Road to Red
Launching soon is the Road to Red Wine Trail, where red wine reigns supreme. The trail winds its way around 21 of the Pyrenees Wine Region’s most esteemed award-winning wineries. It is the perfect way to sample some of the area's most exquisite drops.
And this Winter, I was supposed to jump in the car and give the old college try. Unfortunately, COVID had other ideas.
Instead, I was lucky enough to be sent some samples from some of the region’s best wineries to taste test, and that, coupled with Google maps and a little bit of imagination, is how my 2021 Road to Red Wine Trail began…
The Pyrenees winemakers have been producing excellent wines for many decades—and the growing list of awards and endorsements that their wines are collecting is testament to the high quality on offer.
The signature grape varieties in the Pyrenees are Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, perfect drops for a Victorian winter (maybe even better when you’re locked in your house, fully equipped with a roaring gas log fire, stretchy pants and only ten or so steps to a comfy bed – don’t tell the wineries I said that though, you really should go visit).
If we were driving from Melbourne, Summerfield Winery would have been our first stop. A multi-award award-winning winery, situated in the small rural township of Moonambel, the family-owned vineyard and winery was established in 1970 and today produces Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. You can enjoy wine tastings with a cheese platter at their charming cellar door café deli or a wood-fired pizza in the restaurant. Plus, they also offer modern studio apartment accommodation.
If that already sounds right up your alley and you were thinking about booking for as soon as COVID restrictions lift… back off. I have first dibs.
Anyway, instead of relaxing in the extensively renovated and extended café and cellar door at Summerfield, overlooking the beautiful winery gardens, I sat on my couch in my PJs, heated up an oven-baked pizza, dialled up a little Nick Cave on Spotify and sampled a couple of perfect-for-Melbourne-winter Aussie shirazes.
First – let me preface this by saying that I don’t like to know the price of wine before I taste. Yes, science tells us that we enjoy a wine more if we know it’s spenny, but – ipso facto – knowing the price clearly skews opinions and I prefer to go in blind.
We started with the Summerfield 2019 Shiraz. This single vineyard baby oozed blueberry aromas, with a touch of cherry and spice. It was deliciously fruit-forward, full-bodied and so silky smooth you could mistake it for a baby’s bottom. It definitely upped the ante on my oven-baked za and would’ve been even better with a meaty lamb ragu or anything rich, meaty and smoky for that matter. And while it was undeniably delicious, I got the sense it was waiting for something (maybe COVID restrictions lifting?) – I would LOVE to taste it again in 3-5 years’ time. Pow.
And if I thought that was good, I was about to have my socks well and truly knocked off (and then stolen by my eight-month-old puppy, because that’s her jam).
I kind of assumed that all the vinos I got sent were probably on par with each other, you know – similar price, similar vibe – they were mostly Shiraz (or Shiraz blends), they all had classic, classy old school labels. Maybe I should’ve taken the hint when my poorly underworked triceps nearly gave out trying to pour this next sucker (seriously – it was so heavy we decided to weigh the bottles) – but I poured on, oblivious to what was about to hit my tongue.
Pow, boy howdy. What is there to say about the Summerfield Jo Shiraz? Hand-picked, open-fermented with 30% whole bunches, 7 days on skins, matured for 18 months in French oak, only two barrels selected, blah blah, blah, whatever. This, my friends, is a wine for the ages. A truly special drop, which deserved better than my $12 pizza and elastic waist PJs. This is a wine that deserves structured undergarments, red lippy and a Wagyu steak. If you’re on the fence about Aussie Shiraz – get a glass of this up ya.
Dear Summerfield – please don’t sell out of this masterpiece before I get the chance to come taste it in its natural habitat and bend your ears about its magnificence. Thank you. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for making this wine.
Summerfield 2019 Shiraz ($39/bottle) and Summerfield Jo Shiraz ($150/bottle) are available to purchase at summerfieldwines.com.au/shop
The next stop on our entirely fictitious Pyrenees Road Trip… Peerick Vineyard.
