It will be good fortune to find The Lucky Country in stores
Made by Australian media darling and winemaker Michael Twelftree, The Lucky Country may just turn out to be your lucky choice of the week.
Australia has come a long way in winemaking and is perhaps the place where the most progress in the industry has been made in the shortest amount of time. There seems to be no end to the great wines coming from there.
The prices are attractive, too, especially compared to European wines, which are expensive here because of the high Euro.
While Twelftree also owns the pricier Two Hands winery in the Barossa Valley, The Lucky Country is highly worthy of your attention.
In the glass, it is a deep purplish-red color with a dense opaque core going out into a fine violet-red rim definition with streaks of fuchsia and ultrahigh viscosity.
On the nose, The Lucky Country features soft, ripe, freshly crushed black cherries, blueberries, creme de cassis, almost buttery spicy components of vanilla, raspberry zest, creme brulee, licorice root, eucalyptus leaves, phenolics, mocha and toasted oak references.
In the mouth, it coats the palate with slightly spicy black and red berry fruits, cherries jubilee, blackberry liqueur, blueberry jam, cassis, boysenberry sorbet, raspberry coulis and licorice components. The midpalate is fresh with minty, almost spicy black currants and brambleberry fruit, then shows superb balance with tannins in harmony with the fruit and the alcohol. The Lucky Country then goes into a tasty long finish that lingers with red licorice twizzlers and cherry liqueur.
It is a tremendous effort in winemaking, again showing just what can be done with high-quality purchased fruit.
The Lucky Country should drink well for four to five years. Pair it with lamb chops cooked rare on the grill.
Wine: The Lucky Country
Grapes: Shiraz (55 percent), cabernet sauvignon (45 percent)
Region: Barossa Valley, Southern Australia
Vintage: 2003
Price: $14.99
Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.
