Becca Johnstone

It’s cold. VERY cold. Eat this and be warm.

I should probably say a little more than that, but that’s really the whole point of this recipe. For me this is such a Sunday lunch thing. It takes a bit of time, but really not much work. Slow cooking rocks, just put it on and let it do it’s thang. Fresh pappardelle is hands down my favourite pasta. It takes me back to my time in Perugia where the local specialty was wild boar with pappardelle spiked with spicy black pepper. I’ve run with it ever since! Alas, my local butcher was out of Umbrian Wild Boar (what are they good for, really?) so lamb shanks it is. But really, who can complain about meltingly tender lamb that you could eat even if you didn’t have any teeth? Not I.

Serves 4 hungry folk.

For the pasta:

• 4 eggs
• 400g durum wheat flour + extra for dusting
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

Make the pasta in your preferred method. For me, it’s by hand. So combine all the dry ingredients and tip them on to your surface and make a well in the center. Crack in the eggs, then gradually work the flour into the eggs until you have a dough forming. Remember, every time you work with flour you may need a little more, or a little less. So feel the way your dough is coming together and incorporate the flour gradually. I work the dough for at least 10 minutes to get that gluten working – your dough needs to have some bounce back.  Once it’s at that point, wrap it in cling and let it rest at least half an hour.

After it’s rested, either roll it by hand, or through a pasta machine ensuring you laminate (fold it over on itself) at least 4 times – again to help that gluten work. Once it’s gorgeously thin, cut it in to 1 inch/3cm ribbons and hang to dry. You can dust with flour and leave in clumps, but my kitchen gets so stuffy that it usually ends up sticking together if I do that. NOTE: the broom handle was cleaned prior to use! Now take a step back and admire your speckled ribbons of wonder!

For the ragu:

• 4 large lamb shanks
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 1 zucchini, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 4 anchovies
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ¼ cup of dried porcini, rehydrated
• 1 cup of full-bodied red wine
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• A bouquet garnet of 2 bay leaves, thyme, parsley stalks, oregano, rosemary and orange zest strips.
• 1 litre of chicken stock/vegetable stock/water
• Olive oil
• Salt, sugar and pepper to taste
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley to serve

Preheat oven to 140 degrees. Over a high heat, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in large, oven-safe pan. Season the lamb shanks well and brown. Brown them really well; this will give you super flavor in the end product. Once browned, set aside.

Drop your heat to a more medium/high level and in the same pan, cook off the onion, celery, carrot, zucchini, garlic and anchovies with a little salt and pepper. There’s no need to chop the anchovies, they will just melt into the vegetables making them extra delicious. Once the vegetables are softened add the chilli flakes, porcini (and the water they were reconstituted in) and tomato paste and cook off for another few minutes.

Add your wine and cook to burn off the alcohol – at least until it’s reduced by half. Add the tinned tomatoes and bouquet garnet and stir to combine. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add your stock or water and stir to combine, and then add the sealed lamb shanks (plus any juices) back to the pan so they are submerged. Cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven. Allow this to cook, slowly for 2-3 hours or until the lamb shanks are falling away from the bone. Check on it every now and then to make sure it remains moist, if needed add a little water. You are after a thick, juicy sauce though.

When the ragu is cooked allow it to cool slightly before you remove the lamb shanks. Remove the meat from the bones and shred it back in to the sauce – not too finely though, you want it chunky and delicious. Check your seasoning – it usually needs some salt, pepper and a little sugar – then keep it warm while you prepare the pappardelle.

Cook the pappardelle in plenty of boiling salted water and combine with your luscious lamb shank ragu. This dish is so incredibly rich that parmesan at this point would be an absolute sin. Just some fresh flat leaf parsley and a glass of a Coonawarra Cabernet. I was lucky enough to enjoy this with a bottle of Murdock Reserve 2006 Cabernet – a beautifully layered wine with firm tannins and a great minty earthiness typical of Coonawarra.

Winter ain’t so bad, right?

