Arumdale Pink Shiraz 2009

TASTE THIS WAY…

This wine is shows best at between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius. Please, not to pour into a warm glass, which would bring the sip to a non-optimum level! Allow for a full wetting of the inside of the glass, and find the herbs and soft, natural spiciness given off so freely by the Shiraz grape.

This is all Shiraz, and, hidden in a beautifully soft colour, there is a delectable, and alluring dryness, balancing the finest hints of all the peppers, (white, black, green, red, and yellow). These flavours are alongside feint notes of pepper-dew, cucumber and celery.

FOOD PAIRING…

Here the soft spiciness lends itself gently to accompany the most subtle-tasting of shellfish and pelagic fish, which may even be in a lightly spiced sauce. Fresh Chef’s salad, with finely sliced duck, chicken, or ham, served with a naughty amount of crispy croutons tossed in… perhaps a drizzle of French dressing, light blue cheese…  For the delicately prepared snacks, at a cocktail party, well, well… ?

THE GRAPES AND VINEYARD…

Harvested a few weeks before the harvest of Shiraz for the ARUMDALE red wine, the sugars are, at this time, low enough to produce a lower-alcohol content, and delectably dry finish. The Shiraz vineyard is planted and maintained to maximise sun-penetration, and the evenness of ripening in the cool climate. Very short time is allowed for skin-contact in the wine making, which alleviates the dominance of tannins, and leaves the wine with a remarkable softness of colour and flavour.

With compliments,

M A R K   S I M P S O N.

Post Script: At the Elgin to Elim Wine Show (Aug 2009, Hermanus Wine Village) this wine was the recipient of plenty of highly placed compliments, most of which were, that people had rarely tasted a Pink wine if this nature, and that they loved it! M.S.