One of the main reasons why wine is so fascinating is its infinite number of variables. Experts, real or imagined, can read the entrails and see past, present and future. Sometimes they will agree with their peers; other times they will disagree. But there is no ultimate authority able to say which one is right, which is wrong.

So when my colleague Max Allen argued the case for single vineyard wines (The Australian, April 26) and suggested Penfolds 2004 Grange was passé because (inter alia) it is a blend of regions (and with a dastardly touch of cabernet sauvignon into the bargain), I resolved to mount a contrary argument.

I may well sound like the Ancient Mariner when I suggest that overwhelming opinion supports the view that Colin Preece of Seppelt Great Western, Maurice O’Shea of Mount Pleasant and Max Schubert of Penfolds were the greatest Australian winemakers of the 20th century, even though (with the exception of Schubert) they created their vinous masterpieces prior to 1963.

There is a lesser-known fourth, Roger Warren of Hardys, whose career overlapped that of the others. They had a common bond: their greatest red wines were regional and varietal blends; in the case of Preece extraordinarily complex, in the case of O’Shea less overtly so, with different Hunter vineyards and lesser or greater splashes of pinot noir in the blend. On the other side of the blanket, he was happy to swap wine with Hardys and, so it is rumoured, with the occasional Rutherglen winemaker in less than perfect Hunter vintages.

These blends were created out of conviction rather than necessity, and were made in small quantities (500 dozen or less). If you then tighten the focus, you come up with what all who have tasted it regard as the single greatest Australian red wine of the 20th century: Penfolds 1962 Bin 60A, a blend of Magill shiraz and Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon. It has been lauded to the skies: the legendary Californian winemaker André Tchelistcheff tasted it at a dinner of wine professionals and, knowing little or nothing about its provenance, said: ‘Gentlemen, you will all stand in the presence of this wine.’ More recently, Decanter magazine (in 2004) placed it in the top 10 of the ‘100 Wines to Try Before You Die’.

The greatest non-vintage Champagne is Krug, the ultimate blend of up to 50 components from up to 10 vintages, 20 to 25 sub-regions and the three classic grape varieties of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Krug Clos de Mesnil, a single vintage 100 per cent chardonnay from a single 1.87-ha vineyard. The wines are very different, but is one inherently better than the other? Not in my book.


2006 Dominique Portet Andre Heathcote Yarra Valley Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon
This is a blend of shiraz from both Yarra Valley and Heathcote with cabernet sauvignon from the Yarra Valley. Extremely elegant and fragrant, with distinct French touches to its make-up, it is beautifully balanced and weighted, its blackberry/blackcurrant fruit suspended in a gossamer web of fine tannins and French oak. Easily the best wine yet under the Portet label.
Cork; 14% alc; to 2020
Rating: 96
Price: $120
info@dominiqueportet.com

2006 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
The composition varies little from vintage to vintage, drawing on the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, Padthaway, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, the Clare Valley and Bordertown. Great colour, it is an intense and complex wine of great breed, with many layers of chocolate and black fruits, the powerful tannins in balance; American oak likewise.
Screwcap; 14.5% alc; to 2036
Rating: 96
Price: $60
barossa.cellardoor@penfolds.com.au

2008 Grosset Clare Valley Adelaide Hills Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
Jeffrey Grosset could well afford to make a Clare Valley semillon and an Adelaide Hills sauvignon blanc as two wines, but clearly believes the blend is synergistic. And indeed it is a totally delicious and beautifully moulded mouthful of wine, the two components seamlessly woven in a citrus/stone fruit web tied up by gentle acidity.
Screwcap; 13% alc; to 2012
Rating: 95
Price: $32
info@grosset.com.au