Dandelion Sleeping Beauty GSM 2018
- 94
- $40
- Drink by: 2022-2028
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Elena Brooks established this label some time ago and it continues to go from strength to strength. Elena hails
originally from Bulgaria but is now well ensconced in the Australian wine industry alongside husband, Zar, wonderfully described by James Halliday as an ‘industry dilettante’. Between them, we have seen many superb wines. This is one of them.
From vineyards around the Gomersal region in the Barossa, this is deep red in colour. Hand harvested, whole bunches go to open top fermenters. The wine was then hand plunged for 14 days, before basket pressed into old French and American Oak barriques. It then spent two years in that oak before bottling without fining or filtration. There are pleasing aromatics here with notes of spices, raspberries, florals, rose petals, warm earth and tobacco leaves. There is excellent balance, good focus, impressive length and the intensity is maintained throughout over a bed of fine tannins. Appealing now but it will drink beautifully over the next half dozen years. Sleeping beauty has awoken!
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
