Punch Bannockburn Friends of Punch Syrah 2010

A couple of Mondays I shuffled on down to the Imbibo annual everything-on-show day at the Fitzroy Bowls Club. I got there early so I could get away earlyish. Yeah-Nah. After all was said and done I was the last one to leave at 7.30 where a group of us went down to The Builders Arms on Gertrude Street and well, you know - dusty the next day.

Anywhoo, there were wines aplenty and this was one of my picks; the Punch Bannockburn Friends of Punch Syrah 2010. Everything about this wine rocks, and I'm loathe to say it cos Bannockburn has its own terroir, but this is very Cornas; slate, earth, blackberry, black olive tapanade and soy sauce. Yep, soy sauce. Its delish!!!

And Cath and Beth, youse ace!!!

Drink with bloody lamb

Drink till 2018

97

Screwcap 12%v/v about $38ish

Mt Moriac Geelong Estate Pinot Noir 2008

Delightful. Lovely texture. Good age. These are just few of descriptors that can be used for the Mt Moriac Geelong Estate Pinot Noir 2008. There are more but lets talk about Mt Moriac for starters.

Why do we not see this label in more places around Melbourne? Is it because too many people are in meetings to see David - Mr Mt Moriac - or is it because Geelong only gets a nod if it is Farr or Bannockburn. I don't know. The other two are great yes, but as I have mentioned plenty of times previous, Geelong is a ripping place for wine, not just for driving through to get to the surf coast; something I will be doing tomorrow actually.

So much for the soapbox. More wine. The colour in the glass shows a touch of age with a bronze hue. The nose is also aged affected with developed spice - cinnamon, cassia bark and dried garden herbs. There is also just a  touch of tart red fruit hanging in there, just. The palate once again shows sign of development with dry terracotta, more spice and once again lingering tart fruit with cranberry the obvious. A great wine highlighting Geelong and also a touch of bottle age in a time where wine is usually consumed 2-3 years after vintage.

Drink with pull pork taco's
Drink till 2015
94
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $30 Seddon Wine Store

Top of the tree in 2012

No, the world did not end. The Mayans sort of got it wrong with December 21st 2012 being cupitski for all of us mortals. Word is the Mayan's also predicted Beta VCR's would be the greatest invention since poncho's, the Spice Girls to collectively cure cancer and Corey Worthington to win a Noble Peace prize. Stick to human sacrifice next time Mayan's!!

What 2012 did bring to me was some pretty schmick wine positioned neatly in my glass. Last year saw just 6 wines for my top list. This year there are 10; 1 sparkling, 3 whites and 6 reds. Last year saw 5 whites and 1 red.  More awesomeness in 2012 than 2011 I guess.

So without delay and in no particular order, here is the pick of the the 2012 tasting crop.

Viñero Macedon Ranges Pinot Noir 2010 - a new label from super-sommeliers Matt Brook and Liam O'Brien, the 2010 hit all the right notes from a cracking vintage; very cool climate and not too far off soft and sexy Chambolle-Musigny.

Between 5 Bells Geelong Red Wine 2010 - a whacky blend that just so beautifully worked; who'd have thunk that we could find a use for Zinfandel? No offense California (sic).

Albert Mann Alsace Pinot Blanc Auxerrois 2011 - continuing on my love affair with Pinot Blanc, the recent winery of the year according to Wine Spectator (I think) delivers a magestic little quaffer that delivers so much more that the price suggests. Just beautiful.

Bindi Macedon Ranges Cuvée V Chardonnay/Pinot Noir -  I told you that this was going to be here. Bias or no bias, this wine just rocks.

Reichsrat Von Bulh Pfalz Riesling 2011 - I love Riesling, but what I loved about this beauty is its very unlike Rieslingness that just grabs you by the scruff of the neck and screams,' JUST DRINK ME!!!!!!!'

Fletcher Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo 2010 - my wine notes for this one were quite simple, 'Awesome. Breathtaking. Oursum. Captivating. Orsum. Sexxy.' You get that?

Best's Great Western Dolcetto 2010 - definitely bringing sexy back to Western Victoria, and definitely giving new world Dolcetto a voice.

By Farr Geelong Sangreal 2009 - Erin and I enjoyed this on Bastille Day last year in Perth. Enjoyed quite the understatement. Such brute power with such gentle force. Gary Farr knows his shit.

