SPLURGE

2004 ARRAS ‘EJ CARR’ LATE DISGORGED $199 His talent for nurturing fizz has enabled Ed Carr to virtually single-handedly guide Australian sparkling wine into the worldclass rankings. And his finest (such as this late-disgorged gem) deserves to be rated as the equal of Champagne’s finest. Carr is the only winemaker from outside Champagne to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London (in 2018). There are miniscule quantities of this sublime bubbly: complex, saline bouquet, vital sea spray minerality, long and deep, intense and fine.

2017 VIOGNIER BY FARR $66 As a white wine variety, viognier has not been a conspicuous success in Australia. There are a couple of outstanding wines and a small number of decent ones but compared with vermentino, fiano, pinot gris or grigio it hasn’t sent the wine scene ablaze. But the 2017 By Farr Viognier is sublime. There’s a delightful balance of honeysuckle and white flower aromatics, delicate fresh flavours and crisp, vibrant acidity. It captures the imagination and lingers.

2016 PENFOLDS BIN 169 CABERNET SAUVIGNON $360 The quality of the Penfolds wines under Peter Gago is exemplary across the range. My favourite of this year’s collection is the Bin 169 cabernet, which shows a restrained use of oak and emphasises its regional character. It is made to reward ageing and so will benefit with time in the bottle (when well cellared) and so it is quite closed on the nose. The palate is supple, round and velvety with seamless redcurrant, mulberry, red brambles and blackcurrant flavours. It is fine, elegant and long. Quintessential Coonawarra cabernet.