Rosemount Estate Mataro Nursery Project

last bottle (sob!) Clear transparent ruby in glass, no hint of age. Perfumed nose, soft leather, wood spice. red and blue fruit. Silky tannin, fresh, with espresso/mocha, milk chocolate. Leafy, layered, violets. Hints mandarin peel on finish, savoury umami, hint mint. Excellent drop, well developed. In a great place. Pity my last bottle... Been a lovely 6 year journey, across 3 countries, left in the boot, and still absolutely intact.

Chens Christmas at Cameron (Cameron Highlands) : Dark cherry, citrus peel, sweet spice, pleasant acidity, resolved tannin, aromatic wood spices. Juicy!

(Dinner@JerSh's) Effusive dark florals, pastilles, dark berries, late fruits. Vanilla, smokey oak, chewy, sweet spices, hint five spice. Soft silky tannins, youthful, somewhat grippy. Lovely honey notes and violets on finish.

(Eli Bday Brunner) Darker than its graciano/mataro/grenache nursery cousin, this shows elegant dark florals, dark spices and red fruit, tinged with a hint of vegetality. Tall elegance, with good concentration, this shows yet more floral spices, black pepper. Certainly still young and juicy, there is also some glycerol, chewy textures. Dark leather, mocha and milk chocolate emerge with time.

2013 Sydney Royal Wine Show - Exhibitor's Tasting & Trophy Wines Lunch (homebush & Darling Harbour) : [Trophy – Best 'Alternative' Red] {screwcap, 14%} This might have got in to the lunch because all the merlots were so bad the trophy wasn’t awarded. There’s a youthful and exotic fragrance of spices, perfume and violets. The palate is drier than you expect; earthy and savoury notes do battle with, but don’t overcome the violet-like berry fruit. The tannins are quite soft …