Wine Your Cuisine Deserves

Not only do Australians have a choice second to none of diverse natural foods, we also have the opportunity to match our cuisine with extraordinary wines, made in Australia and overseas. Wine drinkers have come to appreciate that premium local and imported wines now complement each other, rather than compete together.

As our wine industry matures, the individual qualities of Australian wines are becoming recognised the world over. In similar fashion, Australian connoisseurs now recognise that select imported wines fill particular niches which would otherwise remain neglected in this country.

Champagnes and Methode Champenoise

Krug is the Champagne that stands alone; its place at the top of the tree is indisputed. Krug’s reputation is worldwide, its classic appearance impeccable. It is a symbol of taste, discernment and unrivalled quality. Krug is the only Champagne House to ferment and mature all of its wines in oak casks, which imparts a unique hallmark of quality and rich complexity to its champagne.

Krug’s Grande Cuvee is the marque’s flagship. A blend of around fifty different wines, three grape varieties and six to nine vintages, its subtle harmony, depth and rare elegance is constantly recognisable year after year. It is the aperitif Krug, also suited to more delicate food dishes.

The Krug Vintage 1982 is a wine remarkable for its richness and depth, creamy texture, intensity and weight. 1982 was an exceptional season, following consistent warm, sunny conditions, creating great flavours in pinot noir and chardonnay. Winemaker Henri Krug has perfectly balanced structure with flavour. Even for Krug, this is a classic destined to live in the bottle for many years

In 1983, after 140 years of producing Champagne, Krug released their first Rose Champagne with an aim to create a Rose which according to Henri Krug would be to other Roses what Krug is to Champagne. The Rose was designed for gastronomy, to possess the ideal balance between the different sensations of colour, bouquet and taste.

Krug Rose has achieved a superb pale salmon pink colour with faint golden tints and a very fine, persistent bead. Its distinctive floral bouquet is complex and elegant. The palate has the qualities of fruit, delicacy and a full, deep flavour, yet it is also very dry and supple. Krug Rose leaves the impression of great balance, character and elegance.

The Krug Clos de Mesnil is one of the rarest of Champagnes, and is made completely from this most exclusive of Champagne vineyards, amongst the famous growth of Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger, and purchased by Krug in 1971. From only five acres of vines, walled-in since 1698, the individual vineyard wine made at the Clos de Mesnil is a rare exception in Champagne.

The Clos de Mesnil is planted only to chardonnay, which its gentle easterly aspect is able to ripen perfectly, as the 1982 vintage illustrates. It is a uniquely generous, yet stylish blanc de blancs, boasting a rare combination of roundness and elegance.

The Champagne House of Charles Heidseck has transformed its winemaking and presentation, which today are headed by the successful and popular Brut Reserve. It is a superb wine, with a bright and scintillating colour, long lasting, light bubbles, and a fruity and very elegant nose. It fills the mouth with fresh taste and delicate aromas. The Brut Reserve is a beautifully-integrated harmony of elegance, delicacy, structure and dryness made without any compromise.

An elegant, subtle blend of the excellent Brut Reserve with red wines from the Champagne region, the elegant Charles Heidsieck Rose NV has a fine colour, flavour and finish. A classic food wine, the Vintage Brut 1982 has a rich bouquet, but a palate of rare delicacy and suppleness. Its quality reflects the five years’ maturation it received prior to disgorging.

One of the oldest Champagne marques, Piper-Heidsieck has a unique style. A component of its individuality its is refusal to allow its wine to complete a secondary or malolactic fermentation, which retains its freshness, delicacy and zest.

Piper Heidsieck is one of the most advanced and innovative producers of champagne. Unlike most champagnes, the Piper Heidsieck Brut Sauvage is made without any sweetening at dosage. It is a renowned connoisseurs’ wine.

The Piper-Heidsieck Brut Extra is a classically dry Brut Champagne, with rare elegance and freshness. The blend varies between 85-90 Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, the remainder being chardonnay. Typically a light straw-gold colour, it has a fine, steady beading with lively bubbles. Its nose is fine and intense, with excellence fragrance and delicate yeast characters. The palate is comparatively light and fruity, almost feminine in nature when compared to some of the more robust champagnes.

Chateau Remy is a leader in Australian methode champenoise. Its large vineyard in the surprisingly cool Victorian Pyrenees region has been redeveloped to the classic sparkling wine varieties of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier, all of which play a major role in the wines available today.

The winery at Chateau Remy is equipped especially for the methode champenoise process, with some machinery unique in Australia. It boasts classically French-looking cellars which provide large areas of perfectly temperature-regulated space for the maturation and riddling of wines.

