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So it’s Fathers’ Day this Sunday. If your family’s anything like mine, you’re trying to think of what to buy a bloke who doesn’t know one end of a power tool from the other.
My dad may not know his whipper from his snipper, but he does love his wine, as I do, and there’s a few ideas I have in mind for him.
It’s my second Father's Day this year – last year we were living in New Zealand and spent the day in Central Otago drinking fantastic pinot noir – and I’m hoping that Sunday brings some sort of vinuous treat from my little Miriam. If it’s a wine from her birth year, 2008, even better.
Hopefully, the ideas in this column provide my family, and me for that matter, with some Father's Day inspiration.
Gadgets
A man can never have too many gadgets. Even with the rise of the screwcap, there is still a need for a good corkscrew. I have been using a Laguiole number with a beachwood handle (they come in bone and horn as well) and while it’s just a fancy waiter’s friend, I’ll use it for the rest of my life. www.laguiole.com
If your dad loves a glass of wine but doesn’t like to drink every day, there’s a brilliant gadget called Winesave, which I’ve been using lately to help an open bottle last more than a day or two.
The minute wine is bottled, it starts to oxidise and deteriorate. While this is a slow process that can help some wines to mature and build complexity, it’s vastly accelerated as soon as the bottle is opened and is the reason your open bottle goes bad quite quickly.
Winesave is simply a can of the inert gas argon, which, as it is heavier than air, provides a barrier between the wine and oxygen and doesn’t react with the wine. I’ve gassed up white wine and left it in the fridge for a week, to find the wine as fresh as the day it was opened.
www.winesave.com
Glasses
Glasses and decanters are always a good thing to give – and receive. I have received Riedel products for almost every milestone for the past five years and have literally run out of room in my cupboard for any more.
If I did have more cupboard space, I’d definitely consider a new range of stemware called Plumm, which was designed in Australia and is made in Slovakia. There are a few levels of price (and quality) ranges, and each has glasses suited to different wine styles. For the man who has everything, the hand-made Vintage range comes in a stylish presentation box with a polishing cloth.
Wine
And, of course, there is wine. If you’re going to splash out on wine, you want to make a statement. You could go for a wine that has been decorated at wine shows or in print, or one with a pedigree for ageing. A good cabernet sauvignon fits the bill perfectly. It’s a crowd-pleaser and has the ability to age really well. Another option, if your father already has a cellar full of cab sav, is a fortified from the Rutherglen region. The wines have a great heritage in the Australian wine world and are one of the often-overlooked bargains in Australian wines.
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Love A Bargain?
Chambers Rosewood Muscat NV (Rutherglen)
$16; 18.5% a/v
4/5
Food match: Chocolate tart
This is an entry-level Rutherglen muscat – one of the great treasures of Australian wine – and it’s aged in giant wooden casks. It has rich aromas of raisins, orange rind, tobacco and muscatels. It’s the colour of caramel, which sets you up for sweet (but not sickly) fresh raisin and candied-peel flavours. There’s a touch of plum pudding lurking, too. It’s luscious and well-rounded in the mouth. We regularly serve muscat with chocolate-based desserts at home.
TASTINGS \ DRINK THIS
Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (Great Southern, Margaret River)
$85; 14% a/v
5/5
Food match: Lamb shanks braised in red wine and mustard
This has been highly acclaimed by several wine writers recently. It’s a beauty. It has delightful aromas and long, rich flavours of redcurrants, cassis, violets and blackberries, which are well supported by classy cedar oak. It’s the sublime structure of this that makes it the complete
package – powerful, yet still soft with lovely acid and excellent tannins.
Coriole Mary Kathleen Cabernet Merlot 2007 (McLaren Vale)
$50; 13.5% a/v
4½/5
Food match: Breast of lamb Sainte-Menehould
Best-known for deep, powerful reds, McLaren Vale has a habit of surprising with elegant wines from time to time. This is a delightful example. It’s complex, that’s for sure, with aromas of red berries, rose petals, classy cigar-box oak, liquorice and blueberries. Bright flavours on the palate include blackcurrant and chocolate and there are lovely, fine-grained tannins. It’s highly enjoyable now, but will age gracefully.
Wynns Glengyle Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (Coonawarra)
$42; 14% a/v
4½/5
Food match: Roast lamb shoulder
Each year, Wynns picks a “premium parcel” from a single vineyard to bottle separately as its own wine. This offering comes from vines planted in 1969. Super, complex aromas including blackcurrant, dark cherry, mint, chocolate and cedar oak drag you back for another sniff between sips. It’s packed with similar flavours, with additional spicy, savoury notes. There’s great structure that bodes well for ageing and the length is excellent.
Houghton Gladstones Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Margaret River)
$72; 14% a/v
5/5
Food match: Saltimbocca alla Romana
I actually drank this with my dad a few weeks ago and we were impressed. He was too busy drinking it to help with the notes, by the way. It smells of mulberries, blackberries, chocolate and cedar oak and flavours of cassis and mint take a back seat to the wine’s structure. It’s perfectly balanced with firm, powdery tannins providing a silky mouthfeel and length that goes on and on.