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(Nandana) #1
GOURMET TRAVELLER 49

PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS JANSEN (TOP DROPS) & ROB SHAW (MAIN). STYLING AIMEE JONES. ILLUSTRATION LAUREN HAIRE. PROPS: BACKGROUND PAINTED IN DULUX SYMPHONY RED. BRASS TRAY FROM LIVING EDGE. GLASS FROM WEST ELM. ALL OTHER PROPS STYLIST’S OWN. STOCKISTS P192.


2015 Grosset Gaia,
Clare Valley, $83
One of the best vintages
ever of this eminently
cellarworthy Clare
cabernet blend: exquisite
perfume of cassis and
bay leaf, elegant and
sinewy in structure with
underlying plush fruit.
grosset.com.au

Willett Straight Rye
Whiskey, Kentucky, $145
Superb, retro-styled rye
whiskey from recently
rejuvenated Kentucky
Bourbon distillery, Willett.
Swirling aromas of rich
toasted rye, oats and grain,
creamy texture, lingering
balanced sweetness.
spiritsoffrance.com.au

2013 Emidio Pepe
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, $170
The Pepe family take
trebbiano, a grape
considered humdrum,
and turn it into magical,
long-lived white wine:
scintillating with flavours
of lemon pith and chalk.
Imported by
mondoimports.com.au

2017 Chapel Hill Home
Grown Shiraz Mourvèdre,
McLaren Vale, 375ml, $15
Sometimes a whole bottle
is too much. Dining alone?
All you want is a cheeky
little half. Stash a few
of these away for such
occasions: bold, juicy, gutsy,
and great with steak.
chapelhillwine.com.au

2017 Kalleske
Elenore Semillon,
Barossa Valley, $21
I’m a big fan of Barossa
sémillon, which is
fuller-flavoured and riper
than Hunter sém. This
outstanding example fills
the mouth with rich but
refreshing citron flavours.
kalleske.com

Recently I tasted
the Musar wines
(and a gorgeous
spirit) currently
available in
Australia, and
was reminded how distinctive and delicious they
are, particularly after a few years in the bottle.
The 2016 Jeune White ($30) is a blend of the white
grapes just mentioned, plus vermentino, and is a
golden, textural, deeply savoury wine – the kind of dry
white you want on your table whenever salty fried fish
is served. The 2014 Jeune Red (also $30) takes Musar’s
signature cabernet and cinsault grapes and blends
them with syrah, producing a gutsy, fleshy, bold wine
that would be a very happy match with garlicky lamb.
The current Chateau Musar is the 2009 vintage
($100), and it’s still quite closed and youthful –
though decanting and splashing it into a big glass
reveals lovely hedgerow fruit and an appealing
balsamic tang. The 1999 (also around $100), by
contrast, is just hitting its straps: earthy and quite
rustic to smell, it comes alive in the mouth, with
silky red fruit perfectly balanced by long, fine,
grippy tannins. A great bottle of mature red wine.
To top it all off, there’s L’Arack de Musar ($80),
a superfine, aniseed-flavoured spirit distilled from
the estate’s wine and aged in terracotta amphorae.
It’s 53 per cent alcohol but is surprisingly sweet,
smooth and balanced, even when tasted without
the customary dash of water. One sip and you’re
transported to a small café in Beirut, your senses
suffused with the sights and sounds of the city.●

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“Chateau Musar is
not the only winery
in Lebanon, or
the oldest, but it has
gained particular fame
partly because its
backstory reads like
a Hemingway novel.”

Drinks
From left: L’Arack
de Musar, Jeune Red,
1999 Chateau Musar
and Jeune White.
Free download pdf