Tastes of summer at Young Gun wine tastings in Melbourne
Fifty Victorian winemakers shared their best drops with members of the public last week.
So many good wines, so little time.
Fifty winemakers converged on St Kilda’s notorious Prince of Wales band room last week as part of the Young Gun of Wine Uncut roadshow sweeping the country (events also have been held in Sydney and Adelaide, with another slated for Perth on Friday).
Each vigneron brought with them two wines from their range to pour for the 250 thirsty members of the public who attended the event, before the best Yarra Valley-based wine industry rock ’n’ roll covers band in the world, the Yeastie Boys, took to the same hallowed stage where Nirvana once smelled like teen spirit, and cranked their amps up to 11.
Metaphorically stage-diving into the mosh pit of winemakers before hopping up on stage to join the Yeasties for a couple of numbers (a dream come true, for me at least), I managed to sniff, swirl and slurp my way through nearly all of the bottles — and a couple of flagons (more of which later) — on offer that day, and was very impressed by many of the wines, new releases from established labels as well as some I’d not come across before. I could recommend heaps, but you’ll have to settle for highlights.
Among the familiars, I just loved the 2016 Bobar Royale ($50), a gulpingly delicious, textural, wild-fermented, unfiltered young chardonnay from the Yarra Valley, the joyfully pretty and thirst-quenching new 2016 rieslings from Crawford River (the Young Vines version, $30) and Best’s Great Western ($25), and the rich, layered, sun-kissed yellow fruit of the 2016 Lo Stesso Fiano ($33) from Heathcote.
Keeping with the theme of summer refreshment, the 2016 Lark Hill gruner veltliner ($45) from the Canberra district displayed some gorgeous, delicate floral perfume before delivering intense candied citron flavours, while the 2016 Fairbank rose ($25) from southern Bendigo combined bright freshness and satisfying, lightly creamy texture on the tongue.
And if you’re looking for good barbecue red wine drinking this summer, may I suggest Windowrie’s brilliant-value 2015 The Mill shiraz ($20) from the central ranges of NSW, with its bright and crunchy red berry fruit; or the gutsier, more earthy, spicy complexity of the 2015 Turkey Flat Grenache ($30) from the Barossa; or the vibrant black cherries and peppery gamy notes of the 2015 Giant Steps Yarra Valley Syrah ($35).
Standouts among the newer (to me) names included the Grey-Smith Blanc de Blancs ($42), a deliciously lemony, nutty sparkling wine from Mount Gambier; the 2015 Wilimee chardonnay ($45), a brilliantly intense and tangy, mineral-rich white wine from a 35-year-old Macedon Ranges vineyard under recent new ownership; and the 2013 SubRosa nebbiolo ($25), a deceptively pale red wine with surprising powdery tannic grip on the tongue — all classic savoury nebbiolo characteristics, really — from the Grampians.
I was particularly impressed by Flor Marche, a new West Australian producer making great wines from grapes sourced across the state’s regions: I loved the beautifully precise and citrusy 2016 Malabre Great Southern riesling ($25) and the wonderfully elegant but deeply flavoursome 2015 Elsie cabernet from Margaret River ($35).
And finally, from Stuart Proud — Yeastie Boys’ drummer and proprietor of Proud Primary Produce — I can recommend the fun, fruity, slurpy 2016 Up the Mountain Rose (a blend of chardonnay, shiraz and pinot noir) and the savoury, snappy, fish-loving 2016 Down the Coast pinot gris — not least because both are available in handy two-litre flagons. Priceless. How very retro — and how very appropriate for the sweaty, sticky-carpet pub-band legacy of the Prince.
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