We had TWO South Australian Drinks of the Week in episode 143 and here are the Sabella 2012 Guerilla Shiraz and 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon tasting notes that resulted.
We had these wines to enjoy because when our guest, Damien Lewandowski, played soccer with Michael Petrucci from Sabella Vineyards, he used to feed him balls to score from.
So, we basically enjoyed the fruits of favours past.
And we are so glad we did, as these little beauties were eye opening.
Sabella 2012 Guerilla Shiraz and 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon tasting notes
We started with the Sabella J Petrucci & Son 2012 Guerilla Shiraz from McLaren Vale.
This acted like a guerilla in every way; it snuck into our mouths without much fanfare and then, once deep inside, it launched its attack from the rear and flooded our palates with low-lying, intense fruit.
Steve was quite surprised by how the flavour seemed to work its way from the back palate to the front.
It really is a well orchestrated wine that got bolder as it breathed.
Steve also noted that this wine, unlike some from the region, is perfectly made to engaged in hand-to-hand combat with food.
Meanwhile, the Sabella 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon blew all of us away.
It has every hallmark of Cabernet Sauvignon with fruit and spice, and big, silky tannins that dry your tongue like an efficient crop duster.
It is gorgeous, sumptuous and deliciously chewy.
The Coonawarra would do well to mimic this example.
You can hear the live wine tasting from the show, starting with the Shiraz about six minutes in and then the Cabernet Sauvignon happens later, about an hour and 17 minutes in.
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