James Squire Orchard Crush Apple Cider 500ml $6.99
James Squire (part of Kirin-owned Lion group), the latest brewer to hop on the cider wagon, offers a pleasingly dry style with the refreshing flavour and tart bite of a fresh, slightly green granny smith. In a claim reminiscent of “cotton rich” material, we’re told it’s made from a “high proportion of seasonal, locally-grown apples”.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 19 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
From Bristol, that great city of brewing excellence, we learn that we quite likely drink beer faster from curve-sided glasses than straight-sided ones.
In a University of Bristol study, 159 male and female social drinkers consumed either lager or soft drink from a curved or straight glass. The researchers also asked participants to pick the half-full point of the glasses.
The experimenters concluded, “Participants were 60% slower to consume an alcoholic beverage from a straight glass compared to a curved glass. This effect was only observed for a full glass and not a half-full glass, and was not observed for a non-alcoholic beverage. Participants also misjudged the half-way point of a curved glass to a greater degree than that of a straight glass”.
I’m not sure what we’re to do with this insight. But I notice 99 per cent of Schloss Shanahan’s beer glasses are curved. Oh dear.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 19 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chardonnay 2011 $12.35–$16
What do you drink on a camping trip around the Northern Territory? We recently stocked up on this in Darwin and again in Katherine as the seeming best value white at Woolies Liquor. Even up there we paid just $12.35 and it easily passed the campfire taste test, night after night. It’s a modern style chardonnay, based on bright, fresh fruit, with texture and structure (but not overt woody flavours) derived from oak fermentation and maturation. A multi-region blend, the high quality to price relationship owes much to the parent company’s work on its top-end chardonnays.
Illuminati Riparosso Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2010 $9.49–$11.40*
Our red choice for the NT camping trip comes from the Contraguerra region in the hinterland of Italy’s Abruzzi coast. Like the Koonunga Hill above, we bought it from Woolies Liquor (at around $11 a bottle) and we’d have paid dollars more for an Australian red of comparable quality. Like Australian reds, Riparosso starts with clean, fresh fruit flavour. But a delicious, teasing, Italian savouriness sets in, making it a lovely cook’s tipple and refreshing company for food in general. Woolies imports Riparosso direct from Dino Illuminati, a distinguished Abruzzi vigneron.
Bremerton Langhorne Creek Selkirk Shiraz 2010 $20.89–22
Craig and Mignonne Willson set up in Langhorne Creek, on the Bremer River floodplain, in 1985. Their daughters, Rebecca and Lucy (winemaking and marketing, respectively), direct the business. The wines, all estate grown and made, are consistently outstanding, as well as being reasonably priced. They generally present the clear varietal flavours and fleshy, juicy mid palate that makes Langhorne Creek a popular grape source for big company multi-region blends. Bremerton’s pure regional shiraz delivers ripe, plummy, slightly spicy varietal flavour and a succulent, lovable palate, with soft, easy finish.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 16 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
Shelmerdine Heathcote Shiraz 2009 $23.75–$33
Shelmerdine Vineyard, Heathcote, Victoria
The Shelmerdine family established Mitchelton, just across the Goulburn River from historic Tahbilk. They moved on from there decades back and later established vineyards in the Yarra Valley and Heathcote, one of Australia’s new hot spots for shiraz. This wine comes from the family’s Merindoc and Willoughby Bridge vineyards, at opposite ends of Heathcote. It’s a medium bodied, shiraz featuring the region’s unique combination of bright fruit and savoury flavours. The elegant palate finishes with Heathcote’s signature fine but firm tannins – a farewell tweak that goes so well with food.
John Duval Plexus Marsanne Roussanne Viognier 2011 $26–$30
Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia
With Plexus, a blend of three Rhone Valley grape varieties, former Penfolds chief winemaker John Duval says he wants “to build structure and texture, rather than just acid crispness”. Duval recognises that since the warm Barossa can never compete in crispness with wines from cooler areas, then he should take another path. The result in this partially barrel fermented and matured white is pretty much as Duval says – richly textured and soft, but fresh, with subtle and savoury fruit flavours seasoned with leesy notes from the time in barrel. It’s a little lighter bodied than 2010, the firs vintage. But that’s what you’d expect from the cool 2011 season.
