Out Of The Bottle

With David Ellis

2005 Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon & Shaw Vineyard Estate 2008 Cabernet Merlot

We're anything but regulars in pulling corks from $95 bottles of wine, but when recently invited to just such an event as part of birthday celebrations for a long-time mate, we very readily accepted both invitation and tasting glass.

And what a taste: a quick check on the Katnook Estate website gave us an inkling of what to expect from this 2005 Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon that maker, Wayne Stehbens says he created “to sit comfortably beside the best Cabernet Sauvignons in the world... a fantastic ambassador for Coonawarra.”

He certainly didn’t fail, as he’s not with a string of other Katnook Estate Odyssey label wines that were first created from the 1991 vintage to celebrate the centennary of the first vintage out of the winery.

Wayne gives himself what he calls “the luxury of time” to create his Odyssey wines, in this case hand-selecting outstanding fruit from specific rows in the vineyard, vinification in small batch fermenters, and an almost 24hr watch over maturation for nearly 40 months in new French and American barriques.

The result is rich and ripe Coonawarra on the palate, extraordinarily intense blackcurrant aromas, mocha oak intensity and delightful minerality : our hosts at that birthday bash matched all this perfectly with a simple prime rib and baked vegetables... and eschewing dessert, kept the same wine on the table with a follow-platter of blue-vein and vintage cheeses.

One For Lunch

Shaw Vineyard Estate is an interesting maker in the Canberra district, its vineyards at 640m above sea level and on a former fine-wool property really making consumers take notice of this district.

Shaw’s 2008 Cabernet Merlot is a real delight of juicy blackcurrant and blackberry flavours, integrated with soft oak and fine tannins; pay $25 and take it to that next BBQ with some lamb loin chops.

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