WINE
Australian winemaking. Although much grape production has now moved out of the region, many of the nation’s most iconic names retain headquarters here, and in temperatures that regularly soar beyond 40 degrees, Shiraz is king. Vineyards have been planted here for 100 years or more, and so many wines have a rich, broody ‘old vine’ component, adding yet more concentration and alcohol to already potent wines. ‘Sarus’ is just such an example, with deep, soft briar and damson fruit overlain with sweet vanilla and mocha coming from time spent in oak.
winemaking, but its proximity to Sydney
has meant that the Hunter Valley has been under cultivation even longer than Barossa. It is also within striking distance for a day trip and sprouted a good array of restaurants and hotels for tourism. This wine, a Hunter Valley classic, shows aromas of honey and marmalade with a clean line of citrus which runs through a rich and luscious palate to a fresh, long finish.
CRANSWICK ‘SARUS’ BAROSSA SHIRAZ 2008, £10.99
Rupert Bates: I got biscuit, chocolate, pepper and earthy fruit tones. Peter Barker, a beer man, taking time out from his Two Cocks brewery on the Mornington Peninsula, said: “The nose is heavy, but the palate light,” and, warming to the cricket theme in the aftertaste, “Short legs, not long legs.” Not the bold, powerful shiraz I expected.
Toby Peirce: Barossa is the broiling heartland of
SHAW AND SMITH M3 CHARDONNAY 2008, ADELAIDE HILLS, £20.99
Rupert Bates: Melons from this light Chardonnay and I did not get any oak at all. The nose was lemon grass, with a slightly tart aftertaste. From the Adelaide Hills, but it did not taste like it had been dragged through a wood unless it was a pineapple wood.
Toby Peirce: Adelaide Hills is one of the many sub- regions making up the wine region around southern Adelaide. This is a relatively young region, growing as a result of the Australian winemaking flight to cooler altitudes and sub-regions. This complex, Burgundian effort shows the benefits of a longer, cooler growing season, giving the wine rich but elegant aromas and flavours not present in many of the brasher, heavier chardonnays more typically produced in Australia. Wines available from
www.quaffit.com.
Homes Overseas .25
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