Helm Premium Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $52
Lustenberger Vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
Canberra can and does make decent cabernet. But critics, myself included, don’t always assert, as Helm says we do, that it can’t ripen here. Clearly it can in the right conditions. Very pleasant wines from Long Rail Gully, Pankhurst, McKellar Ridge and Helm show that it does. Our criticism is more that to date Canberra hasn’t produced a single great cabernet, and that the quality of the average cabernet is pretty average. However, Helm and daughter Stephanie plan to change that – evidenced by steady improvements in their Premium wine, sourced from neighbour Al Lustenberger’s vineyard. The 2009, to be released in December, shows intense, ripe cabernet varietal flavours and elegant structure. The oak flavours and tannins, however, intrude a little on the fruit. But this is a minor blemish in a very good wine.
Thorn Clarke Shotfire Shiraz 2010 $16–$20
Barossa, South Australia
Thorn Clarke, one of the biggest private winemakers in the Barossa, owns a little under 300 hectares of vineyards in the Eden and Barossa Valleys. They produce a range of wines, but enjoy a particularly strong following for the two reds released under the Shotfire range – this straight shiraz and a cabernet blend. For a reasonable amount of money, the shiraz gives us a lot to like: rich, ripe, earthy, savoury varietal flavours, mixed in with mouth-drying, soft tannins – and a sympathetic, vanilla-like character derived from oak maturation.
Ross Hill Pinnacle Series Chardonnay 2011 $30–$35
Ross Hill Griffin Road home block vineyard, Orange, NSW
Ross Hill is collaboration between Terri and Peter Robson and Greg and Kim Jones. The Robsons planted vines at Orange in the mid nineties and in 2008 joined forces with the Joneses to establish a winery and plant more vineyards. This chardonnay comes from the original Robson vineyard. It shows the lean, tight structure of the cold season. But under the lean, acidic structure lie delicious grapefruit and white peach-like varietal flavours. The rich texture and “struck match” character derived from maturation on yeast lees add to the wine’s appeal. The wine should evolve well for another five years or so in a good cellar.
Smith and Hooper Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011 $16–$22
Wrattonbully, South Australia
If we have to drink sauvignon blanc, let’s bolster it with semillon, in the dry Bordeaux style. In this example from Robert Hill-Smith’s Yalumba group, the winemakers fermented one fifth of the blend in old oak, leaving this component on the spent yeast cells (lees), and stirring the lees every two weeks. The process builds a rich texture and subtle flavours that, together with the semillon, contribute so much to the drinking pleasure. But sauvignon blanc still exerts its pungent, herbal flavour and zesty acidity.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 12 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
The two ciders reviewed today, like the Adelaide Hills products reviewed last week, show the breadth of the craft cider movement in Australia – a movement intent on using natural production techniques and locally grown apples and pears.
The Two Metre Tall Company, owned by Ashley and Jane Huntington, originally brewed real ale but moved to cider production when they discovered the Griggs family growing the traditional English apple cider variety, sturmer pippin, in the Huon Valley.
Ashley, formerly a winemaker for BRL Hardy in France’s Languedoc region, makes the ciders as well as beer from locally grown grains and hops.
The Cidery, located at Bridgetown, Western Australia, makes juice and a range of ciders from apples grown in the long-established Blackwood Valley orchard region.
The idiosyncratic ciders below contrast dramatically in style – the first revealing subtle, pure fruit flavour; the second the grungy characters of prolonged ageing.
The Two Metre Tall Company Farmhouse Dry Cider 500ml $9.90
Ashley Huntington makes this dry, 7.5 per cent, bottle-fermented cider from the traditional English variety, sturmer pippin, grown by the Griggs family in the Huon Valley. The alcohol disappears without trace in a pleasantly tart, dry palate. The fresh, natural apple acidity accentuates the subtle, fresh, delicate apple flavour.
