Topic: TN: Jenise, Bob and I go touring in Victoria Pt 1: The Pyrenees
Author: Murray, Aus
Date: Sun Nov 19 21:58:21 2000
Jenise and Bob Stone’s swing through South Australia and Victoria left a couple of areas untasted, so I took it upon myself to show my fellow denizens of the online community the glories within these premium Victorian Wine Regions. All tasting notes are my own impression.

We took an early departure on Melbourne, driving past Flemington Racecourse, where the Melbourne Cup would be run that afternoon (The first Tuesday in November is special for us every year). The drive to Ballarat is easy and picturesque on the Western Highway driving through to the gold country. We stopped in Ballarat and took advantage of the sales and the exchange rate to pick up some cookery books. A short detour through the wonderful Botanical Gardens saw us onto the Sunraysia Highway towards the Pyrenees Wine District.

The Pyrenees Wine district, on the northern side of the Pyrenees Mountain range is Western Victoria, was originally founded on gold over 100 years ago. The area still has signs of the gold mining today, with clay ‘mullock heaps’ being the tailings from the mineshafts rising in the middle of sheep paddocks.

Just south of Avoca we entered the lower bush slopes of the Pyrenees to arrive at Blue Pyrenees Estate just as we started to think that a glass of bubbly wouldn’t go astray.

Blue Pyrenees Estate used to be called Chateau Remy, part of the LVMH empire, and was the local bottling area for the Remy Brandy. The brandy facility is not visible from the winery and tasting area which is tastefully set out with an attached restaurant. Jenise was keen to visit here after a bottle of Blue Pyrenees they enjoyed the previous night at Jacques Reymond Restaurant. Our visit to Blue Pyrenees was also enhanced by the presence of Greg, the General Manager and winemaker of the winery, also gave us a tour of the sparkling disgorgement facility. There’s a couple of ranges available but I concentrated on the core Blue Pyrenees Estate brand.

Blue Pyrenees Estate Reserve Brut
Fine bead, pale straw colour. Muted nose but nicely complex, lighter style mouthfeel and a mid-long finish. Very nice.

1996 Blue Pyrenees Reserve Brut
Equal parts Pinot/Chardonnay. Lifted nose with nice aromatics. Nice dry balance, long finish. Very nice indeed.

1996 Blue Pyrenees Midnight Cuvee
Named due to the grapes being picked at night when the grapes are cool (I wonder what the 2.15 cuvee is like?). 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir. Lovely wine, although a touch too cold. Great mouthfeel with toasty balance and a long finish.

1996 Blue Pyrenees Estate Chardonnay
The first still wine. Served very cold. Dumb nose, fairly obvious toasty oak, mid length finish. Very nice, probably consistent QPR.

1998 Blue Pyrenees Estate Chardonnay
Two vintage of Chardonnay served, very nice to see at a cellar door. There’s more fresh chardonnay on the nose than the 1996. Lifted nose, the palate has lovely fruit with malo characters showing, long finish. Very good, better than the 1996 for me.

1998 Blue Pyrenees Estate
A Bordeaux style blend. Nice fruity flavours. Great complex mouthfeel with nice fruit. The wine has great character and will age nicely. Incredibly young at this stage.

Down the road, hang a left at the gum tree, pass a few sheep and you get to Mount Avoca Winery. John Barry has handcrafted wines there for many years, and in many ways typifies the Pyrenees region. I was recognised on entry from a visit the year before with TWGWNN. I guess a group in tuxedos at the Avoca pub hangs in the memory just a touch. The wines were very enjoyable.

2000 Mount Avoca Sauvignon Blanc
Herbaceous fairly classic Sav Blanc characters, medium finish. Enjoyable now and pretty good.

1998 Mount Avoca Chardonnay
Spends 3 months in new French Oak. Good nose, seamless oak nice fruit balance and a good long finish.

1999 Mount Avoca Rhapsody
A blend of Trebbiano and Sauvignon Blanc. Very pleasant fruit driven style with nice acid and a medium long finish. Enjoyable bistro style wine.

1997 Mount Avoca Cabernet Sauvignon
Full Brick red colour, pleasant balance of new and used French Oak. Nice balance and mid-long finish. Age 5-8 years.

