Master of Wine Dave March tasted some of our wines recently and gave us a wonderful write-up and stunning tasting notes about the Dominion Royale Shiraz Reserve 2012 and the newly released Luna de Miel Chardonnay Reserve 2015. It’s always a pleasure to read Dave’s notes and local wine lovers can only wish to have his extensive international knowledge which he shares so willingly with us.
Both wines are available in the tasting room right now. Pop in and make your own decision!
Luna de Miel Chardonnay Reserve 2015
Paler than previously, there is a green tinge to the pale straw hue and some quickly disappearing CO2, revealing its youth. The nose is shrouded in oak, and the dusty, sawmill note fades slowly to reveal stone fruit steeliness. On warming, the richer, more tropical notes come through, with still some minerality. Initially, the oak is dominant, but recedes after ten minutes or so, suggesting perhaps a better balance down the road. Full bodied, the palate again offers a whack of wood, raw and dusty and only slowly does the fruit reveal itself. Time is a key factor in this wine and it is not a ‘drink now’ proposition. There is some delicate fruit there, pear, a whiff of passion fruit and soft yellow fruits, which opens on the palate to become quite rich and decadent – and behind it a firm flintiness and mineral grip. Fermented in old wood and matured in newer oak, I suspect, the depth of fruit and quality of flavours I feel may become better balanced, certainly there is a finesse and elegance in what fruit does linger that offers a quality wine, but it is fighting a losing battle – at this stage at least. One to open in five years’ time.
Drink 2018-2025
86 / 100
Dominion Royale Shiraz Reserve 2012
Cherry-black and almost inky opaque, aromas burst from pouring. Over-ripe plums and smoky bacon, with hints of game and a crispness that seems from lean red currants rise from the glass, in a wave of aromatics – it really is a ‘heady’ wine and cannot be ignored. The palate is full and dense but there is acidity there, keeping it firm and fresh. Tannins are soft and lush and balance a leanness in fruit texture, not in fruit quality, but in the way the wine enlivens the palate and makes your mouth water. Flavours of currants, plum and mulberry with that thread of game and spicy herb bite smoother the back of the mouth and linger on swallowing. This is a nice bridge between New World fruit luxury and Old World savoury restraint and rusticity. There is leather, spice and deep dark fruit medley here, and a classic hint of damp stable, edging its elegance toward the Rhône. A sumptuous wine, persistent and compelling, drinking nicely now and difficult to imagine wanting anything more when tasted on a wet winter’s evening.
Drink 2014-2025
93 / 100
