Australian Gourmet Traveller - (06)June 2019 (1)

T

hebestwaytoexplainmyapproachto

stockinga winecellaris tosharea fewreal-

lifestoriesfrommyrecentdrinkinghistory.

I visiteda bunchofwineriesinthe

GreatSouthernregionofWesternAustraliaa couple

ofmonthsagoandenjoyedmanyrieslingsfrom

theexcellent 2018 vintage,includingFrankland

Estate’sscintillating,lime-y, preciseIsolationRidge.

I loveAustralianriesling.I thinkit’soneofthe

bestwinesyoucanhaveinyourcellar:it matures

gracefullyfortwoorthreedecadesandit’s usually

veryaffordablewhenit firsthitsthe

bottleshopshelf.Asa result,I have

quitea fewolderrieslingsinmy

(notverybig)cellar,includingsome

GrossetPolishHillandWatervale

frommyson’sbirthyear(always

buywinesfromyourchildren’sbirth

year:evenif theydon’tappreciate

themwhentheyturn 18 or21,you

will)anda fewFranklandEstates.

WhenI gothomefromWA,I

fossickedaroundintherackanddug

outa bottleofIsolationRidgefrom

2008,toremindmyself– andtheother 10 people

I’dinvitedforSundaylunch–howgoodit tastes

after 10 years.Andit didn’tdisappoint:allthepure

citrusfreshnessofyouthhaddevelopedintothe

gorgeous,richlime-cordialofmiddleageasthe

bottlehadsatinmycellar.

Thefirstpointtobemadehereis thatAustralian

whitewines– particularlyrieslingsfromclassicregions

likeGreatSouthern,ClareValley, EdenValleyand

Henty – are a great bet for the cellar. The second is

Awell-stockedcellarshouldsatisfyeverytasteandoccasion

withbottlesworthyofthewait,writesMAXALLEN.

thatwineis forsharing:it’sa greatfeelingtobring

outa well-cellaredbottleforfamilyandfriends.

Whichbringsmetothelessonofthesecond

story,whichis:cellaringwineshouldn’tjustbeabout

youandyourpreferences.You’realsoprovidinga

publicservice.

AnoldfriendcametostayjustafterChristmas.

HeandI gowayback,towhenI workedinthewine

tradeintheUKintheearly1990s.Wesharedcopious

bottlesofoldredBordeauxbackthen– classicvintages

of claret from classed-growthchâteaux– andI developed

a realtasteforthatstyleofwine.

Asa result,mycellarhasa leaning

towardscooler-climatecabernet

blendsfromCoonawarra,Margaret

RiverandtheYarraValley.Some

ofmybestwinememoriesinvolve

openingoldbottlesofYarraYering,

MountMaryandYeringberg.

Theonlyproblemwas,when

hecametostaythisyear,myfriend’s

tasteshadchanged.Allhewanted

todrinkwaschardonnay.Cold,

fresh,youngchardonnay.And

becausechardonnayis seldommyownfirstchoice

ofwine,I wasn’tabletocompletelysatisfyhisthirst:

wequicklyworkedthroughthefewbottlesI had(as

I say,I don’thavea hugecellar)andsoonneeded

a visittothebottleshop.

Now,I’mnotcomplaining:allmycarefullycellared

cabernetwillhappilylivetobedrunkanotherday.But

I feltI’dletmyfrienddown:a goodcellarshouldbe

onethathaswinesforeveryoccasionandeverytaste.

And one occasion that makes me particularly thankful

Cave dwellers

Alwaysbuy wines

fromyourchildren’s

birthyear: even

if they don’t

appreciatethem

whentheyturn

18 or 21, you will.

Drinks

Opposite: 2017

YarraYering

Carrodus

Cabernet

Sauvignon

(fromleft), 2017

FranklandEstate

IsolationRidge

and 2018 Joseph

Sparkling Red.

36 GOURMET TRAVELLER

PHOTOGRAPHY

ROB

SHAW

(MAIN).

STYLING

AIMEE

JONES.

BACKGROUND

PAINTED

IN

STONE

PAINT

COARSE

DUSTY

MULE

FROM

PORTER’S

PAINTS.

CABERNET/MERLOT

GLASSES FROM RIEDEL VERITAS & O SERIES. STOCKISTS P152.