This past week saw a personal milestone in our slow recovery from the coronavirus ‘lockdown’: our first social get together (at a 2.0 m distance of course) with friends here in Vancouver. And what a sweet time it was, made all the sweeter by sharing two absolutely beautiful, yet utterly different wines:
I brought along an old Anglo-Australian flame of mine, Elizabeth (my wife understands). Mount Pleasant’s Elizabeth Semillon Hunter Valley is an un-replicable Aussie classic, and this 2009 vintage was superb. After 11 years in bottle (no oak touched this royal beauty) the colour was an extraordinarily deep green-gold. The bouquet unfurled out of the glass: intense lime along with beeswax, lanolin, toast and marmalade, an amazing floral symphony. With much the same on the palate, underscored by a piercing acidic backbone that augers many more years of life. Great poise and balance, the epitome of this unique style of dry, unoaked, bottle-aged Hunter Valley semillon.
Then our host, my friend and fellow wine-lover Barry, brought out another Aussie classic: the Farrside by Farr Pinot Noir 2016. It’s deep strawberry colour was followed by delicate, evolving notes of sous bois (forest floor), savoury charcuterie, smoky bacon and ethereal, haunting florals: violets, black fruits and umami. On the palate this had the structure, poise and earthy complexity of, say, a warm vintage Premier Cru Gevry Chambertin – but with yet more stuffing. The Burgundian reference is perhaps not surprising: winemaker Nick Farr spent time there working with some of the Cote d’Or’s top producers. But this wine hails from the state of Victoria’s cool Geelong region, and perfectly reflects its sense of place. One of Australia’s best pinots, by probably its top Pinot Noir practitioner.
These two very different, yet equally impressive, Australian wines came together entirely by coincidence: neither of us knew what the other was planning to open. We just happened to both choose a wine from Australia. And they – Elizabeth and Farr – just happened to both represent the best of what that (still) lucky country is capable of producing. As for us, we and our friends were just happy to enjoy their, and each others’, company.
Loving your blog. A great way to virtually experience a wine before buying. I would find it helpful to know if the wines are easily available in Vancouver and the price range. I thoroughly enjoyed your online class and look forward to participating in more. Good job!!
Hi Nancy, thanks so much for the positive feedback. One of these two Aussie wines, the Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon, is indeed available in limited supply at select BCLDB stores, for around $26 plus taxes. The Farrside Pinot Noir was brought over privately from Australia and to the best of my knowledge is not available in BC. It would likely be around $80 plus taxes! Cheers, Lance