Interesting New Drops

By Alex Russell on June 19, 2014 in Food

It is easy to fall into the trap of opting for the tried and tested favourites when it comes to purchasing a bottle of plonk, especially when you’re shelling out significant sums of money to do so. But sometimes it is in your best interest to get out there and live a little; that new drop that you stumble across could well become your latest favourite. Here are a couple of drops you should definitely consider…

Sami-Odi

Good wines come in threes, according to this fetching new label. A drop of Sami-Odi is hard to find, but I managed to get my hands on the ‘Little Wine #3’ and the ‘Baby Tui’. Both are available in packs of three.

The ‘Little Wine #3’ Syrah ($35 direct), is a blend of wine from three different vintages: 2011, 2012 and 2013. Most of you will know that this is how non-vintage champers is made, but it’s unusual to see in a table wine. It’s a fascinating drop. It’s more restrained than many Barossa reds, but will still keep you warm on a cold night.

The ‘Baby Tui’ Syrah is made from 2012 grapes alone, and it’s a good thing, as the Barossa has a reputation for having had a ‘big’ year in 2012, with big, rich flavours a feature of its wines from that vintage. Setting you back $65 a bottle, the Baby Tui is actually quite restrained. It welcomes the nose with subtlety and then delves into a diverse range of flavours. I’ve seen descriptors such as pencil shavings, which, in my opinion, probably comes from the whole bunch pressing procedure that’s used. Sounds weird, right? But let this open up in the decanter and you’ll be rewarded. Try a glass when you first open it and another an hour later.

The idea behind these wines is simplicity and minimalism. There are lots of changes that a winemaker can apply to a drop, but many feel they should simply stand back and let nature do its thing. Fraser McKinley is one of them. There’s very little of this stuff about, so make a move now if you’re interested. Not that I really care about this, but if you pull one of these wines out at dinner the bottle shape will intrigue your guests.

Thomas Wines ‘Elenay’ Shiraz

I’ve written about Andrew Thomas’ wines before, particularly the Semillons, but his Shirazes are awesome too. His top-shelf Shiraz, the ‘Kiss’ Shiraz (say it quickly) is a personal favourite and has been picking up reviews between 94 and 98 points, with most around 94 to 95 points. Andrew has a few other interesting styles and a new website too, so check it out for more info.

When Andrew was working out which barrels would go into his 2011 ‘Kiss’ Shiraz, there were a few that just didn’t quite fit. The same happened with barrels from his 2011 ‘Sweetwater’ Shiraz. They were outstanding barrels nonetheless, so he made a new wine. Andrew jokingly referred to these leftover barrels as ‘lips and arseholes’, which progressed to ‘L and A’ and then finally, ‘Elenay’. It sounded like such an elegant name until you read that, right?

The Elenay has been picking up some reviews in the 93 to 96-point territory, which is pretty tidy for any wine, let alone something made from barrels that were essentially leftovers, albeit damn good leftovers. The nose on this thing is really pretty (think dark fruits), yet quite restrained. It will reward cellaring.

The ‘Elenay’ has also done reasonably well at wine shows, including a trophy at the Winewise Championship for the champion Shiraz and four gold medals. Awesome!

Don’t forget to look at Andrew’s Semillons. The 2013 ‘Braemore’ – one of my wines of the year – is all gone, but the 2014 version will be released very soon. Speaking of 2014, Andrew tells me he had a great year for both white and red drops, so keep an eye out for all of them over the next few years.