Last year we left Brisbane on Saturday 11th July and returned on Saturday 18th July. This year it was Friday 16th July and returned on Friday 23rd July. Before beginning the diaries there’s some exciting news about a sudden increase in grape varieties and an amping up of some existing ones in the Granite Belt GI.
If you recognise the guy in the photo chances are you’ll have dined at his wonderful Bistro St. Judes at Ballandean or at least dropped in for some Fonzie Abbott coffee.
Rob Davidson hails from Griffith NSW and arrived on The Granite Belt just a few short years ago – I’m glad he did, no not glad that he’s only been here a short time but just damn glad that he’s here! Rob purchased the old Mary Byrnes vineyard the contents of which he promptly lost to fire and also purchased a large portion of the Rees Road Vineyard at Ballandean. Andy Williams, the wine maker at Hidden Creek Winery seems to have been attracted by Rob’s boundless enthusiasm and just the right amount of enjoyable craziness in his personality, and so began a collaboration that promises to provide an amplification of local GI ‘Strange Bird’ varieties. In this collaboration Andy makes the wine and Rob functions as somewhat of a creative ideas specialist. I’m sure at least some of the ideas must be so left field that Andy loses a little sleep some nights – you see Rob is incredibly enthusiastic about wines he likes and not likely to let accepted beliefs and processes dampen desire. The fuel for the collaboration between Andy and Rob is currently growing in the Rees Road Vineyard where Rob has been somewhat frenetic and planted 8,800 vines which are:
In Ground for Two Years
Fiano
Prieto Picudo
Verdelho
Vermentino
In Ground for One Year
Aglianico
Gamay
Graciano
4 x Clones Pinot Noir
Sagrantino
Tempranillo
Currently Being Planted
Mencía – 2 x acres as Bush Vines
I have a strong feeling that Rob’s appetite is a long way from sated and I can see many more Strange Bird bud bursts coming in Rees Road. Currently Andy, in order to gain more familiarity with the grapes and because there is virtually no local 2020 fruit due to drought, has been making wines from most of the varieties above using fruit sourced from The Riverland in South Australia which is a warm climate wine region. Some of these wines have been so good that they have won medals and trophies. This has lead to a little unfortunate confusion even to the extent of the well known Courier Mail wine writer Des Houghton describing the Unsung Hero 2020 Aglianico as a new Granite Belt Rock Star. So I guess, a little controversy to spice up life but there is no denying that the wine is very good and I am most hopeful that when the vines in Rees Road start producing fruit for wine we will have more than one rock star. If you appreciate tasting new Granite Belt varieties then do keep up with developments in the collaboration between Andy and Rob.
Friday 16th July:
Habit again prevailed and lunch was at Varias at The Queensland College of Wine and Tourism on our way to our accommodation at Ballandean. The Granite Belt has experienced quite an increase in tourism due a combination of Covid and that the region has so much to offer. In past years I would book Varias around 2 days before we left Brisbane but on this occasion I thought it wise to call them 2 weeks beforehand but they were fully booked. Happily a spot on the wait list secured us a lunch slot the day before we departed.
When your 8 years old lunchtime happiness is easily secured – fish, chips and apple juice please! Adults do like to indulge though and Varias can deliver, the entree of Moroccan Chicken Meatballs with Cummin Yoghurt dipping sauce was scrumptious. I choose my usual Banca Ridge Petit Verdot (left) but my wife (Liliana) opted for a new Banca Ridge wine their ‘Tinto’ a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Petit Verdot. The Tinto was a lighter style and more red fruited in both bouquet and palate. The PV was on song as usual and, just my enigmatic palate speaking of course, has long been the best wine the College has produced.
Lemongrass and turmeric pork cutlet, steamed rice, pak choy, fried onion and apple chutney made for a sensational main. Liliana really enjoyed the chorizo and lentil soup. Shortly after we arrived there was heavy rain, it stopped before we left but had gifted us a lingering cold wind. We didn’t know then but Tuesday and Wednesday would see strong south westerlies racing across the region, unusual for mid July so of course I hadn’t packed my leather coat. In response to my text Brad at Boireann told me the cellar door at Boireann would be open today so around 3pm we drove out of the Queensland College of Wine and Tourism, turned left and headed north along the New England Highway towards The Granite Belt Road turnoff (The Fruit Run) and on to The Summit.
The drive to Boireann was a stark contrast to the parched landscape that surrounded us in the extreme drought last year, all the property dams were full and there was flow everywhere, we had to drive over a causeway over-run with water on Teale Road and remarked that The Granite Belt had become The Water Belt. As we entered Boireann Winery we could see the hard work Brad had been doing establishing two new vineyards on both sides of the entrance road. Here Brad will establish some more Barbera, Nebbiolo, Shiraz and a smaller amount of Viognier. Have to say I’m always pleased to see some more Nebbi being planted on The Granite Belt! When we entered the tiny Boireann Cellar Door Brad was busy entertaining a group of eight visitors some of whom were visiting the region for their first time (we are hearing this a lot lately).
