Best's Great Western Dinner with Justin Purser

A wonderful opportunity to try some rare and exciting wines from a truly iconic Victorian winery. Best's are a winery rich in history and tradition, with a treasury of ancient vines, some of the oldest on the planet. Hosting the event was the winemaker Justin Purser, who was very generous with his time and advice, and had lots of great stories to tell. Wines were matched with an excellent menu by head chef Ian Curley.

Justin Purser has been the winemaker at Best's for only 4 years now, starting in the shocking 2011 vintage where his Bin 1 Shiraz won the Jimmy Watson Trophy. He has already achieved a lot of success and accolades in his time at Best's. After graduating from Adelaide University, he got his start at Primo Estate wines in McLaren Vale. He has previously worked in New Zealand, Barolo and in Burgundy.

I'm not huge on sparkling reds. It's a very unique wine to Australia, but a lot of what's out there is too jumbled and convoluted. Trying to be both a creamy delicate sparkling wine and a full bodied Shiraz often ends in confusion to me, with only a few producers hitting the mark and producing something both delicate and powerful.
Justin Purser told me a story of his first day at Primo Estate wines in McLaren Vale. His first job was to taste a whole lot of old wines and reject flawed bottles, for the purpose of adding into the blend of the NV Primo Sparkling Red - which is a unique sparkling predominantly made from different vintages of an Amarone-style Cabernet/Merlot. This gave him the idea to do something similar with his Sparkling Shiraz, but instead Justin uses old reserves of fortified wine as a dosage in the blend.

• 2011 Best's Great Western Sparkling Shiraz 88 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  A powerful, punchy aroma of stewy plums and blackcurrant, with some faint oak in the background. Only seems lightly sparkling on the palate, yet it coats the tongue with rich dark fruit flavours. Finishes with a light, semi-sweet port-ish rancio aftertaste, perhaps a result of blending in old fortified muscat for dosage.

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Two powerful but contrasting wines, showing in a breath that Australia is far from a one-trick pony when it comes to Riesling. I always think Rieslings like this are better in hot weather - the refreshing acidity and jolt of citrus is perfect for an Australian summer. But these wines are breathtakingly complex in any context, and powerful, terroir-driven expressions of the variety. Matched with the food, I was in heaven. My favourite flight... not to dismiss the reds, but maybe I was expecting less of the whites.

• 2013 Best's Great Western Riesling Foudre Ferment 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  My partner's wine of the night. A juicy, zesty wine which held it's own against the 2000. Aromas of citrus, lemon sorbet and notes of fine soap - or almost like a lime shampoo. Delicious crisp acidity and astringency made this an unbelievably good food wine. Slight off-dry-ness, but this has relatively low residual sugar. Would love to revisit in a decade.

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• 2000 Best's Great Western Riesling Concongella Vineyard 95 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  My wine of the night. A glorious, crystalline golden yellow colour. Very expressive aromas of lemon meringue, mandarin, and a whiff of wet paint - more turpentine than kerosene. A rich, full flavoured palate of lemon tart, orange rind, cold tea and slightly sweet creme brûlée, perhaps influenced by the wet year and the inclusion of small amounts of botrytis. Just phenomenal.

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The 18-year old Dolcetto was a big curiosity for me coming into this tasting. I've tried newer vintages of this before, which are delicious, medium-bodied, fruit-forward dry reds. But I didn't know it could age for this long. It's made from a mix of vines planted in 1887 and 1971. Apparently Best's only have 6 bottles left of this in their cellars. Extremely rare!
I was also highly anticipating the Pinot Meunier. I've been lucky enough to try aged examples of this fantastic red before, each brilliant examples of a very unique style of wine. From the original plantings of Pinot Meunier in the 1860's, this makes it the oldest known PM vines in the world. And to my knowledge, one of the only examples of a dry red made from this variety alone. Although, this vintage specifies that it's blended with Pinot Noir, which I'm told they all are - perhaps this vintage went over 15%.

