Comfortably Cullen

As mentioned in a previous post, I'd asked around a bit, from folks more knowledgable about Margaret River than me, for a couple "don't miss" wineries. It was uncanny how different contacts from completely different circumstances - and even parts of the world - kept recommending the same names. We hit Leeuwin Estate last night and Moss Wood was scheduled for tomorrow, but I'd set up a meeting this morning at Cullen Wines, one of the local faves that was completely new to me.

It took no time whatsoever for the four of us to conclude that there'd be no regrets with this visit. We were greeted with a comfy seat and a glass of Cullen's most recent release of the Mangan Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Semillon as we waited for our affable host and the winery's brand ambassador, Stuart, to get things in motion for us.

As we took a bit of a tour through the adjacent vineyard, Stuart provided some of the history of the winery - from stories of the region's development to tales of the principals, Dr. Kevin Cullen and Diana Cullen, and how they started out by planting a trial acre of vines in 1966 and were so pleased with the results that those initial vines were followed by additional 18 acres' worth in 1971 and a second vineyard in 1995 - with those first plantings garnering the most quizzical of comments from locals back then.

For me, I think Stuart's recitations became even more interesting when he started talking about Cullen's take on winemaking from its certified biodynamic stance. I've heard all the tales of sustainability and science meeting the mystical, but this was the first chance I'd encountered with an actual first hand demonstration and an ability to see some of the practices right in front of me.

The Cullens had never really been big on pesticides - even during those early years - but when, during the mid-90's, they started experiencing lower yields, higher volume of pests and a general degradation of the soil, the winery started moving towards an organic and biodynamic approach. The estate vineyard was certified biodynamic in 2004 and they are now also Australia's first carbon neutral winery.

Often the first snippet of biodynamic info, that anyone hears of, is that of how cow horns are filled with various preparations - including cow manure, quartz crystals or different botanical plants - and then buried in the vineyard for specified time frames. Once the horns are retrieved, homeopathic sprays and composts are made with the aged contents. Each of the preparations is believed to have particular benefits in maintaining the health of the soil.

Accidentally or not, we had a first hand encounter with some of the emptied cow horns when we had to duck into the first shed we could run to when the skies opened and we were hit by a bit of downpour while in the vineyard. Those horns might have already been emptied but the smell of that shed sure gave everyone confirmation that something potent was going on with the contents.

I freely admit that the whole mysticism and preparations and only picking and planting on fruit or flower days versus leaf and root days intrigues me, but seeing the actual cow horns and special machinery used to mix the preparations helped clarify things somewhat.

Stuart freely admitted that not everyone shares Cullen's enthusiasm for biodynamics but he notes that other wineries have certainly taken to dropping by to see what they do at Cullen. He added that it certainly doesn't hurt the winery's reputation that its wines continually pull in the wonderful reviews that they do. As an example, Stuart proudly advised that the 2007 vintage of their flagship Chardonnay, the Kevin James Chardonnay, was chosen as Decanter magazine's Best Chardonnay in the world.

Biodynamics and quality aside, there was no certainly no denying Boo's outright lust for the big pile of compost sitting behind the winery's vegetable garden. That was some nice looking dirt. I have no doubt that Boo would have gladly emptied one of suitcases and filled it with compost to take home with us for his gardens. Impractical and impossible, yes - but incredibly desirable all the same.

By now, I gather Stuart was willing to put up with a bit of our antics and never-ending questions. He even expressed his love for the new concrete fermenter that the winery was trying for the first time. The egg shape of the fermenter is designed such that the heating and cooling, that naturally occurs, keeps the wine and air flow circulating without any need for the wine to be pumped or punched down. The egg, in case you're wondering, is not part of the biodynamic concept. It originated in Beaune, France and there's even one in the Okanagan Valley now that's creating quite a stir.

With our walkabout concluded, we returned to the cellar door and willingly tasted our way through a healthy handful of Cullen wines. It was at this point that the green dragon - jealousy - reared its ugly head. Both Margarita and Merlot Boy bought a case to have shipped back to their homes. I had to put on my "pity poor me" hat and limit my purchase to a single, measly bottle. I will, however, look forward to the day when we open up and dive into that bottle of 2010 Diana Madeline - Cullen's flagship Bordeaux blend. Having already garnered scores of 97, 98, 96, 5/5 and a miserly 93, I'm thinking we're in for a bit of treat - but the question will be just how long can we keep our paws off of it to allow a little ageing.

To finish off our visit, the gang decided to take advantage of a coveted reservation for lunch at the Cullen Restaurant - a welcomed suggestion from our B&B hosts at Burnside Organic Farm. Naturally, that meant we cracked open one of the wines that particularly intrigued us during the tasting.

1128. 2011 Cullen Mangan Vineyard Verdelho (Margaret River - Australia)

To say that we enjoyed this bottle would be understating the moment a bit. Margarita bought an entire case of the wine - and, as a rule, she's more of a red wine gal. There's not a lot of it made. Actually, there aren't exceedingly large quantities of any Cullen wines - a grand total of about 20,000 is the vintage average. However, you can only buy the Verdelho at the cellar door.

Refreshingly crisp, with nice fruit and spice on the palate, it matched up beautifully with the warm weather and our superb meals. Risotto, prawns, veggie and cheese platter, salmon or garden salad - it didn't matter because everything was delicious and deliciously paired. All the produce came from the winery's garden out back and you could taste the freshness. If we didn't have other wineries still to take in, we could have just bought another bottle of wine and carried on for another hour or two.

Easily one of the most enjoyable meals - and some of the best food - of our entire trip.

Would I recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area? To quote young Stuart, "Kenoath." I'd never heard the phrase before, but a delicate translation might be,"Damned Straight." It shouldn't take too much of your imagination or linguistic skills to figure out where the "ken" part comes from. The "oath" bit brings in a little truth under oath.

I'll be watching for and will hopefully come across Cullen wines down the road. The sooner, the better, methinks.

A Sparkling Ondenc - Watch Your Mouth

With today being our only full day in Margaret River, there wasn't much opportunity for sleeping in. Thankfully, last night's monsoon was nowhere to be seen - for the moment at least - and I was hoping that it was going to stay that way.

A quick jaunt over to Burnside Organic Farms garden, before breakfast, allowed us to add a little freshness and flavour to the teeming basket of breakfast goodies that our host, Lara, left for us. And, once the smell of coffee brewing started to percolate throughout the bungalow, even sleepy-headed Boo got up to join us.

