2012 Taylors Estate Clare Valley Tempranillo

Founded in 1969 Taylors Wines has had three generations of wine-making experience since establishing vineyards in the Clare Valley's terra rossa soils and is one of the twelve members of Australia's First Families of Wine (AFFW) initiative.  

The 2012 Tempranillo is dark, opaque crimson in the glass. 
Takes a while to open but then shows a bouquet of dark cherries, blackberries with wafts of tobacco and vanillin oak. 
The mouthfeel exhibits a smooth leathery texture over a background of spicy dark berries, confectionary and sarsaparilla with some cinnamon and black olive action in there too. 
It's a mid-weight wine of depth and balance. Fine grained mouth-coating tannins supported by a fine acid line to the end. Persistent dried herbs and spicy black plum on the finish. 
Very much a fruit-driven Tempranillo with Australian palates in mind.  


Source: Sample. Alcohol: 14.0%. Closure: Screwcap. Price: $18.00. Rating: 88 Points.

2012 Taylors Estate TWP Riverland Vermentino

The Taylors Winemaker's Project (TWP) highlights new frontiers in Australian winemaking, in this instance using the promising Vermentino variety. It is the Clare Valley producer's second vintage, taking advantage of Riverland Region fruit, an area where Australia's most significant plantings of Vermentino now occur.  

Pale straw hue with green tinges, the 2012 TWP Vermentino opens with bright aromas of citrus, bathroom talc, nashi pear with wafts of jasmine and ginger. A lively citrus zing upon the first sip that flows well across the palate with a pithy lemon grip line. Fine grained crunchy tannins. Granny Smith apples, green capsicum, minerals and almond paste. Generous mid-palate. Light-weighted and textural throughout. 


It finishes with slate acid notes that are salivating and invigorating. An attractively packaged, elegant and refreshing wine. Recommended.   



Source: Sample. Alcohol: 12.2%. Closure: Screwcap. Price: $18.00. Rating: 90 Points.