The recent Boireann Bunch Winemaker’s Dinner held at a suburban western district of Brisbane (Graceville) restaurant did not raise mention of any five star status.

Stars: what are they to the Boireann winemakers Peter and Therese Stark who sell their wares annually during a short period of time when subscribers take up allocations. So the 2010 vintage was safely sold and banked!

The star meaning was Boireann now has five five-star winery ratings on end: afforded by the grand writer of them all in this country, James Halliday, in his Australian Wine Companion 2012 released in July.

The bunch attending this dinner were the converted: many enthusiastic baby boomer level collectors who take up their vintage allocation then give their bottles cellar resting time.

You see Boireann are great agers but only a small portion of people realise or know this because their ultra-high quality production, red only, is miniscule. There is a dash of white in the vineyard, viognier, grown to co-ferment with shiraz.

And the wines at this dinner were assorted vintages; meaning that Peter and Therese are sharing some older wines they considered to be looking pretty crash hot or failing that, simply their terroir examples, and the eager palates were having time like old friends do.

I went along to see what this no-fuss event was about finding there were no other scribes. Nor did I have to jot a note or two but it rapidly became obvious these wines could not be missed.

Boireann Grenache 2004 13% (no longer sold); under cork, +++; russet/brown colour, very much the wine with terroir and maturity, rustic, damp grass and wet earth, all the funky tones that the grape picks up on its way to maturity, now there, palate very tight and soft, drying. Absolutely perfect with steak tartare-pairing raw meat and earth bombs.

This variety has since been pulled out due to bunch collapse in later years, and replaced with such interesting reds as tannat and brunello clones of sangiovese. A straight tannat has been made for the first time in 2011.

Boireann Merlot 2007 13% (no longer sold); also under cork, +++1/2; cherry/purple, great colour, has nose complexity and strength, tight and powerful tannins which have not loosened much yet, Pete says 2016-2019 is its drinking window, and I have no reason to think otherwise. Merlot with backbone, drunk alongside oxtail to prove its might.

Winter fare: oxtail pudding, pea mousse

Boireann Vigne Juveniles Shiraz Viognier 2008 14% (USD 26 ); ++++1/2; has perfume, has spice and attitude, lifted funk and nose crunch, alluring, makes you want more, big flavour entry and backbone of a wine just slowing moving along, but in no rush, powdery tannins now, one day these will close over. Young vine wine served with beef and stood up.

Boireann Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 13.2% (USD 29); ++++; good but not great colour, this brand often does amazing things with wine colour, smells tight, tastes tight, really layered and coiled up tannins + acidity+ flavour core bind it up to be a keeper-as you do with this brand. Don’t rush; also paired with rare eye and loved it, goats cheese and mushroom adding to the forest flavours. Pete says drink 2020.

Boireann Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Boireann Shiraz Mourvedre 2010 14.5% (USD 31); ++++; deep and pippy, currants and black fruits, struck match barrel ferment characters there now, potential to go funkier yet, enormous power in the mouth, backbone plus, drink in ten years, no earlier, made the triple cream brie running beside it look short flavoured.

Boireann Shiraz Mourvedre 2010

Dinner venue: Boucher (old converted butchery, bistro) restaurant run by ex-South Bank city chef Peter Carter.

Eye fillet, onion tarte, goat, mushroom

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker and educator www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au

Kate McIntyre is a marvellous endorsement of the relaxed business style of Mornington winery owners.

Her easy talk captures the essence of her wines, the word choice is straight and to the point, no pomp, as Australia’s most recently acclaimed Master of Wine cares to be.

The family business is Moorooduc Estate – her’s is the marketing, and of course the elevated forms of “wine speak”, that these public encounters demand.

Lots of questions when flavours are less obvious and style and shape become the paramount tastes.

You see, twenty or so Mornington vintners had brought their drinks to Brisbane in Queensland’s south east, and all the wines were out to try.

I went straight for Moorooduc, an established, high quality, keenly directed small maker which specialises in chardonnay and pinot noir (Mornington’s staple diet), a little pinot gris and the occasional shiraz (assisted by global warming).

Moorooduc Estate Pinot Gris 2010 14% (USD38); ++++; this has a taut nose, pears yes, but not many, more the effects of barrel aging, also malo-lactic which holds it in, it’s palate is taut too, the flavour generous but the shape fearsomely tight; will it flower? Yes, in time, just that the racy acid gives it additional reason to tighten. Bright wine, single vineyard.

Select-Moorooduc Estate Pinot Gris 2010

Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay 2010 13% (USD38); ++++1/2; very closed, nose tight, restraint, restraint (normal), mealy from malo-lactic, that’s there, lovely freshness, kernels of flavour and coils of acidity, lemon, bright acids and drying finals. Fine, low alcohol is a plus.

Restraint-Moorooduc Estate Chardonnay 2010

Moorooduc Estate The Moorooduc Chardonnay 2009 13% (USD 60); ++++1/2; nose complexity is enjoyable, worth many sniffs, each one changes, the result of screw cap removal, it’s a long drink and that’s where the oak sits on the palate (25% new), soundly structured and slowly developing; don’t drink yet.

