2007 Mollydooker Vintage Tasting

Sarah & Sparky Marquis are finalizing the shipments of their new 2007 vintage release which will be stateside this Fall. Readers of this newsletter can be the first in New Jersey to taste the entire portfolio of 2007 Mollydooker wines on August 23, 2008.

If you would like to experience the full-throttled wines made by Sarah and Sparky before the wine press, use the link below to purchase tickets. The event is also a benefit for The Wellness Community, a cancer support organization.

The tasting will be held in Little Silver New Jersey on Saturday August 23, 2008 from 6:00 - 10:00 pm. Ticket prices are $100 per person which will include all wines, an Aussie styled barbecue and great live music. A true summer party with great summer wines from Mollydooker. This event will sell out quickly so buy your tickets ASAP.  Purchase Tickets - Click Here

What's New

The good news is that I'm "back in the saddle", reviewing great Shiraz and Syrah wines after a small hiatus from writing. I have been focused on the launch of my namesake Internet Marketing Agency which is now off and running.

I've had a chance to taste a few wines this week that I think all readers should seek to add to their wine cellars:

• 2001 Torbreck - The Struie  (BP-95 points)

• 2001 Pax "Castelli Knight Ranch" Syrah (BP-93 pts)

• 2003 Alban Vineyards Edna Valley  Grenache (BP-93 pts)

I know the last wine is not a Shiraz/Syrah but if you like full throttle wines, you will enjoy this Grenache.  The Torbreck was amazing.  It was elegant and at the same time powerful. If you can get this wine on the after market, you will be rewarded for your search. 

The Pax and the Alban wineries represent some of the "new guns" that are getting very high marks in California for their wines. These two wines were very well made and very enjoyable.   I would suggest that you signup for both winery mailing lists to get a future allocation of their limited production wines.

2007 Mollydooker Vintage Update

The 2007 vintage of Mollydooker wines is reported to being released this September to US consumers who preorder via their direct website.  The website will be taking orders for the 2007 vintage this summer and wine orders will be shipped in September when cooler weather allows safe shipping.  If you receive our newsletter, you will get advance notice when the wine will go on sale.

Last year the shipments were broken up in two batches: May and October.  This year due to efforts to streamline shipping arrangements and reduce costs, a single Fall release will be how the 2007 wines are shipped.

If you have not signed up for the Mollydooker Winery email list and newsletter, you are advised to go to: www.mollydookerwines.com.  The 2007 vintage was a much smaller vintage than 2006 so allocations will be stretched.  If you signup for the Mollydooker mailing list prior to June 30th, you will be able to participate in the initial offering of 2007 wines.

Remember, last year I encouraged readers to place their advance orders since the pre-launch wine tasting I conducted for the 2006 Mollydooker wines was truly amazing.  It ends up that the Velvet Glove sold out quickly (RP-99) but all my readers were able to get their hands on some if they ordered when I advised.

This year I will be having an advance tasting for the 2007 Mollydooker vintage in May or June.  If you would like to be invited, make sure you signup with your email address in the grey box on the right.  You need to be on my email list to get the invite. Only registered readers will get the invitation.  Seating will be extremely limited.

If you ran out of 2006 Mollydooker wine, readers can place additional requests for a few of the remaining wines.  Mollydooker has held back a few cases of their top rated wines for their newsletter list.  Snooze you lose.  Visit www.mollydookerwines.com and check out their shipping specials.

Carnival of Love Shiraz - #8 in the WS Top 100 Wines

In November, Mollydooker Winery's 2006 Carnival of Love was included in Harvey Steinman's Top 100 Most Exciting Wines of the World; a feature in Wine Spectator.  The 2006 Carnival of Love was placed #8 in the top 100, a very good bit a news for Sarah and Sparky Marquis.

If you have not purchased your 2006 Carnival of Love, check their winery direct website located at:  www.mollydookerwines.com

Robert Parker Scores Velvet Glove 99 points

I hate to say I told you so.  But the latest issue of Robert Parker Wine Advocate was released today, October 31, 2007 and he raved about the 2006 Mollydooker wines. Parker rated six wines from the 2006 Mollydooker portfolio with a score of 94 points or better.  Here are the top scoring wines:

• Velvet Glove - 99 points

• Carnival of Love - 97 points

• Blue Eyed Boy - 96 points

• Gigglepot Cabernet - 95 points

• Enchanted Path - 94 points

• Boxer Shiraz - 94 points

Congratulations to Sarah and Sparky Marquis on another fine vintage.  If you have not purchased your 2006 Mollydooker wines, you can visit their winery direct website at:  www.mollydookerwines.com  Some of the wines may be sold out so make sure you get on their mailing list for priority allocations next year.

