The 2006 Clonakilla Syrah no doubt deserves a full tasting note, but I was much too caught up in the moment when sharing this wine with Chris in New Zealand, and much too lazy to write it up while it was still fresh in my memory. I remember, enough, though. Chris and I found this a tad darker in flavour profile than its Viognier-partnered sibling, perhaps a little denser and meatier. But without a comparative tasting, one can’t be sure. I can say that we found it an extraordinary wine, complex, almost labyrinthine, but in the best way. It seemed less obvious than the Collector Shiraz tasted a few days earlier, with more integrated oak and a slightly more sophisticated, detailed flavour profile. Quite a feat, as the Collector wine is lovely.

More recently, I retasted my favourite 2005 Riesling, the Seppelt Drumborg Riesling. Amazing how little this has moved, but fascinating now to see where it is starting to head. For the first hour, this seemed even more austere than I remembered, consisting almost entirely of texture and minerality. Not that I mind this at all — in fact, I’m a sucker for wines that seem to exist on the edge of impossibility. The next day, a wholly new dimension had opened up that may indicate this wine’s future. No obvious bottle age (eg toast, honey), but a relaxation of structure, allowing crystalline citrus fruit to cascade over the tongue. Still incredibly tight, mind, but moving slowly from acid and sherbet to vibrant, focussed fruit. I will continue to track its evolution with interest.