Pulling up to the cellar door – to my right, paddocks stretch far beyond the edge of the town of Orange, some five hours from Sydney. Frankly, guests arrive to drink, and after perusing the Philip Shaw website and admiring their stunning and quirky ‘Characters’ labels, I am excited about tasting (perhaps not downing) a glass of the Philip Shaw wines collection. When I get around to tasting their pinot noir and chardonnay, their colours and tastes are nothing like I’d anticipated.
Philip Shaw wines are made solely from the grapes grown on winery owner, Shaw’s, 47 hectare property, Komooloo. Standing in his office – an open space behind French doors with cement floors, and benches and desks for planning calendars, wine bottles, and computers, I ask Shaw why he chose to continue his four decade-long career with cold climate wines, hundreds of kilometres from Sydney.
‘I was flying over Orange one day, and the land looked beautiful. It all grew from there.’
Shaw’s wines, featured at new literary magazine, Seizure’s launch at popular Sydney joint, The Paper Mill, are as beautiful as the land he planted on over twenty years ago. His Wire Walker pinot noir is a pale, clear red, soft in taste on the tongue. The Wire Walker fruit is handpicked and transferred to a conveyor belt, where it is hand sorted. De-stemmed, not crushed, and fermented for 12 months in French oak, it’s all too easy to go through a glass. White wine has never been a taste I’ve enjoyed, but The Architect Chardonnay is nothing like those vaguely bitter glasses I’ve had before. A nectar colour, the wine drinks like silk – there is no dryness, and perhaps a sweet hint as it hits my mouth. It’s over a week later, and I’m still getting over my enjoyment of a white.
For more information about Philip Shaw wines, and to browse and purchase the Philip Shaw range, visit: http://www.philipshaw.com.au/
