Below are the March, 2006 Featured Wines for the Wines by Jennifer Wine Club.

Red Wine 2004 Tapestry Shiraz Bakers Gully Vineyard McLaren Vale, Australia   The Bakers Gully Vineyard is located at the elevated eastern end of Chapel Hill Road, at the southern end of Bakers Gully. The soil is sand to the depth of 300 mm, followed by a subsoil of ironstone to 600 mm and over deep red / yellow clay. This 32-hectare vineyard site is planted to 13.4 hectares of Shiraz fruit, grown on Single Cordon VSP, with average yields around 2.5 tons per acre. Shiraz from this vineyard is used exclusively for the super-premium Shiraz releases. It has a deep purple-red hue with a nose of rich lifted cherry and plum aromas, with hints of coffee and oak. On the palate, it features a very concentrated berry fruit, warm and juicy texture, with a rich middle palate and firm dry finish. Enjoy with grilled hamburgers with black-pepper cheese melted on top. It is delicious! McLaren Vale is a region entrenched with history, fine wine and fine food. The region consistently produces fine wines from a number of varieties, most importantly Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. McLaren Vale was named after David McLaren, the Colonial Manager of the South Australia Company who arrived in the colony in 1837 and left in 1840. The flats of the McLaren Vale are compared often with the Mediterranean climate - warm sunny days with fresh sea breezes from the nearby Gulf of St. Vincent to temper high summer heats. Shiraz is the flagship of the region, said by many to be the best in the world. The palate is soft and juicy with raspberry, pepper, dark chocolate and black olive, characteristic of the area. With around ninety wineries, sumptuous food, and beautiful sea and mountain vistas surrounding it all, McLaren Vale has a lot to offer.

White Wine 2004 Kumkani Sauvignon Blanc Stellenbosch, South Africa This is a straightforward, fruit driven-style wine with a medium body and supple texture. It has wonderful whiffs of cut grass, a touch of herb and notes of muskmelon, grapefruit, and pineapple. This wine has a nice, fleshy mouth feel but it’s not racy or tangy in the classical sense of many New World versions. It still possesses good fruit intensity and acidity that keeps the citrus and melon flavors clean and focused. Drink this over the next year while the fruit still maintains its vibrant edge. The vineyard location (10km from the Atlantic Ocean) is tailor-made for flavorful Sauvignon Blanc. The soil is a well-drained sandy loam with weathered granite. The fruit grows in the Helderberg Hills; this coastal area yields wines with an intensity of flavour and crispness not found in some of the more inland regions. The resulting wines lean in the direction of gooseberry, grassy/herbaceous styles rather than the pear, melon and tropical fruit style. The vines are trained on a 5-wire hedge system and are approximately 15 years old, planted in a granite-type soil. The vineyards are on a high slope facing False Bay (Atlantic Ocean). The interaction of vine, site, soil, marine climate and cultivation (terroir) yields complex fruit of outstanding quality. The Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek valleys form the Cape Winelands, the largest of the two main wine growing regions in South Africa. The South African wine industry produces about 10 million hectolitres of wine annually. Stellenbosch is the primary location for viticulture and viticulture research. The Stellenbosch wine route, established in 1971 is world-renowned and a common tourist destination. The area has a Mediterranean-type climate, with hot summers, cool winters and clear, sunny skies. It is at the start of the Cape Fold mountains, which have created soil favourable to vines. Grapes are grown primarily for wine, not as table grapes.

 

Wines by Jennifer is also proud to announce our new "Cellar Club", featuring a new wine each month suitable for long-term aging. Call the shop and ask for Jennifer for all the details on this exciting new Club, or visit our Featured Cellar Club Wine page for details on this month's selection.

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