Tuesday 22 October 2013

Crown Ambassador 2012 Reserve Lager

It comes in a champagne-style bottle, best served at a temperature of around 7-11°C and is best enjoyed in a red wine glass, which will encourage to open up and release its aromas. 

Juicy and mouth-filling, slightly caramelized malt with generous hop bitterness and flavor. Perfectly suited to after dinner sipping, or as an accompaniment to dishes such as game and venison. It is also well suited to rich desserts, dried fruits and strong flavored vintage cheeses.

Sound like one of those descriptions for a luxury wine?
It's not - it's an Aussie premium beer!


This certainly is expensive. As for the questions “is it worth it?” That’s a very subjective question that can only be answered by the individual. I personally amaze the fact that there are beers setting out to challenge wine.

This is a good beer and well worth a place in your cellar. If your budget stretches to it, this is well worth buying, especially if you can be patient enough to let your bottle develop and age.

Like a fine wine, Crown Ambassador Reserve is crafted to mature and improve over time. 6 months following its release, the beer is well on its way and each bottle will be developing new unique characters.

Gently turned the bottle for approximately one minute before opening to savor the full experience. This is essential to maximize the unique flavor and aroma of the beer, as it ensures the yeast that has settled in the secondary fermentation process is distributed evenly throughout.

The beer will continue to mature and evolve and provide excellent drinking for up to 10 years.

Crown Ambassador Reserve was first released in 2008 and pioneered a new luxury style of beer never seen before in Australia. The 2012 is the fifth release and was led by new Head Brewer Tully Hadley for the first time. Tully will continue the tradition and legacy of Australia's most luxurious beer which adds distinctive crystal malt and fresh Galaxy hops to create a lager full of complexity and style.
The prestige lager has been expertly aged in French oak barrels for 3 months from highly regarded French cooperage Dargaud et Jaegle imparting an even deeper and more concentrated flavor to this truly exceptional beer.

Only 7000 individually numbered bottles are available.


AUD 121.00 each. Place order(s) at  https://www.facebook.com/MoonDazegallery

Castello del Poggio Moscato

Golden straw in color with a fine fizz, the wine has floral and fruity aromas with a hint of musk. Flavors of grapes, lychee and Turkish delight are kept in balance by fruit acidity with some honey on the lingering finish.

Excellent at the end of a meal with desserts, fruit salad or ice cream, or just on its own! Perfect for glamorous dinner parties!

Varietal: Moscato
Style: Sweet White
Size: 750mL
Vintage: Non Vintage
Country: Asti Piedmont ,Italy
Closure: Screw Cap
Alcohol : 7.0%


Price:
AUD24 each
AUD21 each for 2 bottles (~12.5%disc)
AUD19 each for 3 bottles ( ~ 21% disc)


Place order(s) at https://www.facebook.com/MoonDazegallery?ref=hl

Sunday 15 September 2013

d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache 2010

100% McLaren Vale Grenache

The Story Behind The Name

During the vine pull scheme of the early 1980’s d’Arry Osborn refused to touch his old Grenache vineyards. When his son Chester started in the business as Chief Winemaker in 1984 he set about acquiring  more old vine Grenache grapes and vineyards at a time when it was considered un-fashionable. Today d’Arenberg is the keeper of nearly one third of McLaren Vale’s old bush vine Grenache and has earned the title of ‘Custodian’ of the variety. 

Produced from old low yielding vines it is a wine of great character and intensity. 

Nicely balanced GSM with loads of dark fruit, spice, tar and a nice long finish. The shiraz is nicely held in check by the grenache and mourvedre.

Strong aroma of berries; initial taste was lovely plum, berries with white pepper and cinnamon spices emerging on the back palate. 

It’s a great food wine which will pair beautifully with spicy barbecued sausages.

The wine has the poise and structure to cellar well over the next decade.

Varietal: Grenache
Style: Dry Red
Vintage: 2010** Vintages may vary from store to store and when delivered. Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is displayed, however variations can occur.
Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia
Closure: Screw Cap
Alcohol: 14.0% (2010)

Price: 
1 bottle AUD32 
2 bottle AUD29 each (9%disc)
3 bottke AUD27 each (15.5% disc)

Thursday 5 September 2013

English Tea Shop

Yawning there? And you are allergic to caffeine? Look for caffeine free tea then…..

Close your eyes, smell it, sip it slowly, take a deep breath and now open your eyes continue to work ;>
1) Rooibos 20 Sachets 
Feel virtuous with the natural nectar.

Organic caffeine free. Fairtrade

2) Super Berries 20 Sachets
Sweet Strawberries, plump Blueberries and juicy little Raspberries.

Organic. Caffeine Free

3) Spiced Red Fruits 20 Sachets
Fragrantly sweet, with spicy notes. Aromatic cocktail of red fruits, Hibiscus, Cinnamon, Peppermint and Rooibos.

Organic. Caffeine Free

4) Organic Honey Bush Acai Berry Punch 20 Sachets
You are sure to think this fragrant sweet cocktail is all about flavour…. but with anti-oxidant rich Rooibos, super Pomegranate and wondrous Acai Berry, this luscious blend is abundant in goodness too.

Organic. Caffeine Free.

