Wine Masters

Martin Field

Classy Wine Masters

For serious gourmets and wine lovers the Masterclass sessions at the Grand Hyatt are undoubtedly the highlight of Melbourne's annual Food and Wine Festival. This year's presenters included chefs such as Kurma Dasa, Stephanie Alexander and Greg Brown, while wine gurus included James Halliday, Iain Riggs and Domaine de la Romanee Conti's Aubert du Villaine.

Languedoc-based, Australian winemakers, Nerida Abbott and Nigel Sneyd conducted one particularly interesting session. The pair took participants through a guided tasting of their Abbotts label Minervois and Languedoc appellation wines, lined up against traditional wines of the same regions.

Judging by the wines tasted Abbott and Sneyd have managed to apply their Aussie know-how to the local terroir to create wines that are more than the sum of their parts. An example was the astonishing depth and complexity of flavour exhibited by an unwooded shiraz, the Abbotts Cumulus Minervois 1998. A style I believe that is already in the process of attempted duplication by at least one Australian wine company.

Michael Hill Smith MW, conducted another top session, his self-imposed task was to convince us that chardonnay could be a "cerebral" rather than a boring and "monodimensional" wine. His sensory evidence included a 1998 Chablis from William Fevre Montmains, a memorable premier cru white that was at once crisp, flinty and complex. The 1998 Mondavi Reserve Chardonnay was big, brash and fruity, the bouquet showing distinct toasted oak. Giaconda's 1998 Chardonnay was a brilliant blend of ripe fruit, lightly charred oak and impeccably balanced acid.

I thought the nine exhibits for the defence were all prime expressions of the varietal - with one exception, an oxidised Kiwi. But if I did my sums correctly there was a serious hole in Hill Smith's thesis, the average price of the wines on tasting was well over $60. It seems on balance that chardonnay need not be boring, but only if you're the proud possessor of a fat wallet.

Sparkling red peaches

I asked Jimmy Watson's chef Andrew McIldowney for a seasonal recipe based on wine. He offered a dessert, "peaches poached in sparkling red". For six people use 6 ripe peaches - peeled, two bottles of sparkling red, one stick of cinnamon, one small knob of ginger (walnut-sized), one vanilla bean - split lengthways, three whole star anise, four cloves, one and two thirds cups of soft brown sugar and six sprigs of mint.

In a heavy (non-aluminium) saucepan bring to the boil one bottle of sparkling red, then add the cinnamon, ginger, vanilla bean, anise, cloves, sugar and mint. Next add the peaches and bring back to the boil. On boiling remove the saucepan from heat and leave the peaches to macerate in the spiced wine for at least 20 minutes or until soft. Remove the peaches and set aside, then simmer the cooking liquid until it becomes syrupy.

To serve: place peaches in bowls and drizzle generously with the syrup, garnish each dish with a mint sprig and a dollop of pure cream. Drink the other bottle. I suggested to Andrew that the only wine really suitable as both ingredient and accompaniment was the classic Seppelt Great Western Sparkling Shiraz 1994. "What else?" he replied.

Winerobot

No, the Winerobot is not a heavy wine drinker it's a new website that searches the pages of Australian wine e-tailers to compile comparative pricing details on searched wines. At Winerobot the e-shopper can search by brand name, region, vintage, and so forth, to find the variation in prices of a particular wine at different outlets. Winerobot also enables direct access to each outlet to conclude the purchasing process.

My test search for a dozen of Wynn's John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 came up with three results. The cheapest was Wine Planet at $774, next was Vintage Direct at $864.00, last and most expensive was Wine Life at $933.60. Difference between the cheapest and dearest dozen? $159.60, or $13.30 the bottle.

Sites like Winerobot are a boon to thrifty shoppers as they take the hard work out of net-trawling. But beware, old-fashioned buying can be cheaper still. The price quoted to me on the phone by Dan Murphy's was $718.80 the dozen, $55.20 cheaper than the cheapest internet price. Careful buyers will also read the small print for price add-ons such as insurance and delivery charges, which can boost the total wine price significantly.

Cool clear water?

My sermon this week dear brethren, and sistren, is on water. For did not Jesus, in his first miracle at Cana of Galilee, turn the contents of six pots, each holding two or three firkins of water, into wine? And, verily, the Chateau Cana Semillon Chardonnay blend, vintage circa AD 30, was a good drop. For, according to the Bible (John ch. 21.10), the governor of the wedding feast liked it so much that he said to the bridegroom, "but thou hast kept the good wine until last."

One can only imagine the biblical implications if the governor had said instead, "This wine is off, goest thou and bring me another f**kin' firkin!"

But what's water got to do with serious drinking? I hear readers and the ghost of W.C. Fields (no relation) ask. Water has been consumed alongside booze for centuries. It has been used to dilute wine for the young or delicate of palate. As soda water it goes well with scotch and bourbon, and as a coolant in the form of ice cubes and shaved ice it is indispensable in warm climates. And unadulterated water is the perfect palate refresher between alcoholic drinks. So for the occasional user it is important that water is of the highest purity, bacteriologically and aesthetically.

