SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
An unusual selection from Oz
Auberon Waugh
Before being submitted to the tradi- tional Combe Florey panel, these wines were' shown to an ad hoc committee of wine experts who happened to be sitting afound in the Academy one evening. Major R.M. Posner (secretary) found the Skilly Gap Semilion 19920) immensely to his lik- ing, but Appleyard said it was too sweet. 'We call this body,' said Alexr Findlater, its importer, who happened to be present. Call it body or call it macaroni, this is certainly an amazingly full wine for its price of £4.95. Given age, it may turn into something quite distinguished, with the characteristic dry semillon taste of a Laville-Haut-Brion. At present, it is not distinguished, but a good mouthful of fruit with enough acid to carry any hint of tinned grapefruit. A welcome change for those who are getting bored with thin white wines in this price range.
At exactly the same price of £4.95 a 1992 Sauvignon from the Loire Valley") is fresh- er than the semillon, as one might expect, and less rich, but with nothing waterish about it. Unchilled, there is the faintest hint that a tom-cat might have passed within 20 yards, but chilling drives the beast away. It is a good, light aperitif, not too strong (although weighing in at 12V2 per cent vol.) for summer drinking — the Skilly Gap semillon will drink long into the winter.
By contrast, the Ryecroft Honey Tree Chardonnay") from McLaren Vale is a giant of a wine. Although it is perfectly ready for drinking now, with what we call in the trade a huge, buttery nose (I have never tasted or smelled butter with the faintest resemblance), I would be interested to taste it again in ten years' time. An epitome of the colonial chardonnay idea, it has a good oily texture, a creamy taste with a sur- prising amount of bite at the end. A mem- ber of the Combe Florey panel, on its sec- ond tasting, thought to compare it to a woman with an hour-glass figure — fat, then thin, then fat again. It has amazing concentration for the price of £6.75 and I would love to see how it develops. We put an unopened ripe Galia melon beside it, and the smell was almost indistinguishable. People may think you mad if you lay down an Australian chardonnay which is deli- cious to drink now, but it is a dignified, Complex wine which deserves it.
So much for the whites. All three of the reds are unmistakably Australian, although none has the hot taste sometimes identified as the Coonawarra burn. Instead, they all have the cedary-eucalyptus taste which is fast emerging as the hallmark of small win- ery reds, especially where cabernet sauvi- gnon is concerned.
The Skilly Gap Cabernet Sauvignono) has strong eucalyptus attack with plummy cen- tre and a touch of bitter chocolate at the end. Although a good example of a strong wine at a reasonable price (£4.95), I don't think I would recommend it as something to drink between meals. It needs hot food to meet the strong tannins, but it is a well- structured wine and could become addictive.
By contrast, the 1987 Gnangara Shiraz') from Western Australia's Swan Valley has very little tannin, and would be ideal as an aperitif or post-prandial drink (I notice more people choosing reds before meals nowadays). It is easy to swill because, despite a thick appearance, it does not real- ly have a tremendous amount of taste. It certainly does not require food to accompany it, and is a nice red for drinking socially. There is nothing improper or waterish about it, just not a great deal there — what a member of the panel called a minimalist wine. I cannot shout its praises at this price — £5.90 — although minimalism never came cheap, I dare say. Some will find it just what they have been looking for. It is the name — Gnangara Shiraz — which I find irresistible.
Finally Crabtree's Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 1988°' — 69 per cent Shiraz, 31 per cent Cabernet — from the Clare Val- ley's Watervale is the complete statement of the new Oz taste — pure, sweet cedar with enough eucalyptus on the nose to drive a koala wild. Although one member of the panel was reminded of chewing a pencil, there is an elegance in this wine which justifies the steep (although much reduced) price of £7.95. It is such an extreme example of the new taste — yet delicious with it — that I feel every cellar should have some. You would not want to drink it every day, but to catch a certain mood — possibly to forestall a threatened cold in the head — or simply to satisfy the endless urge for something different.
The sample case works out at £5.90 the bottle for an interesting, unusual Oz selec- tion, although I am sorry not to have found a decent Australian sauvignon blanc on this occasion. I found the Honey Tree Chardonnay" and Crabtree Shiraz-Caber- net Sauvignon so interesting that I fear I may need my head examined.
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