Knowing that Boo and I still needed to make headway in the bottles we'd managed to amass so far, I decided to pop the cork for a little brunch time bubble - even if it was a tad early for brunch. I figured we were on vacation with hard-core Aussies after all and we'd be tasting wines before noon in any event. Besides, even if it was Sunday morning here in Margaret River, it was still Saturday night back home in Vancouver.

1127. 2008 Langmeil Sparkling Ondenc (Barossa Valley - Australia)

Opening this bottle had been in my game plan all along. I was anxiously looking forward to it as a matter of fact. It's no secret that I have a bit of thing for Langmeil wines. Well, this one rather threw me for a loop. This is not a bottle that makes it across the Pacific to our side of the world. I'd never heard of Ondenc and thought that maybe it was a rather odd choice for a proprietary wine name. Turns out that Ondenc is a grape varietal. Fair dinkum. A rather obscure, little grown, old white French varietal, but an actual grape all the same.

No doubt, the folks at Langmeil realized that 99.9% of their patrons will have never run across the grape either, their label tells you almost as much information as you can find by some healthy Googling. Once a popular grape throughout south-west France in the 19th Century, it is still one of seven white grape varietals that is permitted to be grown within greater Bordeaux borders. As with many lesser known varietals, the grape fell out of favour following the devastating phylloxera epidemic that ravaged France and Europe however. The grape had a history of low yields and susceptibility to grape rot and it simply wasn't replanted when the French wine industry re-grouped.

Indeed, the grape almost disappeared. While there is a bit of an effort to revive the grape's presence in its old home of Gaillac and south-west France, there is very little found elsewhere in the world.

There is a little pocket of it in Australia though. Brought over to Australia prior to the phylloxera outbreak, the grape had been grown as Irvine's White in Victoria state and as Sercial in South Australia. Those plantings were identified as Ondenc in 1976 by a French ampelographer (one who identifies and classifies grapevines) but not even that expanded understanding did much to promote the planting of the grape. It is thought that Langmeil's plot is the last one seeing active production of wine in Oz - a last bastion if you will.

And even that production is very limited. The grape is known for its floral nose and high acidity - the latter attribute thereby lending itself to use as a sparkling wine. Indeed, Langmeil makes the wine using the traditional méthode champenoise but they only make 200 cases or so and the wine is only available for sale at the cellar door as a bit of a unique talking point for wine nerds.

Seeing bottle fermentation for 18 months on its lees, the wine has a classic biscuity aroma and taste to it; however, it didn't feature an overwhelming yeastiness to it - such that even Boo found it agreeable. There was a definite taste of green apple present as well. Even still, I do have to admit that we likely wouldn't have finished off the bottle with breakfast if there hadn't been some orange juice and Mimosa action to follow the initial glasses. It would seem that even Merlot Boy and Margarita believe in a bit of decorum before 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I believe the phrase, "I can't be corked before my mother even gets out of church" was uttered as an extra pour was declined.

As if it weren't enough of a pleasure to enjoy our early morning bubble in a spectacular location with even more spectacular drinking buddies, I get to add another varietal to my Wine Century Club tally as well. And you know how I revel in that.

A Little Love for Leeuwin Estate

Knowing that our stay in Margaret River was, sadly, going to be such a short one, I needed to do a bit of homework to decide which wineries needed to be "absolute must visits" on our list. Virtually every person that I spoke to immediately said Leeuwin Estates. Even with my limited knowledge of the region, I'd already known of Leeuwin's pre-eminent stature. I'd been aware of the name for some years; however, I actually had an opportunity to try some of the winery's Art Series Chardonnay 3 or 4 years ago at an Australia Wine Appreciation Society tasting back in Vancouver. The AWAS event was "The Great Chardonnay Taste-Off" where 15 or so Chardonnays from Australia and the world were blind tasted and ranked by society members. The Leeuwin Estate bottle was, by far, the favourite of the evening - both on my card and by the group.

I was hoping to enjoy a good dose of Leeuwin during our little trip. Getting there, however, was a bit of trial. We were taking advantage of an intriguing car service program that operates in the region. You drive your own car out to the event, but no one needs to commit to being a designated driver because a sober third party driver comes by to chauffeur you home in your own car. In essence, you only need to be concerned about the cost of a cab one way, plus your car is there for you in the morning. Ingenious.

But that service was for the way home. Just as we started out on our journey to Leeuwin, it started to rain - and I mean monsoon-like rain - and here we were driving unknown country roads, in the dark, hardly being able to see the road ahead of us, all the time worrying about kangaroos jumping out in front of the car (as everyone had been warning us). Luckily, Marco (our handy dandy GPS) worked his wonders and we made it in tact. But, wouldn't you know it, the rain was coming down torrentially as we pulled into the parking lot. Despite running Olympic qualifying times to make it to the building, we were all completely soaked as we were greeted at the door. Oh yes, we have a lovely table for drowned rats right over here.

1124. 2008 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay (Margaret River - Australia)

As drenched as we were, we all needed a little something to wet our whistle and we decided to go straight to the top. Why not? Often called the best Chardonnay in Australia, I figured we deserved it and I can guarantee you that you'll never be able to enjoy a bottle of it in a restaurant for a better price. The winery restaurant actually charges the same price as they do at the cellar door.

Still owned and operated by the Horgan family, Leeuwin Estate was established in 1969 when the lands were purchased and converted from cattle station to vineyards. As Margaret River was only just starting to be developed as a wine region, the Horgans engaged Californian top dog, Robert Mondavi, as a consultant when he indicated interest in developing the area's potential.

Leeuwin's flagship wines are all released as part of the Art Series, a tradition that was based on the Château Mouton Rothschild collection of wines and labels. Since the first Art Series label was released in 1980, Leeuwin has showcased over 100 paintings and artworks - pieces that were both commissioned and discovered in galleries. All the pieces were created by leading contemporary Australian artists and the winery has a gallery to showcase the pieces used on its labels.

