The Northern Rivers Times
October 26, 2023
42 WINE
Grape Expectations by Max Crus
Max Crus is a Clarence Valley-based wine writer and Grape Expectations is now in its 26th year of publication. Find out more about Max or sign up for his weekly reviews and musings by visiting maxcrus.com.au
Power to the people.
Max Crus
very now and then something makes you realise just how things have changed, notwithstanding that judging by voting preferences there appears to be many people who still think itís 1953. One such thing that highlights how different the world is today is the electrification of cars. In the olden days, boys had loud exhausts and drove like idiots mistakenly believing
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that not only would it attract girls, but the police somehow wouldnít notice. Thatís how adolescent boy brains work and it makes you wonder how so many survivedÖbut we did. Thanks Mum. The louder your car (or motorcycle) the better, the lower your car the better and the more rubber you could leave on the road the better, and with petrol at 2 shillings per tank, no-one cared about
the cost or the planet. But thatís all changed. Sure thereís still die-hard hotheads cruising around oblivious that the world has changed, but new kids on the block now know just how good electric is, despite what Scott Morrison said, and I too have succumbed and moved into a realm where batteries are leading the charge and the astonishing, unintended consequence is theyíre
making the world not only cleaner but safer. Nowadays, instead of seeing who can get to the next set of traffic lights first, range is the crucial thing, along with how much money you can save, so EV drivers strive for the utmost out of their batteries and driving accordingly. And you reckon weíre not smug about it? Sure if we pull up alongside a hot Commodore
the temptation to put the foot down is immense, and so we do, if only to remind them that Scott Morrison didnít have a clue. Yes, even cheap electric vehicles go like rockets. And weíre smug about that too. And now when we cruise past those chicks weíre thinking ìhey, listen to this babe, yeah, nothiní. How cool is quiet?î Or ìwatch this girlsî, as you accelerate like a space
shuttle into the next suburb forgetting that they didnít even know you were there. Yes, the new way to attract a partner is to park your car, not drive it like a drongo. Women (and men) arenít stupid, they know how much a fully specíed Tesla costs and they want some of that. Theyíll probably think they might get some of these to go with it :
Four Winds Vineyard Canberra District Merlot, 2021, $38. Who doesn’t love a wine that gets better the next day? Alas those that do, like this one, may well be even better the next, but who will ever know, they never last that long. 9.4/10. Four Winds Vineyard Canberra District Shiraz
2021, $39. There is something quite floral and fragrant about this which is a bit startling at first, but it quickly grows on you and you come to appreciate it as quite lovely. 9.4/10. Sevenhill Clare Valley Inigo Grenache RosÈ 2023, $27. Very pale rosÈ but just as we cannot tell anything about a person
by their colour, except how susceptible they are to ultraviolet radiation, neither can you a wine. However since itís hard to avoid mis’ and pre’ conceptions, this packs way more punch than expected. 9.3/10. Sevenhill Clare Valley (Vaulted Cellar) Shiraz 2020, $50. You would hope
a cellar full of $50 bottles would be vaulted and probably have a security camera too, because Clare Valley shiraz is a highly sought after commodityÖin our house at least. 9.5/10. Hey Tomorrow & Koerner Brothers Clare Valley Blanc 2023, $65 (2 Litre cask). $65 is a fair whack for a 2-litre cask,
but that’s 2.66 bottles, less than $25 each and these are the sexiest casks known to mankind. Renowned Princes of packaging, Apple, will be jealous and the wine is fine. 9.2/10. Hey Tomorrow & Koerner Brothers Clare Valley RosÈ 2023, $65 (2 Litre cask). This would not be out of place in the
boot of your TeslaÖdo they even have boots? Sensible savoury rosÈ in gorgeous packaging that perfectly matches the modern vernacular. It’s even greener than your Tesla and 50% of the profits go towards helping the planet. 9.3/10.