The Cidery Scudamore’s Real Scrumpy Cider 330ml $5.00
The Cidery makes its ciders from pink lady apples grown in Western Australia’s Blackmore Valley. They add no sugar, water, preservative, concentrate or flavour. Their scrumpy storms deliciously over the palate with its eight per cent alcohol and the oxidative, vinegary and sherry-like notes derived from prolonged ageing in barrels.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 12 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
Thorn Clarke Shotfire Barossa Quartage 2010 $15.25–$20
Thorn Clarke’s extensive vineyard holdings in the Barossa wine zone (comprising the Barossa Valley and higher, cooler Eden Valley) contribute grapes to this big value blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec and merlot. It’s an harmonious blend of these Bordeaux varieties and none in particular dominates, although it’s clearly a cabernet driven blend: the varietal character shows in the aroma and structure, but the fleshy mid palate tells of malbec and merlot and presumably it’s the cabernet franc lifting the lovely perfume of the aroma. It has quite a track record now and in the very good 2010 vintage tastes particularly rich and satisfying.
Hahndorf Hill Winery Adelaide Hills Pinot Grigio $25
Pinot grigio disappoints more often than not, but Hahndorf Hill produces the goods regularly and excels in the cool 2012 vintage. The mild ripening conditions brought out the best in the variety, accentuating the pear-like varietal aroma but also adding a herbaceous element reminiscent of sauvignon blanc. That’s only a hint, however, and the pinot grigio stays at the centre of the vibrant, opulent palate. It’s juicy and plush but a strong backbone of acid and grape tannin give it grip and finish. Hahndorf Hill also makes wine from gruner veltliner and blaufrankisch – to be reviewed at another time.
West Cape Howe Book Ends Great Southern Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $22–$26.50
Cape Howe’s big, rich cabernet comes from estate-grown wines at Mount Barker, part of Western Australia’s very large Great Southern region. The area’s more renowned for shiraz than cabernet, but this wine mounts a good argument for the latter. The colour’s deep and crimson rimmed. The aroma’s ripe, showing both cassis and chocolate-like character. The powerful palate delivers more cassis and chocolate, coated in firm, ripe tannins and with an undertone of oak. Although it’s a big wine the structure remains elegant. Winemaker Gavin Berry sources it from three vineyards, including Fox River, planted in the 1970s.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 9 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
In 2010 Steve Dorman and Tobias Kline joined the fast-growing cider industry, sourcing apples and pears from the Adelaide Hills region.
Dorman, a winemaker, says he employs basic winemaking concepts for the ciders – making batches from different apple varieties, picked at different stages of ripeness, then blending to achieve balance between acidity and fruit flavour.
He says the apples and pears come only from the Adelaide Hills and the ciders are made without sugar or flavour additions.
His Hybrid Series combines Adelaide Hills cider with other Australian ingredients – for example, the apple and Queensland ginger cider below and for summer, co-fermented apple and Queensland mango.
A love delicate, dry pear cider ($16.99 330ml 6-pack) and the two ciders reviewed today are outstanding. They’re available at Jim Murphys, Local Liquor Hughes and Narrabundah and Ainslie Cellars, with cider on tap at Little Brussels, Kingston.
The Hills Cider Company Apple Cider 330ml 6-pack $16.99
How refreshing – a dry cider tasting of apples. They’re grown in the Adelaide Hills and deliver a lively, pale-lemon coloured cider with a pleasantly tart acidity accentuating the pure apple flavour – a sort of green apple acidity with ripe apple flavour. The finish is dry and clean, begging another mouthful.
The Hills Cider Company Hybrid Series Apple and Ginger Cider 750ml $15–$20
The hybrid series pairs Adelaide Hills fruit with other ingredients, in this instance fresh ginger from Queensland. The ginger, added during the fermentation, pleasantly dominates the aroma, but on the palate the apple flavour and tartness harmonise nicely with the pungent ginger, leaving a fresh, clean, dry apple-like aftertaste.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 5 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
John Duval Plexus 2010 $31–$39
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Following the disastrous Southcorp acquisition of Rosemount, former Penfolds chief winemaker, John Duval, struck out on his own. In Duval’s Plexus we taste the plush and lovely combination of Barossa shiraz (52 per cent), grenache (29 per cent) and mourvedre – sourced from old vines (some more than 100 years) in Krondorf, Marananga, Ebenezer, Stockwell and Light Pass. Duval knows the vines and wines of these Barossa sub-regions intimately – and how to make, mature and blend them. Plexus combines the generosity and softness of shiraz, perfume and juiciness of grenache and the spiciness and firm tannins of mourvedre. It’s a symbiotic, seamless combination providing exceptional drinking pleasure now and for another five to ten years in a good cellar.
