Hardys Crest 2001

Last week I got a pleasant surprise; a friend who had been moving house gave me a bottle of Hardys Crest 2001 red that he had cellared from early in the previous decade. The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz (Syrah) and Merlot. I was expecting it to be way past its best but I was pleasantly surprised. It had aged to a garnet colour with a clean aroma of red fruits and spice on the nose and of course it was ready for drinking. This medium to full bodied wine had well integrated and softening tannins. The wine had a taste of stewed plums and red fruits with a hint of spice and vanilla. It had all the complexity and concentration of a good wine combined with a long length. This wine belies the view that Australian wines should be drunk young rather than allowed to age. I would have expected the young wine to be much more tannic and fruity but this wine has matured gracefully to be quite mellow and subtle.

The wine was raised from selected parcels of vines from vineyards in South Eastern Australia, but it displays many of the attributes of a single estate wine. It is very good value for money. My wife and I drank half a bottle with some roast pork as we guessed that the more subtle taste of a mature wine would go well with a lighter meat. The second half went down quite well with pasta the following evening. This is not an average drop of grog but worth savouring.

Hardys Crest 2009 is now available in the British Supermarkets for about nine pounds a bottle (cheaper if you buy a case) so it is worth keeping a bottle or two for several years before drinking as I am sure that it will improve with age. The 2001 was sealed with a cork the modern bottles are sealed with a screw cap. I wonder if a screw cap makes a difference to the keeping qualities of a wine? Time will tell.

Vidal Fleury - Ventoux Rouge 2009

I found this wine in Oddbins a couple of weeks ago. Oddbins have now just been saved from liquidation and have a good range of wines. The Ventoux rouge shows all of the flavours of a Rhône red wine. It is concentrated and powerful with hints of spice and red fruits on the nose and on the palate. It is complex wine with a long length on the palate. It is made from the Rhône grapes, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. It is made using the technique of délestage which is a form of maceration that involves pumping the separated and fermenting wine juice over the original pomace. This technique extracts flavour and the oxygenation softens the tannins. Not that this wine is lacking in tannin structure and I am sure that the wine will mature for many years in the bottle. It is fermented with natural yeast. Vidal Fleury is a very old and well established producer.

This wine was a pleasant surprise; my wife and I drank half of the bottle with some fillet of pork before we sealed it with a vacuum pump. I am expecting the tannins to soften a little more within a couple of days. This is a very good regional wine wine and just like the Stonier Pinot Noir from Victoria state as mentioned before. At around 8 pounds a bottle it represents really good value for money. I recommend this highly.

The wines from the Mont Ventoux area are some of my favourites. The mountain is well worth visiting as it dominates the area. Near here is some of the best scenery and unpolluted territory in France. The hot summer sun , the mistral and good wine and food - what more could you ask for?