Mollydooker 2017 "The Boxer" Shiraz South Australia 750ml

"Mollydooker" is old Australianslang for a left-handed person —specifically, a left-handed boxer. Thelabel shows a boxer with two leftgloves. The brand's founding philosophyis summarized in sixwords: "punches well above its FruitWeight™." The Fruit Weight™ — thepercentage of the palate coveredby the velvety sensation of fruitbefore any structural component arrives— is the specificproprietary concept that Sarah andSparky Marquis built their entirewinemaking philosophy around, thebelief that a wine atany price should coat the palate withfruit first and let everything elsefollow. Mollydooker has appeared eighttimes on Wine Spectator'sTop 100 list. The Boxer is theentry point to understanding why.

The2017 is now eight yearsold — well into the drinking windowthat the moststructured and the most concentratedSouth Australian Shiraztakes several years to open. RobertParker found it at release: "attractivespice and herb shadings appear on thenose — peppermint, dark chocolate andlicorice all bring nuance to the darkberry fruit. Full-bodiedand ripe at 16% alcohol, it'snevertheless a relatively tame,well-behaved beast, with supple tanninsand an easygoing, silky finish." WineSpectator found it "robust, withcaramel and amaretto to the bold berry,cherry and cassis flavors. Toasty andspicy on the long finish." At eightyears, the peppermint and licorice haveintegrated further, the tannins havesoftened, and the cassis and dark berryfruit has taken on the secondarycomplexity that McLaren Vale Shiraz atits finest develops over time. TheBoxer, 2017, now fully in its prime.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Sarah and Sparky Marquis founded Mollydookerin 2005 in the McLaren Vale — the SouthAustralian wine region situatedon a peninsula south of Adelaide, whose combination of maritime influence from Gulf St. Vincent, deep clay-loam and sandy soils over limestone, and the specific continental warmth of the Australian summer produces Shiraz of extraordinary concentration, deeply saturated color, and the unmistakably full-bodied richness that has made McLaren Vale Shiraz one of the world's most recognized and the most enthusiastically collected regional red wine styles. Mollydooker quickly became one of the region's most celebrated producers — its wines among the most fruit-concentrated, the most generously textured, and the most immediately accessible of any McLaren Vale producer at their respective price points.

The Boxer draws from multiple estate and contracted vineyards across two South Australian regions: thecore McLaren Vale parcels — CoppermineRoad, Long Gully Road, Fragos, Ryan'sRoad, Seaview, Reedy Creek, HawthornRidge, Booths and Martins Roadvineyards — complemented by Birchmoreand Joppich vineyard sources inLanghorne Creek, the cooler,lake-moderated sub-region east ofMcLaren Vale whose slightly coolertemperatures add freshness andstructure to the McLaren Vale's moregenerously warm primary fruitcharacter.

The production method isthe most specificallyMollydooker-distinctive and the mostspecifically Fruit Weight™-focused inthe range: barrel fermentation — thewine fermented directly in American oakbarrels rather than in stainless steeltanks, giving the fruit and the oakmore complete and more intimate contactfrom the very beginning of thealcoholic fermentation rather than onlyduring the subsequent aging period.Matured in 100% American oak — 45% newbarrels, 25% one-year-old, and 30%two-year-old — the American oakcontributing the most specificallyvanilla, caramel, and coconut-adjacentsecondary qualities that the FruitWeight™ philosophy uses to amplify andsoften the dark berry fruit's naturalconcentration. The 2017 vintage's 16%ABV is confirmed across multiplesources — high by almost any standard,but managed through the supple tanninsand the easygoing silky finish thatParker specifically noted as the wine'smost surprisingly approachable quality.

Critics Reviews

Robert Parker Wine Advocate — 89 Points (2017):
"Attractive spice and herbshadings appear on the nose ofMollydooker's 2017 The Boxer Shiraz.Peppermint, dark chocolate and licoriceall bring nuance to the dark berryfruit. Full-bodied and ripe (16%alcohol), it's nevertheless arelatively tame, well-behaved beast,with supple tannins and an easygoing,silky finish."

Wine Spectator — 88 Points (2017):
"Robust, with notes of caramel andamaretto to the bold berry, cherry andcassis flavors. Toasty and spicy on thelong finish."