Helm Classic Dry Riesling 2012 $30
Helm Valley, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
Ken Helm calls 2012 the vintage of his lifetime, a credible claim based on the two rieslings reviewed today. Diseased caused by wet conditions destroyed much of the crop. But the clean fruit Helm salvaged from the his own and the neighbouring Lustenberger, Rawlings and Mumberson vineyards achieved ripeness at low sugar levels, with high natural acidity. The 10.3 per cent alcohol Classic Riesling shows intense citrus-like varietal flavour (with perhaps a hint of botrytis influence) cut with an austere, drying acidity. Helm will release the wine in October. By this time the varietal flavour should be asserting itself in harmony with the high acidity.
Helm Premium Riesling 2012 $48
Lustenberger Vineyard, Murrumbateman, Canberra District, NSW
The acidity level’s higher in this than in Helm’s Classic (10 grams per litre versus 8.5) but the extra fruit sweetness and intensity, and sheer power of the wine mollifies the acidity. The wine’s bone dry and austere at present, but the underlying fruit flavour, from past experience, will blossom in time – with a notable step up during spring as the wine warms up. I suspect I’ll move to a five-star rating then going on what I’m tasting now. Helm will release the wine in October.
Giesen Gisborne Merlot 2010 $16–$18
Gisborne, North Island, New Zealand
The success of New Zealand sauvignon blanc opened the minds of Australia wine drinkers to the country’s other wines. Chardonnay and pinot noir followed sauvignon blanc, the latter in considerable volume. Then for the cognoscenti came the extraordinary wines of Hawkes Bay’s Gimblett gravels sub-region. Lesser known in Australia, though, are the wines of Gisborne, the world’s easternmost vineyards. Giesen’s merlot shows plummy varietal aroma and earthy flavours on a medium body. An herbaceous, stalky note reveals the cool origins of the fruit.
Yalumba Patchwork Barossa Shiraz 2010 $13.45–$21.95
Barossa, South Australia
The Hill-Smith family’s Yalumba winery at Angaston, sits on a road linking the Barossa Valley to the Eden Valley. The winery sources fruit from both regions, which together are known under Australian law as the Barossa Zone – the appellation on Patchwork’s label. At 13.5 per cent, the alcohol level is modest by Barossa standards. But this is not at the expensive of ripe, plush fruit flavours and juicy, soft ripe tannins – both thumbprints of Barossa shiraz. In a recent tasting it looked good against some pretty expensive competition. Watch for the discounts.
Parker Coonawarra Estate Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $40
Parker Estate vineyard, Southern Coonawarra, South Australia
To the casual eye Coonawarra looks uniform and flat, barely changing in elevation in the roughly 15-kilometre drive from the southernmost to northernmost vines. Yet the southern vines ripen weeks later than the northern ones, more than could be accounted for by the miniscule difference in latitude. While the old names of Coonawarra tend to cluster at the northern end, comparative newcomers like Parker Estate (planted 1985 by John Parker but now part of the Rathbone Wine Group) make beautiful wines. Parker 2008 shows Coonawarra’s pure, ripe-berry flavours and elegant structure. Very good oak adds an attractive cedar-like perfume and pulls all the flavour and structural elements together.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 5 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
Waterwheel Bendigo Shiraz 2010 $14.25–$18
The vineyard, now covering more than120 hectares, was established in 1972 and acquired by the Cumming family in 1989. Presumably the scale of production enables continued production at such a reasonable price. It’s deep and brightly coloured and the palate fleshy and rich – dense with ripe, black-cherry fruit flavours, layered with quite solid but not hard tannins. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and undergoes malolactic fermentation (a secondary ferment converting hard malic acid to soft lactic acid) before maturation in new, one and two year old American oak hogsheads.
Brand’s Laira Coonawarra Blockers Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $20.65–$28
Decades ago Eric and Nancy Brand purchased the Laira Vineyard, plum in the heart of Coonawarra’s terra soils. The family later planted more vines on the black soils some distance to the west, though I notice under McWilliams ownership the Laira name seems to apply to the new as well as the old plantings. The wine, however, is very good at the price, providing true Coonawarra varietal flavour and fine structure. It won gold medals at the Limestone Coast and Riverina wine shows – the former being particularly important as Coonawarra lies within the Limestone Coast wine zone.
