Wines of the Month
2010 Charles Melton Sparkling Brut Peche
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Charlie Melton has long been known as one of Australia’s great Grenache producers. This can be attested by his ‘Nine Popes’, which obviously is made in the Chateauneuf du Pape style and gets the very best of the grapes from, using his words, his ‘venerable’ 80+ year old dry grown vines.
However, his Rose of Virginia is also often recognised as being one of the benchmarks for rosé wine in Australia. This wine is used as the base wine for this Brut Peche fizz, being a blend of ‘fresh berry and spice’ Grenache plus some Cabernet, Shiraz, Pinot Meunier and Mataro (or Mourvedre). The wine is then left in the bottle for 6 months ‘lees’ time and to develop those bubbles we all love.
The colour is reminiscent of the colour of summer ripe watermelon, you remember the ones – pink red and vibrant. But the comparison to watermelon must stop there as this sparkling rosé has a drier wit than you would expect from the colour, with loads of varietal strawberry and spice character. Perfect for summer, perfect for romance…
…Perfect for smoked salmon mousse or ceviche served with garden fresh greens.
Distribution: Cellar Door & selected restaurants
Value: $26.90
© Lisa Johnston January 2010
Wine Diva Wines of the Month, February 2011