1996 Mount Avoca Cabernet Franc
One of the few 100% Cabernet Francs about. Fairly soft on the palate , mid weight with a hint of fruity sweetness. Quite pleasant for early drinking.

1997 Mount Avoca Shiraz
Ripe berry fruit nice and young on the palate great mouthfeel and mid long finish. Firm tannins and a very good wine.

1998 Mount Avoca Reserve Merlot
Red-purple colour. A medium weight wine, very young at this and will age very well. The ‘reserve’ tag has some justice.

1999 Botrytis Affected Semillon
Botrytis occurs naturally here when the vintage and conditions are right. Nice burnt orange characters, very young wine. Great long finish.

We drove back into Avoca, being around lunchtime we stopped and had some good gourmet pies and ate them in the centre reserve between the highway lanes. It being Melbourne Cup day Jenise and Bob carefully studied the form guide. We then went to the Pub and placed our bets. Having met part of the rituals of Melbourne Cup day we drove on.

Redbank Winery is at Redbank a small community just north of Moonambel. The drive up to the old, Barn-like Cellar Door building drives past Sally’s Paddock, we had driven along the Long Paddock since leaving Avoca. Redbank has a number of ranges leading up to the Oz classic Sally’s Paddock. The Cellar Door is a charming setup with glimpses of blue through the ancient roof, and a small café/eating area which serves light lunches and snacks. Sally, of the paddock, served us. I didn’t taste the Long Paddock range which is widely available and always good QPR.

2000 Sunday Morning Pinot Gris King Valley, Vic
Pale straw colour, nice fruity style, pleasant acid, medium finish. An OK wine.

1998 Fighting Flat Shiraz King Valley
Good dark red fruit, marred by a slight miss on the back palate.

1998 Percydale Cabernet/Merlot
Fairly dumb on the nose, which is quite a contrast to the palate which is showing obvious fruit. Not my style.

1997 Redbank Hundred Tree Hill Shiraz
So named because the hundred trees cleared for the vineyard went into the manufacture of the house. Dark berry within a hint of peppery spice. Full mouthfeel, rich tannins and a long finish.

Redbank Hundred Tree Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
Darl red-purple colour. Very nice dark berry nose. Very nice mouthfeel with a full palate and long finish. A very good wine.

1998 Sally’s Paddock
Obvious complex nose of dark berry and mint & eucalyptus. The medium to full weight palate accentuates the complexity before a long finish with fine tannins. A great wine.

We drive from Redbank to Moonambel through a medium density Australian bush with eucalypt with mistletoe bunches hanging down and occasional Major Mitchell cockatoos flying by.

Entering Moonambel we drive past the ‘Avenue of Honour’ the rows of oak trees, planted on the entry to many towns, to represent the men who went from the district to fight in wars past. Moonambel is a small country town built on gold, but nowadays thrives on the vine.

Summerfield Winery is in the town itself. Summerfield is known for it’s bigger style reds which have many fans. The wines are the closest of any in the area to the ‘Barossa style’ of red.

1999 Summerfield Trebbiano
Very pale straw colour. Fruit nose with hints of lychee. Nice acid balance with nice drying finish.

1999 Summerfield Sauvignon Blanc
Slightly herbaceous nose. Fresh mouthfeel with noticeable acid. Mid/short finish. An OK wine.

1999 Summerfield Chardonnay
Straw gold colour. Middle weight wine, and ok wine.

1999 Summerfield Cabernet Sauvignon
Rich dark red purple colour. Obvious fruit, slight American Oak character. Good quality cabernet mouthfeel with a long finish. Very good in the bigger style.

1999 Summerfield Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Rich dark purple colour. Lovely dark berry with a tinge of acid. Full complex mouthfeel with dark berry with mint and chocolate. Bold tannins on a big long finish. Not very long in the bottle, it should come together very well.

1999 Summerfield Shiraz
Red purple colour. Lifted spice berry nose with american oak. Full palate, long finish with noticeable tannin.

1999 Summerfield Reserve Shiraz
Red purple colour. Beautiful bold Oz shiraz nose with decent American Oak. The palate is very rich with bold fruit, not jammy. Rich tannin and a big long finish. A great wine with plenty of time ahead of it.