What’s your favourite winter warmer? Let us know on Twitter @bonvivantblog. If you have any questions about this or other recipes just shoot me an email: becca@thebonvivant.com.au

Held at Society Cellars Ultimo

Danny Ryan

I recently had the opportunity to attend a tasting of 8 Elderton Wines at The Society Cellars in Ultimo. Hosted by Cameron Ashmead we had the opportunity to go through 2 whites and 4 Reds including a 2002 Back vintage of the Command Shiraz. Elderton is a small family winery based in the Barossa Valley who has developed a fierce reputation for making excellent reds especially Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The Wines on tasting with my accompanying notes are as follows:

2009 E Series Unoaked Chardonnay

This is one of the biggest selling Elderton wines and it is easy to see why. This is very drinkable wine with an incredibly fruity nose and palate. Small nuances of green apple and melon give way to more tropical and citrus based flavours.

2010 Eden Valley Riesling

A wine I am a little more familiar with – I did taste it at the Winestate wine of the year subscriber tasting where it placed in the Top 5 Rieslings of the year. This is 100% Eden Valley and the 2010 vintage was outstanding. A floral and perfumed nose- slightly citrusy as well. Long crisp palate on this wine with Lemon and Limes coming to the fore, a dry finish makes for an excellent Eden Valley Riesling.

2010 Eden Valley Shiraz

This is a softer, more fruit driven style of Shiraz that is definitely destined to be drunk now. A Young wine with a deep purple (almost pitch black) colour to it. Dark fruits such as Blackberry and Plum come through on the nose and the wine has juiciness to it like you would get if you squeezed the juice from the grape directly into your mouth.

2008 Estate Shiraz

From a relatively warmer Barossa Vintage, this wine was a lot more intense and with a lot more body than its 2010 Eden Valley Counterpart. The flavours to this were richer as well with a strong dark chocolate and stewed plum component. Like the Riesling, very good stuff.

2009 Eden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The aim for the winemaker with this wine is to produce a juicy fully flavoured wine without a lot of tannins. The Barossa can be a little warmer than some of the other Cabernet growing areas and as such there is less chance of Cabernet with that astringent or slightly bitter flavour. This wine didn’t have a lot of tannin or feel to it. The flavours were there, think blackcurrant/cassis. It did also have a slight mint/eucalypt component as well.

The last three wines on offer are part of Elderton’s Elite Series of Wines. We had the privilege of tasting The 2008 Ode to Lorraine and both the 2007 and the 2002 Vintage of the Command Shiraz.

2008 Ode to Lorraine

Sourced from the Barossa, this wine is perhaps the pinnacle of a truly Australian blend. This is made up of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Shiraz and 8% Merlot. Tasting this you can see that it is a clear step up from the other wines and that it has been crafted with love and care.

2007 Command Shiraz

This wine has scored 95 points with both the James Halliday Wine Companion and Robert Parker’s wine advocate. It is easy to see why when you taste this particular wine. This wine was dense in colour with a few brick red hues. This wine has a fabulously complex nose of plum, blackcurrant and perhaps some dark chocolate coupled with a subtle note of vanilla which carries through to present a richly flavoured elegant wine.

2002 Command Shiraz

Tasting this gives you the perfect example of what do expect if you cellar your wines. It gives the regular wine consumer the chance to see what will happen should they leave a bottle or two of the command lying down in their cellar. The result is magical. This was like drinking liquid rubies. Elderton’s recommendation is that this will cellar up to 15 years and you can see now, nearly after 10 years that it is coming into peak drinking. The colour of the wine is still dark and intense, the nose is showing more of those subtle secondary characters of the 2007 but they are still working in harmony with the ever present primary fruits of plums, cherry and chocolate.

Magic in a bottle.

Danny Ryan

FIRST AND FOREMOST!!!! Have you entered our competition yet? Today is the last day to win the wine! Not sure what I’m talking about? Check here!

Today I just wanted to share some of my notes from the recent Sydney Cellar Door held as part of NSW Wine week. This is one of the main opportunities for NSW wine producers to show their wares to the drinking public. Everyone was taking part from the big boys up in the Hunter to producers showcasing some of the smaller and wine growing regions.

Despite by best efforts there were more exhibitors than I had time for which meant that I may have missed out on some liquid gold. That being said I did manage to get to 10 different producers and had the opportunity to try two wines from each of them. Here are my thoughts.

