- Riverland/Barossa Valley, SA - $7-$15
- Cork (Capsule)
- 18.0%alc
As both a regular on Adelaide's city streets and a drinker of wine, I can't help but notice the recurrence of empty wine bottles littered throughout the urban environment. Dumped bottles of Penfolds Club Tawny are as common as any in Adelaide, but I'm unsure if its presence is an indication of brand preference amongst Adelaide's sidewalk swillers, or perhaps even sneaky Foster's advertising:) (make that Treasury Wine Estate's now).
Mid-dark brown, this sweetly scented, mass-produced tawny opens to a straight forward note of fruitcake with suggestions of marzipan and a gentle, warming whiff of alcohol. Displaying lightish, honeyed fig and raisin flavours, its simple palate does finish with lingering nuances of varnish and sticky, sugared nuts and dates, but its rather short length of fruit is somewhat overcome by balanced, clean acids and a well restrained alcoholic warmth.
ü Drink of the huddled masses. If faced with the less than desirable circumstances, I'd probably give in to its guilty pleasures too. It tastes much better out of a glass than straight out the bottle though (I know, I tried!) and yes, I disposed of it correctly. Drink now.
87 points
i bought this but my local wine seller stores their wine in humid conditions. result: sour bitter port and agony. i am 19 and now cannot drink any alcohol because of these fools~!
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! To see a 19 year old checking out Australian Wine Journal gives me as much satisfaction as anything I've been alerted to before, but your story fills me with sadness. :(
My partner had a similar, off-putting experience with port when she was 14/15 years old, but many years later she now enjoys the style. Likewise, I never truly enjoyed the stuff until I hit my mid/late 20's.
I can relate to you in regards to your wine seller as well. My local has a wind draught that blows right into the red wine section of their store during winter - making reds way too cold for immediate consumption, whilst their fridge never seems cold enough for beer. I've jokingly remarked to them that they should put their beers in the wine section and their red wine in the fridge!
Cheers,
Chris P