Chateau Remy wines are not released until a minimum of three to five years of age. In an innovation for Australia, Chateau Remy has received one hundred new small French barrels for the primary fermentation of its sparkling wines, which will undoubtedly contribute further to their future complexity and quality.

Chateau Remy continues to develop its Cuvee Speciale along the lines of a non-vintage Champagne, using base wines enhanced with blending stocks from previous years. Its nose displays floral and vanillin characters, with balanced yeasty influences. The palate is long, soft and full, with flavours of apples and limes and a crisp finish.

Chateau Remy’s 1984 Vintage was made in a blanc de blancs style of vintage wine. Its bright golden colour reflects its five years’ maturation and development, enhanced by a fine, persistent bead. It is complex and appealing, with flowery and limey fruit flavours and a pronounced, integrated creamy yeastiness and great length, softness and freshness at the finish. The 1984 Royal Vintage is a sparkling wine to drink now, while fresh and recently disgorged.

Another leading Australian sparkling wine, the 1987 vintage of the Wolf Blass Chardonnay Cuvee has an appealing bouquet of aromatic chardonnay fruit and a fresh, soft and approachable palate with a creamy finish.

Burgundy

Founded in 1880, the House of Joseph Drouhin is one of the most respected names in Burgundy, renowned for its consistency and quality. The Maison Joseph Drouhin stands in the centre of Beaune, within the inner circle of the Roman fortifications.

Managing Director Robert Drouhin is also the company’s head vintner, who assesses all wines and forecasts their future and development. He selects which wines to purchase, and the manner of maturation for each of the wines he stores, in the company’s ancient cellars built for the Kings of France in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Drouhin’s winemaking philosophies are based on traditional practices; to let good wines make themselves, only using technology to establish the correct environment for this to occur. Their wines are notable for softness, approachability and length of flavour.

The Drouhin range begins with a de-classified Chardonnay with some real white burgundian characters, labelled Laforet Bourgogne 1988, which shows delicate, peachy fruit, nutty oak and slight creaminess. The palate is soft, round, with a slightly charry oak flavours, finishing with lively acidity. The Chablis 1987 is an attractive wine with delicate greenish, apple-like fruit, length of flavour and soft acids.

A much fuller, richer wine is the Meursault 1987, whose subdued fruit will develop well with time. It is oily and toasty – a heavily-wooded burgundy with spicy fruit. Rich, soft and surprisingly tannic at the finish, the palate is has weight up front and will fill out in time. Rather impressive indeed is the First-Growth Meursault Perrieres 1987. It is richly-flavoured and voluptuous, with impressive spicy, creamy varietal chardonnay fruit and a full oak extract. The wine has a rich, oily texture and tremendous weight of honeyed flavour and depth. It should develop in the bottle for at least ten years.

The Puligny-Montrachet 1986 is utterly charming. A more feminine, elegant wine than the Meursaults, with delicately flavours and a superb integration of buttery, creamy fruit and new oak influence. Soft and utterly smooth, the palate is definitive chardonnay. It finishes with a well-controlled grip and long persistence of flavour. Even better, the First-Growth Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres 1987 is quite brilliant. Remarkably intense, with great depth of fruit and underlying oak, it is complex and beautifully-balanced with a powerful palate, richness, grip and a smooth, viscous texture.

Drouhin’s white flagship is the decoratively-labelled Beaune Clos des Mouches 1987, another wine of immense dimensions. Its nose has delicate and complex nuances of peachy fruit and new wood. Bold on the palate, it shows weight of fruit and intense oily, charry oak. It’s an achievement to make such a wine and keep it in balance.

Joseph Drouhin have an equivalent to their cheaper chardonnay, the Laforet Bourgogne Pinot Noir 1987, which is a pleasing, simple young wine of some varietal cherry characters, length of flavour and balance. From the southern tip of the Cotes de Beaune, Santenay is known for wines which begin their life a little lean, and this is no exception. The Santenay 1985 has still to loosen up, but given four to five years should drink nicely. It shows some pinot fruit and a dusty, earthy nose.

The Vosne-Romanee Les Beaumonts 1985 is from a First-Growth vineyard overlooking the fabled Domaine de la Romanee-Conti. It has a bright, fiery colour and a delightful, delicate strawberry-cherry nose with hints of roses. Soft and very approachable, the palate is quite restrained and subtle, with soft tannins and a cherry kernel note.

A wine for those familiar with the typical earthiness and spiciness of the Cotes de Nuits, the Gevrey-Chambertin 1985 shows pleasing fruit and should develop into a easy-drinking style in around five to seven years. The Gevrey-Chambertin Les Cazeriers 1985 is an elegant and refined wine with an earthy nose and creamy, heavily-oaked characters. The palate is long and supple, with pleasing cherry-strawberry fruit and a firm, well-balanced grip. It is a fine wine that needs at least six years.

