Tasting the delights outside the Paris of the south... (Or a short segue to the Yarra Valley) Part 2.

Underwhelming photo of Medhurst, twas good though!

Apologies for the delay!...  If you would like to read part 1.

As I listened to the broadcast of Australia playing New Zealand at the Gabba, the Victorian James Pattinson wreaking destruction upon the black caps; here was a reminder that I needed to complete part II of my short tale of the Yarra Valley. It seems many good things come from Victoria.

So I believe we were heading over to Medhurst for more wine and lunch, it was a chance decision that turned out to be a highlight of the day. The drive up to the cellar door was was pretty and the weather fickle as ever with cloud and showers scudding through, quite beautiful, as long as your in the car or at the bar. Medhurst has a new and impressive tasting room/restaurant which is quite an architectural statement which commands some fine views. This theme of growth and development is continued with construction nearly complete on their own winery on-site. The wines on offer come in two tiers, with the Red Shed label at about the $20 mark and the The main range, for around $25. Whilst this still gives a considerable choice to try, I like the fact that there aren't seemingly endless wines at different price points. It can seem a bit ridiculous with some producers when they have endless wines which can all often be similar shades of grey, better to make fewer wines but have quality and distinction in all of them.

The Red Shed offerings were all good quality wines, straight forward but tasty and good value. This high quality was reflected in the main range. Sauvignon Blanc was pleasant and in a restrained style I enjoy rather than having excess tropical fruit and gooseberry. Rosé was again in a very fine, restrained style, pale colour. It was very subtle but tasty. I can't tell you about the Chardonnay as they appeared to have run out though I'm sure judging by the other offerings that it's ok... Similarly all the reds were lovely wines: Pinot was good, though didn't stand out for me, I felt the pick of the reds and all the wines, were the Cabernet and Shiraz. On the day the Shiraz really impressed me, but a later tasting of the Cabernet was equally impressive. Without writing a tasting note, both of these wines were fantastic in there balance, sophistication and restrained power. No doubt they also both benefit from a little bit of time in the bottle with the current release being 2006.

Interestingly the Shiraz and Cabernet are bottled under cork which is more the exception to Stelvin these days. I really don't have a problem with cork, providing it's high quality, but one does have to ask why would you when SC is almost foolproof, but then I'm being provocative, think about it... The argument from this producer goes something along the lines of allowing variation between the bottles in a good way, make of that what you will but I rather like the idea. So to soak up some of the booze we had a great platter of antipasto, Anthony being designated driver had a coffee or two and I admit to having a glass of the shiraz. It could not be helped! On we went, but I watch this producer with interest and will definitely have to make a return trip.

This time of the afternoon is a difficult one when your tasting, you've just had lunch, a few wineries ticked off, so a bit of palate and mental fatigue can kick in. I'd be interested to know what others do to rejuvenate and energise, we just pushed on. You can chomp all the raw cashew and apple you like, but there is a limit, it's tough man! On we went, next stop Coldstream Hills.

Now Medhurst was stylish, and so was Coldstream Hills, if a little cold. I have to preface this next bit with a disclaimer of sorts; I have every respect for James Halliday, he knows what he's on about, likes wine, writes the odd review and so on, I even make the odd joke about him, which for those who know me is a token of my esteem. What I dislike is all that being blasted at me at every opportunity, you know what I'm on about, this or that wine being given 95 points by the man, 5 star wineries and all that... Anyway Halliday was one of the original owners here, though don't take it from me, if you visit the cellar door you will get told this 47 times. Signed copies of the next decades wine guides will be available, because you have to face facts sooner or later and check what's rated 5 stars, who would visit a winery otherwise?

You cannot complain about the view from Coldstream Hills...

