I've had the pleasure of trying at least two previous vintages of the Olivers Taranga Fiano and I cannot recall disliking any of them. Fiano is an Italian white grape variety that originates from the Campania region in Southern Italy. A few producers in Australia make wine with Fiano but the Olivers Taranga's drop is the best I've had to date.
It has a light, pale gold like colour in the glass with an aroma and flavour that I really do struggle to reduce to other common elements. It is when writing reviews for wines like these that I wonder where the obsession lies with the majority of wine writers who stop at nothing to break down a wine into as many other elements as possible. Don't get me wrong, 9 times out of 10 you can smell and taste a wine and be reminded of another smell or taste, however every so often a wine comes along that, put simply, is unique enough to say it has a taste and aroma all of its own.
Maybe one day I'll be eating or drinking something and think 'Hey, that reminds me of Fiano!', which brings me to yet another point to ponder. If the first time you experience a particular aroma or taste should whatever you experience first become the reference point? Let's say you've never eaten a Gooseberry, then you try a wine that you're told has a taste very reminiscent of Gooseberries... you cannot be expected to pick this up if you've never had a Gooseberry! I often read wine reviews and think how wine writers seem to be the most undiscriminating eaters as some of the things they've clearly had to have smelled or eaten before goes way beyond the average man or woman's experience!
Anyway, enough of that and if I REALLY had to list some elements of this wine that you may or may not discover yourselves it was a faint almond, possibly marzipan-like aroma, and some citrus notes on the palate. Apart from that it was all pure Fiano, and a bloody good one at that!
Olivers Taranga 2012 Fiano
Price - $24 from Olivers Taranga
Region - Mclaren Vale, South Australia
Final Sip - Simply a great white wine that has impressed pretty much everyone I've introduced it to and one that I intend of having around my place regularly.