Read the official press release and the Mollydooker Fall Promotional Offer.

2006 Mollydooker Carnival of Love - 95 pts Wine Spectator

The September issue of Wine Spectator magazine awarded the 2006 Mollydooker Carnival of Love shiraz a score of 95 points.  Wine Spectator also classified the wine as highly recommend.

In the same issue, WS awarded The Boxer shiraz a score of 90 points for this value priced wine ($20). Overall this is a great start of the review cycle for the 2006 Mollydooker wines.

Wine Spectator also awarded the Velvet Glove Shiraz 97 points!  For additional information on the 2006 Mollydooker wines and how to purchase the 2006 Carnival of Love, visit www.mollydookerwines.com.

2005 Dutschke Wines - New Releases

Brenda Dutschke sent me the winemaker notes for their latest releases and boy is there a lot of good wine coming our way.  The 2005 Dutschke Wines are being released on the market so make sure you contact your local retailer for advance allocations. The wines are brought into the US by Joshua Tree Imports.

The 2005 Dutschke wine notes are broken down by the individual vineyard offerings, so here is one of the winemaker notes and the rest will be featured on the 2005 Dutschke Winery page.

2005 Dutschke Willowbend

Back in 1990 Dutschke created their first red blend of Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet together and packaged it under the WillowBend label.

The idea behind Willowbend was to produce a consistently full and flavor rich wine by blending the varieties that perform best in the Dutschke vineyards. They have not changed much in putting this blend together since their first vintage over 18 years ago. The wine is made Merlot vines planted in 1980, Cabernet planted in 1978 and Shiraz in 1975.  The Willowbend vines grow in the “St. Jakobi” family vineyard, the property purchased by Oscar Semmler in the 1930s.

The 2005 Willowbend is from Merlot (44%) and Shiraz (29%) provide the ripe sweet fruit palate and the Cabernet Sauvignon (27%) gives structure and tannin support.

After years in the bottle the older “WillowBend” wines have also shown great complex characters while still maintaining their fresh fruit flavors. WillowBend is typically a very good wine to drink now or to lie down for a few years to complex through bottle aging.

2005 Dutschke Willowbend Technical's

• Winemaker: Wayne Dutschke

• Vineyard: Ken Semmler’s St Jakobi Vineyard

• Region: Lyndoch, Barossa Valley, South Australia

• Harvest Date: Shiraz 18th March, Cabernet Sauvignon 28th March and Merlot 1st April 2005

• Varietal Percentages: 44% Merlot, 29% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Alcohol: 15.0%

• Oak Maturation: 20 months in New and Older American & French Hogsheads

• Cellaring potential: 5-8 years

First Looks at Mollydooker 2006 Labels

The wait is finally over. The 2006 vintage of Mollydooker is getting ready to be place in refrigerated container ships to head toward the US. We were given a sneak peek at some of the new labels for the five additional wines that will be offer by Mollydooker in 2006.

The five new Mollydooker Wines in the 2006 vintage are:

• The Scooter Merlot – suggested retail $20

•  Gigglepot Cabernet - suggested retail $50

•  The Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz suggested retail $50

•  Goosebumps Sparkling Shiraz suggested retail $50

•  Velvet Glove Shiraz suggested retail $175

Take a look at the cool black and white labels that will be part of this new launch.  Of course the old faithful 2006 Boxer Shiraz will be as amazing as last year!  To read the full story on the upcoming releases and the Mollydooker retrospect, click for Mollydooker 2006 vintage report.

Dutschke Wines - News from Down Under

We extend a heartfelt welcome to Brenda Dutschke from Australian winery Dutschke Wines. Brenda contacted me this past week and thanked me for listing their winery on the website. This site is design to promote wineries that make great Shiraz/Syrah, free of charge. I was happy to hear from another Barossa producer of shiraz and her response started this article. The power of a global economy! Pass the word to other wineries.

I asked Brenda to send me some updated information on the winery. She was so gracious to send me wine tasting notes and past newsletters. Thank You Brenda! With all this information, I setup a Dutschke Winery page on the site. This will allow Brenda to keep us updated on the winery as the years go on.

Dutschke Wines are imported into the US by Joshua Tree Imports; an importer with a very positive reputation. They are the complete opposite of the "Darth Vader" of Australian importing who will go unnamed at this time. Let me say that there are a number of Australian wineries that could easily make an old fashioned lynch mob for a certain wine importer that fancies himself as man-beast; but I digress. Bravo, Joshua Tree for bringing these great wines in the USA. To see all the brands that they import, go to: www.joshuatreeimports.com

If you would like to learn more about a Dutschke, take a look at our Dutschke Winery webpage. More info is also coming!