Waterhole Blend Cabernet Shiraz Merlot

Waterhole Blend Cabernet Shiraz Merlot. In broad terms it is a return to our mainstream style with Cabernet now the driving character rather than the Shiraz of the previous release. It’s a blend of 45% 2008 Cabernet, 5% Cabernet salvaged from the wreck of the 2007 vintage, 5% of the very last of our 2006 Merlot and the balance from our yet to be released 2007 Shiraz. It’s dark red in colour, shows a distinct Cabernet spice nose but softened by the Shiraz chocolate (that’s a hint of what the 2007 Shiraz is like.) It is much softer than the straight Cabernet and has a beautiful plummy chocolate cake taste. It is, like all our past Waterhole Blends reds, a lovely “drink now” wine.

To order click here www.tomswaterhole.com.au/shopdisplayproducts.asp

New release 2007 Shiraz

The 2007 Shiraz (with 5% 2009) is a dark red colour with a magnificent aroma of white pepper, dark berries and milk chocolate. On the palate it is massively fruit sweet with a taste that runs the spectrum of dark cherry, plum, chocolate and liquorice with gentle tannins. It is fully mature, a deeply satisfying wne to drink now but one that, we think, will continue to develop for several years. To order now click here www.tomswaterhole.com.au/shopdisplayproducts.asp

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s Dark Red With Purple Tinges, Showing A Typical Cannowindra Aroma Of Plums And Spices With Hints Of Marzipan. A Young Wine It Presents Assertive But Not Aggressive Tannins Combined With Vanillan French Oak. It Will Soften In The Bottle.

There Are Two Other Things We Should Tell You About It. The First Is That We Have Not Bottled All The Wine. After Our Revelation With The Barrel Aged  2006 Shiraz We Told You About A Few Months Back We Have Consigned Some To Two Year Old French Oak Barriques.

New Release Rose

The 2009 Rose has made it to the bottle and it’s a beauty. Like the 2008 experimental release it’s just slightly off dry – the French call that demi-sec. It has the same shining pink colour, the same rich roses and crushed strawbwrries burst of flavour and that same tart citrus bite at the end but now it has something we can’t quite describe that takes it a step further. Whereas the 2008 had distinct sweet and sour flavours the 2009 is now an integrated whole. Now it just tastes “right.” – it’s made from Grenache grapes.

The 2008 wine was made from Shiraz and Shiraz is a great workhorse grape. You can make almost anything from it ranging from port through sparkling to even a passable dry white if you use activated charcoal to remove the red pigment. But its real purpose in life is to make big gutsy reds and anything else is kind of dumbing down which is what happens when you use it for Rose. To order on line now click here www.tomswaterhole.com.au/shopdisplayproducts.asp

Grenache, on the other hand, seems destined for Rose from the moment you see those dusty rust red berries on the vine and so it has proved for us. The new release is everything you loved about the 2008 but adds a length and depth that really does make it the red wine drinker’s white wine. To recognise this we have elevated it from our Humper’s range to equal billing with our Semillon and Chardonnay as a premium label wine. the only difference (apart, of course that the label is pink) is that it does not bear a vintage date. This is a statement by us that we don’t think you should cellar it. It’s a wine made for drinking while it is fresh and alive. A few years age will only weary it.