Sébastien Brunet Vouvray Arpent Sec 2010 - like my love for Pinot Blanc, my love affair with Vouvray also knew no bounds. I will make it a task this month to get this down at Seddon Wine Store, perhaps by the glass.

BK Wines Adelaide Hills Cult Syrah 2011 - just goes to prove that when you have a crap vintage, doesnt mean you have to make crap wine.

There you go, the top ten for 2012. And for the record, the By Farr Sangreal and BK Wines Syrah were the definate standouts. Cannot wait to see what 2013 has install.

Austins Geelong Shiraz 2008

This wine reminded me of what simple good wine is all about. A Shiraz. From Geelong. A good year. It looks and sounds like a simple formula, and that's exactly what you get here. The Austins Geelong Shiraz 2008 label reads just that. In the bottle you get s great whack of cool climate shiraz, a lick of regionality and a touch of age which is something odd these days with wine producers often getting their wine out the same year as the vintage.

Black licorice and subtle spice - white pepper notably - come to the fore on the nose with white pepper being quite dominant in the primary palate. I did decant this after my first sip; very big acid early. After about 30 minutes the wine was still focused around the acid and white pepper but time in the decanter brings black licorice and half tart half ripe blackberries. Good to have you back Austins!

Drink till 2016
Drink with chilli con carne
93
Screwcap 13.5%v/v $30 Carlton Cellars 

By Farr Geelong Sangreal Pinot Noir 2009

I think the last time I blogged about a By Farr wine, Tout Pres I think, I likened it to a Pommard with the wine delivering a supurb mix of power and elegance. Well they have done it again down in Geelong with the By Farr Geelong Sangreal 2009 simply stunning. Enjoyed last month at Must Wine Bar in Perth on Bastille Day, the wine was simply stunning with prickly semi-ripe fruit woven delicioulsy with game, funk, bacon fat and earth, it has it all. Just stunning.

Drink till 2024
Drink with Beef Bourguignon
100/100
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $120 on wine list at Must Wine Bar, Perth

Paradise IV Geelong Bates' Ford Shiraz 2010

Ok. Geez. Its been a while. Right, where was I? Quite often I bandy around the term, ‘Shiraz drinkers Pinot’. This refers to big and sultry Pinots that show ripe fruit and high alcohol; think Paringa Estate and most Central Otago Pinot’s. Lately I have turned that around to, ‘Pinot drinkers Shiraz’, and that wine that fits that is the Paradise IV Geelong Bates' Ford Shiraz 2010. This is a wine that definitely has the Dave Graney spell about it – the Soft and Sexy Sounds spell that is. A very delicate and quite feminant aroma wafts up the olfactory with tight raspberry and plums dominating at this point. This I have to say is very similar to a sort of close neighbour in Ballarat, Eastern Peake’s Walshs Block Shiraz, where it sits almost cool in the mouth, and dare I say it, has a quite cooling affect. With the tiniest of tannins and a razor sharp note of tannin, this wine is more reflective to something from Côte-Rôtie rather than the generalist shiraz that Australia is known for. But hey, this Geelong, a lot cooler than people give credit to. A Cracking Wine! Drink with mushroom pizza Drink till 2016 95 Screwcap 13.5%v/v $35 Albert Street Food & Wine, Brunswick

Between Five Bells Geelong Red Wine 2010

In life as it is in science, things just gel and go together; positve and negative ions, bees and honey and meatpies and footy. Yet sometimes some pesky butterflies in Japan have been know to disrupt Ying and Yang and all hell breaks loose; Marilyn Monroe marries Arthur Miller, Michael Phelps loses a race and George W. Bush wins two terms as President! Yes I know, head-scratching stuff indeed.

So when a group of Geelong wine makers decide to blend Shiraz, Sangiovese, Grenache and Zinfandel, yes Zinfandel, you gotta start thinking that these butterflies in Japan need a good dose of Mortein. But as it happens, this blend fucking rocks; you are safe this time butterfly.

The Between Five Bells Geelong Red Wine 2010 has all the hallmarks of becoming a cult wine very fast for two reasons; A) the whacky blend, and B)its so good God Damn it! This wine has it all with tart red and dark fruit but sitting so soft and smooth in the mouth, silky tannins, subtle licorice all-sorts and achingly perfect acid. It is such an easy wine to like and such a hard one too share.

