Last updated OCTOBER 30   -2008   

Grape Vine

Having just returned from a visit into the Orange and Cowra wine regions of New South Wales I am absolutely sold on the wines which are currently being crafted by passionate  winemakers.

Take Angullong as an example.  Their 2008 Fossil Hill Pinot Gris feature the best fruits from the district.  It is nothing short of being simply fantastic with crisp pear and citrus flavours.  It must be something to do with the fossilised soils which are rich with remnants of ancient creatures which lived here when the area was covered by the inland sea.

That and the long cool ripening period ensured the fruits developed gracefully giving rewards of a natural acid and flavour balance.  Ideal to drink now and should cellar well through 2011.

I tasted the Pino Gris at Angullong’s recently opened cellar door and tasting room in historic Millthorpe, located on the foothills of Mount Canobolas.  It is a winner at $20, as is their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($15), further proof that the cooler climates of the region really do suit these whites.

It is a beauty !!!!    Take my word for it.   Can't wait for 5-00pm when I give it another taste.   It must be 5-00pm SOMEWHERE !

Mr and Ms popularity.  That’s the best way to describe the acceptance of Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chardonnay 2007.  Mr and Ms Reliable is another valid expression when addressing this wine.

I love the fact that it is still priced to suit most budgets, not to overlook the consistently high quality fruit which has been selected for this multi region and multi vineyard blend.

For those Chardonnay drinkers who seek quality and value I reckon this wine is unbeatable.

The six months it spent in French Oak is a godsend to those Chardonnay drinkers who have been missing out on their hint of oak.

Peter Gago, chief winemaker at Penfolds suggests a perfect match with country style chicken and vegetable pie.

The recommended retail price is $15.99.

I just love the taste of the Capel Vale Debut Unwooded Chardonnay 2008.   This little gem is part of a line-up of eight vintages released by the company.

This is indeed a top white from the West.   The fruit is from the cool climate region of south western Australia and there’s been some magic at work in the winery. 

There’s no doubt that this Chardonnay is one of the most  popular exports from the west.    Price-wise also offers encouragement to at least give it a try.  Sampled once and ten to one you will return for a second glass.   The rrp is $17.95.

The aroma is spicy pear and the palate a delightful mix of citrus and stone fruits. 

There are plenty of labels around these days, however, the Capel Vale product spells quality and flavour, it is a wine of which one can confidently bring to a byo function, but guard it carefully. 

Try with lamb shanks, pasta or veal.    This wine should be available at most bottle shops, including independent outlets.

Spanish wine?  Ole.    Travellers to Spain will be well aware of the delights associated with the national wine, namely Tempranillo.  

The Clare Valley of South Australia is now the home of this red, a wine which has long been the backbone of the Spanish wine industry.

Most things in Spain are on the spicy side and the Tim Adams 2006 Reserve Tempranillo is no different, with its spicy and savoury finish. 

Match it with roast pork and that should be enough to send you off to Spanish language classes.  It also is quite at home as an accompaniment with a tasty meat pizza, or in fact by the glass for that after-work aperitif.  Tim Adams  suggests careful cellaring for up to six or seven years.

The 2006 Reserve Tempranillo is another fine wine to come out of the Watervale vineyards of Tim Adams Wines in  Clare.

A TOP WINE !

When grapes for a wine have been hand picked chances are that the wine world will be a touch excited as it awaits the release of that particular vintage.    Excitement has  certainly been experienced with the release of the Shaw and Smith 2007 M3 chardonnay, where Adelaide Hills grapes have been carefully selected for what is a superb drink.

The M3 is a superb blend of three different chardonnay cultivars including Bernard selections from Burgundy.

The Adelaide Hills is one of the nation’s coolest wine regions and whilst quantities may have been somewhat reduced for this vintage, rest assured the quality has been increased.

Full of flavour and therefore this wine drinker is full of praise.     Cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith should be absolutely delighted with the high rate of acceptance by lovers of a good chardonnay.  It’s not just good, - it’s brilliant and should remain that way into mid 2013 with careful cellaring. 

At times wine labels which are just too clever may be an attempt to cover the inadequacies of what is inside the bottle.

This word of warning does not relate to the  terrific product  with the fun-loving Fifth Leg from Western Australia.  Each year  the Devils Lair Fifth Leg dog celebrates the arrival of each vintage with a quirky adventure.  With the 2006 Fifth Leg Red our little mate is in golfing mode.

It may have been introduced as an attention getter, and it really works.  Check the label and then the contents.  The nose should experience fruitiness with berry aromas and the flavours are a mix of fruit cake, spice, chocolate and hints of oak.  The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz.

