E-vine
August 2010
In this issue: Travel, Tucker, Star drinking, other stuff.
Magical history tour - Barossa and Clare Valleys
After years of writing about wine I recently visited the Barossa and Clare Valleys for the first time ever.
Just three days in the Barossa and one in Clare was far too short a time to do the area justice but we popped around the vineyards in a disorganised fashion and tasted a fair number of fine wines.
As I discovered, the Barossa is a series of small towns spread out over mostly flat plains, the populated areas separated by numerous historic (and new) wineries and gnarled vineyards.
The Clare Valley is more linear, with the wineries somewhat hidden among rolling, wooded hills to either side of the main roads.
Wineries in the region range in style from historic buildings that are part of Australia’s historic oenological fabric, to ultra-modern facilities worthy of designer magazines. Some are a mix of both. Wine prices were mostly brilliant value for money, though occasionally we came upon a list that required a quick call to our mortgage broker to see if we could borrow against the house for a dozen.
And no, it wasn’t a junket. I was asked somewhat disparagingly by one Clare winemaker (not mentioned here) whether I was yet another wine writer on a junket. (I assume there is a constant stream.) Nope, I told him, all travel and accommodation was paid for by E-vine.
In this and coming E-vines I’ll look briefly - in no particular order - at a few of the highlights.
Penfolds – Nuriootpa. As it happens, the first ‘serious’ wine I ever bought was a mixed dozen of Penfolds bin reds, most of them sourced from the Barossa. So it was illuminating to see at last the winery and the vineyards mentioned on the labels I’ve become so familiar with since.
Not far out of Nuriootpa, visitors can drive past the Kalimna vineyards, including the 100 and something year-old vines of the renowned Block 42. Kalimna (a local Aboriginal word meaning “Pleasant View”) provides fruit for, amongst other wines, Grange, RWT, Bin 707 and rarely released Special Bin wines.
In Nuriootpa (where we stayed) Penfolds have a massive winery complex where visitors can sample a variety of commercial release and cellar door wines, and for a fee, taste the super premiums and even blend their own.
When you do visit look out for the glass-staining, 2007 Penfolds Cellar Reserve Barossa Valley Sangiovese – dry, powerful, with persistent tannins and a complexity driven by wild yeast fermentation.
Sevenhill – Clare. I first tasted Sevenhill wine as an 11 year old altar boy, trying a sip before mass. Back in those days only priests and sneaky altar boys got to try the slightly sweet fortified wine. Can’t say I enjoyed it, but my palate was immature and maybe my tasting was coloured by fear of eternal hellfire.
At the Jesuits’ Sevenhill winery, general manager Neville Rowe (who bears a spooky resemblance to Jesuit founder Saint Ignatius of Loyola) showed us around. He told us that the winery began its long tradition of making sacramental (altar) wine in 1851 and to this day a third of its production is used in churches across Australia. Profits from wine sales, he said, go towards the Jesuits’ community services.
A wander round the property will take you to a broken down cottage where Mary MacKillop once stayed after her archbishop threatened her with excommunication. On 17 October 2010, Mary MacKillop will be canonised and to mark the occasion, Sevenhill will release two St Mary MacKillop wines, a shiraz and a semillon / sauvignon blanc blend.
As well as sacramental wines I tasted a wide range of Sevenhill’s dry whites and reds and fortifieds – all, I should add, sold at relatively modest prices. Check out their chocolatey 2006 Inigo Barbera and the perfumed 2009 Inigo Verdelho.
Maggie Beer – For an interlude we enjoyed a morning coffee overlooking the lake at Maggie Beer’s Farmshop just outside of Nuriootpa. There was a peacock wandering around, ducks on the water, pheasants in their sheds and Maggie herself fluttering round with a couple of journos in tow, like a fussy mother hen with her chicks. All her products, I was happy to see, were available to taste before you buy.
Lou Miranda Estate – Rowland Flat (Pop.80 said a sign). A family run winery and restaurant complex situated amid 100 year old vines. The reception here is warm and hospitable, the style is more Rustique than Vogue and the wines are solid and earthy.
Check out their Leone Old Vine Sparkling Shiraz 2007 and the gutsy 2007 Lou Miranda Estate Old Vine Shiraz.
Yalumba – is billed as Australia’s oldest family owned wine company and it’s a label I grew up on - in a wine drinking sense. A trail of empty Yalumba bottles stretches behind me over the years and numbered among them are Pewsey Vale rieslings; Signature Blend reds – the 1967 Rudi Kronberger comes to mind as a great example; special bottlings like the 1974 Christobel’s (alias FDR1A) cab/shiraz; Galway Pipe Port; and in recent years, the classic Virgilius Viognier and the classy, value for money, ‘Y’ Series reds and whites.