1999 Summerfield Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon
A slightly pongy nose. Good mouthfeel, with a miss on the back palate. Slightly faulty in my opinion. A disappointment after the Shiraz.

Out the road on the Pyrenees Highway we turn off, pass Taltarni and around the corner to Dalwhinnie Dalwhinnie has a small tasting room complex with a great vista overlooking the vineyards and back across the to the ranges. It has the best view of any in the area (although Mt Langi Ghiran comes close). The wine ‘manufacture’ is performed across at Mitchelton, however winemaker David Jones takes a full hands on approach to his wines and takes full accountability for the taste. The vines had irrigation lines running however due to the drought the dam has not supported any irrigation for 2 years. In this time cropping has been maintained at less than 2 tonnes/hectare so the irrigation won’t be used ongoing. The rains in October have been welcome although there been an explosion of growth. David expects to perform leaf trimming as well as crop reduction to manage quality and cropping levels.

David was serving us on our visit and was most generous with his time, opinion and knowledge. It was a pleasure to have him serve us. I’ve been a fan of Dalwhinnie was since my first visit in 1990 and this visit only enhanced my opinion.

1999 Dalwhinnie Chardonnay
The wine has 50% malolactic fermentation, barrel fermented and matured in small french oak barrels.. The palate has great refined chardonnay flavours, a full mouthfeel highlight the balanced malo and a great long finish, The quality shows, age to 7 years.

1999 Dalwhinnie Pinot Noir
From 10 year old vines. Great Oz pinot style with excellent quality fruit. Fairly bold, but fine grained tannins and a great long finish. A great wine that should age nicely. Not at the very top flight of Oz Pinots, and the price isn’t either, but outstanding from a region not known for Pinot Noir.

1999 Dalwhinnie Shiraz
Just bottled. The nose is quite closed at present but display very high quality shiraz berry with a hint of complex spice. The palate shows fantastic balance of fine french oak and fruit, the back palate is extraordinary with big fine tannins and a very long finish. A wonderful wine even at this very early stage of bottle development. Plenty of time ahead of it. Glorious.

1999 Dalwhinnie Cabernet
A Blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. The cabernet went through 3 pickings to ensure appropriate fruit ripeness. Three different french oak cooperages were also used to strike the right blend. Again not long in the bottle. Rich dark fruit, slightly closed nose and outstanding oak/fruit/tannin across the balance and a great long finish. A fantastic wine.

David then generously took us to the small area behind the Cellar Door sales areas where a small number of barrels held the 2000 Eagle series Shiraz. The first release (1998?) Eagle Shiraz sold for $125/bottle and sold out very quickly. What a privilege!

2000 Dalwhinnie ‘Eagle Series’ Shiraz Barrel Sample
Only a 6 months in fine french oak barrel to date. hand picked, foot crushed, basket pressed. The nose and palate are predictably fruit driven and incredibly rich with hint of dried prune and olive oil. Absolutely wonderful

A fantastic visit.

It was nearing on 3 o’clock so we took a break from wineries and went and joined the locals at the Moonambel Pub to watch the running of the 2000 Melbourne Cup. This allowed Jenise and Bob to indulge an a true element of Australian culture. Clutching our TAB tickets we watched 110,00 people at Flemington welcome the horses to the mounting yard and then onto the track. In the pub the Cup Sweep Selections were posted on the notice board. At the track the horses were in the gates, red light flashing and the gates opened. The locals were just as enthusiastic as those in the members enclosure. I watched as my choice fell back while Jenise’s moved to challenge for the lead. At the finish Jenise had scored a place! Not enough to pay for the day’s purchases but a win over the locals nevertheless.

The Pub brought out a platter of sangers for all to share. Refreshed by the experience we drove down the road to Taltarni.

Taltarni Winery now vies with Blue Pyrenees as the most commercial cellar door setups in the area. Taltarni makes full use of the French/US connections, including the flags out the front. Taltarni has a large range of wine aimed at the commercial market.

1997 Clover Hill Tasmania
Pinot Chardonnay bubbly. Spicey appley palate with a mid-length finish. Consistent QPR.

1998 Taltarni Brut
A new label in the Taltarni range. The nose is quite dumb, quick good acidic palate and a mid-long finish.

