Jared Dixon's 2015 Jilly FIFO Barossa Valley Rosè is
orange-red in colour, extraordinary really, with a red fading to bronzed orange:
something like the robes of Buddhist monks. Shame they don't drink wine: they'd
look good with a glass of this in hand. It has a tart orange Mirella-jube
perfume with ripe, juicy mandarin at its edge. The oddity comes from its
combination of Marsanne (a white grape) with Grenache and Mataro (reds). So
it’s the Marsanne that gives it its tart-jube saltiness. With some cloudiness
from its limited interference ideology of making (basket-pressed, indigenous yeast), in the mouth it is interestingly
dry: you'd want to be near salt water when you drank it. A kind of
beach/desserty/ arid outlook would suit. Spain perhaps. The Middle-eastern
coast. Not quite with swimming-tog suitable, but loose-fitting clothes in
ecru/cream. A straw sunhat to boot. And, and yeah, sunglasses. Peanuts might be
your suitable companions. Or, because of the current penchant for salting
everything from caramel to chocolate to ice-cream, one could think about drinking
it with these three. It's a Rosé I would not say no to on a hot summer day. See
what liquorice would be like with it. I think cheese and bikkies would
underplay it. Olive, yes. Chips, not quite. But taramasalata, yes, and therefore
potentially caviar – but then, what do I know about that?
