Hi Guys,
I checked the recent topics of discussion in this forum and I couldn't see a topic revolving around the Mollydookers. JH and his 'add 5 points' remark has certainly caused a big stir on American forums so I thought I'd start a thread here to get an Australian perspective.
Personally, I've tried last vintage Mollydooker as well 06 Boxer and I don't like them. Not that I feel they are terrible wines 'cause they're not but they're not to my liking and I tend to agree with JH on this one. I found the Boxer too sweet and rich. And the whole label / marketing thing really doesn't grab me either. For me it's just way over the top, in your face, grab your reaction type stuff. Good marketing will help sell good wine but to me this is just blatant marketing first and wine second. Maybe I'm missing something, I don't know.
My reaction it has, my wallet it doesn't.
Your thoughts,
Dr - 307.
Mollydooker - Who's tried them and what do you reckon?
Mollydooker - Who's tried them and what do you reckon?
"No need to over-analyse. Good tish is good tish!" - Dr 307.
I tried a few last month, these were my notes. Note: i tasted them over a couple of days.
Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz 2006: $25, grapes sourced from McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Padthaway. Blackish purple in colour, this packs 16.0% alcohol which is masked by an exotic and rich aroma of dark black fruit. Smooth into the mouth, it's got a very dense flavour of sweet spice and plummy fruitcake. The downside is that the aftertaste is very blunt, disappearing rather quickly. Again, there was no overt heat from the alcohol, and overall the 2005 was more impressionable. Incidentally, because it's such a brute, I found it better to drink from a broad-rimmed glass like the Reidel Cab/Merlot glasses.
Day 2: Tame light nose of violets and blackberries, but the alcohol is starting to stand out front and centre. Hints of liquorice amongst the plum flavours and maybe a touch of rose syrup right at the end of it all. The aftertaste is still disappointing, lacking the oomph that I was so looking forward to. Stick to the 2005, but I do have one bottle put aside for the distant future as I think this should keep very well and would be a very interesting project to revisit in 7-8 years time. 89/100.
Mollydooker Scooter Merlot 2006: $25, grapes from Padthaway and McLaren Vale. Straight off, this purplish-red drink which bags 15.5% alcohol is very unfriendly, nothing on the nose but harsh alcohol vapours. Another fruity broth, but dominated by alcohol heat. The good thing? This isn't heat-affected cask wine. (At this point, I had scribbled '80?' into my notes)
Day 2: Wow?! What a massive difference 24 hours has made. Clean lovely nose of blueberries and dark cherries. The alcohol has managed to dissipate. Silky smooth into the mouth, there is a sharp bite on the front with plummy flavours, finished with an oaky touch. Elegant with a weighty finish. 87-88/100.
Mollydooker Maitre D Cabernet Sauvignon 2006: $25, a mix from Padthaway and Langhorne Creek. Savoury nose with wafts of harsh and unfriendly alcohol. A strong liquorice flavour doesn't cover up the strong alcohol heat that lingers. Nothing much here. (Notes scribbled '75-80')
Day 2: Wow! Bursting with lush aromas of violets and plum. What a great transformation from the day before! Silky smooth into the mouth, good spicy plum flavours with the aftertaste lingering on the back palate. However, still a slight touch of heat on the finish. 88/100.
Mollydooker Two Left Feet 2006: $25. A 16.0% blend of shiraz(68%), Merlot(17%) and Cabernet Sauvignon(15%) from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Langhorne Creek. Did not taste on the first day. Day 2: Such a dark drink, with notes of vanillin oak and a touch of dark berries. Quite big in flavour, but again it doesn't seem to have it's own personality and is quite uniform with the rest of the wines. There is still a big issue of alcohol heat which refuses to blow away. 86-88/100.
