Friday, March 27, 2015

www.dailyexaminer.com.au PAGE 21

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Windowrie Cowra TheMill ChardonnayVINTAGE: 2014PRICE: $18RATING: 8.4/10

2014 seems so young for achardonnay – well, any wineapart from riesling and savblanc and a couple of others –and it shows and is perfectlysuited to the task.

(Littore) St AndrewsImperial ReserveShirazVINTAGE: 2013PRICE: $6RATING: 8.4/10

Whenever I see “Imperial” Ithink soap and “Tahiti looksnice….Simon, Tahiti”. Theycould have had a glass of thistoo.

Windowrie Hilltops TheMill Cabernet MerlotVINTAGE: 2013PRICE: $18RATING: 8.7/10

Stupidly easy to drink winesfrequently they involve cab andmerlot. But there’s no need to bestupid about it.

Rusden ‘Christine’sVineyard, GrenacheVINTAGE: 2012PRICE: $40RATING: 8.9/10

Try saying Vine Vale Vignerons10 times, and you’ll be ready fora glass of this. Luscious andlovely Grenache, even more so ifyour name is Christine.

(Littore) St AndrewsImperial ReserveChardonnay Pinot NoirVINTAGE: NVPRICE: $6RATING: 9/10

(Perhaps the “Imperial Reserve”moniker overwhelmed Ms L,she reckoned this was the beesknees, Monica.

Life

MAX’S PICKS

T’WAS the night after MardiGras when all through thehouse no creature stirred,except Gruntley who had dog-gie dementia.Some of us like pyjamas,others birthday suits, andthat’s how it was when awokenat 2am to Gruntley’s faint,persistent scuffling.It takes time to identify nightnoises, such as paws on a toiletfloor. Gruntley, some hoursago, had wandered in, bumpedthe door and locked himself in.

Feeling my way to the loo indarkness and opening the door,I hardly noticed his uncharac-teristic eagerness to be liberat-ed.But I did notice the smell

which hit with the overwhelm-ing force. Was I dreaming?It was a nightmare.Still uncomprehending, as

one is inclined at 2am, I flickedthe light and barefooted,stepped one foot into the loo.Suddenly the smell was theleast of my concerns.It took moments to compre-

hend, but poor Gruntley,trapped, had answered theurgent call of nature – in both

senses – in the correct place,albeit on the floor.Unable to escape he hadsuccessfully trampled it evenlyacross the whole floor simulta-neously unfurling a whole rollof toilet paper into the mess,alas offering no discerniblebenefit.Immediately it dawned, at2am, Gruntley was traversingthe rest of the house with pawscovered in what lay before me.It was hard to know where tostart, so stunned inactionseemed appropriate.Resigned to the horror andstill in my birthday (MardiGras?) suit, I hopped quietly to

fetch the mop, consolatelygrateful for timber floors.Meanwhile Ms L. had awokento the commotion, flicked thelight on to see my bed empty,and clothes beside it.Nervously she approachedthe scene, only to see her be-loved, stark naked, mop inhand and a foul stench andvisage emanating from thetoilet.Gruntley, inconveniently, wasnowhere to be seen and theonly dementia on Ms L’s mindwas my own.Sometimes “It’s not what itseems”, seems so lame. Cheersand happy Mardi Gras.

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS

Mardi Gras aftermathMaxCrus

Rusden Good Shepherd Cabernet Malbec 2012, $38. The good book, goodson, good oil, Goodies, the Good Shepherd is in good company and would begood with any of the above. It’s all good…specially with shepherds. 9/10.