One night while we were in the Mornington Peninsula, I was put in charge of wine-buying for that night’s meal we were cooking up at home. Normally I like to try something new and local (preferably picked up during an afternoon of cellar door hopping) but with the local Liquorland the only bottle shop open at seven in the evening, the options were limited.
I decided the time was ripe for a Quaff experiment and grabbed three wines that had been recommended in the last edition of the book. The wine bill was just over $20 - usually not even enough to cover the cost of a single bottle of “boutique” wine - and for my money, I picked up a bottle of Yellow NV, Sacred Hill Cab Merlot and the ‘05 vintage of this. All were excellent and represented exceptional value for money and not a complaint was uttered by anyone at the dining table.
I’m happy to report that the ‘06 is even better than the ‘05!
Varietal pinot stink with exciting Meters-esque* funk that is lacking in wines with an asking price $10 greater than this wee ripper. Attractive grainy texture which is fleshed out by delicious juicy cherry and red berry flavours. Excellent structure and balance with bonus points for a touch of grip on the long, succulent and persistent finish. By most people’s standards, this is excellent varietally correct pinot noir, but coupled with the ludicrous price tag**, is a no-brainer for those nights when the lure of that roast duck hanging in the Chinese BBQ house’s window proves too tempting… 17.5 www.debortoli.com.au
* The Meters were a fantastic funk band who were heavily sampled and unwittingly played a major role in the development of hip-hop music.
** As an aside, this was tasted double-blind alongside a Margaret River pinot retailing at $50 a pop and while there was certainly tasting panel support for the more expensive drop, everyone’s preference was for this. Goes to show that you don’t need to spend a lot of money for varietal wine in Australia.