First wine I tasted was a 2011 Barbera made by Peter Stark in possibly the wettest vintage the region has experienced. Barbera is a ‘soft’ grape, it has minimal tannins and that together with the veraison conditions didn’t give me confidence in this now 10 year old wine. I was pleasantly surprised, the fruits were soft and mainly red, the palate was quite long and no problem with enough acid to give the wine life. This seems to be an emerging picture with well made 2011 reds but more importantly where the vineyard management has been particularly meticulous in coping with the wet. The Barbera wasn’t matured in the barrel pictured, you’ll have to allow me latitude – I just felt like snapping this shot and putting it in here.
Next was a 2012 Nebbiolo which had the distinctive terroir characteristics of a vineyard I have come to know since my visit there in 2018 and this really surprised me until I examined the label. The grapes came from Toppers Mountain in New England. I enjoyed this Nebbi so much that I asked Brad if he was selling it and now I have one.
I had tasted all the Boireann 2019 wines in bottle in July and then in October last year. Three wines were still in barrel then, The Lurnea, Estate Shiraz and Shiraz/Viognier. These three wines have undergone further development since October 2020, at the time I thought the Shiraz was the pick of the three but now, and although they are all great wines, I’d likely opt for The Lurnea. All the Boireann 2019’s are big wines with higher than usual alcohols with the exception of the Nebbiolo at 13.6%. The fruits in the Lurnea are quite powerful and the tannin profile excellent, all in all pretty perfect balance and structure, expect a very long lived Lurnea and in the top bracket for this blend. There’s a tasting note for The 2019 Lurnea here. Likewise the Estate Shiraz has a long future with excellent fruit weight and complexity. I have never been a huge fan of Shiraz/Viognier my main issue being with the often encountered taste of apricot which is something I find very odd in a Shiraz flavour profile. Of course we all have different palates and I readily acknowledge that others enjoy the apricot and some don’t taste it at all. Not all Viognier has apricot but it does tend to appear in Granite Belt Viognier. The 2019 Boireann S/V began at 16+% co-fermented Viognier and has now been reduced to around 14%. It was a cold day and hard to taste apricot with only the merest hint compared to when I tasted this wine from barrel in October last year. So either it’s folded further back into the wine or the cold has dampened it. I’m undecided but on the strength of all of this purchased just one. I have to say though that I have really enjoyed some previous vintages of Boireann S/V’s. Anyone familiar with this wine is highly likely to find this 2019 to be quite stunning, please don’t pay too much attention to the idiosyncrasies of my palate. These Boireann 2019 drought year vintage wines are likely to be unique, certainly they have greater fruit weight than I have experienced previously so you can purchase with very high confidence, but be quick stocks are quite low and there were only around 20 bottles of Nebbiolo left when we departed at somewhere a little past 5pm. Thank you Brad for another most enjoyable tasting.
After Boireann we headed south along the New England Highway, turned left onto Eukey Road at Ballandean and straight to our accommodation in Syrah Cottage at Just Red Wines.
Saturday 17th July:
Daytime was pretty much of a wipeout for me – I really needed some downtime. Liliana and Aria went into Stanthorpe for some girlfriend time and I reclined in the cottage reading Todd Alexander’s ‘Thirty Thousand Bottles Of Wine And A Pig Called Helga’ novel, a book I can recommend to all. Dinner that night was at St. Judes Cellar Door and Bistro at Ballandean, a restaurant location that was probably made most famous in the region by John and Jenny when it was Shiraz Restaurant. I do really enjoy visiting St. Judes to experience the enthusiastic and garrulous presence of the owner Rob Davidson and Rob was in good form this night. You will often hear Rob talking to his food as he cooks in the semi exposed kitchen, and talking to his staff, and his diners, and singing and …. his personality just has to exude.
There is a new face at St. Judes ‘Maxine’. Maxine will conduct wine tastings and talk you through her own impressions of the wines and anything else you might want to converse about. Maxine is very passionate about wine, St. Judes and The Granite Belt in general and she has a great ability to listen.
I began the evening tasting some wines with Maxine. These are the 4382 Terroir wines mentioned at the start of these diaries and made by the collaborative efforts of Andy Williams and Rob Davidson. The 2020 Lagrein was Maxine’s favourite, it is very darkly coloured and with weighty fruit and complexity. There is quite a wine list including sparkling wines and even a Pet Nat. For me the 2020 Aglianico and the Aglianico Rosato are standouts. However there is a 2020 Sagrantino waiting in barrel at Hidden Creek Winery and will be released sometime next year, this promises to be a big and very long lived wine.
Irrepressible nature’s of some personalities in combination with the kitchen being a little quieter as it was later in the evening Rob emerged from the cooking zone and began serving some wine to a large table of 20 plus diners. While pouring he burst into a spontaneous song about the 2020 Aglianico. It’s all part of what happens at St. Judes, the entertainment is free! Dinner and dessert was up to the usual high standard at St. Judes. I enjoyed it so much that I completely forgot to take any photos. I had slow cooked Lamb Shanks with a glass of 4382 Terroir Lagrein. Rob gave us a complimentary aged liquor muscat, it was an overly generous pour but, as we soon discovered, just what we needed to warm up further before facing the outside elements (windy and cold brrrr). Have to say I’m really enjoying the Fonzie Abbott coffee at St. Judes, puzzling that it’s not more widely available in Brisbane – at least not on my side of town. We left St. Judes with a warm feeling in our bodies and our hearts and happily, or was that well managed by myself, when we arrived back at our cottage the fireplace was full of excellently pyrolized wood.
