View Road Wines Sagrantino 2012

View Road Wines Sagrantino 2012 (McLaren Vale)
14.5%, Cork, $37

Now here is a new label to watch. Josh’s 2012 Chardonnay impressed greatly and this Sagrantino follows closely behind. I only wish I could tell you where to buy the wines (Josh?)…

Did I mention how much I like Sagrantino? Sourced from the Oliver’s Taranga vineyard at Seaview in McLaren Vale, the fruit for this example was wild fermented and spent 4.5 weeks on skins before being pressed into second use oak, finally bottled unfined and unfiltered with just a little sulphur. A huge (cough) 24 dozen.

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Intriguingly, this is quite light coloured, yet it carries the intensity you’d more readily think of when talking about Sagrantino, with a big jellybean/raspberry and fennel nose. There’s an odd fish oil character in here that seems unusual at first but dissipates quickly – interested to see if anyone else picks that up.

Underneath this has red and blackberry fruit, big extract and a real hearty edge – now we’re back in classic Sagrantino territory. Those tannins really make this wine, delivering grunt and structure to what is a mid-weight and less overly sweet style.

Ultimately the more I looked the more I liked this. The extract is there, but the tannins feel well integrated and grunty and real. It’s not a big black wine like some Montefalco styles, but it is mighty satisfying and almost refreshing.

Yes.

Source: Sample
Tasted: July 2014
Drink: 2014-2020+
Score: 18/20, 93/100
Would I buy it? Yes. That structure is very appealing.
Buy online: A big question mark. TBA.