Amato Vino Slankamenka Bela 2016


I do like artistic labels on wine bottles. The ones that tell a story or are visually eye-catching or that simply may help punters remember a particular brand or wine amongst the competitive crowd. I do rate this particular label from Amato Vino.

 Slankamenka Bela is an ancient white variety named after a municipality in the Vojvodina region of northern Serbia. It might sound like an expletive to some when vocalised but for the curious, its name appears to refer to the white grape from the town of Slankamen in that historic region and translates as 'salt-stone white'.   

Brad Wehr is the brains behind amongst others the Amato Vino label. He was seeking the Sicilian variety Grillo at Ricca Terra Farms in the Riverland Region. What he thought was Grillo turned out to be after DNA analysis Slankamenka Bela instead. It is the only Australian region at present growing this variety. 

The grapes from the one acre vineyard were handpicked, wild-fermented in stainless steel tanks, before bottling. Unfined and unfiltered. The wine pours a light sulphur yellow colour into the glass. 
A really interesting nose, something that knocks you back on your heels. No shortage of lift here with the aromatics. Grass, ginger, citrus, stone fruits, salami meat. 
Medium-bodied, the palate has a creamy texture underlined by honeyed, musky, yeasty, stone fruit flavours. Very fine talc-like mineral tannins wash across the tongue. 
What I like here is the fresh, funky, saline qualities and the balance between the bitter sweet spicy flavours. Apple, nashi pear, radish and pine. Lots of dry tangy flavours expressed on the finish. 
All in all, so well done and a delicious, quality wine. Go forth ! 

Jancis Robinson MW labelled the Slankamenka Bela variety "uninspiring". I think she would delete the first two letters of her assessment after tasting Brad Wehr's work on the variety ! 

A wine to bamboozle your friends. This is a great find, an exciting, refreshing and easy to enjoy wine with a point of difference.   

Source: Retail. ABV: 12.8%. Closure: Screw Cap. Price: $25.00.
Rating: 93 Points. Website: http://amatovino.com.au



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