2002 Marquis Philips - Sarah's Blend

The 2002 Sarah’s Blend (a 6,000 case blend of 62% Shiraz, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 18% Merlot) boasts an inky purple color, full body, great intensity, and plenty of toasty, smoky vanillin notes intermixed with hints of melted licorice, figs, plums, blackberries, and currants. Dense, low in acidity, and corpulent, it is a luscious southern Australian fruit bomb of considerable flesh and intensity. Readers seeking delicate, restrained, introspective, European-styled reds should look elsewhere. Drink it over the next 2-3 years. Two of South Australia’s leading viticulturists/winemakers are undoubtedly husband and wife Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Their goals are common sense ones of “creating fruit weight, velvety sensations, and harvesting on ripeness, not sugar readings.” Perhaps their finest accomplishment has been to prove that high quality wines can be produced at a price point that thrills most wine consumers. P.S. Perhaps another way to think of these wines is that they are XXX-rated stuff. They’re not exactly wines for those wanting finesse, lightness, restraint, or intellectual challenge. These are totally decadent homages to joy and yumminess. Or, as a friend of mine said, they are “fragrantly delicious.” Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283