Description
A Wine Worthy of the Achievements of One of Australia’s Greatest
Introducing Maiden Tonne, a limited edition wine that is the result of a collaboration between Sanguine Estate and Australian cricketing great, Allan Border.
This exceptional wine is named for Border’s remarkable achievement of scoring a maiden Test century in 1979 against Pakistan at the MCG, validating the selectors choice for his place in the Australian team. The wine features a unique blend of some of Sanguine Estate’s best barrels of the season, expertly crafted to produce a full-bodied and rich flavor that reflects Border’s bold and uncompromising approach to the game.
With only a limited number of bottles produced and hand numbered, this will be a rare and highly coveted addition to your personal cellar. From the QR code located on the back label you can enjoy a video of Allan describing his “maiden tonne” both in terms of his illustrious cricketing career and his new wine venture.
Experience the taste of history and celebrate the legacy of a true Australian sporting hero with Maiden Tonne.
Tasting Notes
Aroma – Fruit at the fore comprising black fruits and cassis with a lovely dry herb, earthy complexity. With time in the glass, the wine keeps evolving so try to resist the temptation to finish the glass and you’ll be rewarded as the wine reveals its next layer.
Taste – A very bright and seriously good wine even in its youth and there is no doubt this wine will age well. The palate like the aroma expresses itself with black fruits, but with more plumm notes and a faint blueberry hit. The lovely dry herb character on the nose continues on the palate with a hint spice.
Mouthfeel – The tannin structure on this wine is grippy but also even throughout. A very consistent luscious mouthfeel that lingers long after the last drop is swallowed.
Conclusion – The sophisticated layering on the nose and palate together with the grippy consistent tannins are hallmarks of an age worthy wine that will benefit the patient. If you can’t wait (and we don’t blame you), it’s Allan Borders maiden wine none the less, then decanting this wine for a minimum of two hours and enjoying it with food in its youth will not disappoint.
Reviews
So, what does the artisan shiraz of an Australian cricket legend taste like?
Like most shiraz from the Heathcote region (think Jasper Hill’s Georgia Paddock), the Maiden Tonne is a dark inky hue in the glass and gives the impression of being a brooding style of temperate climate Shiraz. Give it time in a decanter to open up, then swish, swirl and splash and you’ll find ripe red fruits and dried herbs appear on the nose. Raise the glass to your pursed lips and you’ll be enchanted from the first sip. There’s more dark fruit than at Con-the Fruiter’s – think blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrant and half a tray of mulberries. And all of it ripe, energetic and in harmony. You have to admire the way that the bright fruit is respectful of the French oak support act; allowing the cedar and tannins to take the stage before mixed spice and black pepper provide a swan song that will have you calling loudly for an encore! Wow!
It’s a full-bodied wine that has the intensity of Cyclone Tracy but the grace and poise of Anna Pavlova. Voluptuous, rich and full of life, the Maiden Tonne has beautiful balance and lead-lined palate-weight, but takes longer to finish than a Led Zeppelin rendition of Stairway to Heaven!
The Sanguine “Maiden Tonne” isn’t an everyday drinking drop, and more of a collectable for oenophiles and cricket nufties alike. But supply is limited – though it might already be too late to grab one of those that are gift boxed and hand signed by AB himself!
Travis Schultz Wine reviewer (July 2023) https://travisschultz.com.au/maiden-tonne-a-collaboration-between-sanguine-estate-and-australian-cricketing-great-allan-border/