Which brings me to that oft-repeated claim that Melbourne's water supply is one of the purest in the world. With the addition of chlorine, fluoride, aluminium and so forth I'm sure it is relatively bug free and possibly beneficial to the teeth. But in at least two definitive features I have found Melbourne water sadly deficient: tasteless and odourless it ain't. In fact I reckon that some of the Melbourne tap water I've tasted over the last few years is corked. That's right, the water exhibits the same earthy, musty characters I find in corked wine. I'm no scientist but believe that the taint could be the same as that found in faulty corks - a substance known as TCA that results from a chlorine reaction with bacteria.

Am I too critical? I don't think so. Recently I poured some Carlton tap water for a group of wine students - more than half thought it was musty and similar to corked wine.

Whatever, the taint is offensive to me, to a degree that I bought one of those Kambrook filter jugs and now use only filtered water for coffee, tea, ice and cooking, and when desperate, drinking on its own.

A firkin, by the way, measures about 45 litres - in those days they must have had big boisterous weddings in Cana.

Book review

April 1 sees the release of yet another wine guide from Australia's most prolific wine writer, James Halliday. The Pocket Guide to Wines of Australia is in effect a scaled down version of Halliday's Australia and New Zealand Wine Companion. True to the title the slim volume will fit handily into a jacket pocket. Each winery in the A-Z regional listing receives a star rating and a one paragraph potted history and description of winemakers and styles. Also included are simple maps, regional profiles and winery contact details. HarperCollins, RRP $14.95.

Giveaway: We have three copies of the Guide to give away to readers. To enter simply send your name and address to Pocket Guide, Melbourne Independent Newspapers, 18 Drummond Street, Carlton 3053.

Wine FAQs and MLF

FAQ (frequently asked question) of the week comes from a consumer who asks if his bottle of Victorian shiraz cabernet sauvignon was corked. Seems the wine smelled fine but tasted odd and was distinctly bubbly in appearance.

In my opinion this problem is most likely to have been caused by secondary, non-yeast, malolactic fermentation (mlf) in the bottle rather than cork taint. Mlf occurs when the bug lactobacillus converts malic acid (harsh green fruit acids) to softer lactic acid (milk fermentation acid), mlf also causes general acidity to diminish somewhat. Alcohol is not produced in this fermentation but carbon dioxide is, and if this occurs in a closed bottle bubbles will result.

Mlf also contributes flavour components, including a compound known as diacetyl, which can give wine, especially white wine, a buttery flavour. Hence the description of wooded chardonnays which have undergone mlf as soft and "buttery". Diacetyls are also used to give cinema popcorn an artificial butter flavour - which Seinfeld, trivia freaks may recall, prefers to real butter.

Tastings

Blue Pyrenees Estate Reserve Brut

Very pale, fine bead. Inviting bouquet of biscuity yeast. Very clean on the palate, showing abundant flavours of balanced ripened fruit, yeast lees and zesty acid. Delightful drinking with or without food. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2004. Price: about $20.

Penfolds Kalimna Shiraz Bin 28 1997

Mid-crimson. The nose promises much, loads of inviting big fruit and American oak. The palate delivers with substantial blackberry and vanilla characters constructed on fine, not too chewy tannins. Good long finish. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2006. Price: about $15.

Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla

Manzanilla is a lighter style of sherry (15 per cent alcohol) from Sanlucar de Barrameda in southwestern Spain. Almost water pale, a clean nutty nose. The palate bone dry with delicate flavours and tangy acidity. Serve chilled as the perfect aperitif. Rating: gold. Price: about $9.50 the half bottle.

Hardys Reserve 3-Litre Chardonnay Cask

Soft and quaffable cask white with likeable if simple varietal flavours and a hint of oak. Acceptable, top of the fridge, every day drinking. Rating: commercial. Price: RRP $16.

Nicolas Feuillatte Premier Cru Champagne

A non-vintage style assembled from 40 per cent pinot noir, the same of pinot meunier and 20 per cent chardonnay. Pale, pale yellow, tiny persistent bead. Floral perfume of apples combines with baking bread aromas. The palate is a medium dry mouth-filler of pleasant yeast lees and generous, developed fruit. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2003. Price: around $44.

Taltarni Sauvignon Blanc 1999

Pale, shade of green. Generous, aromatic bouquet, ripe fruit with a slight herbal edge. Mouth-filling flavours reminiscent of kiwifruit. Finishes dry, firm and zesty. Excellent with main dishes. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2005. Price: RRP $18.50.

Lindemans St George Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 1997

Deep red, purple-hued. A nose of dusty French oak and black currants. The palate full and concentrated with tannins aplenty contributing a very assertive, grippy texture. Heavily oaked to my taste and ideally the wine needs at least a couple of years in the cellar to soften the astringency. It will drink well now as an accompaniment to well-seasoned main courses. Rating: gold. Cellar: to 2010. Price: RRP $35.

Martin Field