Sunday 18th July:
Sleep in for everyone, didn’t we enjoy that! But when we threw off the covers it was really very cold and I was banished to outdoors to collect firewood and restart the fireplace. This was my constant task every morning and of course I didn’t complain, not even once, well OK maybe once or twice I did mention the cold outside but that fell on deaf ears.
The annual blind mourvèdre tasting was scheduled for tonight at Pyramids Road Wines and, in that now relaxed holiday mode, it suddenly dawned on us that we hadn’t booked anywhere for lunch. I tried calling Hidden Creek, it’s about 2 minutes up the road from where we were at Just Red Wines but there was no connection. Thinking we were in a sudden mobile dead spot I drove to Ballandean and tried calling them there but received a message about a problem with a server. Tried calling other places and all was good. So, in the end Liliana drove to Hidden Creek and made a booking. This is life in rural settings, sudden unpredictable events and I guess you develop a flexible attitude or else!
Hidden Creek Winery Cafe & Vineyard has always been a most picturesque setting and super relaxing place to be. We have been visiting here for many long years and have always left carrying the feeling of just what you needed.
For lunch I ordered a Local Organic Lamb Shank, Liliana had Tumeric Fish Curry with Rice and Aria ordered Asian Pork Spareribs with Rice including her current stage request “Hold the Veges”. We enjoyed these meals with a glass of 2020 Mencía there’s an earlier review here. Andy Williams the wine maker at Hidden Creek has certainly introduced a lot of variety into the Hidden Creek/Unsung Hero varietal lineup and this is such a beneficial development for The Granite Belt. Although we could have easily lazed around Hidden Creek a lot longer we recognised the need for reasonably fresh palates for tasting the mourvèdre wines this evening so, after securing a firm promise from Andy that we could re-taste the barrel developing Sagrantino next time, we headed back to our cottage.
Arriving at Pyramids Road Wines just after 5pm we were greeted by Warren and Sue and Steve and Lisa from Girraween Estate. I didn’t take any notes, or photos, on the night although Sue has notes on her iPad and I may eventually get them from her so just a brief description. The mourvèdre wines in the blind tasting lineup on the night were:
2006 Estrecho ( I didn’t get any further details on this Spanish Monastrell)
2015 Pyramids Road 13.5% a/v
2015 Caillard 13.5% a/v
2017 Pyramids Road 14% a/v
2017 Caillard 14.4% a/v
2018 Aphelion ‘Emergent’ Mataro, 14.4% a/v, partial whole bunch, 16% or less
2019 Tonic Mataro (13.6% a/v from the Clare Valley) 35% whole bunch, 45 days on skins
On this occasion I poured the wines so I was aware of what each wine was but others weren’t. Just to be a little different for the first time in a blind tasting I poured two side by sides without revealing any details, this is why there were two 2015 and two 2017 wines in the lineup. The only information I offered was that the wines were the same vintage.
Results in Order of Group Preference
The 2006 Estrecho was well received and seemed to occupy first place for the majority. People acknowledged that the wine had a distinct advantage of years and that it had aged well. I noted here that Roger Pike from Marius Wines in Willunga has stated that a good Mataro shouldn’t be drunk until it is at least 10 years old.
Next came the 2017 Pyramids Road Mourvedre, this wine has fantastic balance combined with some decent fruit on those two aspects alone it will live very long.
The 2018 Aphelion and the 2015 Pyramids Road occupied the next point of preference. The Pyramids Road was a high silver medal winner at the Australian Small Winemakers Show but didn’t exhibit the same balance as the 2017. The 2018 Aphelion showed very well and it was remarked that it’s too young and will be a much better wine given another 5+ years development.
Both of the Caillard wines, and more so the 2017, attracted comments of heavier oak treatment which seemed to cause the style to be less favourable among the group. For myself I had quite liked the 2015 and much preferred it to the 2017 when I had tasted these two wines at home. For the 2017 vintage the usual vineyard wasn’t available so the fruit was sourced from elsewhere in the Barossa. Usually the Caillard wines are more about structure and this difference certainly expressed between the more usual 2015 and the different 2017.
The 2019 Tonic Wines Mataro was a bit of an oddball. The general opinion was that it is a pretty wine but affected so much by the whole bunch that it could be almost anything. So I guess in a straight Mourvèdre lineup it wasn’t appreciated as a varietal.
Group tastings are always different and interesting and teach us a lot about respecting the differences between palates. I had previously sent the Pyramids Road 2018 and 2017 Mourvèdre wines to a large tasting group in Canberra and the comments were:
Pyramids Road Granite Belt Mourvedre ($40) 14.5% 2018 – dark, earthy, peppery, savoury, firm tannins, needs time for the slightly hard edges to soften, good wine. (Group #3).
