Wine By Nine

White Wine by d'Arenberg from South Australia, Australia. Since 1912 the Osborn family has tended the 19th century vineyards at their d'Arenberg winery, located in South Australia, where the family often procures top quality fruit from the cool climate Adelaide Hills region, which has become one of Australia's finest Chardonnay districts. During the summer months, native Bearded Dragon Lizards sun themselves on the vineyard posts and watch out for potential prey. Occasionally during harvest, these lizards are dislodged and find their way into a load of grapes headed for the winery. Lucky for these lizards, d'Arenberg uses a very gentle Demoisy crusher, which allows these lizards to pass through the ordeal slightly shaken, yet unharmed. The gentleness of the crusher also plays an important role in retaining the delicate fruit flavors. After excellent winter rains and then a warm wet spring, the vineyards were set for a good start to vintage. Flowering was consistent, and in general crop loads were higher than normal. McLaren Vale experienced the coldest January for 12 years followed by a warm February which provided perfect ripening conditions and the result was fruit of outstanding character, concentration and excellent natural acidity. The success of this wine is put down to the evenness of the ripening period leading up to picking in the early autumn and extremely protective handling in the winery to preserve the wonderful fruit characters. The nose is immediately inviting with volumes of pear, pineapple, tropical fruits, guava, hints of peach, green melon, citrus and very fine sweet toasted oaks. Medium to full in style with the level of ripeness in perfect balance with the elevated acidity and the characteristic cool climate flowery Granny Smith apples that linger to the end with fine oak spices, and citric passionfruit character. Probably the best Lucky Lizard yet.

White Wine by Penfolds from South Australia, Australia. The Thomas Hyland range honors the pioneering spirit of Thomas Hyland, son-in-law of Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold, whose stewardship of the company from the late 1800s until 1914 saw the development of what, in his lifetime, became Australia's most famous name in wine. Color: Pale Straw with fluorescent white hues. Nose: The nose shows aromas of white stone fruit, a touch of lifted citrus fruit and a subtle complex oak/yeast derived character that draws you in. Palate: A fine, elegantly styled palate with refreshing citrus acidity. The mid palate offers generosity of flavor consisting of white nectarines and nougat/creme caramel. Food pairings: Ideal with chicken, seafood and salads.

White Wine by Penfolds from South Australia, Australia. Lemon zest and grapefruit drive a complex combination of aromas. Post fermentation characters of butterscotch and freshly baked bread combine with the fruit aromas to produce a wine with subtlety and complexity. A balanced combination of citrus fruit, creamy yeast-derived characters, toasted oak, and smoked bacon. Rich yet refined in its flavours; the oak, batonnage (stirring) of the yeast lees and malolactic fermentation have contributed to the length without dominating the palate. The finish is clean, lively, and refreshing. Food Matches: Ideally suited to Pasta, Chicken, and Seafood. The Thomas Hyland range honours the pioneering spirit of Thomas Hyland, son-in-law of Dr. Penfold, who helped to guide the winery to greatness after the founder passed away in 1870. Dr. Penfold's belief in Thomas proved to be fortuitous as he carried out and never wavered from Dr. Penfold's passion for greatness and quality. The 2001 Penfolds Thomas Hyland Chardonnay was sourced from the premium grape-growing district of Adelaide Hills in South Australia. The Adelaide Hills region offers picturesque vineyard locations with wide variation of slope, aspect, and soil type. What these locations have in common is altitude (1,312 feet or above) and a generally cool climate offering the slow ripening conditions required for premium-quality wine grape growing.

White Wine by Evil from South Australia, Australia. Pure Evil Chardonnay has white peach stone fruit characters. Add a luscious and delicious textural mouthfeel and a touch of French oak influence. The creaminess is balanced by an elegant freshness.

White Wine by Oxford Landing from South Australia, Australia. The Chardonnay for Oxford Landing is grown on a range of sandy soils of varying depths over limestone. Careful irrigation control on these sites promotes well balanced vine canopies which protect fruit from overexposure and allow the maximum retention of flavors. Oxford Landing Chardonnay is pale gold in color with hints of green. Lifted stone fruit, melon and citrus aromas are complexed with subtle hints of white nougat. The palate shows fresh peach and citrus flavors which are balanced by a rich, creamy mid palate. A lively acidity complements the palate richness, leading to a long refreshing finish.