Just as the ordinary winery moggy it was named after was anything than ordinary, here’s a wine that when you pull the cork proves that it too is anything but ordinary.
You may need to print this page out to remember the name, unless you’re pretty good with handling tricky words, because it’s called The Athazagoraphobic Cat, the word meaning a fear of being forgotten. It was so-named in deference to moggy Audrey Hepburn (known generally as Ordinary) that forever trotted along in the winery at the heels of D’Arenberg’s Chief Winemaker, Chester Osborn when he took over the job in McLaren Vale back in 1984.
Made from 95% Italian-origin Sagrantino and a 5% hint of French-origin Cinsault, the 2011 is a predominantly tannic drop but with suggestions of quite abundant flowery astringency, fruit flavours and some complexity from the Sagrantino, and with nice aromatics from the Cinsault that almost have one musing of a good Burgundy.
This unique ultra-premium $200 price-tag wine is available from the D’Arenberg Cellar Door in McLarenVale, or online at www.darenberg.com.au; you’ll find it an ideal match with a Winter’s braised lamb, pork roast or, as we did, purely on its own.
One to note: the Hunter Valley and the best of Semillon are synonymous, and a now-available 2011 Margan Aged Release Semillon off the company’s Beltree Vineyard that was planted back in the 1930s by the Elliot family, is one that will have you coming back for more… and more.
Made from grapes off vines yielding less than a tonne to the acre, this is a wine of beautifully crisp citrus characters that finishes equally crisp and clean, and reflecting what top-notch Semillon is all about. While making for marvellously enjoyable drinking now at five years of age, it’ll reward even further with another ten to twenty years in the cellar (if you’ve the patience.)
Pay $50 and drool over this one’s lovely aged characteristics with grilled fish or lobster, or again purely on its own.
