St Hugo Ric Red 2021

Celebrity wines are always popular, even if the wine itself does not always live up to the hype. Not so here with this delicious red. Daniel Ricciardo refers to it as his ‘secret sauce’, and all we know is that it is a blend of red varieties from South Aussie vineyards. Secret indeed. We do know that “many winemaking techniques were employed”, but “generally” the parcels spent 10 to 15 days on skins in a mix of open and closed fermenters, with temperatures heading to around 28°C, after which the wine spent some time maturing in oak. The entire thing – wine and package – is obviously designed to be fun, but I think that does the wine a bit of a disservice. It is a lot more than that, and worth noting that the team behind the wine is St Hugo so the pedigree is unquestioned.

A vibrant dark purple, and with the aromas we have rich coffee bean notes, chocolate, handfuls of fresh earth, a pleasing mix of red and darker fruits and hints of mushrooms. Completely seamless with good length and bold flavours, there is impressive intensity right through to a very long finish. Good extraction and soft tannins so lots to like. It will easily go for five to eight years in the cellar, if you prefer to hold off for now, although not sure why you would. This would appeal even if not celebrity-endorsed, although no doubt Daniel’s fans will want to get on board