AceHighWine

For the rest of the week, I’ll be taking Polaroids of the wines I’ll be writing up. In addition to wine and cards, photography is another interest of mine with instant photography being responsible for a good chunk of my debt. If you’re wondering why the funny borders - you might remember the classic white borders of Polaroid 600 film - it’s actually cheaper to buy expired Polaroid film than fresh, new stuff and I recently picked up a stash of expired film that was a mixed bag of promotional Polaroid film odds and ends.

And while on the topic of things that are a little different, today’s recommendation is this little beauty from McLaren Vale in South Australia. Aromas of nougat, agar-agar jelly, rose petals and strawberries denote this as shamelessly Moscatic. The powerful palate is driven by currents of rose, citrus, vanilla and strawberry but with enough of an acid rip tugging away beneath the surface to drag the wine from “cloying, sweet and kiddy” to between the red and white flags of balanced and serious. This is great stuff and a wonderful debut moscato from the Wirra Wirra mob.

I’m looking forward to cracking open a bottle of this at the end of our next Indian dinner and seeing how it pairs with some gulab jamun (milk dumplings in rose syrup) but regardless of whether enjoyed with food or not, this is terrific stuff and the perfect picnic wine with a low enough alcohol content - 5.5 per cent at “sea level” according to the label - to be gluggable straight out the bottle (but don’t because in addition to making you look like a heathen, it’ll taste like pants) while looking pretty and dainty enough to go with the ladies’ summer frocks. It’s a shame the design is so feminine as I suspect many blokes will keep their distance from this which is a bit of a shame really. 500ml bottles. 17.5+ www.wirrawirra.com

Michael Fragos – Chief Winemaker at McLaren Vale’s Chapel Hill winery - beat wine industry all-comers from across the globe to win the Wolf Blass Trophy for “Winemaker of the Year” at London’s highly-acclaimed 2007 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC).

In a stunning performance, the IWSC judges also awarded Chapel Hill the Maersk Logistics Trophy for Australian Wine Producer of the Year.

In earlier judging, the winery also won the Penfolds Trophy for Best Australian red wine for its 2004 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz, and the Warren Winiarski Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon for the 2005 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon.

“I am absolutely ecstatic and proud of our achievements,” a delighted Mr Fragos said.

“For Chapel Hill’s winemaking excellence to be recognised over and above winemakers from more than 50 countries is an outstanding effort, and really cements our position on the world stage.

“The award is great recognition to the commitment and enthusiasm to the entire Chapel Hill team and our loyal group of grape growers.”

The International Wine and Spirit Competition was founded in 1969 and is regarded as the premier competition of its kind in the world.

This year’s competition attracted more than 5000 entries from over 50 countries.

/END PRESS RELEASE

www.chapelhill.com.au and www.iwsc.net

Another week at the office, another excuse to open a couple of wines for the department to enjoy and me to have a look at. One white and one red were produced for tasting, offering a little something for everyone.

Voyager Estate Chenin Blanc 2007 ($20): Complex nose built upon a core of forward tropical fruit aromas tinged with hints of musk and florals. Not as sugary as the perpetual Amberley, this semi-sweet chenin is juicy and driven by a fruit-centric palate of musk, apples, peaches and tropical fruit that feel full and pure in the mouth. A refreshing lick of acidity on the finish rounds of the package nicely. Delicious summer drinking and released in time for consuming en masse in the warm weather. 16.5. www.voyagerestate.com.au

Rosemount Show Reserve McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004 ($20): Nice nose: meat with thick lashings of caramel nose and plum with a heady choc-mint character. Very attractive aromas. It’s a juicy red wine built upon a foundation of fine tannins, delicious plum flavours, chocolate biscuit oak nuances and more of that peculiar mintiness - not a character normally associated with McLaren Vale shiraz but I think it works with the juicier, less intense style of shiraz I’ve tasted from the region’s ‘04 vintage. Everything is well balanced and feels supple in the mouth to create a soft and approachable drink that finishes long. Good value drinking from a good vintage. 17. www.rosemountestate.com.au

Growing up, the mentality was that having a nice meal was always reserved for “special occasions”, things like birthdays, graduation, Chinese New Year and the like.

But now - and with the realisation that none of us are getting younger and tomorrow is never always a suer thing - we’ve all adapted the mentality of any time being perfect for celebrating life and enjoying good food and wine.

While the price of food across the board will never be as cheap as we remembered, I think it’s still affordable enough to be able to get decent produce and whip up something nice at home.

And being the non-cash-ladden and (I like to think) unpretentious souls we are, Marie and I are more than happy to pop open a bottle of Trilogy at the start of a meal - creamy, biscuitty and long, you can’t ask much else for a sub-$10 sparkling.

Admittedly, it’s often just as cheap to go out and eat when just cooking for two (or less, God knows Marie and I eat out too often when we can’t be bothered), but there’s something very therapeutic about DIY’ing a meal. Plus eating in means not having to worry about a skipper either… ding!