Mollydooker Blue Eye Boy Shiraz 2006: $50, Named after the Marquis' son, Luke, shiraz is sourced from Padthaway, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale. Did not taste on the first day. Day 2: Ouch! All this alcohol is really starting to get on my nerves and putting me off! It's burns your nose and engulfs the mouth, masking almost all the flavours. I then let the wine sit in the glass for 30mins, blew into the glass to expel the residual alcohol and managed to get a whiff of toastiness, raspberry liquorice and a tail of rice broth. But that's simply too much work for a drink of this price. 82-84/100.
Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz 2006: $25, grapes sourced from McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and Padthaway. Blackish purple in colour, this packs 16.0% alcohol which is masked by an exotic and rich aroma of dark black fruit. Smooth into the mouth, it's got a very dense flavour of sweet spice and plummy fruitcake. The downside is that the aftertaste is very blunt, disappearing rather quickly. Again, there was no overt heat from the alcohol, and overall the 2005 was more impressionable. Incidentally, because it's such a brute, I found it better to drink from a broad-rimmed glass like the Reidel Cab/Merlot glasses.
Day 2: Tame light nose of violets and blackberries, but the alcohol is starting to stand out front and centre. Hints of liquorice amongst the plum flavours and maybe a touch of rose syrup right at the end of it all. The aftertaste is still disappointing, lacking the oomph that I was so looking forward to. Stick to the 2005, but I do have one bottle put aside for the distant future as I think this should keep very well and would be a very interesting project to revisit in 7-8 years time. 89/100.
Mollydooker Scooter Merlot 2006: $25, grapes from Padthaway and McLaren Vale. Straight off, this purplish-red drink which bags 15.5% alcohol is very unfriendly, nothing on the nose but harsh alcohol vapours. Another fruity broth, but dominated by alcohol heat. The good thing? This isn't heat-affected cask wine. (At this point, I had scribbled '80?' into my notes)
Day 2: Wow?! What a massive difference 24 hours has made. Clean lovely nose of blueberries and dark cherries. The alcohol has managed to dissipate. Silky smooth into the mouth, there is a sharp bite on the front with plummy flavours, finished with an oaky touch. Elegant with a weighty finish. 87-88/100.
Mollydooker Maitre D Cabernet Sauvignon 2006: $25, a mix from Padthaway and Langhorne Creek. Savoury nose with wafts of harsh and unfriendly alcohol. A strong liquorice flavour doesn't cover up the strong alcohol heat that lingers. Nothing much here. (Notes scribbled '75-80')
Day 2: Wow! Bursting with lush aromas of violets and plum. What a great transformation from the day before! Silky smooth into the mouth, good spicy plum flavours with the aftertaste lingering on the back palate. However, still a slight touch of heat on the finish. 88/100.
Mollydooker Two Left Feet 2006: $25. A 16.0% blend of shiraz(68%), Merlot(17%) and Cabernet Sauvignon(15%) from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Langhorne Creek. Did not taste on the first day. Day 2: Such a dark drink, with notes of vanillin oak and a touch of dark berries. Quite big in flavour, but again it doesn't seem to have it's own personality and is quite uniform with the rest of the wines. There is still a big issue of alcohol heat which refuses to blow away. 86-88/100.
Mollydooker Blue Eye Boy Shiraz 2006: $50, Named after the Marquis' son, Luke, shiraz is sourced from Padthaway, Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale. Did not taste on the first day. Day 2: Ouch! All this alcohol is really starting to get on my nerves and putting me off! It's burns your nose and engulfs the mouth, masking almost all the flavours. I then let the wine sit in the glass for 30mins, blew into the glass to expel the residual alcohol and managed to get a whiff of toastiness, raspberry liquorice and a tail of rice broth. But that's simply too much work for a drink of this price. 82-84/100.
-
KMP
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: Sat Apr 17, 2004 4:02 am
- Location: Expat, now in San Diego, California
- Contact:
From what Sparky Marquis has said 90% of the Mollydooker wines are sold into the US and about 5% in Oz. Even though the wines are controversial, I don’t think they have any problem selling them. The only wine I still see on the shelves is the Sparkling Shiraz, and that may be explained by the fact that Sparkling Shiraz is simply not a wine style that has grabbed the US consumer.
