Mollydooker wines are back on deck
Regular readers may remember when I was enthralled with Mollydooker The Boxer. The 2014s are back in my sights this year. First, for more recent friends, mollydooker means left-handed in Australian. Sarah and Sparky Marquis, the owner-winemakers, are southpaws, and I know from personal experience that unlike Charlie Tuna we lefties make stuff that tastes great. The old right hemisphere is in full cry at MD. Learn about Mollydooker here: https://grapecollective.com/articles/sarah-marquis-owner-winemaker-mollydooker. The short course is, MD is very careful about its wines. It is most famous for the top line Shiraz: Carnival of Love and Blue Eyed Boy which run $80-100, rate 90-93 points; and 95-97-point Velvet Glove at $175-200. Anyone can tell you about them. I keep an eye on Two Left Feet, a nice Shiraz that is made by MD of sourced grapes, because I have great admiration for Sarah and Sparky as winemakers. Unlike their big dogs, which are terrific in nearly every vintage, Two Left Feet will oscillate in quality from high 80s into a 93-point year, 1 price point, like 2014. The 2014s are wonderful. They remind of the 2005 and '08. WS laid on a 93 and they are priced around $23. I expect the supply to be sucked up quickly.
These are not for the faint of heart, folks, with 15.5 percent alcohol, huge, jammy Syrah fruit, lots of oak, and pie spice. The complex front end is full-bodied, with lots of chocolate and plenty of nuance provided as eucalyptus, licorice, leather, raspberry and cigar box.
On the creamy palate, the alcohol is supported by big jammy fruit, plum jam, fine tannins. Very complex and made for sipping. The high alcohol may be a problem after several years' aging. Many claim these will cellar through 2025. I think you should cellar two years and drink them through 2021 because as the fruit, oak and tannins incorporate, the alcohol will be perceived as too powerful. Picture Sir Winston smoking a cigar and drinking wine in an easy chair in front of a fireplace drinking a glass of Shiraz. Now picture a working guy. That’s the allure of the 2014 The Boxer.
I’m a huge fan of Jancis Robinson, the first person outside the wine industry to become a master sommelier. She is the author of Oxford Companion of Wine, an 825-page, six-pound volume written in 1994 which knocked Michael Broadbent out of the box as the “ne plus ultra” in the wine trade. The recent edition includes products and ideas few had heard of in 1994 or even in the 2006 edition. I particularly enjoyed this comment on the effete NYC wine trade, “I know in New York City it isn’t fashionable to talk about wines from these regions, but I am extremely impressed with the new generation of winemakers in South Africa, and the new regions in Chile - many of which are old regions being rediscovered, such as Maule. I am banging the drum whenever I have a chance, since I do see a blanket feeling in places like New York that all wine must come from Europe. I believe my job is to try to expose some of the developments in countries which are regarded as merely sources for cheap and cheerful wine.”
OK, so how many remember Maule is “the other valley,” besides Maipo and Colchagua, in Chile? Further, a small rebuke to Jancis. London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, etc. should be included in her slashing attack on wine snobbery. There is plenty to go around, and you Euros started it. Before you knew you were Euros. Here are a few names to look into from Maule. Oveja Negra Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah Reserva 2009, 88 points/$9; Tanzer said 88 points. Oveja Negra Reserva Cabernet Franc - Carmenere, Maule Valley, Chile 2012 won two silvers last year, 87/$13. Erasmo Cabernet Merlot Vina la Reserva de Caliboro 2009, 90 points/$40 is a bit pricey; search the $35 range Garage Wine Co. Carignan Dry Farmed Old Vine 2012, 92 points under $30.
Email John McDonald at chjonmc@yahoo.com.
