It was just what I needed after the long, tortuous ride through rush-hour traffic. Bracing. Vibrant. And absolutely refreshing. There was the temptation to down the contents of the glass in one swift swig, but prudence prevailed. The lightness of sparkling wine is deceptive. Too much, too fast can spell disaster. A proffered platter of dainty Scotch eggs provided relief. (And eggs go so well with bubbly too!) More wine, ma’am? The refill was as pleasurable as it was necessary.
The Jansz Premium Vintage Cuvée Brut 2008 began the Yalumba wine dinner at the New World Manila Bay Hotel’s The Fireplace, famous for its meat menu and the open, wood-fired grill. How can this bubbly, a 2008, be so incredibly fresh and yet so complex? Lemon curd, toasted nuts, buttery brioche framed by zesty citrus. Because that is made using Champagne’s méthode traditionnelle and also with the Champagne grapes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Petit Meunier, explained Tim Hermann, Yalumba regional sales manager for Asia.
In the mid-1980s, Champagne Roederer had collaborated with the winery (then known as Heemskerk before the Yalumba ownership), so impressed by Tasmania’s (and the Jansz vineyard’s) growing conditions for sparkling wine production. Jansz has the distinction of being Tasmania’s first premium sparkling wine made using Champagne’s méthode traditionnel (méthode Tasmanoise in Yalumba, said Hermann) and continues to be the most highly regarded sparkling wine producer in Australia.
But impressive as the Jansz Premium Vintage Cuvée Brut was, the buzz at dinner was about Yalumba’s top-tier red wines, The Signature and The Octavius. Not that the top Yalumba whites are no less compelling. Viognier stands out as a Yalumba specialty, making the winery one of the most prestigious producers of Viognier in the world. Yalumba’ s chief winemaker, Louisa Rose, is celebrated for her work with Viognier and the creation of The Virgilius Viognier, Yalumba’s iconic white wine.
The Virgilius didn’t make it to dinner, but the Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2014 did—rich, refreshing; peach compote brightened by orange peel. A botrytized Viognier also made an appearance with the dessert course, redolent of honeyed apricots and marmalade, sweetness held in check by a seam of citrus. With the meat courses (duck, slow-roasted beef, braised beef cheek), The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz 2006 and The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2012 were joined by the Yalumba Hand-Picked Shiraz-Viognier 2010.
Shiraz stars in the Yalumba reds, whether solo and from centenarian vines in The Octavius; blended with Cabernet Sauvignon in The Signature for an outstanding example of the classic Australian Cabernet-Shiraz tandem; or with a touch of Viognier in allusion to the Rhone’s Côte Rotie. There was a floral note of violets underneath sweet spice, licorice and dark cherries in the Hand-Picked Shiraz-Viognier 2010. The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2012, taut and muscular, had the same dark fruit, but laced with espresso. I found The Octavius Barossa Old Vine Shiraz 2006 dense and opulent, the aromas of licorice, ripe black plums and something meaty (like bacon) intermingled in one tight mesh. Fresh. Restrained. Elegant. The words to describe the Yalumba reds were scribbled on my wine-stained menu card.
The Hill-Smith family has owned and operated Yalumba since 1849, making it Australia’s oldest family-owned winery.
With vineyards in Tasmania and the Barossa, it produces close to 1 million bottles annually, making it one of the biggest wineries in the region. It also has its own cooperage, the only winery to have barrel-making facilities in the southern hemisphere. That’s about it about the winery, Hermann said, after the requisite spiels.
He let the wines do the rest of the talking.
But with the strawberry sorbet-white chocolate-and-meringue dessert, the Jansz Tasmania Vintage Cuvée 2008 had plenty more to say than the Yalumba Bortrytis Viognier 2012.
VINOFILE
- Yalumba wines are imported and distributed by Philippine Wine Merchants (www.pwm.com.ph, sales@pwm.com.ph) and are available at Ralph’s Wine stores.
- The Fireplace, New World Mania Bay Hotel, 1588 Pedro Gil corner M. H. del Pilar, Manila
Yalumba makes Viogniers covering the dry and sweet styles as well as the different price points: Y Series Viognier, Organic Viognier.
