Sixty-Second Swirl by Brent Lello, Yass Valley Wines Columnist
There was an article in the Yass Valley Times a short while ago about an amazing young woman who has taken on the wine world with absolute conviction. Her name is Chrissie Smith and she is a shining light for taking life’s challenges head-on, seemingly flipping a coin at the fork in the road and pushing the pedal to the metal. Chrissie was nominated for the “Young Gun of Wine” awards, for the amazing work she is doing with her label – Intrepidus Wines. For more on her story, check out the website below. The subject of this week’s “swirl” is one of Chrissie’s latest releases and is an absolute cracker – the Intrepidus Shiraz Sangiovese 2022.
This wine is a deep garnet red colour in the glass with flashes of pink and purple at the edge. A swirl reveals aromas of ripe redcurrant, dark cherry and blackberry with loads of cool climate spice notes including cracked white pepper, crushed clove and a snifter of star anise. The palate is light and bright with spicy red and black berry fruit flavours with mouth-watering acidity leading to a satisfyingly savoury edge and a super food-friendly finish.
We enjoyed our bottle with a cheese and charcuterie plate and the combination of flavours bounced around the mouth like a palate pinball machine. This would go really well though with chargrilled lamb chops seasoned with olive oil and sea salt, a gamey venison sausage with onion gravy or a pasta dish with a rich, meaty ragout. I sourced my bottle from the superb selection of local wines at Thyme to Taste in Yass, but you can also buy online for $28 per bottle here.
From the winemaker
I am struggling my way through Dry July as a winemaker to raise money for Dry July Foundation. Have had a couple of cases of cancer recently in the family and wanted to do my bit. I have a goal of $1000, currently nearly halfway. People can donate via this link and I am donating 20% of any of my online sales for July to the fundraiser as well. For those also doing DryJuly, wine deliveries can of course be scheduled for August.