CellarTracker Community — 89.0/100 (57 user reviews, 92% positive):
"Deeppurple in color. Blueberries. Rich,chocolate, cherry, some tartness butmild. Wonderful. Still a deep purple incolor — went amazing."

Mollydooker official winemaker's notes (The Boxer program):
"Alluring andunashamedly bold Shiraz with hints ofspiced plums, blackberry jam and cherryall at the fore,finishing with coffee cream, licoriceand vanilla. Full-bodied withvibrant berry fruit characteristics yetelegant with restrained tanninsresulting in a softmouthfeel."

8Wines EU (2017 confirmed):
"Richlylayered wine with a generous full body,firmtannins, punchy dark fruit flavours anda very long finish with hints of blackpepper and sweet spice."

Wine Spectator Top 100 recognition (program-wide):
Mollydooker has featuredeight times on Wine Spectator's Top 100list.

Tasting Profile

Nose
Deep, saturated purple — eightyears of South Australian maturationproducing a color of extraordinaryrichness and density that communicatesthe 16% ABV and the McLaren Vale fruitconcentration simultaneously. The noseopens with the specific combinationthat Robert Parker identified mostmemorably for the 2017: attractivespice and herb shadings lead before thedark berry fruit arrives — thepeppermint note most specifically andthe most uniquely South AustralianMcLaren Vale secondary aromatic, addingthe most memorably unusual and the mostdistinctly cool-menthol dimension thatAustralian Shiraz from this appellationproduces most characteristically. Darkchocolate and licorice follow with thedeepest and the most specificallyAmerican oak-derived secondaryaromatics. The blackberry jam andspiced plums arrive with the fullconcentration of the McLaren Vale'sgenerously warm growing season. Cherryadds vivid red fruit brightness.Blueberries add the most specificallyfresh and the most precisely dark berrysecondary dimension. Coffee cream addsthe most satisfying and the mostspecifically barrel-fermented secondaryaromatic. Caramel and amaretto add themost warm and the mostAmerican-oak-characteristic secondarysweetness. At eight years old, thepeppermint has integrated furtherinto the dark fruit matrix — the nosemore specificallyharmonious and more completelydeveloped than at release.

Palate
Full-bodied, generous, andpunching well above its FruitWeight™ — the most specificallyMollydooker-branded and the mostimmediately communicative qualitycharacterization for a wine whosemost impressivequality at 16% ABV is how approachableand how silky it actually is on thepalate. The Fruit Weight™ arrives atentry: the dark berry fruit coveringthe palate before any structuralcomponent arrives — the barrelfermentation and the American oakprogram's most specifically and themost completely fruit-forwardcontribution to the palate. Bold berry,cherry, and cassis flavors carrythrough with the robustness that WineSpectator identified — vivid,concentrated, and entirely confident.Caramel and amaretto from the Americanoak add the most indulgent secondarysweetness alongside the dark fruit.Spiced plums and blackberry jam add themost generously ripe and the mostspecifically McLarenVale-characteristic primary flavors.The tannins are supple at eight years —firm enough to provide structuralconfidence but easygoing enough to begenuinely and immediately approachable,Parker's "relatively tame, well-behavedbeast" characterization confirmed andnow even more accurate after eightadditional years of bottle development.

Finish
Long, toasty, and spiced.Black pepper and sweet spice carry theclose most persistently from the 8Winescharacterization's most enduringlyaccurate description. Coffee, licorice,and vanilla follow from the winemaker'sown finish note. Toasty American oakand cassis linger in the WineSpectator's most specificallyidentified close. The 16% ABV warmthprovides a genuine and sustained close— entirely at home given theconcentration of fruit that haspreceded it throughout the palateexperience.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

The 16%ABV, generous tannins, and dark fruitconcentration make The Boxer one of themost specifically red meat-alignedwines in the Blackwell's section:

• Grilled ribeye and prime cuts — thedark fruit and pepper finding theirmost natural counterpart
• Beef stewand braised short rib — the licoriceand dark chocolate adding depth toslow-cooked preparations
• Roasted game — venison, wild boar,lamb rack
• Smoked brisket — theAmerican oak's caramel and vanillaaligning with the smoke
• Aged hard cheeses — sharp cheddar, agedGouda