This red has been around for a few months and is a drink-now wine. It’s been a big seller at around $21.  In fact, Fifth Leg Red has been the number one selling Western Australian bottled red.

Food mix is a matter of personal preference, although  this red is quite versatile, from roasts to Peking duck.

The Clare has done it again, with another award winner released to the public.  This time it’s the Taylors family.

I have long been a keen supporter of their chardonnay and the 2002 Taylors St Andrews Clare Valley chardonnay is way up there in terms of quality, aroma and taste.

Those in command have gone through the various processes with the utmost of care.  

Imagine a combination of ripe peach and pineapple, along with cashews and honey with these aromas adding support to the expectation of another good wine from the Clare.

Then move to the taste test and immediately melon comes to the fore, along with a touch of butterscotch.

It is just right to drink today, or if you can manage it, carefully cellar until 2010.

The commitment to bottling all its products under screw cap continues, in fact Taylors went totally screw cap in 2004.  The wine company is still family owned and operated  and that’s been the case  since it was founded by Bill Taylor in 1969.

G'DAY DOWIE DOOLE

When the wine industry claims global warming and climate change impacts on their industry, then we wine drinkers have been put on notice.

Droughts, record hot spells with short term vintages have been the order of the day for the past couple of years.

One McLaren Vale winemaker encourages his industry in taking measures to work towards sustainability.   and that is precisely what is happening at the Dowie Doole winery.

In fact, the 2007 vintage boasts true quality, albeit reduced in quantity.

A blend of merlot, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon from locally grown grapes has provided the company with this 2007  merlot which drinks so well right now and will continue providing pleasure for the next few years.

Colour is mid-purple, with an aromatic nose and a medium bodied palate offering a very smooth after-taste making for an experience which will long be remembered.

This is a merlot which wins in every department and from personal experience, try it with any Moroccan lamb dish,- a natural partner.  Its  recommended retail price is AUD$25     

JIM BARRY

THREE LITTLE PIGS

I recently spent an hour or two with winemaker Peter Barry, enjoying a tasting session with Clare Valley products. The  Jim Barry Wines label is synonymous with good quality wines. 

The Clare Valley is noted for its success in producing both reds and whites.  Of recent times the Barry family has encouraged use of humour with those labels.   Take the Three Little Pigs 2004 Shiraz Cabernet Malbec, a blend which Peter says goes so well with pork.   He should know because he’s had an association with pigs on the property for some years.  This followed a trip to Spain where he was introduced to air-cured prosciutto.  Part of his home cellar has been converted to further that interest.

This has led Peter and his team to the point of producing a perfect wine to accompany pork dishes, particularly pork spare ribs.

Three Little Pigs is generous with its bouquet and palate, fruits of blackberry and plum.

A top wine which I believe to be well priced at AUD$19.50 rrp.

AND, ORANGE

Orange gets a mention from me quite frequently these days, and for any wine loving person that’s quite understandable, as that region of New South Wales is getting a name for itself.

It’s an awakening wine region, with names such as Climbing Wines getting placement in independent liquor stores around Australia.

Their latest is a 2007 Climbing Pinot Gris which sells for $19.99.  It’s a favourite not only amongst wine drinkers but also with the winemaking team which is led by Philip Shaw and Debbie Lauritz.

The high altitudes of the Orange district certainly has some affect on the final product.     It may still be regarded as a boutique region, but that’s fine by me because it adds yet another layer of interest.   Things 'boutique' grab the attention,- there’s something classy about being boutique.

The taste buds will be working overtime with this, the second Pinot Gris vintage.

There are indeed some very good wines coming out of Orange,..and in my opinion, this is one of them.

JIM BARRY - A SALUTE TO CHAMPIONS

The team at Jim Barry Wines are not only wonderful winemakers but they show real innovation when it comes to labelling their product.  I refer today to the First X1  Cabernet Sauvignon, a salute to the legends of Australian cricket.  The best of the best.

The Jim Barry Cab Sav is a wine made of and for champions.

Fruit from the Coonawarra has provided the wherewithal for the production of a truly fine wine.

The colour is appealing, a deep claret. The palate is rich and vibrant,   Quite apart from the  colour, the nose and the flavour I was sold as soon as I saw the label, .simplistic in design,  and the look of class.

It’s a product of 2005 and continues the Jim Barry tradition of procuring the wine in only exceptional years.  This in fact is the first since 2000.It’s top of the range and the price is likewise, - $60rrp.    But then, it is a classic,.. and one to choose for any salutation.