The name Peerick derives from the Aboriginal word ‘beeric’, meaning ‘wild cat’. It was bestowed on the region by its traditional custodians, the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and it’s their traditions, beliefs and Dreamtime stories, together with the triskele from the O’Hara family’s Celtic culture, that are depicted on Peerick’s label artwork and embody the winery’s commitment to sustainable viticultural and winemaking practices.
Our first taster? The Mang, a premium, powerful blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Shiraz grapes, all sourced from Peerick’s Warrenmang vineyard, in the heart of the rugged Pyrenees. Even aside from how fun it is to say, The Mang is kickarse wine. It will also always hold a place in my heart because of the following (probably kind of weird) story.
I poured myself a glass of The Mang and sniffed, swirled and sniffed again, gave it another sniff and a quick sip (I even did that gross sounding thing that wine wankers tend to do, sucking in air and swizzling wine around in my mouth), turned to my husband and said, “Does this smell like lipstick to you?”
Of course, he had zero bloody idea what I was on about, not being quite as much of a connoisseur of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent lippies as I.
After a quick google, and a confirmation with the Le Nez smells, I discovered that the predominant smell in high end lippies is VIOLET. Mother-effing VIOLET. I never knew what violet smelled like before. Friends, I just learned a NEW WINE SMELL. I’m sorry if you don’t feel as emotional about this as I do, but learning a new wine smell is a bit of a holy grail in the semi-professional wine swilling world, so I will be forever grateful to The Mang for smelling like lipstick.
Violet smell aside, The Mang and The Peerick 2019 Shiraz were both rated thoroughly “thumbs up, would drink again” by myself, my husband and my not-a-huge-fan-of-red-wine single friend who got the rest of the bottle (because it’s inadvisable to drink six bottles of red all to yourself, even if you are ten steps from your own comfy bed).
The perfect accompaniment to a Saturday cheese platter – Peerick, mark me down for a Saturday afternoon visit as soon as restrictions lift (I certainly won’t complain if you have a cheese platter on the go either).
The Mang 2019 ($39.95/bottle) and the Peerick 2019 Shiraz ($29.95/bottle) are available to purchase at peerick.com.au
The last stop on our virtual tour of the Pyrenees was Dogrock. Celebrating their 10th year as a Halliday 5-star Winery, Dogrock is an accomplished producer of premium, sustainably produced wines. Established in 1998 by winemakers Allen and Andrea Hart, Dogrock produces small batches of premium Riesling, Arinto, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Grenache, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional and Graciano mostly from estate-grown fruit.
First up – el Rojo. I do have a weird tangential story I could tell here about a wedding at a donut shop and a llama (who was also a magnificent red), but my word count is fast approaching, so I’m actually just going to concentrate on the wine…
If you’ve ever wondered WTF people are talking about when they say a wine is “peppery”, this baby is a fine example to learn from. A red blend, made from estate-grown Grenache, Shiraz, Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional, el Rojo goes a treat with a stinky as hell cheese and is a stylish little minx that’s not for the faint of heart. Only 60 dozen made, if you fancy yourself a connoisseur of the weird and wonderful – get yourself a glass of this baby.
Followed in quick succession by the Dogrock 2019 Degraves Road Shiraz, an outstandingly easy-to-drink Shiraz made from the estate’s best parcel of estate-grown fruit from a truly outstanding season. Superlatives that flowed from my tongue relating to this wine included: luscious, full-bodied, sexy, easy, plummy, should-we-open-another-bottle…
Look, when you’re still enjoying it six bottles deep, you know it’s good.
Dogrock’s 2017 el Rojo ($65/bottle) and 2019 Degraves Road Shiraz ($38/bottle) are available to purchase at dogrock.com.au
And you, get your arses to the Pyrenees, post haste. Before the cool kids find out about it.