Two Trophy Winning Whites
2010 Sydney International Wine Competition

The main focus with the Sydney International is to match the best wine with food. I'm pretty sure that it's the only major wine show in the world that does this, and what a great idea it is. 

Sydney International Wine Competition 2010

  Peter Lehmann "Margaret" Semillon 2004
Barossa Valley - South Australia

Five Trophies.....and 26 Bucks!! 

- 2010 Sydney International Wine Competition -
"Best Medium Bodied Dry White Table Wine Of Competition"
"Best White Table Wine Of Competition"
"BEST WINE OF COMPETITION"

also
Trophy 2008 Barossa Wine Show
Trophy NZ International Wine Show

$26.00
Buy online 

 If you're one that follows the wine show circuit you'll know that this wine picks up a swag of trophies and gold medals across the globe each and every year. Released as a 5 year old wine it bemuses me why it's so cheap. 26 bucks, it's amazing value. If you've never sampled a Barossa Semillon before, this is the one you should start with...if you have, we're waiting for your call.

Winery notes:  A fruit driven, deliciously dry, white wine that reflects our obsession with Barossa Semillon and our commitment to champion this wine style to the world.
The colour is vibrant gold with tinges of green at the edges. The bouquet is lively showing lemon zest,with hints of lanolin and beeswax. A superb expression of Semillon, remarkably youthful and fresh,
whilst paradoxically showing added complexity from bottle-aging. The zesty, tight mineral acidity indicates that this wine will continue to age gracefully for many years. Alc/Vol 11.5%

- 2010 Sydney International Wine Show -

The food: Schnapper Pies with Aioli and Salmon Caviar

Judges' Comments

Jane Boyce: Bright yellow gold in colour. Developed nose of lime marmalade and honey. Dry but very well balanced. Mouth watering ripe acidity. Lovely balance. Not heavy or cloying but a long delicate finish. Like a dash of lemon.  This wine cuts nicely and provides a great contrast to the food.

Steve Flamstead: A good aged Semillon, showing lovely toasty hay characters and showing a bit of that toasty classiness. On the palate, it has a bit of richness which makes me think it might be from outside the Hunter and a very good acidity. A very slight sweetness and a good juicy palate. Overall the alcohol is in check.  A very balanced wine.

Tony Allen: A great expression of tangy lemony Semillon. A very good food match. Some nice flavours.

Warren Gibson: Toasty and attractive. Bottle aged Semillon characters come through. Firm phenolics with a drying finish. As per normal, this Semillon style complements this sort of dish.  The phenolics, the acidity and the freshness really help.
_________________________________

  Vavasour "Awatere Valley"
Sauvignon Blanc 2009
 Marlborough - New Zealand

$16.99
Buy online 

 Trophy– Sydney International Wine Competition 2010
Best Sauvignon Blanc 

Gold Medal - Air New Zealand Wine Awards 2009

4.5 Stars – Cuisine Magazine Sauvignon Tasting January 2010

I remember just a year ago you would have to fork out $20 plus to get a really smart award winning 
Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc but how things have changed.
Vavasour create some wonderful Sauvy's, some of New Zealands best in fact. They get some serious ratings in New Zealand's Cusine magazine on a regular basis and we're extremely happy to recommend this winner to you. 

Winery notes:  
BOUQUET : The aroma shows intense Awatere Valley characters of gooseberry with ripe tropical notes. 

PALATE : Wonderfully fresh and vibrant, the flavours on the palate show the same ripe tropical and gooseberry aromas.It has a crisp mouth feel and is well balanced with anelegant, long finish.

- 2010 Sydney International Wine Show -

The food: Goat Cheese Roulade

Liam McElhinney: Quite a feminine style. Restrained on the nose. Very subtle, grassy herbal notes showing through. A little bit of ripe stone fruit in the background. On the palate, that classic, grassy note came through quite strong. A very herbal finish and it appeared very well with the herb element of the dish. Very complementary to the food.

Tony Allen: Herbs, grass and tropical fruit on the nose. A very intense and concentrated finish. A great finish. A fantastic food match. This wine turbo charged the food flavours and also gave a nice clean finish.

Warren Gibson: Lifted and attractive. Thistle and cooler climate notes. Beautifully intense with piercing acidity and the food match works beautifully. The correct ripeness, acidity and concentration for this dish.

