- McLaren Vale/Southern Fleurieu, SA - $25-$33
- Screwcap
- 13.0%alc
One of my most prized Australian grigios is the occasionally deep, long and finely textured d'Elena, which has been intriguingly labelled as Adelaide in 2009. Most of the 2009 was sourced from Joseph's Angel Gully vineyard in Clarendon (grigio planted 1998) with a smaller portion coming from Mt Compass, which lies south of Willunga in the region some might call Southern Fleurieu.
Cleanly scented with crunchy pear and lemon aromas underpinned by delightful notes of vanilla and nuts, this luscious and creamy grigio presents a pleasurable mouthfeel through genuine texture, shape and clean balance. Like a lot of grigio it's perhaps overly simple in its tightly wound, youthful white pear/citrus/grapefruit flavours (it's a good sight fresher and more palpable than most though) but its smooth and happily deep palate finishes fine, long and particularly refreshing, with a lively extract of zesty, chiselled acidity. It's a great grigio really, with a wonderful cool-climate aspect imparted by the Mt Compass component.
ü+ Like the brilliant 2006 (92pts) the 2009 d'Elena does fall within the confines of its varietal parameters, but once again it's been beautifully, even artfully crafted into a dry white by the superb Joe Grilli. It's another handsome success for this label. Just serve it at a slightly warmer temperature, not straight out the fridge. Drink to 2011.
92 points
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