Moving to McLaren Vale - ”First things first” with Primo Joseph Moda Amarone 1995

After a hiatus from the Liquid Dining blog, we have packed up house, car and dogs and moved south to McLaren Vale in mid 2010. We brought with us a bit of wine, some of it with some age on it, and much of it from Mclaren vale. So it seems we took wine away from its birth place, aged it, and then brought it back home again. How’s that for a carbon footprint?

It is now 2013.  We have been here for three years and a bit!  How time flies!  The Liquid Dining business is finally taking its first step, and I dug out my notes on the wines we’ve consumed over the last three years.

So, let the journey start again.

Rewind to 2011, a Saturday night dinner in July.  After a year, we started to settle down and found ourselves some good friends (yes, it is that hard when you are over 40, working hard in your new job and trying to make friends without the help of having kids!  The dogs didn’t make friends either!).  To celebrate our first year, we decided to open one of the older McLaren Vale wines, as we would be consuming it while being a couple of minutes from the vineyard it came from.

We dug and rummaged through our collection of vino that had boomeranged between McLaren Vale and Sydney, and then back again. All of a sudden I felt like Indiana Jones gazing at the Ark of the Covenant. Behold a magnum of Joseph Moda Amarone Cabernet Merlot from the 1995 vintage. I dusted it off with a stroke of my hand and then wondered whether the dust was McLaren Vale’s or Sydney’s. Was it worth calling a CSI team to investigate? I also wondered whether I had reduced its dining table allure by removing the said dust. Then I wondered how long I had been wondering, and how long before our dinner guests would arrive. After all you can’t open a magnum without dinner guests…unless you’re really thirsty.

I stood it upright, and checked the clock. Three hours before the guests arrived. I grabbed my duck decanter and a corkscrew and cut off the wax seal. I checked the clock again. Two hours and fifty eight minutes before the guests arrived, no time to dilly dally….then I wondered about the origin of the expression dilly dally….oh no, only two hours and fifty seven minutes before the guests arrive!

The wine sat, (well actually it stood), upon the dining table freshly denuded of dust, and glistening like Indiana’s amulet used to locate the well of souls in which resided the Ark of the Covenant. Woops, only two hours before the guests arrive. I inserted the cork screw, hmmm, soft but feeling somewhat intact. I began to remove the cork and wondered what Joe Grilli had been thinking the day this wine was bottled. Did he wonder whether some boy from Sydney would carry his wine far away only to return it like the prodigal son now fully aged and grown into a man, (wine man)? Did Joe hope this would happen?  Did he care? Arrgh only one hour and fifty nine minutes before the guests arrive.

The cork smelt good, in fact it smelt sexy! I decanted the wine and listened, just like Beethoven might have listed to the lingering timbre of the last note played after completing his first symphony. No he wouldn’t have, he was deaf! Only one hour and fifty two minutes before the guests arrive!

The guests were late…..

When they arrived we all began to kneel around the dining table like the altar to Joseph that it had now become. We poured the wine and inhaled deeply the aroma of pure joy.

There were prunes and chocolate mixed with some dusty oak characters and a funky depth that can only be described as the passing of time. What was I doing in 1995, I wondered, what was I wearing?  It didn’t matter.  There was wine to drink. I put the glass to my lips like Indiana’s grail, and my tongue was kissed by angels.

An explosion of flavours abounded; chocolate, prunes, vanilla, cedar, briar, rhubarb and nutmeg. The bottle development offered a plethora of secondary flavours including tea leaf, coffee, camphor and tobacco. There was a smokiness coming from the toasted oak and nuances of flavour that would only emanate from the wood panelling in an old world gentleman’s club. The kind of club Indiana Jones would have visited when not seeking religious artefacts like the one we were drinking.

The fruit for this wine came from two regions. The Cabernet Sauvignon, which is 90% of the blend, comes from McLaren Vale, and the 10% Merlot is from Coonawarra.

Now the Amarone method is an Italian pioneered method of air-drying grapes in racks or baskets. This method concentrates juice through evaporation and in turn concentrates the flavours of stewed fruit. Very yummy indeed, and very costly.  Joe Grilli reduces his grape yields so as to concentrate fruit flavour to begin with. To then double concentrate it via the Amarone method is a very generous offering especially for the price. The current release for this wine is a 2011 vintage. The 750 ml bottle sells for $75, and the magnum $195. Bring some good friends to help drink it.

We know this is not a casual Tuesday night bottle of wine at this price, but then again aren’t Tuesday nights precious too? 

