THE LAUREN SQUARED TRAVELING ROAD SHOW

Our Cutting Edge rep Lauren, came by today with Lauren Ault from RWG (Rathbone Wine Group) for a flight of very nice Australian wines:

Next of Kin Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Margaret River 2009. Grade=Outstanding. Crisp and lively with nice citrus notes, some hints of tropical fruit, and splashes of mineral.

Next of Kin Chardonnay Margaret River 2008. Grade=Outstanding+. A Chardonnay for people that don’t particularly like Chardonnay, this French-oaked, un-malo’d beauty shows off loads of crisp tropical fruit aromas and flavors.

Yering Station Chardonnay Yarra Valley 2006. Grade=Outstanding. A bit more elegant than the Next of Kin, this sees a bit more time in oak, yet displays many of the same nectarine, lemon, mango and papaya notes that the previous wine showed. Very nice.

Yering Station Pinot Noir Yarra Valley 2006. Grade=Outstanding. This cool-climate PN has a lot of nice cherry and red berry fruit flavors, some hints of red tea and cola, and touches of cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin.

Yering Station Shiraz/Viognier Yarra Valley 2006. Grade=Outstanding+. One of my favorite Aussie reds, this Northern-Rhone influenced wine has lots of jammy character, yet with a great deal of tobacco, olive tapenade, rhubarb pie and blueberry tart notes. The Viognier gives it depth and lovely aromatics.

Mt. Langhi Ghiran Billi Billi Shiraz Victoria 2005. Grade=Outstanding. Drinks like Blueberry pie, this red is medium-bodied with some white pepper, sun-dried tomato, blueberry and Açai berry notes.

Larrikin Shiraz Barossa Valley 2006. Grade=Outstanding. Bold and full of swagger, this monster has a lot of the bombastic berry jam you expect, in all its spicy glory, yet this wine displays a lot of balance and restraint as well. Very nice.