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Margaret River, Gem of Western Australia

Hugh and Al agree, the Margaret River region of Australia is their favorite down under. The wines offer refinement, precision, and pleasure.

Price key: $=less than $20 $$= $20-40 $$$=$40-60 $$$$=above $60

Quality key: * = decent wine ** = very good wine *** = superb wine ****= elite

VALUE = exceptional quality for the money

Robert Oatley Chardonnay, Margaret River ’22 **1/2 $$
(Unusual nose, classic flavors, light touch of oak, very refined)

Vasse Felix “Filius” Chardonnay, Margaret River ’21 *** $$
(Everything you look for in a full-flavored chardonnay, very classy)

Howard Park Cabernet Sauvignon “Miamup”, Margaret River **1/2 $$
(Everything is built on a ¾ scale, finely crafted, very pleasurable red)

WINE OF THE WEEK:
Felix “Filius” Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River *** $$
(Superbly crafted cab sauv, intense deep fruit, mild tannins, super)

All of these wines can be purchased at Kenilworth Wine and Spirits.

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.
As General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Hugh J. Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sissons, located in Federal Hill. A fifth generation Baltimorean, Hugh has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing.