GSM and the beauty of a blend

• Guigal Côtes du Rhône $30
• Claymore You’ll Never Walk Alone Clare Valley GSM $17
• Serafino McLaren Vale GSM $25
• Hentley Farm The Marl Grenache $25

Final drop:

• Handpicked Wines Collection Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2019 $50

Handpicked Wines
Collection Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2019

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:02

Last night Pete had people drinking wine out of flutes because I came back.

Speaker 2 0:06

Like wine, wine, not sparkling wine, red wine, hi and welcome to Wine with Meg and Mel. We are here to help you navigate the world of wine. I'm Mel Gilchrist, run by Master of Wine Meg Brotman. Meg, what have? We are here to help you navigate the world of fun. I'm Mel Gilchrist, joined by Master of Fun Meg Brotman. Meg, what?

Speaker 1 0:25

have we got? Today we are looking at GSMs or SGMs or MSGs.

Speaker 2 0:31

MSGs.

Speaker 1 0:31

I thought was a classic name because I was just working with the different acronyms and then I just went oh, msg funny funny ha ha ha. No, we are specifically looking at Grenache, shiraz, mouvedre, slash, mataro, blends.

Speaker 2 0:48

Yeah, awesome. I can't wait to get into it because I love these blends. But first, what have you been drinking? So not wine, Darling Courtney, who you know who we work with.

Speaker 1 1:08

She was in Czech and visiting her brother and brought me back a bottle of Absinthe. Oh my god, what like real, real absinthe. Well, it doesn't have the wormwood drug in it anymore, they've actually. It's illegal to sell absinthe that way, and the only other time you're not getting it anywhere well, you can buy absinthe here, but I mean, you can't get it with like no, I don't think so yeah yeah, it's like uh, it was a I can't remember what the drug. It was something to do with wormwood.

Speaker 1 1:27

Right okay, I had had it previously once in Prague where they had like a big jar of it and you had it had a tap and a flame and over the flame was a sugar cube. It was a very, very confused contraption and the absinthe dripped through the melting sugar cube into your glass, oh my God, and I thought it was absolutely horrible. It was so bitter. This you put it's just with an ice cube. You just put the ice cube in, you pour it in and you wait for the luche. Luche apparently translates as stain or bruise or something, and so it goes a bit cloudy and it takes on this distinct sort of green, green fairy, green fairy tint. Yeah, green fairy it was. How did you drink it? Just straight on ice, wow, and all of us tried it. So Luke I don't think Pete did Luca Elliot and myself all tried it and I actually really loved it as a digestive at the end of a meal yeah, cool, to sort of get everything down or even to start the meal and I drank it on the side. I didn't.

Speaker 2 2:28

What's it taste like?

Speaker 1 2:29

It's bitter herbal. Oh, okay, chartreuse is probably the closest. Lucas said Jagermeister, and I was quite shocked. I went hey, do you know what Jagermeister tastes? Like you? Bogan? He is an 18-year-old boy. So anyway, that's Bogan, he is an 18-year-old boy. So anyway, I didn't think it was much more refined than that.

Speaker 2 2:50

Yeah, so that's what I've been drinking, and fun fact.

Speaker 1 2:53

Okay, so I was reading. You may know Marks and Spencer, the big retailer in the UK, and they sell clothing and everything, but they also sell a range of wines and they recently put out a promotion with their outdoor furniture and glasses, but they used a bottle of wine as a prop. That was from Aldi.

Speaker 2 3:11

Oh my God, Someone in marketing is getting fired.

Speaker 1 3:15

A summer furniture advertisement for Marks and Spencers has generated some unwanted attention. After Aldi clocked that the campaign includes two different wines from Aldi's specialty selected range as part of the lifestyle set up. Oh my God, that's so bad. Aldi's marketing team wrote Marks and Spencer's drink Aldi wine, pass it on. In response, onyx Common equipped. Not just any wine, this is Aldi wine.

Speaker 2 3:40

That is so funny.

Speaker 1 3:41

Aldi are funny Good on them, yeah, so I just think that, yeah, marketing 101.

Speaker 2 3:47

My mind goes straight to the poor person that set up that photo shoot Use your own wine, oh my God.

Speaker 1 3:53

So Mark Suspensers came back and said sometimes you regret asking guests to bring your own bottle, said a spokesman for Mark Suspensers. This one is fine for a prop, but if you prefer to enjoy a top-quality bottle of award-winning rose with your new garden furniture, we recommend our gorgeous blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 2 4:09

But too late. They're trying to be fun back, but no, aldi, just slapped back Aldi wins. It was very good. Yeah, oh, that is good. Okay, we are getting into GSM. Meg, why blend these grapes and not just drink them on their own?

Speaker 1 4:33

So GSM blend came originally from southern France, so most famously Cote d'Aron, where they have Grenache Cherez and, as they call it, mouvedre. Planted Grenache, as you know, super fruity, strawberry, low acidity.

Speaker 2 4:43

Yep.

Speaker 1 4:44

And can be a bit simple and too alcoholic. Yeah, shiraz adds a little bit of acidity to the wine, adds a little bit of structure with those Shiraz tannins, and the Mouvedre, which is usually used in lower percentages, adds a little bit of fruit spice and again some more tannin to the wine. So they came about because it was all interplanted back in the day and now it's become Cote d'Aron is effectively, even though there are a number of other varieties they can use, they are the mainstays of the Cote d'Aron blend. So I've got us a 2020 Gigal Cote d'Aron wine from Dan Murphy's $20-ish $27 I think. It was no oak.

Speaker 2 5:26

So basically, like these varietals would probably make like a nice wine on their own. But yeah, like it might be, I don't know. I find sometimes simple varietal wines. They have a bit more like character, there's interesting, there's intrigue, but when you can blend them blends for me almost like create this absolute balance, which is super awesome.

Speaker 1 5:52

They complement and elevate the wine. Yeah, so you're not talking about single varietal expression.

Speaker 2 5:59

You're talking about a completely finished well-put-together wine, something that just is completeness.

Speaker 1 6:05

I agree, and this is the thing that's always done my head in with Australia is this we have, you know, the Cab Chiraz blend. That is a classic Australian blend. No one else in the world is doing it. We should be really proud, totally. And you know Penfolds some of their great wines are based on Cabernet Chiraz blends.

Speaker 2 6:25

Yep, You've described before Cabernet is like a donut wine. How like all of the flavour and texture is like around the outside of your palate rather than the mid palate, whereas Shiraz is the opposite.

Speaker 1 6:37

So it just makes so much sense to put them together Absolutely, and that's effectively what you're kind of doing here with these GSM blends. So Australia is now. We are famous for what is called a GSM blend, the.

Speaker 2 6:54

Cote d'Aron.

Speaker 1 6:55

Even though it is a GSM blend, they don't call it that. They had a campaign, famously in the 90s and 2000s, saying think red, think Cote d'Aron.

Speaker 2 7:01

Yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 7:02

And so for them it was just a red wine, whereas we're much more taking it back to the elements of the wine. So this is a. I think it was $27. It is really yum. Yeah, 2020, quite dusty, that's my only.

Speaker 2 7:15

Oh well, you're saying that like it's a bad thing. I really like the dustiness. I like that as a character of it.

Speaker 1 7:25

I would like a little bit more Grenache surrounding it. I don't know it is lovely. I just think of that with it's a bit of controversial. But paella with rabbit and chicken in it, with that, you know how it's got saffron and paprika and things. I just I don't know, I just think it would work really, really well, because there is a smoky element, a savoury element to the wine.

Speaker 2 7:49

It's super savoury and do you know what? I reckon that that is just the perfect wine for people coming over or like if you're going out for dinner and bringing like BYO or something because it is, that would be a people pleaser.

Speaker 1 8:02

I agree and I remember years ago telling my dad asked me he was going to a friend's house and this room was quite posh and he said I want to take something easy, like red. That's easy drinking, because he doesn't really like reds. But I want to drink red and my dad was a you know big drift drinker and I suggested a Cote d'Aron. And when Dad turned up with the Cote d'Aron the guy said and Dad's just like.

Speaker 1 8:26

Well, my daughter, who kind of knows wine, told me that it would be this sort of style, Like Dad just felt really embarrassed and said you just tell me to take the wine.