There are five varietals made with Art Series labels - Cab Sauv, Shiraz, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay - but it is the Chardy that is the most acknowledged star. This is a quality Chardonnay, made for ageing - or, as we found out, immediate enjoyment. I'm not a point chaser and would never claim to posses a palate that can differentiate a 96 point wine from a 94, from a 93+, but I do know a well made - and tasty - wine and I'll just have to accede to the fact that a particular wine is right up there when every single wine writer seems to shower it with praise and high scores. This is one of those wines. Fruit, body, integrated oak, cutting acidity - it's all there.

Enjoying it at the winery itself is just a bonus.

1125. 2005 Leeuwin Estates Prelude Vineyards Cabernet Merlot (Margaret River - Australia)

In honour of Merlot Boy's attendance, we ordered up the Cab/Merlot blend next. The Prelude Vineyards label is somewhat more affordable (certainly when compared to the Art Series) - closer to a $30 range. Made very much in a style more reminiscent of Old World Bordeaux than a fruit forward New World Aussie wine, we quickly ploughed our way through this as it proved a worthy companion to some very tender beef.

1126. 2009 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz (Margaret River - Australia)

Perhaps a little bit to our server's dismay, we still had dessert and some time to go before our driver was scheduled to come by. Guess that could only mean another bottle. Back to the Art Series and, this time, to Shiraz. Once again, the cooler climate of Margaret River shone through in that this is a Shiraz quite distinct from the much bigger wines we'd encountered in the Barossa and even McLaren Vale. The tannins were more subtle and the fruit more red than black. When drawn together with some savoury spice notes, it presented quite a contrast to the bigger Shiraz wines that I've come to associate with - and indeed enjoy from - Australia. It's a contrast that I may need to mull over some before making any decisions about. I'd would like to see what the wine is like with a bit of age on it though. This was still quite fresh.

The only unfortunate aspect of our visit to Leeuwin (other than our original waitress who seemed in a determined rush to get us through dinner) was that we didn't get an opportunity to take in the winery itself. I had hoped to visit the winery during the day as well to check out the grounds, the tasting room and the Art Series Gallery. The winery is supposedly quite stunning but we didn't get a chance to experience it all in on our dark and stormy night. Despite the possibility that we could make it happen, I wasn't going to hold my breath regarding the chance of making it back during the next day but the hope will always be there that I can revisit Leeuwin for a more encompassing stay.

For the mean time, I was quite content with our little visit. It was a great way to finish off our initial foray into Margaret River.

The Margarita River Road Trip

With the Carlton Blues winning the footy game last night, everyone was in fine spirits this morning - and we hadn't even had a drink yet.

We were hoping to remedy that situation sooner than later but first we needed to hit the road again. Visiting the Margaret River wine region has been on my Bucket List for some time now. With Merlot Boy and Margarita in tow, hopes were high for a bang-up weekend.

Indeed, as soon as we knew that Margarita would be joining us, Margaret River morphed into Margarita River and I may never think of the region by its original name again. It might be best, however, even if for blog purposes only, I still refer to Margaret River by its actual name. Can't be confusing the readers now, can I?

For me, Margaret River has just been a name that conjures romance and fine wine - two things that I'm rather fond of. Funny thing is that I've never really known a whole lot about the region. I think my fascination with it all stems from one bottle that I tried on my first visit to Australia in 1996. I've no memory of what the wine was or where I had it but, boy, did the name "Margaret River" ever stick in my mind. We don't see many wines from the region in our market, but I've generally found that the wines I do find generally hit the mark - and that certainly helps to keep the infatuation going.

Margaret River is about a three hour drive south of Perth and it's likely the best known - and likely the best regarded - wine region in Western Australia. It only accounts for 3% of Australia's total wine production but it certainly accounts for more than its share of highly sought wines. Although the region right around Perth has produced wine since 1829, that wasn't the case in M.R. - and, previously, Western Australia had never really been a powerhouse in Aussie wine as the Swan River region is noted as being one of the hottest viticultural regions in the world and, accordingly, not the best for growing premium wine grapes.

Margaret River, on the other hand, has been doing its best to make a mark in the wine world. It is able to rely on the cooling influence of breezes coming off the Indian Ocean and its prominence on the wine scene has continued to increase ever since the first significant vine plantings in 1967. Whereas the Swan Valley region around Perth accounted for 90% of all production in the state in the 1970's, it only accounts for 10% of it now. Margaret River has definitely taken the lead with over 120 producers now located in the region.

We'd teed up another intriguing spot to stay. Like Wroxton Grange, Boo's and my fuel stop in the Barossa Valley, we opted to stay at a working farm and winery in Margaret River. Lara and Jamie McCall have been operating Burnside Organic Farm since 1997 and it didn't take much of a perusal of their website to decide that the Burnside Bungalows looked very inviting. They lived up to all expectations - no, actually, they exceeded them. Our bungalow was marvellous; the grounds were exciting and the ability to wander freely and enjoy fresh produce from the garden made it all that more special.

After a quick check-in with Lara to take in the lay of the land, we jumped at the opportunity to hit a winery or two before all the cellar doors shut down for the day.

Lara pointed us in the direction of McHenry Hohnen - a boutique, family owned winery within hailing distance of Burnside Farm. Like most M.R. producers, I'd never heard of the winery. Once there, however, it was quickly apparent that there was a strong pedigree behind the wine. McHenry Hohnen was only established in 2004 but David Hohnen, Murray McHenry and their respective families had long histories in grape growing, winemaking and the selling of the finished product. Hohnen played an instrumental role in establishing Cape Mentelle (one of the few Margaret River wineries that I did know about in advance) and Cloudy Bay in New Zealand - and who hasn't heard of them?

The winery generally produces between 7000 and 9000 cases; however, they do have a fairly large option in deciding what to make. The extended family's three vineyards grow twelve different varietals, allowing plenty of choice - from Bordeaux, to Chardy, to Rhône varietals through others like Graciano and Tempranillo.

1122. 2011 HcHenry Hohnen Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (Margaret River - Australia)

We hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast - if you don't count the footy-themed jujubes that Margarita served up in the car - and the winery had a small kitchen and patio. They were just closing up, but they graciously agreed to put something together for some hungry Canucks. Naturally, we needed a bottle of wine to go with.

The wine was a great little, easy sipper for the patio and our grilled cheese - I can't recall what Aussie name they gave the sandwich but it was basically a case of a grilled cheese by any other name will taste as good. One of our favourite Aussie foods is passionfruit and there was a good little dose of it in our glass - on the nose and palate. There was a nice little bit of body on it as well that may have been "tweaked" by ageing a small portion of the wine in new oak and leaving it on its lees (spent yeast) for five months. The blend was almost equal - 56% Sem, 44% Sauv - and the bottle went down quickly.

