I’m an unashamed fan of Tyrrells. While they’ve long been sourcing grapes, juice and wine Australia-wide, Bruce Tyrrell — and before him his late father Murray — has always been a great champion of the Hunter Valley, and his family has kept some of the Hunter’s most fabled vineyards.
Tyrrells Stevens Vineyard … overlooking the family’s Old Hillside block.
Some of the finest wine-tasting experiences of my life have come within the confines of the winery’s tasting room in Broke Road, where the staff seem more capable than most of separating those just interested in a glass of port from those who might buy a case or two of fabled Private Bin.
Both classes of customer are equally well cared for, with the latter group quietly being led to the private tasting room out the back.
An occasion that I’ll never forget came a couple of years ago, when I was privileged to spend an hour or two tasting wine with Bruce in the even more private room beyond that.
We mainly sipped on white wines that day — they are what Tyrrells is best known for — but one wine that really pricked my attention was a glass of Stevens Vineyard Shiraz, made from grapes grown just up the hill, in the shadows of the landmark Brokenback Range.
I don’t recall the vintage, but the sublime medium-bodied flavours will stay with me forever.
I had the pleasure during the week to taste the 2016 vintage of this great Australian dry red and, as can be gleaned from my tasting notes today, was again mightily impressed.
TASTING NOTES
Xanadu 2017 Exmoor Chardonnay ($18): This chardonnay from Western Australia’s Margaret River is a fruit-driven wine showing lashings of fruit from the stonefruit spectrum, some nutty lees-derived complexity and just a hint of time in oak. This is a fine bistro dry white to have with a bowl of white-sauced pasta.
Xanadu 2015 Exmoor Cabernet Sauvignon ($18): The wine also contains touches of cabernet franc and merlot, but the primary flavours lie in the leafiness and blackberry nuances gained from cabernet sauvignon. It’s brightly favoured and delicious. Try it with good lamb. Some grilled chops will do the job nicely.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Tyrrells 2016 Single-Vineyard Stevens Shiraz ($50): This is a classic Hunter red from the foothills of the Brokenback range. Like all of the greatest wines from the region, it’s medium-bodied rather than being a Barossa-style blockbuster and suits food enormously well. It should be reserved for the best steak you can afford after shelling out the $50 asking price.
