Seville Estate 2001 Yarra Valley Shiraz

"between the Rabbit and the Veal"

Last night, we went to Crinitis in Parramatta for a friend's birthday. We've never been to the restaurant before. It was pretty packed on Saturday night. The waiters were roaming around with headsets on and instructing diners and food around the restaurant like a flight deck commander on an aircraft carrier scrambling F-18 fighter jets.

We took 2 bottles of wine and planned on choosing one based upon the food that we would order. I chose rabbit which was incredibly tender and so huge I was unable to finish it (me suspects more than one rabbit!). Nansia chose veal Oscar which was very nice and also very huge (she tried to pass it on to me but I had no room).

The wine we chose was a Seville Estate 2001 Yarra Valley Shiraz. This is a typical cool climate Shiraz with more elegance than fruit explosions that you'd expect from warm climate Shiraz. Eight years in the bottle had produced a wine that was very soft yet powerful, it smacked of white pepper, berries, and a touch of oak. We shared it around, and it was quite popular amongst the masses.

Purchase price was around AUD22.00 in 2004. Current vintage 2005 retails for around AUD27.00. It is one for keeping.

The vineyard was originally established in 1972 by Doctor Peter McMahon. We think this wine is just what the doctor ordered.