I already posted a bit about Marlargo, an Australian boutique winery, here. Marlargo is essentially doing custom bottling of local Australian varietals. Both of these wines retail for about about $20.00 a bottle; I purchased them for $2.99 a bottle at a local bargain grocery store. I suspect that the amazing price is because both wines are near end-of-life in terms of drinkability. I've enjoyed all of the Marlargo wines I've tried; these are no exception, and given the current late-summer-about-to-be-fall, I plan on enjoying summer cuisine and wine as long as possible before turning to autumn's more robust reds.

Marlargo 2005 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc

This particular wine won a silver at the 2007 Houston International Wine Competition, and bronzes at the 2006 and 2007 New Zealand International Wine Show. The wine is a very pale yellow, with a slight green undertone, the classic Cabernet Sauvignon coloring. It's a very enjoyable, drinkable wine, with the characteristic "crisp" quality associated with Sauvignon Blancs. Its aroma is light, and citrusy, and there's something tangy and citrusy in the taste as well, with a slight hint of green apple. It's a wine that you could easily drink on its own, but that is quite lovely with summer seafood and Asian style dishes. Again, it's a little hard to believe it's 13.0% ABV.

Marlargo 2006 Yarra Valley Chardonnay

This wine won a silver medal at the 2006 International Chardonnay Challenge, New Zealand, and another at the 2007 Houston International Wine Competition. It's a lovely pale golden yellow. The aroma is a bit like pears on first opening. It's quite different from either Washington or California Chardonnays. It's my first Australian Chardonnay, so I don't know how typical it is for Australia. Victoria's Yarra Valley is very well known for "cool climate" wines like Chardonnay, and their Chardonnay vines are so highly thought of that a fair amount of business is done with France, who buys raw grape juice directly from the vineyards. The Yarra Valley has over a hundred years of viticulture. Chardonnay is one of those wines that the terroir makes a tremendous difference, as does the fermentation and post-processing. This is very light and fruity, and just slightly acidic, with flavors of both pear and grapefruit. It's difficult to remember that this wine 13.8% ABV. It's also a wine that while lovely on its own, was quite different with food.