Fox Gordon By George Cabernet Tempranillo 2012 - McGuigan The Shortlist Botrytis Semillon 2012

REWARD FOR TEAM THAT'S LIVING A DREAM

David Ellis

UNUSUAL and fulfilling blend to go
with red duck curry or spicy paella.

BACK in the 1990s Sam and Rachel Atkins (nee Fox,) David Cumming, Jane Gordon and Natasha Mooney had a dream, and that was to make, market and sell premium wines from the Barossa Valley and Adelaide hills that would one day sit amongst the great brands of the world as measured by value and enjoyment .

Having learned their trade through working with some of Australia's largest wine companies, today they're well on the road to achieving that dream: their boutique Fox Gordon label that they launched in 2000 recognises the founding women in the company through the surnames of Rachel and Jane, together with a logo of stylised images of Rachel and Natasha (who is company winemaker.)

And while already well on their road, they say they do not mind how much time it takes to fulfil their goals and dreams, nor the commitment, investment, belief and passion necessary to go with it.

A rewarding drop reflecting these attributes and which they've just-recently released, is a Fox Gordon By George Cabernet Tempranillo 2012, a quite unusual blend that delivers rich blueberry and rhubarb fruit flavours together with sweet and juicy tannins.

And it's nicely priced at $22.95 to enjoy with a red duck curry, or spicy paella.

TIME to start thinking Winter time pudds and
"sticky" dessert wines like this one.

ONE TO NOTE: MID-YEAR'S not that far off, which means time to start thinking hearty pudds, and to go with them good "sticky" Botrytis Semillon dessert wines.

The Hunter Valley's Neil McGuigan has created a particularly rewarding such "sticky" in his McGuigan The Shortlist Botrytis Semillon 2012, because in it he's crafted a drop that will go equally well with one of those warming Winter-time pudds  – or with anything from fruit salad and ice-cream to cheese-cake, apple pie and custard, anything in the way of slices… even cheese platters.

Hunter Valley and Riverina fruit for this luscious dessert-matcher was left on the vine late enough to become infected with Botrytis Cinerea, the so-called "Noble Rot" that concentrates flavour, sugar and acidity to give the wine its distinctive character.

At $20 a 375ml half-bottle, you'll find it delightfully rewarding with those dessert ideas.


 for week beginning 20 April 2015