Australia’s First Families of Wine - Unlocked
Australia's First Families of Wine Unlocked event was held in Brisbane this year on 3 June. It was a smaller event than last years Unlocked in Sydney, smaller in numbers attending but not in the quantity or quality of wine on show. The Brisbane event was more relaxed, a little less formal and a lot more fun. It was expertly MCed by Rupert McCall who added to the informal style and kept the 24 speakers on track and pretty much on time, no mean feat.
The first bracket of 12 wines included some of Australia's iconic wines, Henschke Hill of Grace, Jim Barry The Armagh, Tyrrrell's Vat 1 Semillon, and the list goes on. The stand out to me was the Campbells Isabella Rare Rutherglen Topaque. Of the four grades of Topaque (formerly Tokay) this is the absolute pinnacle, and a stunning wine.
After tasting the first 12 wines and hearing an amusing round of stories from the heads of each of the 12 families, there was a dinner break while all the glasses were changed over and 12 more wines poured. This round was labeled "new directions" and included newer styles and different varieties with commentary provided by the next generation of wine professional's from each of the families.
Unlocked is just an amazing event and really is the wine event of the year. The opportunity to taste such an array of quality wines and meet with some of Australia's most renowned wine makers only comes around once a year.
The stage is set for Unlocked to commence!!
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