Picking Great Dandelions

Depending on whether you're a gardener or not may depend on your view of Dandelions! However, as you may have already guessed by the fact we are a wine merchants, we are not talking about the plant based version that plagues many a home gardeners lawn and borders.

No, we are talking about a fantastic Australian vineyard and winery called Dandelion Vineyards.

Big news:

We are very proud and extremely excited to tell you we have secured the wine makers of Dandelion Vineyards, Zar & Elena Brooks, to come and give a talk for us here in Sussex and you are invited!

They will be coming down on Friday 9th September. Put the date in your diary to ensure you don't miss what promises to be a fantastic evenings wine tasting.  We are still finalising exact details of venue etc. but will let you know as soon as we have more details. In the mean time, contact us if you're interested and we will add you to our list.

 

Above is a picture of Elena Brooks during a vintage cleaning out one of the fermenters.
Being the wine maker isn't all glamour!

We have stocked a range of their wines for a while now since discovering them and have been enthusing about them ever since, whether it be their complex Shiraz's, rich Cabernet Sauvignon or indeed their terribly beguiling 'Wonderland of the Eden Valley' Riesling 2010 of which everyone here loves and Steven Spurrier recently recommended in Decanter Magazine, June 2011 saying:

"This is a fantastic Riesling. Low in alcohol, high in natural acidity & bone dry, it is fresh & bright with intense smells of lime skin, citrus blossom, green apple, ripe guava & cinnamon spice. On the palate, there is crisp lime sorbet, stone fruit including apricot & classic mandarin, developing into rich lemon meringue. Wonderful racy minerality. Long length."

In recent months a lot of wine writers and critics too have been enthusing the virtues of this estates many varied and great wines.

Dandelion Vineyards is an adventurous and challenging fusion of vineyards and vignerons. Their wines represent decades of experience, blending the fruit of their heirloom vineyards with the finest traditions of artisan winemaking. Dandelion's combination of old vineyards and young winemakers makes for some truly fantastic, expressive wines.

Dandelion Vineyards have some very old vines that help to give their wines depth and complexity of flavour. This matched with the great soils and locations, and you have a winning combination.

In the two pictures above the top one is an old Shiraz vine and the other a Riesling vine.
The thickness of the stems shows their age, and the quality of the fruit 
coming off these vines and others like them is just excellent.
Indeed many of the Riesling vines are nearly 100 years old!

Blog written by: John Martin