Hahndorf Hill Winery Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc2012 $23
The cool 2012 vintage ended with a mild ripening period and produced outstanding white wines from what I’ve seen to date. Hahndorf Hill’s sauvignon blanc, a bronze medal winner at Canberra’s Winewise Small Vignerons Awards, shows the rich, pleasing fruit flavours of the vintage. The attractive tropical-fruit character of the aroma flows through to the generous, fleshy, juicy palate. And the high acid of the cool season gives a very fresh, invigorating finish to the wine. Australia struggles with sauvignon blanc, a variety suited to generally cooler climates, but in 2012 we’re likely to see many more high quality wines like this one.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 2 September 2012 in The Canberra Times
We’re in Quay restaurant, watching the sea pulse through Sydney harbour on a miserably, cold, wet windy day. After the long drive from Canberra and cold walk from the Opera House car park, we’re comfortably settled, hungry and keen to launch into Peter Gilmore’s revered degustation lunch (a generous Christmas gift from our son and his fiancee).
We’ve studied the wine list online – an adventurous selection, compiled by head sommelier, Amanda Yallop. It gives us the confidence to go with Quay’s wine suggestions.
Our wine waiter for the day, Russell Mills, shows us the “classic” ($95) and “premium” ($175) wine matches – a half glass each of eight wines, selected by Yallop’s team to suit the eight dishes in the degustation menu ($220).
He says the wine team selects the wines on each list, then runs them past the cooking team for the thumbs up.
We decide to go with the premium selection all through the menu, but to try the first three whites from the classic selection as well.
Like the party game falling backwards, hoping someone might catch you, there’s a risk in trusting the wine waiter. But the potential reward is significant in a good restaurant with such a diverse wine selection. In this instance the eclectic selection, accompanied by the theatre of a new, unique glass with each wine, took us beyond our well-travelled path in the most delightful way.
What follows then is our impressions of the wine experience at Quay – the first three courses accompanied by two wines each, the first from the premium selection, the second from the classic selection. From there on, the wines are all from the premium selection.
Marco Felluga “Mongris” Pinot Grigio 2010 (Collio, Italy)
Moorilla Estate “Muse” Riesling 2009 (Tasmania)
Sashimi of Corner Inlet rock flathead, Tasmanian trumpeter, salt cured wild oyster cream, black lipped abalone, raw sea cabbage, nasturtiums, warrigals, periwinkles.
Sommelier’s aim: Dry, textured, minerally wines, not overtly fruity, to match a subtle, textural dish.
What we found: All of the above in the partially barrel-fermented Italian pinot grigio – a particularly fine example of the style, very much on the savoury side with rich texture, derived from the barrel work. It was my preference of the two with the supremely delicate food. Moorilla’s Muse, rated highly on the texture and minerality scale, but the floral and citrusy, maturing riesling varietal character pushed it towards fruity, away from savoury. This delicate fruitiness still worked with the food. Both wines were highly distinctive.
Pyramid Valley “Field of Fire” Chardonnay 2009 (Canterbury, New Zealand)
Krinklewood Chardonnay 2010 (Hunter Valley, NSW)
Congee of Northern Australian mud crab, fresh palm heart, egg yolk emulsion.
Sommelier’s aim: A sweet and delicate dish requires full-bodied but delicate wines like modern chardonnays with little obvious oak impact.
What we found: We’re supposed to be savouring the wine with the food, but who can help comparing the wine styles first, both full-bodied chardonnays but widely different in style. The New Zealand wine is older, produced without sulphur dioxide, fermented in large old oak and bottled without fining and filtering. Apart from the deep lemon-gold colour it’s youthful and fresh on the palate – full and ripe flavoured with funky yeast lees influence, but with assertive acidity providing backbone and freshness to the finish.
The pale-lemon coloured, green tinted Hunter wine shimmered with pure, ripe, white-peach varietal flavour against a subtle nutty background, derived from yeast lees. It’s a very even, very youthful wine and a total contrast to its New Zealand companion.