I may have been a little stuffed from lunch, the view was lovely, the wines were all very high quality, some probably sublime. Great. However the approach to it all was lame and the experience exemplifies what I'm on about. Our barman, expert, taste guide or whatever we title them was disinterested and run off his feet, scampering between 4 different groups. The cellar door has a nitrogen injection system in place, so as the tasting bottles are exhausted, the wine doesn't oxidise, or the process is at least slowed. In theory this is good; didn't work with two of the wines I tried, but of course I had to effectively argue with the poor guy behind the bar and then accept profound apologies when he actually tried what he was offering. All rather tiresome, the high point was watching some of the AFL Grand Final as the TV was perched on the bar.

In short, very good wine but a totally underwhelming experience.

The weather was on the improve as Anthony and I rolled down the path to the car and headed to our final pairing of the day, Allinda and De bortoli. I told you we were dedicated!

Stay tuned for part III as it's taking a bit longer than I thought, bear with me!

Tasting the delights outside the Paris of the south... (Or a short segue to the Yarra Valley) Part 1.



The Boss...



Long overdue, but here it is.  I had a lovely jaunt to Melbourne a few weeks ago, it certainly was a pleasure to catch up with my dear friends Anthony and Andrew; in addition to their four masters Hebe, Lucy, Pixie and Millie.  If only landlords were as considerate as the boys cat bosses, and that's after one decided my luggage was an attractive place to relieve the bladder.  Just as well I'm not one to hold a grudge!

Anyhow amongst other activities Anthony and I headed off to the Yarra Valley to taste, rate, even gulp some of the local wines.  Things you should know at this point: Andrew didn't make it, he was “tired”/hungover.  The weather was balmy, a lovely 8 degrees in fact.  I had to break out the shorts! 

Sun cream packed  we motored north east, I dreamed of the Caribbean, working on the tan as Anthony got slightly lost...  A bit of my GPS later and all was back on track.  Laughter aside the locality itself really is a lovely part of the world, rolling hills, the resulting verdant vistas and... vines!  So we pulled in at a toilet block.



Look at that sun!  We could be in Champagne.



It wasn't a public convenience, that's just what I told Anthony it looked like (James Halliday gave it 91 points and described it as unassuming, the cellar door, not the wines)!  No, here was St Huberts cellar door.

To be fair, the view from inside the building was good and the wines very good.  Chardonnay and Pinot were the stand out.  Bit disappointed there was no straight Cabernet to try, but you have to remember that the area was subject to smoke taint due to the terrible bushfires a little while back.  Thus many producers literally have nothing to release at this time as a result. 

As we drove away it still looked suspiciously like a toilet block, but on we went!  A pullover, sunshower and   u-turn later, we arrived at Oakridge.  I probably should mention at this point that this was the AFL grand final Saturday, thus we were amazed to find anyone actually at the cellar door.  For any international (or non Victorian readers, because they consider it a world sport...) AFL is a provincial and somewhat bizarre ball game, where players fumble around for the small version of what looks a rugby ball, occasionally trying to get the ball between a couple of pairs of sticks.  Anyway, being the truly international sport it is I was a amazed to find this place full of young women.



Slightly blurred map, after a tasting or two.



Had I been of sound mind we probably should have gone over and ingratiated ourselves, though  foolishly we concentrated on the wines.  All was not lost though as there was some good stuff on offer here. Quite deliberately I won't bore with tasting notes (serious reviews will come), go and try it for yourself!  But some observations:  I had a Pinot Grigio that was actually of some interest, very nice.  Chardonnays were again very good, lovely.  Cabernet from here was excellent, yum :)  Pinot was ok and our lovely pourer/server/bar attendant was beautiful and informative.  Which sounds like I was biased or distracted but she really was and I am most sorry I can't remember her name.

A couple of happy snaps later and we were back on the road.  Sensibly Anthony suggested we really must have lunch and thus it was decided we should head immediately to Medhurst Wines.  They had Wine and food!  (And were seriously good!)

Continued in part two, which is on the way...

What does it all mean; Some ideas, rather than just another boring tasting note.