What can you say about a wine like the Echezeaux 1985 that sounds critical and objective? It is a wine of massive depth and complexity, with perfumed floral characters, chocolates and a salad of berry fruits on the nose. The palate is extraordinary for its weight and richness, depth of fruit and sheer finesse. It is super-powerful, with a generous weight of tannin you could easily ignore. Remarkable, definitive pinot noir.

Musigny is a Grand Cru in Burgundy, to the north of La Romanee Conti and nearby the village of Vougeot. Joseph Drouhin’s Musigny 1986 has a fragrant, perfumed sweet berry nose with touches of earthiness and spice. The palate needs time, but is classically Burgundian with a gamey taste and cherry/raspberry fruit flavours.

The Clos de Vougeot 1986 is another soft charmer. The nose is gamey, spicy and well-defined, with rich plummy fruit and creamy oak. It has a soft, voluptuous palate with cherry kernel flavours framed by a huge tannic backbone destined to ensure a long future.

Another Drouhin classic, the Beaune Clos des Mouches 1986 rouge is a firm, robust pinot noir capable of living for decades. The nose is still quite delicate and gamey, with stewy fruit flavours and hints of roses. Huge tannins presently enclose the soft, sweet fruit of the palate, ensuring that a decade or more will need to pass before this wine accepts the fact that it was destined for drinking.


The Rhone Valley

Paul Jaboulet Aine is amongst the best and most innovative of the Rhone Valley wine producers and negociants. The firm sources and grows wine from many sources along this important river valley and its best growths are paramount amongst the wines of the region, able to keep company with the best wines of France.

Four of Jaboulet’s most accessible reds come from the warmer reaches of the southern Rhone. As ever, the Paul Jaboulet Cotes du Rhone Villages 1986 is the model Rhone Valley red. Rich, red and spicy, it owes its ripe and mellow fruit flavours to the grenache and shiraz varieties. This maturing wine offers the opportunity to cellar for another three years or to enjoy now.

From the village of Vacqueyras, east of Gigondas and north of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, comes the delightful Cotes du Rhone Vacqueyras 1986, a medium-bodied red of ripe red-currant flavour, spiciness and character. Made largely from grenache, it will peak in around three years’ time, but it could also be opened now.

The Cotes du Ventoux 1986 is the Rhone’s alternative to Beaujolais, intended for young, easy drinking while fresh and fruity. The Cotes du Ventoux is a new appellation south of Gigondas. With soft, mouthfilling fruit from grenache, and the light tannin backbone and elegance of syrah, the Cotes du Ventoux makes the ideal luncheon red, served with light meat dishes and salads.

The Chateauneuf-du-Pape ‘Les Cedres’ 1986 is a balanced, dry wine with intense fruit and obvious but judiciously-rendered wood overtones. A beautiful harmony of flavours rolls across the palate in this top-flight example of the well-known appellation.

Paul Jaboulet produces its Cornas 1986 from the Northern Rhone district of the same name. This wine is delicate and restrained, with a characteristic ‘wild’ character. It is soft and more developed, with mellow berry flavours and slightly sharp and aggressive tannins, making an ideal accompaniment for venison and stronger cheeses.

The vineyards of Saint Joseph in the northern Rhone are on hilly, almost inaccessible slopes, where only man, and never machine, can manoeuvre. The syrah grape is solely responsible for the red Saint Joseph, which is the lightest of the northern Rhones – fully ready at five to eight years of age. The Saint Joseph ‘Le Grand Pompee’ 1986 exemplifies the colour and heady blackcurrant bouquet of syrah in an elegant setting of luscious fruit flavour.

The exposed hill of Hermitage overlooks a bend of the Rhone river and the sleepy town of Tain. The wines made on the hill itself are entitled to be called ‘Hermitage’, those from the surrounding plain ‘Crozes-Hermitage’. Paul Jaboulet’s Crozes Hermitage 1986 has an outstanding colour and a rich, ripe luscious bouquet with beautiful pepper aromas. It is certainly a big, full-bodied wine that will be outstanding in 5-8 years.

The Domaine de Thalabert is one of the exceptional sites of Crozes-Hermitage. Owned by Paul Jaboulet, it is also planted exclusively to the premier grape of the district, syrah. The Crozes-Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 1986 combines spicy, gamey, and strawberry fruit with dusty oak and milky tannins. The palate is rich, soft and concentrated. A little earthy, it has good structure and a long persistent finish.