100 dozen made from the barrel selection, and some of the oldest McIntyre vines. Kate says drink 2016-2021; I can only agree. This is life in the slow lane.

Moorooduc Estate McIntyre Pinot Noir 2009 14% (USD 38); +++; has pinot colour, nose advancing so it is maturing, a good sign, ready-to-drink I say, wild aromas, probably wild yeast effects, very compact style, some austerity, savoury, structured, exemplary cool climate characters yet bold. Fab, drink early.

Moorooduc Estate The Moorooduc Pinot Noir 2009 14% (USD 60); +++1/2; some cedar and sap-like fruit, smoke, complex, tight and austere palate, built with the basics but shines slowly, probably the year not wanting to make the wine look obvious, smells older than it tastes, effects from the bushfires. 60 dozen produced.

Authentic-Moorooduc Estate McIntyre Pinot Noir 2009

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker and educator www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au

July’s Royal Queensland Wine Show had a string of highlights. There were over 60 gold medals awarded.

On the exhibitors’ day these were all out for producers to try at their leisure – quite early starting at 7.30am and finishing late morning.

I spent several hours tasting through. Why? Because the opportunity cost to be thrifty with time and dollars outlayed to taste such a collation was very low, and the experience resounding.

Diverse tastings are not put together easily, so when the situation presents, grab it with all the effort that you palate can accept.

Top wine of the Show was Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2005-a museum product, probably now creating a headache for its brand manager, for the Seppelt brand has been diminished so much under the past Fosters reign that it is essentially only a Victorian table wine range.

Best of Show-Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2005

The wine is exciting, freshy aromatic for its age, pale, hardly showing age, composed in its development, linear, mineral-bred and taut.

The growing conditions in south-west Victoria encourage the meanness that comes with this style-and consequently the slow development in bottle. In future, if you see a bottle, grab it.

Seppelt produced a similar wine from Eden Valley in 1984 which is still widely lauded amongst those that know.

Aside from local Mark Ravenscroft’s Ravens Croft Chardonnay 2009 taking gold in chardonnay, Penfolds brand did particularly well with chardonnay on several fronts. Best Chardonnay of the Show was Thomas Highland 2010 judged in the commercial class.

Best Chardonnay-Penfolds Thomas Hyland Chardonnay 2010

Its competitors in the judge-off were from the mature class, Penfolds Reserve Bin A 2008 and the one-year-old class, Penfolds Reserve Bin A 2010, later disqualified for being cloudy.

Other Commercial class golds for chardonnay were Woolworths Cowbombie 2009 and the above-mentioned Ravens Croft.

Mature chardonnay to score gold was Devils Lair 2009, Wolf Blass White Label 2009 and Penfolds Reserve Bin A 2009-a bit of a haul for Treasury Estates.

Pinot gris is increasingly under our gaze. The results took a new turn with the outstanding Wine Society Tasmanian Pinot Gris 2010 awarded gold, being pink. Now gris often gives brassy-coloured wines because it is a grey/brown grape yet this delightful example was highly praised.

A pinkie-Wine Society Tasmania Pinot Gris 2010

Quite often the pinot grigios of north-eastern Italy arrive with pink tinges, so instead of removing the colour as most Australian winemakers have to do, here it is looking naturally.

Vermentino had its moments too: Trentham Estate collected a gold the second year running, with La Famiglia Vermentino 2010, now a lovely, crunchy, savoury/tangy drink, while Golden Grove’s 2011 took a silver.

Trentham La Famiglia Vermentino 2010

Finally, one for those following the rise of new red Italian varieties in Australia. Warburn Estate 1164 Limited Release Montepulciano 2009 from the Riverina was an outstanding winner with this crunchy and savoury red with oozy palate features.

Warburn Estate 1164 Montepulciano 2009

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker and educator www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au

Stewart Plant is a gregarious Australian wine retailer at Fine Wine Merchant.

And when it comes to the pointy end of the pinot world he is the “man” to aggregate the finest worth tasting in one easy swirl.

Greatest and Rarest Pinots

Brisbane’s newly-opened and chic Malt in Market Street was the venue of three flights of the pinot stars (served blind, wines known).

I write about these in order of preference – a habit when the better wines rock my socks.

And even for fear of being a little Francophobic, it was the Burgundies which split a clear division between their New World cousins but only on the basis of completeness, restraint and savoury feel. New World sticks out from fruit.

This is not a depth of flavour discussion because wines of Oregon, New Zealand and Australia have it in spades: oozy primary fruit, whole bunch character, oak charm, preserved fruit which eschews engagement, lots of juicy bits.

One New Worlder crossed the divide into the savoury and painfully understated arena – Beaux Frères from Oregon.

Plant also brought wines to back-up or for spare drinks in case of cork failure or calamity – which did not eventuate, so we drank the two regardless, and not to my surprise these were rippers.

