2012 Mollydooker, The Boxer, Shiraz
Let’s go down under where the weather is 80 degrees and NO Polar Vortex! Thinking about warm weather, I came across a recently released 2012 Shiraz from Mollydooker, The Boxer, and decided to give it a try! The winery, owned by Sarah & Sparky Marquis, is located in McLaren Vale, less than an hour outside of Adelaide in Southern Australia. I would suggest that you visit the Mollydooker website as there are a number of interesting things to read and a bit about Sarah & Sparky Marquis and how Mollydooker came to be. In addition, the winery suggests that you do the “Mollydooker Shake” before you enjoy their wine (of course they have a video on their website). The winery uses nitrogen in their wine making process and reduces the amount of sulfites in order to protect the wine. According to the Winery, the use of nitrogen compresses the flavor and they suggest a “Mollydooker Shake” before enjoying the wine to release the full flavor. I will admit, I have never “shook” wine and I was not about to start now. I think its a little “goofy” to shake wine, but I guess anything goes down under. The wine tasted fine without shaking, see below.
The 2012 Mollydooker, The Boxer, Shiraz, comes from grapes grown in their McLaren Vale vineyards. The wine is barrel fermented and sits on American oak for one year, 60% new and 40% one-year old barrels. The “Boxer” pictured on the label comes from the first person who tasted the wine and exclaimed “It’s a knockout” so Sarah & Sparky Marquis named it “The Boxer”, see picture below.
Without shaking, I opened the wine and noticed a deep, dark, red color, with a powerful fruity nose and lots of ripe berries. The wine had a big bold taste that was very jammy and somewhat leathery in texture. The berry tang carried over to the finish with hints of oak flavors and traces of chocolate. Wonderful wine at an outstanding price that will not disappoint. You can pick up a bottle for less than $25.
Cheerio!