Australian Mixed Red Wine Case

Menagerie of the Barossa GSM

Tasting Notes
Colour
Purple violet, medium-hued, welcoming.
Nose
Aniseed, liquorice, grated dark chocolate with mocha powder dusted atop. Black pepper just ground, bay leaf and nutmeg. And some vanilla sneaking in – hence a neat marriage of the grapes’ aromatics and our lady- winemaker’s judicious use of oak barrels.
Palate
Clean, clear, long and brightly flavoured and textured. An uplifting red wine, displaying grenache’s berry fruit joy, shiraz’s powdery earthiness, and mataro’s peasant’s twinkling eye. The palate ping-pongs with hits of deep, dark fruit, spikes of acidity, and sliding streams of ripe tannins. Barossa – all so eloquently.
Drink
Rhone style blends need few observable protocols. If it is a cold day, roast some root vegetables and some chicken. If it is a hot day then ratatouille and some cold roast chicken – with the wine held in some ice and water. Is this simple seasonal dichotomy the zenith of human achievement?

Background
Dandelion Vineyards is a unique fusion of vineyards and vignerons. Our wines represent decades of experience, blending the fruit of our old vine gardens with the finest traditions of artisan winemaking. Dandelion Vineyards are proven plantings that have stood the test of time. Our wish is to nurture the unique character of these vineyards and express their terroir in our wines. Dandelion Vineyards is a unique fusion of vineyards and vignerons. Our wines represent decades of experience, blending the fruit of our old vine gardens with the finest traditions of artisan winemaking. At the end of our old vine garden path there is a historic ‘Menagerie’ of three grape varieties,
adjoining blocks of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro at Gomersal in the Barossa. After hand picking selected bunches of our Menagerie field blend in mid March our winemaker Elena Brooks let the whole bunches ferment together in open top fermenters with ambient or ‘other people’s’ yeasts and hand plunging for 14 days, before basket pressing into old French Oak barriques, to then mature for a further 12 months in the same oak, before bottling with minimal winemaking artifact, to capture the essence of our vinous Menagerie of the Barossa. 
This vintage of our Menagerie of the Barossa has a high level of natural acidity, and bone dry, it is ménage à trois that makes wine truly of its time and place, a wish come true and a looking glass, if you will, and although ready to drink immediately it will also reward cellaring and decanting.

To find out more about this winery go to the website by clicking here

To see our full range of Dandelion vineyard products click here

Menagerie of the Barossa GSM

We have two other websites supplying specialist quality wines. For the best in Vegan wines go to www.veganwineonline.co.uk, and to see our range of South African wines go to www.southafricanwines.co.uk

Yalumba Y Series Merlot is part of The Yalumba Y Series of quality wines salutes our proud history of viticulture and winemaking in South Australia.

Yalumba believe that one good wine leads to another. The Y Series was created with that belief in mind. The Y Series represents a collection of iconic classics and exciting new varietals. Each authentically crafted with fruit from South Australia’s most celebrated wine regions.

Significantly, the individual icons on each label reflect the labours, inventive thinking and aspirations of all at Yalumba.
The Merlot depicts a winery dog. It could be a Flash, a Nugget or an Archie type dog. With its wet nose, soft fur and dazzling, clear eyes, the dog is a reminder of loyal and long term relationships, a hallmark of the Yalumba culture.

The summer months were warm with some rain events; these rains helped give the vines a great start and allowed them to access sub-soil moisture into summer. The wines from which Yalumba Y Series Merlot fruit is sourced were strong and healthy, producing grapes with focused flavour and excellent quality and structure. The grapes were fermented in static and rotary fermenters. Warm temperatures at the onset of fermentation and also three to five days post ferment maceration has helped extract soft fleshy tannins and build wine structure.

The wine is deep crimson.

Aroma: Cedar and blackcurrants greet the drinker; intense dark fruits with Indian style spices and cracked peppercorn.

Palate: The palate shows briar and red fruits such as cherry and plum upfront and leads into a soft and velvety middle palate. This merlot is truly varietal and generous.

Enjoy with: Vegetarian korma.

To view our full selection of Yalumba wines please take a look at https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/yalumba/

For more information on the Yalumba winery click here

Yalumba Y Series Merlot

Heartland Sposa e Sposa

Robust, rich and ready to enjoy, the vintage offers a subtle structure and a multilayered fruit driven palate. The fascinating Lagrein shows great complexity now that the vines have some age. Look for blackberries and black spice. The Dolcetto softens the palate and offers a burst of fruit to please and entice.

HEARTLAND Sposa e Sposa celebrates the successful marriage of Italian grapes, Dolcetto and Lagrein, two northern Italian grape varieties that are ideally suited to Langhorne Creek climate.

Lagrein’s heritage is the steep slopes of Alto Adige in the far north of Italy. Dolcetto hails originally from Piemonte, famous for great reds. From separate regions they are discouraged from marrying together in their native land. Winemaker, Ben Glaetzer believed their union made them better together and continues to be the only winemaker to blend these two varietals. Since our first vintage in 2003 the blend has consistently won accolades and brought people together.

