2009 Carnival of Love

Sarah & Sparky introduce the 2009 Carnival of Love


We blend special parcels of Shiraz to produce an amazingly beautiful wine with layers of rich, voluptuous fruit and the purity that comes from great McLaren Vale grapes. Our whole family is involved in making our wines, and all the wonderful people who drink them become our friends, so we named this wine Carnival of Love, because the wines bring us together.

If you look closely you will notice that the Lefty characters are all included in the label and when you join the Carnival of Love and the Enchanted Path together, the two labels form one beautiful continuous love story.

The grapes were grown on the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale.

Barrel fermented and matured in 97% new and 3% one year old American oak.

Alc: 16%    Residual sugar: 3.8g/L     pH: 3.63

Marquis Fruit Weight (your guarantee of quality)
90%

Pairs with
Kangaroo, sirloin steak, veal chops, chocolate fondue,  fruit cake

Reviews
Wine Spectator
'Dense and chewy, but after an initial hit this backs off to let the gorgeous smoke-tinged black cherry, mulberry, dried tomato and tomato leaf flavors emerge at an almost leisurely pace. There’s a sense of refinement underneath the raw power, and the expressive finish holds on. Drink now through 2018.' - 94 points & 'Hot Wine', Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com

Wine Advocate
'The 2009 Carnival of Love is 100% Shiraz coming from a single vineyard of 9 year old vines and matured in 97% new and 3% one year American oak. Very deep garnet-purple colored, it gives intense creme de cassis, vanilla, spice, mocha and licorice notes. Crisp and firmly structured with a high level of grainy tannins, this is a full-bodied, powerful Shiraz with a great deal of ripe dense fruit giving very good persistence. It finishes seriously spicy...' - 93 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, www.erobertparker.com

Nick’s Wine Merchants
‘A stunning super saturated black purple colour with a black heart and very deep black purple hue displaying excellent glass cling. Perfumed aromas of ripe blackberry, violets, liquorice, black plums and confectionary followed by a touch of spice – a superb aromatic profile. The palate is an explosive liquid concentrate of flavour with blackberry, liquorice, dark plum, spice and confectionary completely swamping the palate followed by some blackpepper and spice characteristics on the back palate. Voluptuous texture displaying superb depth and a velvet like tannin structure. Exceptionally long aftertaste of ripe blackberry, liquorice, spice and confectionary. Stunning stuff displaying exceptional ‘fruit weight’.’ – 98 points, Nicks Wine Merchants, www.nicks.com.au

We Love Shiraz 
‘…it sang to me in the glass with enticing aromas and a complete mouth filling Shiraz experience that is without peer. I have loved this wine since its first release in 2005, which was rated 99 points. The rich dark fruit flavors and integrated tannins have hints of dark chocolate, licorice, plum, blackberries and spice. With all its power it is not overpowering. I could drink the entire bottle without pause; it's that good. The wine is not over extracted and has perfect harmony with fruit, acid and tannins. This wine will age gracefully for 20+ years but can be enjoyed immediately.’ – 98 points, Brian Pasch, www.weloveshiraz.com

Past vintages
2007 Carnival of Love - WA 96 pts; WS 95 pts and ‘9th Top Wine in the World’
                                      WS ‘Highly recommended’ and  ‘Editor's Most Exciting New Wines’
2006 Carnival of Love - WS 95 pts and ‘8th Top Wine in the World’; WA 97 pts
2005 Carnival of Love - WA 99 pts; WS 94