And with such a tasty wine open, it’s great to be able to go back for a second glass without having to worry about them old Booze Buses - especially when just-on medium-rare steak goes so beautifully well with it…

d’Arenberg Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier 2006 ($29.95): Considering Collingwood getting up over West Coast last Friday in what has to be one of the most captivating games of footy I’ve ever seen, I suppose it’s only fitting to review the latest vintage of d’Arenberg’s black and white champion - but unlike the result of that extra time thriller between the Pies and Eagles, I really like this child of the ‘06 vintage. It smells good with aromas of plum, liquered cherry, dark chocolate and slices of meat: typical McLaren Vale complexity. Nice, thick plumminess assisted by mocha oak nuances and touches of funk that finish long and juicy aided by some good acidity. Much softer and subtler than previous Laughing Magpies on release - the signs are good that vintage ‘06 will be remembered as a good ‘un from the consistently consistent lads at d’Arenberg. 17. www.darenberg.com

After having several opportunities to taste this when it was released approximately 15 months back, I realised I still had in my possession the sample half-bottle d’Arenberg had sent. Monday night’s rare pepper beef roast between the four of us presented a pretty good excuse to have a look at the ‘03 dead arm and see how it was travelling…

Intense aromas of ripe plum, black berry jam, aniseed, ribena syrup and dark chocolate still sing loudly, though the leady and tarry voices in the choir aren’t as noticeable as they once were. Thick, viscous, very generous flavours with ripe plumy fruit still weighing in heavily on the palate with some integrated biscuitty oak lending its weight too. While the medium-bodied tannins play guide for the wine in the mouth, the finish is a touch firm and drying, but not enough to detract from its lengthy black berry fruit flavours. In summary: youthful, voluptuous and very forward - exactly what we men wished every hottie we spied at the pub was like. I reckon the full bottles of the ‘03 Dead Arm will be looking pretty handy come 2009-2012. 17.5/20 www.darenberg.com.au

A new blip on my sub-$20 value radar, this multi-vineyard McLaren Vale red (60 per cent shiraz, 30 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 10 per cent grenache) embodies the region’s drinkability: attractive ripe plum flavours, nicely handled vanilla oak that coexists peacefully with the wine’s silky tannins and a persistent, succulent finish that’s not all that common at this price point. Not sure what distribution’s like for this, but it’d be a pretty handy drop to be able to whip out for impromptu occassions that call for a decent splash of red. 16.5/20 www.chalkhill.com.au

After a less-than-inspiring tasting of sub-$20 red wine blends, it became obvious that there’s a lot of unremarkable (at best, faulty at worst) new cheap reds doing the rounds. Regardless of what “connoisseurs” might think of perenial shelf-fillers like Queen Adelaide, Matthew Lang, Sacred Hill et al, the reason I think they continually sell so well year in and out is brand familiarity: generations of “social” wine drinkers recognise these brands as dependable drops for their drinking dollar, have done so for many years and are likely to do so for many more.

I suspect that many up-and-coming names in the industry would kill for this sort of recognition and steady earner for their bottom line.

I also think this could be part of the aforementioned problem to do with the swell of ho-hum red - and similarly, white - wine trickling on to the market.

On more than one occasion, it’s discovered that these new names are second labels from established and reputable wineries who have decided to dip their toes into the waters of the lower - and more competitive - price point market. In these instances, I think already established reputations serve as a hindrance as savvy consumers make comparisons that inevitably result in disappointment when the new doesn’t live up to the expectations set by its predecessor.

Of course, decisions made in the marketing department and sheer necessity are often catalysts for the introduction of wines to a brand’s portfolio and with the industry getting more competitive by the vintage, producers can’t be blamed for such decisions - but I think signs are starting to emerge that the wine glut that Australian consumers were once showering freely in may not be as perpetual as once thought…

“When it rains, it pours.”

Or so the old saying goes. At the moment, Perth is enjoying a healthy downpour of rain which is no doubt great news for the dams, both directly in terms of filling ‘em up and indirectly in terms of people turning off their sprinklers while Mother Nature puts her hose on the garden.

Wet weather is also great for hearty winter fare, say peppery medium-rare roast beef. With shiraz and cabernet. And friends. And is as customary when you’re entertaining, you need a nice sweet drop to sign off on the night…

Heady and intoxicating aromas of marmalade, apricot jam, passionfruit that also continue on to the palate. Luscious and rich but tempered by enough refreshing acidity to perish any thought of the word ‘cloying’. Succulent streamers of citrus unravel themselves through the super-long finish that moves slowly throughout the mouth. It’s a big call, but this is the best recent release sticky I can remember tasting under the d’Arenberg label - perhaps any Australian wine label. As an added bonus, this wine is sealed under screwcap, meaning you get the wine just as fresh as the Osborns intended. A great match with the strawberry and custard tart our friends Zoë and Kim brought around for dessert. Outrageous value considering the quality you’re getting for your dollar. 18.5/20