‘La Chapelle’ is Paul Jaboulet’s exclusive Hermitage estate, rated as the premier red of Hermitage and considered by many to be the most statuesque and complex of all the Rhone wines. The 1986 La Chapelle is a wine of great complexity and finesse, with a lovely blackcurrant and berry nose showing new oak characters. Its flavour is remarkably intense and long, its structure powerful. The 1986 is an outstanding example of a ‘La Chapelle’ from a very good vintage and will live for many years.

The northerly rock known as the Cote Rotie, or ‘roasted slope’ is responsible for the classic ‘feminine’ red wine of the northern Rhone Valley. Made from syrah, with a small addition of the white grape viognier to contribute acidity, it is a showpiece wine. The Cote Rotie Les Jumelles 1986 has a rich, complex nose of red raspberry fruit, enhanced by well-handled oak. The palate is rich, soft and complex, with great fineness and depth of flavour. The fruit is still ripe and fresh, complemented by soft velvet tannins and acids. One of the great Rhone wines, this will develop in the bottle for many years.

From Domaine Paul Jaboulet Aine, the Hermitage Blanc Le Chevalier de Sterimberg is considered to be one of the great white wines of the world, made from Marsanne and Roussanne grapes. It derives its name from the legendary hermit, Chevalier Henri Gasparde de Sterimberg, who built the chapel which crowns Hermitage Hill upon returning from the Crusades, and devoting the rest of his life to viticulture. With a bouquet of honeysuckle and gunflint, the wine is full, dry and fruity, and is capable of attaining considerable age.

Australian Table Wines

Clos St Charles is well known as one of Australia’s leading sauvignon blancs. It’s from the Clare Valley in South Australia, also home to several other leading Australian sauvignon blancs.

The 1989 Clos St Charles has a characteristically ripe and fruity nose, with flavours of lichees, passionfruit and subtle herbaceous influences. In similar fashion, the palate shows mouthfilling depth of good tropical fruit and light herbaceous flavours. The finish is superbly balanced and long, with fresh, clean acids.

As is usual with Clos St Charles, no wood treatment has been used in its production.

For many people the definitive Australian red wine, the Blue Pyrenees Estate is fast becoming one of Australia’s most recognised wine labels. The wine is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot. The 1986 vintage is perhaps the best yet, destined to become an Australian classic. At this early stage it is perhaps more stylish and elegant than the famous 1982 Blue Pyrenees, which successfully launched the brand on three continents.

A reflection of the long, cool 1986 ripening season in the Pyrenees, the wine has a bright medium to full red-garnet colour. The nose is full, spicy and perfumed, with blueberry-like fruit and beautifully-balanced new oak. The palate is long and soft, showing sweet fruit, a rich firm structure, and velvet-like suppleness in the centre. It should open up well and develop in the bottle for at least a decade.

Another famous Australian red wine with a show pedigree almost unrivalled in this country is the Wolf Blass Black Label, also a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and shiraz. Soft and stylish, with a full and complex flavour, the wine is selected from several wine regions; Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale and Eden Valley, all in South Australia. Oak is cleverly used to complement the flavour of the three grapes and to contribute to the wine’s mellow palate. The Black Label should improve in the bottle for at least eight years.

Sweet Dessert Wines

One of the greatest chateaux of the renowned French region of Sauternes, Chateau Filhot was classified as a second-growth in the Medoc classification of 1855. The chateau itself is as spectacular a sight Sauternes can offer, indeed nearly a palace, built by the heirs of the de Filhot family, the Lur Saluces in the early nineteenth century on the edge of the woods south of Sauternes.

Classically honeyed and flowery, with delicate fruit and botrytis characters, the Chateau Filhot 1983 is a well-balanced and concentrated wine. Perhaps marginally sweeter than the standard for Chateau Filhot, it is extremely complex, finishing with the long, clean dryness expected of the wines of this property. The wine is expected to live for many years and like other great Sauternes will certainly develop in the bottle for at least a decade.

The Rhone Valley’s answer to Sauternes is Muscat Beaumes-De-Venise, for at Beaumes-De-Venise in the department of Vaucluse, the muscat grape (known as frontignan in Australia) is made into a sweet fortified dessert wine of great flavour and ripeness.

The wine is made as a ‘vin doux naturel’, a slightly fortified late-picked white wine of a minimum alcoholic content of 14, although sometimes higher. The Paul Jaboulet Muscat Beaumes-De-Venise 1985 is an intense and very rich wine of great sweetness and honeyed/tropical fruit flavours. It has a round mouthfeel and is cleverly balanced by acid to ensure a clean finish.
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