This wine will keep for 15-20 years from vintage.

What to have it with? Stewed oxtail or venison and someone you love. No dust required.

Printhie Orange Pinot Gris 2007

“Orange by name but wine is the game”

Orange is the region where this winery is located, there are no oranges in the wine. Orange has a higher elevation than the Hunter Valley (around 863 metres above sea level), and has often been referred to as New South Wales’ Adelaide Hills.

Its cooler climate lends itself to white varieties such as Sauvignon blanc and of course Pinot Gris. Rather than get into the debate over whether the grapes are Pinot gris or Pinot grigio lets just simplify. Pinot is the grape family, gris is French for Grey, and Grigio is Italian for Grey. If a wine is labelled Pinot Grigio then is it has been made in the Italian style which is lighter, crisper and dryer, where as Pinot Gris will have more fruity characters and a deeper tinge in the colour and more pronounced aromatics.

So here we have a Pinot gris (French style) which is more suited to the Orange region. Its fruity, fruity, fruity! Think fruit salad on the nose with lots of big stoned fruit dominating. The flavours are Peach, Apricot, Nashi pear, apple and toffee, and some nutty characters coming from some French oak. This is the hallmark of a good winery, and a winemaker that gives a damn – well done Robert Black. Many winemakers will choose to omit oak from the wine because it’s cheaper that way. We like the subtle touch of oak in this wine as it gives an extra dimension making it a really good match with Chicken in steamed figs.

Usually sells for around $18.00, I picked it up for $15.99 – Bargain! Perfect warm weather drink, don’t keep for more than 3 years as its best to enjoy the lovely fruit characters while they are young and vibrant.

Grant Burge Barossa Valley Reserve Shiraz 2008

“The Baron’s new stableboy – but what was he doing on my cruise?”

Grant Burge is known as one of the Barons of the Barossa, and for making some chunky long living wines.

This is a new wine to his stable and has been made for the wine society rather than the greater trade. Methinks it’s for this reason that it’s a little like a pretender rather than a contender for the title.

It smells of Barossa Shiraz – rich sweet plums and fruitcake which does follow onto the palate along with vanilla from the oak and some fennel and licorice. It has fine tannins but is a little short on the length. The fruit is sweet up front but is more of a promise of thinks to come than an avenue.

It’s a nice enough wine, but for the money there are some better wines around at the moment. Grant Burge is a great guy and should stick to making the big wines he is famous for rather than putting wines together for a price for a vendor, even one as benevolent as The Wine Society. In fact, we ran into Grant Burge aboard P&O’s Pacific Dawn 18 months ago. He was there promoting his wines by way of a tutored wine tasting. We joined in and sat next to the big guy and his lovely wife. We had our fill of some lovely wines, and the night before even purchased a bottle of his Holy trinity to go with our dinner. That is a great wine, a blend of Grenache Shiraz and Mourvedre, which the Barossa is famous for. We love it when you make these wines Grant. Please continue Sir.


Available exclusively through the wine society for $15.99

Voyager Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2000

"Ground control to Major Tom"

This beautiful Dutch inspired winery in Margaret River owes its name to the Wright family’s original farming company rather than the satellite of the same name.

This is their premium red blend and is made to cellar for the medium to long term. It is a dark inky colour even though it’s now 10 years old. It has a rich nose of green tea leaves, plums, eucalyptus, mint and blackcurrants.

There are no shortage of flavours in this wine and everything that is in the nose follows through to the palate. There is bacon fat, green tea leaves, eucalyptus, mint, blackcurrants, plums, and nutmeg. However, the fruit does taste a little green and under ripe.

Even with the negative this is a pretty decent wine. The question is however, in the vintages since the 2000, have they improved on the wine? The answer is yes. I was at their cellar door in 2008 and tried their 2004 vintage and it was definitely looking riper in the glass. Problem solved.

I paid $30 for this in 2004, current vintage 2005 Sells for around $60.

Is the wine worth it? Margaret river wineries are often accused of having a chateau mentality whereby they make massive art filled mansions for cellar door and surround it with impeccably planted rose gardens. Voyager has all this, but it is bloody nice. The point is, are these Margaret River grape stompers funding a lifestyle with overpriced wine, or are they making good value wine and giving it a deserving place to be housed and tasted before you by it. The answer is, some are overpriced, and some are on the ball. Voyager is on the ball. Buy the current vintage and leave it for a decade, then you’ll think it truly was a bargain considering what you paid for it at the time.

