18 March 2016 was the “AustCham Wine & Cheese Night – A Taste of Australia” at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. Bob the Minion of Wine Exchange Asia (WEA) asked me to help out at their booth pouring and helping with any sales. AustCham hold these nights a few times each year, the next one is “A Taste of Australia and New Zealand” in August 2016.

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The approach that WEA took on the night was very different to the other distributors who showed current releases from their portfolios whereas WEA showed 6 vintage Australian Reds, the feedback on the night indicated that this was a very good idea, lost count of the number of people who said we had the best booth, it was definitely the two us pouring, the term “A good face for radio” comes to mind!

The Wine

wdt_ID	Wine	Photo
1	Name: Henschke Keyneton Euphonium Vintage: 2012 Region: Barossa and Eden Valleys, South Australia Varietal: 65% shiraz, 20% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 5% cabernet franc Alcohol: 14% Colour: Vibrant deep crimson Aroma: Cherry and blackberry with hints of spice, liquorice and possibly cedar Flavour: Full-bodied well balanced palate with an abundance of fruit Tannin: Fine Finish: Long Comment: Very popular, all of the tasting bottles were finished well before the other wines. Always a high quality wine, good to drink now and will also replay cellaring
2	Name: Clarendon Hills Moritz Vintage: 2007 Region: Clarendon, McLaren Vale, South Australia Varietal: Syrah Alcohol: 14.5% Colour: Opaque deep crimson Aroma: Blackberry, black pepper and spice with hints of smoke Palate: Full-bodied combo of blackberry, pepper and spice Tannin: Savoury Finish: Long Comment: Great wine, took a bit of encouragement to get people to try it, well not too much! Really like the balance and structure. A good value wine considering its quality.
3	Name: Grant Burge Meshach Vintage: 2006 Region: Barossa Valley Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: 14.5% Colour: Deep garnet, still has a youthful vibrancy Aroma: Blackberry, dark stone fruit, dark chocolate and spice, with a hint of mint Palate: Full-bodied, bold fruit and spice flavours Tannin: Firm, developing tannins Finish: Long Comment: Meshach is usually a great wine when given time to age and this will be no different but, IMHO, this vintage is still young. This was the wine that divided people, they either liked or disliked it, there was no middle road. Expecting this to be a great wine when it reaches maturity.
4	Name: Hazyblur Barossa Vintage: 2004 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: 15% Colour: Deep purple Aroma: Nice mix of blackberries, plums, black pepper and spice Palate: Jammy full-bodied balanced palate Tannin: Fine Finish: Long Comment: Not a well-known winery, surprised most people. Definitely one of the favourites. One to drink now
5	Name: Hewitson Private Cellar Vintage: 2008 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia Varietal: Shiraz Mouvedre Alcohol: 14% Size: Magnum Colour: Vibrant deep crimson Aroma: Dark plum, blackberry and spice, maybe a hint of chocolate Palate: Great balance of fruit and spice Tannin: Savoury Finish: Long Comment: Great wine, was amazed at how many people were worried about the bottle size, but it was another very popular wine. Good balance of fruit and spice, with savoury tannins and luxurious long finish. This is still quite young and will repay patience, if you can wait, if not, enjoy!!
6	Name: Tahbilk Eric Steven Pubrick Vintage: 2002 Region: Nagambie Lakes, Victoria, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: 13.5% Colour: Dark crimson Aroma: Earthy combo of dark fruit, cherry and spice with a hint of cedar Palate: Nice balance, full-bodied with a sweet finish, not as big as the South Australian wines Tannin: Fine / Smooth Finish: Long Comment: This was least popular wine on the night. IMHO I believe that it was overpowered by the company. Known as the wine that really established Tahbilk as a producer of merit. Subsequent vintages are apparently improving, therefore they must be pretty good, as this is a very good cool climate Shiraz.

Oz’s Wine Reviews

Feedback

It was an interesting night, lots of mainly educational and informative wine questions and comments, but what did surprise me was that there was one wine that did not notch up even one sale on the night, the Tahbilk.  The 2002 Tahbilk Eric Steven Pubrick Shiraz is a good wine, but seems that the South Australian wines (which are ALWAYS better than the wine from Victoria, yes I am from South Australia so might be slightly biased) which are traditionally bigger than the ones from over the border were what people were after.

I was also surprised by the significant number of people who were concerned about buying wine in a magnum. The reason was not that they had an issue with the amount of wine in the bottle but the fact that once it was opened that they would have to finish it, something about it being un-Australian to leave wine in the bottle, obviously they drink alone too often!

Ranking by Sales

The ranking, by number of sales on the night was as follows:

1. 2012 Henschke Keyneton Euphonium Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Cabernet Franc
2. 2008 Hewitson Private Cellar Shiraz Mouvedre (Magnum)
3. 2006 Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz
4. 2007 Clarendon Hills Moritz Syrah
5. 2004 Hazyblur Barossa Shiraz
6. 2002 Tahbilk Eric Steven Pubrick Shiraz

My picks on the night were the 2007 Clarendon Hills Moritz and the 2008 Hewitson Private Cellar, both drinking well now and will repay patience, if you can wait.

Cheers!