7

2016 Michael Hall
Sauvignon Blanc,
Adelaide Hills, $35
Another great wine from
this consistently good
producer: subtle barrel-
ferment flavours and some
time in bottle bring finesse
and texture to sauvignon’s
fresh floral fruitiness.
michaelhallwines.com

Koval Four Grain

Whiskey, Chicago, $99

The standout spirit in an

impressive range from this

innovative US distillery;

a blend of oats, malted

barley, rye and wheat,

it’s a full-flavoured,

rich, golden whiskey

with grunt.

noblespirits.com.au

2017 Sherrah

Nero d’Avola,

McLaren Vale, $30

A good new Vale producer

to look out for; I like all the

wines in Sherrah’s range,

but there’s something

particularly appealing

about this bright,

lip-smacking young nero.

sherrahwines.com.au

2016 Jones Malbec,

Rutherglen, $35

An excellent example

of the malbec grape:

deep-purple fruit framed

in fine, grippy, elegant

tannins. Roast a leg

of lamb with all the

trimmings and you’re

set for Sunday lunch.

joneswinery.com.au

2017 Bests Old Vines

Pinot Meunier, Great

Western, $100

Deceptively pale, pretty

and fine now, this wine,

made from vines planted

150 years ago, will also

cellar superbly well, filling

out and revealing great

complexity over decades.

bestswines.com

ago, and has been

making a gamy,

dense, more intensely

flavoured example of

the variety under his

Farr Rising label

since the 2014 vintage.

Over in the Yarra Valley,

meanwhile, Punt Road

Wines grafted their gamay onto old viognier vines,

and now produce a particularly fragrant, purple-

fruited wine from those grapes.

The Yarra is emerging as a top region for gamay

makers. As well as examples from Punt Road and

the long-established De Bortoli winery (who have

made a straight gamay under their Vinoque label

and also blend some gamay with syrah for their La

Bohème label), you’ll also now find gamays from

Thick as Thieves (made from King Valley-grown

fruit) and Bobar, whose Gamma Ray, a blend of

gamay and a goodly splash of cabernet franc, takes

the grape in a whole new funky, ethereal direction.

In 2017, irrepressible Yarra winemaker Timo

Mayer also sourced gamay from the same vineyard

that supplied the grapes for the Gamma Ray and

produced an altogether different wine: darker fruit,

more supple, sinewy, and seriously seductive, with

a savoury hint of bush track at dusk.

One taste of this and you realise you’re not in

Beaujolais any more, Toto. Rather than conjuring

up images of andouillette, this is a gamay that calls

for something equally funky but more appropriately

local. Kangaroo tartare, perhaps?

LC

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Gamay is so
versatile on the
table, matching
the lightest fish
dishes and the
richest, stinkiest
sausages.
From top: Ravensworth,
Lyons Will and
Meadowbank gamay.
GOURMET TRAVELLER 51
Drinks