DOMAINE A LADY A 2008

- Coal River Valley, TAS

- $58-$65

- Cork

- 14.0%alc

If there's one Australian sauvignon blanc that makes the rest of the field look rather modest by comparison, then it's Domaine A's Lady A. Check 3 months battonage, around 12 months new French oak and already 3 years age for this current release, as well as a cork closure, a $60 retail tag and a potential cellaring life of 8-10 years according to the back label. Sounds like an Australian savvy with more ambition than Ayrton Senna in a go-kart? You bet!

I can't recall the last time I pulled a cork from an Australian sauvignon blanc but more importantly, I can't recall the last time I stuck my nose into such a wonderfully unique interpretation of the style. Riddled with a bright, intoxicating fragrance of sour-cream, gherkin relish (I did compare and yes, the relish is 26.9g sugar per 100g), limey minerals, fresh green grapes and granny smith apples, the 2008 Lady A's funk and complexity are without peer in this country, yet its composition is delivered with a strange balance and floral lift. The clarity and vibrancy of its palate are superb, as those idiosyncratic sour-cream and gherkin notes return to contribute taste to a creamy undercarriage, which underlines its vivid announcement of mineral-sparked green apples and kiwi fruit. The complexity achieved by marrying these contrasting characters is outstanding, as is the way its textural drive lasts well into the finish, with lingering white cheese/leesy notes matched well by an accompaniment of refreshing, minerally acids.

ü Mmmm. . . so hard to pin down such an ethereal wine. If you wanna know what $60 Australian sauvignon blanc does and perhaps should taste like, then invest your money here. The wise among us might even sit one aside for a couple of years. Definitively, the Lady A is about as close to the stereotype of a typical Australian savvy as Tasmania is to Pluto. Drink to 2016.

94 points

www.domaine-a.com.au