Pindarie Tasting with Wendy Allan
22 July 2010
On the evening of the 21st of July we hosted a tasting of Pindarie wines with part owner and head viticulturist Wendy Allan, including Wendy's new Black Hinge Reserve Range. We started with the Traminer Riesling 2009 teamed with a spicy red lentil and vegetable soup and it was a great combination. For spicy Asian food this wine works extremely well.
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Wendy Allan pouring her Black Hinge Shiraz |
Second wine up was the Bar Rossa 2008, a blend of Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Shiraz, this and the next wine we accompanied with mini beef and Burgundy and chicken and leak pies. The Bar Rossa is a lip smackingly juicy, earthy and spicy wine - simply a wonderful luscious drop that I must admit to enjoying regularly at home. For it's drinkability this was the tasters pick of the night.
Next was the 2007 Pindarie Shiraz it is a rich fruit driven Barossa Shiraz, but note there is very little of the ’07 left and Wendy informed us the ’08 release of this wine is very soon and a much more full bodied style.
Then came the Black Hinge Range of three wines which we tasted with a slow cooked beef dish with creamy mashed potato. Wendy suggested the tasting order of the Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and then the Tempranillo. All these wines are from the 2008 vintage and all are made to salt away in the cellar for years.They are full bodied fruit driven wines all with refined tannins and enormous length.
The Shiraz, even though a pup, was drinking the best on the tasting night.The next day at lunch time I revisited the leftovers from the tasting and it was amazing how twelve hours of breathing over night (with the corks in) had brought all the wines together. The Cabernet in particular, although it had lovely blackberry fruit on the nose and palate, had an overriding oakiness at the tasting.
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| Redrop's Caroline Camillin ready to pour the Pindarie La femme Savagnin. |
The next day however the fruit had lifted and the oakiness had subdued and it was excellent - and as two customers to whom I poured a taste the next day commented "this is a very, very good wine". The Tempranillo as with the Cabernet had also just melded together that bit more the next day, lovley black cherries, mocha aromas and eathiness on the nose that carried through to the palate, I will love revisiting this wine with some bottle age.
Actually I will put some in my cellar right now so I can!
Cheers for now, Michael @ wineseek