By David Ellis from vintnews.
If you are having an extra-special Christmas this year and looking for an extra-special wine for just the two of you, give real consideration to Margan Wines’ recently released 2011 Aged Release Shiraz.
At $100 a bottle this is a unique wine you’ll find is just the drop for a unique-occasion Christmas, especially if turkey is at the centre of the table. Andrew Margan created it using grapes from 40 year old Hunter Valley vines that yielded just a half tonne per acre of intensely flavour-concentrated fruit when picked at full ripeness.
After fermentation it was given 20 months in new French oak barriques, then bottled and aged for four years in Margan’s own cellars under Andrew’s care.
A beautiful dark purple in colour, this one screams classic Hunter Shiraz, with aromas of white pepper, ripe dark berry fruit, tar, a hint of cigar box and lovely follow-through flavours. And while Ideal for that special-occasion Christmas lunch or dinner turkey this year, it’ll also mature beautifully over the next couple of decades for even greater enjoyment at Christmases or other special dining events down the line.
One to note: Peter Logan at Logan Wines at Orange in the NSW Central West has long displayed a dogged commitment to evolve and improve his Logan Vintage ‘M’ Cuvee that’s named in memory of his late father, Malcolm – a great fan and devotee of premium sparkling wine.
Made in the traditional Champagne method, Peter’s latest release is from the 2012 vintage and is interesting in that he’s broken away from a usual practice of close to equal parts of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. For this one he’s opted instead for a whopping 79% Chardonnay, 11% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier , all off 18 year old vines growing in rich, deep volcanic soils on the north-facing slopes of the local Mount Canobolas.
Crisp and dry with flavours of lemon, wild strawberry, almond and a salty minerality, this 2012 Logan Vintage ‘M’ Cuvee is a great drop at $35 and perfect to pop at New Year’s Eve.