It was a grand start to the weekend. I could easily see myself heading back to the winery if I were a local - particularly after seeing the incredible looking meat and olive oils that they grow and produce on top of the wines.

We stayed a tad longer than expected at McHenry Hohnen; so, we only had time to make one more winery visit. When I asked our hostess, Freya, for a suggestion out on the patio, she said that she probably had no choice but to recommend Cape Mentelle since one of their winemakers was sitting at the table next to us and could hear every word that was being said. As mentioned, Cape Mentelle was one of the wineries that I'd tried previously and had actually played a part in perpetuating my love-on for the region. Indeed, I've added two of their wines to The List since starting the blog. So, I guess they deserved a visit.

Cape Mentelle has been around since 1970 and, as such, is one of the pioneering wineries in Margaret River. The winery, while still under the direction of David Hohnen, played a major role in bringing attention to the quality of wine that Margaret River was capable of producing. The winery won the Jimmy Watson Trophy - the most prestigious wine award in Oz - for its 1982 Cab Sauv and then repeated the task in 1984 for the '83 vintage. If the wine world knew little of the region before, it was certainly taking notice now. Cape Mentelle was purchased by the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy conglomerate in in 2000 and it is still noted as one of the premium producers around.

We had a thorough tasting in the snazzy tasting room but I think poor Merlot Boy and Margarita were wondering what they'd gotten themselves into. Both are excellent drinkers - among the best we know - but any talk of phylloxera, battonage or limited drip irrigation and their eyes glaze over. Actually, Boo's probably did as well.

And as resident wine nerd, I had to accede to a sense that it was time to move on. I'm just going to have to keep an eye open for some of their wines when I get home - especially that Cab.

We had reservations for dinner that night at one of the premium winery restaurants anywhere - Leeuwin Estates - but that wasn't until 8.00. So, how do we pass the time? Duh. We go back to Burnside and break open a bottle of wine to enjoy on our patio overlooking the vineyard. Nothing rough about it IMHO.

1123. 2009 Release Non-Vintage Balnaves of Coonawarra Sparkling Cabernet Sauvignon (Coonawarra - Australia)

With only a couple of days left to our sojourn Down Under, Boo and I had to put some serious thought to lightening our stash of bottles that we'd picked up along the way. The Balnaves was first to go. The Aussies have had great success with Sparkling Shiraz, but this bottle we nabbed in Coonawarra was the first I can recall seeing where the bubbles were added to Cab Sauv.

Although the bottle is labelled as 2009, it is not a vintage wine. Rather, the Sparkling Cab is a blend of reserve wines from nine different vintages that are matured in a solera system. When the aged bottles are prepped for their final corking, they are topped up with a little something extra - in this case, the dosage was a vintage port with a touch of Shiraz juice concentrate to supplement the flavours.

Dark and concentrated are not descriptors I generally use with sparkling wines, but you surely can with this bubble. Granted, there might not have been tons of actual bubbles noticeable in the glass of the mouth but we all thought it was a nice wine to sit back and relax on the deck with.

That is, until it was time to start moving on to the much anticipated visit to Leeuwin Estate.

Rooting On the Blues

Merlot Boy and Margarita were flying into Perth early this evening but they weren't scheduled to arrive until just before the start of the Aussie Rules football game that we were going to take in. So, Boo and I planned to spend a leisurely day downtown and to enjoy a picnic in the Botanical Garden.

All I can say is that it was a good thing that we stopped to have a coffee before hitting the Garden. On the map, reaching Kings Park looked like a piece of cake. What the map didn't show was that there are limited entrances into the park and, wouldn't you know it, but we were walking and we had to pick the longest possible route - which also happened to be the path that required you to climb Jacob's Ladder, a well known series of steps up the cliff side that takes you past various historical markers. After cursing my chosen path, Boo enunciated his new catch phrase for every hill we encountered from thereon - "God must hate me."

Luckily, the Botanical Garden itself was worth the effort and featured some brilliant flora and fauna - and views. By the time, we'd reached the top of Jacob's Ladder, we found the first grassy field that might suit our picnic and we put our tired old feet to rest. Kings Park might be home to thousands of Western Australian and national plant species but all those eucalypts, boabs and banksia would just have to wait until we'd finished our lunch and taken a bit of a nap.

1121. 2009 Punters Corner Single Vineyard Chardonnay (Coonawarra - Australia)

Granted, the nap might have been a little more of a necessity due to the picnic featuring one of the bottles we'd picked up back in Coonawarra. We'd come to the realization that we definitely had to drink up some of the bottles we'd collected along the way. We still had Margaret River to go and we were already well over the number that we might get past Canada Customs without paying duty.

The Chardy just seemed to say take me first. We'd already opened a bottle of Punters Corner Shiraz back in Coonawarra. So, this was our last bottle from the little boutique winery and it's not too likely that we'll ever see it back home in Vancouver. The winery only makes about 7000 cases of wine in total, but they only made 350 cases of this Chardonnay. Regular readers will know that I get a bit of kick when trying something that is limited and unique.

Chardonnay may not be my favourite white wine but, when made well with limited interference and an even-handed use of oak, I can be swayed. Our bottle was anything but chilled by the time we opened it, but that just made the body and fullness stand out. The lack of chill might have diminished the fruit on the palate a bit but it didn't seem to put a crimp in our polishing off the bottle. It would have been interesting to try this bottle side by side with the Chapel Hill Chardy that we tried the other night.

After a brief nap in the park, we made our way back through the garden to the various war memorials and the panoramic city view. But, even amongst all the intriguing plants and views, the real highlight of our little jaunt was seeing a kookaburra up close and personal. We couldn't get the little guy to laugh but it was a treat all the same. He could be a drinking buddy of our's anytime.

After a quick freshening up back at the B&B, we made our way to the local stadium where, hopefully, Merlot Boy and Margarita would meet up with us. Unfortunately for me, the game was between the Freemantle Dockers and Carlton Blues but the Blues are Margarita's team and she scored us some incredible seats - about 8 rows up, immediately behind one of the goals. Talk about being up close and personal!