Speaker 2 8:36

I said.

Speaker 1 8:36

Well, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's basing it on the fact that it's not Bordeaux or Burgundy, was it French? It was a Cote d'Aron, no, but I mean was the person French?

Speaker 2 8:46

No, he was an Australian. Oh, sounds like the kind of thing a French person would say.

Speaker 1 8:50

Yeah, a bit of a toss-up.

Speaker 2 8:51

I think yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 8:52

Anyway. So I think that these are great styles of wine, but to be honest, I would suggest I would rather you go Australian.

Speaker 2 9:00

Yes.

Speaker 1 9:00

Because I think you're going to get better quality.

Speaker 2 9:03

Yes, I agree, but also normally, like with French wines, I would expect for a $27 French wine to not be as good as that, if that makes sense. For a red, yeah, Whereas that's actually quite good.

Speaker 1 9:17

And in Australia the GSM's are grown in warmer regions. Yes, so you don't really see. Yes, Grenache in the Arrow Valley, so you get lots of really ripe fruit Way more fruit Characteristics and oak is always a background.

Speaker 1 9:32

So the second one I've got. So we're going to sort of go. It's all in South Australia, so I've got Clear Valley. I wanted three regions and I ideally wanted somewhere in Victoria, but not really what we grow together in Victoria. So I was in south australia. Um, I thought possibly something from um that griffith around that area, but again it just it's just called a red wine. That it's not specific so I couldn't find anything anyway.

Speaker 1 10:02

So I've got clear valley. It's claim all wines, you'll never walk alone, and they've proudly called it grenache Shiraz Mataro from 2021.

Speaker 2 10:10

Oh yeah, so let's just go back to that. So, Mouvedre Mataro, same thing, Just like Shiraz and Sira.

Speaker 1 10:21

Yeah, and I'm just I don't know where the name Mataro comes from, but it sounds like it's from Spain so.

Speaker 2 10:26

Bogan, mataro, mataro. The French are like Mou and we're like. It's embarrassing, I wonder.

Speaker 1 10:34

I mean, I wondered if it is. I have no, do not know the etymology of um matara versus move edge. But I'm really pleased that they proudly call it matara because, that is what we call it in Australia and this is from, like I said, Clare. It's 13.9% alcohol, so potentially a little bit higher than that, and it was the only Clare wine that I could find in Dance today. What For GSM? Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 11:06

Yes, it's not where you would go.

Speaker 1 11:08

Yeah, my mind doesn't jump to Clare Valley when I think of GSM, I had heaps of choice on McLaren Vale and Barossa.

Speaker 2 11:14

Yeah, do you know what? I was actually wondering how much choice you would have. Like, even though GSM's an awesome style and we love it, I don't know how many people actually drink it.

Speaker 1 11:24

Yes, well, grenache is having a moment.

Speaker 2 11:27

Grenache is having a moment.

Speaker 1 11:28

Grenache is having a moment. That's true. Gsm less so, but Grenache is having a moment. I actually did my research before I went in there so that I knew that they had it.

Speaker 2 11:37

Yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 11:38

And if not, what I was going to do was actually get the same producer but a Grenache and a Shiraz and compare. Oh that's good. I found this from Claire, so it's got a beautiful bright cherry red colour.

Speaker 2 11:50

Oh, that's good. I found this from Claire, so it's got a beautiful bright cherry red colour. The nose just jumps out Like compared to the Cote d'Avon, it just jumps out of the glass.

Speaker 1 12:00

And it seems more grenache-y.

Speaker 2 12:02

Absolutely grenache-y.

Speaker 1 12:03

Macerated strawberries, raspberry cherry a little bit confected in the best possible way.

Speaker 2 12:09

Yes, in a good way. In a good way, yes.

Speaker 1 12:11

Not sickly sweet, but just a really fresh confected red fruit character, red raspberry lollies, lovely tannins, a little bit of mid-palate white which I'm imagining the Shiraz is bringing to it. I think it was like $13. I have got the receipt somewhere.

Speaker 2 12:31

I've got oh, yeah, yeah, no that's the wrong one.

Speaker 1 12:32

It's at no 17.

