Armadale 12 - 4pm
Doncaster 12 - 2pm
Saturday October 4th

2005 Bests Great Western
         Cabernet Sauvignon

A couple of decades ago, Australian's were slowly becoming acquainted with Lambrusco, Spumante and basket Chianti. The range of Italian wines has since expanded exponentially, yet even today, most remain ignorant of the vast and diverse Italian vineyards that produce roughly twenty percent of the world's total yearly wine output. Why is this situation only just beginning to change?

Without documenting Italy's turbulent early history and relentless internal disputes in detail, it's clear that these factors have contributed to the prolonged disorganisation of the Italian wine industry. This same disorganisation has hindered the advance and development of viticulture and wine making, and delayed the building of a cohesive international market profile, so that, despite the fact that Italy is a country whose wine history dates from the classical period, up until about thirty years ago, it was still known almost solely for the quantity of wine it produced, rather than its quality, and so largely neglected.

By the 19th century Italy had already commenced mass production of wines which were becoming well-known around the world as inexpensive but lower-quality alternatives to French wines. The arrival of the vine disease 'phylloxera' at the end of the 19th century had disastrous effects, but the newly unified Italy (1861) responded with a national management program: Thousands of grape varieties previously grown were carefully narrowed down to the hundreds we know today, chosen for their ability to adapt to different climates and the new grafting techniques that phylloxera required.

However, many Italian producers continued to take advantage of the country's hot southern climate to push for high yields, generating large quantities of inferior-quality wine. The country's reputation on the world stage seemed destined to remain as a producer of low-cost "pizza wines". Decimation of the country's economy in both World Wars and the Great Depression did nothing to encourage producers to target the fine-wine market.

It was the economic boom that followed the Second World War that significantly reversed the decline of Italian wine. Markets changed radically as consumers in many countries, though most importantly in Italy itself, began to insist on better quality. A class of consumers emerged with both an interest in wine and the means to purchase it. This in turn increased the confidence of winemakers in their capacities as producers of a valued product. Production techniques also became modernised, in line with technological developments in other countries, and Italian wine became less prone to spoilage during shipping.

To Read More Visit www.nicks.com.au > More Information > Resource Archives > Italian Wine Regions

Dozen
Price

After several generations of Jesuit winemakers, the last being Brother John May, a young lady was appointed in 2005. Liz Heidenreich has made an immediate impact by taking the quality of the wines to a higher level than had previously been achieved. The fruit for this wine has been sourced from vines up to 100 years old.

Opaque black purple colour with black purple hue. Perfumed nose of cedar, liquorice, blackberry and vanilla with confectionary end note. Mouthfilling palate with flavours of liquorice, blackberry, spice and black pepper. Explosive back palate with black pepper, plum & spice dominant. Fine grained balanced tannins. Very long aftertaste.

Another magnificent example of The Factor!

Produced from small parcels of fruit from old dry grown vines and matured separately in both new and old French oak barriques. Totally opaque black purple colour with paint like cling to the glass. Top note of violet, followed by confectionary, spice, vanilla and ripe plum, delivering a superb sniff. Explosive palate – flavours of plum, vanilla, spice and black pepper create a concentrate which is enhanced by dark plum and confectionary back palate flavours. Fine grained tannins, with just a hint of pencil shavings making an unexpected flavour appearance. Exceptionally long aftertaste, lasting minutes.

This wine is composed of a blend of 96.1% Shiraz and 3.9% Viognier. Very deep almost opaque black crimson colour with black crimson hue. Top note of liquorice, followed by dry apricots, spice, blackberry and black pepper. The palate shows excellent weight and mouthfeel with flavours of dried liquorice, blackberry and black pepper over a dominant spice and dried apricot background. Fine grained tannins, excellent balance. Apricot and blackberry aftertaste.

Since the first vintage in 2002, winemaker Ben Riggs’ challenge has been to repeat the performance of the highly sucessful 2002 or even to better it. This is no mean feat given the miserly price point the wine was positioned at to begin with, and expected to maintain. Yet remarkably, each new release has seen a step up in quality with the 2006 expressing the best palate flavour profile to date. The Three Brothers’ ongoing success must be largely attributed to the series of outstanding vintages South Australia has experienced. But just as importantly, are the positive relationships Ben Riggs continues to foster with growers throughout the McLaren Vale region and South Australia. This means that even in dry vintages like 2006, when yeilds have been well down, Riggs is assured of a supply of quality fruit at reasonable prices, even for his ‘entry level’ wines.

We can confidently say that there is no other $10 wine on the market that matches the quality and flavour profile of this wine!

Very deep crimson colour with deep crimson hue. Lifted nose but by no means showing its maximum potential, with top note of spice, followed by plum, vanilla and confectionary. The palate depth and complexity comes as an unexpected surprise – the flavour is voluptuous and delivers layers of ripe plum, vanilla, confectionary, spice and black pepper, very mouthfilling, supported by fine dryish but perfectly balanced tannins.

A great value for money dry white from Burgundy. Very pale straw colour with water like hue. Delicate melon top note followed by confectionary and light lees. The palate shows excellent weight and mouthfeel. Creamy texture. Very good length with flavours of confectionary, melon and light spice evident. Clean finish.

A fresh aroma filled Sauvignon Blanc

Bright pale straw colour with water like hue. Lifted nose with refined aroma of ripe passionfruit, followed by ripe kiwi fruit and ripe gooseberry. Exotic palate flavours reflecting the vibrancy of the vintage. Ripe passionfruit and kiwi fruit flavours are dominant over a background of lychee and ripe gooseberry. Crisp acid finish. Aftertaste of passionfruit, gooseberry and lemon.

Bright pale straw colour with pale straw hue, showing a green tinge. Top note of confectionary, followed by pear, spice and lemon. Pear and spice palate – moderate length. Clean finish. Aftertaste of unripe pear and spice. A good Commercial wine.