Me, I barrack for the West Coast Eagles - Perth's other team - but they were playing out of town this weekend. I have learned over the years, however, that I "barrack" for the Eagles and I don't "root" for them - at least not in Australia. Down Under, "rooting" apparently means to have sex. It does make for a bit of hoot when one of the biggest national brands back home is called "Roots" though. Wearing a Roots tee or sweatshirt is kind of de riguer for Canadians while abroad. I think most Aussies are aware of the cultural difference at this time, but I still like to root for my boys.

The kids' flight arrived a tad ahead of schedule and they made good time to the Stadium, arriving just before the start of the game. There was even time to hit the beer concession before the opening toss. Margarita didn't have to miss a single minute of her boys in Blue. And, indeed, she had plenty to cheer about tonight in that the Blues made easy work of the home town Dockers.

Merlot Boy's plan, following the game, was to try and meet up some old friends of his - Bluey and Rosie - who now lived in Perth. Both of them happened to be Blues' fans, like Margarita. Plus, it was Bluey's birthday to boot. As such, there was some hefty toasting and celebrating to be had amongst the gang, but being the old farts that we are, Boo and I only lasted one shout at the bar before we begged off to head home and get a little shut eye before heading down to Margaret River in the morning. Listening to Merlot Boy's tales the next morning, we might have been sorry that we left as early as we did, but it was easy for him to say though; he doesn't drive and could, therefore, sleep away as we drove the three hours south of Perth.

But it was great to have our little gang back together again after New Orleans - half way around the world and six months later. There was no doubt that there'd be some stories to tell after the weekend to come.

Westward Ho

With two previous trips to Australia under my belt, I'd managed to put check marks besides many of the country's major attractions and cities. I'd never made it out to Perth before though and I was particularly pleased that we'd managed to fit what writer, Bill Bryson, calls "the most isolated city in the world" into our itinerary this time around since two of my favourite facets of Aussie life are best found here - Margaret River wines and the West Coast Eagles.

Our flight from Adelaide was delayed an hour and a bit; so, we arrived in Perth sometime mid-afternoon. Just in time to check in at our B&B and wander some in the city's Central Business District (CBD). There were plenty of folks milling about but not much happening in the way of activity since it was ANZAC Day - a national holiday in the country - and most of the shops were closed. I'm not sure if it was appropriate (given that ANZAC Day honours fallen Australian soldiers) or just ironic, but it was abundantly apparent that there was an American Navy aircraft carrier in port. Many a sailor - and their admirers - were taking in the sights just like us. Particularly if those sights featured the sale of beer.

We'd allowed ourselves a couple of days to take in Perth and environs; then we were to be joined by Merlot Boy and Margarita. It didn't take a lot of coaxing on our part to talk our long-distance drinking buddies into flying out from Melbourne so that we could all take a bit of road trip down to wine country and re-live some of our team adventures from New Orleans last November.

Perth apparently has a bit of a reputation among cosmopolitan Sydneysiders and Melbournians. The big city folk often tell you that Adelaide is what Sydney and Melbourne were 20 years ago and that Perth is another 20 years behind Adelaide. Whether there's any truth to Perth's backward standing and redneck reputation, it is still the fourth biggest city in Australia with a population of 1.75 million - and, of all cities Down Under, it's got a boom town mentality going on because of all the mining activity that's going gangbuster in Western Australia.

None of that provincial squabbling was evident to Boo and I though. Our goal was to simply take it easy for those couple of days until the kids arrived for the weekend. Richard, our B&B host, tipped us off to some daytime activities and we opted to hop down to Freemantle for part of the day. After all, how could we pass up on a destination that lists harbour restaurants and the Capuccino Strip as two of its foremost highlights. That definitely sounded like the city was planned with Boo and I in mind.

On the way home from Freemantle, we took in Cottesloe, one of area's most famous beaches. Taking a dip in the Indian ocean was one of Boo's biggest desires for the trip and Cottesloe is as nice a strip of sand as you're going to find. It might not have been a classic beach day for the locals but it would seem that sad beach weather in Oz can still top water temperatures back home in Vancouver. I even had to break out the sunscreen for a bit.

It had been a fairly tame couple of days, but you know that, ultimately, I had to get back to the task at hand and add another bottle to The List. Going any longer than 40 hours without a glass of wine - while on vacation none-the-less - might just send my poor old body into shock.

1120. 2011 Fifth Leg Rosé (Western Australia)

Following our splash in the ocean, Richard pointed us in the direction of a restaurant that specializes in chili mussels - a local specialty. Sounded pretty tasty to us - even though we had to trust his word when we saw that we were the only table seated in the entire restaurant. The wine list was rather limited; so, we decided to go with our first local wine - and a rosé at that.

I'm not exactly exploring new shores too much here. We run across - and have enjoyed - Fifth Leg on occasion back home but the thought of rosé and mussels seemed so South of France-ish that it was an easy request of our server. Fifth Leg is a second label of Devil's Lair winery meant to be an accessible, easy-drinking wine - and it was.

Our Rosé wasn't shy in any way. A blend of Shiraz, Cab Sauv and Merlot; it's not a rosé pedigree we'd likely find back home. It started with big red fruit - almost to the point of talking strawberry wine - but a bracing acidity kicked in at the finish. Luckily for us, it worked with the heat and spiciness of our mussels. I don't know that a dry red or white would have been as welcome with this meal, but I'm not sure I'd want to drink a bottle on its own.

Ordering it also pointed out that we were going to be surprised at everything that we didn't know about wines in the region. The label says that this is a Western Australia wine - as it was made from grapes sourced from both Margaret River and Geographe - two of nine wine regions in Western Australia. I think I'd maybe heard of three or four before we arrived in Perth but we don't really see many wines from Western Australia back home and I wasn't aware of the fact that regionality was going to play such a big role in the wines out West.

Our wine certainly rocked the colour palate as well. Talk about your bright pink. We might have wanted to take another bottle along with us for the evening since, following dinner, we headed off to play a little drag queen bingo at a local watering hole. No strangers to gay bingo back home, we thought we might get a kick out of seeing what a Down Under version would be like. Our hostess, Hannah Conda, was a no nonsense, "get your bingo on" kind of gal with some of the biggest hair I'd ever seen. Very welcoming to out-of-town sailors too. Surprise, surprise.

