A Bit Of An Eye Opener

Last night I had the sort of wine dinner that most people would kill to attend and I wanted to share the experience with you.

An American friend of mine (John Gorman) imports wine from Australia and South Africa into the US and asked me to arrange a dinner and wine for him and seven of the US’s most influential and largest wine buyers. They were doing a quick tour of Oz and John wanted me to select a range of wines that would show case the different styles, regions, vintages, and varieties of Australia’s best wines. The budget was pretty reasonable too, so that made the task a lot easier but John didn’t want anything as obvious as Grange of Hill of Grace in the line up.

As some of you may be aware, many Americans think of Australian wines as big rich fruity over the top jammy sweet fruit bombs or over oaked monsters that must be drunk within two weeks of release. (Yes I exaggerate - but only a little, you get the picture.) Although I didn’t want to do it, John insisted that I serve a Pinot and a Grenache so I had to buy two bottles; all the rest came from my cellar. This was definitely going to be a case (and there were a dozen) of the good the bad and the ugly. All wines were served totally blind.

The first wine served was 1998 Stonier Reserve Pinot. To say that the group was unimpressed would just about do their comments justice, and this is one of our reputed better quality reasonably priced (oxymoron?) Pinots. (I have since found out that this wine is not doing as well as many expected.)

Next up was a 1986 Penfolds St Henri. Most correctly guessed it was a Shiraz, but most thought it was from the early 90’s. They were most impressed when they found out it was an 86 and felt it was in its prime. Score one for the Australians, these guys were impressed and this wine grabbed their attention.

The third bottle was a 92 Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a slightly austere wine from a poor vintage and most guessed it was a Cabernet of about 10 years of age, but there were many positive comments related to the projected longevity of this wine and its structure. That further dispelled the myth that Oz wines don’t age.

The fourth bottle was 1992 Petaluma Coonawarra. Many thought it was very Bordeaux like in its structure and aroma, but to me its classic Coonawarra. Another big hit with the group who were making very positive comments about the balance.

Bottle five was a 1992 Jaspers Hill “Georgia” Shiraz. One sniff and they were saying “an icon wine of the highest calibre. This wine was really impressing them. Great structure and balance were repeated by a number of them.

Bottle six was a curved ball, 1991 Wynns Centenary Reserve. This wine really threw them and they just couldn’t guess what it was because it’s a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet, which is a blend most American have not had much experience in drinking. To say these guys were impressed does not begin to describe their reaction to this wine. Previously they had been “tasting” the wine, this one was “drunk” with gusto.

Next was a cheapie, 1994 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon. Due to its sheer size many thought it was a McLaren Vale Shiraz and there were comments on the obvious high alcohol content. They got a shock when a Clare Cabernet was unveiled that was 13.6% alcohol. They also expected the wine to have been in a significantly higher cost bracket.

The next wine served was an Eden Valley Cabernet and I knew it was “slightly” floored, but served it anyway as I wanted to try and find out what was wrong with it.

Wine nine was a 1995 Peel Estate Shiraz. The group had very little experience with WA wines, but could not believe this wasn’t a SA wine. They thought the wine was “pretty good” but not great.

Wine ten and we are getting down to the big stuff, 1993 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz. Most guessed it was a big Barossa Shiraz and whilst they could see lots of positive characteristics of the wine, they were not that impressed with it. There was one exception to this and he had more experience than most of the others in drinking Oz wines.

The eleventh bottle is one of my favourites, the 1998 Shottesbrooke Eliza Reserve Shiraz. This was another wine that really impressed the group and there were lots and oohs and ahs as the wine was consumed. Most commented on the refinement and obvious quality. The French Oak influence was seen as a positive direction for quality Shiraz.

The final bottle of the night was 1996 Hardys Tintara Grenache. This wine is great value (for a GreenAsh) and is one of the best of its type produced in Oz. The wine was at its peak and is not as lolly sweet as many offerings. Most of the group picked it as a Grenache and whilst they could see the obvious quality, they were not impressed with the short finish.

A poll was taken to determine the first and second choice wines of the night. The most highly favoured second choice was interesting. It was pretty evenly spit between 98 Shottesbrooke Eliza Shiraz, 92 Petaluma Coonawarra and the 92 Tahbilk Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

The undisputed wine of the night was …… 91 Wynns Centenary Reserve that is a Shiraz Cabernet Blend. What makes these results so interesting is the predominant variety that we export to the US is Shiraz and that many American consumers also love our Grenache. Yet, these wine professionals rated our Cabernet Sauvignons ahead of the typical American Oak Shiraz and even more interestingly, a blend they have little (read almost no) experience with as the top wine of the evening.

Were they impressed? Absolutely! Were they surprised when they realised the results of their choice? (The Jaspers Hill and Stonewell got one vote between them, and that was for a second.) Lets just say we opened a few influential eyes to the fact that Australia does not have one wine style or one grape variety and that there are other outstanding wine styles besides the wines that Mr Parker loves and promotes. Mission accomplished.

Cheers

Ric