Lerida Estate:

These guys are based in The Canberra District and I am probably most familiar with the Pinot Noir that they produce. That being said I decided to try a 2010 Pinot Gris And their 2008 Merlot Cabernet Franc.

The Pinot Gris had a nice light yellow tinge to it. The wine itself was soft and lush but still had a nice level of acid to it. This wine had pear and green apple characters to it. The Merlot-Cabernet Franc was produced using half French and half Hungarian oak. The wine itself reminded me of stewed fruit/fruitcake on the nose. Very interesting.

Eden Rd – The Long Rd

Here I tried two whites a 2010 Riesling and 2009 Chardonnay. I was informed that the wine was sourced from the Murrambateman, in my opinion, an excellent region for producing good quality Riesling. This wine had a predominately lime/citrus palate which was coupled with a lengthy crisp dry finish. A big winner. The 2009 Chardonnay sourced from Tumbarumba was equally delicious. Not heavily oaked, the wine showed some good quality stone fruit flavours to it. It was served a little cold, I am not sure if I am doing this wine justice.

Tyrrell’s   

A hunter Valley giant and an outstanding producer of Hunter Valley Semillon, Secretly it is one of my favourite producers as well.  They did have the Vat 1 Semillon on tasting but I restrained myself and went for two wines that I am less familiar with. Firstly the 2007 Stevens Semillon which for mine was a bit more weighty than I expected – lemon peel my main note. It still has an excellent acid to the wine as well but it is now beginning to show some bottle aged characters. Yum. The other wine I tried was the 2007 Vat 47 Chardonnay. This was tight wine with only subtle oak noticeable on the nose but was only a subtle component of the wine. This had a bit more acid than the Eden Rd ’09 Chardonnay above and has a more flinty/minerally flavour to it.

Tulloch Wines

Another Hunter based winery doing great things. These guys aren’t someone I am super familiar with. This is clearly my loss. Again, I tried to of their wines a 2010 Verdelho and 2010 Pinot Gris. The Verdelho, sourced from the Hunter was absolutely lovely. It had a beautifully perfumed nose which complimented the good citrus and pineapple characters of the wine. The 2010 Pinot Gris was sourced from Orange and is a ‘Cellar Door only’ release. This was lush and viscous coating the mouth. Good pear flavours but probably lacking a bit of acid for my liking.

Cumulus

Cumulus Wines are based in orange and are probably most famous for their climbing range of wines. The two wines I tried where the Cumulus 2008 Shiraz and The Climbing 2008 Chardonnay. The Shiraz was the clear winner of the two wines. It had a beautiful dark colour, purples and no red tinges. An excellent example of good quality cooler climate Shiraz. Red berries, dark fruits and spice intertwined with fine tannin. The Climbing Chardonnay 2008 – predominately fruit on the nose. Nectarine and citrus dominating the wine. Again perhaps served a little cold for more liking.

Logan

These guys must have been popular. When I reached them they had only 3 wines on tasting. I decided to go for A 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2010 Moscato. The Sauvignon Blanc had a strong nose which reminded me of passionfruit Pavlova. This had a low level of acid but the palate on this was quite lengthy. Staying around much longer than I expected. The 2010 Moscato is a wine made with desert in mind. Orange peel/glace orange on the nose.

Ross Hill

Two wines on tasting here the 2010 Pinnacle Pinot Noir and the 2009 Pinnacle Sauvignon Blanc. The Pinot Noir is probably what these guys are most famous for and with good reason. The wine had a light cherry colour to it. A nice savoury Pinot for which if you love Pinot you should try and get your hands on a bottle. The other wine I tried was the 2009 Pinnacle Sauvignon Blanc. Again perhaps a little cold but it didn’t have the same pungency as the Logan. Again a nice level of acid.

Peppertree

 By this time I was back to where the Hunter Producers where exhibiting their wares and found myself with another excellent Semillon in my glass. This 2010 Vintage smelt zesty with subtle lemongrass/lime characters to it. This was balanced with an excellent acid and had an extraordinary length to it as well. I was also talked into trying the 2009 Hunter Valley Shiraz. If I was serving this at home I would give it a good decant but given the circumstances this was not really possible. This is very much fruit driven – think Mulberry and dark berries on this one.

