Wines like this from Samantha May are why I love doing what I do. Is it the best Nebbiolo I've ever had? No. But do I want to keep on topping up my glass? Hell yes!
Based in Mudgee, Samantha Sutherland is behind her label Samantha May Wines, sourcing fruit from a few regions around New South Wales. This Nebbiolo comes from Gundagai, a region not known for producing Grand Cru wines, and perhaps that's the perception we need to change in this Australian wine landscape. If the soil is right, the climate is good and the making is great, does it matter?
Importantly, though, this wine needs a decant. I say that because when I opened it and tasted it immediately after a few swirls, a potato sack and damp type aroma arrested my attention and focus. I was looking at a number of wines at the time, so I parked it for the next day and what a metamorphosis it underwent!
Silky, dancy and damn delicious. Woah! Layered with interest, think cherries and cherry pips, red plums, orange peel, black tea and licorice root. Scents of dried rose petals continue to diffuse and call me back time and again with a touch of cola sliding in late. It's such an elegant and graceful wine that possesses a wonderful sense of calm and humility - much like its maker. Drying out ever so slowly, it glides about effortlessly leaving a trail of powdery tannins in its wake. Absolutely gorgeous and moreish, this is nothing short of an enthusiastic recommendation from me.
93/100
Region: Gundagai