To top off the evening, I won the last game of the evening. Thankfully, I got the gift certificate for a burger restaurant and not the rather endowed dildo. I'm sure the gal that was awarded that prize could put it to better use than me and I wouldn't have wanted to explain yet another noticeable souvenir to Canada Customs on top of all the wine we'd be taking home.

Next up, Merlot Boy and Margarita take us out to the ball game.

Unveiling McLaren Vale

Not too shabby of a view to wake up to, eh? This is the view from our front door of the Chapel Hill guest house.

Just walk a little closer to the vineyard and zoom in with the lens and, lo and behold, there's another roo just hopping along the edge of the vineyard - thankfully, I was told later, on the outside of the fence. It seems that roos are more of a pest than a national icon here as well - just like in the Barossa. I have to admit that, for us outlanders and North American types, it's still a bit of a thrill.

If we thought our time in the Barossa was insufficient, our McLaren Vale visit is going to seem non-existent. Unfortunately, yesterday's late arrival means that we only have today to try and take in as much of the region as we can. Our early flight out of Adelaide tomorrow means there won't be any leeway in timing to try and fit in a last minute visit either. With 90 wineries, give or take, in the region, there's plenty of ground available to cover. So, we tried to get an early start to the day. We quickly learned that nothing gets between our host, Damien Smith, and his morning coffee though - and this was an early indication that Boo was going to get along just fine with Damien.

Located about 40 minutes South of Adelaide, McLaren Vale has had as wine-laden a history as the Barossa in that the first vineyards were planted and the first winery built in 1835. I may not have known as much about McLaren Vale as I did about the Barossa Valley before we arrived, but the names of some of the region's early pioneers are no surprise to me - they're still celebrated in some of the best known Aussie brands: Reynella, Hardy's and Penfold's.

Chapel Hill's historic chapel hails from those early days as well, having been built in 1865. The winery, however, is a more recent arrival. The establishment of a winery was commenced in 1973 and it has seen a couple changes in ownership since that time. The winery currently owns around 110 acres - a third of them forming the winery vineyard and the remainder found not too far away in the foothills of the Mt Lofty Ranges. Damien loaded Boo and I into his wheels and took us on a great little tour of the winery vineyard - home to their bigger red varietals, comprised mostly of Shiraz, Cab Sauv and Mourvèdre. Damien also stopped to point out a block of Chardonnay that results in a wine that he doesn't think should even be possible. Given the terrain and climate, most vignerons would probably pass on the Chardy, but the Gorge Block perennially results in a wine that they feel is worthy of their "Icon Range."

After a great little ride through the vineyard, we moseyed back to the old chapel/cellar door where Damien walked us through an abbreviated tasting of some of their best. I say "abbreviated" only because he was late for a meeting he was supposed to be at and we were close to being an hour late for our one scheduled winery visit. We weren't about to pass on all the wines that we knew we wouldn't be able to find back home though - particularly their 2010 The Chosen House Block Shiraz. This was a special treat since they weren't really supposed to be even pouring it yet because it was meant to be revealed at the McLaren Vale Scarce Earth event in a couple of days.

Scarce Earth is an initiative to explore and celebrate the "geological climatic and soil diversity of the region." This year's event features 28 Shiraz wines - from 23 wineries - from the 2010 vintage. All the wines are single block sourced and were chosen by a panel of winemakers and industry experts as expressing "a unique flavour profile and personality." I was loving the wine but cursing the fact that we had to leave the region and would miss the actual event.

And, speaking of having to leave, if we hadn't forced ourselves to leave Chapel Hill's tasting bar, we would have missed our visit to Mollydooker. We were probably an hour and a half late for our appointment and I don't think even being on "Vale time" was going to pan out as an adequate excuse. The folks at Mollydooker were still incredibly gracious though. They'd originally arranged for us to meet with one of their guides; however, that opportunity was long gone by the time we finally showed. I honestly think that they would have been justified to say that we'd missed the boat. However, they not only re-worked a tour for us, they arranged for Tom, introduced to us a senior member of the winemaking team, to acquaint us with the operations.

We'd lined up the Mollydooker visit because of its popularity in certain circles of the market back home. I'm not overly familiar with the winery, but I certainly knew of Mollydooker and Sparky Marquis - another bigger than life Aussie and one of the principals (together with his wife Sarah) behind Mollydooker. Indeed, I know some pretty sophisticated palates back home that are big fans of the man and his wines. I wasn't aware, however, of the polarizing effect the winery has on wine folk Down Under. The mere mention of Mollydooker inevitably elicited an interesting response - or a lack of one altogether (one would assume out of professional courtesy) - from whomever we were talking to. I can only speculate but my guess is that Mollydooker's wines largely epitomize that big fruit, big alcohol bomb of a wine that folks either seem to love or hate.

I don't think Mollydooker does anything apologetically though. The winery was established in 2005 and the Marquis team strives to make the wines exactly the way they do - and that's big. An internet "war of words" broke out some years back when James Halliday, one of Australia's foremost wine scribes, said that Mollydooker wines were made specifically for the American market and for Robert Parker's palate. Halliday never slagged the wines; however, he said that the style didn't exactly suit his palate. He went on to say to that anyone looking specifically for that fruit bomb of a style could add five points to any score that he's given as that would be closer to an American-based score. Following that brouhaha, it doesn't appear that Halliday has ever reviewed another Mollydooker wine. But Halliday isn't all alone in his opinion, I've even read one writer refer to a Mollydooker wine as "the old-world wine lover's kryptonite."

This was all news after the fact for Boo and I.

It was interesting visit even without knowing all that. While Tom was certainly a great host and tour guide, it was pretty clear that Mollydooker has a vision and they stick to it. The actual name, Mollydooker, is Aussie slang for a left-handed person - which Sparky and Sarah both happen to be - and the sense that the winery dances to its own tune was immediately apparent upon our arrival. Everyone greets you with a left-handed handshake. A "welcome to the winery" photo is then taken in the greeting area and the tour starts with a short video presentation on the winery's patented "Vineyard Watering Programme."

During the tour, we were told of another patented winemaking technique that is unique to Mollydooker and that's their rating of a wine's quality by measuring "how far back on your tongue the velvety sensation of fruit goes, before the prickly sensation of tannin is exposed." Another quirk of their's is that they bottle their reds with nitrogen gas to help preserve the wines from oxygen so that they don't need to use as many sulphites. The nitrogen can apparently distract from the upfront fruit for the first two years of the wine's bottle life, however. So the Mollydooker Shake has been introduced whereby you vigorously shake the bottle when opening and serving their young wines. The explanation is that the shaking releases the nitrogen and the wine is restored to its original state - without all the additional sulphites.

