La Boheme Wine Review – The Missing Act

CrowdInk had the opportunity to taste De Bortoli’s La Boheme The Missing Act red wine during a lovely winter afternoon in Melbourne. A stolen hour of elegance in an otherwise ordinary day, we can’t stress enough how pleasant the tasting experience was.

If you don’t usually go for a dry cabernet wine, La Boheme The Missing Act red wine from De Bortoli Wines is a great entrance into the world of reds. Although it has a heavier-bodied, nearly woody taste, it falls pleasantly on the palate and instantly inspires you to indulge in the rest of your filled glass.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with De Bortoli Wines, they are one of Australia’s most successful family owned wineries, established in 1928, with vineyards in the Yarra Valley and King Valley in Victoria and the Riverina and Hunter Valley in NSW. De Bortoli’s winemaking philosophy is “great wine begins in the vineyard.” They strongly believe that sustainable vineyard practices will be sure to deliver excellent fruit quality to their winery as well as benefiting the environment.

Winemaker, Steve Webber gives clear insight on De Bortoli’s wine process stating that “it’s about site and season, making wines with detail, texture and minerality, charm and interest. Character and personality in wine comes from the imperfections of nature.”

This is clearly delivered in De Bortoli’s La Boheme The Missing Act wine. It demonstrates fine detail, powerful texture while holding a unique charm. Looking at the bottle, you’re given a classy and elegant vibe with the Bohemian-style label displayed in a neat, fashionable order. The wine, along with others in the range, pay tribute to one of Dame Nellie Melba’s most well-known operas La Boheme, based in the character-filled Latin Quarter of 1830s Paris. It was only revealed in the 1950s that there was an act which Puccini decided not to use in his composition of La Boheme. The Missing Act describes a late night, all night open-air party, which sounds pretty good, but probably more of the same for Puccini. Hence it was never used.

La Boheme The Missing Act wine pairs perfectly with a diverse cheese platter or a selection of tapas style food while sitting in front of the fire on a chilly winter’s night.