Speaker 2 12:33

17 no oak influence yeah, wow, it's yum, it's just really yum. This is how I like my grenache. I want it to taste like grenache but not have the alcohol and almost like thinness of grenade. Grenache needs more body, I agree, and it needs less alcohol, and that is. It tastes like Grenache, but it has it's just worked out the kinks Grenache.

Speaker 1 12:58

Grenache, grenache, my God. Grenache is one dimensional, yes, and you're layering in dimensions with the Shiraz and the Muv or the Mataro, but you can't see them Like you know. If you gave that to me, I would actually think it would be a blend rather than straight Grenache, even though it smells and tastes like Grenache. The structure is not Grenache and it's adding that structural element from the two other grape varieties.

Speaker 2 13:28

Yes, yeah, 100% Working hand in hand to make the wine more interesting. Yes, yes, grenache has shit structure, but great then on a marketing note. But no, you're right, it's just taken this flavour but added structure and it's fantastic. It's on the back of your label. Shit structure, but great flavour.

Speaker 1 13:51

I mean, we could say the tag for the podcast. Yeah, I actually thought 17 bucks, and this was right down the bottom. What is it, though, claymore?

Speaker 2 13:59

you'll Never Walk Alone. So it's not like a pinnacle thing. No, it's produced by Claymore Wines.

Speaker 1 14:07

I deliberately wanted to buy wines from known sort of producers because I wanted to look at it. Yeah, claymore Wines, it was more of the focusing on the history, because these are styles of wine that have been produced for so long in Australia.

Speaker 2 14:25

Yeah, awesome.

Speaker 1 14:27

So, on that note, we have got a Serafino Grenache Shiraz, murtara Mouvedre from McLaren Vale 2021 as well. So this is a family-owned um winery. Yeah, as far as I know, yes, serafino is still family-owned um. The gsm is blended from grapes grown in vineyards across mclarenvale. Shows bright purple colors. Blah, blah, blah. Alcohol is what I'm interested in.

Speaker 1 14:55

It's 14.3 percent so high, but in a gsm I have more hope about it not jumping out and I wonder if part of their blending so I'm just lifting my microphone out of its little thing I'm wondering if part of the blending consideration is to knock back the alcohol on the Grenache as well, but yeah, it's 14.5. That's pretty high.

Speaker 2 15:28

You can't taste it. It's great. Yeah, that's really great.

Speaker 1 15:34

I feel more Shiraz tannin in that one.

Speaker 2 15:36

Yes, agree. Yeah, this one is a bit more Shiraz forward.

Speaker 1 15:40

So the aroma is definitely that sort of grenache, but then when you put it on your palate you get more of that licorice spice from Shiraz. Yeah, this also says Mataro. I am To be fair, I don't know that I could name you. I don't think I've ever had 100% Mouvedge or Mataro, apart from Wendery, I think do one.

Speaker 2 16:00

Yeah, I don't think I've ever had 100%.

Australian GSM Blends and Wine Tasting

Speaker 1 16:01

Mouvedge or Mataro, Apart from Wendery, I think. Do one. Yeah, I don't think I've ever had this yesterday and I've had one of those many, many, many, many, many years ago. It has won a heap of wines, gold awards.

Speaker 2 16:11

Wow, it's a great wine, so it should, I think, for $25 also a steal, oh absolutely.

Speaker 1 16:16

Yeah, this is the beauty about these wines and support that's a great wine, support these. You know producers, because they're not. You know their times are tough.

Speaker 2 16:26

Yes. So I would say the one before it, the Claymore, it was where more ganache like jumped out of the glass like yeah, that macerated strawberry, that crazy bunchy yummy flavours, whereas this one maybe is a little bit more serious. With the Shiraz it's a bit smoother.

Speaker 1 16:42

I think it's definitely got more structure to it and it's more it lasts for longer on your palate. So it goes down and it continues. Yeah, and it is a beautiful wine, and this is something that the first one I could easily happily drink on its own, yes, whereas I would prefer to have Agreed.

Speaker 2 17:00

this one is good for his food yeah.

