Lots of news for you!
Vintage is early this year. We are reeling with shock because it looks as though we will be picking on March 5 and we didn’t start til the end of March last year. We are busy finishing off the accommodation for all the overseas cellar hands who come to work with us over vintage. And planning menus – we cook for the cellar team during vintage. We enjoy looking after them, and they enjoy being looked after, and in turn look after our wines, so it is a great circle.
I feel as though I have kept you waiting forever for the promised WS and WA scores and tasting 
notes for the 2010s. It’s taken longer than I thought it would, because we have been waiting for the Wine Advocate scores for our high Fruit Weight wines. So I’ve decided to just send you what we have got so far, please see below.
And we’ve just had some very exciting news that we would like to let you know about. Lisa Perrotti-Brown of The Wine Advocate has chosen the 2010 Carnival of Love to present at the Noosa International Food & Wine Festival in May this year. We are still pinching ourselves.
And then just yesterday the Carnival of Love got this fabulous write up. How incredible is that!
We have a new (well not exactly new, more like renewed) team member to introduce to you. Jenny Childers, who worked with us for a year two years ago, is coming back to help us look after our ‘Direct to Consumer’ friends in the US. Krissy, whom I know many of you know and love, is now looking after our distributors, and supporting our retailers and restaurants. But she refused to give up events and social media, so you will still see and hear from her. Krissy and Jenny are already a great team (it was Jenny who recommended Krissy to us), and they will be working closely together to provide you with the best service possible.
And we have a change in Australia too. Jacqui, our always smiley Helping Hand is leaving to go and work in the mines! Jac has worked in the vineyards, the packing shed, the rework area (she was one of the team who waxed and repacked the Velvet Gloves), reception (if you came and did a tour and had lunch with us it was Jac who picked the vegies and prepared the lunch) and then Helping Hands. So you can imagine how much we are going to miss her.
Her place is going to be taken by Millie, who has been besieging us with emails and phone calls for the last 4 months, wanting to come and join the team. She made the very smart strategic move of giving us some tomato frames for Christmas. How could we resist that? She has great skills and loves looking after people, so we are really looking forward to her being here.
We have also welcomed Lyn and David in Logistics and Corne in Finance. We have grown from 5 of us dream building round the kitchen table to more than 50 permanent team members, and there will be more than 70 working here over vintage. Amazing!
We also took Nick Whiteway on a year ago to work with the Helping Hand Team (I was going to retire, remember?), but I quickly lost him. He kept showing restaurants and retailers the wines, and coming back with orders. So we suggested he take on Australian distribution and as a result of his enthusiasm we now have Mollydooker widely available throughout Australia. This means that we get more Australian visitors to the winery, so Leigh (my tall, dark and handsome one) is doing less in vineyards and is now the Official Tour Guide, and is having the time of his life. Be sure to book in to visit if you are in the area, we love meeting you and looking after you.
Sparky and Sarah and I will be in the US next month, S+S are going ski-ing, and then Sparky is visiting our Canadian distributors, whilst Sarah and I visit Vino Seduction in Atlanta, spend a few days with Mercy Ministries (one of the US charities which is close to our hearts) in Nashville, then head to Miami, for a charity dinner and concert with Tony and Susan Bennett and the Bryan Brothers. Then onto Baltimore to Bruce Gearhart at Bacchus Imports, then LA to visit Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) at his studio. We have got an interesting project coming up with Dave – he has asked us to produce a label to coincide with the release of his new album. Stay tuned!
I think that is all for now. We have almost finished blending the 2011s. Production is just less than half of the 2010s, and the quality is looking great. We have just started earth filtering, and then we’ll do the final ‘polishing’, and then we’ll be able to give you a report.
Hugs, 
Please feel free to contact us anytime – we always love hearing from you.
By Phone: Toll Free 888 MDSHIRAZ (888.637.4472) or
By Email: helpinghand@mollydookerwines.com
Join us on 
Reviews and Scores for 2010 Wines
Wine Advocate – Lisa Perrotti-Brown
2011 The Violinist (Verdelho) – 89 pts
‘The 2011 The Violinist Verdelho presents a moderate intensity of pear and warm apple fruit aromas with hints of white pepper and fresh hay. Dry, rich, full-bodied, creamy textured and with good flavor concentration in the mouth, it has a long finish. Drink it now through 2013.’
