By Michael Robinson

I flew home on Wednesday of this week after spending fourteen days driving through Napa, Sonoma, the Santa Cruz Mountains and then ending up at a wine seminar in Las Vegas.

It was here that I ordered a bottle of Molly Dooker 2011 “Two Left Feet” Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend to have with dinner. What a joy it was.

During my absence our first shipment from this little Australian winery had arrived in Bermuda and there was much excitement in the air when I walked into the office, as these wines are truly remarkable.

Molly Dooker is Aussie lingo for “left handed” and it so happens that the owners, Sarah and Sparky Marquis, are both in this category and with their team they have created the Australian winery with more Robert Parker 90+ scores than any other.

Not only have they fashioned a glorious selection of wines, but their expertise on marketing borders on genius.

Their inexpensive range, that is most suitable for supermarkets and wine shops, has labels that cannot be seen in entirety without holding the bottle and turning it. Australian research has shown that once you have your hand on the bottle the chances that you will buy it increase by 50 percent.

How often have you had a bottle of wine in a restaurant or a friend’s house and could not remember what it was?

Well Molly Dooker has a perforated section on their labels that can easily be removed for future reference.

These wines have been on my must have list for a few years but it was not until last October at the New York Wine Experience that they finally decided that they could spare some for us.

The above mentioned Two Left Feet 2011 blend is a tribute to Sparky’s dancing abilities and this exceptional vintage offer a scrumptious showing of beautiful dark berry and plum fruit with layers of chocolate and cream.

The Wine Spectator puts it this way “Polished, ripe and generous with its blackberry, mocha and sage flavours, brilliantly focused and elegantly balanced, lingering effortlessly on the seamless finish 92/100 and smart buy”. $28.60.

The grapes for their “Scooter” Merlot 2012 were bio-dynamically farmed and the name refers to Sparky’s big tyre scooter that he used to race 30km’s. The silky texture and velvety tannins along with berry and plum fruit, complimented by mocha layers add up to an amazing example of McLaren Vale Merlot. $28.60.

“Maitre D’ “2012 Cabernet Sauvignon in the words of the winemaker is “Rich, round and complex and simply awesome. It has an enticing perfumed nose of blackberry, plum, cigar box and a touch of cinnamon with overwhelming flavours of blackcurrant and dark cherry accompanied by mouth-filling layers of mocha, spice and vanilla. Amazing!” $28.60

“The Boxer” 2012 Shiraz really packs a punch, in fact you will note on the label that he is wearing two left gloves. This wine that has rated 91, 93, 94 and 95/100 over the past few years in publications, is powerful yet delicate with an enormous lift of cherry, spice and milk chocolate. $28.60.

Although we do not yet have a rating on the Molly Dooker “Carnival of Love” 2011 Shiraz I can tell you that Robert Parker gave the 2005 99/100, the 2006 97/100, the 2009 94/100 and the 2010 95/100. They do not make it every year.

To quote the owners “Our whole family is involved in making our wines and all the wonderful people that drink them become our friends, so we name this wine Carnival of Love because the wine brings us together”.

The winemaker says “This is the wine I tell my friends about.

To see the look on their faces after their first sip is priceless as Carnival of Love is the essence of Molly Dooker”.

There are only a few wines in the World that could begin to match this track record. $89.95.