Speaker 1 17:01

I would prefer to have something, a lovely pizza. Oh, when we were in Bright, there were these dudes selling pizzas that had a mobile pizza oven on the side of the road on a trailer. You're kidding Italian. They were talking in Italian the whole time, although they were Italian Australians, and Nonno was bringing the wood over. You're literally sitting on the side of the road. That is so cool. And then he comes over to us and he says, oh, do you want some of Nonno's chili oil on your pizza? And then they're arguing amongst themselves because one's going Nonno shouldn't be bringing the wood. Go and help Nonno with the wood. Luca, go and get it it. It was best experience. That is so freaking cool, Awesome. Apparently they do events, but it's this beautiful tiled. I wonder if they're there all the time. Well, they said that the cafe was closed. It was outside Lupo Cafe near Myrtleford.

Speaker 2 17:49

Yeah.

Speaker 1 17:50

And it was closed. So they said to them do you mind if we use your space because it's got outdoor tables? It was just awesome four different types of pizzas. Anyway, I digress. And it was just awesome Four different types of pizzas.

Speaker 2 18:01

Anyway, I digress, this would be absolutely stunning. Yes, with that specific pizza so buy these if you're going to Bright, and they happen to be on the corner, although I seem to remember, and Nonno's Chili is there.

Speaker 1 18:09

Serafino's does have an amazing Italian restaurant.

Speaker 2 18:15

I mean McLaren Valley, if you've been. I feel like we're getting in weird territory Italian Like GSM is, so not Italian I know, but it just seems to suit. Yeah, but it's sweet.

Speaker 1 18:23

Because, again, it's that fruitiness about it. But anyway, Serafina Makarova, Grenache Charest Mataro 2021. It's gorgeous.

Speaker 2 18:34

Such good prices, great wines. I'm digging this. This is a good episode.

Speaker 1 18:40

This is the ones that are just like Again, these are the unsung heroes of the Australian wine industry that we just sort of ignore.

Speaker 2 18:46

for Pinot, yes, oh my God, and we love Pinot, but you know, love Pinot. We're overdoing it. It's gotten to a point. When we started this podcast I was like people need to drink more Pinot and now I'm like calm down on the Pinot. Yeah, exactly, drink something else.

Speaker 1 19:00

And it's like when we did the Galway Pipe episode.

Speaker 2 19:04

Yeah.

Speaker 1 19:08

Those classic styles of Australian wine. We should really be supporting and be proud of our bloody heritage. Yeah, we didn't copy necessarily the French. We just made them because that's what we were growing in our backyard. So now I have Hensley farm 2022 the mile. Oh no, I've picked up the straight grenache.

Speaker 2 19:23

I'm an idiot oh, no, oh, my last drink, we'll try it so when I um, when I was doing um studying for us at three in toronto, they poured a gsm as like the test wine or whatever. So I didn't know what it was and I smelled it and it brought tears to my eyes. Before I even realised what it was, it was an Australian GSM and before I even in my brain went, this is Australian, my eyes started welling up, isn't that crazy.

Speaker 1 19:53

That is the thing about smell. Yeah, it is such an evocative sense. Yeah, it can bring you to tears. You know, we were talking about this last night. Um, when we're doing the pairing with the smell of spring, the first day of school, all of those things your mother's house, yeah. So, unfortunately, I have fucked up and I've got a the mile 2022 grenache from the barossa Valley, from Hentley Farm. See, it just smells like Grenache.

Speaker 2 20:24

It smells like Grenache. Welcome to our Wine Education Podcast. This Grenache smells like Grenache man. It does, though it's like bubblegum reduces it to something bad, but it does smell like bubblegum. Yeah, it does, but not in a bad way.

Speaker 1 20:37

And it feels like bubblegum, it sort of goes boop in your palate. It's sort of like a little bubble of flavour and then it just disappears. Lovely fresh wine. I can't believe I picked this up instead of because I was definitely reading the other one. Anyway, that's me Sunday morning, Sorry.

Speaker 2 20:55

It is my apologies. You know what it needs.

Speaker 1 20:58

What food?

Speaker 2 20:59

No, it needs a little bit of.

Speaker 1 21:01

A bit of Shiraz and Matara. Yeah, Done as my fuck up. I will promise to bring another one from Hentley. Farm, because I'm pretty sure they do one. I tried not to get like the Darenberg, because they're doing well enough as it is.

