Australia may be on the other side of the world, however we are spoiled for choice in the UK when it comes to Australian wine. Copious amounts are shipped to our little island every year, hitting supermarket shelves, restaurant menus and fine wine retailers. With this in mind, we thought we’d give you a guide to our top five Australian wines at Lightfoot Wines.
WHERE DOES AUSTRALIAN WINE COME FROM?
This may seem like a pretty stupid question, we know Australian wine comes from Australia (Duh!), however there’s different regions. Just like France, Spain, Italy and pretty much any wine producing country in the world, Australia has regions that have gained ‘Australian Geographical Indication‘ status.
FAMOUS WINE REGIONS IN AUSTRALIA:
Murray Darling – Australia’s second largest wine region, located in Northwest Victoria and Southwest New South Wales. It gets its name from the meeting of the Murray and Darling rivers.
Barossa Valley – Located just outside of Adelaide, it gets its name from the nearby Barossa Mountain range.
Adelaide Hills – Located east of Adelaide, extending across the Mount Lofty mountain range.
Margaret River – Situated in West Australia, has more of a maritime climate than other regions.
Clare Valley – Lies in the mi-north of South Australia, at the north end of the Mount Lofty Mountain Range.
Mclaren Vale – Named after David Mclaren, about 40km South of Adelaide.
You will see on some bottles that they may just say South East Australia or South Australia. This means that the grapes harvested have potentially come from vineyards in multiple regions, so they can’t be given the GI of a particular area.
TOP FIVE AUSTRALIAN WINES
We have a plethora of Australian wines at our shop, so we thought we’d showcase our favourites, ranging from the every day drinking wines to the bottles perfect for cellaring!
#1 YALUMBA Y SERIES 2012 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
We love this wine, and we even featured it in our Cabernet Sauvignon episode of Lightfoot WIines TV. The wine itself a really well made Cab Sauv and had eight months of oak ageing in American oak, which brings really lovely tertiary notes to this wine. Extensive bottle ageing has helped the wine mature and develop complexity, whilst still retaining ripe black fruit flavours and leaf-like notes.
Yearning for the Yalumba? Well, it’s only £11.75! Click here to snap up a few bottles.
#2 Xanudu Exmoor 2016 Chardonnay, Margaret River
This Chardonnay was barrel fermented in older French oak barriques. Natural fermentation was encouraged in order to introduce complexity and personality into the wine. With this in mind, expect a wonderfully oaky Chardonnay. A lot of winemakers have tried to get away from this style, so we applaud the guys fro Xanadu for really going for it. The wine benefited from lees stirring which provides a yeasty and creamy mouthfeel, whilst the acidity keeps it tasting crisp.
Can’t resist a good Chardonnay? Well, this is only £11.99 and it’s available here
#3 PARACOMBE 2014 PINOT GRIS, ADELAIDE HILLS
Pinot Gris is in fact the same grape as Pinot Grigio, the ways they are pronounced are the French and Italian ways respectively. In Australia, you’ll see various Pinot Gris’ and Grigios, so what’s the difference? Well, if a winemaker labels their wine Pinot Gris, then you’ll find that the wine would be closer in style to French Pinot. This style is very aromatic and expressive. Taking that into account, expect pronounced pear and rose petal aromas, leading on to fresh and structured flavour. This wine has gorgeous textual quality and a wonderful natural acidity.
Partial to Pinot Gris? Well this beauty is only £12.99 and you can click here to buy it!
#4 WISE 2011 CABERNET MERLOT, MARGARET RIVER
This Cab Sauv and Merlot blend is wonderfully structured. Expect all the tannin and deep rich colour courtesy of the Cabernet Sauvignon, complimented by ripe red berry aromas, courtesy of the Merlot. Both varietals were sourced from select vineyards in the Margaret River region of Western Australia and were vinified in Wise Wines’ winery at Eagle Bay.
Care for Cabernet? Mad about Merlot? Well this amazing bottle is only £13.25 and you can buy it here!
#5 CHAPEL HILL 2010 MOURVÉDRE, MCLAREN VALE
We love this Mourvédre, it’s simply brilliant. It’s not often you really see a single varietal Mourvédre. Taking this into account, expect a fantastic full-bodied red wine with intense black fruit aromas, sweet spice, and a hint of cacao. In the mouth it is rich and intense, with dark plums and cherry flavours, pronounced tannin and a long, balanced finish.
Mad about Mourvédre? Well this breathtaking bottle is just £20.75 and you can buy it here!
Well that’s it, our top five Australian wines! We hope you enjoyed reading it. Don’t forget to sign up to our monthly newsletter by subscribing at www.lightfootwines.co.uk. We love all wine, so keep posted for more pieces on our favourite bottles!
Lightfoot Wines is an independent wine merchant est 1989. We aim to provide you with products and a level of service not seen in regular shops. We believe that wine should be enjoyed by everyone, feel free to ask us your wine related questions and we will provide you with an answer.All our products are available online, we can deliver anywhere in the UK and shipping is free on orders of £100 ad over!Visit us on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter for regular updates and special offers.
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