote fruit.
Big and dark with black olives, blackberries and other dark fruits, the Gold Chook also has some savoury earth and spice notes. It is very full-bodied with dense, concentrated fruit. The palate is quite rich, but it has good structure that keeps everything in check. Give it a good decant or 5+ years in the cellar.

Quinta do Noval Tawny Port

A house that has been making great Port since 1715, Quinta do Noval is today most famous for having produced what is perhaps the greatest Vintage Port of the last century, 1931 Quinta do Noval ‘Nacional’. Today they continue their dedication to making the best Port that they possibly can. Tawny Port is made from a blend of vintages that are fortified with neutral grape sprit, then aged in wood before bottling. This Tawny spends 3 years in big oak vats.
An intense brick colour, the Noval Tawny shows rich, youthful red fruit on the nose. The palate is medium-sweet with strawberry and raspberry fruit with some spice and a hint of nuttiness. It is quite powerful, but is balanced well by its structure. It can be served slightly chilled as an aperitif or room temperature after a meal or with dessert.

Buy the Discovery Pack

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