Some wines are awarded seven gold medals if they’re lucky. This wine, on the other hand, is comprised of seven gold medal winning wines. From the PR, I take it this wine is a blend of seven wines, at the time unfinished and only one year old, that were awarded gold medals at the Mudgee Wine Show. Contributing producers are Andrew Harris Vineyards, Broombee Organic Wines, Burnbrae Winery, Frog Rock Wines, Queens Pinch Vineyard, Robert Oatley Vineyards and Robert Stein Winery.

There’s a good deal of richness on the nose, with quite dense aromas of black fruit emerging alongside an impression of moist earth and brown spice. Dark, manly and quite brooding, this also has a raw, sappy edge. There are some additional complexities too — a bit of mushroom, some blueberries. Quite a bit going on, then, even if it’s not the sort of wine one could describe as detailed, owing to its extroverted blanket of aromas.

The palate is a precise echo of the nose, with a range of dark, thick fruit notes running alongside earthiness and a sharp acid line. The acid feels quite disconnected from the fruit weight at the moment; perhaps this will integrate with some more time. There’s no shortage of impact and intensity at all; this is a forthright wine that sits at the fuller end of the stylistic spectrum. I’m impressed that such weight comes with only 13.5% ABV, and that there is good freshness of fruit evident. I wish for a bit more light and shade, but I think that’s more a stylistic preference on my part. I admit, this isn’t my preferred style of wine.

Nonetheless, some high quality material in this wine for sure. It’s more than simply a curio.

Seven contributing wineries
Price: $A60
Closure: Stelvin
Source: Sample