A Mollydooker Moment
Bright, ecclectic labels, enchanting names, and bold flavours.
I’ve been slowly working my way through the variety of wines in the Mollydooker collection for some time. This company has the user journey nailed – from the bottle store to the bottom of the glass.
Based in McLaren Vale, the Mollydooker vineyard grows Shiraz primarily, as wells as Cabernet, Merlot, Semillon and Chardonnay. I love that their philosophy is all about bringing out the ‘wow’ factor in the wine – it’s all about character, as opposed to the quest for excellence. Labels within the Mollydooker family are bright stars among their pale rivals on the shelf, with bubbly graphics and names like ‘Two Left Feet’, ‘GigglePot’, ‘Enchanted Path’ & ‘Carnival of Love’. Furthermore, each wine has a story to tell.
The 2009 Maitre D’ Cabernet Sauvignon that you see pictured above was named after the winemaker himself (‘Sparky’), who, according to the website, put himself through winemaking college working as a left handed Maitre D’.
This wine is beautiful example of the rich, bountiful flavours produced by Mollydooker. A very sweet red, you’ll be able to taste berries, chocolate, vanilla and spice. It makes for a smoother mouthful on the second day of opening – I would recommend running this one through an aerator if you want to drink it straight away, or leave the cap off for 1/2hr so the first mouthful is as wonderful as the last.
The Maitre D’ would add heart to any meal. I enjoyed it with a slow cooked Lamb, Date & Spinach tagine, and then later with a block of dark chocolate as dessert.
If you have a few minutes to spare, take a wander through the Mollydooker website – it’s a treasure trove of information about the winery, it’s produce and the people behind it. My favourite was the story of Sparky & Sarah and how the success of their winery came to be, among other things ;)
Finally if you’re in the mood for decadence - their 2011 Velvet Glove looks divine. At $185 this is one for a special event – but it’s so beautifully packaged, I’m already thinking about the next occasion that would justify a bottle!