Drink with Melanzane alla Parmigiana
Drink till 2015
98
Wax seal with Diam cork 13.5%v/v $39 Albert Street Food & Wine

Dinny Goonan Geelong Riesling 2011

A very smart wine this one. The Dinny Goonan Geelong Riesling 2011 is a wine that may not be on the tips of the rockstar sets tounges, but who cares. This winery is hidden on the northern foothills of the Otways and only surfaced on my radar while I was looking for Geelong wineries to pour at Albert St for March.

Perfectly restrained on the nose with a tickle of flint and tart lime, the palate is sort of a mix of half citrus acid, half minerality and half white phenolics (a Seinfeld grab for those who remember). But the great thing about this wine is that no flavour profile hogs the spot light, and the flavour profile is quite gentle and, as I said before, restraint. This is a great little wine.

Drink with kingfisk cerviche
Drink till 2016
95
Screwcap 12%v/v $24 at Albert St Food & Wine in March

By Farr Geelong Tout Pres Pinot Noir 2008

An Australian Pinot Noir that masquerades as Burgundy - no shit! The By Farr Geelong Tout Pres Pinot Noir 2008 is as close to pure seduction as I have come across this year; blindingly seductive! Dirty red in the glass, the aroma makes its way to the olfactory in a teasing fashion to wash you over with savoury and earthy notes with a real sense that this is really something from Pommard or Volnay. The palate is all class with just the right balance of soft tannins and acid with dark cherry the bright spot. A truely great wine.

Drink with grilled calves livers
drink till 2017
98
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $110 from Blackhearts Brunswick

By Farr Geelong Chardonnay 2006

It’s Mothers Day today – happy Mother’s Day to all the mum’s out there, and happy Mother’s Day to my mum who is holidaying in sunny Tuscany. My lovely Erin has had a lovely child free morning with a cup of tea, jam pancakes and the paper in bed; I’ve had two annoying (of course I love them) little buggers at my feet, but now they seem to be quiet watching ‘Yo Gabba-Gabba’ on the box – cabin pressure has been restored. So with five minutes up my sleeve, I steal myself off to the study for a wee bit of blogging.

What to write about - something mucho fantastico I think. The By Farr Geelong Chardonnay 2006. Once again, I think Geelong is the most underrated wine growing region in Australia, and this is pretty much thanks to Gary Farr. Straw yellow with a golden hue, aromas of stone fruit, with peach kernel coming through strong and a massive hit of lemon tart and licorice powder at the end. If this wine was masked, it could easily be mistaken for something from Chassagne-Montrachet with layers of citrus, minerality and licorice all woven together by precise oak integration; simply stunning wine.

Drink with baked mulloway
Drink till 2013
98
Quality cork 13.5%v/v $40 mailing list two years ago

Clyde Park Geelong Shiraz 2005

How ‘bout that cool change today, thank Trevor! Well, with a cool change, how about a cool climate Shiraz; the Clyde Park Geelong Shiraz 2005. Almost pitch black in the glass, the nose is loaded with plenty of everything, like pepper, licorice, raspberry, cloves and brown spices. There is a very Rhone like feel to this wine with a wonderful marriage of pepper and brown spices of nutmeg and cinnamon. The mid-palate is packed with ripe plum and tart raspberry and this is all held together with grippy fine tannins.

Another reason why I think Geelong makes the best Shiraz in Australia!

Drink with game pie and black pudding
Drink till 2018
94
Screwcap 14.5%v/v Hawthorn East Dan Murphy’s

Gluttony or Gourmand delight - a very busy week eating in Melbourne

“In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.” Benjamin Franklin.

It is, I think, the last day of a very long and large week of eating out across Melbourne; by Monday I will presume that I will be linking my belt one hole back! And it is on this day that I sit here in my study sipping a glass of sparkling wine (I was supposed to go to the gym!) while thousands of service professionals snake their way through tightly set tables serving the corporate professionals lunch on the busiest service of the year. Please do not think I am making light of their endeavour, but I do not miss it one bit!

For far too long now I have been the one who has been doing the serving of wine and food to the endless conga line of Christmas lunch and dinners. Now that I am on the other side of the bookings book, it has been my great pleasure this week to find myself pondering over wine lists and menus, and apologising to the wait staff for taking my sweet precious time.

