huevos con vino

I was going to begin this post with a comment or two about Paracombe in general, how I think it’s a great winery with a terrific selection of wines for sale and varietals for blending.  But then I noticed something tragic.

The Click Wine Group was the source for Paracombe wines in the US.  But after reviewing their Web site, I noticed that Paracombe had vanished from the list of wineries in their portfolio.  Strange.  I e-mailed a couple of people at CWG with whom I had spoken in the past (and from whom I had purchased wine in the past).  I learned that Click has stopped representing Paracombe and I am not entirely sure whether Paracombe has US distribution or importation anymore.  I am looking into this matter and I plan to blog about my findings.

So, this particular Wine Blogging Wednesday leaves me feeling a little depressed.  I doubt I can get any more Paracombe wine in the US at this point.  But the show must go on, so please keep reading and see why I think Paracombe deserves to find a new importer.

The Paracombe winery Web site features a Flash intro, but is otherwise quite decent.  Paracombe is located in the Adelaide Hills region in southern Australia, one of the richest wine heritage locations in the entire country.  More details are available here, but suffice it to say Adelaide Hills has a storied history of good wine.  Noteworthy neighbors of Paracombe include Nepenthe and Geoff Weaver.  Although the Adelaide Hills region is known for white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling, there are also a number of Pinot Noir producers.

But Paracombe doesn’t stop there.  They produce Pinot Gris in addition to the whites listed above, as well as Shiraz, a Shiraz Viognier blend, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon single-varietal bottlings.  They also make “The Reuben,” which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Shiraz.  That’s quite an assortment!

I was first drawn to Paracombe purely by chance.  I ordered a bottle of their Shiraz as part of a mixed half-case for a tasting party.  The Paracombe Shiraz turned out to be my favorite wine at that tasting, edging out the Tikal Patriota, another terrific wine.  I went looking for the Shiraz in the Seattle area, only to be told that a local supermarket had some Cabernet Franc for sale.  I really enjoy 100% Cab Franc bottlings so I went and got a few 2000 Paracombe Cabernet Franc bottles.  And ever since then, I have been serving Paracombe for my friends and encouraging others to try Paracombe wines.  I even went to their US importer and tried to see about a job.  No dice, but they were very nice to me there.  Very patient for sure.

The Somerville Shiraz is by far the most limited release from Paracombe (100 cases), which is saying something since a typical release is about 300-400 cases.  This wine is 16.0% alcohol by volume, which equates to 9.5 standard drinks according to the small add-on regulatory label on the side of the bottle.  Sounds like a lot of alcohol, but consider this: The more recent 2003 release is a whopping 17% alcohol!  That’s a potent wine or, as my Turkish friend might say, “that wine is quite effective.”

I came into possession of this bottle through a lucky bid on Winecommune.com several months ago.  I ended up paying $41 for this bottle, which usually retails for $60-$75 online and $80+ in Seattle-area stores, if you can find it anymore.

As with all Paracombe wines, the bottle looks really cool.  The label is beautiful!  Additionally, there are some helpful details on the back of the bottle; here they are, precisely as written (complete with delightful participle mixup):

“James ‘Jas’ Somerville was one of early pioneers to settle in Paracombe in the late 1800’s. A man of vision and fortitude, he was the first to plant vines in the district in 1903. As time passed several vineyards were established then subsequently cleared to make way for different ventures. However one small parcel of 500 Shiraz from the original Somerville vineyard still remained. Recognising their significance Paul and Kathy Drogemuller successfully transplanted these old vines to their own vineyard in 1997. Four of the best barrels of this vintage of Paracombe Shiraz were selected to produce a limited release of only 100 dozen under the Somerville label in recognition to Jas Somerville. Enjoy this classic wine of great style and complexity.”

So, how does it taste?  As usual (lately), I used the WineKeeper “Keeper” to protect and dispense the wine.  On the first night, I opened the bottle and tried a bit of wine, then waited an hour and drank the rest of the glass once it had been sufficiently aerated.  Here are my thoughts from Day 1…or would that be Day 0?

• Aroma: Warm blueberry cobbler is the predominant aroma, with blackberry and cassis in the mix as well; secondary notes of a smoky oak campfire and bell pepper, plus black pepper and a bit of baking spice and black tea as well.  I am unable to overemphasize the room-filling bouquet of fresh-from-the-oven berry cobbler, it’s that intense.  Mouth-watering indeed.  After an hour and after the wine warms to just below room temperature, the bell pepper and tea aromas go away, leaving mostly a blueberry/cassis/smoky wonder in the glass.
• Flavor: Amazingly powerful acidic/tannic attack at first, makes me think I should have waited a few more years to open this wine!  After aerating the wine the dominant flavors are cassis syrup and a brackish, meaty, green peppery flavor that tastes fairly good.  The flavor is a bit hot and imbalanced soon after opening the wine, but after a little while things settle down and this wine becomes much more poised.  Lots of solid fresh blueberry and blueberry jam flavor mingled with a dense, smoky roasted meat essence.  Takes some time in the glass to reach balance; I think 1-2 hours of decanting would be ideal here.
• General impression: A very rich, thick wine…as much as I hate to use the word “thick” to describe a wine, it’s an apt description here.  This wine is burly, muscular, and delicious.  It is also approachable and very tasty with Forbidden black rice cooked with wedges of lime, or with grilled King salmon steaks marinated in olive oil and organic soy sauce.  Something about citrus flavors highlights the blueberry and decreases the acidic undertone of the flavor profile.  My wife adds that green olives bring out the berry flavors quite strongly.  Very interesting stuff.  You remember those fruit pies you ate as a kid?  This wine is the adult version of a fruit pie, in liquid form, without all the sugar.  Delicious!

Overall, I think the Somerville is an exceptionally powerful wine.  It is good, but I think it needs at least another 5 years in the cellar to be as outstanding as I think it could be.  But don’t get me wrong: I love this wine now and I would find it difficult to store such a wine for another 5 years without drinking it all!

POSTSCRIPT: It is Day 3 and the wine tastes, if anything, better now than it did on Day 1.  The Keeper is doing a great job!  And, by keeping this wine in the fridge, I can pour a glass and let it sit out for about 45-60 minutes as it gradually warms up and aerates.  Once dinner is ready, so is the wine.  Brilliant.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 5th, 2007 at 10:23 pm and is filed under Wine Blogging Wednesday. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.