90/100 James Halliday (2016 vintage)

Tasting Notes: Fresh, flavoursome and fun with vibrant honeysuckle, peach and freshly picked strawberry on the nose and palate. The palate sweetness is perfect balanced by soft, refreshing acid and a gentle spritz. Drink now. 

James Halliday "A creamy and fruity Moscato with a pink tint and flavours of lemonade, ginger and musk stick. It’s sweet and fruity thanks to a generous 92g/l of sugar, throwing it decidedly into dessert wine territory, and demanding a stiff chill to match." (2016 Vintage)

Marty O'Flaherty, Winemaker "I created this Moscato in the same manner as the genuine Piedmontese Moscato that I grew to appreciate whilst working in Italy."

Clearly I took some liberties given the eye-catching pink fleshy blush rather than the traditional translucent gold straw colour! I sourced the best Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes I could find, harvested at the first sign of that distinctive floral musky punch. The fruit was handled as gently as possible as was the juice in order to retain as much aromatic fruit character as possible.

Cold fermentation in pressure tank further enhanced these unique volatile characters with the ferment arrested at the traditional 5.5% v/v alcohol (permitted by law for traditional Moscato D’Asti). Being a tank ferment the spritz in the bottle is that created from the ferment in turn giving distinct mouthfeel and texture. I am sure it will be a very popular little gem, especially come summertime. Salute!" RockBare Wines completed its first vintage in 2000.

At the helm is winemaker Marty O'Flaherty, who had a successful career as a chef, culminating in leading the award-winning and acclaimed Stefano's in Mildura. While there his interest in wine-grew and he began studying winemaking at Charles Sturt University. He has since held various winemaking positions before finally landing at the helm of RockBare in 2009.

Moscato wine is famous for its sweet flavours of peaches and orange blossom. The word Moscato is Italian name for one of the oldest wine grapes in the world Muscat Blanc. Moscato are light-bodied wines with tropical fruit flavours, light bubbles and low alcohol. Perfect on its own or paired with Asian food, fish, pork and chicken.