For me it started on Monday with a lunch that turns into an all nighter. It was the annual Australian Sommeliers Association Christmas lunch at Mahjong in St. Kilda. On arrival I was greeted with a crisp and cold flute of Pommery Brut Royal (a little donation of six bottles for the thirsty sommeliers) and a catch up with thirty or so wine professionals from some of Melbourne’s best restaurants. David and Quentin from Vue de Monde, Sally from Cutler & Co, Lincoln and Penny from Taxi and a smattering of wine reps from JHL Wines, Yabby Lake and Russel Gehring Wines there for the usual trade talk – me included now. It was a set course of plates being dropped off at the tables with dumplings, spring rolls and sticky rice making up some of the delicacies. The highlight for me however was the Peking duck pancakes; melt in the mouth perfection!

After many more bottles of Champagne and other wine blow ins, we headed off down Fitzroy Street and over The Esplanade to The Stoke House bar downstairs. Here we drank more Champagne, wine and beer (and yes, a little bit of water too) and continued on our general stream of bullshit for the day. It was getting a little busy and crowded so the decision was made to head up to Circa, The Prince bar – so off we headed again. More beers and wine and also a good catch up with Travis from Coda, who I never got too play pool with downstairs even though I said I was going to, and Virginia from Cumulus Inc. After far too many beverages it was time to close my account and head home – at 11.30pm!!

With a sore head the next morning (very sore!) I headed in to work to regale Cameron with all the witty anecdotes and try and remember who I spoke with; it took a while let me just say that. With not much on the horizon but a few calls and emails, Cameron and I headed up Burke Road in Camberwell and settled at The Tea House on Burke, a little Chinese place that needs a bit of work on the interior but definitely not in t he kitchen. Another serve of Peking duck and even better selection of dumplings was washed down by some Pinot Noir from Geelong and Mornington Peninsula. Can you believe I had to go back to the office and do some work after the bill – sheesh!!

Wednesday saw the arrival of Jon from Sydney who is the NSW Sales Manager for Vranken-Pommery, and it was at Rockpool Bar & Grill where I joined up with Jon and Cameron. Along the way I had a little catch up with David and also bumped in to Michael Dhillon of Bindi Wine Growers. After a couple of beers at the bar we headed to our table in the wine bar where there is only one thing to order – the Wagyu Burger and onion rings; three all round of course. This burger has got to be one of the best in Melbourne I tell ya! Another glass of Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir – The Oceans 8, and we were back to the office to discuss strategy over some more Champagne.

We were now in a taxi and headed for Matteo’s on Brunswick Street Fitzroy (the clean end) where we sat down with three bottles of Champagne – The Cuvée Louise Rosé 1999, Pommery Blanc de Blanc and Pommery Blanc de Noir. There was a little more wagyu beef as an appetiser - bresola air dried; I know it is supposed to be oysters with Champagne, but it is summer and you should never order an oyster if the month has an ‘r’ in it! All wines were fantastic, but the Louise 1999 dropped away pretty fast unfortunately – we picked the wrong bottle with that one, I guess.

These guys get two hats for a reason. The food was absolutely fantastic. It was just the two courses for me – I’m not really a dessert person I must say – with the Japanese plate of smoked eel, confit salmon and sashimi King Fish. BRILLIANT!! This was hard to match, but the suckling pig was just as good if not better!!! I rolled out of my chair (full, not drunk) at about 11pm and headed home to a very jealous Erin who wanted to know all about it; I just wanted to know all about my pillow.

The next morning I picked up Jon from his Hotel in Carlton and headed in to the CBD to give him a walking tour of some of our better restaurants. We started at Vue de monde where we had a coffee at the cafe and headed down over to Syracuse, Gills Diner and through to the coffee precinct around Degraves Lane. After another stop we headed up Flinders Lane past Mo Vida, Coda and yet another coffee, this time at Cumulus Inc before walking past Verge, Becco, Gingerboy, Bottega and Grossi Florentino and hopping in to the car for the short ride to Cutler & Co for a hello with Adam Cash and a super glass of Felton Road Central Otago Dry Riesling 2008.