Flight two

Richebourg Grand Cru (Domaine de la Romanee Conti) 2007 Vosne-Romanee; 13%; (USD 1500); +++++; 13,635 bottles; quite ethereal, shows significant oak aging as an aromatic character, shows some age yet the fruit is still primary, hints of pinot sap, palate concentrated with a mix of whole bunch, fruit juice, red fruits, then tight, fine, close tannin with great line, zippy acid and time for aging longer.

Richebourg (DRC) 2007

Les Beaux Monts 1er Cru(Leroy) 2006 Vosne-Romanee; 13%; (USD 1500); +++++; 6900 bottles; washed colour does not detract, cherry fruits and lots of it, oak cedar yet to settle down, fruit concentration sits beside the oak tannin, lots of long, lingering flavours as well as a very tannic palate, high acidity, still closed on the finish.

Clos de la Roche Grand Cru (Dujac) 2006 Morey St-Denis; 13.5%; (USD 335); ++++1/2: pale but purples; feint nose, candy, just so restrained, feline, sleek, fine, subtle, still in retreat after bottling, not forward at this stage, coiled.

Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru (Bernstein) 2007 Gevrey-Chambertin; 13.5%; (USD 375); ++++1/2; 591 bottles; very restrained, spice, fragrant red fruits, hint of time in barrel, no more, very tight, very fine, shows lean and long, very clean finish which is complete, keep aging it.

Mazis-Chambertin (Bernstein) 2007

Beaux Frères Upper Terrace 2008 Willamette Oregon; 13.5%; (USD 250); ++++1/2; medium purple colour good, restrained nose, smells savoury, compact, not effusive, palate well flavoured but into savouriness and balance, tight, warm with lots of red fruits, pretty muscular at the end, a delight.

Musigny Vieille Vignes Grand Cru (Comte de Vogue) 2007 Chambolle-Musigny ; 13% (USD 750); ++++ ; 13,500 bottles ; youthful, closed up, damp earth, almond kernel, oak cedar, perfume, sap, then very tight palate, high acid directs it to fineness, powdery tannin takes it to minerality, very fine.

Richebourg Grand Cru (Hudelot-Noellat) 2007 Vosne-Romanee; 14% (USD 1500); ++++; maturing colour, meaty, lots of whole bunch, stems too, very aromatic and signs of additional barrel time, savoury nose, spice on palate, soft and silky, rather light bodied so alcohol not a worry, long finish with fineness.

Richebourg (Hudelot-Noellat) 2007

Bonne Mares Grand Cru (Bernstein) 2007 Chambolle-Musigny; 13.5% (USD 350); ++++; nose of the heavens, approachable, not, barrel ferment, new oak sweets, a really butch wine, layered with flavour and muscle, chewy but not tough, keep, all the weight necessary, add an extra half point.

Bonnes-Mares (Bernstein) 2007

Bindi Block 5 2006 Macedon; 13.5% (USD 125); ++++; 1800 bottles; best Aussie, clearly New World from the juicy primary fruit, jubey, probably whole bunch, highly toned oak sits, very bright on its freshness, fruity, palate has leanness and closure, still needing time no doubt, acidity subtle, red fruits skim the finish.

Pyramid Valley Angel Flower 2007 Waipara; 13% (USD 150); ++++; 600 bottles; best performed Kiwi, dense colour, almost unnatural; barnyard smells, best call it complexity, the natural yeast aroma too, herbal, whole bunch, plurality of winemaking, fine, wood weight, warm on the alcohol.

Pyramid Valley Angel Flower 2007 NZ

Ata Rangi McCrone 2006 Martinborough; 13.5% (USD 100); +++1/2; 720 bottles; very dense, lots of whole bunch, massive wine, sap pinot aromas too, complete, oak, fruity, big and masterful yet still fruity and under-developed.

Evesham Woods Cuvee J 2008 Eola-Amity Hills; Willamette; barrel selection, 13% (USD 100); +++1/2; lots of sap and inky aromas, primary fruit to the fore, has lots of nose interest, profound, compact fruit and concentrated, oak cedar, quite closed, drying from oak. A favourite American.

Evesham Wood Cuvee J 2008-USA

Bell Hill 2006 Waipara; 14.5% (USD 200); +++; 1956 bottles, is this really pinot with the monster colours, or are there steroids around, monstrous fruit preparation so over-the-top; could be shiraz; tarry oak and a massive final warming taste. Be patient here.

By Farr Tout Pres 2008 Geelong; 13.5% (USD 105); +++; light colour, whole bunch, perfume, leaf component too, nose pumps up to big things, palate still closed, sweet fruit but edgy on acid, is asleep.

There were three slim wines: Main Ridge Half Acre 2007, Bass Phillip Reserve 2007, and Chambertin (Bouchard) 2008 was too bretty to enjoy.

Peter Scudamore-Smith is a Brisbane-based Master of Wine, winemaker and educator www.uncorkedandcultivated.com.au