Pyramids Road Granite Belt Mourvedre ($40) 14.0% 2017 – plummy bright fruit, moderate tannin, a bit of tangy acid mars the finish, not as interesting/complex as the 2018. (Group #6).
This group prefers bigger style wines and the acid comment about the 2017 is something I have often encountered among wine appreciators who have most experience with, and actually prefer, our warmer climate wines.
Monday 19th July:
Monday we were booked for lunch at The BarrelRoom Restaurant at Ballandean Estate. The BarrelRoom has long been in the upper echelon of Granite Belt Restaurants and we dine there every time we’re on The Granite Belt, unpredictably this visit was to be an exception. I just wasn’t feeling that well on Monday and decided to visit Louisa Harrison at Stanthorpe Therapeutic Centre who has long been the best Bowen practitioner I have ever encountered. The BarrelRoom booking and Louisa’s availability clashed and I decided Louisa was more important. Feeling relaxed and considerably improved after seeing Louisa we strolled across the street and discovered a new cafe in town The Little Larder on Railway Terrace. This place was a happy discovery and it gave our systems a break from wine. The coffee was great and the smoked salmon salad was scrumptious and impossible to eat all of the huge serving and yes I did try with some determination. The girls did some more shopping in town – clothes of course – and then we headed back to the cottage to relax for the then late afternoon and evening. Still not feeling that hungry at dinner time – yes remember the lunch salad – we decided to have soup followed by crackers and dip. While munching on my first cracker my vision settled on the bottle of 2018 CMT that Tony had kindly left in the cottage for us. The CMT, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Tannat, is another success for Just Red, it’s a delicious wine with very good structure, it still looks and drinks like a quite young wine and has a long life ahead. I have a 6 pack sleeping in my cellar and won’t be going near the next one for a few years. For people who haven’t encountered them yet, Granite Belt wines made to cellar do cellar very long and most vineyards are still too young for people to be able to gauge and appreciate how long some of the wines can live.
Tuesday 20th July:
We woke on Tuesday morning to the sound of a howling wind, it was 1°C outside but the wind was arctic. As previously arranged I texted Mark Ravenscroft asking if he was around so we could drop in. The reply came that he would definitely be there as it was way too bloody cold to go anywhere. We arrived at Ravens Croft Wines around 12:15pm. The SouWester helped us from the carpark to the entrance to the cellar door where Mark was waiting and quickly ushered us to the inside warmth. I had at least remembered to pack my wool lined leather gloves on this trip but was really starting to miss my absent leather coat – note to self, “Granite Belt is always very cold in July, so pay attention when you’re packing”.
I had already tried most of Mark’s new releases but wanted to taste the 2021 Pinot Grigio again and really no-one could be disappointed with this wine, there’s a recent tasting note here. Next we tried the new release 2021 Sangiovese and it was immediately apparent how good a food wine this is, tasting note is here and if you’re a true believer in the Sangio mould you’ll enjoy this one. We had been in the cellar door almost long enough to realise we now felt about one degree warmer and Mark made the suggestion that we taste some barrel samples. When you’re contending with an arctic wind the approximate 50 meter walk to the winery seems to stretch out to the horizon – another note to self about that leather coat! Fortunately it was worth the endurance walk. 
The most sensible creature wasn’t human, Lexie even with the warmest coat of any of us decided to remain indoors.
The 2021 Pinotage is sure to maintain the pedigree of this lovely wine. Mark described it as more toward Pinot Noir and certainly it doesn’t have the fruit weight of the 2019 but it has great balance and mouthfeel and very fine tannins that enliven the back palate and prolong this succulent and textural Pinotage. It’s due for release late August/early September – mark your diaries. I noted a barrel marked WG and yes Mark assured me a new Waagee was developing and he would be blending in some Merlot later. The first time this wine was made was the 2010 vintage, then 2012, 2015, 2018 and now an upcoming 2021. Mark only makes this wine when the vintage is up to Waagee standard. We then tried a barrel sample of the 2021 Tempranillo which was maturing in a larger barrel, Mark makes a Joven style. This is possibly the best Tempranillo Mark has made, there is some powerful fruit in this wine and those Tempranillo tannins never disappoint. If, like myself, you are a genuine fan of Marks Tempranillo then rush this one as it will be the last made with fruit from Rosemary Hill Vineyard as sadly Duncan Ferrier has removed the remaining vines in the wake of the drought. Hopefully Mark will be able to source Tempranillo fruit elsewhere in future.
We waved goodbye to Mark around 2pm, turned left at the front gate onto Spring Creek Rd and drove back towards town on the Texas Rd with Balancing Heart Wines at Wyberba our late lunch destination. I was already familiar with the wines at Balancing Heart, the 2017 Sagrantino was sold out so I tasted the 2017 Rock Shiraz again but most of the wines at Balancing Heart are a lighter style and it was bitterly cold. I noticed a new addition, a 2019 Petit Verdot and a quick taste confirmed more body and this was what our bodies needed today. We ordered some pizzas and sat outside on the timber deck almost on top of a fireplace, a 44 gallon drum cut in half longitudinally and filled with burning timbers. The pizzas were great and the PV nicely accompanied them and the weather but it was still very cold. We were shivering by the time the pizzas were finished and we made a hasty retreat.
