The Age of Australia

In January of this year I had a wonderful trip around Australia. The thriving food and wine scene there provided many memorable moments, but none moreso than a lunch that was arranged by local wine-lovers, including members of wine-pages’ discussion forum, in a modest Italian restaurant in Melbourne.

A dozen of us assembled one afternoon and over shared plates of arancini, pizza and salads, we worked our way through some remarkable wines liberated from the various cellars of those attending. The range of wine demonstrated Australia’s diversity and quality in spades, but also included some rare, very old Australian wine icons that were a real privilege to taste.

We enjoyed ourselves so much that as we staggered out we arranged a second get together for a small group to concentrate only on historic wines. I will report on that in part II. My thanks to my hosts – and I hope to repay your kindness some day.

White Wines

(2024) From the Upper Yarra. 30% new oak, fine and mealy character, lovely rounded stone fruit, also a fine lime skin grip on the finish, balanced acidity. Not in the UK at time of review.
(2024) Wonderfully developed toasty nose, dripping with honey. Fresh churned butter and a streak of fat, juicy lime cutting through the inherent sweetness. Fabulous – I’m a sucker for these aged Hunters. This is a single vineyard wine from Tyrell's.
(2024) Biodynamic certified, 100% barrel-fermented with 20% new oak. Interesting aromas, reminding me of seeds and nuts, a dukkah character, a touch of orange and a light natural yeast hay-like earthiness. There is a sweetness to the mid-palate, beautifully ripe apple and ogen melon fruit, barely touches into a more tropical place. Long and beautifully balanced. This is a bit of a cult wine in Australia, selling for around $90 if you can find it, but sadly not in the UK.

Red Wines

(2024) From the Yarra Valley. Quite a developed soft colour for 2017. Quite fragrant, with a little balsamic and fig character, gentle truffle giving more interest. Lots of fruit sweetness on the mid palate, and the acid and tannin framework supports nicely. Long and fairly showy, but impressive.
(2024) From the Macedon Ranges. More youthful colour than the Levantine Hill. Fragrant, a little more perfumed with a floral and herbal character, crunchy cranberry touching into pomegranate. Lovely palate, the supple, harmonious mid-weight gently filled with red fruit, supported by a little chocolate oak, and balanced beautifully into the finish. Apparently about one-seventh the price of the Levantine Hill, but I really liked this.
(2024) Fabulous fragrance here, the violet and rose lift, but the cool climate meatiness and sizzle of bacon fat. The palate is dry and may have lost a little of its fruit concentration, but that's immaterial, as it has a succulent, subtle red fruit and terrific balance.
(2024) Bright, solid, sweet wine, more into the rich chocolate and luscious dark berries and Maraschino cherry spectrum. Rich, pure, lovely fruit richness and supple quality. Very polished this, super-fine tannins and elegant acid balance.
(2024) Mostly Shiraz, possibly with around 5% white varieties. Just a beautiful, coffee infused, sumptuous and soft nose, with that undertow of dried blood and game, but so mellow and sweet on the palate. Caressing, resolved, unruffled stuff the finish long and seamless.
(2024) Shows its class, fine cedar and bloody black fruit, nicely resolved on the palate, the pure, sweet and fleshy character of black fruit melts seamlessly into the resolved tannins and supportive plum-skin acidity of the finish.
(2024) From magnum. Developed colour and lovely notes of black leaf tea edging into still pure blackcurrant. There is that hessian like note of slightly fading grandeur, but the palate so charming, with still a cherry freshness, a little chestnut character to the ripe black fruit. Still has spice and ripeness adding a rippling layer to the finish.

Sweet Wines

(2024) A blend of the two vintages 1934 (around 30%) and 1952 (around 60%), probably bottled in the 1980s. Fabulous, mature toffee and toast, walnuts and beautiful palate sweetness. Some lovely leaf tea notes. Possibly made from Semillon, commonly known as Madeira at the time. Just beautifully luscious and sweet, but with still thrilling acidity. What a treat.
(2024) Dry, gentle aromatics, becomes quite smoky and nutty, a peppery quality. Fruit is about prunes and fresher glimpses of blackcurrant. It is moving into a faded, slightly rancio character but really enjoyable. Possibly a blend of Shiraz and Touriga Nacional.
(2024) Another fabulous slice of Australian heritage, this is a fortified wine of unknown age – possibly 1970s? Note of hessian or new laid carpet, caramel and walnut, but is there a hint of Sauvignon zip? There's a streak of espresso bittersweetness that acts to cleanse and propel this. An intriguing wine and holding up really well. Enjoyed this rarity. No alcohol level was stated on the label, so a guess at 15% has been entered by me. It's also difficult to say with this great age whether the wine was lightly fortified or naturally sweet.

 

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