Nugan Estate

These guys had a large array of different wines under various labels that were available for tasting. One wine in particular grabbed my eye. The Manuka Grove Durif. If you love big reds then this is for you. This had a dark colour – almost black. Dark fruits come through on the nose with this wine, mainly blackberries and plums. This has a big and robust flavour dark chocolate, plum pudding and cherry.

The other wine I tried was under another one of Nugan Estate’s labels – Cookoothama. The wine was a 2005 Basket Press Merlot and is really good stuff. The wine has a great colour for wine 5 years + on the nose I was beginning to pick up some secondary characters but there is still a lot of primary fruit as well. A succulent and juicy wine making you salivate and drink more.

Lowe

My final stop, with two wines on offer, a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and a Late Picked Riesling. The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was for my palate miles away from the NZ offerings available today. The Late picked is something I would drink regularly. Probably a little sweet for my liking, I prefer the acidity present in the Long Road Riesling. It had good fruit weight when tasting but they dropped away quite suddenly which was a little disappointing. If you like things a little bit sweeter or if you eat foods with lots of chilli then this is for you.

This month Becca has an article in the Wine Society Member Magazine about the basics of food and wine matching. We thought we should expand on this a bit further! So for the next four Tuesdays, Becca will be bringing you her best simple tips on pairing wines with certain foods. It’s going to have a more summery approach, and we plan to do this again in winter. If you have any specific questions about what to pair with what, shoot us an email at thebonvivantblog@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you with our best suggestions! This week Becca looks at seafood, check back next week for another food type and some more hints!

Allow me to let you in on a little secret that Sommeliers across the country don’t want you to know: food and wine pairing is simple! For many though, the thought of matching wines to food can instil fear, dread and trepidation. Bon Vivants – fear no more! We’re here to demystify the art of pairing wine with food!

In reality there are only two basic principles: ‘like for like’ or contrasting. ‘Like for like’ is the easiest to grasp. You can match body with body (rich Shiraz with a hearty beef stew), sweet with sweet (honeyed Botrytis Semillon with sticky roasted figs), or flavour with flavour (earthy Pinot Noir with roasted duck with field mushrooms). If you are matching ‘like for like’ you will be aiming to complement and enhance flavours.

If, on the other hand, you go for ‘contrasting’, you will want to strike a balance between two complimenting flavours (for example, to offset the richness of a creamy risotto, why not cut it with a young, dry Semillon?). This is where you can let your wine MacGyver out from his cage in the deep recesses of your soul! This is also the area in which people often make the most mistakes – I once spent a whole meal insisting that robust Riverina Durif was perfect with delicate smoked trout ravioli. I was very wrong. But like anything in life, we learn from our mistakes, so never be afraid to give something new a try.

Above all else, have fun with it! If we spend too much time worrying about how things will match up, we spend less the time around the table with our family and friends. So go forth, match and enjoy!

MATCHING WINE WITH SEAFOOD

So often I hear people whingeing that they can’t drink red wine with seafood/fish because it’s ‘not allowed’. Who makes up the rules in this playground? You or the fish? But there is truth in the fact that, in general, fish and seafood marry well with white wines. Far too often the delicate and subtle flavours of seafood are knocked over by big, full-flavoured whites. Give the little tykes a chance to breathe! It all starts with flavour. How is the fish or seafood being prepared?

If you’re going for a spicy Thai prawn salad with chilli and tangy lime, opt for a like for like with a zesty, new vintage Riesling. My tip would be the Leo Buring Eden Valley 2010 – crisp with citrus flavours and won’t break the bank at around $15.

Perhaps you’re enjoying a creamy New England chowder? You contrast with a dry white blend to cut through the richness, or perhaps match it up with a smooth cool-climate Chardonnay with a nice subtle oakiness. I’m a sucker for a cool climate Chardy, so would go for something like the Printhie 2010 from Orange.

As for red wine with fish, give it a go! Just bear in mind that seafood and fish often fight for a place on the palate so you don’t want anything to big and busty to bowl it over. And think about the flavours! I instantly think of things like Chinese hot pots full of seafood and mushrooms and tofu. A subtle and earthy Pinot would be easily welcomed with that kind of dish.

