TODAY'S focus is on four exemplary wines from a friendship forged in France 20 years ago as two young winemakers drove a very small rented Citroen from Alsace to Bordeaux, Burgundy and on to the Rhone Valley.
Matt Burton and Dylan McMahon had become pals at Wagga Wagga as they worked for their wine science degrees at Charles Sturt University and after graduation they both managed to get vintage jobs in the breathtaking beautiful Alsace Region.
Matt worked at Domaine Khuen in Ammerschwihr and Dylan close by at Hugel and Fils in Riquewihr. They each enjoyed generous mentoring from the French winemakers and revelled in helping to make some of the world's finest riesling, pinot gris and gewurztraminer wines from hallowed Alsace grand cru vineyards.
When their time in Alsace ended the two agreed to spend their limited funds staying at "the most humble youth hostels" and driving the little Citroen around celebrated wineries in Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone Valley.
As Matt remembers, "a disproportionate amount of our modest budget was spent on buying wines" allowing only cheese and a baguette as the daily food stable.
"When the time came to head home, an agreement was made that no matter what direction life took us, some years down the track we would meet up again to pull the cork on a couple of our more special bottles, reminisce about our younger years and one day we would make wine together," he said.
That day came 10 years ago after Dylan had become the winemaker at the cult Yarra Valley Seville Estate winery and Matt emerged as Hunter-based owner-winemaker of Gundog Estate.
Dylan is the grandson of Dr Peter McMahon, the 1972 founder and owner up until 1997 of Seville Estate.
Matt is the son of cinematographer Geoff Burton and anthropologist Professor Sharon Bell, who established the Gundog venture at Gundaroo, north of Canberra, in 2006.
They have seen their son expand it into a Halliday Wine Companion five red stars multi-regional boutique producer.
The two launched the Burton-McMahon brand with a 2012 Gippsland pinot noir and since then have continued their resolve to make single-site wines of "elegance, finesse, and balance".
That applies to the just released $45 a bottle 2021 Yarra Valley George's Vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, D'Aloisio's Vineyard Chardonnay and the Syme on Yarra Pinot Noir, which are at gundogestate.com.au/burtonmcmahon and the Gundog Gourmet Pantry and cellar door at McDonalds Road, Pokolbin.
WINE REVIEWS BY JOHN LEWIS
IDEAL FOR SCALLOPS
FROM eastern Seville area vines, this Burton McMahon 2021 George's Vineyard Chardonnay is brassy gold in the glass and has custard apple aromas and crisp white nectarine front-palate flavour. The middle palate displays ruby grapefruit, mineral, almond and coconutty oak and a finish of steely acid. PRICE: $45. DRINK WITH: seared scallops with orange and poppy seed salad. AGEING: eight years. RATING: 5 stars
VIBRANT PINOT NOIR
THIS 13.5% alcohol, ruby red, violet-scented Burton McMahon 2021 Syme on Yarra Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from land once owned by the Syme family, former owners of Melbourne's The Age newspaper. It features vibrant raspberry front-palate flavour, middle palate pomegranate, spice, cloves and savoury oak and minty tannins play at the finish. PRICE: $45. DRINK WITH: coq au vin. AGEING: 10 years. RATING: 5.5 stars
STAR CHARDONNAY
THE Burton McMahon 2021 D'Aloisio's Chardonnay is from vines owned by John D'Aloisio, brother of ex-Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair Tony. It has green-tinted straw hues, orange blossom scents and elegant peach front-palate flavour. The middle shows melon, lemon curd, brioch and cashew oak and a finish of slatey acid. PRICE: $45. DRINK WITH: paella. AGEING: nine years. RATING: 5.5 stars