Idiosyncrasies aside, these folks do know how to market their wine. Beyond the eye-catching labels and witty names, they have great tales to tell as well. Imagine the press the winery received when an entire palate of Mollydooker's flagship wine, Velvet Glove - which sells around $250 a bottle - was accidentally dropped off a forklift as it was being prepped for shipping to the States. That palate represented a third of the entire production for the vintage and was valued at $1 million. But I digress...

1118. 2010 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz (South Australia)

I was a little surprised in that we only had the opportunity to try one wine while visiting Mollydooker. Now, that might have been necessitated by the fact we were so late in arriving; however, I was even more surprised when Tom re-capped the bottle of Blue Eyed Boy and handed it to us as we were preparing to leave. An incredibly nice gesture - especially when the bottle retails at $50 in Australia. Looks like Boo and I had a bottle of wine for back at the guest house.

Boo's and my takes on certain wines are often polar opposites. I wouldn't say that they're old world versus new world, but I do like a bigger bounce of fruit on the palate than he does. Interestingly enough, we fell right into that whole love/hate spectrum that Mollydooker so regularly encounters. Boo didn't care much for the abundant and dark fruit and residual sweetness. I didn't mind it.

There's no doubt that Mollydooker is one highly intriguing winery though.

After a quick lunch, our next stop was Wirra Wirra - a winery with quite the unique vision of its own. From its monolith bottle made out of corks at the winery entrance to the giant post-and-rail fence named Woodhenge to a working catapult that they use to launch watermelons at neighbouring properties, there's no shortage of "tales, tall and true" here either. Wirra-squared has a good little presence back home - particularly with their Church Block and Scrubby Rise blends. Both are well known as great bang for buck wines. Despite wanting to visit wineries that I didn't really know already, I'd met up with Julian Forward, the winery's sales manager, back at the Vancouver Playhouse Festival and he recommended that we drop in for a visit to check out some of the wines that don't make it to our market.

Knowing that our time in McLaren Vale wasn't likely to have a firm schedule to it, I didn't set up an actual time to meet up with Julian. Turns out that he was on a conference call when we showed up. Luckily, they have an extensive list of wines and we tasted our way through a good number of them. The call was a long one and, ultimately, we needed to move on without greeting Julian. However, much to our surprise, there was a bottle of The Absconder Grenache, one of their flagship wines, and a baseball cap waiting for us back at Chapel Hill when we arrived home. These Aussies certainly know how to make guests feel welcome.

Boo and I opted to fit in one more big gun. I've enjoyed many a d'Arenberg wine over the years and they too have an extensive list of wines - most of which don't make it to our market back home. The wildly inventive names for their wines - and sometimes off-the-wall labels - had me really wanting to find out a little more about them behind the scenes. We didn't have an opportunity to take in anything more than the tasting room but, once again, we certainly gave their list a very thorough working.

In fact, it wasn't until more than a dozen wines later that Boo and I finally hit the road. True to our palates, Boo's favourite wine was the 2009 Coppermine Road Cab Sauv and mine was the 2009 Blewitt Springs Grenache. Luckily for Boo, the Coppermine Road can be found in Vancouver. I won't be so lucky. The Blewitt Springs is part of The Rare Collection, is a sub-regionally sourced wine and doesn't see our shores. Good thing I got the chance to try it when I did.

Boo's day was done. So, we made our way back to Chapel Hill. Since, we had these marvellous facilities, we decided to cook at the guest house. Boo had limited his tastings through the day and played designated driver; so, I volunteered to head into town to pick some groceries. I thought I'd better make one last stop along the way though.

Damien - and a number of other folks - had recommended that we visit Samuel's Gorge, a boutique winery just around the corner from Chapel Hill. There was still about 15 minutes before the Cellar Door was scheduled to close - just enough time for a quick taste and visit. I was greeted by the very friendly Alex who willingly stayed well past closing to walk me through their line-up of very tasty reds. They only make 3000 cases; so, I'm guessing that I'm not likely to ever see their wines back home. Definitely my loss - especially since they've got an interesting take on a Tempranillo where they're attempting to bridge the characteristics of Spanish and Aussie profiles. I did, however, decide to stretch our Canada Customs limits a little further in that I picked up a bottle of the Grenache. I couldn't leave Oz without being able to add at least one bottle of Samuel's Gorge to The List.

1119. 2011 Chapel Hill - The Chosen Gorge Block Chardonnay (McLaren Vale - Australia)

But speaking of adding bottles to The List, what more could we ask for than the opportunity to leisurely enjoy the evening in delightful surroundings while sipping away on a bottle of wine where the grapes were grown and the wine was made mere steps from you sit? I kind of live for opportunities like this. It doesn't hurt that the wine goes down as nicely as this either. This is the Chardonnay that Damien said really shouldn't work. We'll join him it saying that it does.

Part of Chapel Hill's Icon Range, there were only 300 cases of this wine made. So, while Boo and I might have missed all the action of vintage and harvest on this trip, we did luck out on our timing for snagging one of these bottles. We were told that the 2011 vintage was a cool one in McLaren Vale and that played nicely into the retention of acidity and big citrus notes that melded nicely with the stone fruit and the rich mouthfeel that resulted from the extended lees contact (lees being the spent yeast cells cast aside during the ageing of the wine). Much to my approval, the use of oak was nicely tempered. No "oak monster" evident with this glass of wine.

Indeed, the only monster we were facing was one of time. All in all, however, it was a rather enjoyable day I'd say. Too bad our McLaren Vale visit has to come to an end so quickly. I think we need to make arrangements to come again. The sooner, the better.

Next Stop: McLaren Vale

As much as we might have wanted to extend our stay in the Barossa, we really did need to hit the road - and, a long and winding one it was.

Boo was continually amused by the "watch for" wildlife signs. I'm sure we must have warning shots of kangaroos, echidnas, koalas and, now, emus. We never actually saw any critters crossing the road; so, I'm wondering if the signs are simply posted for the tourists, but we certainly kept our eyes open.