From what I have read and seen the Mollydooker approach is all about selling wine, and both Sparky and Sarah seem to spend a lot of time doing that. I don’t recall any websites, apart from the Mollydooker site, where you can request to host a tasting of a producer’s wines! The bottle labels don’t excite me that much, but they are distinctive.
I haven’t tasted many of their 2006 wines, just the Boxer; not up the level of the 2005. But I do have the 2006 Two Left Feet, Blue Eyed Boy, Carnival of Love, and Goosebumps (Sparkling Shiraz) waiting to be tasted. Am I going to spend $175USD to taste the 2006 Velvet Glove? No!
If you are looking for refinement and elegance in wine then you don’t need to look to the Mollydooker wines. But the response to these wines is interesting. In the past, when we had a gathering at our house, I would go around asking people what they would like to drink but that just gets tiresome because many don’t know past “I like redâ€Â. So these days I put out several wines for people to taste and make their own decision about which red they want!! The more forward the flavors, the more stuffing on the palate, the faster the wine disappears. I’ve even had people turn down bloody good Pinot Noir in favor of a glass of Mollydooker or Marquis Philips Shiraz!
Mike
From what I have read and seen the Mollydooker approach is all about selling wine, and both Sparky and Sarah seem to spend a lot of time doing that. I don’t recall any websites, apart from the Mollydooker site, where you can request to host a tasting of a producer’s wines! The bottle labels don’t excite me that much, but they are distinctive.
I haven’t tasted many of their 2006 wines, just the Boxer; not up the level of the 2005. But I do have the 2006 Two Left Feet, Blue Eyed Boy, Carnival of Love, and Goosebumps (Sparkling Shiraz) waiting to be tasted. Am I going to spend $175USD to taste the 2006 Velvet Glove? No!
If you are looking for refinement and elegance in wine then you don’t need to look to the Mollydooker wines. But the response to these wines is interesting. In the past, when we had a gathering at our house, I would go around asking people what they would like to drink but that just gets tiresome because many don’t know past “I like redâ€Â. So these days I put out several wines for people to taste and make their own decision about which red they want!! The more forward the flavors, the more stuffing on the palate, the faster the wine disappears. I’ve even had people turn down bloody good Pinot Noir in favor of a glass of Mollydooker or Marquis Philips Shiraz!
Mike
I just arrived from a MollyDooker tasting here in Chicago and was very proud (as an australian myself) that Sparky and Sarah are doing really well here.
Although I did not take any notes, I really enjoyed The Maitre D, The Blue Eye Boy and the Enchanted Path. All these wines are very well balanced and attractive.
The Velvet Glove is another chapter IMHO, it is an "hors concours" wine, very complex, well balanced, very elegant, second to no other shiraz that I had before. This wine will certainly stand beside other great super premium australian wines.
Sparky is a true-blue bloke and, with his energy, he captivates the audience and pass some information about each of his wines and also some glints of the aussie way of life. He is specially proud of Sarah and her wine-making skills, and that says a lot about the bloke.
Good on you, mate.
Although I did not take any notes, I really enjoyed The Maitre D, The Blue Eye Boy and the Enchanted Path. All these wines are very well balanced and attractive.
The Velvet Glove is another chapter IMHO, it is an "hors concours" wine, very complex, well balanced, very elegant, second to no other shiraz that I had before. This wine will certainly stand beside other great super premium australian wines.
Sparky is a true-blue bloke and, with his energy, he captivates the audience and pass some information about each of his wines and also some glints of the aussie way of life. He is specially proud of Sarah and her wine-making skills, and that says a lot about the bloke.
Good on you, mate.
Glowing words indeed. A change from the usual mix of hammering these wines receive. I've never tried them myself, and I must say they aren't exactly in my preferred flavour profile. Nonetheless, would be keen to see what all the fuss is about.
Cheers
Wayno
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
Wayno
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
