Cullen Amber

I was looking forward to tasting the unusual 2014 Cullen Amber wine. I have sometimes lamented the fact that wines do not have enough personality. Well, this wine is certainly different. It is a blend of two thirds Semillon, one third Sauvignon Blanc, but it does not taste anything like the typical Margaret River blend of these grapes. The wine is made like a red wine and sees 4 months of oak. 'Amber' might suggest this is an 'orange' wine, but this is not true either. While the grapes come from biodynamic vineyards, the wine is (lightly) fined in the winery to give it stability. So what is it like?

The colour is a deep gold of great purity. The nose does not give much away. On the palate, this is a full-bodied wine. It carries quite a punch. The high alcohol (15%) gets absorbed by the fruit and oak, though, and is not especially noticeable. Nor are the fruit flavours very pronounced. This wine is very dry, and has some similarity to a sherry or some white Rhone wines. It is about  texture and balance. I am not quite sure what the best occasion for this wine would be, but lobster or crayfish would go well with it. It will be interesting to see what age will do to this wine. I will certainly try it again.

Score: 91/+++