“My palate said to me: ‘What is this?’. The sweet/savoury mix provided another head-scratch,” writes wine columnist RICHARD CALVER.

It was a day of contradictions, bright sunshine, but accompanied by a bone-chilling cold wind.

And a wine tasting at Strange Alchemy, on the Kingston Foreshore, that appeared to be from an Italian winery but was distinctly Australian.

Unico Zelo wines were being poured. The name sounds unmistakably Italian, but Unico Zelo is an Australian winery based in the Adelaide Hills.

Its website says the founders deliberately chose the name in 2012 when they wanted to express their zeal for making Australian wine for Australian conditions and consumers, rather than trying to imitate European wine.

Hence the name translates to “Unique Zeal”. It’s reflective of the enthusiasm that emanates from the website’s images. 

I was told by wine agent Raelene Campbell, who was presenting the wines, that the winery produced wine for young people, aimed at the “youth” market.

She gave me a helpful reminder in relation to my assessment of the wines on taste: “Remember, you’re not 35 any more.” 

I responded by reminding her that old age was way better than the alternative. However, the price point of $25 for each of the wines was appealing to all age groups.

The first wine proffered was a Jade and Jasper Fiano 2024. It was highly perfumed and floral, with striking acidity. 

It was unlike the fianos that show a ripe pear flavour often accompanied by rich honey notes; fiano has a broad flavour spectrum.

This acid-driven wine was definitely one to have with food, I believe it would have the ability to cut through a rich Italian sauce such as a garlicky marinara. In my view, not an aperitif wine. 

The second wine was called Esoterico. This is a natural wine, orange with a hazy appearance in the glass.

Raelene told me this was a big seller and was a low-alcohol wine at around 9% ABV. 

It was highly perfumed and the moscato in the blend gave it a sweet finish with a different kind of sweetness blended in from the zibbibo grapes, which are also known as muscat of Alexandria. The highly aromatic muscat character gave me this impression of sweetness on the finish. So, I didn’t like this wine as I’m not a fan of most natural wines and my preference is for wines that don’t finish sweet unless I’m eating something like an Eton mess. 

The third wine was a Delta Blue 2022. Raelene said it was a blend of touriga nacional, about 60 per cent, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc.

It was bright in colour and had a bouquet of blackcurrant. Touriga is a Portuguese varietal and produces dry, bold red wines.

The mouthfeel of the Delta Blue was like wet slate, interesting, with a fruit finish that contained a little spice.

As with the other wines, the blend was unusual and left me scratching my head but it was my favourite of the tasting. 

The final wine on taste was labelled “Fresh A.F.”. Hmmm. It is in large part derived from Nero d’Avola grapes, but also contains around 20 per cent zibbibo.

As a result it finishes sweet, although not claggy, and has lifted aromatics on the nose. My palate said to me: ”What is this?”. The sweet/savoury mix provided another head-scratch as plum flavours were evident but as if they were under-ripe.

You can see why this might be viewed as a “fun” wine, like the boy who came from a family of failed magicians and had two half sisters: his father’s act was only sort of fun. 

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