Speaker 2 21:16

No, I love it. People that were not so popular. Yeah, no, I fully support the thought process. Well, this has been fun. Definitely it's the weather for it. Go out and buy yourself a GSM this weekend, but I have a last drop now. Oh, we have a final drop, and you actually. We always forget to do final drops, so I really like that.

Speaker 1 21:37

you remember that I am being promoted to do the final drop because the wine fridge is overflowing from the one shelf of Meg and Mel to the two shelves of. Meg and Mel, so we're going to slowly work through it.

Speaker 2 21:49

So I have a hand-picked shardy Hang on. So, as a reminder about what the final drop is is, sometimes we get some wine from places which we love, we appreciate, and the final drop is just us finding a moment to be able to taste all these wines that we have been gifted. So today, what have we got hand-picked? What is hand-picked is handpicked confuses me. So it comes from all different regions, doesn't it?

Speaker 1 22:18

Yeah, they've got two wineries. They've got a winery in Mornington Peninsula, they've got a winery in the Yarra Valley.

Speaker 2 22:22

Yeah.

Speaker 1 22:23

And they produce wines from all over Australia, so handpicked. The theory behind it is is that they handpick wines from the best regions in the world. So they do Margaret River Chardonnay, they do Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay, they do Yarra. Back in the day, early 2010s, they actually did look to Bordeaux. They looked at Carmenere from Chile.

Speaker 2 22:49

Oh, wow, oh so they're that old.

Speaker 1 22:52

Yeah, it was a fairly new business back then, but they were looking at making it the whole concept international. Yeah, okay, this is a 2019 Chardonnay and that's why I picked it today, because normally we're drinking our Chardies at 21, 22 vintages, like at the moment and this was 19. I thought it might. It was a warm year 19, so it might just show some age. So this is $50, and it's from both Yarra Glen and Gladysdale, so Gladysdale's in the upper Yarra, so it's very, very it's cooler.

Speaker 2 23:36

Yeah, I just thought it's 13.2% alcohol, tell me. On the nose it's like crisp green apples, smells like a bit of oak.

Speaker 1 23:45

There's a lot of oak on there. I like a lot of oak, so come to mama. For me it's like the oak dominates on the wine on the nose. But there is some beautiful stone fruit, green apple, red apple as well.

Speaker 2 23:59

I'm doing a little dance, I like it, the acid is just superb. Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum yum.

Speaker 1 24:06

Yeah, it's beautiful. The stone fruit for me shines more on the palate. I don't get it as much on the nose.

Speaker 2 24:11

I think it's apple-y I love it.

Speaker 1 24:17

See, I think there's some apricot and some nectarine in there and some peach. It's there.

Speaker 2 24:23

I love the oak. People don't eat enough oak anymore.

Speaker 1 24:26

Barrel fermentation and maturation. Add spicy, oak and texture according to them. That is super yum that is 50 bucks.

Speaker 2 24:35

Yeah, well worth it oh yeah, I'd pay 50 bucks hopefully.

Award-Winning Podcast and Cellar Doors

Speaker 1 24:37

I have no idea where you get it from. They have. They have like salad doors downtown they've got like one in sydney. Did they where they, we did the where we won our second best podcast award. Um, just just saying, throw a little brag in there. Well, you know we're great.

Speaker 2 24:50

We won our second best podcast award. Just saying Throw a little brag in there. Well, you know, we're great.

Speaker 1 24:55

I can't remember who we were up against, but yeah, I was Delirious, I'm not getting enough sleep. I know I don't think we'll win a third, so I don't think we bother entering. Come out on top. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2 25:10

What do you reckon? We won every one we ever went, and it sounds so much better than.

Speaker 1 25:17

Yeah, but we do support you. I communicate as Australia, but you know we want to go out with a bang. But anyway back to handpicked. They have cellar doors, which I think is a brilliant idea. Yeah, Downtown Sydney, just off George Street, I think it is. And there's one in Melbourne, apparently on Collins Street Right. Did not know that.

Speaker 2 25:33

I did not know that either. Yeah, cool, that's so. Yum, it is Big fan. We will be back with your next pick, but until then, enjoy your next glass of wine and drink well.