We were again in the car out to Camberwell and in the office just before the heavens opened up. Some more strategising and it was time for lunch – again. With our walk cleverly timed between two rain periods, we headed up to Gohan-Ya Japanese Bento Cafe on Camberwell Road. With about 12 seats, this place is always full and if it had a few more seats and maybe a liquor license would be jamming every day. I once again gave in to my smoked eel addiction and the obligatory serve of gyoza dumplings; I was once again truly full!

The week duly finished today with a lovely impromptu lunch with my lovely Erin and the boy Henry as well at Gertrude Street Enoteca in Fitzroy. A serve of pork and duck terrine for me and a goat’s cheese and sorrel tart for Erin and all was well - they even struck a deal in Copenhagen I over-heard someone say there.

With all this done all I could do was to go and pick Imogen up from her very last day ever of daycare and whip down to get her favourite dinner – Fish and Chips! It’s always good.

With the children now asleep and Erin and me down here relaxing in the kitchen area, it was time to open something nice up to celebrate not only Imogen’s last ever day of daycare before she starts prep next month but also the fact that Erin secured some more consultancy work. So to wind up a massive week we sit here sipping the Pommery Cuvée Louise 1998 Grand Marque Champagne – absolutely gorgeous. Have I told you that I don’t miss the restaurant floor?

Austins Geelong Shiraz 2005

This is another cool climate ripper. The Austins Geelong Shiraz 2005 has had a presence here in Brunswick now for the past six months and as long as Uncle Dan’s keep stocking it, will feature for some time yet. In the glass this wine has a very deep garnet colour with no real distinction in the hue. The nose throws off plenty of complexity with licorice and rum raisin being predominant. The palate has an instant hit of more licorice, all sorts this time, that balance the oak and opens up with a great smack of black pepper with tight firm tannins and clean acid holding everything in place.

Great balance and length and a surprising medium weight to this wine; at 14.5%v/v, maybe the winemakers have fudged this a little in an attempt to steal some of Barossa and Mac Vales domination in Australian Shiraz sales – it feels more like 13.5%v/v and not the brooding 14.5%v/v.

Drink with BBQ pork spare ribs
Drink till 2013
92
Screwcap 14.5%v/v $23 at Dan Murphy’s Coburg

Summer BBQ Time! - Cookbooks Part 2: Ross Dobson's Chinatown: sweet sour spicy salty

Home from hospital – it’s a good feeling! The stay at North Park Private to try and get Henry to sleep has sort of worked, cos’ I have come home with some better strategies for him to sleep longer – fingers crossed!! Home from hospital also means no more hospital food. I can categorically say that I will not miss their cooking! Sitting down and filling out my meal orders was probably one of the hardest things I did in the last week. All I could think about was my BBQ - pork, beef, crabs and prawns sizzling away while I sip a frosty beer.

It is going to be a bit tough to get organised for a feast tonight with not much in the fridge or pantry, so it will have to wait until tomorrow night for our gourmet spectacular. So to continue my series on summer cookbooks, tomorrow I will be using Ross Dobson’s Chinatown: sweet sour spicy salty.

A couple of weeks ago I had a massive hankering for some home cooked Chinese food. My cookbook range on the subject was very thin, so instead of spending mucho $$ on some new glossy from Kylie Kwong, I borrowed one of the many cookbooks my sister has on the subject, with Ross’ definitely looking the best.

So, in no particular order of what’s going on the BBQ this summer, here are some of the dishes that will get a decent circulation; and yes, I know I have two tofu recipes here carnivores, but they are both delicious so get used to it you meat lovers out there.

Salt and Pepper Tofu – this is such an easy and cheap dish to prepare. It will only work on the BBQ if you have a side wok attachment.
• 600 grams of silken tofu, cut in cubes
• 750 mL vegetable oil
• Half a cup of cornflour
• 1-2 teaspoons of Sichuan pepper and salt mix – one tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, two teaspoons and two tbsp salt
• One lemon, cut into wedges
Cut up tofu in to cubes and carefully place onto a plate lined with paper towels. Place a couple more paper towels on top and leave for about 30 minutes so the water may be absorbed; roll in cornflour. Heat oil in wok and gently slide/place tofu cubes in wok two at a time for about a minute or golden brown. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain then toss in salt and pepper mix. Serve with Peter Lehman Barossa Semillon 2006.