Rather dubious Chateau Cardboard  wines are being replaced by cask wines of a different quality.   Now be honest!   There have been only a handful of drinkable cask wines over the past decade or so. 

That is until a new kid on the block came of age. I refer to a range of wines from Beelgara.  The range includes sq3 2006 Cabernet Merlo, an sq3 2006 Semillon Savignon Blanc, the sq3 Chardonnay and an sq3 Rose.

By the way sq3 stands for ‘superior quality 3 litres’.

The cask has been replaced by a bag-in-the-box with each bladder  holding four bottles of  vintage dated bottle-quality wine.

I never in my wildest dreams believed that a wine of this calibre could be poured from a cask.   A recent blind tasting at a dinner party caught out the entire table,- they as expected vowed they’d never be seen drinking a cask wine.    They actually came back for more.

Price-wise,  another surprise.   The sq3 retails through independent stores and BWS  for $24.95 ($6.25 per bottle equivalent).

                                               Peter Weir,  owner/chef at Beaumont's Cafe Rutherglen

Mandy Jones is the chairman of the winemakers of Rutherglen, - a most delightful wine region of north eastern Victoria,

I mention this particularly because of her terrific Marsanne, a brilliant wine for which Mandy is noted.

I sampled her wine whilst dining at a top restaurant in Rutherglen,.. Beaumont’s Café,.. where super chef Peter Weir presents truly stunningly tasty regional food. If travelling the Hume Highway just a few clicks over the border into Victoria, I could not imagine a better place at which to dine.

Peter Weir can list Claridges of London on his cv, - plus there’s a wealth of other experiences in his world of fine food.

Hearty meals, fantastic cuisine and such a friendly atmosphere. The cuisine matches if not surpasses any of the fine dining establishments of Melbourne.

It amazes me how a relatively small community can attract such talent,.. but then again, this is Rutherglen where almost anything can be expected.

This is one region which demands a visit,.. don’t miss out.  

                                 A Rutherglen beauty

FOX-GORDON

There’s hope for those folk who are keen to launch their own label.

Take the folk behind the Fox-Gordon label.

Tash Mooney, Sam Atkins, David Cumming and their wives, Ra Atkins (nee Fox) and Jane Gordon have done just that,.. forming a family-style company and together making their dreams come to reality.  Fox-Gordon is the result.

The tightly knit unit is now into its sixth consecutive vintage.

Their latest Viognier is out in the market place and it’s a beauty.

Full of flavour and at $20 the second vintage Fox-Gordon Abby Viognier 2007 has met with approval of those in the know,.. namely those who enjoy a quality wine,

Keep an eye out for this wine and the families which are involved,.. the growers, the winemakers and the marketers.

This is a wine which is perfect for seafood, my favourite simply grilled flathead tails a perfect match,.. through the more spicy Asian cuisine.

Viognier is relatively rare grape, but one which is becoming most fashionable.

Fox-Gordon has sourced its fruits from quality growers in the Barossa Valley.

The winemakers have stayed with the South Australian connections,.. with strong bonding relationships from grower to the market place.

I’m heading into South Australia and the Orlando Wines company to do a taste test of their Jacob’s Creek Three Vines Semillon Sauvignon Blanc.

Now before I get stuck into the tasting results let’s set the scene for the accompanying cuisine.

I’m staying with one of my favourite dishes, flathead tails cooked on the griddle.   Or you may prefer seared scallops or king prawns.

I’ll stick to my flathead tails.  Just add garlic, ginger and chilli, with a dash of salt and pepper.

Only takes a few minutes to cook through, and the result should be ever so pleasing to lovers of seafood which has not had too many things done to it,- no strong or overbearing sauces,- cooked so simply and the taste is divine.

So we have the cuisine sorted out, now to the wine.  As I say it’s a Jacob’s Creek Semillon Sauvignon Blanc – 2007. 

This gives the result of elegance in a bottle and I find it so enjoyable whether it be with that seafood delight, or just on its own.

The  end result is a fresh crisp taste.   

I found the hint of lemon and passionfruit provided just the right flavour.

It is available throughout the country and the recommended retail price is $14.99.

John Crook,  

     Member International Travel, Food and Wine  Association

Enjoy a drink, - in moderation.

JOHN CROOK:  INTERNATIONAL FOOD, WINE & TRAVEL WRITERS ASSOC.

We also produce and distribute A DAY IN THE LIFE OF OZ on the RadioTAB network (85 stations), ON TOUR  on the RadioTAB network;  THE TRAVEL MAN on the RadioTAB network.   Travel print media including The Illawarra Mercury, The Sunday Mail (South Aust) and selected APN/Fairfax and News Limited Newspapers.