Capel Vale Winery

Capel Vale Single Vineyard Whispering Hill Shiraz 2018

Award
Winner Top 100 Fuller Bodied Dry Red Wines
Grape Varieties
Shiraz (100%) Mount Barker, WA, Australia
Country of Origin
Australia
Alcohol Content
14.0% Alcohol by Volume
Wine Type and Oak Treatment
Still Red with Oak Treatment
Recommended Retail Price
RRP AU $64.95

Fresh with some eucalyptus. Big wine. Structured tannins with a firm finish. A lovely match with the dish. The tannins are modified beautifully.

Deep inky purple hue. Dark jammy blueberry compote and liquorice notes on the nose. The palate is dry and full with ripe blueberry and mulberry fruits, black peppercorn, dark chocolate and liquorice characters. Soft vanilla oak on finish overall lovely complexity and good balance. Dark fruit comes to the fore and the oak tannins are softened by the meat.

Bold nose, quite exotic with liquorice and star anise-laced blue and blackberries. Palate is upfront, plush, and lacks some freshness on the finish. Does work quite nicely with the beef and to a degree the richness of the coconut gratin too.

Deep crimson. Rich black cherry and currant fruit. Vanilla oak. Rich and smooth, velvety texture. Even mid-palate, good length. Well-rounded finish. With food: The beef richness complements the velvety characters of the wine.

Bright red, fragrant black cherry, bay leaf and thyme, sweet mulberry fruit and soft granny tannins, the earthy and aniseed of the fennel and gratin full the palate with the richness of the wagyu.

Very deep ruby with purple rim. Dark plums, charry, toasty oak, leafy mint and butterscotch. A soft round mouthfeel, with ripe fruits. Well balanced with wine, oak softens coconut.

Steely and stalky, dried herbs, slight herbal/leafy edge, slight toast. SOP, stalkiness overrides, donut, hard and drying tannins. Food: covered some of the tannins and gives some more flavour.

The Fuller Bodied Dry Red Wines were judged with

Wagyu, Potato Gratin and Fennel Salad

Presented by chef Marcell Kustos

Ingredients

  • ~100 g Wagyu sirloin/person, sous-vide at 55C, pan fried
Potato gratin: 30 min at 180 C
  • 1 kg potato, 3mm mandolin
  • 1 can of coconut cream (whole)
  • 1 cup vegetable stock
  • 2 shallots, sliced not minced
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced not minced
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 20 g salt
  • Pepper to taste
Fennel salad:
  • ½ fennel, thinly sliced, mandolin (preferably very thin with Japanese mandolin)
  • Pickle fennel for 10 min in 100ml water, 100 ml apple cider vinegar, 30 g maple syrup, 10 g salt
  • In a bowl, mix fennel with 1 Tbsp pickling liquid and 1 Tbsp seeded mustard

Method

  1. In a frying pan, add 2 Tbsp oil and fry the garlic and shallots on low heat until golden brown. Add coconut cream, stock and salt.
  2. In a baking dish, layer the thinly sliced potatoes and pour the coconut stock onto them. Bake at 180C for 25-30 min, until cooked, golden brown and creamy. Set aside and let it rest for 20-30 min before serving. In that time, the potatoes will absorb the remaining broth and the gratin becomes even more creamy and easier to slice.
  3. In a bowl, mix fennel with 1 Tbsp pickling liquid and 1 Tbsp seeded mustard.
  4. Pan-fry the Wagyu just until nicely seared and the fat melted. DO NOT overcook as well done steak will not match the wine as well as medium.