The bouquet (aromas) and palate (flavours) of a wine often indicate the region from which it was produced.

In Heathcote (SA), particularly in Merlot and Shiraz, chocolate and mocha-like qualities can be easily recognised to set these varietals apart from their neighbouring Barossan and McLaren Vale counterparts.

In Eden Valley Riesling you might find loads of minerality on the acidic backbone followed by an action-packed lime and lemon palate, with limited sweetness. Whereas in Granton (TAS), you’d most likely find softer citrus flavours but increased minerality and a strong musk-like scent on a young Riesling, just bottled.

So what of Margaret River?

In the Margaret, as I like to call her, you’ll most likely find the greatest concentration of capsicin (capsicum-like flavours and aromas), tomato bush aromas and cayenne pepper effects on the palate. This is true across a surprisingly broad range of grape varietals from Cabernet to Shiraz, from Sauvignon Blanc to Chardonnay. A fantastic producer which captures these characters in nearly all of their wines in every vintage I have tried is Stella Bella.

Honestly I recommend their Stella Bella SSB 09 and Suckfizzle Cabernet 07 as two top vintages, but most of the wines have been highly lauded as great examples of regional wine. - Daniel Jess

James Irvine is one of my all-time favourite winemakers from the Barossa Valley.

The maker of the ‘Grand’ Merlot, with a cracking vintage in 2004, Mr Irvine is a winemaking personality I have always looked up to.

Having read about their wines and recent accolades this week, I wanted to share an exciting article with you today, rather than paraphrasing someone else’s hard work.

There’s a beautiful article about James and his work here: James Irvine Article, Winebiz.

Thank you Winebiz for allowing us to share the article online.

You can visit Irvine Wines online here.

James is also co-winemaker at Eden Valley Wines who produce the beautiful Saviours Shiraz 2005.

It’s almost Christmas and although I’m eclectic at the best of times, I felt like something super special to celebrate my mother’s 50th birthday tonight. So tonight I bring you my thoughts a ‘little something’ wine from a ‘big something’ producer of fine French wine – the 2007 vintage of Maison Chapoutier’s Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.

Crafted by Maison owner and Chef de Cave Michel Chapoutier, this sweet white wine is made from the world’s oldest grape varietal… you guessed it… the Muscat grape (also called ‘Muscat de Frontignan’). With a minimum of 15% alcohol content in every vintage release, you’d probably expect some heat, but the sugar, acid and flavour compounds all work in great harmony, swelling in unison as the wine washes along the palate.

It’s all a bit Moby Dick I know, but I imagine myself stranded on a sea-shore sipping this while the salt air floats around me with sand grains teetering against my glass. I’ll be darned if I’d share this with anybody nearby!

On the nose I smell musk, rosehip water, lemon, honeydew melons, some kaffir lime and orange oil. On the palate (once my tongue stopped salivating so much) I could taste the sweetness, but it was immediately backed up by tart pears coated in fresh oranges, vanilla, rosewater and homemade saltwater toffee, just like ‘gran used to make in Byron Bay.

What a delight.

A very long finish that resolves with the flavours of musk and definitely highlighted by leaner, and very sexy, lemon and lime flavours. Slight hint of honey on the finish.

Buy a pack of this. Age half until 2025, drink the rest now. You will not regret it!

My score: 95/100. Drink to 2030, peak drinking at 2026. Match with creme brulee or soft fresh sheep’s milk cheeses.

If you read Wine 100, Winestate, Decanter or Gourmet Traveler you will no doubt have read about this small family winery that is situated in Gods Hill Road, Lyndoch within the beautiful Barossa Valley.

The grape growing history of this land goes back a long way – to the end of the
19th century. At this time the property was primarily used for crops and dairy cattle, with very little vineyard space.

As the 1930’s commenced, Oscar Semmler bought the St Jakobi Church block
and expanded the vineyard slightly but still the majority of the land was used for grazing.

Oscar’s son Ken Semmler took over in the early 1970’s and in 1975 planted
Shiraz vines which are still in use today. These vines became the cornerstone
of Dutschke Wines. During this period, most of the fruit was passed on to other Barossan winemakers.

In 1990 Wayne Dutschke joined his uncle Ken on the ‘block’ and they created
WillowBend Wines, deciding to keep some fruit for themselves and produce their own wine on a very small scale.

Wayne brought over 10 years of wine making experience to his role. Starting
off at Yalumba and Roseworthy, he worked with quality Australian winemakers Don Lewis and Grant Burge and then gained further knowledge at Krondorf and Mildara Blass. Wayne also has international experience as a ‘flying winemaker’ in California, France and Spain.

In 1998, the Willowbend Wines vintage release caught the interest of the US.
This precipitated the name change to Dutschke Wines and led to an increase in production.

Dutschke Wines now has 17ha planted and is operated by Wayne and Brenda
Dutschke. They produce several varieties of red including a celebrated Oscar
Semmler ‘best of vintage’ Shiraz, named after the man that started it all. A range of fortified wines is released every year and practically sells out over night!

“The quality of the wines is in fact exemplary”. – James Halliday

You can purchase some great Dutschke wines here.

As if he didn’t have enough to do, Wayne is also the author of a children’s book – ‘My Dad Has Purple Hands’. It tells the story of winemaking from vineyard to bottle – through the eyes of a little girl growing up on a farm with a vineyard and winery. A very good read for both children AND adults.

2010 was a big year for Wayne Dutschke: in February he was voted Barossa
Winemaker of the Year by the ’Barossa Barons’. The Barons selected Wayne
because of his hard work to produce wines of great quality – along with his
marketing of the region in his travels.

In his 2011 Australian Wine Companion, James Halliday has given Dutschke
Wines a 5 star rating – the 5th year in a row it has been rated so highly. - Daniel Jess