Region: Langhorne Creek Soil: Sandy loam Variety: Lagrein 55% & Dolcetto 45%

Tasting Notes Robust, rich and ready to enjoy, this vintage offers a subtle structure and a multilayered fruit driven palate. The fascinating Lagrein shows great complexity now that the vines have some age. Look for blackberries and black spice. The Dolcetto softens the palate and offers a burst of fruit to please and entice.

Vinification: The Lagrein was matured in new French oak barrels after fermentation to create a rounder, softer texture. The Dolcetto was cool fermented on skins for seven days before being crushed and matured in stainless steel in order to preserve the fresh, floral notes of the variety. 2016 Vintage: Ben reckons this might be the finest vintage he has ever seen from Langhorne Creek. Only time will tell. Harvest was more generous than the previous few years, with above average quantity and quality. Total degree days were up from the last three years, with wonderful ripeness levels recorded leading to amazing fruit intensity.

to see our full range of Heartland wines go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/heartland-wines/

T find out more about the winery go to https://www.heartlandwines.com.au/homepage-international/

Foundstone Shiraz

The Foundstone Shiraz displays expressive varietal aromas of blackberry, blueberry earth and spice, that lead to a generously flavoured palate of mixed berries, blue plum, dark chocolate, and toasty oak

This Shiraz is densely coloured with youthful violet hues. The nose is expressive, offering an abundance of aromas, predominantly ripe blackberry and plums along with toasty sweet oak. The palate is generous and concentrated showing red berry, black currant and plum flavours. Complex oak characters of coffee, vanilla and caramel complement the full fruit Favours and create a rich, long and satisfying finish.

Foundstone Shiraz

To see our full range of Berton Vineyard wines go to our web page by clicking here

To find out more about the winery go to the website by clicking here

Established by Bob & Cherie Berton in May 1996 with 75 acres of land at 450m above sea level on gently rolling hills in a sub-region of Eden Valley in South Australia. The Reserve Shiraz and Reserve Chardonnay wines are still sourced from this plot. In 2007 Bob purchased the Yenda winery in the heart of the Riverina. This state of the art facility allows Berton Vineyards to produce value for money wines which sit alongside his premium single vineyard offerings.

Berton Vineyards all started at our Eden Valley Vineyard, in High Eden, South Australia. High Eden is a subregion of Eden Valley, situated in the Barossa Valley. It is the highest part of the Barossa, about 500 meters above sea level. In this beautiful part of the world we have planted Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The best parcels of fruit from our Shiraz vineyards go into our Berton Vineyards Bonsai Shiraz, our flagship wine. Fruit from the Shiraz vineyard also forms the backbone for our Reserve Shiraz, which won the Decanter Platinum Best Value Rhone varietal in 2017. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc make our High Eden Range, and the Chardonnay goes into the White Rock Chardonnay and our Reserve Eden Valley Chardonnay.

Great wines from the Eden valley by Berton Vineyards

Willunga 100 Grenache from Mclaren Vale – This lively wine displays intense aromatics of cherry, raspberry, spice and hints of dried herbs. The palate demonstrates all the characters expected from a medium bodied Grenache: sandy, gritty tannin structure; lovely dryness on the finish; coupled with balanced sweet plum and strawberry fruit, a fantastic food wine!

To see our full range of Willunga 100 products go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/willunga-100/

To find out more about the Willunga 100 winery go to https://www.willunga100.com/

Gorgeous Grenache Red

Grenache is Australia’s signature grape variety and we’re slightly obsessed with it.
Utilising a range of premium vineyards across South Australia, we’ve crafted a wine that captures all that is good about Grenache. Aromatic, deceptively light but with beautiful wild fruit, and slurpy, supple tannins.
Vintage Conditions
2020 vintage conditions in were perfect in many ways. A warm , dry early season gave way to a mild, sometimes cool, February and March which allowed for ripening at a very relaxed pace. Small yields across all regions concentrated the fruit flavours while the dry conditions led to low disease pressures. Sadly, the season will also be remembered for the devastating bushfires that preceded it and the unprecedented global Covid pandemic that struck right in the middle of vintage. A remarkable season in many ways and one that we hope will be remembered for all the right reasons when you taste the wines.
Viticulture
Sourced from a number of old vineyards in the Riverland and McLaren Vale, some of which are dry grown bush vines.
Winemaking
All vineyards are vinified in small batches, separately. Wild ferments, whole bunch inclusion, larger oak and no filtration or fining help define the delicious, energetic
character of the wine.
Tasting
Aromatic and lifted on the nose with a beautifully layered, textural palate with wild strawberry and spice

To find out more about the winery go to http://www.thistledownwines.com

To see our full range of Thistledown product go to http://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/thistledown-wines/

Gorgeous Grenache Red – great wine from Australia made by a great vineyard.

Like the Thistle itself, our wines may appear robust on the surface but we seek deep flavours, a core of beautiful fruit and complexity that can be peeled back, layer by layer.