As a change
from the $10-or-under wines from Dan Murphy's in Lismore, I decided to try a
random selection for under $15.
The best of
this chance choice as a 2009 Gentlemen's Agreement Heathcote Viognier. Viognier
for me is the Chardonnay you have when you're not having Chardonnay. It's
fruity (apricot-y) and has depth with a warm, creamy mouthful. Oddly enough, when
I looked closely at the label, it as a wine made for Dan Murphy's by Bruce
Tyrrell. The label perhaps should have been an indication: black print on
parchment white, with imitative handwriting on the back.
I picked up a
2011 Bridgewater Mill, Adelaide Hills, Chardonnay thinking it as a Bethany,
with a little voice inside telling me that it was cheap for Bethany. Never
ignore that little voice. Nevertheless this as a very pleasant, drinkable
Chardonnay.
The rest of
my chance choices were forgettable, including a more expensive ($20) 2011 Bird
in Hand Pinot Rosé which friends had said was good. That little, ignorable
voice was telling me they may have meant the sparkling. And one of my sisters was
coming to stay, and we usually compete over finding good Rosés. But it was
undistinguished.
Taking that
sister to Ballina airport meant stopping at Aldi to pick up supplies. The
Ballina Aldi has a small liquor outlet. I expected to find exotics like a South
African Chenin Blanc, but found a Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills, 2012 Airdre.450,
Airdre meaning altitude, for under $5, made for Aldi. This, also, was very
drinkable.
I keep
chasing what is now a mythic Adelaide Hills Chardonnay made by Ashton Hills,
that I drank with my partner and mother and father, not long before my father's
death, at the Uraidla Aristologist (once upon a time, too, run by the famous
foodies Michael Symons & Jenifer Helliers). If you
ever see an Ashton Hills (a rare sight!), do try it: they're delicious,
stunning, and unforgettable.
