Chilean Carmenère/Cabernet Sauvignon
JANUARY

The Region: Chile is one of the oldest ‘new world’ winegrowing regions, with its first vintage planted by the Spanish in the 16th century. Winexpert’s Carmenère comes from the Maipo Valley, Chile’s most famous growing area located just south of the capital of Santiago.
The Wine: Similar to Merlot, Carmenère is a synonym for brilliant red, ‘carmine’. Blended with the King of red grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, it produces exceptionally powerful, rich red wines of great length and structure. Deep crimson red colour with luscious fruit aromas of plums and blueberry, a touch of chocolate and hints of coffee and toasty oak. On the palate, notes of red fruit, dark plums, damsons and spice, generously framed by toasty oak with a soft and well structured mouthfilling texture, velvety on the tongue with very supple tannins.
The Food: Excellent with lighter meat dishes or sausages, smoked meats liver pâtés and is brilliant with roast duck.
Robust, tannic and structured in its youth, this wine will require at least a year to open up and show its rich red fruit, and after two to three years will beguile with its smokey, velvety finish and spicy berry flavours.
Sweetness Code – 0 (dry)

Australian Riesling
JANUARY

The Region: Australia’s vast Riverland region produces nearly 20% of all the country’s wine. The warm climate and rich sandy loam soils could produce higher yields, but artisan grape growers remove half the fruit at budburst and limit irrigation. With smaller numbers of berries and water-stressed vines, the resultant grapes, like those used in our Australian Riesling, display highly concentrated flavour, aroma and body
The Wine: Medium bodied, crisp and refreshing, with aromas of white fruits, juicy apple, and the perfume of spring blossoms. It’s wonderfully drinkable, but still shows depth of flavour with minerals and a bracing backbone of acidity and structure. The main difference between a German and an Australian Riesling is that Australian Riesling tends to be drier. The Australian version exhibits the characteristics of the grape that we expect: the perfume, the complexity and the zest.
The Food: Riesling holds it’s own in food pairing like no other white wine, especially with savoury dishes or fruit - roast pork loin stuffed with apricots is a delightful pairing.
While crisply fresh and bright when young, it will develop more of its floral/mineral aromas after six months, and after a year will begin to show honey and citrus notes, and continue to deepen in flavour after two years or more.
Sweetness Code – 0 (dry)

Sicilian Nero d’Avola/Shiraz
FEBRUARY

The Region: The Sicilian climate has long hot summers, plenty of sunshine and mild winters, with just enough rainfall to keep the vines strong. Avola is a village in South Eastern Sicily, where Nero d’Avola evolved through selection by vine growers centuries ago, and has spread throughout the island.
The Wine: Sicilian winemakers often treat Nero d’Avola like Shiraz, which is why the two blend so well together. It has the classic Shiraz notes of blueberry, blackberry and dark fruits, with a delightful scent of rose, cherry and herbs. This dark-garnet wine shows ripe, berrylike fruit aromas lent complexity by hints of toast and smoke. Warm and plummy with a touch of raisins and a hint of almonds in the flavour, there’s sufficient acidity to give it structure, but the overall impression is soft as velvet.
The Food: A great choice for lamb chops; rare meat rounds out the wine. Also good with barbecued ribs, filet mignon, classic pan-fried pork chops and Roquefort cheese.
While this is a wine that will age well for years, the exuberant fruit will beckon you for early drinking. If you do succumb, put a bottle aside for the future, but you won’t go wrong by drinking it after six months to a year.
Sweetness Code – 0 (dry)

Pacific Quartet
MARCH

The Region: The Pacific Coast of North America has micro-climates that match those of the blazing sunshine of the Mediterranean to the crisp mountain air of the upper Rhine. With so much range and variety, there is a perfect terroir for almost any grape you can name.
The Wine: This wine showcases bright fruit, excellent structure and a long finish. Vidal from British Columbia gives spiciness and stone fruit. Chenin Blanc from California gives a wonderful melony-honeyed aroma with hints of apple. Gewürztraminer from Washington contributes lychee, rose petals and floral notes, and Muscat from Australia’s Murray-Darling Valley gives wonderful grapey notes with dried fruit and hints of orange peel.
The Food: This wine has a range of fruit character and enough acidity to stand up to a wide range of foods, particularly spicy and savoury dishes, including Thai cuisine, grilled fish, herbed roast chicken or barbecued salmon.
Although delicious right on bottling day, drinking it early would prevent it from showing it’s best—after six months the Muscat and Vidal will dominate with spicy/grapey notes, after a year the Chenin Blanc’s honey and melon will come out, and at 18 months to two years the Gewürztraminer will show a perfumed floweriness and lush structure.
Sweetness Code – 1 (off dry)

Italian Brunello
APRIL

The Region: Italy’s long, narrow peninsula reaches deep into the Mediterranean, basking in the relentless sunshine and welcoming warmth. Gentle sloping hillsides, rich mineral soils, the moderating breezes off of the Mediterranean waters and unique grape varieties work to make wonderful wines.
The Wine: Brunello is a large-berried variety of the Sangiovese grape, most famous in Brunello di Montalcino. Italy’s hot, dry climate allows Brunello to thrive, displaying great varietal character and intensity. The flavour profile of Sangiovese is fruity, with strong natural acidity, a firm and elegant to assertiveness and a robust finish that can extend surprisingly long. The aroma is generally subtle, with cherry, strawberry, blueberry, and violet notes.
The Food: Brunello shines in the company of assertively flavoured foods. Hard cheeses such as Asiago and Parmigiano Reggiano are splendid accompaniments and the wines backbone of acids and tannins make it work well with rich and spicy foods like Italian sausages or lasagna.
Medium-bodied but boldly tannic and intense, this gripping wine will begin to open up after six months, but the richer flavours will take at least 18 months to show, with cherry and spice dominating the long, fruity finish.
Sweetness Code – 0 (dry)

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