For me there is nothing greater than a simply grilled piece of Snapper, a bit of lemon, salt and pepper and a glass of Western Australian sauv blanc/Semillon blend. If I were to pick one wine off my shelf to drink with that right now it would be the Voyager Estate SBS 2010 – it’s a classic blend and Voyager always seem to get it right! Lemony, dry and not too overbearing on the fruit factor, it’s just perfect!

But remember, at the end of the day the best wine is the one you enjoy. If you’re like my Dad and insist on drinking Barossa Shiraz with salt and pepper squid then go for it! Do what feels and tastes right to you – not what some snob in a wine mag or restaurant presents as fact! Don’t forget to tune in next week for part two!

Do you have any favourite wines to have with seafood and fish? Comment below or even let us know on Twitter @bonvivantblog. And don’t forget to shoot us an email if you have any questions.

You know as soon as Shopping Centres and department stores start playing this Andy Williams Christmas classic that the festive season is now upon us. This means that Office Christmas parties are beginning to spring up and soon Santa Claus will pop in for a visit. This means that there are a number of gifts that need to be purchased whether they be for work colleagues, secret santas, important clients or those difficult to buy for family members. Wine has always been an incredibly good gift at this time of year, everybody likes a good bottle of red or white; It is relatively easy to purchase a bottle that the gift recipient will like and most likely the person you give it to will crack it open then and there for you both to enjoy. A WIN-WIN situation right?

Well sort of, wine is all the things that I mentioned above except when I give people wine as a gift. When I do, people seem to assume firstly, that I was given it for free and that I have skimped on a gift for them. God I wish that was true, it would make paying off my Mastercard so much easier at the end of each December. Now since people are assuming that I got the wine for free, it must be rubbish otherwise I would have kept it for myself.  Finally, If I do give someone a bottle of wine as a gift people also think that I don’t really care about them because I was so lazy I couldn’t even think outside the box to get them a good gift. Okay, that probably is a fair judgement to make. I am lazy. Overall this means that I can’t even give Becca some wine this Christmas, for all of the reasons above coupled with the fact that she will simply assume it is an assignment for a future article here on TBV and that I didn’t get her a gift this Christmas.

This, however, doesn’t mean that I can’t offer my two cents worth on some wines that you all might want to consider giving this Christmas.

Barons Of Barossa Shiraz 2008.

This wine has outstanding pedigree with some of the Barossa’s finest winemakers like  Wolf Blass, Grant Burge and Peter Lehmann included in the list of barons. With many of the barons contributing some of their best parcels of fruit to produce this wine which, is a fine example of Barossa Shiraz. Dark and almost impenetratable in colour, this is a gorgeous full bodied wine filled with rich flavours of plum coupled with subtle spice. Like a true Barossan Shiraz this has powerful and firm tannins. I would love to have a look at this again in a few more years. It should develop in the cellar nicely. Keep it in a cool dry place and your patience will be rewarded. it should develop into liquid rubies. (Tip 1, If the gift recipient is game enough to drink this particular wine now, then please give it a good decant before you drink it. I would let it breathe for an hour for an absolute minimum). Tell them to pair it with the best piece of steak you can afford and it will be a match made in heaven.

Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 2008

This is another absolute ripper! I used this wine as a prize for the two closest to the pin holes in The Danny Ryan Golf Championship earlier this year in May. A $50 wine masquerading as $30 bottle, I was lucky enough to find some form on the back nine and I managed to find the green on the 140m Par 3 13th and managed to win this for myself. Excellent considering how good this was. Another shiraz that is as dark as night. The nose on this shows a good amount of ripe fruit, coupled nicely with a softer more subtler spice that was initially more difficult to pick up on. This is again another rich full bodied style which carries ripe fruit over a good long and drawn out finish.

Five Virtues Shiraz 2008

Great Southern  Western Australia.

