YERING OF OZ

Alas, the previous entry resolution has been broken without remorse. The Italian study case will have to wait while I go Australian. And who’s to blame? Was it really possible to resist something which is getting hotter and hotter in London? A must to try before it flies off the shelves without even a chance to fully mature.

Submitted by Sainsbury’s and Yering Station to the International Wine and Spirit Competition, 2004 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier took Gold Best in Class Award this summer in London which means it received “the highest mark in its respective category”. Shiraz co-fermented with 5% Viognier to add finesse and texture is not trying to compete with the real thing from Cote-Rotie but it’s delicious and smooth, and, priced at £9.99, won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Purple with garnet on the rim; ripe blackberry, soft pepper, liquorice and mild oak, refined with fine dark chocolate and floral notes on the nose; black fruit, chocolate and spice with well-balanced and integrated tannin and acidity on the palate, it’s an elegant cool-climate-character Shiraz with a good length destined to make your everyday meal a festive event, and it won’t be out of place at a special occasion, either.

It goes well with… well (hmm)… anything, be it a slice of ham or chicken, egg mayonnaise (!) or a pork pie, but will be at its best with grilled and roasted meats and poultry, casseroles, sausages and many cheeses.

Yering Station was first planted with vine by a Scot, William Ryrie, in 1838. 50 years later it was awarded a Grand Prix at the World Exhibition in Paris but then went into a slow decline followed by virtual oblivion until its gradual revival in the 1970s. 1996 saw Yering Station happily change hands - the mighty Rathbones took over the little kingdom.

Their wines don’t gather dust now thanks to their award winning winemaker, Tom Carson, and his team, be it Pinot Noir, rosé or red, or blend of the Rhone white all-stars Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier, so that Channel 4 charmers, Richard and Judy, also sing odes to the wines of the former cattle farm in the Yarra Valley.

2004 Yering Station Shiraz Viognier, Yarra Valley, Australia – 14.5% alcohol.

(Sainsbury’s - £9.99, try also Majestic - £9.99)