Next stop was Ballandean Estate we arrived just as the cellar door closed but they unlocked the front door and let us in. I had a singular purpose for visiting Ballandean Estate this time – to get more of the 2018 Nebbiolo as it’s their best yet and I do love my Nebbi’s. There’s a tasting note for the Ballandean Estate 2018 Nebbiolo here. I had tasted their 2017 Durif as Steve brought a bottle to the blind tasting event at Pyramids Road on Sunday evening. This is a very good Durif, a more elegant style perhaps as an outcome of the wet veraison, and a wine very well made that had impressed me, so I grabbed some of these as well. Of course I had to also purchase some 2019 Late Harvest Sylvaner and completed the buying with a 3 pack of LíráH Winter Harvest Nebbiolo – 2009, 2010 and 2014. The 2009 was made by Warren Smith and the others by Ian Henderson in partnership with Michael Britten. The fruit source for these wines is the Henderson Vineyard.
I reviewed the Ballandean Estate 2019 Late Harvest Sylvaner on 25th July 2020, a tasting note is here. There has been just a little colour development in the ensuing year.
Wednesday 20th July:
I woke around 6:30am, the wind sounded even stronger than yesterday, walked outside and a few large drops fell from the very overcast sky. Those drops were very cold and their texture was almost sleet. Later we were told that there had been sleet in town that morning. We had a late breakfast at Jamworks Gourmet Foods at Glen Aplin. Jamworks is another must visit every time we go to The Granite Belt, the food and the products are exceptional and today the place was certainly on song.
Jamworks products on display above, the range is varied, imaginative and new products are added from time to time. It is a huge call to self discipline to leave Jamworks without purchasing some of their gourmet food delights.
Two favourites of mine Chilli Jam, goes great spread on breakfast sausages and please note the stocks are always depleted so looks like others are inconsiderately purchasing the stuff I come here for! The other one I bring myself, my now 8 year old Aria.
After brekky and purchasing 4 jars of Chilli Jam we left Jamworks and headed south along the New England Highway to Ballandean and then turned left onto Eukey Road towards Symphony Hill Wines. A tourist bus was just about to leave as we approached Symphony Hill Wines so the cellar door wasn’t very crowded.
I was interested in tasting the 2017 Tempranillo again, the fruit comes from the red soils of Toppers Mountain Wines and the wine quite emphatically expresses it’s terroir but it was sold out. In another coincidence I tasted a 2015 Nebbiolo and could, similarly to the 2012 Nebbiolo at Boireann, taste the Toppers Mountain terroir. I asked about the fruit but the person serving didn’t know, however written on the back label were the words ‘Grapes from New England NSW’, so Toppers Mountain terroir expresses again! Liliana tasted a 2018 Reserve Tempranillo which impressed her. We were very short on time as we had an appointment in town so decided to purchase just two bottles of the 2015 Nebbiolo, on special at $25/bottle. I dropped Liliana and Aria off at the cottage and headed towards Sundown Road to made a very quick stop at Golden Grove Estate.
Faulty memory (or is it age related gulp!), somewhere in my brain I heard, “Ray isn’t around on Wednesdays anymore but the cellar door is open. When I arrived the cellar door was shut, you got that wrong brain. I stopped to relocate a bottle of 4382 Terroir 2021 Semillon that was rolling around on the floor of the Seltos. I heard someone call my name, Ray had emerged from the winery – got that wrong as well brain! I explained my tight schedule to Ray and we quickly headed into the cellar door where I purchased these:
Ray has made a 2021 Sangiovese and he was really keen for me to taste and so was I but my scheduled appointment in town frowned heavily upon our situation and I had to leave. The Sangiovese made from Estate fruit will be released soon. Sangiovese needs quite a bit of nurturance on The Granite Belt but the results can be excellent, I’ll be keen to grab some of these. Ray said that the 2021 Vermentino will undergo further development in bottle over the next few months so if you enjoy it now you can expect to enjoy it even more in a few months. The 2021 Vermentino has four components: some with extended time on skins; a component that was barrel fermented; some pressings; and some free run juice. The textural aspect together with the complexity of this wine is quite an experience. Following the appointment in town we drove north on High Street, left at Connor Street which becomes Texas Road and continued all the way to Mount Hutton Road at Greenlands to visit Grant and Sonya.
We arrived at Casley Mount Hutton Winery a little after 4pm. The cellar door was empty but Sonya emerged from the house and walked over and Grant emerged after another 15 minutes. We were so engrossed in tasting the wines that I completely forgot to take any photos and, apologies, but you’ll have to make do with some shots of the wines when they arrived in Brisbane the following week. I was looking forward to purchasing another 2006 Shiraz but it was sold out. There’s a tasting note for that brilliant wine here. If you have some left lucky you and where did you say you live? Thankfully a quick scan of the wine tasting list revealed that the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was still on offer.