Gotham Langhorne creek Shiraz 2008

“Holy cow Batman, what a bargain!”

We’re back at Langhorne Creek again, which goes to show how popular wines from this region are starting to become. Not that it was every any secret, Otto Wolfgang Blass (Wolf Blass to his mates), used fruit from this region for years to give depth to his wines, especially in his super premium wine the Black label.

We stumbled across this wine by chance, and I was sorely tempted to hire a Batman or Joker costume for the tasting. There was one problem with that, (apart from the fact that I might be labelled Fatman by the guy in the costume shop), and that was the Lady of the house wouldn’t agree to dress up as Batgirl, Catwoman, or even Robin. By the end of the discussion I would have settled for her dressing up as Arthur the butler, but by then it was a moot point.

So one evening we opened the wine at stately Wayne Manor, with the Batphone nearby in case of emergency, and the curtains drawn so that a shiny bat signal could be spotted from the corner of my eye.

With a familiar tune going through my head and images of omnamatapoeia swimming through my mind such as Kapow and Blam, there wafted an aroma of cracked pepper, chocolate and prunes. Holy Cow Batgirl, it’s coming from my glass! Da na na nana na na nahhhh…

The palate was very generous in weight and offered sweet plums, cloves, menthol, redcurrants, and aniseed. There was a nice layer of oak, both American and French, which added some coconut and sawdust flavours to the wine. The tannins were soft and balanced nicely with the sweet flavours. I looked at the batphone – still silent. The wine was opening up nicely in the glass and went down beautifully with a bird in red wine sauce – I think it was penguin.

I looked at Batgirl, she liked it too, and I asked if she was reconsidering the costume bit, she wasn’t. Nevertheless, Stately Wayne manor was full of lip smacking enjoyment and that ever present need to listen for the phone or look to the skies. In the end, there was no need to fire up the BatMazda so we settled in and noticed that we had also acquired a Cabernet from the same producer. To be continued next time, same Bat time, same Bat Channel. Da na na nana na na nahhhh…

Price normally $17.99, but my friend the Riddler picked it up for a steal at $13.99. This is the current vintage, and it will drink well over the next 3 years. It isn’t a long term keeper as its real beauty is in its honest and unmistakeable primary flavours that abound in its youth.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley “Seven Surveys” Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache 2007

“Its winter - time for a Barossa Cote”


Seven surveys is a tribute to the early settlers of the Barossa who brought vine cuttings from Europe in the 1870’s.

Peter Lehmann recently stepped down as chief of Peter Lehmann wines and these days is owned by the multinational Hess group (85%), as well as The Lehmann family (10%) and the rest is distributed amongst other shareholders.

This wine has been made in the style of the Cotes du Rhone wines of Southern France. The three grapes are traditionally used in the Rhone valley and coincidentally are the oldest and most established varieties planted in the Barossa valley.

These three grapes marry in nicely giving a warming wine that has some funky barnyard flavours, spice and some sweetness from the Shiraz, gamey and leaf characters from the Mourvedre, cherries from the Grenache. Just ignore the upfront sweaty socks aroma as this will only put you off. This is a hallmark of the style and nothing to do with stinky feet crushing the grapes, especially as that task was done mechanically.

It is soft on the palate, medium bodied but with good length. The wine is a good winter dish, goes fairly smartly with a beef casserole. Drink over the next 2 years – not one for long term cellaring.

Paid $16.00 but shop around as its often on special.

Cartel Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

"Soft cartel"

The cartel venturing into Cabernet? Well, perhaps (really), they shouldn't.

Coonawarra is renowned for Cabernet Sauvignon, it is also famous for producing some really big styles for an equally big price. This wine is neither.

It is an easy drinking style of Cabernet with alludes to what can come out of the region with hints of the big dusty plummy wines but lacking all the length as well as having a degree of sharpness and tartness that has come from over extraction – read: squeezing the hell out of the grapes, which were also pretty young, based on the lack of body.

This typical easy drinking style means you get what you pay for. The lesson here is definitely don’t buy it just because it has Coonawarra on the label as there are great wines for the same price from lesser regions that will take this wine out like Mike Tyson took out Evander Holyfield’s ear.

It doesn’t really like food, as it’s too easily overpowered. So drink it like you are on a diet and have it with some water crackers or a carrot. Don’t wait too long as age won’t be of benefit. Buy it on a Monday and drink it by Friday.

No more can be said about this wine. Available exclusively through the wine society for $9.99.