Dangerously drinkable & different: left of field Australia, Home of the Brave

Yep, dangerously drinkable, different, left of field and Australian all in one sentence.  Here are two irreverent wines guaranteed to bring a smile to your face:

Home of the Brave NV Sparkling Barossa Trincadeira

 
As I left the cellar last week, First Drop’s John Retsas (pictured) handed me a bottle of this wine, which is made in partnership with Tim Smith Wines.  Trincadeira is a thin-skinned Portuguese variety which thrives in the Alentejo’s southerly warm and dry climate.  First Drop’s winemaker Matt Gant has worked in the Alentejo at Azamor and, no doubt, swiftly cottoned on to the fact it just might work in the Barossa too.  Aside from the animating sparkle (!), it certainly exhibits similar characteristics to its sweet and sour palate, with savoury dried fig and sweet plum, a warm earthiness and, more Barossa, a touch of Kalua.  Six years in the making, the (old) oak-aged base wine was sourced from the 2005-2009 vintages and aged on lees during the second ferment in bottle for 18 months.  13.5%  I reckon a good partner for BBQ’d spare ribs.

Vinterloper Adelo 2010

I cannot say that it ever occurred to me that Portuguese variety Touriga Nacional would make a good bed fellow with Shiraz and Pinot Noir, indeed that Shiraz and Pinot Noir would make good bedfellows, but this is a charmer.  A vibrant ruby/purple hue, its savoury nose and undertones on the palate belie its overall silky fruit purity and levity.  The Touriga and Pinot bring beetroot, rock rose and bright, fresh cherry fruit to the party while Shiraz offers a plump and plummy mid-palate.  For winemaker David Bowley, it’s all about making a blend with ” a unique savoury flavour profile and the structure and complexity of something more familar.” 14%