Nugan Estate Manuka Grove Vineyard Durif
Nugan Estate Manuka Grove Vineyard Durif
Vintage: 2004
Region: Riverina, New South Wales (Australia)
Varietal: Durif (Petite Syrah)
Alcohol: 15%
Price: $19.00
Certain wines are like old friends from time to time; kind of like ones that you really liked to hang out with for a while but then you found others and you sort of grew apart. That is a good description of my relationship with the 2004 vintage of the Nugan Estate Durif. I remember the day I first tried this wine and it was all I talked about with all my oenophile friends. I rushed out and bought as much as I could and stockpiled it in my cellar. Since then, many Merlots, Shirazes and Chardonnays have become between us. Now after 2 years, it is time to re-aquatint myself with this old chum from back in the day.
Coming out of the bottle, there is some sediment on the interior sides of the bottle which to me is good indicator and gets me excited. Into the glass, the wine exhibits a rich garnet color that is so deep that when put up to a halogen light cannot be seen through. Just tons of red berry fruit and prunes on the nose. The taste can only be described as powerful with bold yet settled tannins. Tons of body here with a full and firm mouth feel, this one is full of fruit and smoke, pepper, charcoal and spices that are so alluring and so aggressive that each sip is a marvel into what a full bodied red should be. The finish is lasting and the fruit delivers in what seem like waves. This is a red wine persons red wine, and it is unapologetic about it.
I served this wine with a Chicago Style Baseball Size Sirloin Steak and some Spaghetti with a Tomato Alfredo sauce. The charbroiled spicy exterior of the steak along with the rareness of the meat is an outstanding foil to this muscular red, with the deep red fruits really being exhibited on each taste. This one is definitely one you want to pair up with grilled meat, especially beef, bison or elk.
Sometime when you meet up again with those old friends, you wonder how you could have ever liked them. This is in fact, the exact opposite with the Nugan Estate Durif and I wish that I continued our relationship in the mean time. If you can find this wine, buy it. If you buy some and have a cellar, cellar it. If you want to impress someone, gift it. If you want your socks knocked off with your next steak, pop it and you will not be disappointed.
90 points
- Nugan Estate Manuka Grove Vineyard Durif
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on September 10th, 2008
- Photos:
- From Orange NSW
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
Sustainable Dining at Red Door Bistro
Using local and provincial producers, Red Door Bistro has tried to ensure that where possible, their materials are as organic and are as free from hormones, pesticides and all those other undesirable ingredients as possible.
-
Six Stops in London
We visited some of the best museums, saw some of the landmarks and spent a day in one of the most historic and beautiful cities in the world. We could have easily spent a week exploring and discovering, but felt pretty good with what we had seen and where we had been. It was without a doubt, one good day.
-
Château Latour – Martillac
If you cellar wine, one of the great pleasures is to pluck out a wine that you have been holding and enjoy it – preferably with friends.
-
Black Cloud Altostratus
The situation was like a ‘Black Cloud’ hanging over their heads. Sensing an opportunity, the duo decided to buy back the remaining inventory and brand it themselves. With that, Black Cloud was born.
-
2006 Pillar Box Red
Decant, decant, decant. I find myself talking about this more and more when it comes to red wines, especially new ones.
-
Vinya l’Hereu Petit Grealo
Every time I think that I have seen all this wonderful city of Calgary has to offer in terms of wines and spirits, I encounter something more amazing and more jaw dropping than I could possibly imagine.
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
