Brian Gaffy answered the phone, ‘Yes, I’m the winemaker’ he said, ‘What time do you think you’ll be here? I’ll make sure I’m at the house and you can do some tasting.’
We arrived at Clair de Lune Vineyard at 4.30 on a Monday afternoon and Brian appeared, rosy cheeked and slightly dishevelled, with an armful of bottles and a tray of glasses. He had obviously been labouring out among the vines all day, as had Evie the dog, who greeted us enthusiastically and, despite our interruption to their working day, the welcome could not have been warmer. We sat at a dusty table on the deck, looking out to the vines. I was in love with this unpretentious place already.
Brian spent the best part of an hour, taking us on a journey that started at his 2004 Sparkling Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, moved lightly through a surprising 2008 Sauv Blanc, lingered on a 2006 Pinot Noir and ended sweetly in a 2008 Quince Liqueur (there were other stops along the way, too). Brian delighted in our responses to each wine and helped us to identify some of the fruit flavours, colouring the experience with his generous anecdotes.
My wine pick was the 2006 Clair de Lune Pinot Noir which, we discovered, was featured in the June/July 2008 Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine. I loved the balance of dark cherry flavours and toasty French oak in this Pinot. I also ordered a couple of bottles of the 2006 Clair de Lune Triolet, a blend of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet, with a gorgeous red colour and white pepper, cherry and plum flavours. Another fav’ of the JAM research team was the crown sealed 2006 Clair de Lune Sparkling Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, a flavoursome sparkly, with good citrus flavours and a creamy palate.
The JAM team ordered a mixed dozen and Brian gave us an extra bottle to our dozen, plus a 2004 Sparkling Pinot Noir to try (stay tuned). He and Evie helped us into the car and invited us to a wine event at Clair de Lune in November. We will certainly be back for that...and most likely on a regular basis for more of those mixed dozens!
(Clair de Lune Vineyard is at Lot 8805 South Gippsland Highway, Kardella South, Victoria 3951)
Written by Jo Broom (c)
(Clair de Lune Vineyard is at Lot 8805 South Gippsland Highway, Kardella South, Victoria 3951)
Written by Jo Broom (c)
1 comment:
Sparkling Pinot Noir, I can't wait to read the review. Since I've moved to Canada I've gained a real appreciation for the ingenuity of Australian wine makers. Sparkling Pinot Noir is a great example of Australian’s forging their own path and pushing the traditional wine making boundaries.
I will visit the South Gippsland area on my next trip home.
Thanks for the post.
M
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