As mentioned, the road to McLaren Vale was fun driving. Damien Smith, our new buddy for life at Chapel Hill Winery, forwarded us a scenic route to follow and, indeed, it took us through winding hills, bucolic countryside and quaint towns - all while avoiding the main highway. Only problem was that we didn't have a map and our GPS, Marco, kept wanting to take back to the interstate and have us "reach our destination" all that much sooner. I had to reset Marco after reaching each town - Birdwood, Oakbank, Bridgewater, Aldgate, Upper Sturt, I'm sure you get the picture. By the time, we hit Ironbank, I figured we must be getting close to the end. After all, there was only Cherry Gardens and Clarendon to go. Why not just program Marco for Chapel Hill.

Things seemed good.

At first.

Then we hit a road that was definitely not so much like the others. It was still windy and hilly - but now it was dirt. Yeah, and I suppose I shouldn't leave out the potholes that were aplenty. We carried on for a couple miles and concluded that this likely wasn't the intended road - and we immediately began thinking of a couple dirt roads we encountered driving in Oman some years back. They got so bad that we had to give up on the sites we were off to see and just turn around. We hadn't quite reached that point yet - especially since Marco kept telling us to keep going - but we were definitely wondering.

Ultimately, it became evident that we were on a service road that took us by a regional water reservoir. We kept our fingers crossed and kept going and eventually reached some residential countryside. Marco was still egging us on; so, we followed his lead. Luckily, the road was smooth from there on but we definitely wondered for a bit.

Our destination, however, was everything we could have hoped for AND MORE! I'd met Damien at the Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival over the last couple of years and he set me on to Chapel Hill's accommodation as a travel option. He casually mentioned that the winery had some rooms that I might be interested in. Little did I know that we'd arranged to stay in the most luxurious guest house around. Not only did we have the guest house to ourselves but it immediately fronted onto one of the estate vineyards, was well-located to visit other wineries and had its own little garden that we were encouraged to make use of when it came to meals.

Heaven! Which might be entirely appropriate seeing as how we're staying at Chapel Hill.

Our delayed start and extended road trip set us back a bit and we didn't arrive until late afternoon; so, Boo wanted to settle in and take a bit of a nap. I ran down the road to fit in a quick wine tasting at Coriole - one of the neighbouring wineries that Damien suggested I visit. Known for its Italian varietals that compliment the regular Aussie grapes, it was intriguing to try Fiano, Sangiovese, Barbera, Sagratino and Nebbiolo. They weren't exactly all that reminiscent of the Italian bottles we see back home though. There was no way I was going to be able to pick up any more bottles to take home, but I surely would have liked to bring along a bottle of Sangiovese Shiraz. I'm not sure I'll run into that blend on many more occasions.

I did have to thank my host at the cellar door. I saw she had a computer there and she graciously let me check the score of the Canucks playoff game. I figured the game would be over back in Vancouver and I'd been praying that the Canucks might pull out another win and bring the series back to 3 games to 2. No such luck. L.A.'s mastery of the boys had continued and we lost it in overtime. Buggah!! Thankfully, she quickly poured another glass of wine to help drown the sorrow. I did think it was rather cheeky of the bloke at the bar though when he asked if I was going to start a riot after the loss. I guess word of last year's Stanley Cup riot had even reached rural Australia. I told them that the only riot I was looking for was a "riot of flavour in my mouth."

On returning to Chapel Hill, Boo and I took a bit of a wander through the vineyard just before dusk started to settle in. Unfortunately, the grapes had all been harvested but it was still a great introduction to our stay and to what was to come in the day ahead. Damien and the winery gang recommended that we carry on down to the Hotel McLaren - a celebrated and historical hotel in the region that offered up tasty tucker and a great wine list. They'd actually just filled the last table in the dining room and there were no seats together in the bar; so, they offered to seat us out on the balcony - despite the fact that none of the locals were out there because of the weather. The hotel staff figured that, since we were Canadian, we wouldn't have any problem with the cool night air - besides we'd end up with the best view of the ocean and Adelaide in the distance that the restaurant had to offer. We took them up on the offer and things weren't as bad as we might have expected when they turned on an outdoor heater.

Damien had told us, excitedly, that the Hotel had a great wine list - with superb prices. He didn't mention the best part of the wine list - and that's that there is no wine list. Rather, you simply head downstairs into the hotel's cellar and look through their extensive collection and pick your bottle. I don't know if I've ever seen such an array of Aussie wines. I'm sure that virtually every iconic winery (if not wine) was represented there. That was one fun room to dawdle around in. If only I had one just like it back home.

As it turned out, however, I didn't go with one of the big guns that was available. Rather, I don't think I had any choice except to pick a very reasonably priced wine from a winery I'd never heard of before. It didn't even have a label that was so eye-catching that you were compelled to buy it. I think you'll understand though.

1117. 2006 Halifax - Coach House Cabernet (McLaren Vale - Australia)

For those of you that don't know, my last name is Halifax and I had no idea that there was a Halifax winery in Australia - or anywhere else for that matter. I'd have likely risked the bottle regardless of the circumstances, but I figured it had to be at least a half decent plonk considering the company that it was keeping. And, you know what, it was better than half decent and well beyond plonk. We had it with one of the best lamb chops I think I've ever had in my life and the wine matched it beautifully.

The label didn't tell us an awful lot, but, upon leaving the restaurant, I found out that Halifax is a small boutique winery in the region that's been around for for a dozen years. They only make about a thousand cases and most of that is Shiraz, grown on the winery's estate vineyard. The proprietors (who are named Butcher and Tasker, not Halifax) aim for single vineyard wines that see minimal interference, with little oak and no filtration or fining. They have made wine with grapes from other vineyards when the right fruit presents itself and where the growers share a similar outlook on production. The fruit for our Coach House Cab apparently came from the same vineyard that produces some of the fruit that goes into Penfolds Bin 707 - a multi-regional wine that is often referred to as a "benchmark Australian Cabernet Sauvignon."

Neither as big as Barossa, nor as earthy as Coonawarra, the Halifax Cab was a nice introduction to the middle ground that McLaren Vale is often seen as.

There was no way of knowing if we might be able to fit in a bit of a visit to the winery, but I was certainly pleased with finding the bottle for the evening's dinner. But no time for any more wine, Chapel Hill and our luxurious digs beckoned.