November 7
Rutherglen
I heard a little rain on the roof overnight but it had ceased by the time I emerged from the hotel and drove into the village for a coffee and a sandwich for breakfast. The sandwich was stuffed full of salad and must have been good for me.
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I took more photos of the buildings. There was an interesting mix, even some that resembled art deco. The railway station, closed in 1962, looked a little sad but is obviously a home to somebody.Back at the Information Centre, I discovered that they offered tastings of the fortified wines so I had a chat and vowed to return later, once I had abandoned the car at the motel. |
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Continuing along the road past the motel led me to Campbells Winery, which had beautiful roses outside and a very helpful man inside. I explained that I couldn’t buy anything and was happy to pay a tasting fee.
He wouldn't hear of it so I had a Trebianno. This was no more interesting than the others of its type that I have tried. A little research suggests that it is the second most widely planted grape in the world and nowhere does it make wine that is anything more than ordinary. The Gewurztraminer was good but, of course, not exported. I switched to the reds and had a couple of Durifs. Both were interesting. It is an unusual grape but seems to thrive here. |
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As I was leaving, I spotted a pile of barrels and realised that it was a solera. I enquired about it and learned that all of the fortified wines are produced in this way both here and in many of the older wineries in the area.
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Stanton and Killeen is a little further up the road. I had a very dry Riesling, which wasn't very exciting, a durif/shiraz blend which was quite approachable and a durif, which will become a very good wine in a few years. The tasting list then showed that they charged a $4 fee for tasting the "grand" wines. The Rutherglen area has a set hierarchy of their fortified wines, the muscats, tokays (now called topaques) and ports.
The different levels are:
Rutherglen. A youthful style exhibiting fresh raisined fruit flavour, luscious balanced palate. Would expect to have an average age of 2-5 years.
Classic Rutherglen. A maturing style exhibiting raisined fruit flavour, cask aged flavour and the beginnings of rancio character. The palate shows balanced lusciousness, richness on the mid-palate from cask ageing and some concentrated characters. Would expect to have an average of 5-10 years.
Grand Rutherglen. A mature style exhibiting aged fruit flavour, rich cask aged character and rancio character. The palate shows balanced lusciousness, rich mid-palate from cask ageing, concentrated flavours from ageing and rancio flavours. Would expect to have an average age of 10-15 years.
Rare Rutherglen. A rancio style showing all the flavours of prolonged cask ageing - lusciousness, extreme rancio, concentration. Would expect an average age in excess of 20 years.
I asked if I should try the topaque or the muscat. The nice lady behind the counter suggested that I should try a half measure of each. The topaque was very up front and I doubt that I could have distinguished it from a PX sherry in a blind tasting. The muscat was much more restrained. It was currants and sultanas as compared to the complete Christmas cake approach of the topaque.
The real disaster was that I was only able to taste half of each tiny measure for fear of losing my licence. What a waste. If only I had a chauffer.
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10k up the road is the Murray River, Australia's longest, which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. I crossed the river into NSW, entered the town of Corowa and parked on the main street.
The Tourist Office directed me to a cafe round the back of the supermarket as a possible source of wi fi. Unfortunately, it was broken. Even worse, the coffee was rubbish. The town didn't have a great deal to recommend it. It was quiet but uninspiring.
I drove across the John Foorde Bridge, built in 1892 and now only servicing local traffic. On the Victorian bank of the river is the even smaller town/village of Wahgunyah.
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I stopped there and walked back across the bridge, taking numerous photos of the clouds and trees reflected in the water. It was a beautiful sight.
The village only really boasted the bridge and a pub. I did find a petrol station and a couple of small shops just down the road. It was on a rail trail which, presumably, follows the river bank. It was rather hot there so the thought of walking the trail didn't appeal at all.
I stopped at the petrol station and re-refilled the tank. There should be enough to get me back to Melbourne.
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Many of the local cafes are closed on Mondays but The Pickled Sister at Cofields Vineyard was functioning so I stopped there. In the tasting room I tried a marsanne/viognier and a Riesling to decide what to have with my food. The Riesling won easily.
Inside the tasting room was a large ginger pussy cat. When I tried to take its photo, it rushed towards me & wrapped itself round my feet, thus preventing me. When I moved outside, it fled. I have no photo as a result. I was able to give it a cuddle. It has obviously learned that this is a good technique for obtaining extra lunches.
