Rusty Mutt - Rocky Ox GSM 2015
Pairing Suggestions
This wine from Australia is really worth a try. The colour is youthful purple and vibrant. In the nose a really expressive bouquet with aromas of tomato leafs, plum compote, raspberry, blackberry, earth, pepper and cloves.
In the mouth whole of an experience with plums, mulberry, pomegranate, spices, firm but balanced tannins on the end.
Grenache 66%, Shiraz 21%, Mataro 13%
Harvested March / April 2014
Alcohol 14.5%
The GSM blend is an 'Australian-ised' version of the French Cotes du Rhone blend. This blend is all about youth, freshness, spice and complexity with very little oak influence.
The name 'rocky ox' comes from his daughter. She is an 'Earth Ox' in the Chinese Astrological calendar, so I thought it was fitting as Grenache can show some fantastic earthiness as it develops.
The individual ferments were all hand plunged and basket-pressed in order to release their full aroma and flavour potential. Only one vineyard batch of Grenache and Mataro went into this blend, along with a barrel selection of spicy Shiraz to complement the style. After ferment, the wines were matured in 5 year old French oak puncheons and hogsheads, and were blended after about 8 months maturation then returned to oak to maximise the fruit intensity while providing the subtle complexities that natural barrel aging brings. After a further 4 months maturation it was racked and bottled (unfiltered) with a screw cap closure to preserve the intensity and freshness of this exciting wine.
Wineproducer: www.rustymutt.com.au