REMEMBER a time, fellow Poms, when the Aussie cricket team was invincible? It was the same, too, with their wines back in the Eighties when Coonawarra Cabernet, Barossa Shiraz and all those voluptuous Chardonnays that left oaky splinters in your throat unleashed up-front fruit into an Old World wine culture resting on its laurels. 

...in the £10 to £20 bracket the country is producing truly world-beating wines

By the Millennium, the Oz infatuation seemed over – there were other New World floozies on the budget block. Yet – and don’t be coy – we all still bought shedloads of their commercial wines via supermarket two for one offers (still do). All of which diverted us from exploring the real quality to be found Down Under. That’s changing – certainly in the beyond-entry-level £10 to £20 bracket.

A major reason for our resurgent enthusiasm for Australian wines is Matthew Jukes, who champions them fiercely in his influential weekend Daily Mail column and, more specifically in his 100 Best Australian Wines Roadshow, now in its thirteenth year, which rolls into Manchester on Saturday, November 12.

Nearly 50 of the wines that made it into the Top 100 list in his 2016/17 Australian Wines Report will feature, but the ones that didn’t make the cut in a roster that includes well-known names like Brokenwood, Tyrrell’s, Leasingham, Hardy’s, Yalumba, Brown Brothers, Grant Burge, Penfolds and Tim Adams, alongside boutique minnows such as First Drop, Larry Cherubino, Fox Gordon, Paringa Estate, Lake Breeze, Innocent Bystander, Yabby Lake, Giant Steps, Mitolo, Skillogalee, and Riposte, as well a first timer in the UK market, Gundog Estate, owned by the Burton family.

Very exciting stuff'Very exciting stuff from the Hunter Valley'

Tell me about Gundog, Matthew? “The first bottles are arriving about now. Very exciting stuff from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. This is the traditional home for Semillon white wines, searingly dry, built for ageing. Gundog’s are quite different, richer with a hint of residual sugar, quite floral, with aromas of Japanese tea.”

Oh, and the winery is named after Karl Marx, the Burtons’ cocker spaniel who features as the Gundog on the label, even though he hates the sound of gunfire.

You can tell that Matthew’s heart lies with the family operations, even much larger ones. His 'Winery of the Year’ (a favourite of mine) is Jim Barry Wines from South Australia’s Clare Valley. The reason? “Everywhere you look the Barry wines are delicious, fairly-priced and made with love. They offer memorable top-end wines such as The Armagh Shiraz but at the other end of the spectrum Lodge Hill Riesling and Shiraz, which are among the best value £10 bottles in the world.

“Duty rises and other factors mean there’s no event Aussie wine for a fiver, but in the £10 to £20 bracket the country is producing truly world-beating wines.”

.Juke's Oz 'Winery of the Year'

You can see why Matthew was awarded the Honorary 'Australian of the Year' award by the Australia Day Foundation. It recognises a non Australian resident of the UK who displays "Australian characteristics”.

“I get a lot of stick for that – visions of me sitting in a beach hut with the Castlemaine XXXX – but I do visit three times a year, judging wine competitions and banging the drum for Australian homeless charities I’m involved with.”

Oh, and finding time to source the wines you’ll get to taste at his biggest roadshow yet in Manchester Town Hall. Buy an entry ticket and you also get a voucher for a free copy of his 100 Best Australian Wines Report for 2016/17 (worth £20). 

As a taster here are five Jukes Aussie faves from the show:

2015 Gundog Estate, Wild Semillon, Hunetr Valle, NSW (£21)

“Obvious lemon notes – leaf, blossom, zest, grass, balmI still find its flavour arresting and concept frankly baffling but I bloody love it.  Firstly, this wine is part-fermented on its skins.  It is also ‘wild’, so the yeasts do their thing unencumbered and with abandon.  The final detail is that there is still a degree of sweetness left in this wine, which balances out the raucous acidity, but you have to look hard to spot it.  The main clue is the lightness of touch – it is only 9.5% alcohol.” 

Stockists: wineutopia.co.uk/alexander-wines.co.uk/worthbrothers.co.uk

2015 Turkey Flat Vineyards, Barossa, SA (£15)

“A quite different style, much fuller 13% white made from 63% Marsanne, 19% Viognier, 18% Roussanne, which sees a generous slug of new oak. This debut release is the classic white Chateauneuf du Pape mix at a snip of the price.”

Stockists include our own portlandwine.co.uk and amazon.co.uk.

2015 Laissez Faire by Larry Cherubino, Fiano, Porongurup WA (£24)

“A third white a ‘natural’ wine, doesn’t parade any of the usual tell-tale traits (phew). Last year I featured Laissez Faire Riesling and it blew all-comers away with its lean, raspy, piercingly dry finish. This year Larry has nailed the tricky Fiano grape (fromI taly) with his customary precision and élan. Having said this the brittle Porongurup environs will never allow this oft-blowsy variety to lapse into unwanted richness or oiliness. The results are electric.”

Stockists: Berry Bros Rudd (bbr.com).

.Laissez Faire by Larry Cherubino

2013 First Drop, Quinta do Sul, McLaren Vale, SA (£20)

“Made with Portuguese grape varieties, this 14.5% red is radiantly suited to McLaren Vale’s Mediterranean-style climate and I applaud its spice, attack and wild herb detail. It is swarthy and bold with ample banditry and Christmas cake mayhem on the mid-palate to hold your attention.”

Stockists include harveynichols.com.

2014 Chapel Hill, The Parson Shiraz, McLaren Vale, SA (£18)

From the same region, a similar strength red that is synonymous with Australia. The combination of hot days and cooler ocean-influenced nights is McLaren Vale’s key attribute and The Parson manages to harness beautifully dense fruit and tether it to a bright, invigorating finish. 

Stockists include selfridges.com

100 Best Australian Wines Roadshow 2016/17, Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester, M60 2LA. 5pm-9pm. Tickets £20.83. Buy a ticket here.

Also... if the Jukes extravaganza has whetted your appetite for celebrity wine tastings check out Three Wine Men at the same venue across the weekend of November 19 and 20. The perennially popular trio of Oz Clarke, Tim Atkin MW and Olly Smith host a legion of wine suppliers, many offering special discount offers in the build-up to Christmas.

For full details and to book visit here. A ticket costs £27.50 – for one person at one session (including unlimited tasting samples); a double £50.

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