PASTRY PERFECTION
Master these wickedly good dishes from baking guru Michael James.
72018 MONTY’ S LEAP THE SAILOR CABERNET SHIRAZ
Winemaker: Rob Diletti
Plum and dark berries are balanced with complex cedary notes. Full and rich with wonderful juicy fruits on the front palate, the firm cabernet tannins give great drive and structure.
What do you love about the combination of these two varieties?
The shiraz brings beautiful juicy red fruits and a rich, textured style – the cabernet brings structure, crisp acid and cedary notes. We co-ferment the blend, 55 per cent cabernet and 45 per cent shiraz. The wine spends 12 days on skins and 15 months in French oak barrels.
How is this wine best enjoyed?
Best enjoyed with oxtail and mushroom ragu with pappardelle, local olive oil and pecorino. The Sailor really opens up in the glass, it is drinking really well now and benefits from being decanted.
$35, montysleap.com.au @montys.leap
82018 PEN FOLDS BIN 389 CABERNET SHIRAZ
Senior winemaker: Stephanie Dutton
A balance of sweetness (cabernet) and savoury (shiraz) with dark black cherry liqueur and roasted beetroot, integrated oak and tannins fully absorbed.
What do you love about the combination of these two varieties?
The two varieties have an affinity with each other. What one may lack ever so slightly, the other makes up for in spades. Shiraz offers up its character and quality so readily, even on the vine, whereas cabernet can be shy. So much of it has hidden potential.
How is this wine best enjoyed?
Bin 389 is best enjoyed aged, at cellar temperature and with good company. When you find that sweet spot of fruit vibrancy and slippery tannins that have emerged from their sometimes clumsy infancy, that’s when you know you have opened the bottle at just the right time.
$100, penfolds.com @penfolds
9 2018 PEN LEY ESTATE EOS SHIRAZ CABERNET
Winemaker: Kate Goodman
Brooding and fragrant this is both complex and complete. Densely flavoured with an elegant structure bursting with dark fruits, spice and licorice. The tannins are silky, enveloping a palate of great persistance.
What do you love about the combination of these two varieties?
The 65 per cent shiraz gives generosity and volume, complemented by cabernet providing the line and length. Small parcels of estate-grown grapes are fermented in open fermenters prior to blending at six months age and followed by 12 months maturation in new and seasoned French oak.
How is this wine best enjoyed?
A simply delicious wine, perfectly balanced now, but with the potential to age gracefully. It has the power and density to hold its own alongside the perfect steak or a savoury, salty chunk of cheddar.
$100, penley.com.au @penleyestate
10 2020 PEN LEY ESTATE PROJECT VIII SHIRAZ CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Winemaker: Kate Goodman
Bursting with fragrance and lots of flavour, including licorice, plums, raspberry and dried herbs. Deliciously structured and loaded with energy.
What do you love about the combination of these two varieties?
Shiraz and cabernet are two varieties that complement each other with rewards of luscious depth of flavour and Project VIII is a modern expression of tradition. In this wine, each variety is fermented separately as 100 per cent whole bunches, with minimal intervention and no use of oak.
How is this wine best enjoyed?
This wine is a highly enjoyable all-rounder. Drink it at the footy, with your friends at the dinner table or at a barbecue. Pair it with pork buns, a mid-week bolognese or grilled eggplant.
$50, penley.com.au @penleyestate
11 2019 HICKINBOTHAM CLARENDON VINEYARD
T HE P E AKE CABERNET S HI R A Z
Winemakers: Chris Carpenter & Peter Fraser
Named after Edward John Peake, who established the first vineyard at Clarendon circa 1850. Sourced from the vineyard’s most prized 1971 plantings, the 2019 vintage is a blend of four distinct blocks within the estate.
What do you love about the combination of these two varieties?
When these two varieties come together, there is a seamlessness to the wine with neither the cabernet or the shiraz varietal characters protruding. The critical element is in the blending process, to ensure the oak is supportive and the parcels complement each other perfectly.
How is this wine best enjoyed?
This classic blend suits hearty main dishes – think prime beef rib, aged balsamic roasted carrots, and oven-roasted brussels sprouts with pancetta, macadamia and maple syrup. It’s also lovely with a hard cheese course to finish the evening.
$175, hickinbothamwines.com.au @hcvwines
12 2017 HEATHVALE WINES THE ANGRY RABBIT CABERNET SHIRAZ
Winemakers: Trevor March & Tony Carapetis
An intense nose full of berry fruit, chocolate mint and musk with minimal oak influence. A rounded palate, featuring flavours of cherry ripe chocolate, violets and sweet musk with plenty of fruit flowing to the finish.
What do you love about the combination of these two varieties?
The strange creature adorning this wine’s label is ‘The Angry Rabbit’, a priceless piece of art painted on a coffee cup in 2005 by my then very young grandson. Cabernet sauvignon and shiraz is a classic Australian blend, but we’ve added five per cent sagrantino, which acts as the perfect bridge between the two varieties. Aged in seasoned French oak with plush ripe fruit, we reckon it is pretty much the perfect bistro wine.
How is it best enjoyed?
Sometimes you just want a good glass of red, and cassoulet or rabbit pie are the perfect match.
$27, heathvale.com @heathvalewines