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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.●

OM

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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.