The Wine Blokes

Some times you find an old bottle of wine that you are sure isn’t going to be anything special, if at all drinkable. The label is old, faded, and dusty. The cork is cracked or seeping, and really you may aswell dispose of the enitre bottle without putting yourself throught he chore of disappointment. I’ve had this experience too many times to mention.

Then, to some astonishment, one of these bottles actually happens to look pretty good, almost great, and you wonder how it has survived intact.  We tasted an old bottle of 1987 Brigewater Mill Riesling the other night. Sure, 1987 is not that long ago, but for an Aussie Riesling it’s quite ancient, and we all predictably agreed that it wasn’t going to be any good.  Just like I said, the label was bare, faded, dusty, cracked. The cork was the same with a large glob of brown viscous goo seeping between glass and cork.

But it was good. Brian Croser and Petaluma have been critized by a few that the wines are too generic, made too sterile, and the attention payed to hygiene and process resulted in wines that lacked character.  Try and find another 1987 Riesling that has as much character, freshness, and oomph as the Brigewater Mill.  Sure it was a little developed, but not with overly kerosene or petrol aromas, but more delicate caramel and melon aromas and flavours. The acid was amazing still, with a crispness hard to find in much younger RIeslings.

If you get a chance, try and find some of this wine. Maybe a friend has some deep in the cellar, or under a bed somewhere, or in the garden shed. Sure, the bottle you find may be buggered, but if find one like the one we drank the other night, you’ll never suggest that Riesling is only good for a couple of years.

If you have no luck, you can always contact Brigewater Mill via their website.