The Five Virtues Shiraz is the Western Australian equivalent of the Barons of Barossa Shiraz above. This is a combination of grapes from the 5 Sub regions that make up the Great Southern region: Albany, Denmark, Mount Barker, Frankland River and Porongurup. The aim of this wine is again similar to the philosophy behind the Barons Of Barossa Shiraz. They aim to make to a wine that is indicative of the Great Southern Style of Shiraz. I think they have achieved their aim with this little beauty. Not as dark as the other two wines here the colour on this a more regal red. A nice and agreeable wine, medium bodied with fine lengthy tannin. This should go down nicely with any gift recipient. Make sure they open it with you there!!

Well that is all from me this week. I hope these help with the minefield that can be Christmas gift giving. If you are looking for help with what to get me this Christmas, I would love a nice bottle of Pol Roger Champagne. But more on that next week…
 

Hentley Farm Caretaker Shiraz 2009

Barossa Valley

$20-$25

A delicious Barossa Shiraz from Hentley Farm a small boutique producer who focus on single vineyard offerings that are distinctively Barossan in nature. The colour of this is as a dark as night, dense and all encompassing; Ruby red on the edges. The nose on this doesn’t give away much. Tighty wound. A powerful example of a true Barossa with big rich fruit flavours coupled with mouth-puckering tannins. Will definitely reward time in the cellar. I would like to see this in the next couple of years.

Watershed Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2009

Margaret River

$12-$20.

Just a sneaky SSB that I tried recently for free at a Dan Murphy’s. Out of Margaret River, this 2009 vintage from Watershed. Not as fragrant as I would have imagined. Still extremely pale in colour with only a slight yellow tinge to it The nose was quite restrained not as big and citrusy as the other Margaret River SSB’s or the Deep Woods that I have tried recently.  It was a little more herbal or herbeceous with a touch of grassiness to it. Still vibrant and zesty with predominatly passionfruit on the palate. Drink now.

Engine Room White 2009

Adelaide Hills

$12-$15

I have a confession: I was drawn to this wine purely on it’s label! And what 23 year old girl can go past it’s tag line: “passion, glamour, heartbreak… the diaries of a vintage widow.” But on further inspection I discovered it was a Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay/Semillon blend, which sparked my interest further. Produced by Shottesbrooke, it’s a very approachable wine. The Sauv Blanc gives it really strong tropical fruit flavours and the Chardonnay imparts some interesting texture and fullness on the palate. It’s all rounded out with some sharp, zippy acidity from the young Semillon. It all equates to a rather tasty little number, which I will be BYOing with me to our local Malaysian restaurant tonight!

Rex Watson Merlot 2007

Coonawarra

$12-$15

I’m not really a Merlot drinker, but do love Rex Watson wines, so when this one crossed my path I figured it was worth a go! This really stuck me as quite a bright, Spring like red. I think it was because of the strong fresh cherry notes on the nose, it was really enticing. It was all ‘Merlot’ on the palate - quite fruity and medium bodied. It’d be a good wine for a red wine beginner. It’s perfectly drinkable, has a nice bit of subtle spice and if you’re a Merlot fan this will serve you very well. I couldn’t fight the thought running through the back of mind though: I make a killer Sangria, this would suit it to a T!

What will you guys be drinking tonight? Let us know on Facebook www.facebook.com/thebonvivantblog or on Twitter @bonvivantblog

Rolling Shiraz 2008

Central Ranges NSW

14%

$12-17

This wonderfully cheap and cheerful 2008 shiraz from Cumulus Wines has a deep crimson hue to it. Sourced from vineyards around the Orange area, the Central Ranges tag attached to this bottle indicates these vineyards are at altitude of less than 550m that defines the Orange growing area. This ripe and young shiraz exhibits vibrant dark berry fruits with a hit of spice and smoke. The wine begins with a fleshy and juicy flavours that subside quickly into a dry and slightly savoury finish with very approachable tannins. This gives us a quite delightful and quaffable red. This wine should be available from nearly all bottleshops. I have definitely seen it at Dan’s and at BWS.

Jim Barry ‘Three Little Pigs’ Shiraz Malbec Cabernet

2005

Clare Valley

$17-$22

The first thing you will get from this wine (aside from the adorable label - my Grandma once taught me something about books and covers), is a big, fruity nose with little floral notes here and there. Predominantly shiraz, it has lovely jammy fruitiness with loads of plum. Some nice black peppery spice comes through loud and clear as well. I find this a really interesting blend, the malbec bringing in some fine tannins and of course the stunning intense colour. You could probably hang on to it a couple more years, but as it’s got 5 years on it already I say crack it this weekend. A wine that’s been built around the idea of Christmas ham, have it with your favourite porky treat!

