From Mudgee, Glen, Jack and I went to Orange. As a New South Welshman, I have been intrigued by the surge in popularity of all things Orange. The area is famous for apples and yet, as contemporary Australian cuisine became a talking point from New York to Singapore, I became aware that the area also supplied game and most importantly for me, an array of cool climate wine styles that bucked the rigid stereotype of overt ripeness in Australian wine.
I tasted a number of impressive wines in and around Orange, many grown at altitudes of around 1,200 metres- and in that respect, not dissimilar to fashionable idioms from areas as diverse as France’s Roussillon and Etna in Sicily.
The producer boasting consistency across a broad range and exceptional value for money was Logan and in particular, the Weemala range which I focused on in the tasting room due its availability in Japan.
While most of the Logan wines were lessons in restraint and purity of varietal expression, the Weemala range was particularly impressive when all was said and done. In fact, I bought a case or two for my parents to impress upon them that value can be found in the AUD 16/bottle price zone.
Pinot Gris is a variety that I have trouble enjoying. It is either too blowsy and fat or skinny and insipid. The Weemala example however is neither but rather, an exemplary effort boasting notes of pear gelato, apple and judiciously honed phenolics for balance and modest length. This wine needs food. Bravo! 90
The exactitude of varietal expression and altitudinal freshness continues through the range with the Gewurtztraminer also boasting lovely spice and lychee aromas with a grippy palate that is neither too thin nor too ‘bordello’. 88
The Weemala Pinot Noir is snappy, suitably elegant and although not particularly complex, sensational for the money. 88
The Syrah/Viognier exhibits cracked pepper, peat and violet in a relatively restrained and mellifluous manner given the price-point. Wines at this price tend to be round, rather sweet and one-dimensional. 88
Perhaps most startling was the sappy, slinky quaffability of the Merlot that reminded me of the Loire in a sense albeit, with more obvious curranty notes and a higher degree of ripeness. 90
The reality in Japan is that wines in demand are becoming less expensive. In my opinion, a great many Japanese consumers have little idea about quality and simply want to believe that a wine offers ‘value’, or that that mystical grail encompassing the too oft-used term ‘cost performance ga takai’, or ‘good quality for the money’. Unfortunately, most inexpensive wine is poor quality exactly because it is cheap.
Conversely, I would not hesitate to nominate the Weemala series as one of the finest ‘cost-performance’ portfolios tasted in the last two-years. This is ‘cost-performance’ that defines the category and allows the drinker pleasure through finesse, delicacy and attention to detail without charging the earth.
From Logan we continued toward Mudgee, arriving a little bedraggled at the Union Bank Wine Bar. It was getting late and we were eager for food, a slew of regional wines by-the-glass and a bed. Nevertheless, Belgravia wines, a former contract grower for Fosters cum independent producer, had their tasting room inside the excellent Union Bank Wine Store that abuts the bar (1300 721 731. Cnr Sale and Byng Sts, Orange) and Glen and I decided to taste most of their range before going to what we thought would be our hotel for the evening!
Belgravia Apex Chardonnay ’09: tangy cool aromas of nectarine and citrus are echoed on a mid-weighted, textured palate marred by excessive lees work out of whack with the stature of the wine. The wine’s freshness appears to be breaking down because of excessive yeastiness or autolysis, as it is known. 84
Roussanne ’09: lemon oil, tea and ripe apple serve varietal exactitude. The palate offers modest weight and yet, impeccable balance. Rather simple but a good drink and picked at a more optimal window of ripeness than the skinny innocuous Pinot Gris tasted prior. 88
Shiraz/Viognier: it seems that everyone and their dog is making this style of late but in this case, for good reason. Pitched aromas of blueberry, violet and peat expand on a medium bodied, gritty (in the best sense) and moreish palate. This wine avoids the curse of overt sweetness! 89
After chatting with the store’s amiable proprietress, Belinda-a voice etched with urban life’s indelible stamp of savoir-faire and a hint of tobacco-we discovered that our luxury accommodation, De Russie Suites (72 Hill St. 02-6360-0973) was not to be. The place was fully booked!
It was my fault as I had failed to make prior reservations and thinking I was venturing into a rural Australia devoid of people, who demand things like a roof over their heads, had expected to simply walk into the joint’s lobby and be greeted by beaming eager smiles. Alas, there were conferences all over the place apparently. Belinda kindly called every respectable place in town before we settled on a spare and very sparse room resplendent with three single beds, linoleum floors and a heater out back of the Masonic Temple. I kid you not.
While I would not recommend the place, it was at the very least clean and I pushed Jack and my bed together in order to keep him warm while Glen, as per every night, droned off to the commentary of the Tour de France. Prior, we had loaded up on plenty of wine by-the-glass thanks to the very fine and broad selection available at the Union Bank Wine Bar.
I will comment on one of these wines, from Canobolas-Smith, because we did not get to visit the winery as planned the following day.
Canobolas-Smith ‘Natural Yeast’ Chardonnay ’08: I have tasted this producer’s wines before and at the very least, always thought them idiosyncratic and thoroughly deserved of attention. They appear to be made by virtue of whence they hail rather than excessive work in the winery. This Chardonnay, while exhibiting gorgeous aromas of truffle, funky minerality and hazelnuts, was simply too hot in the mouth with my adam’s apple burning from the alcohol. I guess that if you leave a lot to nature’s devices, you cannot win with every wine. Indeed, it is better to have the occasional mishap than to full into the malaise of uniformity. I will return to these wines as I know just how much better they can be. 85
Where were we? I was caught up in a flurry of activity here at my desk in Tokyo and....ah yes! Well, the next day we awoke-Jack and I at the crack of dawn and Glen considerably later. Son and father trekked down to the Hungry Jack’s (Australish for Burger King) to let Glen sleep in. The egregious playgrounds, embellished with tubes and pirate ships, attached to the outside of virtually every fast-food outlet in Australia like architected zits, had caught Jack’s eye when we entered Orange. I had tried to speed past to no avail.
So there we were. Inside Hungry Jacks, a giant grease ball filled with overweight people in the garb of rural Australia- ugg boots and track pants-with rapid-fire eye movements indicating the presence of amphetamines in the system rather than stimulation from the sensationalistic morning shows on the flat screens, mantled at every corner. It was 7am on a Monday.
Indeed, Orange appears rather divided with the side marked by Maccas, Hungry Jacks and KFC blighted by this demographic. Conversely, the other side boasts detailed federation homes, sandstone buildings and a thoroughly more tasteful and gregarious population.
I have not eaten fast food of this nature in more than twenty-years. In fact, this was the first time I had so much as set foot in a place like this. I had a cappuccino. Yes, the coffee culture is so engrained in the Australian ethos that even places like this have espresso machines. It was not bad either and the large lass behind the counter offered me a free refill before I called Jack from Captain Blood’s cove to go and get Glen.
Arguably, the most inspiring visit of the entire trip-Mudgee and Orange together-was Stephen Doyle’s Bloodwood. Here, all that Orange claimed to offer and all that my imagination and zeal to believe in these claims had conjured were fulfilled.
To be continued....
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