Char Siu rack of Lamb - another super dish for the BBQ with fantastic sweet and spicy flavours from the marinade combining with the juices of the lamb.
• Third of a cup of Chinese BBQ sauce – Char Siu
• Two tbsp honey
• Third of a cup lemon juice
• One teaspoon sesame oil
• One tbsp peanut oil
• Rack of lamb, about 750 grams
Combine Char Siu, honey, lemon juice and sesame oil and rub marinade in to lamb rack and refrigerate for at least eight hours. Char the rack on the BBQ for about 30-45 seconds to burn a little; this gives a really good flavour hit from the Char Siu. Place in a baking dish and cook for a further 20 minutes in BBQ. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes and carve up. Serve with Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 or De Bortoli Estate Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.

Chilli Blue Swimmer Crab or Singapore Chilli Mud Crab - this will get messy so don’t forget finger bowls and not your children’s wading pool!
• Four blue swimmer crabs/mud crabs
• Three tbsp Chinese chilli sauce
• Three good glugs of tomato sauce, not ketchup – we are in Australia people!
• 200mL chicken stock
• One teaspoon castor sugar
• Half a cup of vegetable oil
• Two garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• One tbsp grated ginger
• Two spring onions, white bit chopped and green bit sliced diagonally
• Two large red chillies, not birds-eye, thinly sliced diagonally
• One egg, lightly beaten
Combine chilli sauce, tomato sauce, stock and sugar in a mixing bowl and dissolve the sugar; set aside. If the crabs are still alive, put them in the freezer for about an hour. Using a cleaver or a heavy bladed knife, make and incision through the head of the crab, put the crabs on their back and lift the tail apron and using your thumb, lever off the top of the shell. Remove the spongy grey gunk and rinse. Cut the crab in half and half again and refrigerate until ready.

Heat the oil in the wok to very high heat. When it reaches smoking point, toss half of the crab contents in and give a good toss for about 3-4 minutes or until coloured. Remove from wok.

Drain almost all of the oil from the wok and add garlic, ginger, spring onion whites and half of the chillies and cook for about 7 seconds then toss in crab and sauce mixture and bring to the boil – keep the kids away at this time cos’ it gets really hot! Keep tossing for a while then slowly pour the egg in as you keep stirring. Cook for another minute. Serve with green spring onion and remaining chilli as garnish. Serve with Provenance Geelong Pinot Noir 2007 or Pepper Tree Hunter Valley Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – this has a lovely tang to it!

Tofu with soy and ginger – this is a great appetiser for something like the last recipe.
• 600 grams of silken tofu, cut in cubes
• 750 mL vegetable oil
• Two tbsp light soy sauce
• One tbsp fish sauce
• Two teaspoons grated ginger
• 40 grams tapioca flour
• Half a teaspoon of fine ground white pepper
• Two spring onions, green part only thinly sliced, diagonally
Prepare the tofu the same way as the first recipe. Simmer fish sauce and ginger in a small bowl to soften ginger. Remove from heat. Heat the oil in the wok to very high. Toss the tofu in flour and cook until golden brown and drain on paper towels. Reheat the sauce mix and pour over tofu with spring onions to garnish. Serve with Bloodwood Orange Riesling 2009.

By Farr Geelong Shiraz 2007

‘I pictured a rainbow

You held in your hands

I had flashes, but you saw the plan

I wandered out in the world for years

While you just stayed in your room

I saw the crescent

You saw the whole of the moon!

The whole of the moon!’

'The Whole of the Moon’ – The Waterboys

There, that’s done with then hey. But enough about silver plates, let’s talk about something that doesn’t need a free ride; By Farr Geelong Shiraz 2007.

A deep garnet red with an almost inky purple hue – this wine spent heaps on skins I reckon. The nose has plenty going on; red liquorice and sour cherry, very redolent to an Antinori Tignanello, and plenty of spice, pepper and minerality, typical of cool climate Shiraz. In the mouth there is more sour cherry with a great layered fleshy finish of chocolate cherry ripe, but not ripe ripe. Super firm tannins and great acid length make this wine a monty for the cellar. On a side note this wine has 2% Viognier - slightly less than previous vintages.

Brilliant balance, brilliant length and super complexity. There is nothing about this wine being too high, too far, too soon – By Farr Shiraz 2007 is the Whole of the Moon!! And yes I still think this is Australia’s best Shiraz – Mucho fantastico!

Drink till 2020
Drink with Beef Bourguignon
98
Quality cork $55 (mailing list) 14% a/v