Some wines make you work, taking their time to emerge and show true character. Other wines reach out to you with an aroma that sings with freshness and vitality, like a chatty first date with whom you just know you’ll get along. Like that first date, appearances can be deceptive in the long term, but there’s no denying the enjoyment to be had in first conversations. To be sure, I tasted this over two days.
This wine has the most attractive fruit note immediately on pouring; it’s all blackberries and plums, rather liquerous in expression yet redolent of freshness at the same time. Some aniseed and mocha complexities sit in the background at first, very much secondary to the juicy fruit. This does rebalance quite quickly, and the hedonist in me was almost slightly disappointed to observe various notes come into better balance after some lazy swirling.
The palate is a surprise, in that it’s quite restrained. Entry is quiet, showing some grainy texture and a savoury, mineral note. The middle palate brings Summer berries back into the mix, along with oak that is part bubble gum and part milk coffee. It’s medium bodied and quite savoury, with brisk movement through the mouth. Tannins were quite prominent at first but have settled into a better place, still abundant but not so forbidding. To be critical, this lacks some drive and punch in the mouth, and I’d like to see an ounce more presence to match the headiness of the nose. Pretty delicious all the same.
Atlas Wines
Price: $A35
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample