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.

Pfeiffer 2004 Merlot

While I've been tempted to move from the C2 version of the Pfeiffer Wine Club to the C3 equivalent, which means an additional mixed dozen every year, but that extra dozen is a bridge too far as far as quantities from a particular winery is concerned.

Three dozen with a fourth when we stock up on the Gamay and whatever else has caught the eye is, after all, a substantial chunk out of the thirty-something dozen we're looking at buying each year when we're looking to buy from around twenty wineries.

Declining the three shipment option means that there's always going to be the odd wine we miss trying since it has only appeared in that third shipment, but on the other hand if it means that the Pfeiffers need to throw the odd museum release in to fill out the three dozens that's fine with me.

Take this 2004 Merlot for example.

Given the preponderance of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz at the notional quality end of the Australian market we tend to forget that we're talking about the variety that dominates the Bordeaux blends in St. Emilion and Pomerol. That's probably understandable when you look at the quantities of industrially produced Riverland Merlot that ends up on the el cheapo shelves at your local liquor outlet. It tends to be a drinkers' variety rather than one for the collector or connoisseur, so it's always a pleasure to get a reminder of how well the variety can come up when it's handled properly.

Pfeiffer 2004 Merlot (4.5* $n/a) Medium bodied with floral notes on the nose and rounded earthy tannins across the palate there's plenty to savour here and I'd be inclined to grab an extra bottle or two if it was Gamay-ordering time which, unfortunately it isn't (yet). There's a lush mouth feel that works well with a roast (beef in this case, though it'd go well with lamb) and there's a fair dash of leather and cigar box for after dinner as well.

Brown Brothers 2004 Shiraz Mondeuse & Cabernet (Relocated)

Some things stick with you.

On my first visit to Brown Brothers in January 1980 I ran across this blend with the helpful and very informative bloke in the cellar door giving me the drum on Mondeuse. I'd already let him know I was interested in varietal wines, and Brown Brothers seemed, at the time, like Varietal Central. That's changed a little over thirty years, but the changes have largely taken the form of other people heading down the varietal path rather than Brown Brothers changing direction.

Inquiries as to the possibility of tasting Mondeuse on its own produced an explanation that the variety was far too muscular as a stand alone proposition unless you were going to give it an extended spell in the bottle to settle down, but in a blend it adds intense colour and substantial tannin. I haven't run across this one all that often over the intervening decades, but I managed to fit a bottle into an order placed in May '09 and while it could have sat quietly in the wine fridge for another couple of years,

(a) I needed the room for a Houghton C.W. Ferguson;

(b) It's coming up to seven years, not optimal perhaps but it's had some time; and

(c) I was disinclined to wait much longer.

Brown Brothers 2004 Shiraz Mondeuse & Cabernet (4.5* $40) Deep full-bodied red, complex notes on the nose, focussed, smooth and balanced across the palate with everything playing nicely together. At just over 50% Shiraz, with the other two sharing the rest close to evenly you can taste what the Mondeuse brings to this rather wonderful blend. I would love to have the wherewithal to try one of these at fifteen, twenty or twenty-five years.

Pfeiffer 2004 Riesling (Relocated)

Pfeiffer 2004 Riesling (4* $n/a) Arrived in the October 2009 C2 Club Dozen and stuck at the back of the wine fridge since, a check with the ubiquitous Halliday suggested that January 2011 was a bit past the drink-by date for a well-made but unremarkable Riesling, probably made from King Valley/Strathbogie Ranges fruit. Seven years in the bottle had certainly rounded out the youthful apple and tropical fruit notes he'd remarked on, and the aged Riesling characters weren't up there with some I've tried recently, but an interesting drink that suggests it's worthwhile sticking a few well-made Rieslings away even if they're not from a premium region. Provided you've got the cellar space, of course.