Coldstream Hills 2004 Limited Release Shiraz

Here's one that takes me back to the trip that shaped Hughesy's drinking habits over the next couple of years. Those habits have been modified, as subsequent trips have added new elements to the LHoC Wine Rack mix, but this week-long sojourn through the Yarra Valley, Tahbilk, Glenrowan, Rutherglen and Beechworth sorted the basic elements for the on-going and ever-evolving mix.

The day after we visited Coldstream Hills, for example, we got to Tahbilk and became aware of phenomenon known as the freight-free wine club, and subsequent visits to Baileys and Pfeiffers added the first of the regular delivered winery-based tasting dozens.

There were others before that, of course, the original incarnation of The Rothbury Estate, the old Hunter Valley Wine Society and The Wine Society, but these were the first winery-specific tasting dozens if you catch my drift.

And much of my reaction as we worked our way through the northeast of the state was, I suspect, shaped by my reaction to what we found as we made our way around a small subset of the hundred and fifty-odd wineries in the valley.

Now, I'm the first to admit that those reactions might have been different if we'd been there some time other than the week between Christmas and New Year, and if we'd done the sort of detailed pre-trip research that preceded visits to northern Tasmania, the Clare Valley and Margaret River.

In any case I was underwhelmed by almost everything I encountered in the Yarra, with the notable exception of Coldstream Hills, where we found an almost deserted tasting area and a range of wines that invariably had Hughesy inserting the hooter for a lengthy savouring of the aromas prior to an actual sip.
I'd been to places where the odd wine or three had a magnificent nose, but this was the first place I'd encountered where everything smelt sublime.

We were flying back, so we weren't going to be carrying too much with us and Madam's birthday provided the excuse to crack the last remaining survivor of that particular trip, which predated  the Wine Purchases spreadsheet that began when the Allocated Pension kicked in in March 2007.

Coldstream Hills 2004 Limited Release Shiraz (4.5* $35) Cherries, plums, pepper and spice on the nose that mightn't be as powerful as I recall it being four and a half years before, but still packed a punch. Elegant across the palate with a rounded mouth feel and a finish that ran on and on. Savoury, balanced and tightly wound around an oaky core that's a rather good example of what cool climate Shiraz is all about.