2010 The Scooter (Merlot) – 90 pts
‘Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2010 The Scooter Merlot gives pronounced notes of warm plums, blackberry preserves, coconut and baking spices plus a whiff of toasty cedar. Ripe, concentrated and voluptuous in the mouth, it offers tons of vanilla and spice flavors, a medium level of velvety tannins, medium-high acid and a long finish. Drinking beautifully now, it should cellar to 2016+.’
2010 The Maitre D (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 90 pts
‘Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2010 The Maitre d’ Cabernet Sauvignon has notes of creme de cassis and black cherry preserves with a hint of mocha and a touch of hung meat. Full-bodied, the palate fills the mouth with warm berry and savory flavors supported by crisp acid and a medium level of fine grained tannins, finishing long. Drink it now 2017.’
2010 Two Left Feet (Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet blend) – 90 pts
‘A blend of 72% Shiraz, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Merlot, the 2010 Two Left Feet has a deep garnet-purple color and a slightly closed nose of black currant cordial, mulberries, espresso and tree bark with a whiff of bacon. Full-bodied, ripe, rich and spicy in the mouth, it has a good foundation of crisp acid and a medium level of silky tannins, finishing long. Drinking nicely now, it should keep to 2017+.’
2010 The Boxer (Shiraz) – 91 pts
‘Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2010 The Boxer Shiraz has notes of warm blackberries and blueberries with nuances of menthol, some spice cake, anise and bacon fat. Concentrated, big, rich and ripe, it offers a very spicy palate with some licorice and cumin seed coming through, supported by a medium level of velvety tannins, lively acidity and finishing very long. Drink it now to 2017+.’
Wine Spectator – Harvey Steiman
2010 The Maitre D (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 90 pts
‘A very ripe red, exhibiting a plush mouthful of creamy, coffee-accented cherry and currant fruit that lingers on the expressive, almost explosive finish. This offers depth and richness, if a bit syrupy. Drink now through 2018′.
2010 Two Left Feet (Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet blend) – 90 pts
‘Ripe, round and smoky, displaying a toasty edge to the licorice and blackberry flavours, balanced deftly against refined tannins on the open-weave finish. Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink Now through 2014′.
2010 The Boxer (Shiraz) – 89 pts
‘Fresh and vibrant, this delivers a lively mouthful of dark cherry, mocha and bay leaf flavours that linger on the firm finish. Best after 2013. Tasted twice, with consistent notes’.
2010 Gigglepot (Cabernet Sauvignon) – 91 pts ‘Ripe, rich and spicy, an effusive mouthful of black cherry, plum, coffee and smoke flavors, melding together smoothly on the finish…Best from 2013 through 2018.’
2010 Blue Eyed Boy (Shiraz) – 91 pts
‘Smooth and velvety, with depth and a distinctive range of flavors, offering a minty edge to the black cherry, plum and spice, coming together smoothly on the polished finish. Drink now through 2016.’
2010 Enchanted Path (Shiraz Cabernet) – 93 pts
‘A rich mouthful of compelling blackberry, black coffee, black cherry and black pepper flavors (see a trend here?) balances on a supple, velvety background and persists into a long and expressive finish. Just delish. Drink now through 2018.’
2010 Carnival of Love (Shiraz) – 94 pts
‘Dense, rich and distinctive, this is superplush and complex, yet also approachable, wrapping its black cherry, cassis, licorice and roasted meat flavors on a supple, velvety frame. Finishes long and creamy in texture. Drink now through 2020.’
2010 Velvet Glove (Shiraz) – 96 pts
‘Broad, ripe and generous, singing with red berry, cherry and spice flavors that join in a lusty chorus as the finish sails on and on. Has depth and power. The structure just melts into the whole package seamlessly, and the flavors seem to scale higher and higher with each sip. Drink now through 2020.’
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Mollydooker Wines | 23 Coppermine Road | McLaren Vale | SA | 5171 | Australia