Out Of The Bottle

With David Ellis

2010 Coonawarra Riesling & 2008 Frog Rock Chambourcin

Close on a half-century ago, in 1962, Wynns Coonawarra Estate released a Riesling from a region that was considered then, and still is today, one of Australia’s finest red wine producing areas.

Certainly it was one in which you’d wonder why anyone would bother with whites, when the superb quality of the reds from here was so rewarding both for consumers and makers.

But that Wynns’ 1962 Coonawarra Riesling was an immediate hit with fans of the variety, and ever since has proven to be one of Australia’s most consistent, value-for-money white wines.

The recently-released 2010 Riesling that was amongst this year’s “Wynnsday” releases – an annual selection of exceptional new vintage wines – has once again lived up to the reputation of this label: a wonderfully aromatic wine that’s quite soft in style, and which has delightful lemon sherbet and citrus blossom aromas, lemon and lime flavours, lively acidity and a slightly chalky minerality. 

At $18.99 its value and quality buying to enjoy with pan-fried salmon fillets and Asian stir-fried vegies.

One For Lunch

A wine that’s gaining popularity here is Chambourcin, a hybrid created over fifty years ago by French biochemist Joannes Seyve, and whose actual lineage of French and American stock we shall never know, as Mr Seyve took that secret to the grave with him in 1966.

Frog Rock Wines at Mudgee in NSW began making really outstanding Chambourcin wines in 1999 and its latest release, the 2008, is full of spicy plum and ripe mulberry flavours, and nicely balanced acidity and tannins. A wine for hearty winter dining, pay $25 and match it with casseroled lamb shanks and buttered whole baby potatoes.

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