The first wine I tasted was the 2021 Chenin Blanc. Sonya said she really fell in love with Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley. The variety doesn’t get a lot of attention in Australia, perhaps the best example I’ve encountered was the single vineyard 2005 ‘The Optimist’ at Coriole in McLaren Vale but I have been surprised at how long their Estate Chenin’s cellar. This rendition from Grant is very good and makes a case for Chenin Blanc on The Granite Belt, I haven’t encountered the variety anywhere else in the local GI. You could remain with the bouquet of this wine for a very long time, it has quite lifted floral and citrus and there’s a detectable zing and tang in the fruit’s bouquet. The palate is long and invigorating, the citrus and tropical fruit races at you on the early mid palate and there is a long straight line of beautifully pitched acid running throughout the experience. Liliana was about three wines ahead of me and I was still with the bouquet of the Chenin Blanc. Next we were in for a genuine treat the winery has entered it’s 20th year and Grant and Sonya have released their 2001 Shiraz in celebratory recognition. Grapes were planted here in 1996 but the cellar door wasn’t opened until August 2001. Grant said the vines were 5 years old (well IIRC) when he harvested the fruit for this 2001 wine. The wine is a wonderful recognition and example of how well Granite Belt wines can cellar. Nowhere else on The Granite Belt can you taste very aged wines at the cellar door and this alone is a good reason to always visit Grant and Sonya. This 2001 Shiraz has aged very well and it is drinking superbly now, it’s only 12% alcohol by volume and it’s mainly red fruited but the balanced elegance of this wine really is a beautiful experience. It’s the current favourite seller at the cellar door so don’t leave it too long! A tasting note for the 2001 Shiraz is here.
I had tasted Grant’s 2010 Shiraz at The Blue Pot Pantry last year (thank you Eugene!) and had earmarked it for purchase but it was all gone. I next tasted a few of the straight varietal Cabernet Sauvignons and eventually decided on the 2005. I had tasted this wine last year and thought then that it should be drunk almost immediately, but this tasting proved me wrong. The wine still has some life in the tank and I’d suggest you can still cellar it, under good conditions, for more years – open one if you have some and make your own call.
The final purchase was 6 bottles, but you get a bonus bottle if you purchase six so Aria disappeared into Grant’s laboratory, Grant is/was an industrial chemist, with Sonya and applied a label to Liliana’s bonus choice (not mine!) of one bottle of Viognier. The haul here ended up as 2 x 2001 Shiraz, 2 x 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 x 2021 Chenin Blanc and of course that 2021 Viognier thingy! Apologies to Viognier lovers everywhere but too many out of balance S/V’s have now spoiled Viognier for me. I mean have you ever had the experience of really enjoying some lovely shiraz fruit, just really into appreciating those beautiful berry flavours and then marching incongruously with violent and vicious anti-vinosity comes the taste of apricot!
After a very enjoyable tasting and the knowledgeable and entertaining company of Grant and Sonya we waved farewell at just before 5:30 and headed back to our cottage for a little rest before our scheduled dinner at Essen at 7:30pm.
We arrived at Essen Restaurant about 1 minute early but couldn’t enter as they conducted two sittings and were doing a Covid clean in the wake of the previous sitting. Stanthorpe locals will know that Essen used to be The Food Project and Pattys before that. The Food Project was a step up from Pattys and Essen, although with a completely different cuisine style, has maintained that standard. We are always excited to dine at Essen. Warren Smith from Pyramids Road Wines had gifted us a 2018 Bernie’s Blend to enjoy with our meals at Essen. This was a very generous gesture by Warren and the wine was a superb accompaniment to the food, certainly a brilliant Bernie’s Blend right up there with the best ever and will age decades.
Aria really enjoyed her Apple Juice, it made her very happy!
The menu at Essen read:
21st July – 24th July 2021
Amuse-bouche
Entrée
Cuttlefish, guanciale, celeric & potato, herb butter, lemon
Main
Black Angus Scotch fillet, chimichurri, chats, jus
Dessert
Gebackene Mause, kumquat jam, chocolate crème patissiere
Add on side $10
Winter garden salad, pumpkin seed oil vinaigrette
Two course $54 (entrée + main OR main + dessert)
Three course $68
All the food was superb, I’m never surprised at how much tantalising flavours that Clarissa and Stu can pack into their meals. I especially enjoyed the sauce with the entree. The Black Angus Sirlion just melted in our mouths helped in part, no doubt, by the Bernie’s Blend and the Winter Salad was fresh, crunchy and a wonderful melange of flavours. We had requested gluten free and diary free if possible so we didn’t have the listed dessert, instead Clarissa and Stu had prepared a Coconut Meringue filled with local berry fruit. Apologies but I was so hungry and so into eating the food that I forgot to take any photos until the main and salad were at least half consumed.
For the very first time in our history of dinner at Essen we were only second last to leave. We expressed our gratitude to Claudia and Clarissa (Stu seemed very occupied deep in the kitchen) and drove back to our cottage on Eukey Rd Ballandean.