It’s easy to get lost trekking around Yalumba’s halls, byways and grand old structures. Worth a good look are the working cooperage and the large cellars, where not only archival Yalumba bottles are stored but also priceless European treasures – such as an 1889 Chateau d’Yquem.
After our daytime tour of Yalumba, we ended up as ring-in guests at their Negociants annual dinner. Among the wine luminaries and winemakers we sat with was the charming actor/vigneron, Sam Neill. Sam proudly pointed us to his Two Paddocks Pinot Noir on the table - Lucy asked him if it was a BYO function. His wine, as my old man used to say, wasn’t ‘alf bad.
RIP
Sad to report that David Slingsby-Smith, long-time De Bortoli winemaker and all-round good guy, passed away on 17 August 2010.
Tucker
Bananas Creole
Ingredients: 1 banana per person; a handful of currants and raisins soaked for at least an hour in dark rum; dark brown sugar; Seville orange marmalade; dark rum; cream.
Cover the bottom of an oven proof dish with marmalade. Halve bananas lengthwise and sprinkle a little lemon or lime juice on them. Place the banana halves flat side down in an artistic fashion on the marmalade. Sprinkle with the rum-soaked currants and raisins. Drizzle with about 100ml of dark rum (more or less depending on the number of bananas). Then sprinkle sparsely with dark brown sugar. Bake in 180C oven for around 50 minutes. Serve with whipped cream flavoured with a little sugar and vanilla.
Adapted from Eat at Pleasure Drink by Measure, Olof Wijk, Constable, London, 1970.
Pheedback
NZ Sauvignon Blanc
Martin, your opinion of N.Z. sauvignon blanc attracted my attention. I do not buy this current popularity of what is very mediocre plonk. It smells of tom cat's p[***] and tastes of unripe citrus (not a compliment here). The only wines in this category that I really like are Craggy Range and, of course, Ata Rangi. There are a few middling ones but the vast majority, the ones that people here and in the U.K., buy by the shipload are cr[*]p. Chris Stockley.
Chris, I’ve had a few forthright comments like yours but only one (from an NZ wine marketer) taking issue with the opinion expressed in last E-vine.
Star drinking
A non-vintage blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. Medium bead, with the faintest blush – from the pinot component? Peachy nose has a hint of strawberry fruit. The strawberry is also apparent on the palate and the wine finishes just off-dry.
De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Grigio 2009 - $14 - ˜˜ Very pale with a green apple, sherbet-like nose. Clean, fresh, grapey flavours are enhanced by soft citric undertones and a mildly acidic finish.
Upper Goulburn, Victoria. Light gold. A nose of lime blossom and lemon zest. A fuller flavoured riesling style showing citric fruit reminiscent of lemon meringue pie but without the sweetness. Finishes dry.
Angove Long Row Chardonnay 2009 - $10 - ˜˜ New season apricots, fresh cream and a hint of oak on the nose. Softer style showing ripe stone fruits supported by well-seasoned barrel toastiness. Great value.
Translucent rosy hue. Nose shows raspberry, cherry and floral notes. Light-bodied and elegant in the mouth with nicely weighted, juicy summer pudding flavours that lead to a dryish, fruit-filled finish.
Canowindra, New South Wales. Blended with ‘a touch of merlot.’ Mid-red with dark cherry edges. Dry leaves and warm spiciness dominate the bouquet. Dry in the mouth, showing tight yet non-aggressive tannic astringency. Palate offers firm, savoury and secondary winey flavours and finishes with well-honed acidity. A class act.
Coonawarra, South Australia. Mid-crimson. Plummy blueberry nose. Rich and mouth-filling – a hint of blackcurrant conserve over a background of sweet vanillin oak.
Fox Creek McLaren Vale Reserve Merlot 2008 – up to $41 - ˜˜˜˜ Red to purple hues. Blackberry and chocolate gateau nose. A solid red, packed with ripe berries and typical McLaren Vale mocha enrichment. Initially seems soft and velvety in the mouth and then structural, lasting tannins creep up on you as you reach for another glass.
Ratings
˜˜˜˜˜ - outstanding
˜˜˜˜ - classy
˜˜˜ - first-rate
˜˜ - good drinking
˜ - commercial
Second pressings
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About E-vine
E-vine first appeared in 2001 and is edited and published and written every now and then (mostly then) by wine educator and freelance wine and food writer, Martin Field. You are receiving E-vine because you requested it or because you sent unsolicited email or due to sheer good luck. Infrequent typos in the text are deliberate and are designed to foil net censors.
Permission to quote smallish bits of E-vine is freely given if the source is acknowledged – please let me know if you do so. Unless otherwise stated prices are in Australian dollars. You are encouraged to forward E-vine to colleagues and friends. All links are active at time of publication. E-vine does not necessarily agree with and is not responsible for the content of linked pages – visit them at your peril! See snippets from E-vine at The Wine Blog and aload of old stuff in this time capsule. Copyright © Martin Field 2010. Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.