Peter Marks: This wine had a really good herbal, straw, almost a green melon character with a little bit of roundness on the palate. With the food, I found that this roundness helped the dish. It made a nice foil for the creaminess of the roulade, while at the same time, the acid kept everything in balance. It kept it refreshing and prevented the dish from becoming cloying.
____________________________

   Oliver's Taranga Shiraz 2006
McLaren Vale - South Australia

 $25.00
Buy online

I could hardly email two whites when the rains falling outside, so here's a red that should have you over the moon. The wonderful 2006 reds are slowly but surely disappearing off our shelves and I urge you to stock up as they won't last too much longer. 
  
You'd have to have a pretty strong family bond to be able to grow grapes on the same property for six generations one would think but the Oliver family seem to have this stitched up. Established in 1841. Much of their fruit is sold onto larger companies the likes of Penfolds but they do retain a small portion of their best fruit for themselves and it's a family member that creates the wine, the very talented Corrina Rayment.

The opaque purple-colored 2006 Shiraz spent two years in French and American oak, 25% new. It reveals aromas of smoke, pencil lead, pepper, game, blueberry, and blackberry. This is followed by a full-bodied, layered, glossy Shiraz with tons of spicy blue and black fruits, excellent balance, and a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. Drink it over the next 8-10 years. Wine Advocate # 181
Feb 2009 Jay Miller 93 Drink: 2009 - 2019

Hugely powerful, fruit-driven wine. Very traditional style with robust plum pudding aromas and big, sweet oak/ripe fruit palate with slight aged notes appearing. A very good wine with a long life. 5 Stars... Winestate Magazine, Spetember 2008

Winery notes: ColourDeep, dark maroon.AromaBig powerful mocha, coffee, dark chocolate and spice aromas.PalateA bigger style, showing the excellent ripeness attained in the 2006 vintage. Loads of black fruit concentration on the palate. Long fine grained tannins and great length to finish
______________________________

 Food for thought
Woolies (Dan Murphy's, BWS, Woolworths liquor, Langtons) and homebrand wines.
40% of wines sold in Australia homebrands, it will be a sorry day for all.
_____________________________ 

 Chris Ringland comes to town!!!

  This is very exciting... Chris Ringland

Have you heard of Rockford, Three Rivers or R Wines? Then you'll know Chris Ringland.
Chris is the ex-winemaker of Rockford wines a position now held by Ben Radford who most of you will also know. Chris also creates the CULT wine Chris Ringland Shiraz (formally known as Three Rivers) along with the wines from his his new venture with Dan Phillips, R Wines.  

R Wines have been receiving rave reviews from The Wine Advocate for a few years now and now it's time to sample some of them yourselves.
Including 'The Wine' and Evil Incarnate' and other R Wines.

Wednesday 3rd March (tomorrow)
6.00pm to 7.30pm
Instore

I've only met Chris once in 20 years, and I'm in the trade
DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO MEET HIM!!
____________________________

 Recent Offers

Esk Valley "The Terraces" 2004
Hawkes Bay - New Zealand
Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc

$165.00
Was $209.00

One of New Zealand’s few Super Classics
and 20% OFF!

 Above all Esk Valley is famous for its premium wine "The Terraces", which is only released in those years when the terraced vines on the banks above the winery, produce an exceptional vintage.

This full bodied, co fermented blend of Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc is multi dimensional in flavour and will certainly benefit with some time in the cellar. Mike Cooper in his new edition of “Classic Wines of New Zealand” has once again rated “The Terraces” one of New Zealand’s few Super Classics, and this new vintage will not disappoint. Unique, monumental, stunning.

Sticking with Esks beliefs this is a truely handcrafted wine, expressing all from the vineyard of which it came. The three varieties are crushed together into one of the winery's 70-year-old open-topped concrete fermenters for fermentation and maceration.
Deeply coloured and jam packed with black fruit characters. The use of French oak compliments this fruit while adding complexity. You don't often see 'super premiums' under screwcap but  to guarantee the quality of each bottle and offer even greater cellaring potential, here's one. Only 300 six packs were made of the 2004. Alc/vol 14%

"Mike Cooper in his new edition of “Classic Wines of New Zealand” has once again rated “The Terraces” one of New Zealand’s few Super Classics, and this new vintage will not disappoint."  Gordon Russell – Winemaker. 
# Ordered in as requested
_______________________________

 Esk Valley "Reserve" Merlot Malbec 2005
Hawkes Bay - New Zealand

$50.00
Was $64.00

"One of New Zealand’s top red wines"
and 20% OFF!

