From the mid-90s through 2005 you would likely find dozens of Australian wine options on the shelves of virtually every retail shop across the United States.

However, the American taste buds are fickle, and the attraction to wines from ‘Down Under’ waned, and for more than a decade there was a steady decline in Australian imports to the United States. Yellow Tail, still the #1 U.S. imported Chardonnay (as well as four other varietals), was only Australian product to continue growing its sales.

For more than a decade the American palate had been drawn to Shiraz. From Penfold’s Grange and Henschke’s Hill of Grace to Rosemont and, of course, Yellow Tail.  The sweet spicy elements of Shiraz satisfied many American consumers. However, as noted, the American palate is ever changing. The Zinfandel craze was followed by the movie Sideways and an enormous interest in Pinot Noir soon became a varietal of choice. And, while some Americans gravitated to sweet reds like South Africa’s Jam Jar and Italy’s Adesso, others rediscovered Cabernet. Americans associated Australia with Shiraz, and Shiraz  was out, and Australia was off the wine radar.

There has been recent growth in Australian imports…Americans discovered the continent produces more than Shiraz. But, one through the ups and downs one Australian wine remained consistently popular with the American market…Mollydooker.

In a recent outing to Accent on Wine, I spotted a bottle of 2016 Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz by Molly Dooker, the last vintage of Mollydooker to be bottled by the team of Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Joy and I shared it with friends visiting from New York, and in a subsequent trip I purchased another bottle…just in case I might have a ‘hankering’ for a jammy and fruit forward wine.

Mollydooker was the stepchild of the winemaking talent of Sarah and Sparky Marquis and the marketing skill of The Galloping Gourmet’s Dan Philips. The team was responsible for the producing and introducing the public to the outstanding wines of Marquis Philips. The Marquis Philips wines had a excellent 15-year run starting in the early 1990s. The wines received stunning reviews and were highly sought by consumers. Unfortunately, the principals in the enterprise had different goals. Sarah and Sparky had originally made their reputation as the team behind the highly acclaimed Fox Creek, and Dan Philips was the U.S. importer of Fox Creek.

The original goal that Sparky and Sarah had for Marquis Philips was to “produce the best bulk wine in Australia”, but the Australian wine glut of the late 1990s scuttled that plan. Instead the winemaking/marketing team decided to focus on premium wines. The Marquis’ produced the wine, Dan Philips marketed the wine, and Robert Parker loved the wine. He awarded 99 points to the 2001 and 2002 Integrity Shiraz. The team may not have intended to make ‘classic’ wines, but they certainly could.

The winery quickly grew from 8,000 to 120,000 cases in the first four years, and Dan Philips envisioned a production that would eventually reach a million cases. Sparky and Sarah balked at the number. Sarah noted, “We couldn’t do it because we’re very hands on and couldn’t physically taste that amount of wine.”

The company parted ways and Sarah and Sparky intended to take their proceeds and “roll out their own brand”. However, two issues arose.

First, the Marquis were low on cash. Second, the former partners counter-sued each other for breach of contract. The lawsuit was settled in 2007, following the withdrawal of allegations by Philips, without the plaintiffs going to court, and for terms that were undisclosed.

Philips intended to continue the Marquis Philips brand, but that venture was recently abandoned

Sparky and Marquis formed Mollydooker. The name evolved from the term for the Australian term for ‘left-handed. Both Sparky and Sparky are left-handed.

The Mollydooker wines which were highly extracted, high in alcohol, offered fruit-forward flavor profiles, intriguing packaging, and user-friendly prices, were an immediate hit with both American reviewers (particularly Robert Parker), and with the American public. The first Mollydooker inventory sold out in just 19 days. Interestingly, Australian reviewers were not as kind in reviewing the Mollydooker efforts (especially in relation to alcohol level). The winery struggled through a difficult financial period in 2014, but it has survived and now enjoys a robust following.

Mollydooker survived the lawsuits and financial insecurity. Unfortunately, the marriage of Sparky and Sarah did not. They separated in 2015, and in early 2017 Sarah took controlling interest of the winery. She owns 116 acres of vineyards in the extraordinary McLaren Vale and manages another 150 acres in the area. She has retained the services of both the Mollydooker vineyard manager and chief winemaker. Sarah guarantees that Mollydooker wines will continue to exhibit the flavor profile that has defined the portfolio since its inception. Total cases produced exceed 80,000.

Sparky’s future is unclear.

The Mollydooker wines continue to feature fruit over tannin, and the ABV often exceeds 16%. The vineyards are still managed by a unique and carefully timed irrigation program, and the Marquis Fruit Weight standard is still critical. The ‘Fruit Weight’ focuses on “the percentage of your palate that’s covered by the velvety sensation of fruit, before you experience any of the structural components of the wine”. A wine “must have at least 60% Fruit Weight in order to considered as a Mollydooker”.

The winery ‘works closely with coopers to achieve very specific flavor profiles”. They use a blend of French and American Oak and various levels of toasting with a “mixture of medium and fine grains”. Wines are ‘generally’ aged for a total of eight months of “achieve complexity and balance”.

Mollydooker, concerned about the loss of virtually one bottle of every 12 due to cork taint, became one of the first wineries to shift to screwcaps for wines at every price point. Mollydooker uses screwcaps on 10 of their wines, including the ‘flagship’, “Velvet Glove”.

And, don’t forget the ‘Mollydooker Shake’. Most wineries use small amounts of sulfides to stabilize their product, but Mollydooker uses nitrogen, and as a result the flavors are compressed. While the impact of the nitrogen dissipates in an older wine, if you are opening a young red (up to two years old), pour a little in a glass, replace the screw cap and shake the bottle. It works…

So, back to The Blue Eyed Boy.

Aged in 100% American oak (mostly new), the wine offers dark color, dark fruit dominated by blueberry and dark cherry, and a finish that is dominated by chocolate tones. This is a full-bodied wine that achieved an 80% Marquis Fruit Weight. Approximately 7,000 cases of a wine that markets recent vintages north of $40 is available in virtually every U.S. market.

Sarah Marquis and Mollydooker have traveled a difficult and twisted road over the past 15 years. However, they have both survived and wine drinkers are the better for it.