Thursday 20th July:
Today Liliana and Aria had booked lunch at Our Place at Tenterfield. Sadly the day before we received a text from Amanda that she had to close the doors, she was very upset to finally become another casualty of the Covid pandemic. We still went to Tenterfield to a local cafe for lunch but before Tenterfield we caught up with Peter McGlashan at Ridgemill Estate. The photo below is classic Peter McGlashan and now it looks like he’s starting to become an influence on our daughter … Hmmmmm 😊
A little Ridgemill Estate news, it seems that Martin and Peter have decided to go further along the Strange Bird Road and also expand some existing varieties.
New Varieties to be planted:
Mencía
Graciano
Mourvèdre
Note: If you tasted the 2014 Mourvèdre that Peter made from Golden Grove fruit you’ll be pleased that Ridgemill Estate have decided to plant Mourvèdre at last. The wine performed really well at the blind mourvèdre tasting a few years back, I have one left and I’m not opening it for years yet.
Varieties already planted and to be expanded:
Tempranillo
Saperavi
So more Czar’s and Spaniards coming!
I had brought a bottle of Pikes The Merle 2019 Reserve Riesling as a curiosity to see how it would perform side by side with the 2019 Ridgemill Estate and the 2021 currently in tank but due for bottling soon. The Merle, which I consider to be one of the most consistently excellent rieslings in Australia was very good but somewhat subdued, obviously needs more time, very long and somewhat textural with lime juice and the usual river of slate. The Ridgemill Estate 2019 had a more minerally taste compared to the slatey Merle, good length and acid, definite citrus fruits and just some nuances of toasty aspects. It was a happy surprise to admit that the 2021 Ridgemill Estate was my favourite on the day, this wine had a lifted bouquet of citrus fruits and very racy acid on the palate with lots of tang in the fruits and mineral undertones, it’s the best riesling I have encountered from Ridgemill and it will be interesting to see how it develops. The 2021 will be bottled and released soon and, at that time, the 2019 will be removed from sale and held back for further development. The 2019 has the usual components of estate fruit and some fruit from a vineyard on Somme Lane at Ballandean – likely the Severn River Vineyard. Ridgemill Estate lost all of their riesling to the Black Frost in 2021 so the 2021 is 100% Ballandean fruit again from Somme Lane. We may see 100% estate fruit when the Emu Swamp dam is built as the vineyard on Somme lane may be submerged. Riesling is easily my favourite white wine and although most would say it’s not suited to The Granite Belt due to wetter ripening conditions I’m excited to see what Peter McGlashan has been able to achieve with the variety as he is now making wines that compare favourably with very good Watervale rieslings.
Another testament to Peter’s blending prowess has just been released, The 2021 Hungry Horse White, this time a blend of Semillon, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Viognier. It’s labelled as a classic dry white and it sure is. Green apples, pears, stone fruits, minerals, driving fresh acidity and a long palate will accompany any seafood in our soon to arrive summer. We bought some of these and look forward to sloshing it down with barbequed prawns. The 2019 The Lincoln, possibly the best Lincoln to date has just been released, there’s a tasting note here. For some reason we had never purchased Ellie Sparkling Brut Blanc de Blanc before so we decided to add three of these 2019’s to the list, tasting notes will be coming eventually.
We had arrived at Ridgemill Estate at 10:30am for a planned quick tasting. It was approaching 12 noon and our lunch was booked for 12:30 at Tenterfield which is around 45 minutes drive. Time gets away when you’re tasting good wine and enjoying yourself! Martin emerged from the winery just before we left and he looked pretty chuffed when I told him how much I enjoyed the 2021 riesling. We didn’t manage to hit the road until 12:15, a quick call to Tenterfield rescheduled our lunch to 1pm.
Friday 20th July:
We left Syrah Cottage and headed to St. Judes for breakfast. If it’s at all possible I suspect Rob was even more loquacious than on Saturday evening. Breakfast was just lovely and of course with the excellent Fonzie Abbott coffee on the side to warm us. Andy Williams from Hidden Creek dropped in for a coffee and chat and after brekky and coffee we headed north to Robert Channon Wines.
As we pulled into the car park at Robert Channon Wines we were greeted by cold windy rain. Thankfully the cellar door was a different world, warm and cosy with a welcoming fireplace. Aping cat behaviour Aria promptly planted herself on the floor in front of the fireplace.
We tasted a range of wines including a well made Sparkling Verdelho which isn’t listed on the website yet. The 2021 Verdelho will become an exceptional wine in the true Robert Channon Wines pedigree. Paola Cabezas is now the wine maker at Robert Channon, she is an excellent wine maker originally from Argentina. I first encountered wines made by Paola at Summit Estate, she’s a mistress of blends first introducing The Alto Blend into the Summit Estate range. Next we tried some reds, a 2019 Pinot Noir/Shiraz was an interesting blend. Not a big wine but will be great to consume in Spring/Summer, it begins with Pinot Noir cherry fruits with a little sour/savouriness, then morphs into some lighter Shiraz fruits and black pepper on the mid-palate and then returns to Pinot Noir fruits later with very fine svelte tannins. Certainly a clever wine that will fill a hole in your cellar, well done Paola! There were three different 2018 Pinot Noir wines available but stocks were low and none were on tasting today. Bin 1 was made using a Carbonic Maceration method to begin the ferment. Bin 2 was a more typical Pinot, it was made with free run juice only (no pressings), five weeks maceration followed by 9 months in old French oak. Bin 3 is a bigger style, after five weeks maceration the first pressings were used followed by 9 months in old French Barrels. 2018 was a superb vintage for Pinot Noir on The Granite Belt, I expect these Pinot Noirs will be exceptional.
