LIGHTEN UP
Choose from these 12 excellent lighter reds, and take inspiration from the winemakers' favourite food pairings.
2018 MEDHURST ESTATE P I NOT NOIR
Winemaker: Simon Steele
An expressive, supple and complex pinot noir with an enticing crimson/ purple hue. With a subtle and long palate, there is great vibrancy as well as plenty of ‘ripe’ tannin ensuring a wine suitable for cellaring.
What do you like to capture in this wine?
Whatever the season brings, I like to see this single vineyard pinot noir with fruit purity, complexity and charm. In doing so, if we make wines with these three characters in balance, we see wines with great early-drinking pleasure and that will also age gracefully if carefully cellared.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
Our charming 2018 Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir is a classic match with duck confit, potato gratin and a fresh green leaf salad with vinaigrette.
20 1 7 ZONTE’S FOOTSTEP CANTO SANGIOVESE LAGREIN
Winemaker: Brad Rey
With black cherry notes and a hint of raisins, this wine has a plush, almost silky feel, with malt and a sweet and savoury twist to finish.
What has inspired your focus on this style
of wine? Drinking Italian wines, working with Italian producers, eating with them, listening to their philosophy and history, and visiting their regions has resulted in our philosophy to highlight the savoury, food-friendly tannin structure of the Italian red varieties we work with here.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
I love this wine with anything off a charcoal grill or wood oven. Any meat or portobello mushrooms cooked in these ways sings with Canto. Slow-braised meats and stews in the winter pair well, too. Or it can accompany smallgoods and charcuterie on a summer afternoon.
2019 COLAB AND BLOOM MONTEPULCIANO
Winemaker: Daniel Zuzolo
Warm sun and cooling sea breezes in our Fleurieu vineyard deliver vibrant forest berry and bay leaf aromas. These lead onto the palate, packed with smooth red fruits, firm tannins and juicy acidity.
How do you approach production for this
style of wine? We pick the montepulciano grapes earlier to retain freshness and acidity, which leads to lighter, more aromatic and structured wines. My passion is making wines with depth, purity, complexity and intensity.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
The bright berry, spice and herbal characters of this wine and its juicy acidity are a beautiful match for Italian cuisine. Antipasto platters and pasta with loads of garlic, herbs and tomatoes would be perfect. Bellissimo!
2017 ROB DOLAN SIGNATURE S E R I E S P I NOT NOIR
Winemaker: Rob Dolan
Thirty-five years in the making, this wine is sourced from vineyards in the Upper Yarra. Supple flavours with plushness and power dance on your palate, and are well-suited to modern Australian cuisine.
Where does your passion come from for
this style of wine? My passion for wine, specifically pinot noir, can be blamed on my mother. She was a midwife of 30-plus years, and an avid connoisseur of dry sherry or fruity Gordo Moselle with cheese and local produce, and a good book. I would love to have shared this wine with her and my family.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
On my own, watching Port Adelaide smash the Crows with a packet of Jatz crackers and a selection of Stone and Crow cheeses. It’s true!
2 0 1 9 YA R R A Y E R I NG
L I GHT DRY R E D P I NOT S HI R A Z
Winemaker: Sarah Crowe
Crushed rose petals, violets and cherry fruits, the palate has a light touch with ample flavour. It’s soft and full of juicy plums, with fine tannins underpinning the fruit.
Where did the inspiration come from
for this blend? The inspiration came from a 1952 Mount Pleasant Stephen Hermitage – Maurice O’Shea was well known for blending these varieties and his wines were highly regarded. James Halliday shared this bottle from his cellar and I was mesmerised by its beauty.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
It’s easygoing with great drinkability, unpretentious too, and highly versatile. If the weather’s warm I often pop it into the fridge for 20 minutes so I can enjoy a red without the warmth and tannin weight of a bigger style.
2018 COOMBE FARM ESTATE P I NOT NOIR
Winemaker: Mark O’Callahgan
Perfumed, bright and lifted on the nose, with red fruits and pretty florals, confected strawberry and cherry. On the palate, savoury, earthy tones and crunchy tannins finish long and fine.
Where does your passion come from for this
style of wine? I still remember being a kid out of university with no wine background and the vineyard owner I worked for gave me a bottle of silky, medium-bodied Australian pinot noir. It was a revelation and this style of wine continues to be an absolute joy.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
Our wines are made with Australian dining in mind – slightly earlier picking (and a bit of whole bunch) results in a lighter, more refined style of pinot noir. The higher levels of natural acidity, lower alcohol and bright fruit means it’s perfectly suited to duck... I mean, a multitude of cuisines!
2018 SIDEWOOD ABEL P I NOT NOIR
Winemaker: Darryl Catlin
With aromas of dark cherry, Davidson plum and pine forest floor, the palate of this wine combines flavours of wild berries and allspice with seamless tannins and a fine complex finish.
