DAN'S WINE BLOG- THIS WEEK'S WINE REVIEW

THIS WEEK’S WINE REVIEW:

This week I am talking about WARRABILLA WINES in Rutherglen where Andrew Sutherland Smith has been making BIG wines since 1991.

I say BIG wines because they are (almost) all large, rich, high in alcohol with the zenith having been reached with the WARRABILLA 2009 PAROLA’S RESERVE DURIF which came in at 18.0% unfortified alcohol. Having said that, it was a magnificent, uber-rich, divine wine that was my “Wine of the Year” – no alcohol “heat”, no lack of balance – just a bloody brilliant, smooth, huge, rich wine.

The current releases I have just tasted were:

WARRABILLA 2018 RESERVE MALBEC:  A lovely, bright-purple red wine, gentle aromas with a hint of mulberries. A smooth, svelte palate with great balance.  A CLASSY BIG WINE!

WARRABILLA 2018 RESERVE GRENACHE:  A big, old fashioned Grenache with 15.8% Alc/Vol, some fruit sweetness on the front palate followed by round, rich flavours and a delightful finish. OH YUM!!

WARRABILLA 2018 RESERVE SHIRAZ:  Big at 15.8% Alc/Vol but yet silky-smooth with lashings of rich, ripe, concentrated flavours and elegant, refined tannins. A REAL BOTTLER!

WARRABILLA 2018 PAROLA’S LIMITED RELEASE SHIRAZ:  Dense inky colour and a soft, subtle bouquet with huge, rich, complex, delicious flavours and a tight, tannic finish. Needs 2-5 years to be truly AWESOME.

WARRABILLA 2018 RESERVE DURIF:  Almost impenetrably black in colour, soft rich bouquet, mouth-filling flavours, well-structured and rounded with a grippy, tannic finish. This wine will evolve magnificently –SUPERB!

WARRABILLA 2018 PAROLA’S LIMITED RELEASE DURIF:  Densely black in colour with a massive, rich bouquet. A huge, rich palate, with masses and masses of flavour, beautifully round, balanced and structured (at 16.5% Alc/Vol) with a long, lingering finish – HEAVENLY!!

Every wine that I have tasted from WARRABILLA (other than their Riesling) have been high alcohol wines but it is not noticeable on the palate as they are rich, smooth and round.

Thus, while many people seem to be perturbed these days by high alcohol wines, personally, I don’t give a damn as too how much alcohol is in a wine. I drink wine for the flavour, balance, structure and depth. I have enjoyed awesome German Rieslings that were around or under 8% Alc/Vol and I have enjoyed the WARRABILLA PAROLA’S DURIF at 16+% Alc/Vol. 

So if you like big, rich, silky-smooth wines with stacks of flavour, and aren’t hung up on higher alcohol levels, I would strongly urge you check out the WARRABILLA website and find some awesome wines – www.warrabillawines.com.au

Cheers!