The Australian Seduction (Part Three)
Earlier parts of this blog were posted on October 17 & 31.
Yes, I freely admit, every hour of every day I was becoming more and more seduced by Australian wine. And not just the wine--I was being seduced by Australian cuisine and by the easy-going friendliness and humor of the Australian people.
My second full day at Savour Australia had to do, apart from tasting some truly excellent wine, with a number of forums concerning economic issues and global market trends for Australian wine. If this topic sounds dry as dirt to you, it wasn’t. The speakers were insightful, interesting and even downright hilarious. (One esteemed speaker even had the several hundred attendees, myself included, on their feet and playing air guitar.)
Later I had the pleasure of attending a Pinot Noir Master class, moderated by one of Australia’s foremost wine educators and writers Jeremy Oliver. Pinot Noir is not a varietal that usually comes to mind when Australian wine is brought up, at least in the perception of the rest of the world. But it is a passion that many Australian winemakers ardently pursue, and what we tasted here was certainly quality Pinot Noir that could stand beside any in the world. The first flight of nine wines from various regions and in vintages between 2004 and 2012 celebrated the pioneers of Australian Pinot Noir--Yarra Yering, Paringa, Bass Phillip and Coldstream Hills among others. The second flight of eight wines was centered around ‘new wave’ Pinot Noir--wineries that are pursuing neoteric directions such as Marchand & Burch, Giant Steps, Hurley Vineyard and Bay of Fires among others. The true delight--apart from being able to taste such amazing Pinot--was to listen to the winemakers themselves argue (humorously) and discuss the various wines. What impressed me was the intense passion these men and women have for this varietal, because I believe that where there is passion among winemakers there is also interesting and excellent wine.
In the evening we attended a function at the old Queen’s Theatre in Adelaide. The theatre is basically just a shell now, but it offered booths with diverse food from top local restaurants, entertainment and a dance floor, and about 150 wines that we could help ourselves to. The wine selection was astonishing, not only for its quality but also for its diversity. After sating myself with any number of these wonderful wines and making some good contacts with winemakers and owners, I ended the evening hanging out with the band and having a few beers with them at a nearby bar into the wee hours.
The following day was the Grand Tasting of over 750 wines at the Adelaide Convention Centre, and I will admit that I awoke that morning with something of a heavy head. But duty called and I was off again in my quest to find some of the best Australian wines available for our ABC stores.
That evening came one of the true wine treats of my life. I had a special invitation to attend a tasting and dinner at the Yalumba Museum. In the last 164 years the museum has only been opened to specially invited guests 33 times, so this was a chance to taste and enjoy some truly rare bottles. There were 22 wines to taste in the cellars before dinner including a 1922 Yalumba Shiraz Port No. 9 (which also had some Dolcetto blended in), a 1938 Yalumba Riesling, a 1973 Pewsey Vale Vineyard Eden Valley Riesling, three vintages of Yalumba ‘The Virgilius’ (arguably Australia’s premier Viognier), Jim Barry ‘The Armagh’ Shiraz ’89, ’94, and ’06 from Clare Valley, and a Yalumba ‘The Signature’ Barossa Cabernet Shiraz from 1966.
These wines may just have been the ultimate in seduction!
This blog will continue in 2 weeks’ time right here.
Bill Stobbs, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor
Follow me on Twitter @abcwinebills
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