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Thursday, May 9, 2019

Amarone and Shiraz for Asian Dinner

Amarone and Shiraz for Asian Dinner

For a gala business dinner in Rotterdam with our special business partner, they took us to a local favorite Malaysian restaurant.  I selected from the winelist two wines for the meal starting with a favorite 'go-to' wine, Shotfire Australian Shiraz, and a Amarone Volpolicella from Tedesci.

Following our tasting of a Zeni 1870 Amarone the previous evening, it was interesting and fun to explore this label, a similar wine from the same vintage, 2015 Tedeschi Amarone.

Saving this more complex and sophisticated wine for the entree courses, we started with this Thorne Clark Shotfire Shiraz as our opening wine.

Thorne Clark Barossa Valley Shotfire Shiraz 2016

The name Shotfire is derived from the history of ancestor and founder James Goddard who worked in the gold mines of Barossa during the gold rush of 1870 in the Lady Alice mine. Shotfire refers to the perilously dangerous activity of setting and lighting the explosive charges used to remove the aggregate from the mines.  

I call this a 'go-to' wine as it is a high QPR (quality price ratio) priced to be an everyday wine that is dependable and pleasantly easy drinking, yet it won't disappoint when serving to others.

Its the kind of wine to keep on hand for everyday drinking with cheeses, pasta, meats, BBQ or desserts. Tonight, it provided just such as a starter wine with our early courses that was enjoyed by all.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, fruit forward, jammy sweet ripe black and red fruits with notes of mocha, vanilla and subtle oak with chewy tongue puckering tannins on the long finish.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2962204


Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015


This wine is made from grapes harvested in various vineyards located on hills in the Valpolicella zone (Mezzane and Tregnago hills). Tedeschi use different sources and different grape varieties so as to produce "a well-balanced wine with the fine structure that only a few single areas in the Valpolicella zone can provide".

This label is a blend of  grape varieties; 35% Corvina, 35% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, and Dindarella.

This was bright ruby red, medium full bodied with balanced and firmly structured bright notes of sweet raisiny character fruits of currants, blackberries and cherries with sprites of vanilla and earth tones with a slight tangy bitterness on the lingering persistent tannin laced finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3171907