There are some wines that, once tried, are impossible to get enough of. This is one of them. It doesn’t matter the time of day, or night, occasion or event – it always goes down well. The magic of vintage and maturation – it serenades me.

A: medium yellow of a peach

N: luscious temptress – there’s such richness and intensity of apricots, sun warmed yellow peaches, pears and nutty overtones. There’s some maturation going on with hints of caramel, brioche and lemon preserve but these are but faint suggestions of what is to, yet, come.

P: mouthwatering and grippy, with a full body of more of the same fruits but now you see that effect of lees stirring, the yogurt savoury tang, the mellow spice and the phenolic grip that somehow makes you want to chew while the acidity makes you want to drink more. Actually, this is a rather dangerous wine. It’s smooth so you almost can be forgiven for drinking too much of it in big gulps…and yet, it makes you want to savour it slowly out of a ridiculously large glass while lounging in a huge velvet chair in candle light while someone rubs your feet. Or something…

Clare Valley, Australia | 13.5% alc | $AUD 25 from Cellar Door (!)

Behind the label: TWP stands for Taylors Winemaker’s Project. It’s a range of wines bottled, if deemed drinkable by the crew, once the fun experimental stuff is done. Most wineries allow their winemakers to play with new techniques, varieties, and oak treatments during vintage on small scale. It’s useful as a teaching tool, learning tool and trials without committing yourself to something new. Sometimes, the lessons learnt are implemented. Sometimes they are just “good to know” kind of results. This is their playground.