Lastly we tried something quite unusual for Robert Channon Wines, this was a 2021 Durif made with non-estate and non-GI fruit. The fruit came from Northern NSW from a vineyard Reedy Creek, we had visited this vineyard years ago at the suggestion of Peter and Janine from Vineyard Cottages and we did like their Mourvèdre. This 2021 Durif is a big wine with some decent fruit weight and tannins that, at this stage, can truly only be enjoyed by true wine warrior believers. We bought three of these, one to open in five years for the purpose of deciding when to open the others but I’m not sure I’ll live long enough.
The rain had stopped when we left and we do hope it won’t be much longer until the Singing Lake Cafe re-opens, we have enjoyed many lunches there during previous visits to the region.
Vincenzo’s at The Big Apple at Thulimbah has re-opened. We did a quick stop for some coffee on the way home. It was around 3pm when we left and faced the drive north to Brisbane. Aria recommends the smaller apples, coated with toffee, inside the building.
A Few General Observations
The region has recovered well from the shorter but far more severe drought which, at one stage, saw no water flow anywhere across The Granite Belt. The drought in 2020 was stark and foreboding and combined with consistent high summer temperatures I haven’t experienced previously. Mother Nature is very resilient and the region now looks quite beautiful, Storm King Dam went from almost empty to 100% in about 2 days however before the rains eventually appeared there were many losses. Jeff Hardin at Bungawarra Wines will long morn some of his old Cabernet Sauvignon vines and there are similar stories across the region. However the overall picture of The Granite Belt for wine is a very positive one. The quality of the wine continues to improve and there can be no question now that Granite Belt wines easily stand beside the best Australia has to offer. Some who are addicted to big and bold warm climate wines will still prefer those styles and so they should if this is where their palate takes them. What has to be appreciated here is the entire concept of Granite Belt Terroir and the micro-terroirs within as the wines express this very well, they are both excellent and different. The ever increasing number of varieties and the willingness of local wine makers to experiment to establish for themselves what works best will forever stamp it’s flavour on the region. The Strange Bird concept wasn’t an accident instead it recognised something that was already present and that recognition has now aided it’s amplification. This is a very exciting wine region to visit and you are bound to discover new wines every time you are here.
There were not many vineyards that produced grapes for wine at the height of the drought in 2020. There were more whites than reds and many wineries bought grapes from southern vineyards, Chalmers in particular. The local GI 2020 grapes have been affected by the extreme drought conditions so that they contain some different flavours as a result of the grapes chemical reactions to the extreme conditions. When I source the relevant article I’ll post it for interested wine nerds, however the effect I noticed in both reds and whites is that the late palate has a barbeque smokiness aspect which is likely to be somewhat polarising. Some will really enjoy this aspect and others won’t, regardless you won’t encounter it much as there were few GI grapes in 2020.
As a pandemic flow-on effect The Granite Belt has become extremely popular. Locals expect that post-pandemic the visitor traffic will drop off but it will remain boosted compared to pre-pandemic levels. This will be a good development for the region but one that I selfishly hope will not result in too much tourist influx. The reason is that there is something very special about The Granite Belt and I would not enjoy seeing that lost or even changed a lot.
Unfortunately, for us, there are limits within visits to The Granite Belt. Aria is usually very patient but doesn’t display any interest in visiting cellar doors for us to taste wine. One reason we visit the region is to rest and recuperate and we need, more and more, to regulate cellar door visits. I would have liked to have visited Summit Estate Winery and Heritage Estate Winery. However the limits prevailed against us but these two will be prioritised next time to see what John Handy has been up to and to taste the upcoming release of Summit Estate Albariño as I think this variety will be a stunning grape for the region and their 2019 inaugural release was a ripper.
Tony Hassall from Just Red Wines has just published a new book Winegrape Growing In The Granite Belt. This is an interesting read and James Halliday has written a Foreword. I’d recommend this book to growers and consumers alike, there will definitely be points of difference among readers but the book is worth the read as it raises ideas and is thought provoking. It also offers many practical aspects regarding grape growing to produce wine. When I find some time I’ll make some comments about the book, largely from a consumer perspective. I purchased the book at the Just Red Wines Cellar Door, directly from Tony and kindly autographed by him, for $30.
So another debt of gratitude to all on The Granite Belt who provide such a welcoming atmosphere who made this annual pilgrimage so enjoyable. That’s all for now folks and I’ll see you, in words, for The Granite Belt Diaries July 2022.
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The Granite Belt Diaries May – June 2023
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