Maybe this is one that'll have you experiencing the other vinous delights that New Zealand can produce. Far removed from Australia's famous blend of Shiraz Cabernet, but variety is the spice of life. Black fruits is the major player here and it should please even the most staunch Francofiles among you. 

Winery notes: This is consistently one of New Zealand’s top red wines and this vintage is no exception. The wine is deeply coloured with aromatics hinting at black fruits and chocolate. The flavours are typical of Gimblett Gravel, with fruitcake, plum, cherry, chocolate and oak spice all evident. Cellaring is recommended to soften the firm tannins, but the wine can equally be enjoyed in its youth.

Gold – Royal Easter Show Wine Awards 2009

Gold – Liquorland Top 100 Wine Awards 2007

Gold – NZ International Wine Competition 2007

Gold – Hawkes Bay A&P Mercedes Benz Wine Awards 2007

 93 Points Bob Campbell MW
___________________________________

 Esk Valley "Reserve" Chardonnay 2007
Hawkes Bay - New Zealand

$40.00
Was $50.00

One of New Zealand best Chardy's?
and 20% OFF!

Some say that the Hawkes Bay region produces some of New Zealand's best Chardonnay's, this wine can only acknowledge that to be true. Richness and elegance all tied into one, it displays complexity and subtlety and is age worthy to-boot. This food friendly wine shows notes of stonefruit integrated with citrus characters. Having spent some good time on its lees has provided richness, while the subtle oak characters add complexity.
______________________________

 Esk Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Hawkes Bay - New Zealand

$13.99
Was $28.99

Hawkes Bay Sauvy?
 50% OFF!

Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs have come out of virtual obscurity ten years ago into some of the biggest selling wines in Australia. Regions in the Adelaide Hills and Western Australia, who make some pretty smart examples of the wine, have been left in its whake. This also rings true within other regions in New Zealand, Hawkes Bay and Nelson to name two. They produce some great Sauvy's but the 'Marlborough Brand' is extremely strong and very hard to compete with. I read that consumers are slowly drifting away from the Marlborough brand as a be-all-end-all when it comes to Sauvy and they're now looking for individual winery brands. I believe this has been brought on by the glut that Marlborough is now experiencing and the tons and tons of bulk juice being sold off across the globe for as little as $2.50 per litre I hear, and then being branded up as a winery that does not exist. This, a s one would expect, could change the quality.

Enough of that though... Once again the wineries loss is your gain, and it's a real winery with a real cellar door and vineyards Here's a Sauvy that is discribed by Bob Campbell MW thus;

"Hawke's Bay Sauvignon doesn't get a lot better than this. Lovely fruit purity with lifted aromas suggesting nectarine and tropical fruit. Pungent wine with a soft dry finish."  Bob Campbell, MW

Notice that there was no mention of passionfruit, grass or herbaceous characters. This is a Hawkes Bay Sauvy that's simple, clean, crisp and highly quoffable... oh yes, it's a steal!
_______________________________

 Orders
Phone: 02 9882 1788
Email: shop@wineculture.com.au 

If you were forwarded this email from a friend please check out our website and sign up
to join the Culture Club.
All the wines we sell are not listed on our site, so its always worth while popping in to say hi, as we may have that perfect wine you've been searching for...

Wine Culture
23 Babbage Road
Roseville Chase NSW 2069
Ph : +61 298821788
Fax: +61 298821488
Email: info@wineculture.com.au
Web: www.wineculture.com.au

If you do not wish to receive any more emails from us please click on the unsubscribe button below.
All prices quoted are discounted single bottle prices for mixed dozen purchases, unless otherwise stated, no further discounts apply. Some of the wines listed in this email are on offer to recipients of our email only and will not be available in store. While we usually have the wines delivered to you within 2 days, on occasions delivery may take up to 7 days, depending on popularity of certain wines. Some wines are extremely limited and offers apply only while stocks last. Delivery of wines are in dozen lots only.
NSW Liquor Act 1982: It is an offence to sell or supply to or obtain liquor on behalf of a person under the age of 18 years.
VIC Liquor Control Reform Act 1998: Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 for Victoria, it is an offence - To supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years ( Penalty exceeds $6,000) - For a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (Penalty exceeds $500)
Wine Culture accepts no liability for errors or omissions in this email.
NSW Liquor Licence Number 382724