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My table was amongst the roses so offered excellent photo opportunities. The bright red cruets and even the red text on the wine glass added to the impact. The nice lady offered me the special - two courses and two glasses of wine. Thinking that the former would be too much and that the latter would put me well over the limit, I settled for one course, trout pate, and one glass. The pate was excellent and certainly as much as I needed.
While I was eating, a magpie appeared on the deck. I started to change lenses in order to get a photo of it and it went to the other side of the deck and seemed to be examining its reflection in the glass.
Calling at the Rutherglen Information Centre, I found some postcards and discovered that they had internet so I collected some emails.
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About 10k out of town, along a country road, is Morris's, one of the oldest and best known vineyards in the area. The front gates, were spectacular. I tried the Durifs, both huge wines, and was then offered a "rare" topaque. This was amazing. One of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. I bought a bottle & if it breaks in the plane home I will cry.
I returned to the motel, abandoned the car and set off into the town centre on foot. I arrived in 15 minutes, met the elderly chap who was going to be my host, and spent a happy half hour chatting and trying a large variety of fortified wines.
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In essence, you got wat you paid for. The cheap ones were ok. The best ones they had, the "classics", were an improvement. None of them were within a million miles of the "rare" from Morris's.
Right: Rutherglen Information Centre |
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I wandered back up the hill, dripping in the heat, and felt the need for a very cold light beer in the Poacher's Paradise. This, and the pub's air conditioning, improved things considerably. The cold light beer available on tap in Australia is ideal for the climate. It’s a shame that they don’t offer it in most New Zealand pubs. A few minutes back towards the motel and next door to the restaurant in which I had a reservation for the evening, is the Rutherglen Estate cellar door. I assumed that the winery & the cellar were all related in some way but this proved not to be the case. The lady's exasperated response to my questions about the restaurant suggested that I had struck a raw nerve. I tasted a few wines, none of them memorable, and then walked gently home. I spent the remainder of the afternoon recovering from the day's exertions and preparing for a posh evening out. Right: Rutherglen - an old mining area |
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I was in splendid isolation when I arrived at the Tuileries. The waiter's third words when I arrived filled me with pleasure. He informed me that they offered a wine buffet, with four whites, seven reds and a pudding wine all available to taste for $22.50. That will reduce the cost of the meal considerably! While reading the menu I tried a Campbell's chardonnay/viognier. It was very good, dry, mouth filling etc.
Never having eaten smoked veal tongue, I decided to try it. The full title was Morrison St smoked veal tongue, sauce gribiche, croutons, bacon and witloof. The food arrived, the waiter was delighted that I wished to take photos and I had a glass of Valhalla Three Little Birds (viognier/ marsanne/ rousanne). This is a new blend to me but the second I have had today. There was even another one in the ice bucket.Right: Morrison St smoked veal tongue |
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The tongue was very delicate, not too different from the normal tongue that you put in sandwiches. There was a slight hint of smoke, accentuated by the julienned pancetta. The wine was a good match.
Between courses. I managed a Trahana Tempranillo, which was slightly jammy. This is a grape about which I don't know too much but it was nice enough. Probably far better with a big meat dish than on its own.
The Rutherglen viognier/ rousanne/ marsanne was OK when I tasted it this afternoon. With the food, it was very good. The only Murray River cod I have met before was the 20 foot one outside Swan Hill Station. When cooked & stuffed, it was amazing. One of the best fish dishes I have ever had. Brimin Lodge Murray cod, prawn centre, squid ink crumbs and lemon beurre blanc.
Right: Murray River cod |
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I thought hard about pudding and decided that as I didn't plan to have breakfast until I reached Glenrowan, perhaps 10 am, I could justify both pudding and cheese. This would cost a fortune but by the time the credit card bill appeared, I would be a pensioner and rich.
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The Mojito cheesecake, mint sorbet and lime sherbert was nice enough, the mint sorbet being particularly good. It wasn't as exciting as the main course. This might have been a comment on my liking for puddings rather than on the abilities of the chef.
Right: Mojito cheesecake |
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Feeling that I should be a complete glutton, I rounded off the meal with coffee and some local blue cheese. I engaged in conversation with several of the other diners and then walked the short way home to bed.