I appreciate and have various opinions about wine, so do a lot of people. I don't think my palate is too bad on a good day, but then realistically, thousands of others are in possession of the same if not better instruments of taste and judgement. In the same way I can write a note about all the wines I ever come across, taste, drink, even tip down the sink, in the end it will be similar and a repetition of most all the other commentary on a wine. All these notes have a place to help guide and categorise in what is such a bottomless murky vat of vino, but it sort of misses the point. We drink wine because it is evocative, with a glass of wine we can travel to different places, we can voyage through time, ideas and emotion, good wines are an art form, provoking and seducing us in the same way that film, writing or music can.

When we talk about taste and flavour, really we are mainly referring to aroma, our noses for the complex parts, our tongues provide us with the more basic, but no less important foundations we think of as sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. Smell is the key, it's a fascinating sense in many ways, perhaps the point that captivates me the most here is the association between our sense of smell, primitive brain, and memory. Research now indicates odour and aroma can act as powerful triggers for memory, often ones which are deep in the unconscious. Intriguingly the resulting recollection can be incredibly vivid and amazing in it's clarity despite the passage of time, think about this as it obviously differs for all individuals, but everyone can recall examples of this occurring I'm sure. I for example, find the subtle odour of cooking gas (in a good way!) reminds me of childhood visits to my grandparents. This may not seem the most obvious of associations, but that's the point, sometimes it is the most obscure, even bizarre odours that trigger some memory and often you have no prior concious recollection of either the aroma or the memory, until your nose has a chance encounter. Returning to drinks, wine has this tremendous ability of associative power, with the millions of aromas and tastes possible from the differing varieties, styles, regions and production techniques. Sometimes the association may be the context in which a particular wine is consumed, such as a birthday, or other milestone being connected henceforth with a particular wine. In other situations we may be reminded by the power of the olfactory association, of thoughts, memories and emotion. All this engenders discussion of the wine and ideas, of life. This makes it absolutely no surprise then that wine is and should be a shared experience with others, and from here we gain inestimable pleasure and enjoyment. Take this idea further and perhaps wine can help us to experience or envisage something of places and time we have not yet been to, tantalising indeed.

Assuming a wine is not a complete mass production job, we are hearing something from the winemaker as well, reflective of their experience and self. Making the wine the producer obviously has a goal in mind regarding the end product, using technique, knowledge and intuition to bring us the eventual alcoholic beverage in a bottle. There is much talk of the variety or clone used, of the terroir, or even the barrels used to age the wine; it is hardly a surprise though that alongside all these factors, wines are shaped and change, dependent on the individual/s behind them. It's nice to think of wine making as something akin to writing or playing music, in that an individual can create something, but it becomes more alive and changes again as others sip upon it, pondering and talking about it, enjoying the experience.

I love the idea not just of consuming wine, but that along with wine making, it is something that connects us with a collective past and future. Wine has been produced and consumed (and written about!) for thousands of years. The process, the pursuit of perfection in it's production and drinking of wine is something we share with others through the ages. We can see the importance and thought that surrounded wine, for example in the writings of Ancient Romans such as Pliny the elder or Culumella, but evidence of wine consumption is apparent throughout the ancient world and over time to the present day. Into the future I am sure wine will be something produced, savoured and contemplated so long as grapes are grown.

So it seems what we need to consider is that the scoring of wine and looking at it in technical terms of quality and standard, as the main aspect of consideration very much misses the point. If we assume that the quality of a wine (from a technical point of view) is good, mere comparisons between wines are somewhat superfluous, even useless. To appreciate them we need to be more in the moment, then the wines should mean and reflect something, suggesting to us there place of birth but also interacting with there location and time of consumption. Thus there is something magical and special about going to the vineyard and trying the wine looking out over the vines, or savouring a wine with fine food and friends. Clumsily put as something like: wine is place and place is wine. Think about your own experiences and I'm sure this will ring true. Looking at it in this way it seems ridiculous to suddenly talk in terms of a 90+ wine exhibiting dark fruit, spice and hints of chocolate! It is so much more and these sorts of descriptors take away from it. Ratings and technical talk have their place, but let us celebrate the diversity and individuality of wines for all their differences, savouring them. If we merely score them like it were some sort of school exam, or raw comparison to declare a winner we should probably give up.