For all the talk these days of restraint in wine sometimes life just calls for a big boned flavour packed bottle. And, as much as I appreciate a huge diversity of wines and have learned to love lots of old-world style, acidity, and earthiness, my wine roots are a bit different and I can't seem to shake my love for the big stuff. This wine was an homage to that and a perfect match for a couple of fantastic sausages from Oyama on Granville Island.
I was kind of curious about the name of this winery after hearing some grumblings about it at a wine store. Looking it up on Wikipedia provided the info that Spinifex is a type of grass that grows in Australia that has many traditional uses for Australia's Aboriginal peoples. It's also a kind of Australian Pigeon. Which one of these is the wine chanelling, I wonder?
A very forward cherry and strawberry candy-fest. We're not talking loads of complexity here, but certainly this has tremendous depth and integrity and, while full of fruit, is also nicely balanced. A beautiful BBQ wine mixed with 55% Mataro (Mourvedre) and 45% Shiraz. A hint of spice on the finish, with good length and a distinct mocha element when paired with my coq-au-vin sausage. It would be unfair to call this simply a fruit bomb. This is really just a very well made Barossa wine with classic Barossa fruit done well - and no hint of pigeon.
Very Good+$48 at Marquis
2 comments:
Shea,
I have rather strong recollections of spinifex grass. As a teenager I spent a few weeks of a school camp trying to jump / burn / avoid the stuff. It's spiky and seemingly everywhere.
The Aussie record on Rhone blends is surprisingly poor, given the good quality shiraz that is on hand.
Interesting. I definitely enjoyed this wine, but I thought it was a bit pricey compared to what you could get from the Rhone for $46. On the other hand, it's really a completely different style, and one that I enjoyed despite some shortcomings that the 'critic' in me noticed. Sometimes it's just about sitting back and enjoying.
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