Some Australian Greats!

Today we venture to the land down under.  And discover a few great wines.   First a big thank you to all the readers last week, I am humbled and grateful by how many people read the blog on ‘Tips To Buying Wine’.   So in the past couple of weeks, I have had a couple of great wines from Australia, and they are both reasonably priced.

Peter Lehmann Layers – 2010 from the Barossa Valley.  What an exceptional treat.  It’s on sale right now at my NSLC, but regularly sells for $19.995 here.  Still a great price for this great wine.   Layers is an appropriate name for this multi-dimensional wine.  The label describes it as “Intriguingly complex, Simply beautiful.:”  I couldn’t agree more.  The intense fruit of the Shiraz, the spiciness of Grenache, the earthiness of Mouvedre and the structure of Tempranillo  blend together to surround your mouth with all of the flavours that each grape brings to the wine.  As my friend Rick says, you can actually feel all the layers on your palate.    I love wines from the Barossa Valley known for its Shiraz.  This is a great one that I am looking forward to having again.

Are you planning on having steak in the near future.  Then please try this next wine with it.  Another great wine from the Barossa Valley that I have had the pleasure of enjoying the past couple of weeks is the McGuigan 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon The Shortlist.  You may have heard me talk about McGuigan’s before, the Black Label Shiraz is a great value.

At under $13, it’s easy to drink and one of the best values in any Liquor Store.  This McGuigan is the wealthier cousin , but so worth the money.

I had No 11087 but each bottle  has its own individual number.   It’s pleasure to the senses in a bottle.  At just under $25, I still think this is a great value.  It’s a spectacular complex wine with flavours of blackberry, plum and mint.   Neil McGuigan is a third generation wine-maker and knows what he is doing.   He says 2009 was a mild growing season so that the grapes had a chance to ripen slowly.

Here’s a great steak recipe from Natalie Maclean’s site that I had when I had this wine.  Check out Natalie’s site at www.nataliemaclean.com  I am one of the wine reviewers for her site.

Grilled Steak with Arugula, Tomato and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves 6

3 strip loin steaks – 1 inch thick ½ lb baby arugula 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half

Vinaigrette

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 2 tsp Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper

To prepare the vinaigrette, simply shake the ingredients in a sealed container.  Layer arugula and tomatoes on a platter or individual plates.

Bring steaks to room temperature and preheat grill to high.  Brush steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill each side for 4 minutes (for medium rare with internal temperature 130-135oF) and let rest for 5 minutes.

Slice the steak along the short side and place on top of arugula.  Drizzle approximately 1 oz vinaigrette per serving on steak and serve.

Delicious!!!  Here’s a food tip.  I have recently discovered spectacular Balsamic Vinegar – from a specialty shop, it’s pricey, but so worth it.  The one I bought was a maple infused Balsamic Vinegar.   I will talk more about good quality Balsamic Vinegars and Olive Oils next week.

Till next week, thank you again for reading.  And Cheers

Darlene