What can you tell us about this style of
wine? This wine is very special and unique. Sourced from the mythical ‘Gumboot’ or Abel Pinot Noir clone, purportedly stolen from Burgundy’s finest vineyard and smuggled into New Zealand in 1974, this is a tiny release of the single vineyard/ clonal expression of the sacred Abel clone of pinot noir.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
Cool-climate wines from the Adelaide
Hills maintain a wonderful, tantalising acidity. So, drinking this pinot with food – everything from rabbit terrine to a spicy duck curry or Mushroom risotto – will only amplify the experience to greater heights than if it was drunk by itself.
20 1 7 TA HBI L K GRENACHE SHIRAZ MOURVEDRE
Winemaker: Alister Purbrick
Polished, elegant and complex, this 2017 estate blend presents lifted dark plum and berry fruits with liquorice and spice notes on the nose and palate, which is all wrapped up in a lovely savoury envelope.
Where does your passion come from
for this style of wine? Tahbilk has had a long-running love affair with Rhone Valley varieties, dating back to 1860, with shiraz and, more recently, grenache and mourvedre. Blends are so much fun to work with because each variety brings its own character, style and flavours to the finished wine.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
Because it’s such a soft, elegant style, I love drinking it with lightly spiced Asian dishes, such as pork, chicken, quail or duck. The flavours in the food and wine are so complementary, it’s a match made in heaven.
2019 MANDALA ESTATE P I NOT NOIR
Winemakers: Charles Smedley & Don Pople
Vibrant aromas of red and blue fruits combine with lifted tobacco, spice and mocha characters. The generous palate shows dark cherries, blueberries and red currant, with hints of cinnamon and white pepper. Great structure and length.
What do you love about this style of wine?
Truly great pinot is incredibly delicious, textural on the palate and dangerously seductive aromatically. It also speaks of its terroir with incredible clarity. As a winemaker, it is a highly compelling, albeit challenging variety to work with. My first introduction to truly profound pinot noir came from working as a sommelier, when I was fortunate to taste and consider some of greatest Burgundian examples of the variety. Don Pople
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
With great friends and family, and great cuisine. Don Pople
20 19 JACK DENI S P OOLEY COOINDA VALE PINOT NOIR
Winemakers: Anna Pooley & Justin Bubb
Aromatic cherry, red fruits and hightoned florals. It is medium bodied with sweet spices, cherry liquer and a cool ’mineral’ feel. Fine-grained tannins and bright acid push the wine through the finish.
Where makes this wine so special to you?
The Jack Denis Pooley pays homage to our founder, who planted the first vines with his wife Margaret Pooley in 1985. It is the ultimate and purest expression of Cooinda Vale pinot noir, made from careful block selections, vine selections and bunch selections. It’s a wine of understated power that most importantly shows its DNA.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
This is a wine to take your time with. Decanting is recommended to allow it time to unfurl, and a quality Burgundy balloon glass is essential. It will offer more detail in the glass with every minute that passes. As it is a young wine, it works well with meatbased dishes due to its tannin structure, but nothing that will overpower it.
2018 PACHA MAMA P I NOT NOIR
Winemakers: Callie Jemmeson & Nina Stocker
Bright red fruit and perfumed, backed by more complex savoury notes and hints of spice. The palate is supple – loaded with red fruits supported by a delicate structure.
How do you approach this wine's
production? This wine is all about letting the quality of the fruit shine through. We prefer minimal additives and fining, and aim to let the fruit speak for itself rather than stomping all over it with heavy oak use or commercial winemaking techniques.
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
Our pinot matches perfectly with a wild mushroom risotto – the lightness of the red fruits coupled with the bright, fresh acidity and fine tannins helps to balance the rich texture of the risotto while complementing the earthiness of the wild mushrooms.
2 0 1 8 SANTA & D’ SAS ...ISH KING VALLEY SANGIOVESE
Winemakers: A. Santrossa & M. Di Sciascio
Aromas of cherry, plum and thyme are supported with lifted black spice notes. It has fine-grained tannins and is medium to full bodied, with bright acid.
Where did you explore working with this
style of wine? I recall my first day of work at the renowned Masciarelli Winery in Abruzzo, Italy. Gianni Masciarelli said: “Matthew, we make our reds for lunch, lunch is the main meal of the day, so we enjoy our best reds at lunch... but we go back to work after lunch. That is your guide in winemaking with us!”
How do you like to enjoy this wine?
With lunch, of course! Lighter-style wines go well with Italian food (try gnocchi with pancetta and a sage and butter sauce), and also match with many Asian and Middle Eastern dishes, as well as modern Australian meals, where our lamb is now lean and trim, and served in a spicy stir-fry or ragu.