• 1996 Best's Great Western Dolcetto 85 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  Beguiling, mouth watering aromas of liquorice, aniseed and confected fruit. Subject to a lot of bottle variation. A few bottles were opened, one was oxidised, and another showed very muted, faded fruit. I was lucky to get a pour from a good bottle I think. Dark colour, medium bodied, a good whack of oaky flavours on the palate, where maybe this was once dominated by more rich fruit. Nonetheless, the fruit is still there and with a good balance of acidity and freshness belying it's age.

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• 1988 Best's Great Western Pinot Meunier Bin No 0 93 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  Nearly exact to how I remember the '87 I tried last year. Lots of very fine sediment in the glass. Transparent ruby red with slight hints of brick orange at the rim. Savoury aroma dominated by a smoky, almost peaty scent. A hint of violets and prunes in there also. Probably a little overpowered by the food, as it's a very delicate wine nearing the end of it's life. Still, very complex flavours hanging on.

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What an opportunity to try such an iconic wine with a solid frame of reference for it's age-ability. Very complimentary wines telling the same story, but in different ways. I found it most interesting to look at the colour of the wines - my pictures show the clear difference in age. Both from standout vintages according to Justin. This has long been Best's flagship wine, made from the oldest, lowest-yielding vines available.

• 2012 Best's Great Western Shiraz Bin No 0 92 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  Lots of primary fruit, blueberries, raspberry compote, white pepper, floral, very pretty and harmonious. I understand these wines are made for ageing, however I don't consider it infanticide to crack a young bottle now. It's very fresh and rich, showing a lot of power and poise as a young wine. I prefer a bit of cool-climate primary fruit sometimes, and this has it in spades. Delicious and very moreish.

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• 1992 Best's Great Western Shiraz Bin No 0 94 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  In it's prime. Lashings of dark stew-y fruit interwoven with an old port-like liquorice sweetness, and a mouth-coating amalgam of powerful black fruit flavour. The aroma of this alone kept me from actually tasting it for a good while. Very complex and evolving constantly. The finish was there for a good 30-40 seconds and enveloped and complemented the rich cheeses nicely.

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The Thomson Family Shiraz is Best's most highly prized Shiraz, produced in only the best years.
This wine is produced from 15 rows of vines planted in the 1860's, and only 300 odd cases are produced each vintage. It was enjoyed without the accompaniment of food, to allow the wine to stand on it's own.
I have to say, it is a very good wine, but I was floored by the price. I know it's an old vintage and it's highly collectible... but holy shit.

• 1994 Best's Great Western Shiraz Thomson Family 94 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  Subject to some bottle variation. The glass I was poured was dominated by an aroma of eucalyptus and menthol, whereas my neighbour's was much more restrained and more 'earthy' in a way. Justin explained that over one side of these treasured rows there is a planting of eucalyptus trees. So it's hard to see it as a fault in that case, more a character of the wine. But a dominant character at that. I gotta say, this wine drinks more like a 5-8 year old Shiraz than a 20 year old one. Loads and loads of primary fruit still there with dashings of white pepper and camphor, cooking spice and vanilla bean. Immense staying power, 60 second finish. Outstanding, but I'm of the opinion we might possibly have had this a bit too young. I genuinely think it has the mileage to go another 10 years, at least.

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Post-dinner drinks. Hastily decanted back in the hotel room. It gradually opened up with time, but I think I marginally preferred the 1992.

• 1990 Best's Great Western Shiraz Bin No 0 91 Points

  Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Great Western

  Took some time to open up in the decanter. Not as spritely as the '92, showing more oak and developed character and less precision in the balance of acidity and tannin. Still, a great rich aroma and heaps of flavour on the aftertaste, plenty of character and power. Just perhaps nearing the end of it's life.

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This is a very special, unique winery in a tucked away corner of the world. In 2016 they will be celebrating 150 years. Can't wait for the celebrations that ensue from such a huge milestone.
I consider this to be one of the most memorable tasting experiences I've had. Very grateful for the opportunity to try these wines in great company.