Skuttlebutt Sauvignon Blanc Semillon

2009

Margaret River

$13-$16/17

This margaret river region blend is definitely a lot more Sauvignon Blanc than Semillon. True to that Margaret River style this wine is characterised by powerful tropical fruit aromas. This is not in a fuller style and is quite light with the Semillon component barely filling out the short palate with lemon tea/ herbal characters. On the plus side it does have quite a crisp fresh acidic finish but isn’t overly tart. A Perfect  and unoffensive late saturday afternoon wine.

The 5V Wine Company Riesling 

2009

Eden Valley

$15-$20

The 5V’s stand for ‘everything you need to know about wine’, which are vintage, variety, vineyard, vigneron and volume. Some may say there’s more you need to know, others, less. For what it’s worth, I know that this wine is a little gem! It’s an intensely flavoured drop and being quite young, is full of busty limey acidity (just what I’m after in a riesling). On the nose it has a few herbal characters, that I find come hand in hand with Eden Valley whites. It has a great length and minerality in the finish (the boxes just keep getting ticked for me). It’s so light and fresh that I’d enjoy this just on it’s own… or perhaps as an aperitif with some canapes. However in reality it’s most likely to be consumed on the couch, in front of Iron Chef.

Jim Barry Watervale Riesling

Clare Valley 2009

$13-$20

From the Watervale sub region of the Clare Valley, this is a classic example of the famed clare valley riesling from one of the regions most famous winemakers. This Jim Barry riesling exhibits all the characteristics of the Clare with a sweet floral or perfumed nose with the wine exhibiting lemon and lime juice flavours and a tart minerality that leaves you with a persistent yet clean and crisp finish. It was like someone poured lime juice over rose pedals. An absolute delight. Cellaring 8-12 years. 92/100

Devil’s Corner Pinot Grigio 2009

Tamar Valley, Tasmania

This has got to be one of my favourite BYO numbers, it’s just a really good value table wine that will suit a lot of foods. It’s got a lovely spicy nose with some hints of pear, which carries through on the palate. It has a lovely greenness, but more of a herbal greenness than anything else, which I think makes it just that little bit more interesting. It has a crisp and refreshing finish with some zesty acidity, which is great for getting those tastebuds working. And best of all it’s made as a Pinot Grigio, a proper Pinot Grigio! It’s not overloaded with fruit, but left quite steely. I think it’s a cracker. Goes fantastically well with Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian foods (think fresh and zesty). I’m certain it’ll be available at your local bottleo, but I know CBD Cellars in the city definitely has it. $12-$17.

D’Arenberg The Stump Jump Red GSM

South Australia

2008

This superb wine from d’Arenberg stable of wines is a classic blend of 35% Grenache, 31% Shiraz and 20% Mourvedre. Velvet purple in colour, the wine takes it’s name from the original “stump jump” the stump jump plough- a south Australian invention , this wine is a revelation. It has a nose that seductively invites you in with an alluring aroma of cherry and plums. The wine exhibits sweet red berries combined with a savoury finish. Add this with a luxurious finish all point to a wine that is drinking fantastically now. Everyone agreed that It was a fabulous match for the Roast Pork dinner we were enjoying.  

Whitebox Shiraz 2007

Heathcote, Victoria

I’m highly anticipating cracking this one open on the weekend, given how big a fan I was of this at initial tasting. It has a heady nose full of plum fruitiness, with a few violet notes. From the palate expect a warm spiciness of pepper and anise, with dark cherry flavours. Top it off with a great length and a smooth as silk finish. The fact that it’s quite a bold, fruit-driven red means it’s bound to be a crowd pleaser.  The colour is a gorgeously rich mulberry with a great purple hue – so watch your teeth after a bottle (or 4). Is it the weekend yet? I just want to dive right in! I’ll be having mine with a Rib Eye roast with all the fixings. $15-$20, available directly from Whitebox website and also topwineries.com.au