2000 Taltarni Sauvignon Blanc
Slight Herbaceous nose, plenty of unbalanced acid with a mid-long finish. It should improve to 4 years in the bottle.

1998 Lalla Gully Chardonnay
A blend of Tasmania and local fruit. Mid –gold colour. Overt oak on the nose, good fruit and mid-long finish.

1998 Fiddleback
This is the relabelled ‘Reserve de Pyrenees’. Spice/pepper nose. Great medium-full mouthfeel, mid long finish. Good QPR at $10.

1998 Taltarni Merlot Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon
Good brick red colour. Mixed berry nose, ripe fruit on the palate with a mid long finish. Age to 5 years.

1997 Taltarni Cabernet Sauvignon
Red brick colour, muted nose mid finish, OK without impressing.

1998 Taltarni Shiraz
Minty pepper nose with a hint of burnt rubber (not that that’s particularly bad). Lifted palate with some added acid and good long finish. Very good at $25.

From Taltarni it was a very short drive to Warrenmang Vintage Village. This is a Restaurant and Cottages set within the Warrenmang winery complex. The cottages are set within Gum trees, many overlooking the vineyard looking across to the Pyrenees ranges. A great spot and the restaurant is one of the best outside Melbourne.

Jenise and Bob checked in and then we down to the winery cellar door to taste the Warrenmang wines. Warrenmang wines have had a chequered history for me. Recently though the wines have been very well made and the range extended.

1998 Warrenmang Chardonnay
Uses french oak. Good balance of fruit and oak and a nice finish. Very nice.

1997 Warranmang Chardonnay
Consistent notes to the 1998 with a touch greater length. I preferred this to the 1998.

1999 Warrenmang Sauvignon
PASSIONFRUIT! This was a one-off made by a visiting winemaker from the Loire Valley. The aroma is dominated by Passionfruit, the palate has fruit passionfruit and the finish carries through the passionfruit. Too much fruit.

1998 Warrenmang ‘Valley of the Kings” Cabernet Shiraz King Valley, Vic.
This was on clearance at the Cellar Door. We were sceptical as the bottling design and label were shockers, based on a Pharaoh thing; the worst of bistro design. As it turns out this was a one-off done for an exhibition of Egyptian artefacts in Victoria. The wine was medium depth good deep red colour. The palate is medium weight with good berry and spice and good length. Fantastic value at $7, decant it first and hide the bottle.

1999 Warrenmang ‘Bazzani’ Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Dolcetto
This is the ‘restaurant red’ of the Warrenmang range. Luigi Bazzani, who owns the winery and resort, also own restaurants in Bendigo and Geelong. A medium weight wine, nice berry and slight pickle aromas. A very enjoyable wine.

We were discussing whether the wine would develop over time and the cellar door manager generously ducked out the back to open some back vintages.

1998 Warrenmang ‘Bazzani’ Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz
Similar notes to the 1999 but showing some greater complexity and length. A nicely developing wine.

1996 Warrenmang ‘Bazzani’ Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz
Show that this wine does develop very nicely over time. Full red colour with berry and spice great length. It probably doesn’t have long term prospects but the quality of the development was very nice.

1998 Warrenmang Grand Pyrenees
The flagship of Warrenmang. Dense red colour. Ripe berry nose, rich full-bodied wine. It had been in the bottle for 8 weeks. Showing very nice balance and great length. Built for long-term aging.

1998 Warrenmang Cabernet Sauvignon
Ripe berry nose. Huge tannins and slightly unbalanced with hints of blueberry and a good long finish.

1998 Warrenmang ‘Black Puma’ Shiraz
From 5 year old vines about 40k away from here. Only 200 doz made and had been in the bottle for 8 weeks. Big quality fruit with hug tannins and a great long finish. A wonderful wine, particularly from young vines.

1996 Shiraz Port
Quite aggressive on the nose. Rich young fruit with a long finish. Way to young yet. Leave for 10 years.

I joined Jenise and Bob for a great dinner at the Warrenmang Restaurant. Splendid food, and we enjoyed a bottle of the 1994 Mount Avoca ‘Millennium Release’ Cabernet Shiraz.

Stay Tuned for Day two when we travel through the Great Western Wine Region.

Murray