NERO, FIVE GEESE AND THE FOX

Five Geese McLaren Vale Nero d'Avola 2016 ($20; 13.5% alcohol; screw cap) is a pretty good example of how convincingly the Sicilian Nero fits into the sun-kissed Willunga Embayment, where McLaren Vale resides there on the Gulf St Vincent, patron of viniculturers, wine-makers and vinegar-makers. Truth be known, the variety loves this slice of the sunny south so much it grows too excitedly if not kept trimmed and tidy. Sue Trott's Five Geese winemaking consultant, Mike Farmilo, has deliberately set out to make a wine for drinking fairly young. After a few months in old French barrels the wine has an aroma that seems like you have cup of strong black billy tea in one hand and an adults-only Cherry Ripe - made without sugar and coated in the best ValRhona dark cooking chocolate - in the other. These distinctive smells marry very well, leading to a long, tapering tail with the sort of tannins black tea provides. As the giant volumes of over-ripe Shiraz this region produces tend to be quite soft, smooth and gloopy enough to be known as 'the middle palate of Australia' in the 'seventies and 'eighties, a variety which so readily gives tannin like this is a highly welcome and attractive newcomer. So here at this bonnie price we have a soulful, slightly cheeky full-bore red which goes perfectly with this boeuf Bourguignon a delightful neighbour brought me for these freezing evenings, but it'll still be a treat into the spring and the warmth of summer. Pasta! 

Take all that, and add some blackcurrant crème de cassis, and maybe even some framboise, dice in some quince paste, then sprinkle some of your best hot Ozzie summer dust on the bowl, and you have the Five Geese La Volpe McLaren Vale Nero d'Avola 2015 ($28; 14.5% alcohol; screw cap) which is a large progression in complexity and stern attitude without losing too much of that cheeky edge of the sixteen wine. The tea is even blacker in here: if that cheeky grin wasn't here it would be a serious old master sucking all the light from the room. Here the tannins seem a tad tighter and finer, and draw the finish out to a longer, leaner taper. It makes me very hungry indeed. Skippy or Bambi, please, with portobello shrooms and somebody who's all wined up on a jug of this playing the accordion beneath the trees. La Volpe is the Italian fox: just between you and me, Mike has long been known as Foxy Farmilo.

Sue Trott and Mike Farmilo in Sue's vineyards at the northern end of the Willunga Embayment at the top of the Blewett Springs gullies ... photos  Philip White