Both of the wines worked with the food, the Krinklewood predictably and conventionally; but Pyramid for its idiosyncrasy.
Domaine de Belliviere “Les Rosiers” 2010 (Jasnieres, Loire Valley, France)
Bellar Ridge Chenin Blanc 2009 (Swan Valley, Western Australia)
Gently poached southern rock lobster, hand-caught Tasmanian squid, golden tapioca, lobster velvet.
Sommelier’s aim: An opulent dish requires wines counterbalancing sweetness and acidity.
What we found: Again we couldn’t help comparing the wines (both made from chenin blanc) before trying the food combinations. The Western Australian wine fell down on the most important measure, in my opinion. Though fresh and clean and richly textured, the wine’s acidity proved no much for its sweetness. With the balance tipped to sweetness, the wine just didn’t work with the food for me. On the other hand, the perfect tension between sweetness and acidity in the Loire Valley wine couldn’t have been better for the food.
Bass Phillip Pinot Noir 2010 (Gippsland, Victoria)
Roasted partridge breast, teamed truffle brioche, confit egg yolk, new season white walnuts, fumet of vin jaune.
Sommelier’s aim: Not stated – too excited about “Australia’s best pinot”.
What we found: We’ve visited Phillip Jones at Bass Phillip, tasted many wines over many years and the best are truly stunning, this one included. This was our wine of the day – pure, magic, ethereal, rich, earthy and fine. What wonderful company for this sublime dish.
Claude Courtois Or’Norm Sauvignon 2008 (Sologne, France)
Smoked and confit pig cheek, shiitake, shaved scallop, Jerusalem artichoke leaves, juniper, bay.
Sommelier’s aim: An adventurous wine to match the smokiness of the dish.
What we found: This is another idiosyncratic wine style made without sulphur dioxide and deliberately oxidised slowly in old oak for three years. This results in a slightly rusty coloured wine that retains clear varietal sauvignon blanc character while taking on other aromas and flavours familiar to lovers of sherry, vin santo and vin jaune. It’s an unusual wine for sure, the richness, high acidity and tart oxidative flavours sat comfortably with the delicate, smoky pig cheek. One glass is enough.
Spinifex “Tabor” Mataro 2009 (Barossa Valley, South Australia)
Pasture raised milk-fed veal poached in smoked bone marrow fat, shiitake mushrooms, raw buckwheat, young orach, land samphire, parsnip.
Sommelier’s aim: An earthy wine is required to carry the smoke and earthiness of the food.
What we found: A deep, crimson-rimmed Barossa red that at 15 per cent alcohol may have been too robust for the dish. But alcohol tells only part of the story – in this instance only a small part, as the deep, rich, spicy fruit flavours and firm but fine tannins easily masked it. It’s a full-bodied wine, but the full flavours worked harmoniously with the food – and how nice to finish the reds on full, earthy, satisfying note. It’s sourced from two old vineyards in the Tabor area near Tanunda.
Domaine de L’Arjolle “Lyre” 2007 (Pouzelles, France)
Guava snow egg.
Sommelier’s aim: A luscious but not overly sweet wine, with structure, and should not compete with the dessert for sweetness.
What we found: It was a good choice to sit the wine in the background and let this extraordinary, complex dessert remain at centre stage. We attacked it with childlike delight – pausing to sip the light-golden coloured wine. It’s made of muscat blanc a petits grains. But the luscious fruit flavour seemed more like melon than in-your-face, fruity muscat. And a reasonably high phenolic level added texture and assertive grip to the finish – cleansing the palate rather than adding more sugar.
Chambers Grand Muscat NV (Rutherglen, Victoria)
Jersey cream, salted caramel, prunes, walnuts, ethereal sheets.
Sommelier’s aim: The wine must highlight the dried fruit and sweetness of the dessert.
What we found: I don’t have a sweet tooth, but coming off the crunchy, icy luxury of the snow egg, we were converted by the teasing nibbles of chocolate and toffee ethereal sheets; and succumbed completely to the luxury of the cream, caramel, prunes and nuts physically holding them up. The incredibly luscious, olive-green rimmed old muscat became part of the dessert – a rare and outstanding example of sweet plus sweet actually working.
Copyright © Chris Shanahan 2012
First published 29 August 2012 in The Canberra Times