Price: AUD5.60 each



Grenache - The Grandfather of Australian Wine

The Grandfather of Australian Wine


While Shiraz is Australia’s most famous grape, it is Grenache that started the Australian red winemaking ball rolling.

Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, Sardinia, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley.

It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with relatively high alcohol content, but it needs careful control of yields for best results. It tends to lack acid, tannin and color; while it performs well on its own, it truly blossoms when blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan, Tempranillo and Cinsaut.

It was introduced in Australia by a clone from Perpignan, France with James Busby in 1832. More significant was the introduction into South Australia from the South of France, by Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold in 1844. Plantings in South Australia boomed, particularly in McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley and Clare Valley. Until the mid 20th century, Grenache was Australia's most widely planted red wine grape variety where it was vital component in the fortified "port-style" wines.

As Australian winemakers started to focus more of premium still wines, Grenache gradually fell out of favor being supplanted by Shiraz and later Cabernet Sauvignon.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw a revival of interest in Grenache with old vine plantings in South Australia being used to produce varietal Grenache as well as a "GSM"-Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre. Blends become popular and starting to gain popularity and high recognition.  

Varietal Grenache from the McLaren Vale is characterized by luscious richness and spicy notes while Barossa Valley Grenache is characterized by jammy, intense fruitiness.

A blended family

Grenache generally lacking the vital tannin and acid, blending allows to develop deeper and more concentrated flavor.

·         The iconic Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines of southern France are arguably the best known blends, where up to 16 varieties are added. Here, schist and granite soils provide perfect long-season growing conditions for Grenache and it stands up to the famously powerful, dry Mistral winds of Provence with ease.

·         The wines of Priorat in north-east Spain (where Grenache takes its Spanish name, Garnacha) are also popular. This region’s older vines with their rich phenolics bring darker color and intense flavors.

·         Australian blends are now gaining momentum. Grenache’s fantastic bright red color and lifted berry flavors are matched beautifully with the spice of Shiraz and elegance and structure of Mourvedre.

Pure, sweet opulence

The high sugar levels of Grenache have led to extensive use in most Australian fortified/port style wine.

Its pale skins and low acidity also enable production of excellent rosés, some of the best examples coming from the Rhone Valley and the Loire’s Anjou region in central France.

This grape’s plush red fruit produces jam flavors of raspberry, strawberries and cherries, with added nuances of fresh herbs, spice - a delightful mix that is sure to capture and hold your attention.

What to drink it with?

Grenache’s balance between full flavors and slight fruity sweetness complements an array of cuisine, including those hard-to-match foods such as spicy Indian, Thai and Chinese.

Via: Wikipedia, Danmurphy & Winemakingtalk

Sunday 25 August 2013

The Wine&Truffle Co - Truffle Oil

A bottle of truffle oil is a must in your kitchen for quick extravagance!
Price:
40ml - AUD27.50
100ml - AUD34
250ml - AUD51
500ml - AUD87

Place order(s) to https://www.facebook.com/MoonDazegallery?ref=hl

Monday 19 August 2013

Cape Mentelle - Cabernet Sauvignon 2008


James Halliday - Vintage: 2008 Score: 95 points 
A restrained and elegant wine, with red fruits, cedar and a suggestion of violets the central theme; elegant, tightly wound and unevolved on the palate, showing a slippery texture; the finish reveals the wine's true depth of personality with structure in complete harmony with the fruit. 
Source: winecompanion.com.au

Tyson Stelzer - Vintage: 2008 Score: 97 points 
We've all been waiting, with bated breath, for just what Rob Mann is capable of in Margaret River. Here it is, his third vintage, the season from the gods, every single berry individually selected, in slick new livery. A classical but low yielding year has produced gravelly, graphite-like tannins of Bordeaux classed-growth proportions, promising longevity to match. Seamless black- and redcurrants, cedar, tobacco, dark chocolate, coffee bean and cocoa never deviate from medium-bodied aspirations, while subtly, accurately capturing the concentration and precision of the season. 
Source: tysonstelzer.com

Nick Stock - Vintage: 2008 Score: 97 points 
Another 2007 from Margaret River that will be remembered as one of the greatest Cape Mentelle cabernets of all time. Power and poise fused with conviction and stunning value when you look around the globe at comparative cabernet quality. A much-anticipated vintage of this leading Margaret River cabernet, and not an ounce of disappointment. With smells of bright cassis and juniper, fragrant and subtly floral, the cedary spicy oak adds a layer of class to this standout wine. The palate's unthinkably poised: perfectly proportioned tannins carry deeply ripe, sweet fruit with impressive power and impeccable grace. Like an angel, this sits right at the top of the tree. 
Source: Good Wine Guide 2011

Gary Walsh - Vintage: 2008 Score: 96 points 

Redcurrant and blackcurrant, subtle choc-vanilla oak and a bay leaf perfume. It's medium weight, lively and fresh with finely etched pixelated tannin and impressive flow and length. A second day's tasting revealed more complex, savoury earthy mineral flavours. It seems to have been picked just on the cusp of perfect ripeness to balance flavour with freshness. And I'm on the cusp too, caught between a 95 and 96 point rating, although that's not an uncomfortable situation in which to find oneself. I'd imagine it will cellar for a very long time. All class. 
Source: winefront.com.au

Price: AUD115 each (without shipping cost and tax)